Open Thread 2020-60
News & views ...
Posted by b on July 31, 2020 at 13:44 UTC | Permalink
next page »earlier this week, Philippines' Duterte took a China friendly position on sea claims. reuters. China followed up with offer of Covid vaccine help. cgtn
Seems to be continuing the pattern of reversals. Earlier he indicated he would move to kick out US troops by letting a relevant treaty expire, then changed his mind this spring.
Posted by: ptb | Jul 31 2020 14:27 utc | 2
John Helmer continues his superb reporting and commentary. He is truly amazing.
- PICK-AXING THROUGH LIES, SLUICING ILLUSIONS
- AUSTRIA CONFIRMS OPCW REPORT ON SKRIPAL FAKING BY THE BRITISH
- SECOND SKRIPAL PLOTTER HAS BEEN OUSTED
!!
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Jul 31 2020 14:39 utc | 3
WSWS has an examination of the Presidential affair - examining several forms of crises liable to take place, as, of course, disease and fiat dollars more or less explode... "Trump floats delaying election, both parties appeal to military as umpire". excerpt> " “Crucially, a contested outcome lasting beyond Jan. 20 would force the military to make an implicit decision about who is commander in chief. According to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, Trump would cease to be president on noon of Jan. 20 if Congress does not certify him as the winner, passing his authority as commander in chief of the military to the acting president, the speaker of the House of Representatives.” "
Posted by: Walter | Jul 31 2020 14:39 utc | 4
I've been reading up on the Uighurs. It appears that they will be feted more in coming months to bash China-- both parties.
The core concept to me is to take the angry, criminal, young people in an area and traffic them to a war zone so your precious children don't need to die in your wars. Examples include our own Vietnam war when young American greasers stealing hub caps etc went before a judge and were told "prison or the Marines!" so the Marines "made a man out of me" according to the stories I was told by a few survivors.
The Saudis did the same with their restless youth (boys only).
Eric Zeusse reveals how the Wahabi/American trafficking began https://theduran.com/how-modern-jihadism-became-co-invented-by-the-u-s-and-saudi-governments/
"Modern jihadism was co-invented in 1979 by Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan al Saud, and U.S. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, working together"...
Here's a deeper look into Uighur land and what's going on with the critical connection between their salafists and the Saudis and the U.S. https://mesbar.org/salafism-china-jihadist-takfiri-strains/ by Rohan Gunaratna. It's a long and very informative read.
Andre Vlchek gives us a "hair on fire" take on what he sees. He has some street cred and he's worried: https://www.unz.com/avltchek/march-of-the-uyghurs/
"When they are told to kill, they murder with unimaginable brutality; decapitating, or cutting to pieces priests, infants, old women."
Vlcheck details the Uighur connection with Turkey, lots of history, along with where he thinks it's headed. Commenters push back on him a bit.
Posted by: migueljose | Jul 31 2020 14:45 utc | 5
@ 5 migueljose - jen on the previous thread posted this which goes with your supposition... my own thinking is you are both correct... a way to vilify china will be gotten, some way, some how... it is where we are at the in the msm propaganda news stream..
"In other news I have seen online, I intuit that the Western MSM will very soon focus obsessively on a coronavirus outbreak in Xinjiang region in NW China.
So far there have been 254 confirmed cases with 73 recoveries and 3 deaths.
Of course The Fraudian frets that a mid-July outbreak in Urumqi which then jumped to Kashgar (300 km away) will threaten the one million Uyghur people incarcerated in the concentration camps that so far have escaped being photographed by US satellites and their images made available to the likes of Bellingcat and similar "citizen journalist types" who work with open-source material.
Posted by: Jen | Jul 31 2020 0:19 utc | 39"
Posted by: james | Jul 31 2020 15:16 utc | 6
To NYT subscribers: "You pay for your own indoctrination?"
I need to keep this clip from The New York Times in my wallet. Laminating it would be a good idea.
"Adding to these challenges, democracy in Latin America has also lost a champion in the United States, which had played an important role in promoting democracy after the end of the Cold War by financing good governance programs and calling out authoritarian abuses.
Posted by: librul | Jul 31 2020 16:41 utc | 7
ptb @2: "Seems to be continuing the pattern of reversals. Earlier he indicated he would move to kick out US troops by letting a relevant treaty expire, then changed his mind this spring."
Duterte knows full well who he is up against. He has to dance to avoid ending up dead. Things happen in the Philippines that we don't hear much about, but you can easily guess if you have an idea how the CIA operates. That said, Duterte's reversals are two steps forward and one step back. It may not look like it at times but he is making progress for his country.
Posted by: William Gruff | Jul 31 2020 17:07 utc | 8
The tensions between Greece and Turkey seemed to recede last week when Turkey suspended the proposed 'Oruc Reis' exploration in the EMed - Erdogan was bragging that it would be accompanied by 15 warships or something as 'big'.
Then I read a story which claimed that Greece was going to buy some Turkish drones - a cheap solution to problems, I thought. That has now been denied by Greece and the following article has appeared - tensions are now escalating near Cyprus.
Turkey is playing with fire. That is as plain as the rather (Jewish>) Georgian nose adorning Erdogan's less than handsome mug. Interesting times ahead if Erdogan continues playing these bullying games.
A very good article in fact came on the back of the Oruc Reis tensions written in the National Interest. Thought I'd post that here as well as it is indeed very incisive and concisely written. (It's not often I'm impressed by anything written on Turkey!)
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/war-between-greece-and-turkey-now-real-possibility-165465
By the way. this article really ruffled some feathers in Turkey.
Posted by: AtaBrit | Jul 31 2020 17:10 utc | 9
@migueljos | 5
Thanks for the poses. Excellent reading.
"Uighur connection with Turkey, lots of history, along with where he thinks it's headed. Commenters push back on him a bit"
Turkey has played a very duplicitous and pernicious role regarding the Uyghur. Sadly, the last part of that is its current betrayal of these 'Turkic' peoples in allowing their illegal and forced extradition to China.
Turkey only recognises its own superiority both nationalistically and religiously (Muslim Brotherhood!). It's century long play to appropriate 'Turkic' history and culture is simply a part of this attempt to establish a 'people' to which it belongs and which it presides over.
Posted by: AtaBrit | Jul 31 2020 17:21 utc | 10
A bipartisan group secretly gathered to game out a contested Trump-Biden election. It wasn't pretty.
"On the second Friday in June, a group of political operatives, former government and military officials, and academics quietly convened online for what became a disturbing exercise in the fragility of American democracy… What if President Trump refuses to concede a loss, as he publicly hinted recently he might do? How far could he go to preserve his power? And what if Democrats refuse to give in?
"'All of our scenarios ended in both street-level violence and political impasse... The law is essentially ... it’s almost helpless against a president who’s willing to ignore it…. Possession is nine tenths of the law.'
"Each scenario involved a different election outcome: An unclear result on Election Day that looked increasingly like a Biden win as more ballots were counted; a clear Biden win in the popular vote and the Electoral College; an Electoral College win for Trump with Biden winning the popular vote by 5 percentage points; and a narrow Electoral College and popular vote victory for Biden.
"Both sides turned out massive street protests that Trump sought to control — in one scenario he invoked the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to use military forces to quell unrest.
"[Biden has] also mused publicly about Trump having to be escorted, forcibly if need be, from the White House. That happened in one of the four scenarios the Transition Integrity Project gamed out...
"'The Constitution really has been a workable document in many respects because we have had people who more or less adhered to a code of conduct… That seems to no longer to be the case. That changes everything.’"
Interesting considering this was done completely by elements completely within the DP, non-Trump RP and retired military and reported in the Boston Globe. They of course leave out the effects of the unfolding financial/economic crisis, as well as any independent agency arising from the people of the US.
Posted by: Vintage Red | Jul 31 2020 17:24 utc | 11
The violent Left....ORCS.
The new Internet Meme; pass it on......
Posted by: Michele Baillie | Jul 31 2020 17:28 utc | 12
I've lost you when you fell for that mask nonsense. you must be old and scared. It stains all the rest. la vieillesse est un naufrage.
Posted by: Alain | Jul 31 2020 17:38 utc | 13
"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez decries statue of Catholic saint, Damien of Molokai as 'white supremacist culture'"
AOC is either the dumbest or the most cynical politician who ever lived; maybe both, they seem to go together. It is hard to see what capital Damien could have made out of the situation. One lone person who voluntarily went to live among 600 lepers; with no authority whatsoever other than the hard-won respect that he slowly accumulated through self-sacrifice and love. Someone who stayed there for years until he contracted the disease; and remained there for years until his fingers, nose and ears rotted and began to drop off; and remained there nonetheless until he died.
Posted by: carl | Jul 31 2020 17:41 utc | 14
The "what if Trump won't leave" meme is being largely promoted by the MSM for its own purposes. There are three branches to the US federal government - Trump (or Biden) would have to gain the support of at least the Congress or the Supreme Court (as occurred in 2000). The idea that Trump (or Biden) would be successful by simply proclaiming themselves emperor is fanciful. That said, the brazen seizure of the presidency in 2000 produced a muted response at best across the public so it would not be out of the question for similar to occur - but it is clear the PTB prefer the Democratic candidate and so a controversial finish will install Biden (or whomever is ultimately the Dem candidate).
Posted by: jayc | Jul 31 2020 17:53 utc | 15
USA's shift to the Western Pacific (Australia) is taking shape. This withdrawal of American troops and personnel from Germany points to the direction of European long-term decline in importance, as it seems the USA is opting for a more aggressive, less in-depth model against the Russian Federation. Either it believes the Russian Federation will fall soon (after Putin's death) or it is giving up Europe altogether. Both scenarios imply in Germany's (the EU) decline.
Score one for China. America has shown itself totally inept at dealIng with COVID; China is using BRI Health to help others combat it.
https://indianpunchline.com/chinas-silk-road-of-health-appears-in-south-asia/
Trump can only huff and puff, while Biden produces ads to out-testosterone him. How pathetic.
Meanwhile US GDP shrank 32.9% in 2Q, making the US economy the same size as China’s without having to make any PPP adjustments. Trump’s new mantra, “Honey, I shrunk the economy.” Like destroying a country to save it?
Posted by: JohnH | Jul 31 2020 18:12 utc | 17
@8 William Gruff
Yea. He may also be playing hard-to-get with the US while still negotiating status of US bases. Their expansion may yet be the outcome if Trump (i.e. Pompeo) makes the right offer.
Either way, the loyalty of third parties has definitely become a seller's market.
Posted by: ptb | Jul 31 2020 18:19 utc | 18
More evidence that Trump and Company committed Treason in their Do Nothing policy toward the COVID outbreak: "'Staggering' Level of 'Depravity' That Put Politics Before Public Health." Which is what I've argued since the outbreak began.
Pepe Escobar provides an excellent recap on the South China Sea issue in which the following is the most important, IMO:
"As far as the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations is concerned, what matters now is to come up with a code of conduct to resolve all maritime conflicts among the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and China.
"Next year, ASEAN and China celebrate 30 years of strong bilateral relations. There’s a strong possibility that relationship will be upgraded to 'comprehensive strategic partner' status.
"Because of Covid-19, all players had to postpone negotiations on the second reading of the single draft of the code of conduct. Beijing wanted these to be face-to-face because the document is ultra-sensitive and, for the moment, secret. Yet China finally agreed to negotiate online via detailed texts.
"It will be a hard slog because, as ASEAN made clear in a virtual summit in late June, everything needs to jibe with international laws including the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas, or UNCLOS [Which Outlaw US Empire isn't a signatory so it has no voice].
"If they can all agree on a code of conduct by the end of 2020, a final agreement could be approved by ASEAN in mid-2021. Historic does not even begin to describe it; this negotiation has been going on for nearly two decades." [My Emphasis]
I've been pushing the importance of the China/ASEAN link for years and it appears it's about to modify the Go! board .
Somewhat related is today's Global Times Editorial update on the futility of the Outlaw US Empire's quest to round up an alliance to start a Cold War with China:
"In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said US diplomatic efforts against the Communist Party of China are working and "the tide is turning." He boasted the ban on Huawei in some countries and territories and EU's statement on the Hong Kong issue as US achievements. However, he also noted the difficulty in forming an international alliance against China, given China's economic strength. He said he was 'surprised and dismayed' at the number of countries that backed Beijing's decision to pass the national security law for Hong Kong.
"Pompeo's remarks impressed on the [Chinese] people that the US has made an unsuccessful start in launching a new cold war against China. Pompeo, the State Department and the rest of the US government have done their best to mobilize the Western world to join the coalition to contain China. Since the end of the Cold War, Washington has never been as serious in promoting a strategy like this. But they gained little on the international stage. Although Australia follows the US closely, it is still hoping to maintain economic and trade relations with China. The UK claims it has special obligations to Hong Kong, but it's reluctant to rush to the front....
"The response by the three CEOs on alleged technology theft by China indicates that Pompeo's radical China policy will face huge resistance if it turns to action in the economic arena.
"Moreover, the COVID-19 epidemic is undermining the US ability to be more aggressive against China. The US economy this year has shrunk severely. The US is unable to compensate for the losses that other countries will suffer if they follow the US to decouple from China. The US is fooling other countries to join the anti-China alliance without providing them any benefits." [My Emphasis]
It's becoming increasingly more tiresome to open the newspaper in the morning to see another picture of the pig acting as the USA's Secretary of State spout yet more lies that go unchallenged by the media. Then there's the Head Puke Trump spewing his own bullshit, accusing the entire state of Oregon of being infested with "Radical Anarchists." It would be a great benefit to the world if this Fall both acted like leaves on trees by yellowing, falling to the ground and becoming mulch.
Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 31 2020 18:26 utc | 19
carl | Jul 31 2020 17:41 utc | 14
should you ever speak to a native Hawaiian, I suspect you would get an earful about these wonderful Christian priests who brought the beauty of the Inquisition and splendor of the Crusades to their islands.
same script as a lot of other places, first the missionaries, then come the Marines.
Posted by: dan of steele | Jul 31 2020 18:29 utc | 20
Good report on why militia groups aren't allying with the current crop of anti-government protesters. The third to last paragraph provides an excellent example of the total ignorance and biases in the heads of a great number of such militia members--I hear such crap in Oregon more often since the spreading of protests away from Portland. Given their intense dislike of mask wearing, perhaps they'll suffer a severe culling by COVID.
Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 31 2020 19:03 utc | 21
Will the Japanese Middle Class 'Die Out' Amid Rising Poverty & Hazy Economic Prospects?
Short answer: yes.
Long answer: yes, for sure.
karlof1 @21
From that article the "boogaloos" sound like the good guys. They are apparently just keeping their powder dry and waiting to see where the protests go. It would be wise for the faux left not to alienate them as it could be useful to have some of the militias on your side if things are going the way that I suspect.
Posted by: William Gruff | Jul 31 2020 19:41 utc | 23
@karlof1 | 21
Simply don't know enough about the US to comment and it's difficult for a European to comprehend, to be honest; nonetheless a fascinating piece. Cheers.
Posted by: AtaBrit | Jul 31 2020 19:48 utc | 24
@ karlof1
>> It's becoming increasingly more tiresome to open the newspaper in the morning to see another picture of the pig acting as the USA's Secretary of State spout yet more lies that go unchallenged by the media.
Karlof, buddy, thank you for taking one for the team. Every day. You, along with a few others here, perform that aggravating work — and analyze it — so we don’t have to. I can only imagine it’s like clearing out a newly used horse trailer.
:-)
Posted by: oglalla | Jul 31 2020 19:52 utc | 25
William Gruff @23--
Went out on the ocean fishin' the last two days. Wednesday was nice and quiet on the squawk box. Thursday there were about 8x the amount of yahoos out on the briny jabbering away. On the way back, several of those yahoos already back on the beach were yammering like the dude in the article, having no clue about much of anything. It was either turn it way down or grab the mic and give them a lecture. I decided it best to just turn the volume down so I couldn't hear it over the engine's roar as the non-mask wearing set will die with their biases on. Once upon a time, I thought someone would make the connection between the message in The Sons of Kate Elder and the Wall Street capture of the Executive, particularly the regulators, which was already very apparent in 1965 when that movie was made. Alas, it seems I'm the only one who ever got that message. Watch it and I'm sure at least you'll understand what I'm talking about.
Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 31 2020 20:06 utc | 26
ethan iverson commentary... piano player who used to play with the bad plus.. interesting dude that i follow some of the time..
https://ethaniverson.com/2020/07/31/affirmation-1/
"It's all too easy to get caught up in doomscrolling Twitter. I'm trying to stop, but at this point I'm certainly an addict. The recent article "Human Sacrifice and the Digital Business Model" by Geoff Shullenberger was helpful.
"It is an arena for perpetual conflict driven by an accumulation of grievances collected in a mass program of decentralized surveillance. We are incentivized, by the coded logic of the social media platforms where public engagement now takes place, to find reasons to hate each other. The algorithms that encourage and reward particular behaviors on Twitter and Facebook play on our deepest human instincts and desires to create spectacles of symbolic violence and sacrifice."
Until I turn off the app for good — it’s hard to give it up while one’s career is hanging by a thread during a pandemic — I’m doing what I can to be a positive force, celebrating what I love."
Posted by: james | Jul 31 2020 21:03 utc | 27
@ karlof1
I read the article, but I'm thinking the author is attempting to conflate things that don't mix.
I had first heard of "Boogaloo Boyz" about a month ago, and thought it might be a new militia movement. My first reaction was that it might be composed of veterans of the many US wars--in the US Army the MOS for Infantry is 11B, or in military speak "Eleven Bravo," but often referred to as Eleven Boogaloo among the infantry. I thought things might be fixing to get very interesting. But no, some quick Googling turned up that the Boogaloo Boyz were mostly vicious video game soldiers living in their Moms' basements, who liked to dress up and make noise on the internet but rarely in the real world. In sum, they are hardly a militia, and I'm surprised the author of that article would treat them as such, and they will shirk from violence from any source.
That is not to say that there aren't real militias, or groupings of the aforesaid vets who after multiple tours of being forced to be bad cops and targets in foreign lands where they are universally hated and rules for killing are lax, are not going to shirk from violence. However, some of the more virulent of those groups are neo-nazi or skinhead (which are certainly not going to support BLM, or the cops for that matter); ultra-conservative/libertarian anti-government types (who oppose the government but also oppose the BLM/antifa which they see as the mirror image and just as dangerous--plus they have spent years learning to keep a low profile lest they be jacked with by the Feds, so why expose themselves now?); and you might lump in veteran's groups which are often also biker clubs (which also don't support BLM/antifa or the government, since the government is firmly against any militia or biker clubs, but will certainly turn up to protect what they deem "their" protected areas and might, in limited ways, "back the blue" mostly a legacy of their military discipline). In sum, I don't think any bona fide militia groups take the rioters as a serious uprising nor see any reason to get involved unless and until it starts to impact them.
Those "backing the blue" are rarely what I would think of as militia, they are just armed citizenry who have a vague distrust of the government but are appalled at the visions of post-apocolyptic, Mad Max breakdown they see (or imagine) in areas where BLM/antifa rule. The main reasons there are no [organized] militias supporting the rioters is because the rioters are not organized themselves, have no real agenda or demands other than a summer of childish destruction and breaking quarantine. It's a crying shame, too, because there is so much that should be protested against, so much injustice and stunning inequality and the end game of a class warfare that only one side realized it was fighting...but the protests have been hijacked by the very entities who should be "the bad guys," and turned into violence for political gains, and divisiveness to further entrench animosity among the lower classes to prevent them from uniting. Unfortunately, after decades of brainwashing the regular people of the US know they are angry, they know things are wrong, but they have been propagandized into thinking cutthroat capitalism is the only way, few are educated enough to know better, and there is no strong leadership to lead them out of the darkness.
Posted by: J Swift | Jul 31 2020 22:39 utc | 28
I would be relieved if Trump chose to sieze control.
Though western liberalism has won in the short term, it is having to evolve into something else - is that always the way I wonder.
Its not like we have democracy, anyway.
In the state where I live, my vote (being generally conservative) is entirely pointless. Which leads to frustration.
Anyway Trumps accomplished some good things under very trying circumstances.
Posted by: jared | Jul 31 2020 22:45 utc | 29
@karlof1 | 21
"Given their intense dislike of mask wearing, perhaps they'll suffer a severe culling by COVID."
If you consider a 0.1% infection fatality rate a severe culling, then they certainly are!
Posted by: Leser | Jul 31 2020 22:52 utc | 30
oglalla @ 25--
Thanks for your reply and for the show of support you wrote a few days back!
Actually, cleaning out a freshly occupied horse trailer would at least be a productive effort since it's a cleaning out of the crap. But really, in what ways that matter does Pompeo differ from Kerry, Clinton, or C. Rice? At least Tillerson tried to appear ethical. Ironically, the huge spike in dishonesty in Outlaw US Empire governing officials coincides with those same officials accusing the officials of the USSR and China of being notoriously dishonest--indeed, great effort was made to show it was THE Hallmark of their governing systems--whereas nowadays the global leader in the lack of honesty and integrity is beyond all doubt the Outlaw US Empire. Perhaps worst of all was the performance by Bernie Sanders proving he's every bit the two-faced politico as Hillary Clinton--talking up an honest, pro-people campaign all the while intent on not following through. In one respect, the COVID did us a favor by forcing him out and proving his duplicity.
All the Crapsters make the appearance of a genuinely honest candidate for political office a falsity. Hell, even the cartoonist that writes the daily Jumble puzzle is now political with his 30 July puzzle about the lie spewing politician. Seems most folk want to become a grifter since they all seem to be rich and powerful.
Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 31 2020 22:55 utc | 31
"Rumors Of Structural Faults" - China's Three Gorges Dam Could Be Nearing collapse
"Concerns are rising that China's Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest dam, could be on the verge of collapse triggering a devastating 250-foot tidal wave that would wipe out cities, reported The Sun. "
Near panic yesterday starts searching in DuckDuckGo and guess what freaking fake news. These were the same news old news since early June from you know who ZeroHedge, Fox News...Epoch Times, NTD...
Posted by: JC | Jul 31 2020 23:04 utc | 32
JC 32
That sort of propaganda has been around since China began work on the dam. Americans prefer to think they have the biggest and the best.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 31 2020 23:16 utc | 33
Taiwanese dictatorship:
Elementary school students in Taipei forced to kneel before Chiang’s body
Indoctrinated children through violent coercion: that's a low blow, even for a liberal.
--//--
@ Posted by: JC | Jul 31 2020 23:04 utc | 32
I hear stories about the Three Gorges "imminent catastrophe" since it was being built here in the West. It's all bullshit (unless the West is planning a terrorist attack against the dam).
@ Posted by: jared | Jul 31 2020 22:45 utc | 29
The republican model (as in republic, not the GOP), is doomed to collapse by design. We know that because the fate of the original republic - Rome - survived to our times in very well documented form (it is the best documented period of Rome's history).
The story goes more or less like this: at the beginning, when there are true external threats (e.g. Carthage) and a lot of land to expand to (Gaul, Greece, Asia, Hispania), the system works as focus is directed to survival and to prosperity. Competition between candidates is healthy, and the winner really is the most capable administrator/general (Consul). When the issues being put to vote are cosmetic, the system also works.
But, when class struggle arises (see the Gracchi land reforms) and shit gets real, the system quickly collapses. The democratic game becomes too puerile to decide such important issues. Political polarization then builds up (in Rome's case, the polarization between the Optimates and the Populares). Political polarization then leads to civil war, which then leads to perpetual dictatorship (empire).
In Rome's case, the Optimates (Lucius Cornelius Sulla) initially won. Sulla's first political speech as Rome's dictator was deafened by screams of political enemies being executed in the background. It was pure extermination. But class struggle always leads up to revolution, and the Optimates' cause was already lost. When Sulla died of old age, his utopia had already crumbled. His successors quickly undone his conservative reforms, as the economic contradictions were insurmountable. The populares, even after being exterminated, quickly came back until their ultimate victory under Gaius Julius Caesar, whose government would be directly continued through Gaius Octavius Thurinus (future emperor Augustus).
It is good to highlight here that even political extermination didn't stop the flux of History in the Roman Republic. Sulla killed whatever popular he found, and restored through sheer force the old republic. That didn't last one decade, as the populares' cause was on the right side of History. Revolution happened either way. This is a warning for both the Liberals (Democrats) and the Neofascists (Republicans) in the USA, in a way that they should not feed themselves the illusion the extermination of the other faction will ever fix America. It won't: the USA's fate is already sealed.
@28 Amy Cooter is obviously hoping that if/when the shooting starts the armed militias will come in on the side of antifa. I find this unlikely. The militias have been branded fascists for so long and so often they probably don't have much sympathy for antifa.
So when will the shooting start? It will probably be sparked off when some police, or Moms, are shot by some lone provocateur. Whether it escalates from there is the big question.
Posted by: dh | Jul 31 2020 23:27 utc | 35
it is clear to me that the PTB are discouraging an investigation into the possibility that cell towers and other sources of emf sources are increasing the likely hood that the virus on contact with a human cell will be successful in infecting its human victim.
The amount of increase RF might cause in the infection probability (likelihood) by a virus c/n/b established because the PTB are unwilling to allow the data to be assembled to answer this question. Considering that the virus pandemic began in Wuhan China and that in the two and one half months just prior to the pandemic announcement between 7500 and 8000 cell towers were installed. Dr. Pall gave the number. In the past few days i have made inquiry to many people whose homes and work are not close to cell tower coverage; I am amazed the correlation no cell tower low to no infection in the surrounding population. but i have not run an controlled experiment.
Also I have previously reported that a EU Patent application claims holes are made in cells when RF is applied. Last months issue of Science normal articles provides more than sufficient evidence to suspect that cell tower radio frequencies and/or any other, wireless or by wire, source of emf (intensity, frequency in contact at the interface between virus and human are likely, or at least highly suspicious to be catalysts to infection.
Here is some cast in stone evidence. A EU Patent application [EUPA] EP 0710718A1.. published 08.05.1996 Bulletin 1996/19 application number 95115195.0 filed 5.10.1988 the application number of the earlier application in accord with Art. 66 EPC:88909944.6 published 8.05.1996 bulletin 1996/19 application number 95115195.0 date of filing 05.10.1988 which paragraph 54 "Method of and apparatus for cell poration (makes holes in cells) and cell fusion using RF electrical pulses.. (my own experience in infecting cells using ultra sound and RF).
Line 55 of the EUPA says this is a method for the poration and fusion of cells using RF electrical pulses. The alternating electric field induces cell congregation... the RF porates or fuses with .. very high efficiency.. animal cells, human cells, plant cells, protoplasts, erythrocyte ghosts, lipsomes, vesicles, bacteria and yeasts.
the EUPA says: the method has the unique ability to porate or fuse cells in very small or very large (like pandemic size) numbers.
The EUPA goes on to say: "During these prorations or fusions, ..a variety of chemical agents, including DNA, RNA, antibodies, proteins, drugs, molecular probes, hormones, growth factors, enzymes, organic and inorganic chemicals can be introduced into these cells.. and new biological species can be produced.. "
There is just so much literature on the subject and virtually nothing about infection except mask and gloves. This black out occurs at a time when Viral Pandemic is the center narrative around the globe? Why ..?
Clearly the EU Patent applications makes the claim emf can cause membranes of living cells to become porated..and also it can cause cells to merge.. That is remote or local rf likely will make holes in human cells, and holes in cells likely will speed up or make more likely infection by any virus that uses cell pores to gain entry to live living human cells. ..
SARS Covid 19 makes holes in the double membrane of human cells, after it deals with ACE-2 Receptor. The double membrane surrounds and encapsulates the live human living cell. My own lab experiences says when viral elements won't infect target cells , one tries RF amd various other wired and wireless methods to see if the infection can be made to happen, because such methods so often work. Nearly any source of energy whether in electrical or optical media might make it possible for a virus to circumvent the ACE-2 Receptor step or it might even increase the attraction between S1 and the ACE-2 Receptor. S2 porates the cells.
Why are nearly all alternative websites refusing to make infectivity a major issue ?? There is no patient if there is no infection. B has to my knowledge never denied a discussion where discovery and exposure of an industry practice might point to a possible abuse of humanity?
Posted by: snake | Jul 31 2020 23:55 utc | 36
dh
If democrats think they will win, then snipers may not be required. If the US does make it to the next election... well all I can say is to stock up on popcorn for the grand finale.
"Exclusive: Republicans, Democrats agree on one thing: Doubt about fair election – Reuters/Ipsos poll"
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-poll-exclusive/exclusive-republicans-democrats-agree-on-one-thing-doubt-about-fair-election-reuters-ipsos-poll-idUSKCN24W26S
"Americans across the political spectrum have widespread concerns that November’s U.S. election will be marred by fraud, interference or efforts to suppress the vote, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday.
About half of the registered voters in the United States, including some 80% of Republicans surveyed, say they are concerned that an increase in voting by mail will lead to widespread fraud in the Nov. 3 election, the poll showed.
The finding suggests that a wide swath of the country may have trouble accepting the result of the election, which is expected to see a surge in mail-in voting due to the coronavirus pandemic. Republican President Donald Trump is trailing his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, in opinion polls."
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 31 2020 23:59 utc | 37
The Three Gorges Dam isn't going anywhere. Despite its elaborate appearances, it is a simple gravity dam, though of truly enormous proportions. The biggest car/truck bomb in human history would hardly scratch it. It would take a nuke to ding it, and a strategic nuke at that, not a little tactical one. Why the western capitalist mass media thinks we're going to fall for their effort to induce mass hysteria is beyond me.
... uh, you're not really falling for it, are you?
Posted by: William Gruff | Aug 1 2020 0:16 utc | 38
Jackrabbut #3
Thank you for those John Helmer reports. I note that the new head of MI6 is a lover of all fine Turkish things including Erdoghan. "Richard Moore, currently a third-ranking official of the Foreign Office, an ex-Ambassador to Turkey; an ex-MI6 agent; and a Harvard graduate".
Perhaps he was even the initiator of the White Helmets? My take away from those reports is that Cummings and Johnson have commenced a transition strategy within the UK and that the future of Integrity Initiative and its bogan crew may be limited. They have also restrained the MI6 manipulators that would conspire and contrive the overt 'Hate Russia' policy. Not that Bojo and Cummings will necessarily change anything other than a superficial rearrangement in their favour (for a month or two anyway).
AtaBrit #9 includes an excellent link to a National Interest report on Turkey and is worth the read in this context of the rise and rise of Richard Moore. Thank you AtaBrit.
Caitlin Johnston has recently posted an astute analysis of the current distraction politics and why we should not be distracted by Covid19 rants from seeing the immediate rendition of the great game.
I guess the UK will be less overt re Russia but expect the Libyan war to escalate as UKUSAI use Turkey in Libya to push back against Russia and even Sisi in Egypt. They have a willing US president now and likely continuing in the next few years (be it Trump or Biden). The UK could stage yet another 'Suez incident' with this mendacious confluence of opportunities.
The USA has become the patsy for these thugs, when will they rise?
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Aug 1 2020 0:39 utc | 39
Posted by: William Gruff | Jul 31 2020 19:41 utc | 23 From that article the "boogaloos" sound like the good guys.
Yes, the article makes clear that there are at least two different groups of "militia". As usual, it's not an "either-or" situation.
Militias in general tend to be "law and order" types who support the US Constitution. However, the "law and order" part frays when it appears to them that there *is no* "law and order". That's *why* militias form historically in the US - when there is the perception that either the government has exceeded its authority *or* that there is no "law and order" on the *street.* Then the militia forms to *restore* "law and order*.
This book gives the history of the militia movement in the US from the Revolutionary War up through today. Discusses the meaning of the 2nd Amendment as well as that is the usual flashpoint these days. Concludes that while the Anti-Federalists wanted one depiction of the militia, the Federalists wanted another, so in fact the 2nd Amendment is a compromise. The original wording made clear that firearms possession was an *individual* right, the compromised version allows for defining the militia as more a *states' right". Nonetheless it's clear that most of the Framers could never envision the notion of a "disarmed" America such as the anti-gunners are arguing for today.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Aug 1 2020 0:42 utc | 40
News I noticed:
· A few black women protesting against BLM. No details.
· Iran launching very clever non-silo dug down ballistic missiles. Anyone can copy the idea in earth or sand, it looks relatively simple and perhaps genius. It should only require minimal additions similar to when missiles are "containerized"/vertical on ships.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dytSOhfg1UM for the video.
· "W93/MK7 Navy Warhead — Developing Modern Capabilities to Address Current and Future Threats" - Pentagon, Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), unclassified 5-page white paper, May 2020 is still not "leaked". Seems a dud: reading between the lines not written no one was convinced and instead complained about anyone saying there's any problems (how "exceptional").
Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Aug 1 2020 0:42 utc | 41
More 5G bullshit from the troll. 'Nuff said.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Aug 1 2020 0:49 utc | 42
@41 Sunny Runny Burger
That's a great little video clip. Missiles erupting out of the ground. Trying to guess where the next one's coming from. I'll call it genius.
Posted by: Grieved | Aug 1 2020 0:54 utc | 43
uncle tungsten 39
I consider Covid19 part of the great game - not because of it possibly being a bio weapon, but because it in its own way is in the game. It has certainly greased the slope for the US economy which is now going downhill very fast, but it was no more than a blip on the screen for the Chinese economy due to the different lines each country took in response to the virus.
US has turned on China because China's economy was beginning to eclipse the US economy. Poor handling of the virus by the US have put them a long way behind ... I guess now its just a matter of waiting to see how insane the US is and if they decide to risk all to take China down. UK, Canada, Australia are sort of following along because of the anglo supremacy thing.. like they're trying to straddle a fence but cant touch the ground on either side.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2020 1:21 utc | 44
@snake 36
that is interesting but the patents refer to a system that ran in the 10-100 kHz range for optimal effect. (they investigated up to some 10 MHz.) The power levels were crazy high compared to radio transmission at those frequencies. The new frequencies of 5G are in the 10GHz range, so quite far off.
While cell membranes and larger biological structures, such as skin, sweat glands, nerve cells, hairs, eyes, balls, breasts, butt cheeks... could all plausibly act as lenses and/or antennas for many higher frequency ranges (and up to a point, probably better antennas at higher frequencies), what you are describing is a stretch. If proximity to modern cel phone towers caused electroporation, the would be many many weird symptoms.
Posted by: ptb | Aug 1 2020 1:29 utc | 45
Sunny Runny Burger & Grieved
A little innovation goes a long way. Reminds of a war game I read about, US vs Iran. Iran used messengers rather than electronic coms and defeated the US side. I guess those playing the Iranian side broke the rules.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2020 1:33 utc | 46
China rocks according to Musk.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/31/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-china-rocks-us-full-of-entitlement.html
"Automotive News publisher Jason Stein, who conducted the interview, asked Musk, “How about China as an EV strategy leader in the world?”
Musk replied: “China rocks in my opinion. The energy in China is great. People there – there’s like a lot of smart, hard working people. And they’re really -- they’re not entitled, they’re not complacent, whereas I see in the United States increasingly much more complacency and entitlement especially in places like the Bay Area, and L.A. and New York.”
Last year, Chinese government officials helped Tesla secure loans worth around $1.6 billion to construct and begin manufacturing vehicles at the company’s relatively new Shanghai factory. This year, the Shanghai government helped Tesla get back to normal operations quickly, at its new plant, after the region was struck by a Covid-19 outbreak and issued widespread quarantines that temporarily suspended manufacturing there.
Musk pointed out, Telsa has not received as much assistance from the government in China as domestic companies. “They have been supportive. But it would be weird if they were more supportive to a non-Chinese company. They’re not,” he said."
.............
That will no go down well in yankistan where Trump and Biden are trying to out bullshit each other on how tough they will be on China.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2020 1:39 utc | 47
Posted by: donkeytale | Aug 1 2020 0:50 utc | 43
Please permit me to rant... I happen to be one of "a sizable number of cementers.... to see Trump remain President... guarantee civil war here rather than in China." Trump ain't helping anyone but his god, himself and family in that order....
Ever since Trump show "The Apprentice". I just loath him and it never ceased to amazed how anyone can vote for that idiot. I really can't decided who is more evils Obama, Trump, Biden or Clinton... Is this the America turn out to be so stoopid?
Posted by: JC | Aug 1 2020 1:39 utc | 48
Millenium Challenge 2002
"Red, commanded by retired Marine Corps Lieutenant General Paul K. Van Riper, adopted an asymmetric strategy, in particular, using old methods to evade Blue's sophisticated electronic surveillance network. Van Riper used motorcycle messengers to transmit orders to front-line troops and World-War-II-style light signals to launch airplanes without radio communications.
Red received an ultimatum from Blue, essentially a surrender document, demanding a response within 24 hours. Thus warned of Blue's approach, Red used a fleet of small boats to determine the position of Blue's fleet by the second day of the exercise. In a preemptive strike, Red launched a massive salvo of cruise missiles that overwhelmed the Blue forces' electronic sensors and destroyed sixteen warships. The losses were as follows: one aircraft carrier, ten cruisers and five of six amphibious ships. An equivalent success in a real conflict would have resulted in the deaths of over 20,000 service personnel. Soon after the cruise missile offensive, another significant portion of Blue's navy was "sunk" by an armada of small Red boats, which carried out both conventional and suicide attacks that capitalized on Blue's inability to detect them as well as expected."
Iranians are not part of the rules based order it seems - not that the bad guys in the war game was played by Iranians.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2020 1:54 utc | 49
Thanks, Jackrabbit @ 3 - I didn't understand all of that, but certainly the main points about the Skripals being triple spies, which the Brits kept from absconding with some of their not so secret issues makes sense. However, the lies upon lies issue and why the ptb had to compound those isn't at all clear, perhaps needs some of b's careful sleuthing as to why that whole fabrication got concocted in the first place.
Posted by: juliania | Aug 1 2020 1:58 utc | 50
Posted by: ptb | Aug 1 2020 1:29 utc | 46
You're wasting your time. I've repeatedly asked for *one* experiment by a recognized scientists that takes *any* virus and exposes someone to it, then exposes them to 5G radiation levels at the same intensity from either a cell phone or a cell tower.
Crickets. It's all speculation. Zero evidence. And completely derided by anyone charged with studying non-ionizing radiation. Plus it makes zero sense as almost every country in the world has the pandemic and very few of them have 5G even in the works.
On top of which, the origin of the conspiracy theory has been studied by a number of people.
It's the epitome of stupidity. But he comes in every single pandemic thread with the same rant. The definition of a troll.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Aug 1 2020 2:00 utc | 51
@ 51 juliania.. i think it is fairly obvious why it ( skripal saga) was concocted as it was - the hate russia meme was and still is in full swing, although the hate china meme has started to over shadow it quite a bit the past year.... usa- uk and 5 eye msm propaganda is pretty blatant and obvious as i see it..
Posted by: james | Aug 1 2020 2:08 utc | 52
The seal story about Benghazi has appeared in a short video. Hillary and Stevens caught in a massive gun running scheme.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc4wrSIOUxc
Posted by: Bob Dvorak | Aug 1 2020 2:11 utc | 53
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2020 1:54 utc | 50
RE: Millenium Challenge 2002
Yep, I remember that. The thing was that Van Riper just did what the Iranians say they are going to do, and it worked just like you would expect. Not really innovative stuff. Obvious. The problem is/was the Navy likes big expensive platforms, you just kind of standoff and bomb your enemies, see, none of that unpleasant war of attrition.
Sometimes I wonder is one of the main reasons nobody has actually started a war with Iran yet is that exercise.
Posted by: Bemildred | Aug 1 2020 2:11 utc | 54
juliania @Aug1 1:58 #51
the Skripals being triple spies
Well, I actually disagree with this part.
John Helmer thinks Skripal was going to bring back to Russia info related to Porton Down and military secrets.
But I suspect that Skripal was actually the true "primary sub-source" for Steele's "dirty dossier" (I've voiced this suspicion several times now at moa). I think Skripal knew that that material in the dossier was false and that it was MEANT to be false. Because it was intended to throw shade on Russia without actually tarnishing Trump.
Why would Hillary and the Democrats want a dossier that wasn't true? Trick question! CIA wanted to elect Trump as a nationalist President that would counter Russia and China. Hillary was almost certainly in on it - along with other top US officials (each of whom feel it was the patriotic thing to do).
IMO Skripal was probably trying to run back to Russia. Not necessary to bring British secrets but because he didn't feel safe because he knew too much about the operation to elect Trump.
That's my conspiracy theory-story and I'm stickin' to it! LOL. Until/unless there's info that disproves it.
!!
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Aug 1 2020 2:36 utc | 55
That's my conspiracy theory-story and I'm stickin' to it! LOL. :)
I reckon US is just going to shit on greased skids. Lol :)
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2020 2:48 utc | 56
@43 donkeytale
Whether one is right or wrong isn't the point in a well rounded discussion open to differing views.
This is an absurd statement. Having a “well rounded discussion open to differing views” about, say, whether the earth is flat or a sphere would be a profoundly boring waste of time.
The burden of proof is on the person making the claim so if you genuinely believe, despite the complete lack of evidence, that COVID-19 is a hoax or “no worse than a flu” or that face masks are useless and medical advice to wear one is a totalitarian plot to undermine civil liberties and usher in a global dictatorship, do the following:
1 - Go find five people who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 and ask them to sneeze in your face while you inhale deeply.
2 - Pull a Herman Cain and freely bathe in the spittle of ranting anti-maskers at a big rally where nobody is wearing a mask.
3 - Film the whole thing in HD video and upload to YouTube or a video sharing platform of your choosing.
(For a really fun time, crowd source at least 100 of your “skeptic” pals to do the same. Be sure to recruit a team that includes a full range of ages and risk factors.)
4 - Sit back, relax and let the betting begin!
Posted by: Daniel | Aug 1 2020 2:52 utc | 57
Peter AU1 @Aug1 2:48 #57
I actually put "conspiracy theory" in quotes at first but then thought that people here would get the humor so I changed it to italics.
!!
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Aug 1 2020 2:52 utc | 58
Bob Dvorak @Aug1 2:11 #54
Great video that everyone should see (especially clueless Americans) but it should've included Obama's illegally turning a "no fly" Zone into a bombing campaign.
The UN had only authorized a "no fly" zone and Obama never sought authorization from Congress for war.
!!
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Aug 1 2020 2:58 utc | 59
It's too soon to predict the result of the forthcoming Presidential election. Trump's got lots of Cheap Tricks up his sleeve. He pulled one this week when he cast doubt on whether he'd step down if he 'lost' to a Dem candidate. But it had the desired affect. Now everyone is getting their knickers in a knot over 'legalities' - which is pretty amusing in a lawless, fascist, povery-stricken shithole like the USA.
It'll be 2016 all over again once Trump starts reminding voters that AmeriKKKa is run by profe$$ional politicians who would sell their grand children + their next-door neighbor's job for A Few Dollars More...
"It's unfair what's happened to The People of America. And we're gonna stop it. Simple as that."
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Aug 1 2020 3:12 utc | 60
Hoarsewhisperer 61
I suspect five-eyes has other plans. Popcorn sellers should do well.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2020 3:18 utc | 61
donkeytale
the almost complete shut down of Middle East commentary by b
This statement is exaggerated. There are many people doing ME commentary - b can not shut that down. And b allows wide-ranging discussion in the Open Threads (that's why they're there!) where ME topics are often discussed.
I suspect that what your complaint is that b is neglecting ME and other issues to focus on Covid. But that is also incorrect.
On July 28, b wrote the post: "The Epidemic And Hizbullah Add To Netanyahoo's Problems". b had a series of 3 articles related to China before that. One of these had nothing to do with Covid at all: "U.S. Asks China To Make More Nuclear Weapons". On July 20 b wrote this story: "Industrial Accidents In Iran Are Just That".
=
... the wealthiest around the world and in the US (his people) become more entrenched and further enriched.
This is a good point but not well developed. And it's tacked it on to a spurious one.
Trump is not the populist he claims to be. In fact every recent President - include Democrats Clinton and Obama - have worked to advance the interests of the power-elite.
The economic pain - which will grow more severe - is already being blamed on China. Trump says the US economy was PERFECT before China deliberately spread the "China Virus".
IMO those who think that a Trump re-election helps to bring USA down are very mistaken. And those that think that Biden will bring any real change, or is the lesser evil, are just as deluded as Obama supporters were. Too many fall for the partisan bullshit.
!!
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Aug 1 2020 3:36 utc | 62
Yes, thanks james @ 53, it was just done so badly . I guess I should not be surprised. I mean, the truth would have been a fairly standard John Le Carre spy story expose, not greatly to the credit of Russia and it would seem not damaging to the UK. Instead we have the Brits turning themselves inside out with all the preposterous story telling that b has indeed already documented as a pretty hard pill to swallow, really putting the 'integrity' of those concocting these tall tales very much in doubt. What am I missing? I know the pressure was on to indict Russia and there have certainly been other tall tales such as the Syria/White Helmets stuff, Ukraine etc - this one was so obviously barmy...well,I guess that answers it. I shan't be scouring the city with a lantern to find an honest man; I'd just like to turn up an intelligent one somewhere inside the halls of government. Which brings up a solid question: how come all the intelligent people (like us) are outside said institutions???
Posted by: juliania | Aug 1 2020 3:45 utc | 63
Okay, I'll bite, Jackrabbit - sorry if I haven't followed your line of thinking on CIA and Hillary ...wanting to elect Trump??? That really doesn't make sense to me. That would mean everything about the really outrageous campaign against Trump's presidency has been orchestrated so we chumps wouldn't guess they really were secretly rejoicing?
Sorry, I just don't buy it. But of course, I could be wrong. Who knows what dark deeds are being secretly devised behind all these curtains of lies? (A good reason to suppose there is a God who sees and who will someday reveal to us mortals what has really been going on. I can't wait to find out.)
Posted by: juliania | Aug 1 2020 4:03 utc | 64
Thought I'd add a quick 2 cents on the Boogaloo Militia Movement...
They are a diverse group and hard to characterize, in general they are libertarian, but not right-wing, the most unifying concept among them is support for gun ownership.
The media portrays them as wanting to start a civil war, but that is a mischaracterization. They feel a civil war/societal breakdown is inevitable and are preparing for that. They are indeed keeping "their powder dry" and seeing where things go.
From my perspective, they are a racially diverse group with many women involved. Not all have military training, but a lot do.
They are against police overreach, they tend to come down on the side of George Floyd...though not for or against BLM or Antifa. I'd argue they don't consider BLM or Antifa a significant uprising, nor threat to the system.
Posted by: Haassaan | Aug 1 2020 4:11 utc | 65
In recently unsealed court documents involving dead child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, a woman named Virginia Giuffre, who publicly accused Epstein of sex trafficking, said that she once saw former Democratic President Bill Clinton on Epstein's island with "two young girls" from New York.
In the questioning by lawyer Jack Scarola, Guiffre was asked, "Do you have any recollection of Jeffrey Epstein's specifically telling you that 'Bill Clinton owes me favors?'"
"Yes, I do," Guiffre answered. "It was a laugh though. He would laugh it off. You know, I remember asking Jeffrey what's Bill Clinton doing here [on Epstein's island] kind of thing, and he laughed it off and said well he owes me favors."
Posted by: Mao | Aug 1 2020 4:15 utc | 66
The Wildlife Conservation Society, which operates the Bronx Zoo, three other zoos and an aquarium in New York, apologized Wednesday for two aspects of its history that the society’s chief executive described as demonstrating “unconscionable racial intolerance.”
In a statement, the society apologized for an incident that took place in 1906 when the Bronx Zoo put a young Central African man of the Mbuti ethnic group on display in the Monkey House for several days.
Objections from local Black ministers ultimately put a stop to the exploitative exhibition.
The conservation society, which was established as the New York Zoological Society in 1895, had never before issued a formal public apology for the inhumane treatment of the young man, Ota Benga, who had previously been taken from his home in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo and put on display at the St. Louis World’s Fair.
The second part of the apology addressed two of the group’s founders — Madison Grant and Henry Fairfield Osborn — and their advancement of “eugenics-based, pseudoscientific racism.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/arts/bronx-zoo-apology-racism.html
Posted by: Mao | Aug 1 2020 4:21 utc | 67
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1288818160389558273
Posted by: Mao | Aug 1 2020 4:28 utc | 68
@50 Peter AU1 & #55 Bemildred
In the 2002 war game, the US was defeated in 2 days - lost a massive part of its fleet or some such. So they stopped the game and changed the rules. I think that's when Van Riper quit the game in disgust, and of course ultimately went public. But even with the rules changed, the US still lost.
The point about these exercises is that they are real endeavors to create a playbook that will result in victory. Millennium cost about $200 million to stage, and even for the Pentagon that was war-fighting money spent to try to get somewhere. The next point even more crucial is that in EVERY exercise the Pentagon has undertaken since this game, the US is ALWAYS beaten by Iran.
This is the point I frequently try to hammer home here - the Pentagon has no map whatsoever that leads to victory in warfare against Iran. Any warfare will always result in defeat for the US - and we know how unpalatable a public defeat would be for the whole MIC stream of income. The fundamentals are stacked against the US. It's very similar to Israel's position right now against Hezbollah. For both the US and Israel, neither one can move forward along the path it wants to go because its foe simply cannot be beaten by any stratagem it can devise.
Sharmine Narwani talked about this extensively in her interview with Ross Ashcroft last year on Renegade, Inc. It's an excellent interview. She's expert on the geopolitics of the ME and laid out many of the fundamentals that create and support Iran's unwavering position in this theater and in the great game:
What’s the real plan with Iran?
I keep this episode bookmarked largely to share it here from time to time. You will both enjoy the interview. The takeaway is that the US can bluster all it wants, but it dare not cross a red line with Iran - such as it already has, for example, with Soleimani's murder, and for which it has not yet suffered its full punishment, which is complete banishment from the ME (and which I am convinced Iran will ultimately achieve).
~~
When your generals tell you constantly, daily, that you can't go into battle in a certain theater, you are free to bluster all you want. In fact, it's all you have left, and you pour all your feeble energy into it. Thus, the US.
Posted by: Grieved | Aug 1 2020 4:29 utc | 69
@ Haassaan | Aug 1 2020 4:11 utc | 66 with the 2 cents on the Boogaloo Militia Movement...
Thanks for that. I am wondering if this group or similar understand that the West is run by those that own global private finance? Do they understand the West is top/bottom and not left/right?
I ask these questions because back when I was more exposed to folks with that orientation of thought I felt that there is a common understanding and mistrust of finance folk that crosses the conflated left/right memes. This common ground of feelings about the private finance folks is one that needs to be explored and expanded, IMO.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 1 2020 4:31 utc | 70
@71 psychohistorian - "Do they understand the West is top/bottom and not left/right?"
That's an excellent formulation. One almost suspects that asking anyone, within a bit of context, if "the banker" is a left/right entity or a top/down entity would get the same answer. How to explore and expand this potential common ground?
I have no answers, but it would be instructive to devise the way to ask this group, or any group - and every group - that question, and then to offer the formulation as you put it, in a way that makes sense to them, so that they understand where the true enemy is.
In other words, what you're asking seems to be the key to abandoning lateral struggles within the oppressed class and healing all rifts to create solidarity against the oppressor - switching from a horizontal struggle to a vertical one.
Such a simple thing, and the source of all revolutionary success, but could it be simply conveyed?
How this can be done, and who can move such things forward, I don't know but I do know that the effort to make things ever more clear is never wasted effort, and this is one key part of the puzzle.
Posted by: Grieved | Aug 1 2020 5:02 utc | 71
Interesting extract from Xymphora's July 31 blog entry...
Tweet (trappedpatriot):
"So they screwed up bigtime on the redactions for the Ghislaine Maxwell release today. You can literally copy and paste the redacted pages into notepad and read them. Check out document #143 for a great example. #Epstein #Maxwell"
The trick works (I'd like to think it is not a mistake but some direct action by a court employee who is tired of all the lies). From document #143 (a deposition of Maxwell where her lawyer instructs her not to answer most, but not all, questions:
...
I can wait for the Official Version but I'd be interested to hear if any of MoA's resident sleuths have found the copy/paste assertion to be true?
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Aug 1 2020 5:07 utc | 72
@71 psychohistorian - "Do they understand the West is top/bottom and not left/right?"
I'd say intuitively they do have some understanding of that, but in general aren't economically/politically savvy/educated enough to frame it that way.
There seems to be a basic belief that the contradictions in our crony and corrupt capitalist system are what is driving the inevitable collapse, and least amongst a segment...it is a pretty diverse group.
Posted by: Haassaan | Aug 1 2020 5:28 utc | 73
@74 hoarse
Not holding my breath but my ears are perked.
It looks like they highlighted what was to be redacted in adobe instead of scanning redacted documents manually.
Somebody screwed up? Intentionally? Mistrial for Maxwell?
Looks like Clinton "dicking (underage) blondes." I am shocked!
Trump is looking clean and I would have already guessed it with his foray into the porn industry w/ Stormy Daniels. Whereas with paedophiles, it is about power and domination, when you are into a chick like Daniels, you are staying simple and "keeping your cart wheel in worn ruts." (Tao Te Ching)
Posted by: NemesisCalling | Aug 1 2020 5:55 utc | 74
Peter AU1 50 & 55 Bemildred & Grieved 70
RE: Millenium Challenge 2002
And yet, I keep pointing out that, that was 18 long years ago, when Iran did NOT have the following:
Terminal guidance for it’s ballistics
Armed drone technology
Satellite to map out the battlefield
Proximity to Israel (two countries sat between Iran and Israel)
Electronic surveillance and response, like spoofing a drone to land in Iran.
S300 and home built variations
Cyber
Experience watching coalition forces fighting in ME
Etc, etc,
Posted by: Sakineh Bagoom | Aug 1 2020 6:44 utc | 75
Not everything is lost on the eastern front, Belarus looks shaky and possibly heading for a Maidan Minsk style after the 8th elections, Armenia flooded with NGO's in the midst of a shooting conflict with Azerbaijan, and the poles going at it again about the presidential plane crash in Smolensk back in 2010. Empire never sleeps, no matter the crumbling.
Posted by: Paco | Aug 1 2020 7:08 utc | 76
"Modern jihadism was co-invented in 1979 by Saudi Prince"
Yes after the Mecca siege they found the potential of wahabi islam(redefined by Qutb teachings in the previous years) to be used against the enemy of zionism.Without 20 November 1979 (not in Teheran but in Mecca) there wouldn't have been any suicide bomber in the years after.Those men with long beards and strong motivations were a great threat to the saudi family..they had no fear to die for their struggle because the struggle was all their life...They had a genuine hatred for usa and saudi corrupted state.It was only a matter of annihilating them internally and at the same time promoting their birth everywhere in the Sunni Islamic world...to serve the zionist scum.
Posted by: LuBa | Aug 1 2020 7:13 utc | 77
And with the excuse of punishing Germany for not paying up about 6K US troops to be deployed closer to the Russian border. Pom-pedo must be happy.
pedo
Del lat. pedĭtum.
1. m. Ventosidad que se expele del vientre por el ano.
Posted by: Paco | Aug 1 2020 7:16 utc | 78
Jeremy Corbyn is still being sued and now he's joined by Jewish Voice for Labour.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/47gyy-jeremy039s-legal-fund
Posted by: Johny Conspiranoid | Aug 1 2020 7:24 utc | 79
Posted by: Grieved | Aug 1 2020 4:29 utc | 70
Good luck with that! The neocons don't care what the Pentagon thinks.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Aug 1 2020 7:53 utc | 80
Posted by: King | Aug 1 2020 5:07 utc | 73
Oh, here we go...
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Aug 1 2020 7:55 utc | 81
Paco @79
Al Jazeera reported recently that Lukashenko was accusing Russia of sending 'mercenaries' (from the Wagner Group no less) to disrupt the elections. Despite his overtures to the West it's surprising to see him trafficking in Baltic State-level Russophobia. b suggested in a previous post that the Kremlin may have tired of his nonsense and is backing a different horse in this race, any speculation in that direction?
Posted by: Paora | Aug 1 2020 8:29 utc | 82
@50 Peter AU1 / #55 Bemildred / Grieved | 70
Cheers guys. Fascinating comments and subject - will definitely investigate this further. The first questions that spring to mind are whether the different 'drivers' behind the military complexes are in any way proving to be advantageous to one and inhibitive to the other (profit is not a catalyst for invention) and history; It has occurred to me time and again over the last decade that the US's lack of history is indeed a major disadvantage and it shows most obviously when confronting Iran and Russia. Looking forward to reading more about Millenium Challenge 2002.
Posted by: AtaBrit | Aug 1 2020 8:42 utc | 83
Re Iran
US could not attack Iran conventionally but with Trump's earlier fixation on nuclear weapons I think he was going to give that a try. Putin must have thought so to as he very publicly laid Russia's nuclear umbrella over Iran and maintained the status quo.
It was after this meeting the Russian envoy made the point plain and public in the presser that Iran was an ally of Russia.
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-iran-us-israel-drone-ally-1445802
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2020 9:03 utc | 84
Posted by: King Lear | Aug 1 2020 8:29 utc | 85 insane and evil to an almost Satanic level
Well, that was an even more ridiculous rant - not to mention that you have no clue what "Satanism" is, except perhaps some nonsense from some horror movie you've seen (not that the concept has anything whatsoever to do with Transhumanism, which is supposed to be an outgrowth of Humanism, according to some Transhumanists.)
In any event, I couldn't care less what someone as ignorant as you about the topic has to say about it - or the pandemic or anything else for that matter.
So y'all have a nice evening - and be careful of those "Satanic Transhumanists" lurking under your bed.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Aug 1 2020 9:17 utc | 85
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2020 9:03 utc | 88 US could not attack Iran conventionally
The US is perfectly capable of *attacking* Iran conventionally. The only thing to question is whether the US can *defeat* Iran in the sense that Iran "surrenders" officially to the US. *That* is in my view impossible short of the US actually killing thirty million Iranians by nuking Iran.
Which in turn I believe even Trump would not do. He really would get Pentagon pushback on that, as well as from every US ally and the UNSC, because no one wants to get the geopolitical hear from being the first country to use nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear country (this isn't WWII any more, before anyone brings up Hiroshima.)
As for Putin declaring Iran an ally, that does *not* mean that Putin would risk a nuclear confrontation with the US over Iran. Not going to happen - even if the US nuked Tehran. Putin's charge is to take care of Russian interests - and having Iran as an "ally and partner" does qualify as an "interest". But it is *not* an *overriding* interest. Putin would not be authorized by the Russian people to risk their country being nuked over a bunch of Persians and if he did, they'd kick his butt out at the next election - and rightly so.
Current Russian military doctrine (discussed here specifies the following:
The section on use begins by repeating the formulation in the last two Russian military doctrines (translation from the Russian Embassy in the U.K.): “The Russian Federation shall reserve the right to use nuclear weapons in response to the use of nuclear and other types of weapons of mass destruction against it and/or its allies, as well as in the event of aggression against the Russian Federation with the use of conventional weapons when the very existence of the state is in jeopardy." Like the doctrines, Foundations underlines that the president of the Russian Federation makes any decision to use nuclear weapons. However, unlike the doctrines, it then, in paragraph 19, outlines four conditions that could allow for (not require) nuclear use:credible information that Russia is under ballistic missile attack (the missiles don’t have to be nuclear—this isn’t specified—but in many cases, it’s hard to tell before they land);
the use of nuclear or other WMD by an adversary against Russian territory or that of its allies;
adversary actions against Russian critical government or military infrastructure that could undermine Russia’s capacity for nuclear retaliation (so, for example, a cyber attack on Russia’s command and control—or perhaps one that targets Russian leadership could also qualify); and, finally,
conventional aggression against Russia that threatens the very existence of the state.
The primary requirement is the use of nukes or "WMDs" against Russia, or conventional weapons where their use is an "existential threat", i.e., Russia is about to be defeated on a conventional battlefield.
the phrase "and/or its allies" almost certainly does *not* include Iran. There are two "alliances" to which Russia is a party, according to Wikipedia:
1) Collective Security Treaty Organization: Military alliance with 6 former Soviet republics: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
2) Union State: an alliance between Russia and Belarus (also already covered by 1).
Russia and Iran do not have any formal military or mutual-defense alliance agreements. Russia and Iran are "allied" only with regard to Syria and Islamic terrorism in general. Russia is willing to sell Iran arms, obviously. Equally obviously, that does not indicate a willingness to risk nuclear war.
Putin made the following statement in June of 2019:
After talks Friday with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, Putin said that "relations between Russia and Iran are multifaceted, multilateral" and that "this concerns the economy, this concerns the issues of stability in the region, our joint efforts to combat terrorism, including in Syria."
Nothing in that statement indicates a willingness to use Russia's nuclear arsenal to threaten the US to prevent a US attack on Iran.
It is of course *possible* that some in the Pentagon, the Deep State, and/or Congress, may interpret that to be the case. But I think the primary restraint on any President would be the heat for a first use of nukes on a non-nuclear country - even if the alleged "reason" was that Iran was developing nukes.
Even severe damage to US Navy assets in the region would not be sufficient to justify the use of nukes against Iran, in particular because the only viable target for nukes would Tehran or some other major Iranian city.
It is just possible that a tactical nuke would be used against a heavily buried facility involved in nuclear weapons development (or more precisely, alleged to be so - because Iran won't be developing nukes regardless of any US attack.) But even that would likely produce more heat than the US would want - and if it was done, it would be done as covertly as possible and then denied by the US. And even in that case, Russia would not threaten a nuclear response over that.
Of course, if the US leadership were to become even more unhinged than Trump, or say, the Russian leadership after Putin were to become more hawkish, then all bets are off. But under current conditions, it's not going to happen.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Aug 1 2020 9:55 utc | 86
Posted by: tucenz | Aug 1 2020 9:56 utc | 87
This is a very good interview of Nassim Nicholas Taleb on the EconTalk Youtube channel. Well worth watching for the hour or so.
A Youtuber posted these notes:
The risk of ruin vs the risk of variation. I first need to survive. There systemic risks to be avoided that then allow me to take other risks elsewhere. Unlike other risks, the collective risk from infectious diseases doesn't scale linearly from individual risk. If I don't pay attention, the risk will be higher for everyone else. If we both wear masks perhaps we're not just reducing the risk of infection by p but by p². If we reduce viral load, perhaps we're reducing infection of others as much as 99%. Pandemics are existential risks. Pandemics have multiplicative risks. Others like dying from drowning in swimming pools are Chernoff bound (non-multiplicative). Rationality does not scale. People doing the right thing may not look rational. Pandemics are the fattest tail of them all. They got to be nipped at the bud. If we don't know if masks work, the more we should wear them. When there's uncertainty in the system it makes decisions much easier. Science is not about evidence. Science is about properties of stuff which may or may not include forecasts. Science is about describing a process. Rigorous science includes computation of asymmetries. Science is not accounting. Science is about understanding phenomena.
One point made was that you should treat all pandemics the same: as soon as they kill, say, one thousand people, take them seriously because you don't know what the ultimate morbidity will be. And that applies to this pandemic - because no one knows where it will stop or how much ancillary damage will be caused to even young victims over their lifespan.
And as for "forecasting", he points out that science is not about forecasting. Even epidemiologists don't understand that. It's about describing phenomena. You can make models, but models and statistics are not that useful when it comes to "fat tail" events.
He describes how historically Europe dealt with the plagues. They used quarantine liberally as part of their normal economic behavior. Ships that came in from suspect ports were refused entry, and ships in general were quarantined as a matter of course. When one ship was allowed to skip quarantine by the Mayor of Marseille - because he owned the ship - half of Marseille died.
Everyone should watch this interview and learn something about dealing with risk, and especially pandemic risk - which as he points out is an even greater risk than nuclear war.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Aug 1 2020 10:22 utc | 88
This book is likely required reading for those who have suffered from COVID-19. It's only 76 pages, but only costs $1.99 for the Kindle edition. I downloaded a copy from the Internet and will tuck it away for when I'm unlucky (assuming I would live long enough to try them.)
The Coronavirus Recovery Handbook: 19 Rehab Exercises for Mild to Severe Cases of COVID-19 - Dr. Liu Xiaodan and Dr. Shan Chunlei and their colleagues at the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Lei Shenshan Hospital in Wuhan.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Aug 1 2020 10:46 utc | 89
Putin's speech March 1 2018
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/56957
"In this connection, I would like to note the following. We are greatly concerned by certain provisions of the revised nuclear posture review, which expand the opportunities for reducing and reduce the threshold for the use of nuclear arms. Behind closed doors, one may say anything to calm down anyone, but we read what is written. And what is written is that this strategy can be put into action in response to conventional arms attacks and even to a cyber-threat.
I should note that our military doctrine says Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons solely in response to a nuclear attack, or an attack with other weapons of mass destruction against the country or its allies, or an act of aggression against us with the use of conventional weapons that threaten the very existence of the state. This all is very clear and specific.
As such, I see it is my duty to announce the following. Any use of nuclear weapons against Russia or its allies, weapons of short, medium or any range at all, will be considered as a nuclear attack on this country. Retaliation will be immediate, with all the attendant consequences."
Patrushev from my link above.
"In the context of the statements made by our partners with regard to a major regional power, namely Iran, I would like to say the following: Iran has always been and remains our ally and partner, with which we are consistently developing relations both on bilateral basis and within multilateral formats"
Patrushev went to the meeting as a presidential envoy. After Putin's 2018 speech, I wondered who Russia considered an ally as I had not seen Russia name any. I tend to think Patrushev had reason to publicly name Iran as an ally at that presser. My guess is Israel and US were trying to get Russia to stand aside while they attacked Iran.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2020 10:52 utc | 90
Nemesiscalling@77
Trump is clean. Well, after laundering so much money for Russian/israeli mafia , yeah, maybe.
He has known and palled around with Epstein since Epstein was with Bear Stearns in 1978 , being hired after his stint at Dalton School where he taught Ace Greensbergs daughter.
Barrs father hired Epstein to teach at Dalton School in 1974 despite him only having a HS degree. Barr Jr. was working at CIA at the time.
Trumps mentor was a homosexual named Roy Cohn who also ran a sex ring to entrap people, prostitutes included young boys at parties held in his suite at the Plaza Hotel. After Roy died in 1986 of AIDS , Trump bought the Plaza Hotel in 1988 and held his own parties, the nature of which are unknown.
Clinton was attracted to girls like Monica , but who knows, maybe he found younger girls hot too. When Donald Trump was watching his 16-year-old daughter Ivanka host the 1997 Miss Teen USA pageant, he turned to the then-Miss Universe and asked: “Don’t you think my daughter’s hot? She’s hot, right?”
Epstein had a falling out with Trump over a real estate deal in Palm Beach. From some accounts he tried to trap Trump but got caught. Trump knew what is MO was. Shortly after that he gets charged. Trump had his own plane and his own property. I doubt he ever needed to go to the island to sample Epstein's product, unlike Clinton. Besides he knew what Epstein was up too, knowing Robert and Ghislaine Maxwell like he did before Clinton even ran for President
Its curious , Trump, Kushners and Epstein all did their banking at Deutsche Bank, famous for laundering Russian money and playing fast and loose with banking regulations. Deutsche Banks largest shareholder is Chinese. Trump and Kushners personal wealth manager Rosemary worked for Epsteins wealth manager at Deutsche (he hired her) who committed suicide a couple month after Epstein. Deutsche Bank , being sued by shareholders for not being careful enough dealing with their wealthy clients. That trial may have lead to Trump/Kushner transactions.
So a guy who used to work for Kroll Moscow kills the judges son. Then suiciding himself. Kroll was in charge of security for WTC and was owned by AIG. Deutsche Bank incidentally was the bank that placed PUTS on AA and UA and was connected to Buzzy Krongard at the CIA , which was connected to Kroll. Deutsche Bank had bought Bankers Trust while Krongard was there , and it was this arm of Deutsche Bank that placed the PUTS.
Trumps AG Barr says he will investigate the murder. Its curious that Barr was counselor of the law firm that handled Epsteins case and negotiated the sweet heart deal in 2008. The guy signing off on the deal was Acosta who then joins the Trump team in 2017
Looking at Barr again. Barrs father hired Epstein in 1974 with his HS degree to teach at Dalton School while he is at CIA. One of his students was Bear Stearns CEO daughter. Ace Greenberg was the head of Bear Stearns, and friend of Trump, and hires Epstein in 1978.
Barr and the Clintons reportedly go way back to when Clinton was providing protection for Bushs Iran-Contra Operation run out of a AK .
Lets look closer at Trumps Barr. He was counsel for the law firm representing Epstein in 2008, not to mention working for law firms handling CIA’s Southern Air Transport (Wexner and Epstein helped them move to Ohio to handle business out of HK in mid 90’s) and the head of a BCCI connected US bank in the 80’s (First General) that the Clinton/Bush backer Stevens attempted to buy on behalf of BCCI. Stevens ran Systematics and used and distributed the backdoored PROMIS and also hired Foster and Hillary’s law firm, and no doubt was a key to laundering the drug money out of Mena using Clintons bond program set up for that purpose
Last time Barr was AG under Bush Sr. lots of guys were getting snuffed out and investigations slowed , stonewalled or stopped (BCCI, Inslaw. Iran-Contra).
The same year that Casolaro died for investigating the Octopus, there were several other suspicious deaths involving people directly connected to the Promis scandal or involved in Casolaro’s investigation of “the Octopus” — including Alan Standorf, one of Casolaro’s sources; Robert Maxwell, father of Ghislaine Maxwell, Mossad operative, and salesman of the bugged Promis software; and John Tower — the former Texas senator who assisted Maxwell in selling the bugged Promis software to the Los Alamos laboratories, and John Heinz, senator of PA
John Heinz chaired a three-man presidential review board that probed the Iran-Contra affair and had in his possession all the damning documents from that affair, while John Tower led the infamous Tower Commission that investigated a variety of different CIA criminal activities and dirty dealings and was working on a tell all book. John Heinz and John Tower died in plane wrecks on successive days in 1991 – Tower in Georgia, and Heinz in Montgomery County, Pa. John Kerry then marries Heinz widow, a reward perhaps for his role in the coverup of Bush crimes.
Craig Spence, after his trafficking and exploitation of minors was exposed, died under mysterious circumstances on 11/11/89. His death was quickly labeled a suicide, not unlike Jeffrey Epstein’s. This was the first year of the Bush administration with Barr working at the Justice Department
Barr also advised Bush on stonewalling investigations of the CIA when Bush was CIA Director in the 70’s following his stint in China. It was Bush who began the privatization of the CIA operations after Carter came in and pushed him out and then purged much of the CIA. He formalized this privatization as VP under Reagan when Barr mysteriously returns to his side and entities like the CIA front NED were created.
Maybe I am making Barr out to be more than he was but he was connected with so much stuff. He actually signed off on spying on Americans telephone calls (international) as Bush’s AG before leaving and working for telecom industry before retiring from Verizon in 2009. So no doubt he was involved in the domestic surveillance that was ramped up after 9/11.
By 1993, after Billy Barr leaves as AG, prosecutors in Illinois and New York who had spent years investigating Hoffenberg’s Towers Financial were able to proceed. In front of a grand jury in Chicago, federal prosecutor Edward Kohler walked Hoffenberg, who had just agreed to cooperate with the government, through the design of the scam. In the narrative Kohler laid out, Epstein was the technical wizard who kept the money moving around to support Hoffenberg’s various schemes.
Epstein was never charged. Curiously Rudy Giuliani was the attorney for Towers Financial
Food for thought, yah think? Or maybe people cant think anymore,
Clean, yeah right. LOL
Posted by: Kay Fabe | Aug 1 2020 10:59 utc | 91
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/war-between-greece-and-turkey-now-real-possibility-165465.
By the way. this article really ruffled some feathers in Turkey.
Posted by: AtaBrit | Jul 31 2020 17:10 utc | 9
That sounded like standard anti-Turkish stuff. Greece and Turkey have been on the point of war for nearly a century, since the Greeks actually invaded Turkey, to recover Ionian "rights" in Anatolia from the 5th century BC. And the American Enterprise Institute too! A well-known left-wing institution.
Posted by: Laguerre | Aug 1 2020 11:33 utc | 92
Posted by: Kay Fabe | Aug 1 2020 10:59 utc | 96
I think you have Barr about right, but I don't see what you think we are supposed to do about it? I don't remember anybody here much defending him. It's true I don't read long rants much, so there might be some. We do have a few Trumpists here, I think, but given the low quality of the alternatives to Trump, I'm not willing to criticize them.
But your post brought Poppy back to mind, he just runs all through the political fecklessness in this country these last 70 years or so, he brings to mind LBJ too. But anyway, now that Poppy has gone to meet his reward, that got me thinking about the changes that must have take place in his wake. Who is running the governments criminal underground these days, now that Poppy is gone?
Posted by: Bemildred | Aug 1 2020 11:35 utc | 93
Kay Fabe @ 96
Thank you for that excellent summary of the Epstein, Maxwell racket inc background.
That’s MOA At it’s best. This entire post is first rate. I in tend to just listen and learn.
It’s on thing knowing about the curuption, another thing being able to do something about it !
This is why I beleave the only true politics now is street politics, wheather we like it or not.
There is more now that unites us than devides us. Left Right politics will include a lot of mistrust.
Media misinformation being the deliberate course of that. Along with media self-censorship. Until we resolve that. Civil war is enevitable!
Posted by: Mark2 | Aug 1 2020 11:55 utc | 94
I called it. Reverse racism is one hell of a drug:
'Higher culture' Japan acted like it had the virus under wraps, but now it’s everywhere
--//--
The Christian virus ravages South Korea:
Shincheonji leader arrested on charges of obstructing anti-virus response
I think this priest should be burnt on a stake.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2020 10:52 utc | 95 I tend to think Patrushev had reason to publicly name Iran as an ally at that presser. My guess is Israel and US were trying to get Russia to stand aside while they attacked Iran.
Nonetheless, the two statements do not constitute an official declaration that Iran is an ally in the sense of being under the Russian nuclear umbrella, as the countries in the list I quoted from Wikipedia are. The Collective Security Treaty Organization "charter reaffirmed the desire of all participating states to abstain from the use or threat of force. Signatories would not be able to join other military alliances or other groups of states,[3] while aggression against one signatory would be perceived as an aggression against all."
That's a military alliance which specifically declares those countries as "allies" in the military sense and specifically states that an attack on any of them is an attack on all of them.
Putin nor anyone else in Russia has specifically stated that Iran is an ally in those same terms. Putin's reference to Iran as an ally applied to economic matters and the security of Syria.
There is an article at Stratfor which I cannot access, but the tagline says: "Nikolai Bordyuzha, secretary-general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), said Feb. 25 [2020] that Moscow's nuclear umbrella has been extended to other CSTO member countries..." In other words, the nuclear umbrella didn't even cover the former Soviet Union countries until this year, apparently. From another article I found, Russia extended the umbrella to Belarus in 2000. Another article I found says this:
Finally, Russia has created its own military alliance through the Collective Security Treaty (1992) or “Tashkent treaty”. In 2002, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) was created, with a view to parallel NATO. As of June 2009, the organization included Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, which are implicitly covered by a Russian nuclear guarantee. Even though Russian officials refer sometimes to all Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS) countries being protected by Moscow’s nuclear forces, it is reasonable to assume that only CSTO countries are effectively under the Russian nuclear umbrella.
So I simply don't see any reference anywhere to Russia explicitly extending its nuclear umbrella outside of the former Soviet Bloc countries. Again, all of the references made by Russians - Putin or otherwise - to Iran as an "ally" do not reference a military dimension. Of course, it's always *possible* that Putin or some future Russian leader *would* extend that umbrella to Iran, depending on future circumstances. But it seems highly unlikely.
I repeat: There is no chance that Russia will go to nuclear war over Iran. Or even conventional war against US military assets engaged in an attack on Iran because that would risk escalation to a nuclear level. The most Russia will do is supply arms and intelligence to Iran.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Aug 1 2020 13:20 utc | 96
Hoareswhisperer #74
Yes, the documents I tried were easy to unmask, I could even use an editing program to delete the black bars from the page leaving the “redacted” portions with a light grey/gray background making it easier to see what was being hidden in context.
Seems too incompetent to be an innocent error (this sort of thing has happened before), but I’ve not been following the whole sordid thing closely enough to even have speculations on why that might be.
Posted by: BillB | Aug 1 2020 13:25 utc | 97
@Kay Fabe96
@Bemildred98
Totally agree with both on Barr. His name burned into my brain around 1999 when I picked up a bombshell book from my local library by Terry Reed: https://www.amazon.com/Compromised-Clinton-Bush-Terry-Reed/dp/1561712493
Reed was a Vietnam vet, Air Force pilot, then recruited into CIA, worked with private companies connected with CIA, then continued to tangle himself into training pilots in Mena AK in the early 80s. The book is an autobio which they always leave a ton of stuff out-- I will when I write mine (LOL)- but Reed tells the story of the Contra cocaine/arms ratline running through Bill Clinton's Arkansas, names names: Barr, HW Bush, Barry Seal, HW's friend Felix (he killed Che)Rodriguez,the drug addled--and involved-- Bush boys (W and Jeb). At one point in his story Barr appears in Arkansas and threatens Clinton.
If anyone can refute this story please do. I have not been able to in over 20 years. The book is hard to get now, very expensive, but might be in some libraries. disappeared from mine.
Here's a youtube clip on him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H01_dY6atfc
Bottom line, my guess is that Reed was like many, ambitious young up and comer who used his position and skills to climb until he found himself in a tangled web: a mafia cell that easily could have snuffed him. Barr, Clintons, Bush's,... they're all players and they play by mafia rules.
Posted by: migueljose | Aug 1 2020 13:31 utc | 98
@Posted by: Bob Dvorak | Aug 1 2020 2:11 utc | 54
Thanks for the link...I was viewing a second video suggested at the end of this on The Destruction of Libya when, at the heights of Assange interview with John Pilger, my old computer was suddenly switched off...
This has happened to me several times already with "wistleblower" videos...leaving in me the feeling that all this is aired with the aim to know who would pick up on these links...
Anyway, worth to know....
Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 1 2020 13:33 utc | 99
The "no-fly zone" issue is covered in a second video suggested when this one almost ends...It is also told that Obama opposed at first the destruction of Lybia, along with the important participation of some NATO superpowers on basis of geopolitical interests and, of course, looting of always...It was a coalition of the willing with assorted goals...althoughm ainly benefitted the US in its cursade on the ME...
All these wars have happened to destroy kinda powerful nations ( competing economic/military powers...), like Lybia in Africa and Yugoslavia in Europe on behalf of others´hegemony...
Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 1 2020 13:41 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
Western Civilization is melting down:
US GDP down 9.5% in one quarter; -32.9% annualized
The Eurozone economy shrank by a record 15.0 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2020
There are graphs in both links, plus the sources (all of them official).
--//--
Tokyo may call state of emergency as daily coronavirus cases soar
As I've stated earlier many times here, Japan is doing whatever it can to curb testing (only doctors are authorized to test, and only when there's overwhelming evidence). You can multiply the official numbers by 10-20 without fear of hyperbole.
But keep leaving your shoes outside, Westerners, because reverse racism is still one hell of a drug.
Posted by: vk | Jul 31 2020 13:55 utc | 1