@ Jackrabbit | Nov 1 2019 4:02 utc | 92 (in re Epstein)
I have known and do now know several people who have worked at US prisons. Some were guards, others technical people civil servant – plumbers, carpenters, electricians. They all agree with the idea that the corpse was/is a ringer and Jeff was “sprung outta da joint”. That’s their first reaction and also they do not change their minds later. My old friends include guys who did hard time too, and they also opine that the dude was sprung.
And yes, discussion of suicide v murder leads in circles…and distracts from the fairly obvious caper. A caper that would be limited to those who had the power to do it as well as a reason…
Geewhiz, I can’t imagine who that’d be.

Posted by: Walter | Nov 1 2019 8:31 utc | 104

Interesting take of Bhadrakumar
https://twitter.com/BhadraPunchline/status/1190113944968392705

Posted by: Mina | Nov 1 2019 9:43 utc | 106

19th CPC Central Committee concludes fourth plenary session, releases communique

Posted by: vk | Nov 1 2019 12:00 utc | 108

For those still arguing here about the “genuine” protesters in Iraq….
The guys in skinny jeans and bermudas offering $100 to citizens passing to try to get more people to second the violent protests…Real Iraqis…even when poor hardworking…refuse!
https://twitter.com/ejmalrai/status/1190231110468407296
Btw…Nasrallah is due to speak ant 15:30 ( Beirut time ), just in less than an hour….Stay tunned

Posted by: Sasha | Nov 1 2019 12:43 utc | 110

Here preparing the envelops with the bribes..take for sure the same “organization” could be filmed in Hong Kong and Beirut…Also notice the “style” of these minions…totally in strident contrast with the usual way in Arab countries…with all that clothes glued to the body…as if they were living abroad…not in hot Middle East….
https://twitter.com/ejmalrai/status/1190230576281849856

Posted by: Sasha | Nov 1 2019 12:48 utc | 112

Chemical Weapons propaganda used against Syria?
Jonathan Steele( BBC) at OPCW 2nd whistleblower debrief [<=picked up the samples} <= said no chlorine derivative evidence found in Douma to collaborate 2 canisters/ 43 deaths British, French USA) BFUSA claims. plus neither ballistics nor scientist find support that govt in Syria used gas.

Posted by: snake | Nov 1 2019 13:00 utc | 114

@ jared re 737 MAX…
Those flight attendants from AA will likely be joined by other unions…and this is going to have a strong effect on the flying public…
It looks like the MAX is going to be cleared to fly again in the coming months, but we may see a consumer backlash where they simply refuse to fly on that airplane…
It has happened before in the car industry for example…in the end people do have a choice…

Posted by: flankerbandit | Nov 1 2019 13:17 utc | 116

About the unpredictability of the revolts, once the anger of the masses is provoked and unleashed … and how, the ethnicist nationalists, such as those in the Ukraine, Catalonia, Israel …or the US… end always up destroying each other when events do not turn as they wish …
Seyyed Nasrallah, in his “unmatchable wisdom”, announced it long time ago in one of his famous speeches, when talking about takfiries invading Syria and trying to do the same in Lebanon, that “extermists end always fighting each other”….
I hope you do not lose the fine irony in translation of this unpayable take by Enric Juliana on the turn of events of the already out of control ( from the initial organizers..)of Catalonian independence procés´s revolts…
V of Vendetta

We have left October without British cataclysm. We will not attend a supply crisis in the United Kingdom. There are vegetables in London. There is leftover tea for all five in the afternoon of next year. There is no wild Brexit. The British will vote again on December 12 and then we’ll see what happens.
The focus of the concern is now in Spain. The country of southern Europe that between April and May seemed to have found a certain direction and dared to teach Europeanism to the troubled Italy has tangled its legs with an absurd repetition of general elections.
Tension over tension. The electoral campaigns unnerve the spirits and flatten the perspective. The inflammation of an increasingly complex political and civil conflict like that of Catalonia, requires calm, time and not acting pending what the polls will say tomorrow. There is a radical contradiction between the rhythms and attitudes that electoral combat demands and the management of an outbreak of anger that nobody controls at all. That insurmountable contradiction is being skillfully taken advantage of by the only character in the current Hispanic altarpiece who doesn’t play anything in the elections and who has decided to take advantage of the reckless “Sanchez moment” to avenge and vindicate.
Many things at the same time: among them, the revenge of Puigdemont on Junqueras
A smiling mask observes these days the events of Catalonia. A seemingly secret directory directs the times and intensities of some of the most significant protests, but not all of them, as has been demonstrated during the last fifteen days in Barcelona. There is more than one script, there is more than one mask, there is more than one network.
Pedro Sánchez did not foresee such an uncertain and stressful electoral campaign when in August he opted for November. The Waterloo man did not foresee fire in the streets of Barcelona, ​​because that fire will burn his eyebrows and fringe. Perfect plans do not exist at the time of the cult of the mask of Anonymus and the face of Joker. Today, the only perfect plans are the robberies with Salvador Dalí’s mask in the series La casa de papel. Anonymity, networks and revenge. It is the sign of the times.
V for Vendetta. It is quite evident that the Waterloo man is taking revenge on the Lledoners prisoner with more political weight. Two years ago, Oriol Junqueras prevented Carles Puigdemont from slowing down at the last minute, calling elections to the Parliament. 155 silver coins. October 26, 2017. They had promised independence and were about to convene regional elections to avoid the intervention of the Generalitat. ERC threatened to leave the Catalan government, while Jordi Turull and Josep Rull implored the president of the Generalitat not to sign the decree calling, not to leave the convergent gene at the foot of Republican horses. Two years later, the tables have been inverted. Esquerra is the one that he would like to stop now. Junqueras had to send a letter to the CDRs yesterday asking them not to boycott the event that his party plans to celebrate tomorrow in front of the Lledoners prison. Playing with the mask of Anonymus, Puidgemont wants to destabilize the pactist ERC, to stop his electoral ascent and not be left out of the negotiation framework that will open sooner or later. The Waterloo man understands that greater visibility of the Catalan conflict in the international media is useful for his defense in Brussels. But in that visualization there should be no fire. The fire scorches the perfect plans.
The fire has surprised him, because there are other masks, other discomforts and other revenges pending in the magma of frustrated independence. Not all Joker obey Anonymus.

Foot Notes:
*”Waterloo man” = Puigdemont, the right wing nationalist, who was finger chosen President of Catalan Generalitat by overthrown president Artur Mas, who scaped hided in a trunk of a car to Brussels ( when central government in Madrid was about to apply article 155 of Spanish Constitution to promoters of Catalan seccesionist movement.. ), where he was hosted by Belgian far-right, and where he is passing a really good time, strolling, taking drinks and tapas, while his partners in the Catalan procés have passed already one year in prison…No wonder he shows always so relaxed and smiling in videos of him taken at Brussels….
*”CDRs”: defense committees of the “Catalan Republic”, thise in charge of organizing and calling for demosntrations, blockade of roads, access to universities, rail stations and airports…
https://twitter.com/Ruptly/status/1189251575027585024

Posted by: Sasha | Nov 1 2019 13:52 utc | 118

In response to cettain articles in certain US military analysts blogs “blaming” Hezbollah for not stopping corruption while part of government ( even when not holding any ministry related to economy ot labour…) and “advising” Hezbollah to “leave politics and go underground”….

Lebanese Caretaker Interior Minister Raya Haffar El Hassan tells CNN: Despite painful US sanctions against Hezbollah, the group are part of the country’s social fabric — and aren’t going anywhere.

https://twitter.com/AlmanarEnglish/status/1190252774203760640
Seyyed Nasrallah is already speaking….Picks taken from live by Al Manar verbatim…

Sayyed Nasrallah speech begins in a memorial ceremony held for the departure of Islamic researcher Sayyed Jaafar Mortada.
Sayyed Nasrallah speaks about Sayyed Mortada’s rich journey and great support to the Islamic resistance.
Sayyed Nasrallah: After around two weeks of the protests that took place, we must highlight as always on the positives of this move.
Sayyed Nasrallah: The Lebanese have been able to stop many attempts of incitements and tensions because of their consciousness.
Sayyed Nasrallah: The form and amount of cursing is unprecedented in Lebanon and I assure to you that this is not spontaneous.
Sayyed Nasrallah: All this cursing was in attempt to trigger the opposite street and cause trouble and clashes in the country.
Sayyed Nasrallah: Everyone has weapons in Lebanon, not just the resistance, and everyone has emotions and could be triggered by these bad words and by closing the words.
Sayyed Nasrallah: Speaking about millions in the streets is emotional talk. You can say 100, 200, or 300 thousand, but the millions were in their homes.
Sayyed Nasrallah: Media must not broadcast cursing under the claim that this is the voice of people. Curses are never the voice of people.
Sayyed Nasrallah: From the positives of these protests are the non sectarian calls, and media must be careful not to broadcast any sectarian calls that come out here and there.
Sayyed Nasrallah: Hezbollah was never in control of any government that passed. This is only an attempt to hold Hezbollah responsible for the corruptions in the country.
Sayyed Nasralah: Even when we say that we don’t support the fall of any government, it is for the sake of the country not the sake of Hezbollah.
Sayyed Nasrallah: We never asked protestors to leave the streets, we asked them to give chance for the government to make reforms.
Sayyed Nasrallah: Now the Prime Minister resigned, this means that the whole government fell, so there is no chance to implement any form of reforms or have an economic hope, we just have to wait.
Sayyed Nasrallah: We did not support the resignation of PM Saad Hariri. It was his choice and he had his own reasons.
Sayyed Nasrallah: Who ever the new government was, its major goals must be to regain the people’s trust. This is why this government must have all the trustworthy elements: Seriousness of in deeds, constant work, setting priorities, clearance and transparency.
Sayyed Nasrallah: We call for dialogue between all parts. Our country needs everyone and needs everyone to hold his responsibility.
Sayyed Nasrallah: The US is always an obstacle in front of the Lebanese to make any developments or reforms.
Sayyed Nasrallah: About the Israeli drone that was targeted yesterday by the resistance in the Lebanese skies, this assures that the resistance has its military leadership that works without being the least influenced by any internal developments.
Sayyed Nasrallah: The resistance is always on its promise and is always in state of readiness to defend the Lebanese territories.

Posted by: Sasha | Nov 1 2019 14:37 utc | 120

Thin edge of the wedge? Tulsi’s pushing the button on the FF911affair.
Lamp-posts? (Bush 41 quote, look it up)
see RT(D) “Verlangen die Wahrheit!” Präsidentschaftskandidatin Gabbard fordert Offenlegung aller 9/11-Akten (the video of the lady officer is in english)
Think about where the string leads…or is it a fuze?
(“fuse” is electrical safety device. “fuze” is another meaning)

Posted by: Walter | Nov 1 2019 15:29 utc | 122

Indeed the U.S.political landscape is certified inimical. Ungovernable.
The Impeachment inquisition v. The Durham criminal investigation.
Pelosi leads the Democrats to deflect the DOJ criminal investigation in what is seen by some observers as the Intels’ attempted coup.
What happened in 2016? Adjectives such as ‘Treason’ in the shining “democracy” of the US of A ?
Looking ahead to 2020,
Trump just became Florida’s favourite son. No, no, it wasn’t for Florida’s lower taxes or that New York treated him very badly.
Known as one of the swing states, Electoral votes maybe.

Posted by: Likklemore | Nov 1 2019 15:38 utc | 124

mina : Thanks for Bhadrakumar, another “unreliable narrator” whose opinions I like to read.
That interview is the first time I have read Assad in his own words and at length. You can see the orderly mind of the eye doctor working there still. He makes a lot of sense too, thinks long term. I don’t see anybody more likely to get Syria on the road to recovery. He is right with his five seas idea too. A crossroads between three continents for thousands of years, that is their future too.
Sasha: thanks for informative posts, Nasrallah speech.
Walter: Orlov is a fun read gets a bit too enthusiastic at times. Gets dogmatic about technology too. The US has been struggling with getting enough ammo for its various overseas enterprises since the days of Bush the Lesser. Since we don’t make stuff like we used to and we are more focussed on the money than the product in defense spending, this situation is not likely to get better. Sometimes the problem has been that the parties we wanted to give ammo & weapons to didn’t use stuff we make, former Soviet block weapons, etc. were needed. Ratlines and weapon conduits running back and forth. Nevertheless it would not be a good idea to assume we cannot do death from above quite well, given control of the air. This has its limitations, obviously, but is nothing to toy around with. On the other hand I don’t think we would last long in any war where logisitics and ground combat really becomes an issue, Gulf Wars I & II are not on the table without BIG changes. And I think that is what Orlov is getting at, and I think it is why we have not taken our frustrations out on Iran, N. Korea, well everybody really, because we can’t do much besides blow shit up, and the other guys can blow shit up pretty good too.

Posted by: Bemildred | Nov 1 2019 16:03 utc | 126

Although I generally like Caitlin Johnstone, she really fails when she makes Max Blumenthal into an Assange-like hero.
Max B. is no Assange!
Max B./Greyzone has HYPED his arrest, and IMO anyone that plays along with that (as Catlin does) to boost Max is suspect.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Nov 1 2019 16:27 utc | 128

@ Bemildred | Nov 1 2019 16:03 utc | 128
We closely agree. D.O. tends to hyperbole. Nevertheless the trends are non-linear, what the rate of the rate of loss may be, eg logarithmic (?) etc, is unclear, but the rate is accelerating.
What Max and Stacy said in those two “E” also figures…
Recall winning at bar-shootin’ pool, encouraged by a friend to take on an opponent… My pal said “Hell Walter, allz hez got is a slam shot. Take his money…” (I did)
Murkaz got slam shots, and little else. Infantry (Red Army W2 as example) wins, on the ground, the hard way…bombing may be nice, but it only makes more opponents. The murkin/uk bombing of Berlin only cemented the nazis’ power…same Vietnam…
If so, D.O. is only a little bit ahead of reality…and yes, that explains why Iran has not been “done”.

Posted by: Walter | Nov 1 2019 16:28 utc | 130

Your Statement: “”In 2016, USTL launched the Term Limits Convention, a new project to enact a constitutional amendment for congressional term limits. Under this approach, state legislators can enact term limits for the Congress in Washington and no member of Congress can stop them.”
In a 1994 case, USTL v. Thornton, the State of Arkansas had passed, along with 21 other states, constitutional amendments to limit not only their own state legislators and constitutional officers, but US legislators as well. Ray Thornton sued the Sec. of State before the Arkansas Supreme Court, claiming the state did not have the power to limit the terms of congresspersons and Senators. In a 5-4 decision, the court upheld the Arkansas Supreme Court’s decision.
Though enough State legislatures of the several states could resolve to call a constitutional convention to add an amendment to the US Constitution limiting Congress’ terms, Congress would still have to ratify the amendment. So they in fact ‘could stop them (state legislators)’.

Posted by: Skip Cook | Nov 1 2019 16:41 utc | 132

Walter: Yup, looks pretty non-linear to me. I think of it as a phase change, like a supersaturated solution, you never know just when it is going to happen, how far its going to go.
What’s happening is Trump, Trump is an accelerant, I’ve called him a wrecking ball for years, because that is what he does, he says all the unsayable things, attacks all the things you are not supposed to attack. A bull in a china shop (no pun intended.) And that is why people support him, that want those things attacked. A perverse situation you have to admit.
“If you want to know who rules over you, ask who you are not allowed to criticize.”
Trump tromps all over that. And they cannot seem to get rid of him, working on five years now and I think he is winning politically, he’s a better politican. But I don’t think he can actually govern, at all. I tend to compare him to Erdogan, both gold-toilet lovers.
That in itself, that we have come to such a state, is more that sufficient to condemn the people who run the country, whomever they might be.

Posted by: Bemildred | Nov 1 2019 16:48 utc | 134

Here’s Max B’s reply to Caitlin’s hagiography:

Thank you so much for raising your voice, Caitlin – and for lifting the corporate media’s mask
✊

He doesn’t even blush at the grossly unfair comparison between Assange and himself.
Caitlin responds adoringly:

Thanks for all you do.

!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Nov 1 2019 17:05 utc | 136

Foreign Policy claims that Putin Lost His African Great Game Before He Started.
Meanwhile, in the real world, the following projects were started at the Russia–Africa Summit:
• $5 billion credit line for Russian exports to Africa
• $300 million edible fat & oil processing plant in Egypt
• 2 million tonnes/year grain terminal on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt
• 2.1 million tonnes/year oil products pipeline from Congolese port Pointe-Noire to DRC’s capital Kinshasa
• €2 billion oil refinery in Morocco
• 400 MW nuclear power plant in Ethiopia
• geological laboratory and oil & gas exploration at Lake Kivu in Rwanda
• mineral resources management system in South Sudan
• mineral resources management system in River Nile State, Sudan
• 10 MW nuclear research reactor in Rwanda
• $2.5 billion for a 1300 km oil pipeline in Niger and railroad and transport infrastructure development in Guinea and DRC
• IT security for the leading mobile network operator in Angola
• €1 billion contract to supply 1300 railroad passenger cars for Egypt
• $1 billion fertilizer plant and associated port infrastructure in Angola
• 3 million tonnes/year steel mill in Nigeria (completing 1979 USSR project)
(Sources: Какие контракты заключили на форуме «Россия — Африка», Россия достроит начатый СССР в 1979 году сталелитейный завод в Нигерии.)

Posted by: S | Nov 1 2019 17:13 utc | 138

Sanders on Gaza/Palestinians:
“Gaza is experiencing a humanitarian and environmental crisis. Conflating an effort to address that crisis with ‘support for Hamas’ is part of an effort to dehumanize Palestinians and continue the conflict.”
Sanders has shown he’s an independent Jew, not wedded to Zionism.
S @140–
Thanks for that list. ROSATOM with its full cycle nuclear plant technology could create a dynamic system within the whole of Africa over the next 20 years and propel African development. But what Africa needs most is help to jettison the Neoliberal fetters that hinders its progress.

Posted by: karlof1 | Nov 1 2019 17:31 utc | 140

Corbyn announces debate between him and Johnson on 19 November on ITV:
“This is a once in a generation election. So it’s welcome that Boris Johnson has accepted our challenge of a head to head TV debate.
“The choice could not be clearer: Boris Johnson’s Conservatives protecting the privileged few or a Labour government on the side of the many.”
From my perspective, it’s not about Brexit anymore; it’s about ousting the Tories and putting Corbyn and Labour into power so they can undo the decades of neoliberal robbery of the UK’s people.

Posted by: karlof1 | Nov 1 2019 17:45 utc | 142

karlof1 @142:

Sanders has shown he’s an independent Jew, not wedded to Zionism.

Sanders has shown that he’s really good at deflecting and obfuscating when he is put on the spot about sensitive issues.
In this interview, Sanders uses moral relativity to excuse Israel and says that he’s anti-BDS. His proposed alternative to BDS? That USA becomes more even-handed. Readers can decide for themselves if that’s really realistic.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Nov 1 2019 18:01 utc | 144

Full interview with President of the Syrian Arab Republic Dr. Bashar Al Assad with English subtitles. ( via Marwa Osman Twitter account )
https://twitter.com/Marwa__Osman/status/1190327209224884224

Posted by: Sasha | Nov 1 2019 18:01 utc | 146

@ jared

You will fly AirMax or you won’t fly – is the plan I believe.

How do you figure that’s going to be put into action…?
Travelers that don’t want to fly on the MAX can simply book another flight on another carrier that flies a different aircraft…there are are probably 20 times as many aircraft in the same category than there are MAXes…
Carriers that fly MAXes at low capacity will soon dump them, even at a loss, if customers continue to refuse to fly on them…or they will see other carriers walk off with their customers…it’s a very competitive business…

Posted by: flankerbandit | Nov 1 2019 18:11 utc | 148

Hal Freeman, an American professor who moved to a small town in Russia, talks about Misconceptions Among Russians and Americans (vid, 7:56). Of course, most of you already know the things he’s talking about, but the video is still useful as yet another neutral testimony that you can show to those of your friends and relatives who have been brainwashed by Russophobic propaganda.

Posted by: S | Nov 1 2019 18:21 utc | 150

Who knew about this?!:
“I am from New Zealand, where you can now be put under house arrest and electronic monitoring without ever being arrested, charged or convicted of anything.
“Where it’s LEGAL to be videoed in your HOME *without* a warrant.
“The West is the police state”
The thread’s worth reading for its additional testimonies and info about Epstein and Barr.

Posted by: karlof1 | Nov 1 2019 18:44 utc | 152

@ flankerbandit | Nov 1 2019 18:11 utc | 148
re. Avoiding AirMax
Here’s my thinking, using myself as example:
– I fly maybe once a month for business.
– Have to go point A to point B
– Schedule is fairly constrained – outside my control.
– I can somewhat chose time of day.
– I fly cattle class.
– I want direct flight.
So my choices are fairly constrained.
Given airline will generally fly certain equipment on a certain route – so I might generally be lucky there as I am usually going from major airport to smaller airports so generally get the small planes (lot of Embraer). But if they are flying equipment I’d rather avoid, choices are somewhat limited. And there nothing to stop them from switching equipment as need requires – maybe they will spoof equipment.
People will get frustrated and (unless there is another crash) lose interest. That will be the key. Now they will be more vigilant and proactive. Still risky. And there will probably at some point be further problems. But there will be much social pressure, unless they are falling from sky. They realize this and are already pressing. They see current uproar as a lot of bother over nothing. They should be looking at jail time and asset seizure but that’s not about to happen. It’s part of the pattern of where we are – the consumer does not matter.

Posted by: jared | Nov 1 2019 19:10 utc | 154

Regarding Rupert Murdoch (A User @ #103)- his mother was a jew matriarch of Melbourne so what does it make him?

Posted by: 2centsworth | Nov 1 2019 19:40 utc | 156

jared…doesn’t make sense…
Plenty of choices there…if you’re flying short hops you will be on regional jets like Embraer or Bombardier…or even turboprops…btw the Bombardier Dash 8 is a very good airplane [at least for the passenger] very economical and low fares…
If you fly a medium haul route you will be on a narrow body…again plenty of choices…AA still flies lots of MD80s and 90s…plus A320s and lots of pre-MAX 737s
Southwest is the biggest customer for the MAX…so folks that don’t want to fly MAX may avoid that carrier altogether…
I think the booking services are going to start flagging MAX flights if there is customer request to do that…
I think your entire premise is faulty…there is no way you’re going to get some people to step foot on a MAX…

Posted by: flankerbandit | Nov 1 2019 19:53 utc | 158

And since it is nowhere in MSM one must conclude that it was a real intentional intimidation meant to send fear.

Posted by: arby | Nov 1 2019 20:13 utc | 160

Sasha | Nov 1 2019 18:01 utc | 146

Full interview with President of the Syrian Arab Republic Dr. Bashar Al Assad with English subtitles. ( via Marwa Osman Twitter account )
“>https://twitter.com/Marwa__Osman/status/1190327209224884224

There also this interview in English which I found very impressive (I posted it earlier but either I have lost it or it has disappeared.) https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-president-gives-rare-in-depth-interview-full-transcript/

Posted by: foolisholdman | Nov 1 2019 20:26 utc | 162

arby @163: arrest at gunpoint
They “persecuted” him by showing up in force. LOL
Like hundreds of others have experienced in USA.
And we are supposed to ignore Max B.’s history and his powerful father.
!!
PS And we (conveniently) have only Max B.’s account of what happened because, as you’ve noted, no MSM have picked up on the story. Why haven’t Democratic Party friendly news media covered this supposed outrage against the son of the Clinton’s top associate? LOL

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Nov 1 2019 21:04 utc | 164

Cracks are beginning to appear in the MSM regarding Epstein case. The timing is curious:
https://theantimedia.com/epstein-homicide/

Posted by: Alpi | Nov 1 2019 22:56 utc | 166

Vintage In The Now provides part of Assad/CNN interview prior to the terrorist invasion. Contrast to recent Assad interview shows he’s changed little in some ways–his optimism about Syria and its people.
Elsewhere, the Heritage Foundation released its annual assessment of the Outlaw US Empire’s Military Strength and again found it “Marginal” in all areas, although IMO it’s being very generous with the US Navy. The link goes to the Executive Summary which then links to the individual assessments. In other words, there was essentially no improvement over last year.

Posted by: karlof1 | Nov 1 2019 23:01 utc | 168

Join me in demanding the truth — Tulsi Gabbard on September 11 Attacks (vid, 2:01).
She’s talking about the Saudis, but the resolution she has introduced on October 29—House Resolution 662—calls for declassification and release of all information regarding 9/11 attacks, not just information pertaining to the Saudis’ role.

Posted by: S | Nov 1 2019 23:19 utc | 170

Walter @169–
Thanks for your reply and your short bio! Agree with you about the icons as the truth is very uncomfortable. 1965 found me in Davis driving tractors with my dad in Summer all over the state working experimental agricultural plots for UC Davis as part of the Green Revolution when I wasn’t involved being a kid. Nostalgia has its plusses!

Posted by: karlof1 | Nov 2 2019 1:14 utc | 172

@Posted by: Per/Norway | Nov 2 2019 1:01 utc | 171
No worries…you can still reach Al Manar web page…
Twitter has its utility for us to know about news and events almost immediately or even simultaneously to when they are taking place..
Other accounts have been suspended lately…some from leftist activists I usually post here information from…It is curious, but, as far as I am aware, nothing from Al Manar Twitter had never been posted here till this midday, when I posted Nasrallah´s speech as it was being delivered…
It´s obvious that those who “really” manage Twitter have people reading here 24/7…and that Twitter is a tool of US intelligence services…
@berlinconfidenc has been also suspended…

Posted by: Sasha | Nov 2 2019 1:30 utc | 174

This is completely off-topic even for an open thread, but here’s a very well-made video that summarizes all the discoveries made about Jupiter over the past three years—and there have been many, so prepare to be surprised: What has NASA’s Juno discovered around Jupiter so far? (3 year update) (15:39).

Posted by: S | Nov 2 2019 2:34 utc | 176

The goal is to ruin Trump’s coattails in 2020 and try to preserve control of the house. In the swing districts, the Democrats will make the campaigns about Trump to avoid discussing issues. The Democrats are weak on issues, especially now.

Posted by: Fly | Nov 2 2019 6:27 utc | 178

Jackrabbit #123
Thank you for that timely reminder and your integrity to reinstate perspective. There is always the chance that people will see through the fog of their excuses for war and conquest. I guess I have had a direct trajectory but I hold no ill will against ex soldiers or advocates of war. My good fortune was to see through the propaganda machine at an early age, to see the duplicity and lies and malign intentions of the war machines.
Had I lived in a country such as the USA in my youth I may well have been overwhelmed by its fetish for all things violent. However a good part of my life was to oppose that nations ignorance.
Indeed it is the ignorance that is nationalism that is the most disabling affliction of humanity.
Barflies are fortunate to have such fine company as b and yourself.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Nov 2 2019 9:17 utc | 180

karlof1 #168

Elsewhere, the Heritage Foundation released its annual assessment of the Outlaw US Empire’s Military Strength and again found it “Marginal” in all areas, although IMO it’s being very generous with the US Navy. The link goes to the Executive Summary which then links to the individual assessments. In other words, there was essentially no improvement over last year.

Marginally bouyant as far as the US Navy is concerned IMO. There is one improvement, announced by that Russian gentleman, Vlad Putin to the extent that the concept of navy as a outreach aggressive force is being gradually rendered useless. China seems to be heading in the same tactically superior position.
In the past year we have witnessed the most extraordinary demonstrations of two technologies that have matured in terms of defence and offence and they are small to medium missiles and drones.
I expect there will be a revolutionary shift over the next decade as these weapons/shields propagate throughout the planet.
OT I am still waiting for the videos of the Baghdadi take down. It is beginning to look a lot like the Skripal cctv scam.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Nov 2 2019 9:53 utc | 182

when was the last time a team of armed cops showed up at a journalists house on a misdemeanor charge? love the instant backflip–it is hype!! nobody knows about it because it’s not newsworthy!! fud.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Nov 2 2019 10:35 utc | 184

the last time i rode greyhound the passengers were packed in like sardines, some kind of cops showed up with drug sniffing dogs, and you had to pass through a scanner, tho the lines weren’t nearly as long as for planes. that being said, i still trust them more than the airlines these days; you have a lot better chance of surviving a bus crash.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Nov 2 2019 12:17 utc | 186

Bus
As a European Student one could purchase a 24hr pass for Trailways for $10 back in the day, meaning one could cross the US for $40 – an incredible value. It also meant one arrived in some seedy downtown areas in the early hours of the morning where one’s wits were needed to safely navigate to accommodation. I particularly remember a post Watts riot LA with bouncing suspension cars and handguns pushed into jeans.
Despite the value of busses on my following visits to the US I’ve chosen to fly, but to meet with real people and have real conversations go bus, perhaps with a back up of anything vital on a pendrive. Its an insight to the tiered world of USA and most certainly it’s not f***ing Denmark.

Posted by: dennis | Nov 2 2019 13:02 utc | 188

uncle tungsten @180
Thank you!
Do not go gentle into that good night . . . of dystopia.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Nov 2 2019 16:26 utc | 190

Rather than clutter up the Impeachment thread I will comment here about the state of “finance”
“We believe monetary policy is in a good place.”
– Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, October 30, 2019.
Below are three ZH links that are good
1.
https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/end-money
The above describes the types of wealth
”
Primary wealth is the wealth of the land and its functioning ecosystems. It is clear air, fresh water, thick ore bodies, and rich soils:
Secondary wealth is a finished form produced from raw materials. It is primary wealth brought to market. It is fresh produce on the grocery shelf, cut lumber (or even a fully-constructed building), and rolled steel in giant coils:
Tertiary wealth, on the other hand, is not actually “real”. But most people mistake it as a comprehensive representation of “wealth”.
Similar to money, tertiary wealth is merely a claim on primary and/or secondary wealth. A share of General Electic a stock-based claim on the company’s means of production.
And debt (and bonds) is a future claim on money. And money, as we know, is a claim on real things.
”
And then the posting goes on to describe how there is an imbalance in the claims on wealth, etc
2.
https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/federal-reserve-barbarous-relic
This is more of The Sky is Falling description
”
The sky, for our purposes, is the debt based dollar reserve standard that has been in place for the past 48 years. If you recall, on August 15, 1971, President Nixon “temporarily” suspended convertibility of the dollar into gold. The dollar became wholly the fiat money of the Treasury.
Predictably, without the restraint of gold, the quantity of debt based money has increased seemingly without limits – and it is everyone’s massive problem. What’s more, over the past 30 years the Federal Reserve has obliged Washington with cheaper and cheaper credit.
Hence, public, private, and corporate debt levels in the U.S. have multiplied beyond comprehension. Total US debt is now on the order of $74 trillion. The consequences, no doubt, are an economy that is equally distorted and disfigured beyond comprehension.
”
It goes on to say that this won’t end well
3.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/fundamentally-rigged-runaway-algos-spark-chaos-crackdown-worlds-most-important-futures
”
The eurodollar futures market is among the most important for the functioning of global financial markets, providing faux-credit fillers for institutions everywhere as well as critical signaling (whether reflexive or not) on the future path of interest rates (and thus what The Fed is expected to do, or will do).
So, it seems appropriate to worry when that critical credit market is over-run by chaos-producing algos who seem to have moved on from front-running stocks (because it’s all buybacks all the time) to the vastly less-liquid (and notably wider tick-spreads) eurodollar market.
As The Wall Street Journal reports, over the past two months, the volume of data generated by activity in CME’s Eurodollar futures soared 10-fold, according to exchange statistics.
Starting this week, CME will fine traders $10,000 whenever their messaging exceeds a certain threshold and cut off their connections to the exchange after repeat violations.
But, as WSJ notes, Mr. Richardson said the policy benefits large market makers, because they can establish dozens of connections to CME, while a smaller firm such as Emergent might get less than 10.
“It’s fundamentally rigged against a small player,” Mr. Richardson said.
A CME spokesperson, of course, rejected this assertion, but it is nevertheless a worry that as the Fed’s liquidity spigot is wide-open every day and uncertainty over the Fed’s future path of rates remains high that the most critical market for short-term credit is increasingly exposed to the possibility of flash-crashes (which in this case, thanks to the leverage created, will almost definitely ripple into the rest of the global financial markets).
”
As we said in the 60’s, “Get in, sit down, shut up and hang on, someone else is driving!”
Life is short, eat dessert first.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Nov 2 2019 17:20 utc | 192

pretzelattack @184:

when was the last time a team of armed cops showed up at a journalists house on a misdemeanor charge? love the instant backflip–it is hype!! nobody knows about it because it’s not newsworthy!! fud.

Firstly, all cops are “armed”. Secondly, Max B. hypes the arrest when he exclaims that “the federal government essentially enlisted the DC police to SWAT me”. This is an only an allusion to SWAT – but most readers will be left with the impression that SWAT was present at the arrest. And how does Max B. know that the federal government did this? Well, he doesn’t. It’s his opinion that is being reported, not a fact.
Then his Greyzone associates hype it when they call it “political persecution” and others hype it further when they equate it to what Assange has experienced.
Who benefits from all this hype? Max B.
If the US Govt/Deep State wanted to get Max B., they could do a whole lot worse than a charge of ‘simple assault’. It could just as well be the Clintons and Max B.’s father that got the charges mysteriously reinstated.
Just as Hillary’s criticism of Tulsi Gabbard HELPS Tulsi at a critical time, Max B.’s arrest and the hype around it has helped to propel Max B. into a hero of the alt-Left/progressives.
There’s no more clear indication of the HYPE than Caitlin Johnstone’s image of Assange and Max B. side-by-side. IMO raising Max B. to be anywhere near the equal of Assange is offensive to anyone familiar with what Assange has been through.
One might say: “well, that’s on Caitlin”, but Max B. has accepted that depiction (as I noted @136).
If Max B. were really being “persecuted” then it seems that his father could easily use his connection with the Clinton’s to get MSM to shine a bright light on that “persecution”. That would be easy to do in the context of the impeachment inquiry (Trump Administration lashes out at critics!!). But we see no such coverage.
Lastly, we are provided with very little detail and all from the point of view of an angry Max B. and crew. Why were the charges originally dropped? Why were the charges reinstated? Who brought the charges and what exactly was alleged (that should be public record)? We are expected not ask such questions. We are just suppose to feel for Max B and support him. A man who has a spotty track record and a father that is intimately connected with the Deep State.

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Nov 2 2019 17:38 utc | 194

@Posted by: Sasha | Nov 2 2019 17:28 utc | 193

British barrister Ian Grenville Cross appeals for punishment of violent protestors in Hong Kong.

https://twitter.com/ChinaDaily/status/1190282345724690434

Laughter that defines Vox: Espinosa de los Monteros laughs when the gutters of Franco are mentioned

https://twitter.com/RubenSanchezTW/status/1190391219559575553

Posted by: Sasha | Nov 2 2019 17:49 utc | 196

Sorry, but this isn’t a “self-righteous rant,” so feel free to ignore my informational comment.
“Russia, China, and the European Peninsula” is an essay at The Saker’s blog exploring the many multilateral organizations that are knitting Eurasia together and changing the direction of geopolitics and geoeconomics. Lots of excellent maps and clear, non-dogmatic descriptive prose make the essay a joy to read. The author caps his writing with a bit of Chinese philosophy that is becoming the ruling norm:
“‘Moral superiors and inferiors relate to each other like wind and grass: grass must bend when the wind blows over it’.”

Posted by: karlof1 | Nov 2 2019 18:35 utc | 198

AFP piece with something on what the US are up to in north east Syria.
https://news.yahoo.com/us-military-calls-kurdish-forces-n
“Qamishli (Syria) (AFP) – US military vehicles Saturday entered a Kurdish-held area in northeastern Syria and met with officials, AFP correspondents and a local source said, in the second such visit since an announced US pullout from the Turkish border area.”
“A source who took part in one of the Kurdish-US meetings on Saturday said the Americans wanted to return to Qamishli.
“They’re coming to set up a major military post in Qamishli,” the source told AFP.”

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Nov 2 2019 18:48 utc | 200