Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
August 23, 2020

The MoA Week In Review - Open Thread 2020-67

Last week's posts at Moon of Alabama:

> A necessary condition for a person like Donald Trump ever winning a major election is now back in play: No one thinks he is going to win. <
> The Press Secretary's statement quotes Trump distancing himself from We Build the Wall on July 12 this year. That's a year and a half after the private border-wall campaign launched—and the week of ex-U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman's unexpected and unexplained ouster. <
> Navalny said himself that he suffered from diabetes in 2019, giving some credence to this explanation. <

---
Other issues:

Belarus color revolution / coup attempt:

Covid-19:

Syria:

Big bang:

Use as open thread ...

Posted by b on August 23, 2020 at 13:05 UTC | Permalink

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Remember that tax Europe could slap on the American big techs in retaliation to the JCPOA violation? Well, that didn't last long:

UK to ‘Likely Axe Facebook Tax’ on US Tech Giants, Believing ‘Trump’s Anger Is More Trouble’

But keep believing, Europeans. Keep believing.

--//--

Navalny, a German asset?

‘Merkel’s guest,’ army ambulances & ‘deliberate’ disinformation at airport: new details of Navalny’s arrival in Germany revealed

[...]Alexey Navalny was officially made “the guest of the chancellor” when he was airlifted to Berlin for medical treatment and transported in a military ambulance truck.

The motorcade carrying Navalny, whom Bild newspaper described as “the patient the world is watching,” included several emergency vehicles, police buses and patrol cars.

The activist, who remained in a medically induced coma during the journey, was transported to Berlin’s renowned Charite hospital inside a Bundeswehr intensive care ambulance truck. The vehicle had military markings and a special license plate showing a code starting with the letter Y, which is used exclusively by the German military.

[...]

Navalny was airlifted from the Siberian city of Omsk on Saturday morning. Online flight-tracking service FlightRadar showed that the private jet, chartered by Berlin-based NGO Cinema for Peace, was about to land in Berlin’s Schonefeld Airport. However, the plane actually landed in the capital’s Tegel Airport, on a strip reserved for military aircraft. According to Bild, that was a “deliberate” misinformation tactic by authorities.

German media previously reported that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office and the Foreign Ministry were “working behind the scenes” to help arrange Navalny’s flight. The activist’s longtime close associate Leonid Volkov thanked Merkel and the German government for “international support and help in solving a huge number of bureaucracy issues and security.”

On a side note: wow, good job, BND! Who would've known an NGO called "Cinema for Peace" was a façade for the German Intelligence and Military?! It literally blew my mind! [sarcasm]

--//--

USA on its path to a "Byzantine period"?

Fact check: DNC didn't leave out 'under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance

‘Christianity Will Have Power’ - Donald Trump made a promise to white evangelical Christians, whose support can seem mystifying to the outside observer

Trump admits moving US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was ‘for the evangelicals’

Evangelicals told Trump he was "chosen" by God: Religious right leaders say God anointed Trump as a "king." (from exactly one year ago).

I've predicted some times here, in this blog, that, as the USA declines economically, it will only get smaller and more religious. This I called the "Byzantine era" of the American Empire, or, in archaeological terms, USA IV (USA I: revolutionary/post-colonial 1776-1861; USA II: republic 1861-1929; USA III: empire (or high empire) 1929-2016(??); USA IV: byzantine era: 2016(??)-future).

In my model, the byzantine phase of the USA is to be characterized as a West Coast+"heartland" oriented empire, marked by a secular decline of the Northeastern elite (WASPs) and the gradual loss/decline of the European Peninsula (and rise of an Eurasia, or, more specifically, Eurasian Russia) and thus of the North Atlantic sea route (decline of the "Global North"). The Army will have to focus more and more in containing and suppressing internal revolts from the "Woke Left" (BLM et al) and, therefore, will have to resort more and more to recruiting rednecks and catholic Latinos from the heartland (including here Texas and Arizona). This will result, with time (generational change) in a Christian fundamentalist US Army. As a result of the crescent Christianization of the empire (a symptom of economic decline), the process of imbecilization of the empire will continue at a fast pace, thus accelerating even more scientific decline, in a vicious cycle. The American Empire will then be essentially a Panamerican-Pacific empire, in a new multipolar world order configuration. The only question here is if a nuclear war (i.e. extinction of humanity) will interrupt this process before or after it is consolidated.

On a bonus news, how Evangelical Christianism is leading to the extinction of giraffes:

Giraffes are vulnerable to extinction. So why won’t America decide on protecting them until 2025?

--//--

More on the decline of Christianity:

Pope Francis: better to be an atheist than a hypocritical Catholic

He got us, guys. Children raping, billions of dollars stolen... it was us, atheists, all along. It was all an atheist infiltration in the Vatican. After all, if you look like an atheist and walk like an atheist...

Seriously now, this is ridiculous. Rape and corruption were always part of the Christian history, since the very beginning. Those bishops, priests and cardinals are the best Christianity has to offer.

And atheism is not a religion. Buddhism, for example, is an atheist religion, but not all atheists are religious. Most of them are simply without religion, i.e. non-religious. The Christians should stop with their "atheist conspiracy" paranoia.

--//--

Japan economy, to the surprise of no one, collapsed. Its brave, democratically elected government then decided to act:

Japan lawmakers seek extra parliamentary session after GDP collapse

Yeah, an "extra parliamentary session" will certainly solve the problem. Long live liberal democracy!

And, on a side note: a tiny country which nobody cares about completely botched the containment of the second wave of the pandemic. So much for capitalism...

Posted by: vk | Aug 23 2020 14:20 utc | 1

@vk 1

"secular decline of the Northeastern elite"

This would be a big development for the US, but it's not a conclusion that is jumping out at me, to be honest. Is there something specific that indicates it is happening now?

---

The religious trends in the US were discussed last time you brought up this interesting idea. I still like the byzantine analogy, in a more metaphorical way however - meaning that something else, maybe more secular, more general, would play the part of actual Christian beliefs.

While under Trump, the fundamentalists did rise to the very top, for example in state dept, most expect this to reverse under Biden. I expect only limited changes from that reversal, because ultimately, the federal govt is not where policy originates. Although the military becoming a place of fundamentalist indoctrination is troubling, especially combined with Democrats' increasing reliance on appeals to patriotism, and their reliance on older more conservative voters within the party to keep reformers out. Still, at the level of fortune 500 executives, university presidents, CFR heads, or Davos attendees... one would have to see a number of them start announcing their newfound faith, then there would be good story of a byzantium?

Posted by: ptb | Aug 23 2020 14:57 utc | 3

I heard no speaker at the Democrat Convention address the concerns or complaints of any but the people of color. ? extremely interesting to watch as it looks as if the search engine giants deleted nearly every concern white Americans might have had at the Democrat convention. Does that mean
we have on the left the Democrat Multi colors and the Republican White only colors. Who cares? The problem cannot be fixed by voting.


It is clear. the Council of Soups, [<=Council on (International) Foreign Relations, in collaboration with several other such organizations, collectively the owners of the deep state], is running the Governments that controls the nation states that control Americans, that control the states, that control the counties, that control the cities, that control the schools and the flows of tax money from the governed citizens into the federal chasm, and that make the states and counties and cities beg for the return of enough of their own money to make function the bureaucracies that keep people in line with standards of thought dictated to them by the Council of soups? .

The total and absolute<=crowd to individual control=> of the behavior and understanding of the nation state governed in the world seems to be the essential goal of the Council of soups. Less and less the COS seems willing to allow the governed in America, as well as in any territory governed by a nation state, to have any say in the management of their own containment within.

Just look at how little has been said about how much the cell phone and cell tower RF generators allow SARS Covid 19 virus to disrupt the double membrane and infect the world. No one has been allowed to challenge the industry that uses {radio frequency] to opens pores (holes) in human cells no one has been allowed to discover just how much those RF induced pores allow or help a virus to murder humans.
Its not even being talked about..

So why is implementing even more powerful RF stations closer and closer to everyone so important to the Council of Soup? Because 5g was developed as a crowd control weapon.. Recent molecular biology shows clearly the virus enters humans cells because its S protein disrupt the Lipids that separate the two membranes (<=most human cells are enveloped in a double membrane). It turns out so too does 900 Hz RF; both Radio Frequency and the S protein on the surface of the virus do the same thing, they disrupt the double membrane and open holes (pores) and the virus works its way in through those holes. So does RF let the virus in? No one is allowed to dig in on that question. The fact that RF disrupts the double membrane of cells is so well known that there is a long standing European Patent claiming ownership to a Council of Soup controlled, Deep State owned that claims it has the exclusive patented monopoly control over the right to use RF to make holes in cell membranes.. u get the idea.

Don't bother with an election you can do nothing about, (remember your vote<=the one you go to the poll to caste=>, does not decide who it is to be the President or the Vice President <=the electoral college elects the two Article II puppets) instead of voting concentrate your effort=> on the real risk, when the deep states gets its wireless delivery system in place so it can control not just the in side of your home but also the inside of your body from its high technology remotely located offices, by using its digital technology (tools and such) your freedom is less of less value to you than grass, hay, straw, or whatever.

Search engines have already proven that digital technologies can control what you are allowed to say, what you must think, and when you must get up and go to sleep and what you must do in between and how much medical service you are entitled to, and which pharmaceutical s you must take and which degrees in which college or University you must suffer in order to get a job doing this or that. and what the university fails to control license catches. The threat is control by the few in these Soup kitchens, over the digital technology and their new ability to use them from their high technology factories.

The soup kitchens are completing a distribution system that will enable them to control everything and everyone. This system allows them to make each new technology a privately owned piece of property, which gives the owner of each of new technology more and more global control over humanity. The device that is making the DEEP STATE so powerful, even more powerful than the nation state, is monopoly power over access to, and use of, all technology (copyright, patent, private land ownership, and privatization <=conversion of public domain properties and services into privately controlled profit making enterprises).

It starts at the bottom, the nation state makes laws (copyright, patent, deeds, and lower yet the states sells or franchises it public services to private enterprise and so on ). The nation states sign treaties with each other and make laws that allow the council controlled DEEP STATE to own everything that is needed to make sure there is no competition to their power, and the nation state pays the DEEP STATES to keep on developing more and more digital technology. Humanity is doomed to be controlled by a very few, unless it finds a way to terminate patents, copyrights and stop privatization.

Posted by: snake | Aug 23 2020 15:02 utc | 4

> Navalny said himself that he suffered from diabetes in 2019, giving some credence to this explanation. <

It would be important to obtain more precise information - when, where, source - on this. This would allow the poisoning thesis to be shelved. In her naive zeal, Navalny's assistant confirmed that he hadn't eaten anything.

Posted by: pnyx | Aug 23 2020 15:36 utc | 5

pnyx

Also, if Navalny had at sometime in the past said he suffered from diabetes, why did his entourage do nothing to help him and why didn't they tell the doctors at the hospital he had diabetes?

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 23 2020 15:54 utc | 6

@ Posted by: ptb | Aug 23 2020 14:57 utc | 3

Yes, the comparison I make is 100% metaphorical. The Roman Empire has nothing to do with the American Empire. It's actually an internal joke among historians, as the American Empire loves to compare itself with the Roman Empire (a cultural trait they inherited from their predecessor, the British Empire). See Adrian Goldsworthy unique witness in the introduction of his book "How Rome Fell: death of a superpower":

Milder and less detailed criticism is even more common. At certain sorts of parties, the discovery that I am an ancient historian almost inevitably prompts someone to remark that `America is the new Rome.' More often than not this is followed by a smug, of course, they don't see it.' This at least is utterly false, for Americans have been comparing their country to Rome since its foundation. In shaping the new country, the Founding Fathers consciously hoped to copy the strengths of the Roman Republic and avoid its eventual downfall. These days, it is also fair to say that the different university systems tend to make educated Americans broader in the range of their knowledge than the British. Plenty of engineers or medical doctors in America will at some point have taken a course or two in history or even the classics, something which is unimaginable on this side of the Atlantic. This is one of the reasons why Roman analogies remain exceptionally common in the USA, and are routinely made by politicians themselves as well as journalists, political commentators and the wider public. Usually it begins with the assumption that the USA as the sole superpower left in the world is dominant in a way unmatched by anyone since the height of Roman power.

In the summer of 2001 I took part in a two-day seminar organised [Note: Goldsworthy is British] by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, which was US government-funded by the Office of Net Assessments. Six historians were brought to a nice hotel in Washington DC - as one of the older and more distinguished members of the group put it, `They obviously don't realise what academics will put up with.' We then gave papers and discussed the grand strategies of various great powers from history. We were just a small part of a wider series of seminars and research sessions aimed at providing insights about future relations between the USA and the emerging power of China. The talks and discussions were enjoyable and fascinating - it is quite rare in academic circles for conferences to cover such a wide range of periods, including First Empire France, Germany in the First and Second World Wars, and British naval policy in the early twentieth century. Yet it was striking that two out of the six of us had been asked to speak about different periods of Roman history.

So, yes, even if the average American doesn't take its comparisons with Rome seriously, their masters certainly are.

By "decline of the Northeastern elite", I mean as a collateral effect of the Christianization of the Empire, in the sense the old Protestant religious doctrine is being supplanted by the new Protestant doctrine (southern baptist, neopentecostal, other rapturist variants of Christianity, evangelicals in general and Catholics) from the Sun Belt and the Deep South. The geographical shift is also represented by the decline of the European Peninsula and thus, of the North Atlantic as the focus of international trade and thus of the capitalist geopolitical affairs. Sure, the Mediterranean (i.e. Jerusalem, i.e. Israel) will continue to serve as the "spiritual" geopolitical capital of the American Empire, but I predict the objective reality of capitalism will inevitably pull the Evangelical fundamentalism towards the complete destruction of China (socialism), thus towards the Pacific.

The fact that the West Coast is being more prosperous than the rest of the American Empire, will also probably trigger a migration process towards California and, maybe, the Oregon by the far-right, Christian fundamentalists from the Deep South (maybe even a deliberate maneuver of the GOP to take back California?).

But the main ingredient of all this process I'm betting on is economic decline. American will have to continue to decline economically for its Christianization and Westernization process to continue and take firm roots in the soul of the Empire. And it will have to do so for a long time - at least for two generations' time. The process could be theoretically aborted through a socialist revolution inside the Empire, or by a unique surrender of the Empire to Eurasia, a la USSR to the West in 1991 (both of which I find unlikely).

As a side effect of this, I also think two other relevant processes will happen: 1) the fusion of Australia with the American Empire (Pacific strategy) and 2) the complete disintegration/destruction of Latin America, which will turn into a second Subsaaran Africa.

Posted by: vk | Aug 23 2020 16:00 utc | 7

vk @ 1. “Cinema for Peace”, incroyable! Didn't know, thx for the post. (Btw Germany is showing its hand in many ways recently.)

When the USA declines, it will become more religious, you stated. (“USA IV”) I’m not sure (historic trends are religion down and 2015-2020 was already pretty terrible for many US citizens), but ok, why not. A Christian fundamentalist army (your post), who knows, maybe. We have the horrible pre-cursor, the war on terror, against Muslims, aka, maj. muslim countries that did not genuflect automatically to US hegemony, echoes to the Crusades, all that.

However to be hopeful, returning to religion (not just xtian ..) by a consequent part of population, might provide some kind of social glue that would embrace precepts and ways-of-doing of a more caring kind. Combined with some form of ‘localism’ (community organisation, a sharing economy within some smaller space, necessarily being vague here) that all might do quite well.

> Yes, very hopey-hopey, and along several rather perhaps illusory but at present popular socio-pol memes, which is part of the point - they might catch on.

Many religions imho are more worthy of adherence than the acute tribalism of Dem. identity politics, the ‘wokeness’ you mention (it is really just another form of exploitation) to give but one example. Racist ‘nazi’ type preppers are another.. and as for US oligarchs, they are in a class of their own, corrupted banking, science, media control, etc.

Best hope for the US is …some states break away from the Federation and try to organise for themselves to have a better, less ambitious, more egalitarian, less rule by mafia corps, life. I mention this because activists in the US should be looking in that direction - and not praying for Tulsi or lauding AOC. vk, you didn’t mention this, do you consider it unlikely, impossible…?


Posted by: Noirette | Aug 23 2020 16:54 utc | 8

Vitamin D deficiency to blame for severe COVID-19

Low plasma 25(OH) vitamin D3 level is associated with increased risk of COVID-19 infection: an Israeli population-based study

The Possible Role of Vitamin D in Suppressing Cytokine Storm and Associated Mortality in COVID-19 Patients

This explains why certain groups of people become more severely ill as Vitamin D is made more slowly by darker skin than lighter skin from UV from the sun. Vitamin D is fat soluble and in the overweight and obese ends up in the fat cells not circulating in the bloodstream. Also people who spend their time inside such as people in care homes only get sunlight through the glass windows that blocks the UV so they will be Vitamin D deficient as well. A study in China showed that around 90% of people in Beijing were Vitamin D deficient due to the air pollution not allowing people to get enough UV. Sweden is interesting as it has mandatory Vitamin D fortification of all milks including plant based milks and margarine. In short we do not need lockdowns or vaccines, just get everyone to be sufficient in Vitamin D via sun or supplement and we can all go back to normal.

Posted by: TJ | Aug 23 2020 17:07 utc | 9

Posted by: Noirette | Aug 23 2020 16:54 utc | 8

"When the USA declines, it will become more religious"

I beg to be different, when USA declines, it becomes less religious. Like myself as I watch both parties using religion and racism to further their causes - winning the presidency. Attacking other faith which does not suit their liking or maybe earned them the presidency.

Oh how I feel the pains watch the suffering and continuation punishments the innocents in Palestine, Afghan, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, Syria and especially China.. China like Syria are secular nations, believe it or not.

Are we human and not feeling or aware what both parties doing to other humans here and elsewhere and continue to vote for them?

Posted by: JC | Aug 23 2020 17:24 utc | 10

China have three vaccines under phases 3 clinical trials.

CanSino Biologics Publicly traded
Sinovac Biotech Publicly traded
Sinopharm. 51–49 joint venture. State-owned enterprise

Posted by: JC | Aug 23 2020 17:42 utc | 11

@ Posted by: Noirette | Aug 23 2020 16:54 utc | 8

Yes, I agree with you: every catastrophic change comes disguised as positive change. In this specific case, as you put well, using religion to crush the Woke Left riots (thus leading to the Christianization of the Army and the other paramilitary forces of the USA). The problem with this solution is that it will result in a fundamentalist empire, a Christian Saudi Arabia. That is mainly because the rise of the woke left is a symptom, not the cause, of the economic decline of the American Empire. The true cause - and that's why the socialist solution would be the best for the USA - is the Law of the Tendency of the Profit Rate to Fall in capitalism, as scientifically demonstrated by Marx in his monumental opus Das Kapital. After the vital space of the ex-USSR ended, capitalism found no more room to grow, and thus begun to rot from within.

The problem with the Germans is that they have imperial ambitions with the EU. But, within this contradiction, there's another contradiction: the German capitalist elite seems to be divided into two factions - the "Prussian" and "Rhine" elites.

The "Prussian" faction, centered in Berlin, seems to be the more traditional one, inheriting the designs of the old NSDAP, and seeks an aggressive and definitive - if only in a neoliberal architecture - to the East. When the EU approved that rule that no new member could be accepted unless it had a GDP surplus of 3% per year, it clearly intended this to be a fast track way to absorb the Iron Curtain and ex-USSR nation-States, as 3% is a mammoth rate for a capitalist nation of the 21st Century (Greece had to cheat its way to membership under this new rule, by hiring Goldman Sachs to cook its books with derivatives in 2010-2011), and the ex-communist nations had, by definition, zero debt to GDP. I suspect it is this Prussian faction that was the most enthusiastic with the destruction of Ukraine (alongside the USA elite), with the membership of the likes of Moldova and Macedonia to NATO plus this new (double-header?) of color revolutions in Belarus ("shoe revolution") and Russia ("Navalny's-near-death-experience glorious revolution"?). They see Russia as the vast expanse, with infinite gas and oil reserves, which can feed the German industrial machine for all eternity, and create a northern flank against China (Amur River region). My bet is they are spearheaded by the German car makers (Volkswagen being the main one) and other capitalists linked to the heavy machinery production.

There's also the "Rhine" faction, which seems to be the most "modern" one, fruit directly from West Germany (Bonn), more Atlanticist, more submissive to the USA/NATO, closer to Western Europe (Austria, France, Belgium, UK - but, most importantly, the Netherlands). They are probably the direct descendants of the West German capitalist class, closer to the financial sector (Frankfurt) and the more Anglophilic/liberal bourgeoisie (Bavaria to Nord-Rhein Westphalen). Think about the Deutsche ilk, Bayer and the Bavarian and Westphalian big business.

Posted by: vk | Aug 23 2020 17:45 utc | 12

Thanks to vk for bringing up the subject of Christianity, though he continues to give it a western orientation, except for the word 'byzantine'(metaphorically used of course.) And caution to folk, that papal link is to the Guardian and is three years old.

This takes me to my previous conversation with james, where he'd brought up the question of apocryphal texts, of which there were many in early years of Christianity (which as a scholar would remember did have its birth in the Middle East, not the West.)

So, I went hunting in some of my books, shook off the dust and found this from Vladimir Lossky (I've taken liberty to shorten his phrasing as I find some of it difficult to digest):

...these apocrypha [from apostolic times] though separated from the Scriptural canon...[that] have been divulged in writings of heterodox origin...should nonetheless not be totally rejected...Further, amplifications having an apocryphal source...serve to colour the liturgical texts and the iconography of some feasts...

I like to avoid the term 'heretical' since it suppresses the thinking mind, and really is used obsessively in many quarters. So, I think the above is a good representation of what occurs in the substance of many Eastern Christian church services, where hymns and even feasts don't come from the Four Gospel accounts that are in the canon, but there is something also, called Tradition, which operates in many instances fused with those Gospel texts in Eastern Christian understanding. That's because, as Lossky points out, all the written texts come from oral tradition. There's only one instance where Jesus writes anything down, and that is when he stoops down to write on the sand. He does however frequently quote from the Old Testament to illustrate a point he is making in conversation.

Eastern Orthodoxy respects that oral transmission to the apostles and incorporates many aspects of it, including early iconography, in the whole of its Christian message.

Posted by: juliania | Aug 23 2020 18:13 utc | 13

Global Times has produced a video editorial expressing doubts about the legitimacy of the Outlaw US Empire's legal system in the TikTok matter, saying politics is trumping the rule of law--a development fraught with all sorts of hazards and not just within the business sphere. And TikTok isn't the only case in point as myself and other barflies have noted. Doing business with an Outlaw Nation always has risks, and it's certainly possible China will decide doing business with the Outlaw US Empire is just too risky with its market potential not lucrative enough to warrant such risks. Thus, it's quite possible China will decouple from the Empire which would be a hard economic blow since the USA needs China more than China needs the USA. The Outlaw US Empire is now being taught the lesson about the connectivity between Geopolitics and Geoeconomics it knew once upon a time long before the Neoliberals and their ism took over and hollowed out the Empire's strategic industrial base.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 23 2020 18:22 utc | 14

@vk 10

I don't know where you come up with this stuff, vk.

Once the American Empire recedes due to the emergence of multi-polarity, there will be a re-Christianization, yes, but it will not be enforced by our military, which will invariably take a backseat as Domestic needs become the focal point of federal spending. Military spending will drop to levels merely to ensure border defense and defensive capabilities.

Indeed, just as in other public sectors that have become political tools of the globalist class, the military brass is divided with those supportive of the NWO currently guiding the coordinated dismantling of the U.S. and the simultaneous ascension of China, and those who are still loyal to America and its constitution.

I see our military being redeployed around our borders, especially the southern, and a great number will have to be discharged and given preferential hiring treatment under a vast federal infrastructure bill. There might be joint missions with the Mexican government to finally wrest control from the cartels. This will be justified, as opiate imports and fentanyl do constitute a grave, national threat. Far, far more than any Arab country.

I also see a waning of power in public sector unions, especially with public teachers. For a few decades now, they have espoused an anti-American, anti-Christian understanding of history. And with Covid proving how unreliable and selfish the public school sector can be, you will see a backlash unheard of within the last 100 years, and it will only grow as more and more parents find alternatives to yielding to public schooling extortion.

As for trade, I see a great curbing of our business with China if POTUS is re-elected. China will be forced to have to be a good-faith trader amongst its peers in SE Asia,, as many of its neighbors already have a swollen industrial base, themselves, and its economy will take a massive hit. But the pain will be felt doubly by the U.S., of course.

I still call it the "DJT-Phenomenon," because I have yet to find a better figurehead that has jarred the movement forward to such a degree to warrant using its name.

Posted by: NemesisCalling | Aug 23 2020 18:56 utc | 15

Vitamin D deficiency to blame for severe COVID-19

Low plasma 25(OH) vitamin D3 level is associated with increased risk of COVID-19 infection: an Israeli population-based study

The Possible Role of Vitamin D in Suppressing Cytokine Storm and Associated Mortality in COVID-19 Patients

This explains why certain groups of people become more severely ill as Vitamin D is made more slowly by darker skin than lighter skin from UV from the sun. Vitamin D is fat soluble and in the overweight and obese ends up in the fat cells not circulating in the bloodstream. Also people who spend their time inside such as people in care homes only get sunlight through the glass windows that blocks the UV so they will be Vitamin D deficient as well. A study in China showed that around 90% of people in Beijing were Vitamin D deficient due to the air pollution not allowing people to get enough UV. Sweden is interesting as it has mandatory Vitamin D fortification of all milks including plant based milks and margarine. In short we do not need lockdowns or vaccines, just get everyone to be sufficient in Vitamin D via sun or supplement and we can all go back to normal.

by: TJ @ 9 afraid not, my friend.. genetics explains the difference.. and before a difference the course of the disease can be talked about, there must first be an infection. You are talking about the outfield.. the action is happening at the infection point.. Once infected all kinds of genetic differences will encounter the infecting virus and each set of genes will deal with that infection in different ways based on age, general health, and environmental concerns..and even prior infections.

Posted by: snake | Aug 23 2020 19:06 utc | 16

Jerusalem Post take on trumps move to trigger snapback.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/israel-could-lose-twice-in-the-us-gambit-against-iran-in-the-unsc-639668

Lists the various moves that can be made at the UN but comes to this conclusion.

China and Russia, however, will probably ignore the renewed sanctions. This will destroy any semblance of relevance for the JCPOA, and it will weaken the power of the UN Security Council as a body making binding decisions.
That is a problem for the rules-based world order and the role of Western democracies therein. The US may suffer from it immediately, but it will eventually hurt France’s and the UK’s power in the UNSC resolution, as well.

And if the US loses its gambit in the Security Council, Israel will lose twice. First, the Iranian regime that has its genocidal intent against Israel apparent get access to advanced weaponry. Then, the Security Council veto that the US has used again and again to stop binding resolutions against Israel could be weakened and called into question.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 23 2020 19:13 utc | 17

From a post at the Institute for the Study of War (David Petreaus is a board member).
"NEXTA is overtly dividing the protest movement and weakening Tikanouskaya’s Coordination Council."
Who is NEXTA??

"Warning: NEXTA Telegram Channel Divides Protests in Minsk as Lukashenko Prepares for Crackdown
August 23, 2020, 1:00 pm EDT

By Mason Clark

Telegram channel NEXTA has disrupted the August 23 protest in Minsk. NEXTA unexpectedly changed plans for today’s march in Minsk’s Independence Square by directing protesters to instead move toward Belarusian army positions at Victory Park around 4:00 pm local time, a move that could be portrayed as intended to provoke a confrontation with the Belarusian military.[1] Representatives of opposition presidential candidate Svetlana Tikanouskaya’s Coordination Council arrived and asked protesters to move away from security forces, defusing the situation. As the crowd was beginning to draw back at 5:50 pm local time, NEXTA issued new instructions directing protesters to march on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s palace, approximately one mile northwest of Victory Park.[2] Thousands of protesters began moving up the road toward the palace. The Belarusian military quickly began assembling defensive positions in front of the palace.[3] After 30 minutes, as protesters were nearing the palace, NEXTA issued new instructions asking protesters to disperse and return to Independence Square, the original stated focus of the Sunday protests.[4] NEXTA claimed Lukashenko is currently in the Presidential Palace and planning an evacuation.[5] Protesters remain in place around the Presidential palace.[6]

Lukashenko is likely preparing for a crackdown on protesters. Lukashenko’s press office released footage of Lukashenko arriving at the Presidential Palace via helicopter and emerging in a bullet proof vest and carrying a rifle.[7] Belarusian riot police are taking up positions around Independence Square.[8] Belarusian military units remain in place both in front of the Presidential Palace and in front of Victory Park. Lukashenko is likely framing himself as a strongman in preparation for a crackdown.

As of 7:30 pm local time, protesters are now divided and the original plan for the Sunday rally – a key policy statement by Tikanouskaya’s Coordination Council – has been disrupted. Protesters are now spread out across much of northern Minsk, instead of the original NEXTA plan of concentrating in Independence Square. Representatives of Tikanouskaya’s Coordination Council began making statements in front of Independence Square calling for continued protests and for Lukashenko to step down.[9] This was likely an ad hoc decision to attempt to refocus on the protests after NEXTA divided them by directing protesters to move toward security forces. The net effect of NEXTA’s instructions will have been to thin out a massive crowd that Belarusian security forces will likely be able to disperse and crush if Lukashenko so chooses.

NEXTA is overtly dividing the protest movement and weakening Tikanouskaya’s Coordination Council. NEXTA changed plans for the Sunday march with no notice, despite previously promoting the protest as a stationary demonstration in Independence Square. NEXTA’s action was not prompted by security concerns, as security forces had made no attempt to prevent the crowd from gathering in Independence Square or to disrupt or disperse once it had gathered there. NEXTA has increasingly asserted its control over the Belarusian protest movement in direct competition with Svetlana Tikanouskaya and her Coordination Council.

NEXTA has demonstrated the capability to organize and direct protests. NEXTA amplifies nationwide protests and tactically directs the physical movement of protesters in Minsk. NEXTA first issued tactical instructions to an ongoing protest on August 17, when it directed protesters toward a Belarusian detention facility without further instructions.[10] NEXTA demonstrated increasingly precise and timely control on August 23, issuing several directions to protesters to move away from previously planned demonstrations in Independence Square, then march toward two separate concentrations of Belarusian security forces, and finally to go back to Independence Square. On both August 17 and August 23, NEXTA disrupted the plans of Tikanouskaya’s key representatives in Minsk, Maria Kolesnikova and Olga Kovalkova, forcing them to follow NEXTA’s lead in efforts to prevent confrontations with security forces.

NEXTA’s actions reinforce elements of the Kremlin’s information operation in Belarus intentionally or unintentionally. NEXTA has clearly demonstrated its ability to direct protests several times during the day, to choose and revise protesters destinations, and to disrupt Tikanouskaya’s plans. Several of its decisions – including diminishing the influence of the Coordination Council, directing protesters toward a World War II memorial, potentially provoking confrontations, and militarizing the rhetoric of the protests – advance the Kremlin’s information operation in Belarus.

ISW is monitoring the situation and will provide further updates."

http://www.iswresearch.org/2020/08/warning-nexta-telegram-channel-divides.html

Posted by: daffyDuct | Aug 23 2020 19:22 utc | 18

@15 snake

Can you refute the scientific research I posted links to?

Posted by: TJ | Aug 23 2020 19:28 utc | 19

daffyDuct @17

That sounds like excuses for the color revolution protests against the Belarus government being less impressive than expected.

Posted by: William Gruff | Aug 23 2020 19:40 utc | 20

daffyDuct

NEXTA was organizing the protests before and on the last day of voting, telling voters not to turn up to until late on the last day. https://t.me/s/nexta_tv

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 23 2020 19:42 utc | 21

That sounds like excuses for the color revolution protests against the Belarus government being less impressive than expected.

@Posted by: William Gruff | Aug 23 2020 19:40 utc | 19

Indeed, seen the videos of the protests of today, apart from first minutes crowded concentration in the square, then the demonstrators expanded themselves widely through close streets to pretend the aerial effect of occupying much more space than would be needed were they to remain packed all the time. As they did not respect security distance the previous days, nor it is that the far-right respect any distancmeent measures due Covid-19, obviously they were looking for an optic effect..

NEXTA is quite difficult it could go against the "Coordination Council" as NEXTA is managed by opaque funds coming from the US through Poland, and the "Coordination Council" program, erased from reformby. was verbatim a carbon copy of that of Ukrainian Maidan...which was planned in the US, which placed also the current "authorities" in power...

Anyway, intends of directing the protesters and even their leaders towards the security forces to try to cause victims could be easily in the minds of the NEXTA thugs directing the issue from Poland and their curators in the US...

This is how NEXTA works...look at the ammount of data they are managing right now and how it is impossible to manage by allegedly two people...This is techonological engineering of a coup...Thread...by Oriol Sábata..

https://twitter.com/oriolsabata/status/1296531387940577284

This is Stepan Svetlov, creator of Nexta, one of the media with the most followers among the Belarusian opposition. He runs it from Poland and is the main source of propaganda for the right against Lukashenko. What do we know about this medium?

Both Svetlov and his "partner" Roman Protasevich claim not to receive foreign funds. However, the channels hardly have advertising. They say they are supported by private (anonymous) donations and a college scholarship. Keep an eye on the data growth...

Until the beginning of the protests by the opposition right (early August), the channel had 300,000 followers. In less than a month they amounted to 2 million. Spectacular growth, right? Let's understand how this medium works ...

Users from various parts of the country submit content. They verify it and publish the most relevant. In an interview they admitted that before they received 1,000 messages a day and now 180-250 per minute. How can just two people manage such a volume of information?

Beyond the "informative" component, which, taking into account the anonymous sources they use, would be questionable, Nexta works in practice as a tool to convene and coordinate the opposition. And it does it from the outside and with absolute opacity.


Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 23 2020 20:00 utc | 22

b - thanks for the week and the additional links here today...

@ 1 vk... thanks for your long comment.. interesting data on germany... regarding the evangelicals and the 2 party - 1 party system catering to them.. yes.. no surprise their.. it is all about getting their votes, as opposed to anything to do with religion or ''wholeness'' - holiness..

@ 11 juliania... an oral tradition is very different then a written one... it is where the mythos turns into the logos... i prefer the mythos myself... all of modern day chrisitianity is built up on the written word.... the concept of and appreciation for myth is indeed lost... this is why i claim the literalists have taken over...

@ 17 daffyDuct .. interesting... thanks..

@ 21 h. schmatz... also interesting.. thanks.

Posted by: james | Aug 23 2020 20:12 utc | 23

A succinct 2 min. video that that speaks to the angst of many USA'ans. From the Grayzone.

Anya Parampil on Fox with Tucker Carlson

Posted by: vinnieoh | Aug 23 2020 20:17 utc | 24

An interesting article by a Russian political scientist - the [possible] involvement of the Polish special services in two recent failed provocations against Russian citizens (an attempt to portray 32 Russian security guards who arrived in transit in Belarus as "terrorists" and "militants", as well as a thwarted SBU' operation to kidnap the leader of the Donbass militia in Russia).

Posted by: alaff | Aug 23 2020 20:23 utc | 25

Durov, the owner of telegram has been in on all US regime change operations since it came into existence. ISIS was a big customer.

"Telephone landlines went down too. But Telegram kept going. Its owner, Pavel Durov, a libertarian Russian who lives in exile, declared that he would use special “anti-censorship tools” to keep the app open. Durov also communicated with some of the channel administrators and personally intervened to block channels whose owners had been arrested, in order to prevent their followers’ data from being captured by the state. That was when Nexta Live, which already had more than 1 million followers, doubled in size."
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/22-year-old-blogger-behind-protests-belarus/615526/

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 23 2020 20:23 utc | 26

Foreign meddling....

Image of the human chain in Lithuania in support of the protests in Belarus. Former Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė (first in picture) participates.

https://twitter.com/descifraguerra/status/1297581559902375936

Borrell, donde dije digo, digo Diego, consistency is not his fort, stating the opposite when protests aimed at overthrowing the Constitutional order affect Spain, than when they affect Belarus...

Hugely impressed by massive and peaceful demonstrations in Minsk and across #Belarus. They show determination and courage of the Belarusian people to seek democratic change.

Authorities must enter into a national dialogue without delay.

https://twitter.com/JosepBorrellF/status/1297583476619857927

The Estonian Foreign Minister shows his support for the protests in Belarus and makes a comparison with the 31st anniversary of the “Baltic Chain”.

https://twitter.com/descifraguerra/status/1297488875615588352

The Latvian Foreign Minister has made the same comment.

https://twitter.com/descifraguerra/status/1297489766485819397

Lithuanian Foreign Minister has also commemorated the "Baltic Chain" of August 23, 1989 calling to "support Belarus" in a similar way.

https://twitter.com/descifraguerra/status/1297490308394102785

Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 23 2020 20:23 utc | 27

also news: Israel has been bombing Gaza for the last two weeks. Make your own mainstream translation in case it makes the news, using 'retaliation','self-defense, targeted, in reaction to.'

Posted by: Tuyzentfloot | Aug 23 2020 20:26 utc | 28

News that NEXTA is dividing the protests is interesting as NEXTA has not sent out any messages that I can find other than to gather at the square. Perhaps Russian specialists having a little fun?

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 23 2020 20:31 utc | 29

@TJ:

Vitamin D is clearly a very important factor and I have been repeating this here since March.

@vk and others talking about "religious USA":

Christianity is a marginal phenomenon in the USA. What goes for christianity in the USA is in fact reactionary idolatry founded on cretinous superstition. The "faith based community" is nothing but a coven of evilgelicals whose true god is greed for money.

Posted by: Lurk | Aug 23 2020 20:39 utc | 30

Here Koleshnikova plus images of the overspreading protestors to make crowd effect...

https://twitter.com/descifraguerra/status/1297556235278004225

Latushko...with such a face of smartest guy of the neighborhood... "mafia is mafia"....

https://tass.com/world/1192865

Here, the whole "Coordination Council"...Take a look at the representative of MTZ workers strike, Siarhey Dyleuski...They seem to have taken him out directly from the ranks of ISIS, the Chechen section in Idlib...But the worst is Sviatlana Aleksievich, who stated time ago that the Belarusians are not Russian people, but Polish...What peaceful experience is one to expect with this troupe?
It is obvious that the rogue state formerly known as the USA only can collect thugs and similar people of mal vivir to put at the helms of their conquered lands...

https://twitter.com/descifraguerra/status/1296097100221091840

Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 23 2020 20:54 utc | 31

@Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 23 2020 20:54 utc | 30

Before this, a segment got out of the comment, I was wondering some questions...

Why the leadership of the protesters have such faces of bad people....?

And why is that US under secretary of state is travelling to Lithuania and Russia, of all places, to talk about the Belarusian issue...whether the US is bargaining with this...

Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 23 2020 20:58 utc | 32

Macron vows to find those who defaced site of Nazi massacre

Watch out, little guy: you may be arresting one of your voters!

Posted by: vk | Aug 23 2020 20:59 utc | 33

Last testimony from 2h ago by Gleb Bazov....the rally is finished...

#BELARUS—#Minsk: The #BeloMaidan protest rally is over at the Square of Independence. The back-and-forth marching let the wind out of the rally, and the rain finished off the remaining stragglers. Good night, get a good night’s rest, Minsk.

https://twitter.com/gbazov/status/1297599031410122752

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DexMOC5UoP0

Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 23 2020 21:10 utc | 34

b,

Are you every going to comment about anything that goes on inside your country? Or the EU?

I find it curious that you haven't mentioned, at all, that Trump is removing 12,000 troops from Germany, with 6,500 coming back to the states.

To me, I would say that is an awesome win for your country, as well as mine.

So why not address it? What is your analysis on it?

It does benefit Trump during an election year to bring it up. Do you wish to remain apolitical on the subject?

If so, for what reason? If your blog is strictly an anti-war one, I feel that it needs to be brought up.

Posted by: NemesisCalling | Aug 23 2020 21:13 utc | 35

From Craig Murray:

There is a misperception in western media that Lukashenko is Putin’s man. That is not true; Putin views him as an exasperating and rather dim legacy. There is also a misperception in the west that Lukashenko really lost the recent election. That is not true. He almost certainly won, though the margin is much exaggerated by the official result. Minsk is not Belarus, just as London is not the UK. Most of Belarus is pretty backward and heavily influenced by the state machinery. Dictators have all kinds of means at their disposal to make themselves popular. That is why the odd election or plebiscite does not mean that somebody is not a dictator. Lukashenko is a dictator, as I have been saying for nigh on twenty years.

My analysis is that Lukashenko probably won handily, with over 60% of the vote. But it was by no means a free and fair election. The media is heavily biased (remember you can also say that of the UK), and the weak opposition candidate was only there because, one way or the other, all the important opposition figures are prevented from standing.

The West is trying to engineer popular opinion in Belarus towards a “colour revolution”, fairly obviously. But they are on a sticky wicket. Western Ukraine was genuinely enthusiastic to move towards the west and the EU, in the hope of attaining a consumer lifestyle. Outside of central Minsk, there is very little such sentiment in Belarus. Most important of all, Belarus means “White Russia”, and the White Russians very strongly identify themselves as culturally Russian. We will not see a colour revolution in Belarus. The West is trying, however.

...

The ideal would be for Lukashenko to go and for there to be fresh elections, as opposed to the Venezuelan tactic of the West just announcing a President who has never won an election. The best result for the people of Belarus and for international stability would be the election of a reform minded but broadly pro-Russian candidate. Putin has used the crisis to re-assert the “union” of Russia and Belarus – signed 20 years ago this is a single market and free trade area. Few would doubt, crucially including few Belarussians, that the future of Belarus lies with integration with Russia rather than the EU.

History’s greatest criticism of Putin will be his failure to diversify the Russian economic base and move it from raw commodity exporter to high value added economy. His aims for Belarus will be to ensure it fits neatly with the template of massive commodity exports controlled by a tight knit and highly wealthy oligarchy. Putin will have no interest in the economic reforms Belarus needs.

My expectation is that Lukashenko will hang on, reorienting the economy back towards Russia. Putin’s long term policy goal has always been the reintegration into Russia of majority Russophone areas of the old USSR. That has been his policy in Ukraine and Georgia. Belarus is a major prize. He will seek to bind Belarus in tighter, probably through increased energy subsidy (Putin’s economic arsenal is very limited). Getting rid of Lukashenko is going to move up Putin’s to do list; I give it three years. The current demonstrations in Minsk have no major economic or social effect, and will pass.

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2020/08/belarus/

Posted by: daffyDuct | Aug 23 2020 21:26 utc | 36

@Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 23 2020 21:10 utc | 33

BTW, such a beautiful, and peaceful, image onf Independence Square in Minsk at sunset under a light rain...wishing to travel there...once things stabilize...and bichos variety including Covid-19 are finished...

Next destiny...Belarus...

Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 23 2020 21:33 utc | 37

What peaceful experience is to expect from this troupe?

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya´s dangerous friendships...Deconstructing Bernard Henry-Levy...

https://twitter.com/oriolsabata/status/1297578784980439040

Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 23 2020 21:43 utc | 38

dafyDuct #17

NEXTA’s action was not prompted by security concerns, as security forces had made no attempt to prevent the crowd from gathering in Independence Square or to disrupt or disperse once it had gathered there.

NEXTA has increasingly asserted its control over the Belarusian protest movement in direct competition with Svetlana Tikanouskaya and her Coordination Council.

Thank you for that informative source. So are we to consider that Svetlana Tikanouskaya and her Coordination Council are not pro western enough for the meddlers in Sorostan NY., and are being fractured or that NEXTA has been successfully hacked by the Belarus security services and its friends to dissipate activist energies and trust.

Has there been any public response by Svetlana Tikanouskaya and her Coordination Council as to who directs the activists?

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Aug 23 2020 21:44 utc | 39

Lurk #29

Christianity is a marginal phenomenon in the USA. What goes for christianity in the USA is in fact reactionary idolatry founded on cretinous superstition. The "faith based community" is nothing but a coven of evilgelicals whose true god is greed for money.

The belief system may be a 'marginal phenomenon' but it has captured congressional power to a remarkable and disabling extent - the same way that fanatical zionism has achieved the same capture in many of the nations it manifests within.

Those who remotely challenge either are subjected to fierce cancel culture attacks at the very minimum. These two have perfected social subjugation techniques to a highly refined and sinister level.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Aug 23 2020 21:52 utc | 40

This is what all of us think and say, at least in the forums, but to my knowledge, this is the first head of state who states this...

Aleksandr Lukashenko «The United States wants to 'democratize' us, but why not democratize Saudi Arabia? -Are we like Saudi Arabia? No, we are nothing like them, but they are not democratized. They are bastards, but they are their bastards»

https://twitter.com/cgpenalva/status/1297269260830547969

They, the US, could also democratize the Baltics where there is an apartheid system over the Russian population...

Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 23 2020 21:55 utc | 41

Has there been any public response by Svetlana Tikanouskaya and her Coordination Council as to who directs the activists?

@Posted by: uncle tungsten | Aug 23 2020 21:44 utc | 38

No, because they have not received the next folder of instruction from the US DoS HQ in Poland...

Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 23 2020 21:59 utc | 42

uncle tungsten 38

Better off reading NEXTA telegram channel that Kagan's stink tank. Perhaps both should be read. Seems to be dissent in the regime change crowd or their comms have been disrupted.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 23 2020 22:04 utc | 43

@ vk | Aug 23 2020 14:20 utc | 1
” . . . atheism is not a religion.”

Quite true, but many religionists keep insisting that it is. That's why I do not call myself an atheist. That, and to define oneself as an atheist is to define oneself in negative terms – that which one is not, rather than that which one is. I prefer to define myself in positive terms.

Therefor -- I am a Realist. I believe what is real. Let others subjugate their beliefs and their behaviors to the imaginary decrees of some imaginary being up in the sky.

Posted by: AntiSpin | Aug 23 2020 22:04 utc | 44

H Schmatz #37

Deconstructing Bernard Henry-Levy..

Thank you for reminding me of this oldie from February 2011. A long read but worth the time.

Gilad Atzmon speaks in an interview...

Silvia Cattori: Your views clearly oppose intellectuals such as Bernard-Henry Lévy who support Western expansionism and Israeli policies. For you Israel is the danger. Don’t you think that some people see there an element of provocation?

Gilad Atzmon: Provocation is not a bad thing. I wrote an article recently about Bernard-Henry Lévy. The man is lame beyond belief. We have more than a few “Bernard-Henri Levys” here in Britain too, Jews who portray a false image of scholarship. And as it happens, we intellectually smash them, one by one. We expose them for what they are. By the way, Norman Finkelstein did a great job with Dershowitz. We should not be scared about it all.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Aug 23 2020 22:07 utc | 45

Nexta telegram and twitter accounts in English
https://t.me/s/nexta_eng
https://twitter.com/nexta_tv

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 23 2020 22:07 utc | 46

james @ 22, thanks but I'm at a loss if the only Christianity you see is classed as 'modern day'. There are really a lot of Eastern Orthodox Christians that don't fall into that rabbithole, and my point was that early Christianity is there to be found precisely because that faith has such respect for the oral tradition, which as I quoted still comes forward in the traditions that accompany the four Gospels and four councils which define how services are conducted. Accompanied by a musical heritage and an artistic one, both of which are very fine indeed.

The only modern day aspect to this is an ongoing exploration of life lived well even in these difficult times, under the two edicts which I suspect were the ones that Christ wrote in the sand so that those who would have stoned the woman taken in adultery were confounded - that is those two commandments upon which the whole law hangs suspended. I love it that he did that; sand's probably none too longlasting as a scriptural form, but it did the trick apparently.

I suppose it is a challenge to see the oral tradition embedded therein. Lossky puts Scripture on the horizontal plane, while Tradition is vertical, always accessible as spirit, ever renewing. The two have elements both of conservative dogma and of creative freedom, not unlike what must be experienced in other more tribal traditions in your country, the country I now inhabit, and my native land.

What then would you have? I wish I had better words to give. Wholeness? Lossky:

...A truth which would allow itself to be made fully explicit would not have the character of living fulness, which belongs to Revelation: "fulness" and "rational explications" mutually exclude one another. However, if the mystery revealed by Christ and known in the Holy Spirit cannot be made explicit, it does not remain inexpressible...

Gave it my best shot ;) Happy Sunday!

Posted by: juliania | Aug 23 2020 22:25 utc | 47

Attention to the signs...

Why The Charité Kliniken? The same which aapears at Seventeen Moments of Spring...

https://twitter.com/ScottsHumor/status/1297564491685810176

Is this the unofficial recognition of the New Cold War?

Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 23 2020 22:27 utc | 48

@15 snake Can you refute the scientific research I posted links to? by: TJ 18
no, i have not carefully looked at them, BUT HAVE READ SIMILAR generally they look ok, if i get some time i will add them to my list, and really study them, but as good, and accurate as they may be
they are not the point.. In order for your links to have value somebody has to be sick from the virus.

That is the virus has to have infected somebody and done something to them so the matter of genetics vitamin deficiency, past disease, general health, age, all the other factors, including those in your links, come into play.. <=NONE OF THAT IS NECESSARY IS THERE IS NO INFECTION.

We need to look at, and fully debate and investigate how infection happens in a human cell? How does the SARS Covid 19 virus actually infect a human cell? There are at least X check points discussed in the various literature.. What can be done to avoid that infection?
..to slow it down.. to detect infection just before it is poised to infect a human cell.
What in our environment can speed up the rate at which ( or increase the likelihood that when a virus is in the presence of a human cell, the poor little itty bitty cell becomes victim to infection by the great big mean virus.

on the virus side What we know for is
the virus has an S protein on its surface.
the S protein is involved in the infection process.
in order for the virus to survive it must gain entry into the human cell
and once inside it must replicate itself hundreds of times,
and after replication it the first cell it infects it burst that cell open and
all the newly replicated virons spread through the human body looking for other
human cells to infect. a

On the human cell side. what we know is
certain cells have proteins that interest or attract the virus.
these certain attractions are receptors.
the receptors create opportunity for the S protein to attach to the human cell outer membrane
once the virus is attached to outer member of a double membrane cell it does a dance.
and the dance causes the double membrane to become disrupted.
Once the human cell membrane is disrupted a hole forms (a pore) and
the cell gains entry into the human cell by passage through the hole.

turns out RF can do the same thing to a cell membrane as a virus does,
both make holes in the human cell membrane there is an EU patent and
lots of research papers saying the same thing.

I think if we really work on debating this infection process, we might discover
how to effectively prevent infection, maybe a spray like the mosquito sprays,
which would mean the end of the pandemic, and it would eliminate a need for a
vaccine and the need for all of the things in your links..


Posted by: snake | Aug 23 2020 23:07 utc | 49

The US and Europe used to have citizens citizens who embraced Christian values (even those who did not accept the dogmas and were not church goers) and democracy, freedom and human rights, even if their governments at times did not. Today we are a mean spirited selfish people, who care nothing about the above and lack humanity, allowing and indeed supporting our governments to sanction misery on so many countries and their people and we are a force against Democracy embracing Authoritarianism

What happened? My hypothesis is
we gave up on Christian values. Not speaking of institutionalized religion but the idea of a Natural or Gods Law that is above Mans Law. We replaced that with Scientism. Mad scientists who see us as a virus and guinea pigs. We convinced ourselves these were men of reason and logic and immune from the temptations of capitalism. We were wrong. Just as Priests and Bishops and Popes can be corrupted so too can Scientists

As individual Christians we were strong and brave. We believed God to be on our side. The idea of God empowered the individual and made him important. Perhaps delusion but perception is reality. We also believed in an afterlife. Once we died serving God we would go to Heaven, or so people believed. That made us brave. Since God was all seeing , doing Evil without getting caught by other men meant nothing, since we would go to hell. That was a powerful deterrent. We didn’t need many police then, people policed themselves. The universal belief also led in cohesion and cooperation with neighbors, and promoted unity instead to the divisions we see today

We longer have all this. We are cowards as a result, replacing God with our party or ideology of choice , and our brains as well, and priests have been replaced by corporate scientists and public scientists that have entered into public private partnerships that enrich themselves . Thats our new religion. How pathetic is that?

The Christian Right was subverted by Christian Zionism. A corruption of Christianity with its Old Testament Focus led by a Mean Spirited and Vindictive God, a move away from Christianity and the teachings of Jesus to love your neighbor. They are Fake Christians. Christians in name only.

I think one of the major flaws of the Enlightenment was the belief that man could be ruled without laws that were constrained by Natural or Gods laws. As Hitler and Stalin both admitted, their actions were legal based on their (mans) laws. The same is true today in US.

The universal belief in Christian values also acted as a great constraint on the ability of the psychopathic elite, which is why they attacked it starting from the 18th century(some might argue as early as the 16th century)

In the 19th century there was enormous increase in post-moral cynicism and ruthlessness due to the ideas of Nietzsche and the ideology of Social Darwinism, leading to nationalist-fascist-militarism, “scientific-socialist” Communism and in the middle monopolistic-exploitive capitalism.
This set the stage for a century of war and Satanic cruelty

Compounding the problem is the elite are now united by their own Religion. That religion is Transhumanism. They are Homeo Deux. You are neanderthals (Homo I) They consider themselves your Gods and your only purpose is to serve them. Those who cant serve will be eliminated.

G. K. Chesterton had it right, “when people cease to believe in God it is not that they believe in nothing, but that they believe in anything.” The destruction of the belief in the God-man Jesus Christ led to new divination and deification, the pursuit and celebration of the man-god, “homo deus,” and Nietzsche’s conception of the post-moral “Superman.” It could take nationalist, racialist, imperialist, utilitarian, or hedonistic egotism. The marriage of the sub-moral Darwinian idea of “survival of the fittest” and Nietzsche’s idea of the post-moral will to power produced a predatory mindset that exists today

To combat their Satanic religion we must unite under a unifying belief that empowers all the people. Why reinvent the wheel. Christian values worked for 1700 years before being corrupted by the Reformation and Enlightenment that was pushed by the satanic illuminati.

Posted by: Kay Fabe | Aug 23 2020 23:12 utc | 50

Snake@48

You myopically look at this as a battle between the cell and virus without consideration of the human immune system which is a product of evolution. Much of our DNA is made up of virus particles. Indeed the virus predated both the cell and the DNA. Our immune system is perfectly capable of dealing with viruses. Those who succumb to viruses have immature, dysfunctional or deficient immune systems due to age, chronic inflammation (from disease) or nutritional deficiency

There is no need for a vaccine, mask or any other intervention outside of hospital. The virus is not an external threat. Its part of the environment we must learn to coexist with . Man adopts to evolving viruses with continued evolution of its own immune system. Embrace the science of the immune system and evolution.

Posted by: Kay Fabe | Aug 23 2020 23:24 utc | 51

Funny that no one mentions Hunter Biden speaking at the DNC.
Talk about balls...

Posted by: c1ue | Aug 23 2020 23:46 utc | 52

Thanks, Kay Fabe @ 49, for your G.K.Chesterton quote. I know many folk won't be familiar with Eastern Christianity, and your points are solid ones. I do believe that Putin became popular because of his heritage in that faith, even as he first moved in the purely secular world and that is where he pragmatically tries to move the world towards more peaceful times. So, to understand how that faith differs from the more familiar Christianity of the west, here is an essay that is the introduction to a work by one eastern theologian that I think briefly compares the two and can help in understanding where Russia is coming from today:

http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/lossky_intro.aspx

Posted by: juliania | Aug 24 2020 0:06 utc | 53

Daffy Duct @ 35:

Craig Murray's post "Belarus" has been rubbished by commenters (myself among them) for saying this:

I should be very happy to see Lukashenko go. Term limits on the executive should be a factor in any decent democracy. Once you have the levers of power, it is not difficult to maintain personal popularity for many decades, barring external shock; popularity is not the same as democratic legitimacy. I should state very plainly, as I have before, that I think it was absolutely wrong of Putin to outstay his two terms, irrespective of constitutional sophistry and irrespective of popular support.

So Putin should not have stood for the Russian Presidency in 2012 after having served two terms from 2000 to 2008, even though most of the Russian electorate supported his return? Was there anything in the Russian Constitution at the time that said previous presidents could not serve more than two terms full-stop?

Murray is also wrong about what Putin's leadership has done for the Russian economy: I posted this link to Jon Hellevig's Awara report in 2014 about the state of the Russian economy in the Comments forum at Murray's blog.

Term limits on the executive in the US have not exactly stopped the US from falling into terminal decline across so many levels (military, economic, political, social), all of them related in some way.

Incidentally there are no limits on the number of terms Prime Ministers can serve in either Australia or Canada.

In a properly functioning democracy, the popularity of an executive among a properly informed electorate can be an indicator (if not the only one) of democratic legitimacy.

Posted by: Jen | Aug 24 2020 0:19 utc | 54

Jen 53

Term limits are a very recent American thing and very artificial. Many seem to equate it with democracy, but it is hardly democracy if somebody is barred from running simply because they have been voted in before.

A pity Craig Murray is wrapped up in this US garbage.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 24 2020 0:46 utc | 55

I had a bit of respect for Craig Murray but that piece puts him amongst the god bothers and woke types.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 24 2020 0:52 utc | 56

"History’s greatest criticism of Putin will be his failure to diversify the Russian economic base and move it from raw commodity exporter to high value added economy."

I guess that's why US sanctions anyone that buys hi tech like S-400 from Russia. Craig Murray needs to go to some of the economic forums in Russia.
But apart from that, countries with low population densities will always have primary industries make up large part of their export market and countries with high population densities will always have value added products making up a large portion of their export market.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 24 2020 1:00 utc | 57

Craig Murray " If I were Ambassador to Belarus now, I would have no moral qualms about turning up to support an anti-Lukashenko demo. It is all part of the job."

What a piece of shit. Fucking peoples lives is just part of the job.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 24 2020 1:05 utc | 58

Peter AU 1 @ 53 - 57:

Murray clearly has no moral qualms about abusing his position as ambassador to participate in partisan politics if he were Ambassador to Belarus. In that respect he'd be on the same moral level as Chrystia Freeland in abusing her position as Canada's Foreign Minister to undermine Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.

It's one thing to protest former Uzbekistani President Islam Karimov's treatment of dissidents in his country by apparently boiling them alive but another to block Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's re-election as President simply because he's had too many turns at being President and it's time for someone else to have a go even when there are no suitable alternatives and maybe no-one else wants the job.

If you look at who's been Prime Minister of Belarus since 1991 - and the Prime Minister is responsible for the country's domestic policies - you'll find no shortage of talent (and non-talent as the case may be) and people taking turns.

Posted by: Jen | Aug 24 2020 1:39 utc | 59

Hint:
ACE2 enzyme
https://www.rndsystems.com/resources/articles/ace-2-sars-receptor-identified

Posted by: Duncan Idaho | Aug 24 2020 1:44 utc | 60

Jen

I had quite a bit of respect for Murray. A number of ex ambassadors have blogs or post at the likes of strategic culture and I consider them worth reading. Murray is under some pressure, perhaps he has folded, but if so, he in no way measures up to Assange who he has supposedly defended.

Threats to the family can change a person I guess?

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 24 2020 1:51 utc | 61

Kay Fabe #49

To combat their Satanic religion we must unite under a unifying belief that empowers all the people. Why reinvent the wheel. Christian values worked for 1700 years before being corrupted by the Reformation and Enlightenment that was pushed by the satanic illuminati.

Thank you for that proposal to unite. I will decline christian flags for my unification and might choose buddhist or confucian values, perhaps Taoist. But then there is a magnificent set of values respected and practiced by the Australian Aboriginal peoples that has served well for the past 50 or 60 millennia. This intricate fabric of belief and duty to care for each other and the land and natural world is the subject of 'Treading Lightly' by Karl-Erik Sveiby and Tex Skuthorpe. It is an examination of a society that did not engage in tribal warfare but established a profound sense of respect and obligation to research and share the intricacies of the world so that all people continued to build the knowledge and respect the planet - the creation - if you wish.

Violence came to these people when the christian land thieves came to this land.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Aug 24 2020 2:30 utc | 62

Scott Ritter's piece that b references clarifies something that I am having trouble comprehending: why the US is bothering to issue its own "complaint" (which is not a "complaint" under the JCPOA) when it could veto any UNSC Resolution extending Iran's sanctions relief anyway.

Here is a quote from his piece:


On August 20, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, ignoring the warnings from the other JCPOA parties, met with the President of the Security Council for the purpose of delivering a letter announcing that the US was activating the “snap back” procedures, and that in 30 days it would be calling for a vote on the matter by the Security Council...

There is every reason to believe that the US will submit a resolution for consideration following the expiration of the 30-day notification period, and then veto it itself, thereby triggering the automatic “snap back” of UN sanctions. There is also every reason to believe that the Security Council will seek to block the US through various procedural formalities designed not to formally recognize the US demands, and thereby preventing the submission of any resolution.

A likely outcome will be that the Security Council fails to recognize the US submission of a resolution, followed by the US refusing to recognize the Security Council’s ability to prevent such a resolution from being submitted. The US will seek to submit the resolution, then immediately veto it, and claim that the “snap back” has been accomplished. The rest of the Security Council will reject this action, and deem the JCPOA to be in play, free of UN sanctions. The US will then sanction any party which fails to comply with the UN sanctions.

If this were in fact to occur, it would mean the functional death of the UN Security Council, an outcome many in the Trump administration appear willing to live with. Faced with the inevitability of this outcome, some members–especially the French, Germans and Brits–may be compelled to reexamine their position on the lifting of the arms embargo, seeking a compromise solution that salvages the JCPOA while denying Iran access to Russian and Chinese armaments. This may be the goal of the US all along. I

In other words, the US is attempting to force the UNSC to table a Resolution on its Agenda to either declare Iran in "non-compliance" and thus force snapback, or force the UNSC to table a Resolution to extend Iran sanctions relief, then veto it in order to force the sanctions snapback - and they are actually doing this in order to get the Iran arms embargo back in force. I would suggest that the additional outcome likelihood of Iran then withdrawing from the JCPOA - and possibly the NPT - as well as damaging the UNSC - a long-time goal of the US - are also intended by the US.

Pompeo issued his letter citing paragraphs 11 and 12 of UNSC Resolution 2231 which says that any "participant state" in the JCPOA can issue a complaint to the UNSC about non-compliance with the JCPOA. He claims that this bypasses the entire Dispute Resolution process! He claims that paragraphs 11 and 12 are separate from and unrelated to the actual Dispute Resolution process outlined in the JCPOA document itself (which was incorporated into Resolution 2231.)

That argument is incredibly weak. The JCPOA Dispute Resolution process explicitly talks about the 30 day snapback process. It is obvious that paragraphs 11 and 12 of Res 2231 were intended to refer to that same Dispute Resolution process which is why the JCPOA Agreement was incorporated into Res 2231. The reference to a "participant" in paragraphs 11 and 12 isn't actually relevant. What matters is whether the "complaining party" has gone through the Dispute Resolution process. The US hasn't. Yeah, Right had that right in the previous thread. But that's only true if the UNSC agrees that it is the interpretation that matters - or it agrees that the US is not a "participant" under those two paragraphs. That would be the correct interpretation.

The problem, as I say in the previous thread on this issue today, is that the US can veto any UNSC Resolution adopted to continue sanctions relief brought in response to *Iran's* complaint initiated on July 3rd. So why the US feels it has to introduce its own "complaint" in an end-run around the existing Dispute Resolution process is not clear to me.

It would seem to me that Pompeo's move is dangerous for the US. Because by basing his action on paragraphs 11 and 12, he has in essence turned the issue into a "procedural" one, not a "substantive" one. The UNSC members could thus refuse to table the US "complaint" on procedural grounds that Pompeo has violated the procedures of Ref 2231 by trying to bypass the Dispute Resolution process in the JCPOA. This is what Larry Johnson's article I referenced in the previous thread suggested the UNSC could do to block the US issue. That article should be read by everyone.

But this *still* wouldn't deal with the problem of *Iran's* complaint. If Iran's complaint comes up for a vote on a Resolution to extend sanctions relief, the US can *still* veto *that* Resolution - and the snapback would still occur.

There's no way out. Either Pompeo's complaint gets on the Agenda and is treated as legitimate under paragraphs 11 and 12 and results in a US veto, OR Pompeo's complaint gets rejected from being considered and then Iran's complaint comes up with a vote on a Resolution to extend sanctions relief and the US vetos *that*.

So the US by submitting its own "complaint" is boxing in the UNSC. This is why everyone is upset. And if the US succeeds, the JCPOA is dead, Iran withdraws from it - and possibly the NPT as well, although I suspect Iran won't do that - and then the US has advanced its goal of war with Iran considerably.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Aug 24 2020 2:31 utc | 63

uncle tungsten

Christian bloody values. It doesn't take a god botherer to have a bit of empathy for others. All the offshoots of the Hebrew superstitions are the same.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 24 2020 2:38 utc | 64

Jen #53

Incidentally there are no limits on the number of terms Prime Ministers can serve in either Australia or Canada.

Thank you but in the motherland of the UK the Queen seems to like her capacity to intimidate and silence opposition by her mere permanent presence. She even tolerates the current imprisonment and torture of an Australian citizen who has committed no crime against her City of London.

She has outlived her term limit by about 60 years or so it seems to me. I say they should wheel in Charles and then banish the entire stupidity. A venetian solution would be ideal.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Aug 24 2020 2:45 utc | 65

Seems to me that the destruction of what's left of the UN will be one consequence of the present US course. In some respects this seems vaguely similar to the League of Nations becoming more of less moot as WW2 heated up, particularly when USSR was illegally expelled.

But when we look at the UN today how should we see it? Recall that this process really took hold with the political murder of Dag Hammarskjold. After that the range of action was vastly reduced - as savvy men understood the message. Same, generally, with respect to the large number of political murders in the US and, of course, everywhere else.

Hammarskjold himself is worth reading and watching on YT etc. See, inter alia tinyurl[dot]com/y4wb9hat for some poetic "markings" from his pen.

It's sad to see the demise. It seems to imply that the process ends with a great deal of violence, and, one may speculate, with the utter failure of the US, ie dissolution. Thus the Deagle prediction of a mere 54 million population in 2025, I suppose.

Posted by: Walter | Aug 24 2020 3:02 utc | 66

@ Walter # 65 who wrote
"
Thus the Deagle prediction of a mere 54 million population in 2025, I suppose.
"
What I want to know is if finance will be a public utility or still privately controlled in 2025?....grin

I agree that it is sad to see the demise but we both know it is necessary. The question is if we will learn anything and evolve in the process?

I have always seen the UN as the High Court of Empire with some delusions of "equality". Maybe the UN will disappear for a while but the World Trade Organization will survive to battle out what remains of global trade...and then evolve to cover more issues.

So interesting but so sad many will be hurt.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 24 2020 3:21 utc | 67

Walter "Seems to me that the destruction of what's left of the UN will be one consequence of the present US course."

Yep.

US sends an official to Taiwan to partake in a celebration of the last battle between KMT and the people of China. China announces it is running military exercises on three sides of Taiwan.

Interesting times.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 24 2020 3:27 utc | 68

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Aug 24 2020 2:31 utc | 62

Iran's complaint would not have to come up for a vote as Iran has the option of not proceeding to the UNSC:

If the issue still has not been resolved to the satisfaction of the complaining participant, and if the complaining participant deems the issue to constitute significant non-performance, then that participant could treat the unresolved issue as grounds to cease performing its commitments under this JCPOA in whole or in part and/or notify the UN Security Council that it believes the issue constitutes significant non-performance.

https://undocs.org/S/RES/2231(2015)

That would leave the UNSC rejecting the complaint from the US by not allowing it on the agenda. At that time the only recourse for the US would be to accept defeat or sanction the countries on the UNSC,

Posted by: One Too Many | Aug 24 2020 3:28 utc | 69

Below is a link to a Xinhuanet posting followed by the text summary below a video link from another Xinhuanet posting

The first shows that China can't be blamed for the global downturn and is even picking up substantial business because it is up and running.

The second points out the cutting off nose to spite face moves by Trump et al.

China's production resumption stabilizes global supply chain

"
"When China recovers, we recover with it. So for us, as a very, very local and entrenched multinational company operating in China, recovery of China is a great story for us," said Shane Tedjarati, president of Honeywell Global High Growth Regions. He said Honeywell's business in China began to recover in the second quarter of this year, and is expected to perform better in the second half of the year. According to Tedjarati, China's economic recovery is largely because the country has taken some very decisive containment steps, and effectively put the disease under control. Currently, Honeywell has over 50 wholly-owned enterprises and joint ventures in more than 30 cities across China, including 21 plants.
"

Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 24 2020 3:50 utc | 70

Below is another Xinhuanet posting copied in total because of its tenor of reporting, if nothing else.

"
WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- The 2020 Republican National Convention (RNC) is set to kick off, during which U.S. President Donald Trump will formally accept the party's presidential nomination this year.

Monday's convention proceedings in Charlotte, North Carolina, will be attended by six delegates from each state and territory, amounting to 336 delegates in total, who will nominate Trump and Vice President Mike Pence for a second term.

Trump will make a stop in Charlotte on Monday just as delegates plan to hold roll call nomination.

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Sunday that she doesn't believe the presence of RNC attendees in Charlotte will pose public health risks.

"We tested everybody before they came to Charlotte, we tested everybody onsite," McDaniel said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "We are doing things that allow people to live their lives, have a convention."

Multiple protesters against the RNC were arrested on Friday and Saturday nights in Charlotte. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department tweeted that police officers used their bikes to put crowds back and pepper spray on those who advanced on them.

The four-day RNC has been largely scaled back due to the coronavirus pandemic. Trump had planned to move his acceptance speech to Jacksonville, Florida but he later called it off after infections surged in "The Sunshine State."

His speech will now take place on the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday night despite criticism that the federal property should not be used as the backdrop for a campaign event. On Wednesday night, Pence will deliver his acceptance speech at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland.

First lady Melania Trump will speak on Tuesday night from the recently renovated Rose Garden of the White House. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will reportedly be addressing the RNC from "an undisclosed location" in Jerusalem.

Speakers for the RNC also include other members of the Trump family, as well as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and former Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley, and former New York City Mayor and Trump advisor Rudy Giuliani, according to the Trump campaign.

George W. Bush, the only living Republican former U.S. president, is not slated to speak at this year's convention. Bush, who served between 2001 and 2009, also sat out the 2016 convention.

Besides the acceptance speech on the last night of the RNC, Trump will speak on the three other nights, also a break from traditions.

"You'll have President Trump speaking at various parts for each of the nights," Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller said during an appearance on NBC News' "Meet the Press."

Miller said the RNC will focus on what he called "all the accomplishments that we've had over the last four years with President Trump and what the president's second-term vision is going to look like."

According to The New York Times, Trump will speak nightly during the 10 p.m. hour of the RNC.

Democrats are planning to use a series of ads, television appearances and briefings to counter-program the RNC. A group of Republicans, including some Trump critics, will hold a "Convention on Founding Principles" in Charlotte, also starting on Monday, which they claimed is an alternative to the RNC.

The quadrennial event will come several days after the conclusion of the virtually-held 2020 Democratic National Convention (DNC) that officially nominated former Vice President Joe Biden for president.

Viewership for the DNC was down about 17 percent on average this year across all four nights compared with 2016, according to Nielsen Media Research, a U.S. firm that measures media audiences.

More than 122 million people watched the DNC live across broadcast, cable and digital platforms, while the events had 128.7 million video views on social media, according to the Biden campaign.

Biden saw his favorability increase from 40 percent to 45 percent in a week, according to an ABC News-Ipsos poll released after the DNC. The poll found Trump's favorability around 32 percent, mostly unchanged from other recent polls, but his unfavorability increased to 60 percent.

"Actually, I think I'm leading in the Polls," Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon.

"

Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 24 2020 3:55 utc | 71

China administering COVID-19 vaccines since July 22nd, says official
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1198595.shtml

It will be very hard to find out if they started even earlier, knowing how secretive and non transparent Xi-China is.

Posted by: Antonym | Aug 24 2020 4:15 utc | 72

Posted by: One Too Many | Aug 24 2020 3:28 utc | 68 Iran's complaint would not have to come up for a vote as Iran has the option of not proceeding to the
UNSC:

That is correct. However, presumably Iran seeks to resolve the issue of the non-compliance of the US (and the EU) in terms of sanctions relief. That is why they formally triggered the Dispute Resolution process on July 3.

I have been attempting in the last few minutes to determine the status of that complaint. According to this article, Iran triggered the DRM (Dispute Resolution Mechanism) *six times*. This time was due to the EU drafting a document complaining about Iran's alleged "non-compliance with the IAEA.

Apparently the next meeting of the Joint Commission will be on September 1, 2020. Meetings have been in abeyance due to the pandemic. Apparently at this meeting the Iran complaint will be addressed as set forth in the dispute process.

"That would leave the UNSC rejecting the complaint from the US by not allowing it on the agenda. At that time the only recourse for the US would be to accept defeat or sanction the countries on the UNSC,"

Correct. This is probably why the US is seeking to do an end-run around the DRM process by claiming that Res 2231 allows a *separate* process which merely requires a formal notification to the UNSC of "non-compliance." As I and others have said, that is bogus and is likely to be rejected by the UNSC.

As an aside, I note the last Report of the Joint Commission (reports are available here) was issued on June 15th. Several statements are relevant to Pompeo's claim that the US is still a "participant" (my emphasis):

Paragraph 2 states: "2. The Procurement Working Group comprises the States that are participants in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with a designated representative of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy serving as Coordinator."

Paragraph 3 states: "3. Since 9 May 2018, the work of the Procurement Working Group has been continuing without the participation of the United States of America, under the principles and procedures established by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The remaining participants note with regret the reimposition of sanctions by the United States of America after its withdrawal from the Plan. They remain committed to upholding the integrity of the procurement channel and fully support the continuation of its functioning as a transparency and confidence-building instrument, which, while enabling the trade of relevant items with the Islamic Republic of Iran, ensures the consistency of relevant transfers with the Plan. The remaining participants call upon States that are not parties to the Plan to refrain from taking any actions that impede the remaining parties’ ability to fully perform their commitments."

The Procurement Working Group, by the way, is oriented around dealing with trade issues with Iran under the JCPOA. Its "Participants" - initially - consisted of China, France, Germany, the Russian Federaton, the United Kingdom, the United States and Iran. Clearly since the US withdrawal, the other participants no longer consider the US one of them.

On 14 June, 2018, after the US withdrew, the Working Group's report said this: "6. On 9 May 2018, the Coordinator of the Procurement Working Group was
informed that the United States of America was withdrawing from the Procurement Working Group, following the announcement of the President of the United States on 8 May 2018. 1 As of 9 May, the United States does not participate in the Procurement Working Group activities, including the review of proposals submitted to it. The work of the Procurement Working Group will continue without the participation of the United States."

A similar report on 5 December 2018 said: "As at 9 May 2018, the work of the Procurement Working Group continues without the participation of the United States of America."

I'd say that pretty much settles whether the US is a "participant" in the JCPOA. However, apparently Pompeo feels that since Res 2231 also refers to the US as a "participant", that means the JCPOA doesn't count. He's likely to fail in convincing the UNSC of that notion.

The problem remains, however, that the end result will be the US going one way and the UNSC going another. Once the US starts applying sanctions to anyone and everyone doing business with Iran again, and the EU can do nothing to prevent it, Iran is going to decide to ditch the JCPOA altogether. This is undoubtedly why Iran triggered the process. So the US wins either way.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Aug 24 2020 5:00 utc | 73

Apparently Iran's Foreign Minister posted a video about the situation on his Twitter account...

Iran’s FM Explains Why US Retains No Right to Demand 'Snapback' of Sanctions

Here is the video, showing Trump and others explicitly stating they no longer "participate".

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Aug 24 2020 5:12 utc | 74

Peter AU 1 @ 60:

Murray is fine on most topics and even on the issue of the Skripals but on anything else related to Russia or the Russian government he is completely adrift at sea.

Incidentally that execrable BBC mini-series "The Salisbury Poisonings" is screening over four evenings on the SBS channel. Probably worth watching as an example of British Bull-shitting Corporation propaganda at its most dire and pathetic. The British can't even do comedy anymore.

Posted by: Jen | Aug 24 2020 5:20 utc | 75

That documentary movie looks interesting. I didn't have the time to watch it yet but just samples through.

Does anybody know what kind of blind bombing system they were using? The release point was apparently determined by a ground based (mechanical) computer which send the release signal via radio to the bomber.

(As of VK's analysis of Germany: That's pure fiction.)

Posted by: m | Aug 24 2020 5:35 utc | 76

https://preview.redd.it/7jh7rrygwui51.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=bc33f49736e05f60b19f859de27ba92c6a4a562b

Maruspial-Land: How do we prevent our R&D talent from going China? Just keep being cheapskates and play the NatSec™ card, that's so going to work!

Posted by: J W | Aug 24 2020 5:36 utc | 77

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Aug 24 2020 5:00 utc | 72

Russia and China are not going to be intimidated by US sanctions. Iran will complain, but will not leave the JCPOA since the defensive weapons sanctions would still be lifted in October. Unless the UNSC allows the US resolution to be tabled there's really nothing the US can do except destroy the legitimacy of the UNSC and in the process its own credibility. Even batshit crazy neocon John Bolton is against that as he believes the UNSC is a useful tool for US interests.

Posted by: One Too Many | Aug 24 2020 5:44 utc | 78

@74 Jen

We still do comedy, it's just underground now as the media are so woke all comedy is deemed offensive to someone, somewhere at sometime, hence the banning of The Germans episode of Fawlty Towers which was only reinstated after a huge uproar.

Posted by: TJ | Aug 24 2020 6:06 utc | 79

Posted by: One Too Many | Aug 24 2020 5:44 utc | 77

Correct on all counts - except I do see Iran leaving the JCPOA (but not the NPT) if the sanctions get worse. The only way they won't leave the JCPOA is if they decide it would give the US too much leverage for its push to war. OTOH they might stay if the UNSC can defeat the US in preventing the snapback. Again, that depends on whether Iran pushes its own complaint about sanctions relief all the way to the UNSC. If they don't, they'll stay. If they do and the US vetos, then Iran will leave the JCPOA.

As usual...we'll see.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Aug 24 2020 6:37 utc | 80

Turkey has signed a contract with RosOboronExport for an additional S-400 batch, all that remains to be decided in the Financing method.
Guess Turkey has decided that its future with the F-35 programme is dead. If UAE gets the F-35s alleged to have been included in the UAE-Israel deal, this would be a significant shift in regional Sunni influence. Unlikely?

The article is not included on the Interfax English site, but I've been able to find a summarised version in English - don't know why it uses 'could' or 'likely'.

https://www.interfax.ru/russia/722902 (Russian)

https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news/-politics/russia-and-turkey-likely-to-sign-s-400-missile-deal-next-year-interfax-876746.html (English Summary)

Posted by: AtaBrit | Aug 24 2020 6:55 utc | 81

A look back at 70 years of communist China

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-Nr2Pkh-NA

Posted by: Mao | Aug 24 2020 8:20 utc | 82

Some early studies have suggested that coronavirus antibodies fade relatively quickly, but that doesn’t mean immunity vanishes. A new study found that all participants infected with COVID-19 – even those with asymptomatic or mild cases and patients who didn’t have detectable antibodies – developed virus-specific T cells. T cells identify and kill infected cells, and B cells create new antibodies. Those cells can attack the virus if it ever returns. So the new finding is strong evidence that all patients likely develop long-term immunity.

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/long-term-coronavirus-immunity-t-cells-2020-8

Posted by: Mao | Aug 24 2020 8:28 utc | 83

The U.S. has jumped into the top 25 countries on the annual Bloomberg Misery Index, which looks at unemployment and inflation numbers to forecast how miserable the citizens of 60 different nations are.

Bloomberg reported Thursday that the U.S. went from the No. 50 slot to No. 25 on the index as the coronavirus pandemic has devastated the American economy.

Iceland, Israel and Panama are the only other countries "even close to that level of deterioration in the annual rankings," according to Bloomberg.

But nearly every nation in the index is expected to face a more miserable situation this year, as the pandemic has affected employment worldwide, Bloomberg noted.

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/510890-us-jumps-into-top-25-countries-on-misery-index

Posted by: Mao | Aug 24 2020 8:30 utc | 84

Watch as 60 Minutes calls out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her conflict of interest.

According to 60 Minutes, Pelosi and her husband have participated in at least 8 IPO’s. 60 Minutes reports that the Pelosis purchased 5,000 shares of Visa Stock at $44 per share. Two days later it was trading at $64. Legislature to block these types of things never made it to the floor of the House.

That means they invested $220,000 and in two days that turned into $320,000. How many of you would like to make $100,000 in two days, with the snap of a finger?

Pelosi refused an interview with 60 minutes. Watch the special below, it’s very very good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUbssESNv4o

https://thedcpatriot.com/holy-sht-60-minutes-exposes-how-pelosi-makes-bank-using-sneaky-stock-market-manipulation-video/

Posted by: Mao | Aug 24 2020 8:32 utc | 85

This Video Will Get Donald Trump Elected - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2qIXXafxCQ

Posted by: Mao | Aug 24 2020 8:36 utc | 86

Peter AU1 #63

Christian bloody values. It doesn't take a god botherer to have a bit of empathy for others. All the offshoots of the Hebrew superstitions are the same.

The abrahamic sects are a real challenge to those that would aspire to a compassionate foundation for a spiritual life. The old Aboriginal system was one extraordinary fine fabric of responsibility, compassion for all things, and lifelong learning and teaching. Never too late to adopt its tenets and explore its potential. And much more fun and challenge than om - ing in a temple.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Aug 24 2020 9:19 utc | 87

Looks like a lot of if not all Australian iron ore is sold in yuan.

"Fortescue, which established China-based Fortescue Trading in 2019, sold 6.5 million tonnes of iron ore directly in Chinese yuan during 2020. BHP and Rio Tinto made their first yuan-based sales in May."
https://www.afr.com/markets/equity-markets/fortescue-is-an-unashamed-bull-in-the-china-shop-20200824-p55ol7

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 24 2020 9:32 utc | 88

uncle tungsten

Aboriginal nations look to have been very stable for about 11000 years. I guess they weren't into industrial warfare, nor wars of empire and conquest. A few places around the north humans were a food source. The track I think from Cooktown to Palmer river goldfields was like a food delivery service.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 24 2020 9:38 utc | 89

@Jackrabbit | 2
Maybe you are familiar with the German Research Report published at the end of last year. While it was primarily concerned with the legality of Peace Spring operation some of its findings are apllicable to Turkey's overall approach in Northern Syria and even to some degree in Southern Turkey whether directly or via its proxies - ISIL, AL Qaeda (in its various forms), FSA.
The report talks of “ethnic-corridor cleaning;”
The same mentality and approach is behind burning crops, turning off water supplies, demographic change, politicised sectarian policing and schooling and slow-burning Turkification. These are all actions aimed at civilian populations disproving the claim that Turkey is fighting terrorism.

One has to wonder when the world will stand up and say "Enough!"

Posted by: AtaBrit | Aug 24 2020 10:22 utc | 90

U.S. abandoning globalization will hurt its businesses: Harvard Business Review

Rednecks must choose: freedom or Walmart. It's that simple.

--//--

For Abe, latest milestone is a moment of trepidation

All hail chairman Abe! Wait, no? I shouldn't be criticizing this? I thought head-of-States who perpetuate in power were a bad thing in itself...

--//--

Why there won’t be a US-China war: China has spent massively on anti-access/area denial weapons that would make war impractical for the US

"Impractical" - that's why the USA is not going to invade China. That's literally the only reason. Not because it is fundamentally wrong. Not because China did nothing wrong. Not because humanity would be sent back to the stone age. Not because that would be the greatest genocide in human history.

Man, Americans are asking for it. They are making it harder and harder by the day not to put a big target in their foreheads.

--//--

@ Posted by: m | Aug 24 2020 5:35 utc | 77

Well, its just a model. Not like there's literally two factions. Volkswagen, for example, doesn't need to choose: it can have everything (during good times). It's a question of focus during acute times.

But the German foreign policy must almost certainly be two-pronged. It's the only explanation for the ease of its change of directions in foreign policy for the last 20 years. Obviously, the consolidation of the EU makes this easier and simpler, but institionalism alone doesn't explain Germany's apparent bipolarity in 21st Century geopolitics.

--//--

@ Posted by: Kay Fabe | Aug 23 2020 23:12 utc | 51

If I understood well what you said, then you're proposing human civilization to give up knowledge (i.e. become more ignorant) so that Christianity can have a second chance.

Your version of world history is not right. Humanity didn't live 1700 years of peace and prosperity under Christianity.

Top that with the fact that most of the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution scientists were rabid Christians: in their vision, they were getting closer, not more distant, to God with their discoveries (the search for the "origin of everything"). Nietzsche was a lone wolf during all his life, and didn't leave any successor. The left Hegelians were the exception to the rule - and were soon purged by the German government.

Besides, your argument is contradictory: if you make a utilitarian argument for religion, then it's the self-defeat of religion, as religion that presents itself under a utilitarian argument is not a religion by definition. Religion is only believable through faith.

Also, it's not truth that Christianity was only successful because it installed in the masses the fear of God. Pagan religions also operated with fear of divine retribution just fine. By the Constantinian times, the Roman Empire had collapse as an effective state force, and a lot of citizens were starving and without proper burial access. In that context, Christianity grew as a parallel government, with its network of free burials, free shelter and free food for the poor, children and widows. It was through the material - not the spiritual - that Christianity grew.

Besides, during Christianity hegemony in Europe, scientific progress continued unabated. It's a myth scientific progress stopped in the Middle Ages.

Christianity also wasn't peaceful: factionalism existed since the very beginning of the religion, one faction wiping out the other until the Paulist version prospered (only to be broken up again over the centuries).

Last but not least, Christians should be careful with what they wish for, as they're not the only game in town: we have Buddhism and Islamism as competitors world religions right now, with Judaism threatening to do with Christianism what Christianism did to the Roman State (take control of it from within).

Posted by: vk | Aug 24 2020 12:02 utc | 91

Some have written about term limits remarks by Craig Murray. I think it was an essay by Conrad that pointed out that since pols are most all more or less crooks imposing term limits means they have less time to fill their pockets and tend to govern badly, but that without term limits they govern better and steal more thoughtfully over a longer term.

Posted by: Walter | Aug 24 2020 13:09 utc | 92

: psychohistorian | Aug 24 2020 3:21 utc | 68 (UN)

We most all know Rockefeller donated the land for UN...geewhiz those altruistic richpeople are ever so nice and kind, and never have a secret agenda!

Nevertheless the Hammarskjold murder amounted to a "correction", so evidently the Rockefeller et al agenda needed curation.

Reading old original sources - US generals suggesting that the UN should hold all the atombombs (1946?), for example, gives some insights...

At this point the UN, like the LoN, is passing the febrile stage and entering necrosis. Some may also see such process in the US - indeed the two are well joined.

Of course my riverain "Anoxia" is going down the same path, and Wally will probably die in the process. Too late to jump ship, far too late, but the path was fairly clear when they demolished WTC7 - another "correction".

Posted by: Walter | Aug 24 2020 13:25 utc | 93

The Unraveling of America
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/covid-19-end-of-american-era-wade-davis-1038206/

Anthropologist Wade Davis on how COVID-19 signals the end of the American era

Food for thought ... 😉. Well written ...

Odious as he may be, Trump is less the cause of America’s decline than a product of its descent. As they stare into the mirror and perceive only the myth of their exceptionalism, Americans remain almost bizarrely incapable of seeing what has actually become of their country.

Posted by: Oui | Aug 24 2020 13:43 utc | 94

What should Iran buy from Russia in Oct? when the arms embargo expires.

Been thinking that the most cost effective weapon for Iran would be one or two squadrons of Mig31's.
Cheaper than Su-35 at $33M a unit. 2. Specialized super-fast, high altitude, long range interceptor, ideal for B2 or B52 bombers on Diego Garcia. It would certainly give the U.S. second thoughts about bombing targets deep inside Iran.

Posted by: Christian J. Chuba | Aug 24 2020 14:00 utc | 95

@93 Walter.

Popular support has nothing to do with the honesty of a leader and no term limits means you're subject to a better liar for ever.

Craig is 100% honest in what he says but people need to get the context.

Posted by: S.O. | Aug 24 2020 14:05 utc | 96

Russia Declares Austrian Diplomat Persona Non Grata in Response to Vienna's Earlier Decision

This is what, the third EU country to expel at least one Russian diplomat in less than one month?

The official reason for the expulsion (espionage) excludes the possibility they are part of the "Belarusian sanctions". Since the sanctions are already announced, there would be no reason to hide them under another pretext.

Looks like it really was a "double-header": there was a plan to take out Belarus and weaken Russia more or less at the same time (domino effect) by the EU.

Questions remain, though:

1) was this part of the plan all along or was this a contingency plan/consolation prize after Belarus didn't go exactly as expected? Since the Netherlands expelled their Russian diplomat earlier, I'm inclined to think it was part of the plan;

2) is the goal to take Belarus and destabilize Russia (prepare the terrain) or was it to take both at the same time?

3) or, alternatively: had the operation much more modest goals from the beginning, i.e. the goal was always just to shake both countries' societal foundations (everything else being a bonus)? In other words: was the goal just to brew Russophobia in the European Peninsula?

Posted by: vk | Aug 24 2020 14:06 utc | 97

@ 95 another rolling stone that illuminates the US necrotic process...unregulated dumping of radwaste tinyurl[dot]com/v3pva55

Evidently they actually spray the stuff on roads and, well, it's puckininsane stupid.

"..thing in this stuff and ingesting it are the worst types of exposure,” Stolz continues. “You are irradiating your tissues from the inside out.” The radioactive particles fired off by radium can be blocked by the skin, but radium readily attaches to dust,..."

(Honestly, I know it's hard to believe, but several immediate neighbors, possibly 1/3 of the town, actually expect to be levitated to heaven in "rapture". Thus, according to their a priori assumption, the poisoning is perfectly ok."

Anyway, both the bizarre beliefs and the idiotic actions (including with radwaste) are, like Trump, a product, a manifestation. We agree.

About Rockefeller - Corbett Report has a very deep examination of that family and their less well-known policy set.

Posted by: Walter | Aug 24 2020 14:11 utc | 98

I have read some good stuff by Craig Murray,but I always wondered why in the sideline there was an affiche for a concert that he organizes,with a lot of groups and artist,one of them being "Pussy Riot",a group linked to OBOR and regime change in Russia and Ukraine.It has been replaced by another affiche,but it was there for years.

Posted by: willie | Aug 24 2020 14:18 utc | 99

@ vk (doubleheader)

Yeah, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Each of the goals you moot does not exclude the others, I think.

It does also occur to my imagination that it may be a preparation for an actual direct military assault - something I think most militaries are practicing for. Anyway an attempt to put Russia on the back foot at a suitable time, which would thereafter be exploited, the old "one-two punch".

.

@ S.O. (97) "Popular support has nothing to do with the honesty of a leader and no term limits means you're subject to a better liar for ever."

If you say so, friend. That has not been my observation. Conrad did not mention "popular support" and neither did I. They all lie, but Conrad spoke of graft and theft and murder. Assuming they are 99% crooks it's obvious that a long term theft would be enhanced if the government was otherwise doing a good job. Otherwise, with "term limits" their "best" course is a smash and grab (which we see today)

"Craig is 100% honest in what he says but people need to get the context."

Again if you say so, friend. I suggest you consider replacing "honest" with "sincere"...as, like all men, Craig is sometimes in error. I am sure Conrad would think so. I recall an error or two I have made, and I was absolutely sincere, but wrong.

Posted by: Walter | Aug 24 2020 14:39 utc | 100

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