Via Xymphora today…
As euronews reported in July, weeks before the election:
“Last week, the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), an international body that assesses the fairness of elections, announced it was having to forego a planned mission to the eastern European country due to the invitation arriving too late.
“Belarus announced the forthcoming presidential election well over two months ago,” OSCE spokeswoman Katya Andrusz told Euronews.
“And the Belarusian authorities are aware that ODIHR needs a timely invitation in order to make a full assessment of the election process. The formation of election commissions and registration of candidates has already been completed, and these are specific areas ODIHR recently identified as requiring improvement.”
ODIHR published a statement announcing its withdrawal from the observation mission on July 15 because it hadn’t been formally invited. It was only then that Minsk sent an invitation, according to Andrusz.
It’s the first time ODIHR won’t be monitoring a Belarusian nationwide election since 2001.”
They’ve been at every election since 2001, and didn’t call any of them fraudulent, but then they decided to skip this one because something something something they didn’t have time to prepare (?).
The Belarusian government complained about the fact they refused, of course.
It’s almost like the West was planning to claim this election was fraudulent long before it ever took place.
It’s obvious to anyone with a brain that this is exactly what happened.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Aug 19 2020 19:24 utc | 3

S. BACH: WTC, B.I: Prelude and Fugue in E flat minor No.8, BWV 853. Sviatoslav Richter! mood for the times…

Posted by: james | Aug 19 2020 19:40 utc | 5

@ blues…… jasmine tea is mostly green tea… if they are out of green tea, get the jasmine.. it will do the same thing for you…

Posted by: james | Aug 19 2020 19:51 utc | 7

@kali 2
About ‘progressives’ being conned to support Biden. American ‘progressives’ get “conned” into supporting ridiculous positions or people so often that it really looks like they want to be conned. Either that or they are dumber than a bag of hammers.
Perhaps ‘progressivism’ itself is the con. Bernie Sanders flaked out and sabotaged his own candidacy, AOC is all talk and no action etc. Doesn’t Hillary Clinton call herself ‘progressive’? At this point ’progressive’ is just another DNC trademark deployed to “con” the fools who can’t envision a political landscape that doesn’t involve the cursed and fatally compromised Democratic Party.
Aside from ditching the stupid moniker, ‘progressives’ need to grab a brain and start thinking.

Posted by: Daniel | Aug 19 2020 19:58 utc | 9

COVID-19 vaccines
Australia Prime Minister Morrison all Australians mandatory FREE COVID-19 Vaccinations, earlier signed deal with AstraZeneca for COVID-19 vaccine. Latest China grants country’s first COVID-19 vaccine patent to CanSino and Russia has registered the world’s first coronavirus vaccine.
China 3 vaccines under phase 3 clinical trials and US – 2 vaccines phase three clinical trials. Chinese Regulator Says COVID-19 Vaccines Must Be At Least 50% Effective and last For 6 Months.
The same goes with FDA, “US FDA says a coronavirus vaccine would have to be at least 50% effective to be approved”
Therefore are Aussie willing to take chances six-months immune or wait? Who has the best vaccines?

Posted by: JC | Aug 19 2020 20:31 utc | 11

JC
It will start winding down in a few days. From what I can see, Russian specialists have moved in and as Putin said “Outside interference is unacceptable. Social media like facebook and telegram are used to organise protests and those messages will mostly originate from foreign sources. Won’t be long now and all that will be left is a small group of rabble that nobody in Belarus wants anything to do with, similar to Hong Kong. They can them be shipped off to their dream professions as toilet cleaners and prostitutes in the EU. The clowns the EU are setting up in Poland or wherever are unknowns in Belarus.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 19 2020 21:02 utc | 13

Richter is my favorite pianist, james — thanks!

Posted by: juliania | Aug 19 2020 21:21 utc | 15

jc@11
What Australia’s PM announced was actually only a Letter of Intent, much less significant than he was implying. At best, it means that Australia has a place in the queue to buy the stuff when a working version is produced.
The PM is nicknamed ‘Scotty from Marketing’, because that is what he does. Always working on the political and media aspects of an issue rather than devising policies that might be effective, and using confidentiality to hide his government’s stuff-ups. He’s aided in this by a very supportive Murdoch media machine, and a public broadcaster that he has beaten into submission. He is truly a devious, deceitful person.

Posted by: Extra | Aug 19 2020 21:32 utc | 17

U.S. seizes 4 tankers, 1 million bbls gasoline headed for Venezuela this was the best summary of a story that all/most of you must have already heard about by now https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-08-16/the-u-s-brings-state-sponsored-piracy-into-the-21st-century?srnd=premium
Of course this is repulsive aggression by the #1 state sponsor of starvation in the world. The twist I find interesting is that the Iranian FM maintains that since neither the tankers or the cargo are owned by Iran that the U.S. court decision does not apply. That the ownership transferred in the Persian Gulf. I am wondering how this might play out. I can see the U.S. court ruling in favor of Venezuela but the Trump Administration then do its best to prevent the shipping from Houston to Caracas but it is a face saving way to avoid conflict with the U.S. at least for a little while.
If Venezuela or Russia has any tankers, I don’t think the Trump Admin would be able to bar them from taking back the gasoline but this criminal enterprise knows no bounds. I hope this goes down before the election. Trump deserves any humiliation he can get for doing this.

Posted by: Christian J. Chuba | Aug 19 2020 21:59 utc | 19

If there was any doubt about the events in Belarus they’re gone for me after looking at a picture of Tikhanovskaya with the infamous silk shirt donned destroyer of Lybia by the name of beshel, BHL.
https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/6108819.html

Posted by: Paco | Aug 19 2020 22:41 utc | 21

Cannot recommend this enough, so I’m posting it here again. It’s related to the previous post (the Democratic Convention one):
¿Cómo frenar a China? El ascenso de Beijing y las fracturas estratégicas en Estados Unidos
Behind all the ideological crap, the polarization between Republicans and Democrats is this one: foreign policy tactics.
Both parties want to keep the USA as the world’s hegemon. No divisions here.
The difference is how each party (faction?) want to achieve that.
The Democrats want to keep the “globalist” strategy, that is, to try to keep the USA at the top of the world food chain within the already existing multilateral international architecture (which the USA founded after 1945). This strategy can be summarized by Obama’s speech during the TPP-TTIP announcement: we (the USA) need to “write the rules of the game” (if not, China will write them).
That means the USA is to achieve another century of domination through soft power and institutionalism. The world must be Americanized, i.e. to think, share the same philosophical values of the USA, in a way that, even if the USA proper is no longer the #1 country, it will still be the dominant force of the world for the simple fact the new #1 country will be, in spirit, a new America. The USA would then claim the world of the 21st Century and beyond in the same way Rome can claim paternity from the concept of the Western Civilization. An American could then feel at home at any corner of the world, the same way a Roman could fell at home equally in Gaul, Hispania, Britannia, North Africa or Syria. Hence the “Woke Left”, with its focus on the creation of a universality that can be fit (potentially) in any circumstance, any time, any place (the universal human being). The goal of the woke left is essentially to prepare the new Bible so they can proselytize in the rest of the world, so they can create a single set of learning which can assimilate all the cultures as instantly as possible: they are preparing the ideological terrain for the TPP and the TTIP.
The Republicans (with Trump, but actually since George W. Bush) seem to have chosen the strategy of keeping the American hegemony by force. In practical terms, that means a bilateral strategy. The logic is simple: while the USA can’t dominate the rest of the world at once, they can do it by subjugating one country at a time. As long as the other countries don’t gang up to counter-attack, the USA is fine at any bilateral negotiations it has (both because it has the strongest military and because it has the largest and strongest economy). This is important, because, in this doctrine, the order of the factors change the product: the strongest country must be defeated first, then the second strongest, then the third, and so on. By the time of Trump, this “second strongest” is China, hence it must be destroyed first.
Note that this doesn’t mean the weaker countries aren’t enemies of the USA. According to the Republican – or rather, their new ideologues, the “Alt-Right” – every country that is not the USA is an enemy of the USA. They all must be subjugated. That’s why Trump makes decisions that, from the traditional, multilateral point of view – are very erratic: he fights China will all his energies, but then, when he has the time, he suddenly turns against Germany (sanction Nordstream-2, move troops to Poland, etc.) and then, in another week, he extends the economic sanctions against Russia (allegedly, an ally of the alt-right, as it is a white Christian country). This is the bilateral logic: one country (enemy) at a time, with a proportional preference to the strongest one (China) and so on.
Another implication of the alt-right doctrine (bilateralism) is the return to Alexander Hamilton’s protectionism. That’s because, if the USA is to fight against the world, it will need to have a self-sufficient industry, as the industry is the soul of the modern armed forces. Note the pattern: first Bush went to secure the oil (fuel for the industry), then Trump is going for the tech (the components for the industry). Before that, he was protecting the interests of the American steel industry (his false accusation China could starve the USA from steel). This order is clear: the alt-right seeks to rebuild the American heavy and high-tech industry to achieve autarky (fascist utopia) through some kind of “Neohamiltonianism” (American Fascism). This eventual revival of the industry will then trigger a revival of the American defense industry, thus increasing its bilateral powers, until the point they would be able to subjugate the entire world at the same time again (as they could in 1945).
Let’s see if this theory stands. If Biden wins, by this theory, he’ll certainly, almost immediately, will try to revive the TPP and the TTIP.

Posted by: vk | Aug 19 2020 23:04 utc | 23

will the world ignore that Israel did it in Lebanon?
vk 23 What do you think Article II folks will do when it is discovered the governed are no longer interested in being ruled by those appointed by either party?

Posted by: snake | Aug 19 2020 23:39 utc | 25

A blurb I discovered about the book discussed @24:
“[Franklin] has written both a history of America’s search for the perfect weapon – beginning in the 1800s – and a cautionary tale of how this quest has made us all less safe. The New York Times called the original book ‘a penetrating and often disturbing study of why we create superweapons in the pursuit of ‘security and peace.’ Author and scientist Isaac Asimov observed, ‘In War Stars, H. Bruce Franklin writes American history from a new angle. It astonished me – but it was totally convincing throughout.'”
But the NY Times learned nothing from its review, nor does it appear that anyone else has, except perhaps the overall culture having become even more fearful of its own designs–we struggle to win our freedom from ourselves since we are the Monsters–a penetrating point Franklin makes in the book’s Introduction. It can be freely read at The Archive if you’re a member, and membership’s free.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 20 2020 0:21 utc | 27

JC @ 11:
Hosscara @ 14 and Extra @ 17 are correct. AstraZeneca is now being reported in the Murdoch-owned news media here as denying that any deal was ever signed. Curious that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Sydney Morning Herald have not yet backed away from their earlier reporting.
The Russian vaccine Sputnik V is based on research done on the original SARS coronavirus that hit China, Hong Kong and Canada nearly 20 years ago, and then on the MERS virus that hit western Asia some 10 years ago. The Russian vaccine will be a two-shot regime using two vectors (based on weakened adenoviruses that cause the common cold in humans) and an early claim is that it will last for two years. The Oxford University / AstraZeneca vaccine uses a vector cultivated from a weakened adenovirus that infects chimpanzees.

Posted by: Jen | Aug 20 2020 0:55 utc | 29

@ Jen | Aug 20 2020 0:25 utc | 28.. thanks jen… she has her mind set on the brass ring – pm job – and she has all the right connections – george soros and etc. – to get the gig… it is really quite pathetic, but canucks are easily duped it seems… i am not sure how many have held the finance minsiter position before becoming pm… paul martin was one of them…
your 2nd link doesn’t work, but it was john helmer who wrote a number of articles on her ancestry… back in 2017 i see that the ottawa citizen had an article on this that is still up – Chrystia Freeland’s granddad was indeed a Nazi collaborator – so much for Russian disinformation.
what is interesting is how this info got buried and none of the major outlets in canada – globe and mail, or national post would touch this story.. it was almost like someone up above had told them to back off… and as we continue to see she is being primed and positioned for the top job… it won’t take much for justin to step aside at this point, being mired it a bunch of light stuff that he is unwilling to take the responsibility for… i think it might be because he knows it is only a matter of time for when they get him to exit stage left and have yours truly in the drivers seat… it is quite a sad kettle of fish… when i mention this to a number of canucks there brain goes to jelly… the story has been kept under wraps quite successfully for the most part… thanks for the reminder of it all..

Posted by: james | Aug 20 2020 1:08 utc | 31

donkeytale, King Lear
Mad kings and donkeys can’t see the danger of a world controlled by a single power structure. Thankfully, the rest of us can.
The Anglo-Zionist Empire power-elite make no secret of their supremacist ideologies: neoconservativism (a secretive form of aristocracy), neoliberalism (a secretive form of fascism), and zionism (a secretive form of colonialism).
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Aug 20 2020 1:39 utc | 33

@ Canadian Cents #1
Sorry to hear that even Canada is also full of sheeple voters and run by photogenic crooks. On par with the Netherlands which also have a Barbie Ken doll as PM who also doesn’t care about his own population. All that mass education wasted.
A pity because there are plenty of quality Canadians, just not enough in elections and crucial positions.
Maybe the Freeland slap-in-the-face will wake up enough?

Posted by: Antonym | Aug 20 2020 2:02 utc | 35

donkeytale @Aug20 2:08 #38:

There is a single power structure … it is a class based structure …

No. We involved in a new Cold War for a reason. The “frenemy” nature of of relations between US and China has given way to deep antagonism as Western power-elite confront China’s unwillingness to be assimilated as a vassal of the Empire. Instead, China’s powerful economy and her alliance with Russia, Pakistan, Iran and other countries mean that the Empire faces a peer competitor for the first time ever.
As I said, the rest of us can see this.
<> <> <> <> <>
PS China is no different than many other countries that have a contingent that would welcome an accommodation with the Empire – but it’s clear that such people are not presently in control.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Aug 20 2020 2:48 utc | 37

The 737 Max series here is some of the best journalism I have ever seen.
Today I see two random articles about the 737 Max for the first time in a while.
One is a Reuters release (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-enter-air-orders-idUSKCN25F28A)
about the first order made this year by a Polish airline, Enter Air SA, which will purchase “four variants of the jet” despite the next line of the article mentioning the recertification of the airline “is still hanging in balance”.
The very brief article implies suggests the planes were bought at a discount and that Enter Air had already received two 737 Max planes in 2018, so it seems like some coordinated public relations stunt, but this article did remind me that there are some finished 737 Max planes out there. Are these existing Max planes grounded? If so, then Enter Air must be fairly certain of recertification to actually order more.
The other article comes from USA Today, citing the Polish purchase and highlights that these planes are being sold as 737-8 instead of the ‘Max’ moniker. It mentions a series of names of 737-7 to 737-10
Strange things are afoot with these planes and reverting to a name filled with numbers is surely in hopes to blur them with the previous generation of planes, which were classified as 737-800 per the same article. I wouldn’t be surprised if Boeing is going around filing down all the serial numbers on all their old models at this point.

Posted by: Rutherford82 | Aug 20 2020 4:14 utc | 39

Posted by: Rutherford82 | Aug 20 2020 4:14 utc | 42
As a former greased monkey or licensed aircraft engrg. I had watched Boeing 737 starts service in the 69’s. Trump forced the Polish to buy the plane otherwise it will remain where it were. There were so many B737 sitting in Seattle and in the desert of CA no sane person will dare to fly in one the death trap. Especially NOT the Chinese… wanna bet?

Posted by: JC | Aug 20 2020 4:27 utc | 41

@ JC 44
The deal seems odd. Maybe somebody “loaned” Enter Air the money for the planes, or perhaps you are correct and it is simple coercion.
I expect the next article I read about this plane will be some feature about how comfortable the interior is while the MCAS remains relatively unchanged.
As far as betting on who will fly in these, I bet Boeing eventually manages to get each one into the air. Although they may rename the entire line to just be called “airplane” at that point to avoid sane people being alarmed.

Posted by: Rutherford82 | Aug 20 2020 5:05 utc | 43

Former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to making a false statement in the first criminal case arising from U.S. Attorney John Durham’s review of the investigation into links between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.
U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia James Boasberg accepted the plea. Clinesmith’s sentencing date has been set for Dec. 10 at 11 a.m. ET.
Durham’s office on Wednesday said that Clinesmith’s guilty plea was to “one count of making a false statement within both the jurisdiction of the executive branch and judicial branch of the U.S. government, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000.”
Clinesmith was referred for potential prosecution by the Justice Department’s inspector general’s office, which conducted its own review of the Russia investigation.
The inspector general accused Clinesmith, though not by name, of altering an email about former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page to say that he was “not a source” for another government agency.
Page has said he was a source for the CIA.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ex-fbi-lawyer-kevin-clinesmith-pleads-guilty-durham-probe

Posted by: Mao | Aug 20 2020 5:11 utc | 45

Benedict Cumberbatch ”Broken News” (TV series) (2005) as Will Parker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze66UWFvtFY

Posted by: Mao | Aug 20 2020 5:18 utc | 47

Posted by: Rutherford82 | Aug 20 2020 5:05 utc
Nope it wasn’t odd. Poland got what she wanted troops stations in Russia front yards. “Russia moving nearer to EU”. Poland even pays for US station’s troops there. In returned for Trump’s favor she bought two Boeing 737-800 which no other nations wanna wants. The new Boeing 737 MAX sitting in Seattle and CA deserts.. (Forgotten where in CA)
Are you aware there are wiring problems inside the wings, and FAA insists modification or rewired before airworthiness re certification. Before I forget, the Boeing 737-MAX rename Boeing 737-800 and NOT 737-8. Chinese 8 mean GOOD LUCK, GET RICH.

Posted by: JC | Aug 20 2020 5:35 utc | 49

COVID-19 Factoids August 20, 2020.
Source: Worldometer
Category: Cases vs Deaths
Sweden: Cases = 85,411. Deaths = 5,802.
China: Cases = 84,895. Deaths = 4,634.
Notes:
On June 30, 2020, ABC.net.au/ForeignCorrespondent broadcast a report on Sweden’s COVID strategy. At that time Sweden’s Death toll was circa 5000.
Swedes adopted a strategy they call Lockdown Lite to minimise the potential adverse effects on the Swedish economy. Like most Western countries, the people in charge made several blunders and moved to correct them.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Aug 20 2020 5:54 utc | 51

@ J W # 51 who wrote in regard to fighting California fires
”
The problem isn’t inmates, the problem is the rest of the Americans are too cowardly and selfish to do their duty.
”
What is it about slave labor you are not understanding? Slaves are suppose to volunteer to fight forest fires because profit in your world? And they are selfish not to?
Hey b!
Please put up another posting because every time I see the picture of AOC in your DNC posting I can’t help but picture the lipstick on a pig meme….she looks so sincere.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 20 2020 6:06 utc | 53

Posted by: Rutherford82 | Aug 20 2020 6:02 utc | 55
Check again still can’t find not in ZeroHedge. Remember clearly Trump’s suggested Boeing renamed it and check Spudnik, not there either. Sorrie, could be mistaken, memory deteriorating.

Posted by: JC | Aug 20 2020 6:52 utc | 55

@53 The important thing is that, according to Poroshenko, Shokin had done nothing wrong. The argument that various Western states wanted him gone because he was “soft on corruption” is therefore false.
“And despite of the fact that we didn’t have any corruption charges, we don’t have any information about him doing something wrong, I especially asked him … No, it was the day before yesterday. I especially asked him to resign in his position as a state person, and despite of the fact that he has support in the public, and as a finish of my meeting with him, he promised me to give me the statement of his resignation, and one hour ago he bring me the written statement of his resignation.
Joe Biden: (01:06)
Great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpCpI_HAB84

Posted by: Cherrycoke | Aug 20 2020 9:07 utc | 57

@JC | Aug 19 2020 20:31 utc | 11
Free vaccines? The reliability of the news aside, it most certainly won’t be free. The [insert country] government will make sure an extraordinarily generous amount of tax money, padded further by debt on the future generations, will be transferred to the coffers of [insert pharma company].
For the 2009 H1N1 epidemic – probably one of the mildest flu waves ever – the German government bought 60 million vaccine doses under cover fire of relentless pandemic hysteria. Helpfully, the 80% pharma-financed WHO had just dropped the ‘(3) dangerousness’ criterion for “pandemics”, so any (1) sufficiently new and (2) sufficiently rapidly spreading disease could henceforth be classed as pandemic which seems more practical for keeping the sheeple in fear while fleecing them.
While robbing the ignorant sheeple blind is fair game, some aninmals are of course more equal than others and so the German H1N1 vaccine came in two different types: the little-tested vaccine with booster for the sheeple, a safer version without the booster for members of the government. Ultimately the vaccines went into the bin.
So great results all around in 2009: gigantic pharma profits and bonuses secured (some pharma CEOs make over $100m a year), kickbacks for corrupt politicians secured, sheeple kept quiet in the belief the fleecing was in their best interest, and as a bonus that time nobody got physically harmed.
Stay tuned for 2020 – it looks be to be a real blockbuster year!

Posted by: Leser | Aug 20 2020 12:01 utc | 59

Looks like the Chinese agree with me @23:
The US will always bully the world’s 2nd richest economy [no matter which country it is]
That’s the logical endgame for the USA: if you’re the world’s #1, the only way is downwards, so you must spend your energies on keeping yourself where you are.
It doesn’t matter if it is the Woke Left’s Hippie Imperialism or if it is the Alt-Right’s Fascist Imperialism, the resultant is the same.
–//–
One more fake news from the WSWS:
Chinese academic expelled for denouncing President Xi
That’s not what happened. First, Cai Xia was expelled from the CCP (after one year living in the USA doing anti-China propaganda), then she begun to “denounce” Xi Jinping.
Therefore, the ad hominem attacks begun after the expulsion, not before.
And it wasn’t Xi who expelled Cai Xia, but the Party School of the Central Committee of Communist Party of China, of which she was a professor.
Before the expulsion, she lived on the CCP’s expenses in the USA, in comfortable retirement, proselytizing against the hand that fed her. This is not even communism, it’s basic loyalty stuff that’s typical of any kind of organization.
A proportional comparison would be for the American taxpayer to keep funding a communist professor who was born and raised in the USA, and enjoyed all the good stuff America could offer.
I thought those Trotskyists were fond of party discipline. Well, only to their party, it seems.

Posted by: vk | Aug 20 2020 12:05 utc | 61

@Peter AU1 | Aug 20 2020 8:17 utc | 59
Oldies dying like flies in the UK? To an extent yes – from the various effects of fear and prolonged curfew, and criminal negligence in care homes that is so crass and systematic that it looks a lot like planned euthanasia. Over the year 2020 there will likely be no excess mortality in most countries (and the UK is already back to below average), meaning these measures needlessly brought forward the death of many people who otherwise would have enjoyed additional weeks, months or years of life.
How again did we end up in this utterly bizarre “Brave New Normal World”?
Catte Black is still perfectly spot on:
https://off-guardian.org/2020/05/19/10-steps-to-turn-a-pandemic-into-the-brave-new-normal/

Posted by: Leser | Aug 20 2020 12:24 utc | 63

Carl Zha @CarlZha
Wuhan is what happens when a central gov act decisively to crush COVID19: whole city lockdown, hospital build in 7 days, 11 million tested, life returns to normal aft 3 month
This could be you had your gov acted effectively
[VIDEO]
https://twitter.com/CarlZha/status/1295518137824063493

Posted by: Mao | Aug 20 2020 12:29 utc | 65

Once again we are treated to the seedy spectacle of the Brock-bot ‘king donkey rear.org’ trying to “Correct the Record” by talking to itself in a decidedly masturbatory fashion. Once you overcome your revulsion for that crass display, though, you may find it funny in a silly sort of way.

Posted by: William Gruff | Aug 20 2020 12:34 utc | 67

Viva La Rozistance @PolitiKurd
Never forget that this is who Joe Biden decided to consult about restoring respect & dignity to working Americans
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eft9lLSWkAw8DTh.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eft9lLUX0AAYv8H.jpg
https://twitter.com/PolitiKurd/status/1295767397790625793
6 must-see moments from Cardi B and Joe Biden’s conversation
https://www.thelovemagazine.co.uk/article/6-must-see-moments-from-cardi-b-and-joe-bidens-conversation

Posted by: Mao | Aug 20 2020 12:42 utc | 69

I can no longer access your site without “click on all the crosswalks” etc. This is because someone is attempting to deny me privacy rights by putting up this barrier each time I try to access your site. Very sad and I hope paradoxical on the site’s part but I have no time for this. I don’t have any exceptions for challenging my anonymity. It is the fascist side, I believe, who encourages the specious argument that persons have not the right nor expectation of privacy.

Posted by: Lawrence | Aug 20 2020 12:59 utc | 71

karlof1 | Aug 19 2020 21:24 utc | 16
And before Heinlein there was H. G. Wells When the Sleeper Awakes which imagined all sorts of futuristic wonders. The gist of the story though was that the sleeper (a rather ordinary man put into a coma-like centuries long suspension,) through the operation of wanked-out capitalism had become the virtual owner of all of civilization!
Your point is well taken though and does not only apply to science fiction, but to science itself. Those pushing the boundaries of human knowledge do not try to hoard what they may uncover (discover) but share it willingly for verification or rejection, and if found valid, for incorporation. It is only capitalists (and some scientists are avid capitalists) that then try to capture sole rights through patents based on that knowledge. The whole “institution” of patents needs to be revisited and throttled down.
On a related note, are you aware of the bizarre history of Red Skelton and his efforts to control the entire body of his artistic output?

Posted by: vinnieoh | Aug 20 2020 13:21 utc | 73

Roberto Jefferson petitions to Trump to intervene in Brazil:
Roberto Jefferson pede audiência a Trump para pedir providências contra o STF
You know who this Roberto Jefferson is? Nothing more, nothing less than the congressman who triggered the long color revolution in Brazil against president Lula and the Workers’ Party… in 2005!
What’s funny is the alleged “crime” he mentions in his petition to Trump: “leftism” (!!!). No, I’m not kidding: that’s literally what’s written in his petition.
And people still deny the existence of the 2nd Cold War…

Posted by: vk | Aug 20 2020 13:33 utc | 75

we moved the capital of Israel to Jerusalem. That’s for the Evangelicals.
Sigh, I wish American Evangelicals would just take a second to examine the level of narcissism they are indulging in to place so much significance in this event. One country, the U.S. moved an office from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and for this they are calling Trump the new King Cyrus. Really, does God need validation by the United States, is this such an honor that this equates to the rebuilding of the 2nd Temple, the End of an exile, and the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem by the real King Cyrus a Persian King? Sickening, really.
God is so lucky that the United States lets him govern heaven, at least for now.

Posted by: Christian J. Chuba | Aug 20 2020 13:39 utc | 77

Former second lady Jill Biden said Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s attacks against her husband and his cognitive abilities are “ridiculous.”
In an interview on NBC’s “TODAY” show, host Savannah Guthrie asked her whether a new Trump ad attacking the former vice president’s mental fitness is fair.
“No, no, it’s ridiculous. I mean Joe’s on the phone every single minute of the day, talking to governors who are calling him, and Nancy Pelosi,” she said.
“He’s on the Zoom, he’s doing fundraisers, he’s doing briefings. I mean, he doesn’t stop from 9 in the morning to 11 at night. So, that, you know, that’s ridiculous,” she added.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqrPiVAeax4

Posted by: Mao | Aug 20 2020 14:29 utc | 79

1987 map of The World According to Ronald Reagan
https://bit.ly/2Q3s1az

Posted by: Mao | Aug 20 2020 15:18 utc | 81

Many countries in Europe now including Greece and Croatia are seeing an increase in Covid cases. France, Spain, Luxembourg and Germany are witnessing a significant rise in cases.
In Asia, the Phillipines is seeing the worst rise in cases followed by Indonesia and South Korea.
India is also experiencing a staggering rise in cases and deaths.
So, are we entering the 2nd wave already? If so, I hope people learned their lesson, close borders and make masks mandatory everywhere.
Enough.

Posted by: Circe | Aug 20 2020 15:43 utc | 83

//following on from the cringefest// 🙂
Supreme authoritarian Putin is now stealthily carrying out pre-emptive interference in US elections, adding a novel strategy to his devastating arsenal. Internally, the tried and true moves are continuously implemented, the last being poisoning the piping hot breakfast tea of the opposition figure, stalwart democracy activist, Navalny, a regular routine. Alarmingly, the new, externally aimed and planned, disruptive actions include targetting Ms. Pelosi and H. R. Clinton and intimating to them they must nominate unelectable persons to stand as presidential candidates. These suspected chess-game level moves continue to have frightening success, as reportedly the request was complied with. As for the fate of Navalny, only time will tell, but he is at death’s door.

Posted by: Noirette | Aug 20 2020 16:45 utc | 85

In response to karlof1 | Aug 19 2020 23:36 utc | 24

“War Stars is … a superbly researched history of the linkages among science, technology, and militarism, particularly as they developed in the US in the 19th and 20th centuries.”

This reminds me of Manny DeLanda, who I knew in the early 90s. He was writing a book titled War In The Age Of Intelligent Machines and he described it to me as a history of technology from the perspective of the technology itself as an evolving entity, with its own needs and desires.
The link above is to a decent Wikipedia article with multiple quotes from the author. It’s been a while since I read the book but it gives great insight into the history of warfare technology development and the control systems that it engenders.
Here’s an abstract of the book from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Scientific and Technical Information

In this book, the author, a computer programmer, proposes that weapons programmed to kill without reference to human authority are becoming a reality–the inevitable result of military-equipment’s centuries-long evolution. He points out the the US military is already developing pilotless aircraft and unmanned tanks capable of selecting and destroying their own targets. De Landa first looks at how the internal workings of the war machine have evolved since the sixteenth century in response to new technologies. The second chapter examines how the military mind has influenced the development of the machine phylum and information processing. The third chapter looks at how the military puts information to work–spying and gathering data on other countries and their armed forces.

Seems like a pertinent addition to this thread.

Posted by: jonku | Aug 20 2020 17:03 utc | 87

Only the most pathetic willing idiots (Posted by: Jackrabbit | Aug 20 2020 16:48 utc | 86) … form the most valuable in marketing. Selling good quality for a good price leaves scant room for profit margins. The opposite can be said about selling dreams. Like the sods that pass the money to Bannon and friends to build the Great Wall of Mexico, what dreamers they were! Showing kids a wall brick with their name..

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Aug 20 2020 17:38 utc | 89

Posted by: arby | Aug 20 2020 17:39 utc | 90
The whole secret family with Stella Moris doesn’t pass the sniff test imo. Was this before or after Assange’s original lawyers all died in the same year of 2016 or during the visits with Pam Anderson?

Posted by: O | Aug 20 2020 17:58 utc | 91

It is quite interesting to follow soccer news these days. They find about 5-10 cases per day of players testing positive. This has been going on for months. None of them died.
The conclusion is simple: if you are healthy and with a lot of money, you don’t die of Covid.

Posted by: Mina | Aug 20 2020 18:13 utc | 93

Posted by: King Lear | Aug 20 2020 18:25 utc | 95
It is the Russian-Jewish mafia under the cover of Chabad Lubavitch similar to the Italian mafia and Roman Catholic Church.
Both Putin and Trump bend a knee to Chabad. Chabad also has in roads into Beijing.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/04/the-happy-go-lucky-jewish-group-that-connects-trump-and-putin-215007

Posted by: O | Aug 20 2020 18:50 utc | 95

JERUSALEM, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) — Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan wrapped up a fruitful visit to Israel on Thursday with a reaffirmed commitment from both sides to further boosting bilateral innovation cooperation for mutual benefits.
During his four-day stay, Wang met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and co-chaired with the latter the fourth meeting of China-Israel Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation (JCIC).
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-10/26/c_137558904.htm

Posted by: O | Aug 20 2020 19:08 utc | 97

@Posted by: Paco | Aug 19 2020 22:41 utc | 21
He did not only help destroy Lybia, but Syria, Ukraine and many more places before…
In fact, there is no color revolution nor terrorists who can resist the charm of the guy with the hairsprayed hairdo and his inseparable $350 gigolo white shirt…
https://twitter.com/Herbert_Keg/status/1296147531546664962
In Sarajevo, playing “NATO hero”…
https://twitter.com/Herbert_Keg/status/1296171380262744066
Full Zionist…
https://twitter.com/Herbert_Keg/status/1296157440619282437

Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 20 2020 19:43 utc | 99