The MoA Week In Review – Open Thread 2020-14

February 23, 2020

The MoA Week In Review – Open Thread 2020-14

Last week's posts at Moon of Alabama:

February 17 – Syria – Aleppo Is Fully Liberated But The War Will Continue
February 19 – Syria – Turkey's Bluff Is Called – Media Opposition Sources Run By British Intelligence

Related:
Putin keen to cool Turkish hawk down – Pepe Escobar

An hour ago the Russian air force bombed a convoy of Jihadis and Turkish soldiers near Jabal al Zawiyah. Syrian artillery fired on another Turkish convoy. There were Turkish casualties in both incidents. Erdogan can do nothing about it except to order his troops to retreat.

February 18 – Afghan Election Drama Threatens Trump's Deal With The Taliban

February 20 – Sanders Wins Democrats Primary Debate

February 21 – Coronavirus – The Decline Of New Cases Continues – Economic Ripples Begin To Emerge

February 22 – Mike Bloomberg Is A Russian Asset

“One of the best ways to undermine American democracy is for the media to constantly tell Americans that our democratic system is run by a foreign power, that polls [and] debate outcomes are based not on the appeal of our politicians but from the invisible hand of an enemy government,” explained Northeastern University Associate Professor and Quincy Institute Fellow Max Abrahms.

Other issues:

Long reads on the changing global role of the U.S. of A.:

America in Distress: The Challenges of Disadvantageous Change – Chas Freeman
Trump’s Vanished ‘Liberal Middles’ – Alastair Crooke

Netanyahoo asks Al Thani to finance Hamas:

Mossad Chief Visited Doha, Urged Qataris to Continue Gaza Financial Aid – Haaretz

Use as open thread …

Posted by b on February 23, 2020 at 14:19 UTC | Permalink

Comments

Italy imposes draconian rules to stop spread of coronavirus
Welcome to the “authoritarian” club, Italy.
Journalists are not scientists. They are paid, professional propagandist, modern times clerics. They are not interested in publicizing the truth, and a case may be made they don’t even have the intellect to understand it if it knocked the proverbial door in front of them.
–//–
Japan’s COVID-19 response in focus as woman let off cruise ship tests positive
Japanese incompetence, corruption and inefficient bureaucracy at show to the world to see once again.
–//–
Is COVID-19 the dreaded ‘disease X’ World Health Organization experts predicted years ago?
Oh, so now COVID-19 is the “disease X”? Why wasn’t this brought up when it was only ravaging China?
You see, kids, First World countries can’t fail – it’s always the imponderable when something bad happens to them (and the reverse is always true when only a socialist country is affected).
–//–
S. Korea raises alert level to ‘highest’ for COVID-19
South Korea prepares to join Italy in the “authoritarian” club.
As with K-pop – which is basically American pop music ten years ago – the South Korean government is too late to catch up.
–//–
Archaeologists discover possible ancient ‘shrine’ to Rome’s legendary founding father
Cool discovery. Always nice to finish a Sunday clipping with good news.

Posted by: vk | Feb 23 2020 14:40 utc | 1

From the article America in distress by Chas Freeman, that b linked to above:
“The 21st century arrived belatedly – but with a bang – on September 11, 2001, when aircraft repurposed as improvised cruise missiles blew up the World Trade Towers and part of the Pentagon. In the two short decades since the shock and awe of that attack, most of the previous century’s American efforts to bolster peace and prosperity have been undone. Gone are the constraints on the strong bullying the weak provided by international law, multilateral institutions, and plurilateral and bilateral commitments to mutual aid and cooperation. The norms that long moderated international and domestic behavior have been largely erased. Incivility is now ubiquitous.
Political systems everywhere have been overtaken by socioeconomic and technological change. There is no sign they are catching up. In the United States and other democracies,….”
Frankly, the sentences quoted above, from the beginning of the article, manage to pack in several falsehoods, red herrings, and dubious contentions into such a few words. So what does one gain from reading the article? But let’s take a closer look at the quote above:
“The 21st century arrived belatedly ….”
= The idea that it was only when the 9/11 false flag attacks happened that the 21st century began is American narcissism.
“When aircraft … blew up the World Trade Towers and part of the Pentagon.”
= Actually, that’s not what happened. That is the absurd officially ordained lie about what happened. The entire World Trade Center complex was destroyed by demolition. as was the naval accounting office in the Pentagon.
” … most of the previous century’s American efforts to bolster peace and prosperity have been undone.”
= complete and utter nonsense. Not only did not happen, but precisely the opposite was attempted. America’s efforts ‘bolstered’ war and poverty around the planet.
“Gone are the constraints on the strong bullying the weak provided by international law,….”
= the “constraints” didn’t happen, a complete fantasy. The strong = including most prominently the US relentlessly “bullied” the weak for the “previous century”.
And skipping other absurdities, the final words quoted “In the United States and other democracies,….”
is dubious unless the word democracy is thus perverted into a synonym for modern variations on the theme of oligarchic and other forms of undemocratic political systems. A democracy is a jurisdiction in which “the many”, the general public, exercise effective sovereignty: A rare accomplishment.
To me the article is a long-winded exposition based on and riddled with false premises and naive conventions. To the extent that it is imbibed uncritically, it is just another nail pounded into the coffin wherein realism and truth have been interred.
A little later in the article are these ironic words: “American media and public discourse are dominated by bogus narratives….” Yes, indeed.

Posted by: Robert Snefjella | Feb 23 2020 14:59 utc | 2

At this stage America should be declared a terrorist nation.
https://www.veteranstoday.com/2020/02/23/biogenetic-weapon-catastrophe-intel-sources-virus-spread-by-cia-with-nano-uav-as-cyber-dragonfleye/
Take the time to read all of this !

Posted by: Mark2 | Feb 23 2020 14:59 utc | 3

@ vk 1
if you are in U.S., CDC: Closures of schools and businesses are coming to a community near you
In London, Thousands marched for Julian Assange and not a whisper of it to be found in spineless western MSM.
We commenters here, in support of b, are all citizen journalists.
‘First they came for Julian, next for you’: Waters, Westwood join massive London rally against Assange extradition (PHOTOS)

Thousands have protested near the British Parliament against WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange’s looming extradition to the US ahead of the hearing next week.
Demonstrators marched from Australia House to Parliament Square near the Palace of Westminster, where both houses of Parliament are located.
Chanting: “There’s only one decision – no extradition!” and “Free Julian Assange!” the demonstrators demanded the WikiLeaks co-founder not be handed over to the US. They say Assange was doing journalistic work and his prosecution is unlawful.[.]

I am wishing the learned judge will take into account Trump’s offer of pardon. When first revealed this week by Assange’s Attorney, QC, then Congressman Dana Rohrabacher said not true I offered a presidential pardon on my own and passed it on to Gen. Kelley”.
No kidding!?
BUT in 2017 the WSJ wrote about the pardon offer

Posted by: Likklemore | Feb 23 2020 15:25 utc | 4

The more I think about the Bernie Sanders Presidency–and in my view he will be the next President–the more I feel he is the destruction of the true left(not the fake left that right wingers are calling their own). He will suck the life out of a possible leftist movement in this country.

Posted by: SharonM | Feb 23 2020 15:31 utc | 5

Sharon@ – 4. As I said elsewhere. If Bernie wins we will have to bomb ourselves back to the stone age.

Posted by: jef | Feb 23 2020 15:35 utc | 6

CoV-19 being an engineered bio-weapon was discussed previously. Jen and others argued not, I agree.
in no order, diff. level, type:
1. the virus very much resembles other corona viruses with bat / avian origins as hosts. I am not a virologist or even a Dr. Med. which qualification is not much of a recommendation. My take is thus based on biological knowledge, and perusing some of the scientific literature (link 2 is a portal into Sci-Hub.) A novel version of SARS and MERS (which describe effect on humans and not the infecting organism, which makes the discussion very confused..), is not weird or exceptional, and now that it’s here, can be seen as ‘right on, expected.’
2. the bio-weapon discourse is often based on the presumed aim of ‘attacking, affecting specific races / ethnic groups’ i.e. social categories which cannot be defined by ‘hard’ science, as no definition of race exists, not even as correlative shades of this or that, and while one might argue about that till the cows come home, a definition that relates to susceptibility to viruses is totally off the charts, crazy.
3. as CoV-19 has for now has mostly affected China, the perps one presumes => the USA or a lame ‘ally’, not the Chinese themselves or Russia. Imho the USA has the capacity to do far more damage to China very efficiently thru ‘bio’ means, i.e. outside of open aggro thru economic sanctions, destructive moves like bombing, etc. (Ok weird plots might exist.. hmm..)
4. as b writes, globalization will take a big hit. We will soon see quite severe impacts on the US. E.g. meds made in China, other products made in China, students and others not coming with dollaris, etc. etc.
wiki not too bad?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus
The portal to sci-hub that works for me
http://libgen.bban.top/s/coronavirus

Posted by: Noirette | Feb 23 2020 15:36 utc | 7

SharonM @4 [Bernie] … will suck the life out of a possible leftist movement in this country.
Just like Obama, the faux-populist huckster.
<> <> <> <> <> <>
IMO Bernie will not be the nominee. The Democratic Party will throw sheepdog Bernie and his supporters a few bones (like VP pick), then Bernie will declare victory and support whomever is the nominee (as he’s always said he would).
Bloomberg’s already buying super-delegates.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Feb 23 2020 15:45 utc | 8

Another strong nail in the coffin cover of the official version of the “investigation” of the MH-17 crash in Ukraine in 2014.
However, liars will bring this six-year farce to the end. Soon the so-called “court” will take place, and we will see another funny performance of the clowns (aka “investigators”).

Posted by: alaff | Feb 23 2020 15:49 utc | 9

@3 Likklemore
UK minister who approved Trump’s request to extradite Assange spoke at secretive US conferences with people calling for him to be “neutralized”
REVEALED: Chief magistrate in Assange case received financial benefits from secretive partner organisations of UK Foreign Office

Posted by: TJ | Feb 23 2020 15:50 utc | 10

@7 Jackrabbit
But Bernie is not that much of a threat to the establishment. His whole thing is updating domestic policy, while he continues U.S. hegemony around the world. The most powerful force in the U.S. is the MIC, and Bernie is all in. In my view, of course;)

Posted by: SharonM | Feb 23 2020 15:56 utc | 11

@5 jef
Could you make this clearer for me: “As I said elsewhere. If Bernie wins we will have to bomb ourselves back to the stone age.” I’m not sure I understand it?

Posted by: SharonM | Feb 23 2020 16:01 utc | 12

Every time I allow some optimism to grip me concerning Bernie’s campaign, he throws another sucker punch promoting the dangerous and dumbass Russia narrative. I’ll vote Tulsi in March if she’s still in the race; making that tiny statement is more important to me than the also tiny vote rewarding someone for being so wrong about a most important issue.
I went back to a Caitlin Johnstone piece from exactly a year ago talking about this. She predicted accurately that the smears would then be used against him also:
“I find myself unable to join in the jubilations over Bernie’s candidacy because of what I’ve learned and seen since the last election. Sanders not only refused to provide any pushback whatsoever against the DNC’s blatant subversion of the will of the people, but he actively fanned the flames of the establishment Russia hysteria which the Democratic Party used to completely kill the narrative about primary rigging. Contrary to the belief of some Bernie supporters I’ve spoken to, Sanders didn’t just pay lip service to some Russian interference once or twice and then change the subject back to healthcare and income inequality: he has gone full Rachel Maddow promoting the Russian collusion narrative many, many times. As we discussed recently, this baseless Russia hysteria that he has sold to American progressives will be used to attack him throughout the primary, and it will be partly his fault for promoting that narrative.”
“While Bernie might not start any new hot wars or engage in the kind of obscene regime change interventionism we’re seeing from Trump in Venezuela, under a President Sanders we can expect to see a continued escalation of the world-threatening cold war against Russia, continued starvation sanctions against nations which fail to comply with the demands of the US empire, continued military expansionism around the world, and very little pushback against the depraved agendas of military and intelligence agencies. We can expect to see him play right along with the establishment narrative if the political/media class decides that Assad is gassing civilians and needs a dose of Tomahawk missiles, and we can probably expect him to facilitate the persecution of Julian Assange as well.”

Posted by: Kabobyak | Feb 23 2020 16:10 utc | 13

Here is a story I haven’t seen anyplace besides PressTV:

The Pentagon said on Friday 110 service members have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury following the Iran strike on January 8. The figure is higher than the last toll that was announced on February 10.

Note the reference to Friday. That is when stories to be buried are released. The perpetual electoral circus does an excellent job of distraction, for only a few billion dollars a year.

Posted by: Trailer Trash | Feb 23 2020 16:13 utc | 14

>He will suck the life out of a possible leftist movement in this country.
>Posted by: SharonM | Feb 23 2020 15:31 utc | 4
That is exactly what happened with Oblamblam. No one to the left of Attila the Hun was “allowed” to criticize him. “All for One” took on a new meaning as millions of families were sacrificed to save one bunch of banksters. Ole Bernie will be the perfect sweetener to get us peons to swallow the deadly dose of medicine that will be required by the next soon-to-erupt financial panic.

Posted by: Trailer Trash | Feb 23 2020 16:29 utc | 15

For the left, it’s easy to be skeptical of Bernie Sanders. He has and does act as a sheepdog for Democrats to swoop centrist progressives into the Democrats’ debauched Money-Power tent. We all know the monopoly two-party systems in the States is one of two-sides of the same coin; controlled opposition.
But if folks believe what they say about a variety of existential problems facing life on this planet, and that time is of the essence, then the idea of waiting for ‘revolution’ or conducting leftist purity tests for candidates to prove their Peace, Love and Understanding, is to cut off the nose to spite the face.
The Green Party, to which I belong, polls about 1% and has no traction whatsoever in the political landscape of the country in 2020. If one thinks our problems are existential and time-sensitive, then what alternative is there but to place one’s hope in a lifelong mensch who has held true to his beliefs while the Democrats, under Clinton/Schumer/Pelosi/Obama leadership has relegated the Party to a vassal of greed, and are nothing short of co-conspirators in great crimes against humanity.
I get all the purity arguments, and sheep-herding skepticism. But in the United States of America, awash in devious propaganda, jingoist extremism, and a population of the dazed and confused, Bernie Sanders is a cry in the wilderness for some sense of decency and he deserves support. All war is class war, and the working class is on its way to annihilation. It’s Sanders or Bust.

Posted by: gottlieb | Feb 23 2020 16:30 utc | 16

Robert Snefjella @2
Yes. Disappointing article. Freeman is full of angst, but limits himself to listing symptoms.

Posted by: Castellio | Feb 23 2020 16:32 utc | 17

IMO Bernie will not be the nominee. Jack Rabbit at 7.
Right on. If he finally is hoisted to that position, contrary to all expectations, resisting all the kill-him Dem moves (which are costing the Dems. bigly) it will be because the fix is in, giving Trump a second term.
But Bernie is not that much of a threat to the establishment Sharon M at 11.
No threat at all.

Posted by: Noirette | Feb 23 2020 16:34 utc | 18

TJ @ 9
Thank you. Expect some meaty revelations during Extradition proceedings tomorrow 24th. Ecuador was recording ALL visitors conversations with Assange

Assange to Testify on Being Recorded in Embassy in London
1 Dec.2019
Recordings have emerged of private conversations that Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, had while living in the Ecuadorean Embassy. He and a Spanish prosecutor blame the United States.[.]

These recordings should be subpoenaed.

Posted by: Likklemore | Feb 23 2020 16:36 utc | 19

Here’s Bernie’s reaction to his briefing by U.S. intelligence officials about Russian attempts to interfere in the 2020 elections:
“The ugly thing that they are doing, and I’ve seen some of their tweets and stuff, is they try to divide us up. That’s what they did in 2016.”
Sanders described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “thug” in a statement on Friday, emphasizing that he stands “firmly against” Russian interference efforts.
“Unlike Donald Trump, I do not consider Vladimir Putin a good friend. He is an autocratic thug who is attempting to destroy democracy and crush dissent in Russia,” Sanders said. “Let’s be clear, the Russians want to undermine American democracy by dividing us up and, unlike the current president, I stand firmly against their efforts, and any other foreign power that wants to interfere in our election.”
If he gets elected, Bernie will get along great with the Deep State, he’s already spouting their propaganda.

Posted by: Trisha | Feb 23 2020 16:38 utc | 20

Improved Jackrabbit:
Bernie Loses Another Primary
Every Primary in which Bernie fails to get a super-majority of delegates makes a brokered convention more likely.
Sheeple aren’t born, they’re made.
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Feb 23 2020 4:07 utc | 146
——
Jackrabbit is very wise, a better politician convinces voters to radically new policies instantly. He or she would exceed polling numbers not by 7-8% but by 20%. And so on. Utterly convinced, I made a call to Mars. They told me that they do not have anyone with those specs, advised me to try Alpha Centauri. The connection takes time, so I will post you later about results.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Feb 23 2020 16:51 utc | 21

Two decades ago I knew people in my state’s Green Party and Dummycrat Party. The funny thing was, it was the same people in both parties! In my view, the hapless Greens were organized to be sheepdogs, but they have been replaced by Bernie.

Posted by: Trailer Trash | Feb 23 2020 16:58 utc | 22

gottlieb @15: It’s Sanders or Bust.
Comments like this are disingenuous, Democracy Works! bullcrap that supports the establishment while pretending to be against it.
<> <> <> <> <>
Still no answer to my question:

Why can’t we have independent Movements AND support Bernie?

The best way around the two-party lock on politics is to support strong independent, long-lasting Movements.
We are allowed to have Movements for women, minorities, the environment, etc. but not for economic justice and democracy. The media and political parties discourage it. We know they work for the power elite, not for the people.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Feb 23 2020 17:00 utc | 23

Trisha @ 10
Perhaps if Bernie was not the fake servant of the MIC that he is (rather than a socialist) he would have drawn attention to the USA’s meddling in Russia’s elections. Because…it seems that, besides being a lie, the whole ‘Russia did it’ narrative may well have been a case of ‘the pot calling the kettle black’, for a new report out of Russia exhaustively lists the ways in which the American state and oligarch and CIA funded NGO’s have attempted to interfere in Russian elections…
https://richardhennerley.com/2019/10/27/american-interference-in-russian-elections/

Posted by: Richard | Feb 23 2020 17:01 utc | 24

lol…lmaorotf.
Not to be irreverent considering it’s Sunday but…
Just read @RT Flat-Earther ‘Mad’ Mike Hughes killed in crash-landing after homemade rocket launch (VIDEO)
Well, I looked at the tweet/video cited and saw a comment:
“The Earth is still round. Mad Mike Hughes is flat. RIP.”
https://twitter.com/justindchapman/status/1231336002175717376
X-
Definition of lmaorotf
ps. Are You-Circe satisfied now?
btw, I still haven’t gotten-the-hang-of-it with the HTML Tags but so far,so good.
pss…..lol

Posted by: Veritas X- | Feb 23 2020 17:04 utc | 25

@11 SharonM
As many others have pointed out, the outlaw US empire has been sanctioning, regime changing, overthrowing, assassinating, and “bombing back to the stone age” any country that elects a leader who initiates socialist policies that inhibits “American interests” which means the ability to benefit in some way. Socialism is another way of saying a government “for the people” when all America stands for is government “for the rich”.
If we have gone to so much trouble, as Bill Blum called it in his book “Killing Hope” over the last 75+ years to 50+ countries, why would we let it happen here?

Posted by: jef | Feb 23 2020 17:07 utc | 26

Improved Piotr:
Jackrabbit is very wise … yada yada yada.
<> <> <> <> <>
It’s easy to wise-up when given recent history: “Change You Can Believe In” faux populist huckster Obama and 2016 sheepdog Sanders.
Oh, and lets not forget the faux populist on the right: “America First”, “drain the swamp” showman Trump.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Feb 23 2020 17:09 utc | 27

lol…lmaorotf.
re: @ 24
X-
Another great comment….
“Rest in pieces.”
https://twitter.com/KellyScaletta/status/1231417768886620162

Posted by: Veritas X- | Feb 23 2020 17:14 utc | 28

Submitted for comment — without further comment.
Buttigieg Campaign Queries Nevada Results in Letter to State Party

Posted by: jalp | Feb 23 2020 17:38 utc | 29

The capitalist establishment has nothing better to do with its cash than build socialist movements so that they can then spend $billions trying to defeat those movements and then “suck the life out of them”.
Or that’s what some expect you to believe.

Posted by: William Gruff | Feb 23 2020 17:39 utc | 30

I’m glad to have been wrong – so far – it seems – about Russia backing off when the Turkish forces and proxies went on the attack. It seems that after the initial Turkish advance, Russia entered the battle and drove the attackers back. Erdogan seems to have gotten the message that Russia wasn’t going to abandon Syria to his tenderness. Turkey seems to be sending mixed messages now; continuing bluster and talk of talking. Turkey also seems to be bringing in a lot more weaponry, as if preparing to escalate. Is Russia ready for this? It will be hard for Russia to bring anything in if Turkey shuts down the Bosphorus and the US shuts down the eastern skies of Syria I think.

Posted by: paul | Feb 23 2020 17:55 utc | 31

@William Gruff #29
What are you thoughts about Sanders’ comments quoted in Trisha’s comment #19?

Posted by: S | Feb 23 2020 17:56 utc | 32

Paul, if Turkey shuts down the straits, it will be tantamount to a declaration of war. Would Erdoğan want that? Would NATO want that? It would quickly lead to WWIII.

Posted by: Blue Dotterel | Feb 23 2020 18:06 utc | 33

The Dems Party are in chaos.
Biden’s support in South Carolina that he needs to stay relevant is dropping faster than a blink was leading by 30 points now just by 5.

The poll, which was finished before Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) won the Nevada caucuses, revealed that Biden’s support has fallen by double-digits and that he leads the progressive senator by just 5 points. Biden, who once led the field by nearly 30 points, earned 28 percent support among Democratic voters and independents who plan to vote in the primary.

Bernie: His age, heart attack and the Russia smear will be tweeted wall-to-wall.
Disappointing for me to find that Bernie is in the pocket of USMIC.
He confirmed being against disastrous wars but is ready to do pre-emptive strikes against Iran, North Korea and will ‘Absolutely use military force,’
“Yeah, we have the best military in the world.” [watch CBS 60 Minutes]
Knock me over with a feather if Bernie is allowed the nomination.
Here comes mini-Mike in the brokered convention.

Posted by: Likklemore | Feb 23 2020 18:14 utc | 34

gottlieb @ 15 said in part;”We all know the monopoly two-party systems in the States is one of two-sides of the same coin; controlled opposition.”
“But if folks believe what they say about a variety of existential problems facing life on this planet, and that time is of the essence, then the idea of waiting for ‘revolution’ or conducting leftist purity tests for candidates to prove their Peace, Love and Understanding, is to cut off the nose to spite the face.”
Absolutely right on point!
Perhaps the folks here daily who consistently trash Bernie, can enlighten us misguided fools as to what “movement” or candidate we should prefer.
And be specific please, no generic solutions.

Posted by: ben | Feb 23 2020 18:29 utc | 35

Americans have ended up without honor, without ethics or even common human decency.. They can not be helped.. And it seems they are already in control.
How can you help people who are already lost and beyond redemption? They need to care for themselves and then others. Dont even know what they care about.. Kind of like the zoo where the monkeys are running amock. And this is what capitalism brings you when there are no restrictions or over sight to keep people safe from predators.

Posted by: Igor Bundy | Feb 23 2020 18:32 utc | 36

P.S. Non-participation is capitulation to the elites,period..

Posted by: ben | Feb 23 2020 18:33 utc | 37

@ 35: YEP!!

Posted by: ben | Feb 23 2020 18:34 utc | 38

thanks b..
the article by chas freeman was interesting.. while i agree with @ 2 Robert Snefjella in his basic comment of chas being a byproduct of american narcissism, i thought his comments on usa involvement in various countries fairly insightful and bang on.. no one is ever going to get a perfect article and while it has many obvious flaws, there is some value in it too..
@ 31 s… i’m not wg, but the problem with the quote @19 from trisha is that the bernie bots don’t seem to want to either discuss that, or honestly consider it… it is almost like a certain part of the usa population loves cheer leading while ignoring the critical details that would turn them off of the same cheer-leading… so they stick with the cheer-leading and forget about anything that interferes in that.. i just don’t see the usa getting out of the hole it is in with some great saviour politician to fix all the wrongs that plague the usa at present… there is no quick fix, or a fix that comes by every 4 years that you have a chance to vote for.. instead the usa is on a downward trajectory that is inescapable.. i am pouring sand on this dream of american democracy as likely to ” save ” america from itself… they may as well believe in a 2nd coming – it is much the same illusionary thinking that drives both american religious fundamentalism and belief that a vote every 4 years is going to bring on some significant change.. it ain’t happening..

Posted by: james | Feb 23 2020 18:35 utc | 39

thanks also for the update on idlib.. sounds like russia ain’t backing down as paul notes @30..

Posted by: james | Feb 23 2020 18:39 utc | 40

William Gruff @29:

… establishment has nothing better to do with its cash than build socialist movements so that they can then spend $billions trying to defeat those movements …”.

Just the cost of doing business, Gruff.
If they didn’t fear the people, they wouldn’t have passed citizens united. They wouldn’t ply us with propaganda. They wouldn’t have taken down Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party Movement. They wouldn’t ignore the Yellow Vests and send provocateurs to disrupt protests.
From the establishment’s POV, the cost of NOT having full control is much much greater than the cost of the political entertainment they provide for us.
FFS, they spend nearly a trillion dollars a year on the US military and intelligence agencies.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Feb 23 2020 18:49 utc | 41

Good post @ 38 james; so, I’d be interested in your solution.
IMO, although I see your point, doing nothing is total and complete capitulation to the forces that own the empire’s attempts at global hegemony…

Posted by: ben | Feb 23 2020 18:50 utc | 42

@ Likklemore | Feb 23 2020 18:14 utc | 33
“Biden’s support in South Carolina that he needs to stay relevant is dropping faster than a blink was leading by 30 points now just by 5”
I’ve always doubted that Biden would do as well as he thought with black voters. S Carolina will be interesting because it is an open primary and the republican primary was cancelled as there was no challenger to Trump. Many republicans will be voting for Bernie or Warren in the dem primary.
b4real

Posted by: b4real | Feb 23 2020 18:51 utc | 43

@38 James
‘i am pouring sand on this dream of american democracy as likely to ” save ” america from itself… ”
I concur kind sir, and you would be wise to start lobbying your government for a wall on your southern border. 🙂
b4real

Posted by: b4real | Feb 23 2020 18:56 utc | 44

@Jackrabbit
And your opinion yesterday was that Sanders had effectively lost Nevada because he didn’t win by a large enough margin. He’s won by at least 26 points.
So maybe you should just shut up for a while.

Posted by: Benjamin | Feb 23 2020 18:57 utc | 45

S @31: “What are you thoughts about Sanders’ comments…”
My thoughts are that Sanders is an idiot. He is just as brainwashed as most other middle class Americans. He says “I’ve seen some of their tweets and stuff…” and like many Americans he probably fully believes that he has seen such “stuff”, though if asked to describe an example, precisely like most Americans, he will not be able to. Instead what he has seen is articles in the “newspapers of record” with sensationalist headlines. Articles that might include a blurry screen capture of a social media post that the fine print identifies as maybe possibly being the work of someone who somebody else said could be Russian, but they’re not sure. Of course, as a typical average intellect American he doesn’t have the time, patience, or attention span to read beyond the second paragraph of the article and get down to the fine-print disclaimer territory where the authors cover their asses by admitting that it is all just supposition. Like most Americans, Sanders figures that if there is something important further down the page then someone else will read it and bring it to his attention.
Sanders therefore entirely believes he has seen concrete evidence of hardcore election meddling by the Russian government, and since he has never seen anything of the sort his imagination fills in the blanks. This, by the way, is the case for most Americans. It is why I frequently point out that many American’s are deeply delusional. They are sure that they have seen evidence for the Russians shooting down MH-17. They are sure that they have seen evidence for the Russians invading eastern Ukraine. They are sure that they have seen evidence for the Syrian government massacring civilians. They are sure that they have seen evidence for Trump colluding with the Russians. They are sure that they have seen evidence for Julian Assange colluding with Trump. They are sure of all of these things while never once having ever seen any evidence of them. Sanders is no different from a typical American in this regard. He is just as much immersed in nonsense and delusion as is everyone who surrounds him in DC.
It doesn’t matter than Sanders is a delusional idiot because he is the delusional idiot that a real movement for change has coalesced around. It is the movement that is important, not the delusion idiot.

Posted by: William Gruff | Feb 23 2020 19:02 utc | 46

paul @ 30
ever heard of the Kalibr missiles hitting IS in Syria from Caspian Sea, 1,000 miles away? October 2015. the day it is said the nice fellows Pentagon had a jaw-dropping event.

Posted by: Likklemore | Feb 23 2020 19:04 utc | 47

In case you wanna watch Bernie Sanders HOUSTON RALLY live.
https://youtu.be/BxSVrTl4gjc

Posted by: Circe | Feb 23 2020 19:09 utc | 48

Benjamin @ 44:
The only number that matters is the delegate count. Cite that instead.
Bernie needs a majority of delegates going into the convention, or it will be Hillary or some other monstrosity, Caucus and primary votes simply do not matter.

Posted by: corvo | Feb 23 2020 19:10 utc | 49

ben @36: Non-participation is capitulation
When you’re playing a shell game, the only winning move is to leave the game.
<> <> <> <> <>
The biggest problem with participation is that people are led to believe that that is all they need to do. The establishment uses hopium to undermine Movements.
No one is stopping you from supporting Bernie, but ask yourself:

> If Bernie is the ‘real deal’ then how do you explain his support for Hillary in 2016?
> If Bernie is the ‘real deal’ then why does he insist that he’ll support the Democratic nominee – even if it is billionaire Bloomberg?
> And why does the establishment fear independent Movements but allow Bernie to run?

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Feb 23 2020 19:11 utc | 50

Benjamin @44 [But Sanders] …won by at least 26 points.
You’re cherry-picking what I said.
Bernie has to win a majority of delegates or there’s a “brokered convention”.
A “brokered convention” would almost certainly result in the nomination of an establishment candidate.
So Bernie effectively LOSES, even when he gets the the most votes. Because he’s not competing against other individual candidates but the Party as a whole.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Feb 23 2020 19:17 utc | 51

WG @ 45 said;”It doesn’t matter than Sanders is a delusional idiot because he is the delusional idiot that a real movement for change has coalesced around. It is the movement that is important, not the delusion idiot.”
Yes, but, in a nation of “delusional idiots” he is absolutely the best one running against the “delusional idiot in chief”
“it’s the movement baby”…

Posted by: ben | Feb 23 2020 19:18 utc | 52

Richard @ 23
What I find particularly ironic about Bernie’s complaints about Russian “interference” in U.S. elections is that he has basically nothing to say about substantive interference – including outright election fraud – by U.S. interests in his primary race, either in 2016 or currently.

Posted by: Trisha | Feb 23 2020 19:23 utc | 53

ben @51
Agreed, but with the additional point that supporting Sanders’s campaign now is not supporting the lesser evil. A Sanders victory will put the establishment on their back foot far more than the Trump victory did.

Posted by: William Gruff | Feb 23 2020 19:24 utc | 54

“Bernie is not that much of a threat to the establishment. His whole thing is updating domestic policy…”
You miss the point in a spectacular manner- the reason why ‘domestic policy’ needs updating-bringing into line with the social security, medicare etc policies of most of the ‘developed’ (hateful term!) world -is that the MIC was founded on the fiscal basis of spending on arms what was saved from spending on welfare. Guns vs Butter. And part of the deal-which essentially was forged in the 1946 Congress and Truman Presidency- was to smash the institutions which workers could employ to force reform on government. Taft Hartley and the Cold War go together-just as ‘anti Americanism’ was used to purge Unions of their militants.
The point is that, if Sanders is challenging the pattern of domestic expenditures which underpins the current system then he is making a real challenge-far more important than any foreign policy pronouncements he makes- because without a working class intimidated by poverty and state violence into allowing its members to be tortured by a barbaric and cannibalistic Health Industry/Insurance racket, to take one example, the MIC will be in danger of crumbling.
Anyone who compares the Obama policies-all wind and Wall St- with Sanders’ platform is a fool: there is an immense difference between the challenge that Sanders represents and the challenge that Obama headed off. ID politics addicts are, of course, impervious to this, still regarding Obama as part of the “left” because his father was an African working for the IMF- nothing can be done for anyone who, after all that has passed, cannot see that.
Finally, another word about “sheepdogs”: Bernie in 2016 did not, on balance, provide Clinton with any new supporters. On the contrary: many long time ‘regular’ Democrats were so appalled by the cheating of Bernie that they refused to vote for her. Many others actually voted for Trump on protest.
As to 2020 anyone who believes that Bernie will be in a position to deliver his supporters to the candidate who the SuperDelegates choose is as daft as the DNC. If Bernie is, once again, cheated, it will cripple the Democratic Party and could lead to a Third Party movement big enough to change the current duopoly.

Posted by: bevin | Feb 23 2020 19:30 utc | 55

@ben #s 36, 41:
1) Our very participation is used against us at every turn.
2) Withholding consent requires non-participation at some point.
3) Not everyone who can see the problem automatically has a canned solution to the whole mess.
4) Not everyone who can formulate solutions to the problem(s) can even see the problem(s).

Posted by: Dr Wellington Yueh | Feb 23 2020 19:32 utc | 56

William Gruff @45 … a real movement for change has coalesced around [Sanders]
ben @51: “it’s the movement baby”…
Sadly, as soon as Sander’s campaign is defeated, his faux Movement is as well. Because it’s not independent.
That’s what sheepdogging is all about – herding the sheep into the Party folds.
The Democratic Party will make some concession to Sanders that Sanders will use to declare victory and then urge his deluded followers to vote for the Democratic Party nominee – an establishment asshat like Bloomberg, Biden, or Hillary.
No independent Movement would endorse such candidates.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Feb 23 2020 19:32 utc | 57

“What I find particularly ironic about Bernie’s complaints about Russian “interference” in U.S. elections is that he has basically nothing to say about substantive interference – including outright election fraud – by U.S. interests in his primary race, either in 2016 or currently.”
Does he really need to,Trisha@52 ?
Surely everyone knows. He gains nothing by complaining and much by focusing on the real issues: poverty, insecurity, inequality and the systematic transfer of working class assets (homes, savings etc) into profits for billionaires.

Posted by: bevin | Feb 23 2020 19:36 utc | 58

>It is the movement that is important, not the delusion idiot.
>Posted by: William Gruff | Feb 23 2020 19:02 utc | 45
Is there even one instance of Bernie’s people doing anything more than registering voters and driving them to the polls? How about some real direct action, like food and shelter for hundreds of thousands living on the street or in their cars? They could start with something real simple and low cost, like cleaning up trash around homeless camps.

Posted by: Trailer Trash | Feb 23 2020 19:37 utc | 59

The counting seems to be frozen — possibly due in part to the Buttigieg complaint I posted a link about earlier — but at the moment the end results I’m seeing in terms of national convention delegates is 10 for Sanders, none for anybody else. I think I saw earlier an estimate by somebody (don’t remember who) that Sanders would wind up with 20 of the 36 “pledged” delegates versus 8 each for Biden and Buttigieg. If that happened, then he would have beaten the rest of the field — at least until the 12 “unpledged” delegates (read: superdelegates) are a factor.
Here’s another estimate, partial but beyond the 10-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 etc split.
TheGreenPapers.com on the Nevada Democratic Caucus
This says 13 for Sanders, 5 for Biden, 3 for Buttigieg, and 15 more “available” = to be allocated.

Posted by: jalp | Feb 23 2020 19:39 utc | 60

Bernie has to win a majority of delegates or there’s a “brokered convention”.
Unless they change the rules again before the convention. Bernie winning, no matter his past MIC statements, will be like throwing a hand grenade in the middle of the system. The media will give him the Trump treatment.
It is already starting with the Russian narrative. It is an act of desperation, a fig leaf for the authorities to do what they feel they must. Bloomberg may well suck enough delegates to create a brokered convention. Mission accomplished.
At that point the movement must move on and Bernie must select its future leaders from its youth or it was all a dog and pony show from the get go.

Posted by: dltravers | Feb 23 2020 19:40 utc | 61

“A “brokered convention” would almost certainly result in the nomination of an establishment candidate.”
That is by no means certain-where the bulk of elected delegates is clearly in favour of one candidate it could be suicidal, politically, for superdelegates to thwart the will of their own constituents. In some cases they will simply disappear rather than commit themselves, in many others they will attempt to put themselves at the head of the insurgency by coming out for Sanders.
You have to bear in mind that these superdelegates are not principled ideologues but opportunistic politicians looking for power, influence and support. And most of them have been taken for granted, for years, by the Clintons, Bidens etc of this world. When they see the chance they will stab their bosses in the back and say that they just saw the light.

Posted by: bevin | Feb 23 2020 19:46 utc | 62

Trisha @ 52 – Bullseye.

Posted by: spudski | Feb 23 2020 19:50 utc | 63

bevin @54:
Bernie in 2016 did not, on balance, provide Clinton with any new supporters.
Hillary didn’t just snub Bernie, she also took the black vote for granted, called whites “deplorables”, and wouldn’t campaign in the three states that SHE KNEW would decide the election.
No seasoned politician that really wanted to win would have done these things. Any savvy political observer can see that it is likely that the Deep State wanted nationalist Trump – who was mysteriously the only populist in a field of 19 Republican candidates – to win.
Importantly, Trump was also the foil for Russiagate – which initiated a new McCarthyism. Trump mysteriously hired Manafort as campaign manager despite his lack of recent US experience. He also pleaded with Putin to “release the emails” from Hillary’s server despite knowing that Hillary’s emails contained highly classified material (why would an “America First” candidate abet a crime that could compromise national security?).
=
If Bernie is, once again, cheated, it will cripple the Democratic Party
The Democratic Party will make some concession(s) that Bernie can use to declare his Movement successful.
Example: If Tulsi is chosen as VP, Bernie supporters will be ecstatic.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Feb 23 2020 19:52 utc | 64

>At that point the movement must move on and Bernie must
>select its future leaders from its youth or it was all
>a dog and pony show from the get go.
>Posted by: dltravers | Feb 23 2020 19:40 utc | 60
I’ve seen this movie before and I’ve had personal experience with the actors. At the end of the electoral circus the more competent people will be hired by congressional offices, lobby shops, stink tanks, etc. All the energy and activity will be dissipated throughout the established grant-junkie NGOs funded by the foundations created by the wealthy to train the next generation of establishment elite.
The elite are self-selecting. They would sooner bring down the entire edifice than allow a real reformer to move into the White House.

Posted by: Trailer Trash | Feb 23 2020 19:55 utc | 65

The official US propaganda site has taken a break from Russiaphobic ranting to tell us:
“Turkey’s Claim of Killing 76 Syrian Troops Has Scant Evidence”
Feb 5
https://www.polygraph.info/a/turkey-claims-it-killed-76-syrian-soldiers-russia-denies/30419032.html

Posted by: Keith McClary | Feb 23 2020 19:56 utc | 66

And in other news: independent confirmation on what Bannon said regarding Trump impact on the federal judiciary: LA Times article on 9th district flipping

Trump has now named 10 judges to the 9th Circuit — more than one-third of its active judges — compared with seven appointed by President Obama over eight years.
…
Democratic appointees still make up the majority of active judges — 16 to 13. But the court also has judges on “senior status” who continue to sit on panels that decide cases. Senior status rank gives judges more flexibility but allows them to continue to work, even full time.
Of the senior judges who will be deciding cases on “merits” panels — reading briefs and issuing rulings — 10 are Republicans and only three are Democratic appointees, Smith said.
…
The 9th Circuit court has been dominated by Democratic appointees for decades. In 1978, a federal law created 10 new judgeships on the court, allowing President Carter to fill them all. The liberal Carter appointees were followed by judges named by three Republican presidents and two Democrats.
Clinton’s and Obama’s appointees were not uniformly liberal, however, and the 9th Circuit has been growing more moderate. One study, examining the years 2010 to 2015, found that the 9th Circuit was the third most reversed by the Supreme Court, following the Ohio-based 6th and Georgia-based 11th circuits.
…
Trump’s rapid transformation of the circuit courts — three others went from a majority of active judges appointed by Democrats to Republican majorities — was accomplished with the support of Senate Republicans.
Nominations of appellate judges may no longer be blocked by filibuster, and Republican Senate leaders have declined under Trump to follow the practice of allowing an appointee’s home-state senators to veto the president’s choice.
“Trump has set all records for the number of appellate appointees,” said University of Richmond law Professor Carl Tobias.

Posted by: c1ue | Feb 23 2020 20:03 utc | 67

They could start with something real simple and low cost, like cleaning up trash around homeless camps.” –Trailer Trash @58
Some do. We’ve certainly seen a growth in such direct local action since 2015. But as I have pointed out many times, “the movement” is, more than anything else, a learning process. People don’t join the movement and then suddenly overnight understand everything they need to know to fight the corporate elites. Indeed, many are still grappling with the idea that they have to fight the elites at all. That they are grappling with that idea, though, is a sea change in and of itself.

Posted by: William Gruff | Feb 23 2020 20:06 utc | 68

Re: Bernie in Nevada
HRC edged out Bernie in 2016; it doesn’t look like Bernie is going to exceed his caucus vote totals from then.
The point being: if the DNCC objective is to keep Bernie out – the ongoing watering down of the Sanders support base into a wide field of diversity vote getters who then combine into a supermajority via a brokered convention constitutes a very real threat.
And then there’s Trump: he’s been getting more caucus votes as an incumbent than at least the 3 previous Presidents. Doesn’t look like his base is softening at all…

Posted by: c1ue | Feb 23 2020 20:21 utc | 69

William Gruff @67:
More to the point, Bernie’s interest in building a movement declined to zero after the 2016 election. He had four years to build or participate in the building of a movement; he squandered most of it.

Posted by: corvo | Feb 23 2020 20:27 utc | 70

@ 41 ben.. what i would do? i would probably vote for bernie.. whether bernie is playing along with some of the common bullshit that is being fed americans, or not – his focus on social issues could as bevin points out – really derail wall st and the war complex.. if enough people seek this, sooner or later a leader is going to appear who speaks to this.. in fact trump was on record saying he wasn’t into all these foreign wars, or something to that effect.. what he didn’t say is how beholden he would be to israel, which is much the same thing..
i also agree with @ 54 bevins speculation – “If Bernie is, once again, cheated, it will cripple the Democratic Party and could lead to a Third Party movement big enough to change the current duopoly.” the part about bernie being cheated is high odds in happening… will it lead to a 3rd party movement? i give that even odds.. americans and canucks and most westernized neo liberalized countries seem very apathetic, although the ongoing yellow jacket movement is impressive, so maybe i am wrong.
mostly like scenario is the democrat party implodes and another alternative to voting for billionaires, and etc is offered.. it isn’t going to happen quickly.. something else might come along to derail the usa before this happens..
@ 43 b4real… thanks… i would actually like it if we lived in a world where we didn’t have all these borders and boundaries – walls essentially… however it makes sense in this present stage of humanity that we do.. most people prefer to fear and be anxious about anything that is different, then to be curious… that is what it looks like to me..

Posted by: james | Feb 23 2020 20:37 utc | 71

>We’ve certainly seen a growth in such direct local action since 2015
I’m specifically referring to Bernie’s people, not “in general”. If Bernie’s people were actually directly helping people, I’m sure his public relations people are paid enough to take photos and videos and get them in the media someplace. I haven’t seen or heard anything, but then I can’t get out much; that’s one reason why I’m asking.

Posted by: Trailer Trash | Feb 23 2020 20:37 utc | 72

>He had four years to build or participate in the building of a movement;
>he squandered most of it.
>Posted by: corvo | Feb 23 2020 20:27 utc | 69
This. Times a hundred.

Posted by: Trailer Trash | Feb 23 2020 20:41 utc | 73

“My thoughts are that Sanders is an idiot.”
Posted by: William Gruff | Feb 23 2020 19:02 utc | 45
Almost fell off my chair. I agree whole-heartedly and would never vote for him.

Posted by: Activist Potato | Feb 23 2020 20:42 utc | 74

@ 57 bevin… yes.. he needs to.. he is either playing for time, an ignoramus, or worse… i am thinking like william gruff @45 that bernie is mostly delusional and an idiot.. i say that knowing he can still hold many great ideas that would really destabilize things if he were to be elected too… so i don’t buy your response here.. as trisha notes the irony or hypocrisy that bernie is displaying on this issue and which jackrabbit rightly yammers on about, is legit…

Posted by: james | Feb 23 2020 20:43 utc | 75

The Green Party is far from perfect — I may not be the first to admit it, or the most experienced, but I’m in pretty good shape on both counts. Still, even in its imperfect state, it has managed to survive the slings and arrows and other hurdles of ballot access, and keep a space open for 20 years. And our access to about half the voting population already, with more to come this year, gives us a headstart on any other progressive alternative . . . which might be a useful time-saver in these days of multiplying real threats to human existence.
Submitted for your consideration, as Rod Serling used to say. . . .

Posted by: jalp | Feb 23 2020 20:52 utc | 76

This message is me thinking out loud and wanting to put an 🆘️❗ on a billboard everywhere, because it’s so important for the future of this planet.
This message is in part for all the black women out there from New York to Florida to South Carolina, Texas and beyond.
Stop listening to the politics of FEAR! Would you rather be OWNED through fear, or be free to own by taking a LEAP OF FAITH for your best interests. Supporting the Billionaire System (Bloomberg), supporting the establishment elitists (Biden, Buttigieg, Klobuchar etc.) who kow tow to that system that doesn’t benefit the average worker and the poor is remaining impowerless in a compromised democracy that benefits the upper crust rulers immensely and abandons ordinary people to be subject to the will of the powerfully rich domestically and globally.
Don’t do it! Don’t be part of the endless circular cycle SUSTAINED BY FEAR. Take a leap of faith FORWARD, evolve FORWARD, for the sake of self-empowerment, for the sake of COLLECTIVE POWER to pressure change that benefits all average people, that lifts the poor out of poverty and benefits the planet.
Break free. Don’t fall for SCARE-MONGERS and their radical-change-is-bad narrative.
Latinos in Nevada were assailed by massive fear-mongering propaganda by union bosses, by candidates Buttigieg, Biden and Klobuchar who joined picket lines ONLY for a photo-op and to pull those workers back in to the status quo where Corporations and bosses use Health Insurance as a bargaining chip to screw the workers out of better wages and conditions. Bernie Sanders was not there, because he doesn’t need a photo-op and doesn’t want to benefit from a status quo that doesn’t empower people.
A healthcare system that is tied to the billionaire class IS NOT POWER for the worker, it’s owned by the rich and used for control in negotiation.
Latino workers in LAS VEGAS got this, saw through the fear-mongering meant to undermine Bernie’s universal healthcare platform and disregarded the pressure and overwhelmingly backed Bernie Sanders.
LATINOS overwhelmingly turned their backs on the tactics of fear and suppression and took a leap of faith with Bernie Sanders to claim power for themselves and their community.
Young black supporters of Bernie get that the problems of the present that will affect everyone’s future but mostly theirs can only be solved by empowerment of people.
So women today, black and white over 30, are being heavily targetted with a repressive narrative of fear to pressure them to support status quo agents for the powerful, like Biden and Buttigieg, and part of that narrative is not just painting big change, beneficial change as scary, but the worst part is pretending that Biden, can defeat Trump. He can’t defeat Trump because he has ZERO support from people under 40!!
Then they claim Bloomberg will defeat Trump, but for all his wealth Bloomberg is Trump’s mini-me and Bloomberg has used fascist racist tactics against blacks. He’s not interested in elevating the black and latino communities; he did the opposite when he was mayor. The same applies to the gay mayor of a small town, who handled badly the black community in a small town, how could he possibly do well on a much larger scale? Besides, over 40 billionaires with an interest in keeping people subject to their rule are funding his campaign. And a political neophyte who’s married to a man will never defeat Trump.
Only one candidate is bringing millions of people together, now with the growing powerful latino community joining his movement, black young people inspired and already committed to an agenda of empowerment. Only the candidate generating powerful diverse energy and growing his movement exponentially every week CAN DEFEAT TRUMP. BERNIE SANDERS IS THE ONLY CANDIDATE THAT CAN DEFEAT TRUMP.
Are black and white mothers and grandmothers going to stand in the way of that committment because of FEAR???
NO. The future belongs to the millions of young people being empowered by Bernie to take it and make of it what they want!
Don’t stand in their way! Don’t hold them back with fear! Don’t saddle them with the will and power of the extreme rich!
Bernie Sanders is giving young people the pivotal moment they have been waiting for; they’re inspired with their own sense of power. Don’t snatch it away from them. Let them build their future FULLY EMPOWERED to take on poverty and climate change and move away from never-ending wars that fuel only despair and saddle them with astronomical debt squandering the treasure that they should inherit to take on the real existential threat that is climate change.
So all women black and white heed the wisdom that is driving young people to support BERNIE SANDERS.
Bernie Sanders stands for power to the people, and especially young people who should be masters of the future no matter what their status in life is or where they live.
WOMEN OF ANY COLOR: DON’T BE THE OBSTACLE TO THE MOVEMENT AND FUTURE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE BUILDING WITH THE HELP OF BERNIE SANDERS BY FALLING FOR THE POLITICS OF FEAR. TELL THE ESTABLISHMENT THAT BERNIE SANDERS IS NOT CREATING DIVISION; HE IS CREATING AN EVER-EXPANDING, DIVERSE POWERHOUSE TO DRIVE BIG MONEY OUT OF THE SEAT OF POWER AND PUT PEOPLE IN CHARGE.

Posted by: Circe | Feb 23 2020 20:58 utc | 77

Random thing I ran across: It was reported in 2019 by Inc. magazine and in 2018 by some other corporate outlets that “Russian bots” spread fake news about contaminated turkeys from Walmart back in 2015. The Inc. article also took this as an opporunity to plug for New Knowledge.
I didn’t see any search hits from prior to 2018. I have to wonder if these numerous claims of food poisoning from turkey in late 2015 ever happened, or if the “Russian bots” story was simply fabricated from nothing after the fact. Does anyone know?

Posted by: rockstar | Feb 23 2020 21:04 utc | 78

After the whole Trump phenom and election in 2016, it came to light that being anti-establishment does not necessarily equate to being a “good” candidate.
Here again we are seeing another anti-establishment candidate, Sanders, who if he chooses Gabbard, will likely attain the presidency.
None of this means however, that there is a good candidate in the bunch.
A good candidate will have to immediately pull back and dismantle overseas bases, regulate big biz and big Pharma, throwing a huge wrench into the 401k/stock market, angering millions, and abandon all forms of “participation trophy” cultural-marxism that wants to undo traditional forms of marriage, of monogamy, and identity (to what end?) and will end reverse-discrimination which breeds resentment and is a thorn-in-the-side policy stalling reconciliation of our nation and is utilized as a tool of Democrats to keep their party alive.
We would have to go through what Russia essentially went through in the 90s.
I am all for it. But who else is with me?
Certainly not any candidates that I see, and only Gabbard would probably make a dent in our overseas entanglements as global policeman/woman/trans/furry/humanoid.
The only consolation is that either Trump or Sanders, Pence or Gabbard, America looks likely to keep approaching that horrific train wreck that will undo the hold of the globalist, neolib, neocon over this nation. It’s a win/win for now; a surefire lose/lose come reckoning.

Posted by: NemesisCalling | Feb 23 2020 21:12 utc | 79

I have never ever anywhere, made a comment about Bernie Sanders.
It’s refreshing to see *some* of the commenters here @MoA see-thru-the-BS.
Personally, I think *b* should open a special open-thread for….let’s call it, “Bernie Bitchin'”.
Makes me wanna puke hearin’ about the bolshevik-from B[w]ooklyn-b@stard.
He’s really good at gettin’ the goyim giddy & glad, while he and his wife Jane(he Tarzan, she Jane) are rippin’-off braindead americans, burdus Besserwissers, Burlington College’s boys & girls and bringin’ in-the-dough($$$), ‘ya know.
What has the dude done for anyone, except bitch & being a good bwooklyn bolshevik for his tribal banking-buddies behind the scenes?
Do me and any serious reader here at *b*’s excellent site and, “shawt the fawk up”.
Anyone who believes the *presidential [s]election process* is for real in jUSA, needs their head examined.
X-
ps.
Truly, it’s nauseating for non-idiots

Posted by: Veritas X- | Feb 23 2020 21:21 utc | 80

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Feb 23 2020 17:00 utc | @22
Most EUropean countries have 4-5 political parties. E.g. in Germany you have
CDU: traditional conservative (in name only)
SPD: social democrats (in name only)
Greens: environmental (in name only)
AfD: conservative/constitutional (basically what the CDU was 20 years ago)
Die Linke: essentially communists
In the US you have:
GOP: traditional conservative (in name only)
Democrat: social democrats (in name only)
Greens: environmental?
Constitution Party: conservative/constitutional
Communists: banned?
Essentially you have the same political structure, except that for historical and perhaps nefarious reasons (to do with the oligarchs) the GOP/Democrats dominate the political landscape.

Posted by: trint | Feb 23 2020 21:34 utc | 81

@19 Bernie Sanders will stay on point. It would be totally counterproductive at this point to face off against the Russia Russia Russia nonsense. It is nothing more than a trap…one among many that have already been set and more to come. His platform is mostly domestic. Given he is planning to cut the defense budget in order to fulfill some campaign promises it remains to be seen what he will actually do in the area of foreign policy. I am sure he remembers Kennedy and his efforts to shut down the CIA and bring the troops home from Vietnam. You can’t have everything.

Posted by: Linda Amick | Feb 23 2020 21:35 utc | 82

@Linda Amick #80
You said:

Given he is planning to cut the defense budget in order to fulfill some campaign promises it remains to be seen what he will actually do in the area of foreign policy.

When F35 Bernie does that, I will be pleased. I’m not going to hold my breath…

Posted by: c1ue | Feb 23 2020 21:51 utc | 83

Circe @ 76; Great rant, would be a great handbill to pass out among the American public.
One thing is sure, everything being discussed here, is all speculation unless Bernie gets the nomination. Then we’ll all see what happens. Sometimes in life, as you suggest, a leap of faith is required. Now is that time for America..
“nothing ventured, nothing gained”

Posted by: ben | Feb 23 2020 21:53 utc | 84

Yea, have to agree. Politician worship is about as low as it gets.
If any of these people were a real threat they’d be dead or railroaded a long time ago. Cynthia McKinney and Jim Traficant Come to mind,
Our owners have no problem killing hundreds of thousands over seas, they’d have no issue pulling another JFK on a paid liar hustling the herd for votes and campaign donations.
Really need to get a movement to boycott paying taxes and voting until we can reform our government. I’m hundreds of thousands and pitch forks and torches march on Washington. Drop the identity politics, and wedge issues. Let the states decide for themselves if they are going to left or right leaning,
Fuck the federal government.

Posted by: Bernie Uber alles | Feb 23 2020 21:58 utc | 85

@ William Gruff | Feb 23 2020 17:39 utc | 29
The capitalist establishment has nothing better to do with its cash than build socialist movements so that they can then spend $billions trying to defeat those movements and then “suck the life out of them”.
Well, something sorta like that has happened: Frances Saunders in her eye-opening book “The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters,” recounts how the CIA spent tons of money and effort building up what they referred to as “the non-communist left,” which they’ve been attacking ever since.
Also, we know that the CIA spent many decades murdering pro-democracy activists in Latin America, so that the only remaining challengers to the ultra-right oligarchs and tyrants would, in fact, be communists. That way they could justify demands on the US governmental (i.e. capitalist establishment) purse for million$ more for the death squads.
Saunders’ book is very much worth a read . . .

Posted by: AntiSpin | Feb 23 2020 22:01 utc | 86

Linda Amick @80:

Bernie Sanders will stay on point. It would be totally counterproductive at this point …

We are told that we should trust Bernie because he’s ‘authentic’. Seems “counterproductive” for Bernie to play political games.
Well, it would be, if Bernie didn’t enjoy chorus of propagandists and apologists that magically appear to support every establishment candidate and US President.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Feb 23 2020 22:15 utc | 87

If anyone is in need of a laugh after the sad news we’ve been having recently, try this:
“Wanted: An Arab Prince or King, for Election Photo-op With Netanyahu”
“Secret forays to Gulf countries are a regular flight path for Israeli security officials and businesspeople. Now Netanyahu wants to publicize his own trips …
Admittedly this headline came out over a week ago and I think by now the Saudis have all but crushed any suggestions that Netanyahu was going to meet his long-lost soul brother … Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
One pities the photographer who was going to have to take the picture in an enclosed space without easy access to an oxygen gas tank.

Posted by: Jen | Feb 23 2020 22:19 utc | 88

@Jackrabbit
I’m pretty sure I’ve already explained his logic in running as a Democrat, and the compromises he’s had to make to get the party to allow him to run, and the tightrope he’s walking in trying not to alienate the Democratic voter base as a whole.
I’m not going to bother explaining again, since you’ll just ignore it.
@William Gruff
Have you considered the possibility that Sanders knows the accusations against Russia are mostly or entirely bullshit, but he see’s that it’s become accepted ‘fact’, and isn’t an issue worth disputing? No one cares about Russia. It’s not an issue to voters. If it comes up, better to just vaguely agree with the claims and move on, which is mostly what Sanders has done.
Blaming Russia for the supposedly large numbers of ‘aggressive’ Sanders supporters on the internet (that in reality mostly don’t exist) was a stroke of genius, honestly. If the establishment is going to peddle in these nonsense conspiracies anyway, might as well exploit it to your advantage.

Posted by: Benjamin | Feb 23 2020 22:21 utc | 89

@57 bevin
Since Bernie was talking about election interference, you’d think he’d mention the far more corrosive domestic election interference. But whistle blowing would get in the way of sheepdogging folks into the “democratic” process. Far more indicative of Bernie’s character is his silence (means consent) regarding severe (as in torture) oppression afforded heroes (whom he should be championing) like Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning.
But once again, Bernie bows his head and stays silent, showing his true character.

Posted by: Trisha | Feb 23 2020 22:27 utc | 90

Thoughts on the Coronavirus:
I work within a consortium of hospitals in the UK and a few weeks ago our consultant radiologists and senior radiographers were provided with a Chest/Thorax CT (Computer Tomography) scan of a patient infected with the Coronavirus. I do not remember the gender or ethnicty of the patient but I can recheck the image tomorrow for more info. Anyway the scan shows a horizontal slice or crossection of the chest area and lungs of the patient; you can see the area of the lungs impacted by the infection as these show up in shaded clumps distinct from healthy lung. The first comment one of my most senior and vastly experienced radiographer colleagues made was that the manner in which the infection was distributed was “unusual”. When I asked her to elaborate, she said that the infected areas did not branch out in the typical pattern…or words to that effect.
I’ve been sitting pondering on this for at least 2 weeks now, as my colleagues reaction lead me to think more about the possible artificial origins of the virus, perhaps as part of a bioweapons programme (yeah I know, that sounds like something right from the X-Files and a massive leap to make). The web is the ultimate rumour mill and it is clearly infested with exaggerations and outright falsehoods. That said, I cannot quite decide whether this current situation concerning the Coronavirus is just another exercise in hyperbole with a range of geostrategic goals in mind, or something potentially more dangerous.
We are receiving frequent internal guidance and updates on the situation. Plans and procedures for dealing with infected patients are available and there are more strategic contingencies in place should this turn into a pandemic. This happens every year during the peak season for inluenza so there is nothing too unusual about this, with the exception being that the updates are more frequent with a focus on individuals travelling to and from the hardest hit areas in the Western Pacific.
Given the chance I will follow up this week with some of our consultants that specialise in chest and lung disease. My previous apathy has eroded just a little bit if I am to be 100% honest. Not in the sense that I am preparing for a true global pandemic and preparing a bunker, but more in terms of whether this was an accident or even some form of hostile action between competing power blocs.
Few things would surprise me these days.

Posted by: Glossopteris | Feb 23 2020 22:28 utc | 91

From the Greyzone;
“Russiagate 2.0 drowns out Trump’s reckless escalation of US-Russia nuclear arms race”
“Amid new fear-mongering about “Russian interference,” former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter on Trump’s overlooked, reckless escalation of the US-Russia arms race.”
https://thegrayzone.com/2020/02/23/russiagate-2-0-drowns-out-trumps-reckless-escalation-of-us-russia-nuclear-arms-race/#more-21248

Posted by: ben | Feb 23 2020 22:28 utc | 92

@ Circe 76; @ ben 82
what to make of this Schlicher pro-Trump piece posted at ZH: Bernie the socialist or the malignant billionaire/zillionaire v. prosperity and peace under Trump?.
You Bernie Suckers Are Going To Get Fooled Again

If you are dumb enough to slobber over a socialist then you’re already inclined toward being a hapless mark, so it should be no surprise that you Bernie dorks are about to get screwed over again by the Democratic Party.
I don’t know exactly how they are going to do it – more convenient caucus kerfuffles, super-delegates, shenanigans at the convention – but there is no way your masters will ever let you win. Like I said, you’re socialists, and therefore stupid, so you will get cheated and you will end up having to vote for the Verne Troyer of American big-money politics.
And, like the obedient saps you are, you’ll do it.
Here’s how it’s going to go: Because you are stupid – you support a socialist, so you are presumptively stupid – you think that if you work really hard and win the votes the establishment creeps who own the Democratic Party are going to let you have a say. But, like last time, you won’t get a say. You’ll work real hard – maybe if you worked really hard at actual jobs you wouldn’t be half-wit socialists – and you’ll win the votes, and all your dreams will die as you end up with the nomination going to a malignant midget multi-zillionaire.[.]

And it’s only February !!!!

Posted by: Likklemore | Feb 23 2020 22:32 utc | 93

Syria – Nothing noteworthy to find for the moment
Our daily news for the next time will be: Hope, Reality, Delusion and once more Reality like TASS reported today
Moscow 17:43 February 23. /TASS/.
HOPE – No negative predictions should be made about the development of Russian-Turkish relations amid a recent escalation in the Syrian region of Idlib, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a televised interview with Moscow. Peskov pointed out that the situation in Idlib is still tense. “You know that this week the president [Russian President Vladimir Putin] has been focusing his attention on the situation in Syria and, in particular, on the Idlib crisis,” the Kremlin spokesman added.
REALITY – The situation in Idlib deteriorated dramatically in early February after Russian and Turkish militaries’ another attempt to enforce a ceasefire was met by terrorists stepping up their attacks. As a result, military specialists from Russia and Turkey were killed.
DELUSION – On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Ankara’s readiness to use combat power in case of a military operation in Idlib. Erdogan stated that the beginning of a new military operation in Idlib was “just a matter of time,” as all the preparations for the operation had been completed.
REALITY On Saturday, 25 shelling incidents were reported in the Idlib de-escalation zone
MOSCOW, 21:41 February 23. /TASS/. The Russian Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Parties in Syria has recorded 22 shelling incidents by illegal armed groups in three regions in Syria’s Idlib de-escalation zone in the past 24 hours, Rear Admiral Oleg Zhuravlev, the center’s chief, said on Sunday.
“In the past 24 hours, 22 episodes of shelling have been registered,” Zhuravlev said.
On Saturday, 25 shelling incidents were reported in the Idlib de-escalation zone. According to Zhuravlev, three inhabited localities in Aleppo province, seven in Latakia province and six in Idlib province came under shelling by militants.

Posted by: Dilara | Feb 23 2020 22:34 utc | 94

Sorry, Israel confirms carrying out air strikes on Syria and Gaza
RT 23 Feb, 2020 22:02 / Updated 10 minutes ago
Israel confirms carrying out air strikes on Syria and Gaza
Israeli military launched a series of raids targeting the Islamic Jihad movement in Syria and throughout the Gaza Strip, its spokesman confirmed on Twitter after Damascus air defenses intercept hostile targets.
The attack on Syria took place close to midnight on Sunday, while the Gaza Strip was shelled earlier in the day.
IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on twitter that “terrorist targets” belonging to the Islamic Jihad came under fire in a rare admission of strikes against Syria. Damascus and surrounding areas frequently come under fire from occupied Golan Heights, with one attack in early February endangering a passenger plane.
Syrian state TV SANA reported that the missiles failed to reach airports and most of them were intercepted.

Posted by: Dilara | Feb 23 2020 22:42 utc | 95

Wiseguy Trump suckers, whitewashers and 3-year long bootlickers ridiculing others here for being Bernie suckers!
Yeah. Sounds like a real credible argument to me!😏🙄

Posted by: Circe | Feb 23 2020 23:01 utc | 96

@ 91; Thanks for the abuse. Your roots are showing.LOL!

Posted by: ben | Feb 23 2020 23:07 utc | 97

At least the rabbit is more subtle, as are others.

Posted by: ben | Feb 23 2020 23:10 utc | 98

Dilara
Russian airforce is hitting southern Idlib hard at the moment and a couple of towns already taken.
The Israeli attack is most likely in support of the Jihadis in Idlib.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 23 2020 23:12 utc | 99

Bernie rally in Austin, Tx. LIVE
https://youtu.be/WSUofs8PVf4

Posted by: Circe | Feb 23 2020 23:24 utc | 100

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