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September 23, 2020
Open Thread 2020-76
Comments
@jinn
Your argument that ‘curreny in circulation’ or ‘cash money used at hands’ is not in retreat is flawed.
Cash Currency intersects with broad money, i.e. with bank deposits that have been created by expanding bank credit. If a bank makes a loan – respectively – creates new credit, it not only expands the balance sheet but the customer can take this digitally created money and can withdraw it and transform it into cash. As your graph shows, currency in circulation has increased since the mid 80’s – since the Era of Finacialisation – but only because overall bank credit creation (and private debt) has been sky-rocketed. Of course some of this new deposit has been withdrawn, made into cash, and circulated which then has been spent for e.g. consumer goods.
What your graph doesn’t show is currency in circulation in relation to overall money (including bank credit). See here
Of course when you create more and more credit, some of this credit will be turned into cash, but the cash is only miniscule compared to the total money
Posted by: vato | Sep 24 2020 16:01 utc | 101
c1ue @96–
Applebaum was awarded a Pulitzer Prize, along with a bunch of others. From her website:
“Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine was published in October 2017. It received the Lionel Gelber Prize as well as the Duff Cooper prize in 2018.
“Her previous book, Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956, described the imposition of Soviet totalitarianism in Central Europe after the Second World War. Iron Curtain won the 2012 Cundill Prize for Historical Literature and the Duke of Westminster Medal, and was a National Book Award finalist.
“She is also the author of Gulag: A History, which narrates the history of the Soviet concentration camps system and describes daily life in the camps, making extensive use of recently opened Russian archives as well as memoirs and interviews. Gulag won the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction in 2004 and was also a National Book Award finalist.”
She’s been made out to be believable by the Establishment. Attack her as non-credible, and she’ll just point to what’s cited above.
A trial balloon has escalated the Taiwan situation on the heels of Xi’s two speeches at the UNGA emphasizing China’s quest for peace and prompted an immediate response from the mouthpiece of the CPC, Global Times. First, “Deployment of US forces to Taiwan means war: Global Times editorial”, and second, “Returning US forces to Taiwan will ‘trigger reunification-by-force operation’”. Needless to say, I was rather shocked to read these first thing this morning. The editorial gets right to the point:
“Military Review, the professional bimonthly journal of the US Army, in its latest issue published a series of articles on the so-called China’s armed invasion of Taiwan. A US Marine Corps captain in his article called for returning the US forces to Taiwan, and another article suggests providing a corps of ‘two-to-four divisions… against the PLA bridgeheads’ and ‘dispatching an Army heavy corps to Taiwan.’
“These articles have triggered a strong response in the island of Taiwan, and the Taiwan secessionist forces have been greatly encouraged. However, some have pointed out that it is unlikely the US military will publicly deploy in Taiwan.
“Such discussions in a US military magazine can be regarded as a public opinion war against China. The US is trying to open up new space for the US strategy to exert pressure on China. If the US military does what the magazine has suggested, it not only means the complete end of the US’ one-China policy, but will also mean a blatant challenge to China’s sovereignty.
“The release of such information seems to be carried away. The US and the island of Taiwan must give up all illusions about the redeployment of US troops in Taiwan, because it means nothing but war. The Anti-Secession Law outlined three conditions that would compel China to use force. The second condition is ‘the development of major incidents that involve the independence of Taiwan from the mainland,’ and the third condition is ‘the exhaustion of all options to reach a deal on the peaceful reunification.’ The redeployment of US troops in Taiwan meets the two conditions. We believe that the PLA will inevitably take military actions to start a just war to liberate Taiwan.” [My Emphasis]
The editorial then points to the root cause of the situation:
“As tensions in the Taiwan Straits spiral, the Taiwan authorities led by Tsai Ing-wen accused the mainland of intimidation, and Washington asserted that the mainland has resorted to high military pressure to unilaterally change the status quo. But the tense situation in the Taiwan Straits began with the Tsai authorities abandoning the 1992 Consensus. This completely breaks the political basis for cross-Straits communication. Meanwhile, the passage of the Taiwan Travel Act by the US breaks away from the US’ one-China policy. Safeguarding its territorial integrity has become an urgent task for the Chinese mainland.” [My Emphasis]
Given what we’ve seen from Trump, he’ll escalate the situation given his penchant for applying “Maximum Pressure;” and given his and Pompeo’s virulent Sinophobia, starting a war with China using other Chinese as pawns is their likely plan. The second article provides deeper analysis of the situation along with reaction by Taiwanese officials from its two main political parties, but first it notes the Red Line:
“If the US does deploy troops to Taiwan, it not only breaks the Three Joint Communiqués fundamental to China-US diplomatic relations, but also triggers articles in China’s Anti-Secession Law and enables the state to employ non-peaceful means and other necessary measures to protect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, Chinese mainland analysts said.”
Are the papers’s authors at all aware of the above Red Line? Officers the rank of Captain, O-3, in the US Army don’t usually make policy. But given the domestic turmoil within the Empire, the standard past “solution” for Empires has been to launch a war.
@ karlof1 #103
China has many military options contra Taiwan including taking one or more of Taiwan’s island possessions including:
>Kinmen and Matsu, and Penghu (Pescadores) archipelago in Taiwan Strait. (Kinmen and Matsu are just off China’s coast.)
>South China Sea – various islands including Taiping
>Pratas Islands, off Hong Kong
China claims all these islands, along with Taiwan.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Sep 24 2020 16:49 utc | 104
If Bernie Sanders was the President
then the Supreme Court “disaster” would not be happening.
If the DNC were not so corrupt Bernie Sanders would be President.
Misguided Democrats, including the likes of AOC, are supporting the current corrupt choice of the DNC.
They deserve what they have supported – a Supreme Court “disaster”.
Posted by: librul | Sep 24 2020 16:52 utc | 105
Vato claims GDP is Y
____________
This is typical statement contained in economic textbooks:
“The quantity theory is derived from an accounting identity according to which the total expenditures in the economy (MV) are identical to total receipts from the sale of final goods and services (PY).”
In other words PY=GDP and V is nothing more than the ratio of the stock of money to GDP.
Go to National account data and look at a graph of the velocity of M2 and a graph GDP/M2 and see for yourself that both graphs are exactly identical.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/fredgraph.png?g=w7uI
Posted by: jinn | Sep 24 2020 17:03 utc | 106
Don Bacon @104–
Thanks for your reply, Don! I agree they have options, but the thinking seems to be that when push becomes shove no halfway measures will be pursued–once the Red Line’s crossed, completely solve the problem; don’t let it fester any longer.
On the Assange Saga, Joe Lauria has written this excellent article, “Why Julian Assange, a Non-US Citizen, Operating Outside the US, Is Being Prosecuted Under the US Espionage Act”:
“Many people ask how can Julian Assange, an Australian who’s never operated in the U.S., be prosecuted under the U.S. Espionage Act. Here is the answer:
“Territorial Reach—The 1961 Amendment That Imperils Assange.”
Lauria reveals something I hadn’t know before that slightly increases my evaluation of Truman, and shows that Assange is a victim of the Cold War. Do note that JFK didn’t share the same principles as Truman since he didn’t veto the act.
USA. The Dems have now reached the status of a cult. (Say..let’s think along those lines..)
A cult has as first priority to keep its members gripped in its hold, to solder belonging, adherence, to the death if need be. (See famous small cults that lead to that.)
Cults may at some point seek to attract new members, but only in a limited way, for some time. They are *never* into winning over a large demographic, convincing, campaigning, etc. They exist and thrive as super special, radical, exceptional – and as parasitical on society as a whole – the general socio-economico-pol landscape.
Biden/Dems aren’t campaigning to win, as has been noted by many. Loosing vs. winning the election is NOT the main point. Ex. R. Maddow speaks to cult members to stir them up even more, not to seduce newbies.
Mafia-type orgs are v. similar, as parasites living in and preying on the existing structures they exploit, thru a ‘family’, ‘brotherhood’, org. and belonging, which allows the members (we the group got yr back) to skim off protection money, set up corrupt deals, etc. The difference is Mafia orgs are oriented to Profit / Control of econo circuits like the garbage industry.
Dems are pure ‘cult’ as they offer no financial reward, merely blessings for being gay or whatever. (Not that the Repubs are any better, other story.)
Posted by: Noirette | Sep 24 2020 17:17 utc | 108
You clearly have no idea what you are talking about.
Money velocity has no absolute relationship to money supply.
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I am talking about money velocity as defined by economists.
They compute money velocity as GDP/money stock
In theory injecting more money should increase GDP and velocity should remain constant but that is just plain silly logic if you inject money when GDP is collapsing.
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If the money supply was $1 but that dollar traveled between 1000000 people in a year (it is the only dollar in existence), then money velocity would be 1000000.
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That is nice theory but it has nothing to do with how money velocity is actually calculated by economists. To get money velocity they just divide GDP by the money stock (money stock usually is M1 or M2)
Velocity is not something that is measured it is simply derived by dividing GDP by some measure of the volume of money.
Posted by: jinn | Sep 24 2020 17:17 utc | 109
@ karlof1 #103
. . .the thinking seems to be that when push becomes shove no halfway measures will be pursued–once the Red Line’s crossed, completely solve the problem; don’t let it fester any longer.
That’s good western thinking. None of us can predict the future, but we should recognize that Chinese ain’t like us.
Some examples of West-East differences (in that order):
>confront a problem head on vs. move around it (Taoism)
>have a large sense of self vs. be a minor in the crowd
>express feelings openly vs. think & smile
>enjoy weak leaders vs. strong leaders (Confucianism)
>do it now vs. do it later
Posted by: Don Bacon | Sep 24 2020 17:24 utc | 110
So apparently, Navalny did suffer from poison of some kind, but he took it himself. At least that’s what Putin has come to think.
Kremlin spokesman ridicules Le Monde report suggesting Putin told Macron that Navalny poisoned himself
In this article RT is harping on about statements that Putin spokesman Peskov made about a recent article in France’s Le Monde paper, which was about the telephone conversation between Putin and Macron. Le Monde claims Putin told Macron that Navalny “may have poisoned himself”. Peskov doesn’t debunk the story, but even so does not like it, so he can only resort to “ridiculing” it and calling it “incorrect in its wording”.
To me, that means Le Monde’s bottom line is true. It’s a shame Putin doesn’t just say publicly what he told Macron in private. I can’t think of any valid reason for not doing so. Cumbersome, heavy-handed, ineffective, always too little too late, that’s the Russian government’s public diplomacy. And it’s wearing a moustache.
Posted by: Scotch Bingeington | Sep 24 2020 17:28 utc | 111
@karlof1 #102
The only people who consider Anne Applebaum credible are the neocon mouthpieces.
Every work she has every churned out has been derided as inaccurate if not outright fabrication – with an emphasis on attacking Russia.
Pulitzer prize? You mean the same institution that awarded a Pulitzer prize to Janet Cooke for a wholly fabricated story?
What about the Pulitzer prize to Walter Duranty – who published a set of articles pretty much literally dictated by Stalin?
Sorry, there are prizes which merit consideration; the Pulitzer isn’t one of them (nor is the “Peace” prize),
Posted by: c1ue | Sep 24 2020 17:35 utc | 112
@jinn #109
Usually when someone is called out as being wrong, they stop digging.
Instead, you resort to a fully fabricated definition of money velocity.
Money velocity is an estimate of the number of times an average unit of currency is used to buy something.
Money stock does not matter – which I amply illustrated with the $1 example.
You are an idiot.
Posted by: c1ue | Sep 24 2020 17:37 utc | 113
Posted by: c1ue | Sep 24 2020 15:46 utc | 100
The Quantity Theory of Money just tries to formulate a relationship between Money and Growth. Orthodox Economic Theory says that low interest rates (THE economic instrument according to theory) lead to more bank lending (more credit), expanding the money supply. It does not say that it leads to a higher velocity because the velocity is – according to theory – constant (at least in the long run). Conventional theory also says that all money is used for GDP transactions which is of course wrong. Most of credit creation is for financial transaction (which is not part of GDP growth). That is why their ‘constant velocity scheme’ has never been proven. Hence they’ve constructed new moneyless economic models by simply assuming the problem away. That’s just what theory says and why it’s flawed.
You are of course correct that the USE of new money created is crucial. But technically only banks can create new money and new purchasing power. Fiscal policy measures (COVID Stimulus) without economic activity and productive investment only lead to a bigger and bigger government deficit. That’s an extreme strain of (future) generations except you have something like a people’s debt jubilee or a Central Bank that can absorb all of your debts to overcome the financial anxiety.
Posted by: vato | Sep 24 2020 17:37 utc | 114
Heads up, interesting read over at SOTT
https://www.sott.net/article/441724-The-War-on-Populism-The-Final-Act
“In Scenario Number One, Trump declares victory before the mail-in votes have been tallied and is “removed from office” for “attempting a coup.” In Scenario Number Two, he doesn’t declare victory, and the country enters a state of limbo, which the Democrats will prolong as long as possible. Either way, rioting breaks out. Serious rioting… not “peaceful” rioting. Rioting that makes the “BLM protests” we have witnessed so far look like a game of touch football. ”
It’s entertainment.
Posted by: Curmudgeon | Sep 24 2020 18:06 utc | 115
Vato wrote
What your graph doesn’t show is currency in circulation in relation to overall money (including bank credit).
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It is easy enough to look at that data. Here is a graph that shows the ratio of currency in circulation to broad money (M2).
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=w7Dd
As you can see currency in circulation is a greater percentage of M2 today than it was in the 1980s.
Posted by: jinn | Sep 24 2020 18:17 utc | 116
Don @110–
Yes, “western thinking.” But I’m just repeating the line put out by the CPC’s mouthpiece, which hasn’t really deviated at all over the past several months–We want peace but will go to war if our Red Lines are crossed.
Trump seems to be addicted to employing his “Maximum Pressure” scheme in most areas of foreign policy, and he enjoys employing his “Dreadful Flying Glove” to do that work. Todays Keiser Report which I linked to in the “Headlines” thread provides a chart of the Fed’s balance sheet showing the attempt to stall the Ponzi, which exemplifies the emptiness of the Outlaw US Empire’s Real Economy–a Hologram that’s about to be switched off in Max’s parlance. So, a war without to cover the war within?
c1ue @112–We may see such awards as junk and meaningless, but millions don’t, and that’s the problem.
To all those commenting on money supply, velocity and economics as currently taught, I very highly suggest you watch this interview with Dr. Hudson and take notice of what host Rosh Ashcroft says in his opening–College level economics courses are JUNK.
re: Taiwan and what China will do
China is close to having the ability to manufacture it’s own EUV chip etching machines. This is VERY big. This enables them to cut Taiwan. Does Taiwan need China’s raw resources to make it’s chips? What if those resources were suddenly expensive or unavailable?
As Don Bacon observes, move around the problem. I get the feeling the change will be as quick and shocking and irreversible as Crimea was. It may even turn out to be as peaceful a change.
Posted by: Dr Wellington Yueh | Sep 24 2020 18:34 utc | 118
For those who recall Tobias Schneider compiling extensive statistics about chemical weapon usage in Syria(the article links to the pdf with full study) , it is the kind of study with dataset which carries the gravitas and the breadth to convince people at first sight and to become a reference for years on end.
I think the impressive study is crap and relies strongly on ‘every claim is considered true until proven otherwise’. A more detailed explanation would have to be more stepwise , different and surprising grains of truth.
A similar study is being created about Uyghur concentration camps
https://xjdp.aspi.org.au/explainers/exploring-xinjiangs-detention-facilities/
It will become a reference. Debunking it is a lot of work (again believing all the claims until proven otherwise)and will never reach the mainstream. The flaws will be similar: the sites are real, the uses can be anything, some uses will be really ugly in reality , sometimes there will be an Uyghur link, sometimes a reeducation link, sometimes an actual prison link. The numbers and the serious look will give it traction. It will be bad science.
Posted by: Tuyzentfloot | Sep 24 2020 18:43 utc | 119
Amazingly informative article on how Talmudic Jews always steer the narrative to their favor and how they are able to control protestants and Catholics by not bringing to light deliberately the fact that they do not revere the Old Testament…like at all.
Deserves a read.
I have always found Jews I have known to be likeable, charismatic, and very intelligent.
I have much appreciation for those Jews who love family and America and decry the “nation of Israel” in Palestine.
One of the chief concerns of American Christians should be the awakening of our spiritual brothers and sisters to the fact the U.S. has become Israel’s Golem in the ME.
How does this square with my desire to see DJT 2.0? I’m still working on that.
Posted by: NemesisCalling | Sep 24 2020 18:44 utc | 120
@ karlof1 | Sep 24 2020 18:19 utc | 117 who wrote
”
To all those commenting on money supply, velocity and economics as currently taught, I very highly suggest you watch this interview with Dr. Hudson and take notice of what host Rosh Ashcroft says in his opening–College level economics courses are JUNK.
”
Thanks for that shoutout out to those showing their ignorance. Next they will be educating us about the market fundamentals we are watching be displayed on Wall Street…/snark
Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 24 2020 18:45 utc | 121
In Korea, peace is not an option.
‘Moon’s proposal for end-of-war declaration untimely, unrealistic’
. . .Not only did Moon’s message lack any enticing proposals for Pyongyang, some experts see the renewed focus on a declaration ending the war as highly problematic in that the relevant parties ― the U.S. and China ― are not interested in it at this point, not to mention the North Korea problem in general. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping did not mention anything about North Korea during their respective speeches at the General Assembly.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Sep 24 2020 19:17 utc | 122
Binu Mathew: Are you happy?
Andre Vltchek: Yes. Insanely. Even when I am fxxxxd and hardly able to move.
I am a fighter. I am an internationalist, a Communist. We are winning. Slowly, very slowly, but winning.
The journey is tough, it is dangerous. But I don’t want any other journey, or any other fate.
My life is not perfect, but I would never trade. I do my best. And I love it the way it is.
And I love stories. Without good stories, there is no life. Along the journey, the road, there are millions of stories. They define and illustrate our human kind. Based on these stories, there is great revolutionary struggle, igniting our planet once again.
Imperialists want us to forget about the stories. They want us to live on pre-fabricated junk stories of Hollywood and Disney. It is our duty to tell the real stories, because they are much more beautiful than computer-generated ones, and they are true.
That’s why I create, write, and film. No stories, no revolution!
And more I hear and see and create, the happier I get.
Andre Vltchek: How I Became A Revolutionary And Internationalist
https://countercurrents.org/2018/12/how-i-became-a-revolutionary-and-internationalistandre-vltchek/
R.I.P.
Posted by: Mao | Sep 24 2020 19:30 utc | 123
Coronavirus is no excuse for Trump’s failing economy: A socialist viewpoint
https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/coronavirus-is-no-excuse-for-trumps-failing-economy-a-socialist-viewpoint/
Posted by: Mao | Sep 24 2020 19:33 utc | 124
@123 the Vltchek quote, his courage shames the rest of us. He was a true surfer!
Posted by: Dr Wellington Yueh | Sep 24 2020 19:34 utc | 125
Jimmy Kimmel and Anthony Anderson Chant Black Lives Matter! | Louder With Crowder
Before presenting an award at the #Emmys, Anthony Anderson talks about how this was supposed to be the blackest Emmys ever, and he’s rooting for all the Black nominees based on the color of their skin. He then proceeds to force alleged comic Jimmy Kimmel to join him in chanting “Black Lives Matters”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZPKGrlqx9Y
Posted by: Mao | Sep 24 2020 19:44 utc | 126
Germany: Berliners divided over calls to rename Karl Marx street due to anti-Semitic allegations
Berliners shared mixed opinions on Thursday, after a Jewish newspaper requested the renaming of Berlin’s Karl Marx Strasse metro station following accusations that the philosopher voiced anti-Semitic views.
According to reports, the Jewish Review (Judische Rundschau) newspaper sent an open letter to the public transport company Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), listing alleged anti-Semitic quotes from Marx’s works, and requesting that his name be removed from the metro station.
Franciska, one Berlin resident, said, “I don’t know much about Karl Marx’s anti-semitic history, but if it were that way, then it’s a good reason to say that it needs a new name as a way of show that we do not support anyone with such a background. So it’s a good idea I would say.”
Ryan Powell, another resident, stated, “If it improves the feelings of the people who suffered from it, in this case the Jewish people that suffered from Karl Marx, then who else is it hurting? You know what I mean? So yeah, I think it’s great.”
Meanwhile, a third resident Thomas Koziol, disagreed with the initiative, saying, “Karl Marx is one of the most important German philosophers, and we should start ignoring our cultural background now? No, I can’t imagine that, I’m sorry.”
Earlier this year, the BVG announced that it will be renaming the Mohrenstrasse metro station after an initiative by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Mohrenstrasse, which translates to ‘Moor Street’, has been accused of being racist due to its use of the word ‘moor,’ a medieval term for North Africans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElgKw4c6ETo
Posted by: Mao | Sep 24 2020 19:51 utc | 127
vato wrote:
It does not say that it leads to a higher velocity because the velocity is – according to theory – constant (at least in the long run)
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Obviously velocity is not constant which is just more evidence of how the “theory” is just plain silly.
If the Fed increases M2 by 20% in the last 2 quarters while at the same time GDP is stagnant or going down then obviously Money velocity will go down by at least 20% because money velocity is computed as the ratio of GDP/M2
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/fredgraph.png?g=w7L5
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Posted by: jinn | Sep 24 2020 19:54 utc | 128
Damn, Vichek is dead? RIP.
I have disagreements with him, specifically about Hong Kong, but can’t believe he’s gone. I guess that’s why he went silent for months.
@Posted by: Smith | Sep 24 2020 1:13 utc | 39
Not true, he was twitting till the very 17th of September, on his last article on the awful association to commit crime formed by Bannon and Guo….
https://twitter.com/AndreVltchek/status/1306641393004183554
In this essay he said that….
Mr. Guo teamed up with Steve Bannon. Soon after, these two right-wing extremists unleashed the most aggressive and ridiculous anti-Beijing and anti-CCP campaigns in modern history. They began dropping names to openly insult the most populous nation on earth, twisting history, and smear what even the deeply anti-Chinese Trump administration wouldn’t dare to touch. The problem for them was that they became too extreme even for some “respectful” right-wing politicians and mass media outlets. In brief: they began behaving like two adolescent fools and in the most embarrassing manner.
Despite all that, the couple has not been without influence on the U.S. administration; it has been extremely active in Washington’s power channels. But those whom it has been persuading have been chiefly the individuals who already reached the point of no return, who would not stop at anything. The crowd that simply wanted a war, a military conflict with China. Full stop.
Thus, it occurs to me that, either Bannon, a resentful psycho, through his wide network of far-right extremists ( of which in Turkey it is not difficult to find some, the Grey Wolves come to mind…),or the people who want war with China at any cost, could have taken paet in his demise…in case it was provoked…
It has been pointed out that he suffered from Diabetes, but, it is quite difficult to believe a diabetic would die silently, without making any noise, not even a rattle, while he was sleeping in a car accompanied by his wife and chauffer, by any streight of imagination of any diabetic complication, which normally are cardiovascular…
Posted by: H.Schmatz | Sep 24 2020 20:06 utc | 129
Right-Wing Violence and Murder
An explosive exposé about those right-wing terrorist outfits that have been plaguing several of our cities for months. Their plans, in their own words, for provoking violence and engaging in crimes up to and including murder of public officials.
Revealed: pro-Trump activists plotted violence ahead of Portland rallies
“Patriots Coalition members suggested political assassinations and said ‘laws will be broken, people will get hurt’, leaked chats show”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/23/oregon-portland-pro-trump-protests-violence-texts
Posted by: AntiSpin | Sep 24 2020 20:19 utc | 130
Joe Biden repeats debunked claim about being first in his family to attend college
Incorrect statements on family, academic history helped sink Biden’s 1988 White House bid
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/sep/18/joe-biden-repeats-debunked-claim-about-being-first/
Posted by: Mao | Sep 24 2020 20:24 utc | 131
William Gruff @ 76, the crazy loon who dashed out and brought back a flaming branch to the ‘safety’ of his cave probably got kicked out of there tout suite. And yes, maybe he was a member of the 1% of his day. The useless 1%. And save for a very few brilliant individuals, rarely was it the case that science and art came together in one individual. More often peculiar talents arose in strange places, everyone having his or her own individual talent – just as now.
As to discovering fire – you only had to be out in a forest or on the prairie and there it was – everyone could ‘discover’ it. And make use of it. No special talent needed. But as to taming it to human purposes, my ancestors did something considerably safer. They crafted something rather like a toy top with a long shank that could be twirled, got a soft bit of wood to work on with combustibles near by, and presto, there was fire. And they passed that knowledge to other members of the tribe, starting with the children – kids are always curious about such things, so that everyone could and did create fire safely outside the cave when and where they needed to. It wasn’t no elite “1%” ; it was everyone who needed such information.
Sorry to butt in. Things did get more complex and folk did hoard knowledge,such as fortelling the times when the sun would rise over this or that rock. But it was knowledge anyone who looked at the heavens and saw the pattern could have realized for themselves; it was not due to superior intellect, just know how. As is all magic. Once you know the trick, you are as smart as the shaman.
Posted by: juliania | Sep 24 2020 20:29 utc | 132
I enjoyed the transcript about Navalny provided by “S” (# 53, above). Very funny … and we need that these days!
Posted by: Jimby | Sep 24 2020 20:42 utc | 133
Startup recruits cash-strapped gig workers to help landlords evict tenants
A startup is enlisting cash-strapped gig workers to help landlords evict tenants who can’t make rent during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Civvl has been posting Craigslist ads in cities across the country, including Denver, Los Angeles and Nashville, boasting pay as high as $125 an hour to individuals willing to work as process servers and promising that “there is plenty of work due to the dismal economy.”
“Unemployment is at a record high and many cannot or simply are not paying rent and mortgages,” the posting, which was first spotted by Vice, reads. “We are being contracted by frustrated property owners and banks to secure foreclosed residential properties.”
https://nypost.com/2020/09/22/startup-civvl-recruits-cash-strapped-gig-workers-to-help-landlords-evict-tenants/
Posted by: Mao | Sep 24 2020 20:43 utc | 134
Curmudgeon # 115
It’s entertainment.
Agreed it is, but behind the spectacle, there is a malign military intelligence complex that feeds on death and glory. They are stupid to boot and they could make a dumb move as they did in the Bay of Pigs expecting to stampede the President into support.
Its more than entertainment in a wrestling ring, the entire audience are potentially victims for berserk intentions.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Sep 24 2020 20:47 utc | 135
@ Bprad | Sep 24 2020 14:59 utc | 92
Thank you for pointing out the need for a greater awareness of Assange’s plight. Can b do something about it?
Posted by: Nathan Mulcahy | Sep 24 2020 20:53 utc | 136
H.Schmatz #129
Thank you. Time will tell us if Andre was assassinated or died calmly in his sleep. He had a tough life in many respects and survived some grueling mistreatment. I was pleased to read of his research into Bannon and Guo. I imagine those two coke snorters were supplying the ‘class of 86’ that surrounds Trump with all manner of invented BS and absurd ‘intelligence’. And Trump would have lapped it up with his idiot daughter and son in law egging him on.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Sep 24 2020 20:56 utc | 137
Don @122–
That’s a rather offensive op-ed. And given Xi’s overall vision as he just enunciated, China would certainly be interested in the Korean situation; so, the write created a straw man to attack President Moon and his welcome initiative. I recall many here agreeing that a joint declaration by Moon and Kim that the war is over would have great affect and put Trump and the UN into a very uncomfortable position being seen as wanting to perpetuate the war.
Lavrov’s been very busy. First, here’s Lavrov’s speech transcript from a UN Security Council high-level summit titled, “Maintenance of international peace and security: Global governance post-COVID-19.” There’s much that’s worthy of excerpting from his speech, but this part stood out:
“The current pandemic turned out to be a global shift, a black swan, if you will, which has confronted us with a choice: to close down and blame others for our troubles, or to emerge from the crisis as a team and join a common effort in the name of a prosperous future for all countries and peoples. Despite the obvious choice, the second path requires strong political will and strategic thinking.”
Imagine what the world could accomplish if the Outlaw US Empire simply didn’t exist! And note the inclusion of Xi’s vision.
Then his meeting with Iran’s Zarif ended with a presser:
“‘We see the United States daily publicly try to humiliate the European Union, especially Germany, and demand through its officials that Germany realise its happiness and the need to strengthen its energy security, which according to the US means abandoning Nord Stream 2 and switching to much more expensive American liquefied natural gas. I believe – this is my personal opinion, I am not speaking officially now – I believe this issue is now a point of honour for the Federal Republic of Germany,’ he said at a press conference with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif.”
I’ve yet to find a complete transcript of the presser which contains far more that the above citation.
uncle tungsten #135
Well said. We’re not that smart. I don’t think ‘victims’ are worthy of any concern. We support peace-mongers.
Posted by: Curmudgeon | Sep 24 2020 20:57 utc | 139
He had a tough life in many respects and survived some grueling mistreatment
@Posted by: uncle tungsten | Sep 24 2020 20:56 utc | 137
What are you referring by this? I do know nothing about his previous life as investigative journalist…I did not know he was a US citizen either until now he has died..
Posted by: H.Schmatz | Sep 24 2020 21:08 utc | 140
Wow, Iran is isolated – as the ZOG and it’s pressttutes keep on claiming.
The tally for a non-binding UNG resolution that sought to suspend all economic sanctions worldwide while the coronavirus cases continue to increase ended up with 169 to 2. The two countries that voted against are ….. the ZOG of USA and Occupied Palestine.
“On almost every significant issue facing mankind and the planet, it is Israel and the United States against mankind and the planet.” Can’t get something off my head …. something about off the map ….
https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/09/24/are-you-feeling-safer-war-worlds-pits-us-israel-against-everyone-else/
Posted by: Nathan Mulcahy | Sep 24 2020 21:12 utc | 141
Finnian Cunningham provides an outstanding comparison/contrast recap of the UNGA speeches by Trump, Xi and Putin:
“On display were two visions: one regressive and reactionary delivered by Trump; the other promoting a world based on peaceful partnership.
“All of the speeches were presented via teleconference due to the coronavirus pandemic preventing a full assembly in New York. But of the three leaders, it was Trump who sounded remote and estranged. His address was tone deaf to the occasion. Seventy-five years after the end of World War II – the most horrific conflagration in history – and the defeat of fascism, Trump sounded historically illiterate, boorish and, to use a vulgar expression, completely up his own ass….
“What Trump delivered was an abomination of UN principles….
“In short, it was the usual hubris of American exceptionalism, other wise known as nationalistic supremacy, and the militaristic doctrine of ‘might is right’. We’ve heard all this self-righteous, delusional bombast before from U.S. leaders. The only thing perhaps in Trump’s favor was the brevity and unvarnished way he put it rather than all the florid rhetorical camouflage of, say, an Obama, which paints U.S. imperialism as some kind of benign force for humanity. Trump spares us the bother of unpacking the lies and pretensions of virtue that most American leaders indulge in. What we get with Trump is the essential raw American power of jingoism and aggression.
“By total contrast, both China’s President Xi and Russia’s President Putin, who both spoke after Trump, delivered speeches that were fitting the occasion….
“There was no ranting nor recrimination, no bragging about military prowess, nor profane ‘prayers to God’ about not having to use ‘our advanced weapons’ as Trump had done in what can only be understood as a menacing threat to the rest of the world to accept American ‘peace’ down the barrel of a gun….
“Back to Trump, it was a diatribe charged with belligerence and the usual American presumption of unilateralism. There was no humanity in Trump’s words, just nasty narcissism and presumed American right for retribution against others whom it deems adversaries. (When have American leaders ever not deemed others as adversaries?) …
“Safe to say, too, the founders of the UN would have recognized Trump’s speech and would have recoiled in horror at such a demagogic tirade. For the kind of toxic, hyper-nationalistic, militaristic, bellicose politics espoused by Trump are of the same despicable category which the world thought it had defeated when establishing the United Nations. Fascism.”
I don’t know if Churchill or Truman would’ve “recoiled” or even FDR and Stalin for both had excellent poker faces. But by the time the UN Charter was activated on 22 October 1945, the Outlaw US Empire had already broken its main spirit and intent multiple times, the worst being the nuking of Japan by Truman, and American Fascism was already on the march. Not even 5 months later on 5 March 1946, Churchill allied himself and the UK with that Fascist March with his Iron Curtain/Sinews of Peace speech. In less than a year after his death, FDR’s post-war vision was not just overturned–it was shredded–and the American Fascists that tried to overthrow him via coup in 1934 now had control of the Executive and soon the Legislative–a condition that persists today.
Nathan Mulcahy @141–
Thanks for linking to the Giraldi article, which primarily tries to focus on “Estimates of how many civilians have been killed directly or indirectly as a consequence of the so-called Global War on Terror initiated by George W. Bush” along with the huge numbers of displaced–in combo,
“The authors of the report observe that even the lower figure of 37 million [to 59 million] is ‘almost as large as the population of Canada’ and ‘more than those displaced by any other war or disaster since at least the start of the 20th century with the sole exception of World War II.'”
But even they admit to their study not being complete, and that the numbers are certainly much larger. Some of us have speculated for awhile about this sort of outcome from the Outlaw US Empire’s War OF Terror in its quest to obtain Full Spectrum Dominance. We also note that news announcing the above outcome is aggressively suppressed within the Empire and without as the Assange Saga documents. One wonders if the trolls realize what they’ve allied themselves with.
Perhaps the best outcome the world can hope for in the short run is for the domestic fight within the Empire to really blow up to the point where it consumes all the attention of the Deep State and its agents.
At lunch today, the Missus and I discussed the potential for a Color Revolution to explode here since we observe the elements of one happening nationwide.
American polatians appear to have weaponised, paranoid psychosis, the list of their perceived enemies internal and external seems endless. But all are imaginary. The rest of the world just wants a productive peaceful life, including Black Lives Matter.
That deployed paranoia is beyound doubt a psychopathic tactic and symptom.
———-
Karlofi your @ 142 really hit the nail on the head.
And give my regards to ‘the missus’ what a lovely lady, I love the photo of you both on your blog.
Posted by: Mark2 | Sep 24 2020 22:37 utc | 144
Don Bacon @110–
At Escobar’s FB, Arius Armeniian put forth the idea that China could place an embargo around Taiwan, and presumably over it as well as a step short of war to make the Outlaw US Empire either advance or retreat. Like the lockdown in Wuhan, China is mostly free to do what it wants within its sovereignty.
The Demosphere is up in arms by this:
“Asked at a press conference Wednesday if he would “commit to a peaceful transferal of power” if he lost the election, Trump said: “Well, we’re gonna have to see what happens.”
Two sides of one coin.
“We are not attacking Trump,
Trump is resisting”
When the Democrat’s rigged mail-in ballots hit the proverbial fan
Democrats will move forward with ousting Trump,
they will use a veneer of legality and propaganda,
it will drag out and Pelosi will step forward when Trump’s first term expires,
and finally will come physical force.
“We are not attacking Trump,
Trump is resisting”
Asked at a press conference Wednesday if he would “commit to a peaceful transferal of power” if he lost the election, Trump said: “Well, we’re gonna have to see what happens.”
In August Hillary said,
“Joe Biden should not concede under any circumstances, because I think this is going to drag out, and eventually I do believe he will win if we don’t give an inch, and if we are as focused and relentless as the other side is,” Clinton said in an interview with her former communications director Jennifer Palmieri for Showtime’s “The Circus,” which released a clip Tuesday.
Posted by: librul | Sep 24 2020 22:51 utc | 146
@ karlof1 #145
Yes, thanks, China has many options on Taiwan, while the US is reduced to naval and air provocations (as with Russia) and propaganda such as from Pompeo here in Wisconsin on the “China challenge.”
Posted by: Don Bacon | Sep 24 2020 23:16 utc | 147
There’s an interesting booklet, just over twenty pages, called “The Fate of Empires” written by General John Glubb in 1976. The booklet details the six stages of empires (as the author sees them) and the surprising similarity in the length of time each empire has lasted. It’s available as a pdf document at people.uncw.edu.
Posted by: spudski | Sep 24 2020 23:49 utc | 148
Librul @ v146
Saw a blip of that on the TV a couple of hours ago with Bernie Sanders ranting about Trump maybe not accepting defeat.
I thought this is right up Trump’s alley. It’s like a WWF commercial.
The MSM is reluctant to show Bernie mentioning the word socialism , but for this he gets air time.
Plays right into Trump’s hand.
Never a word from any if them about Health care, employment, Etc., just wrestling match trash.
Posted by: arby | Sep 25 2020 0:03 utc | 149
@RSH 43
Re: Greenwald & Shant Mesrobian on why liberals hate Rogan
Interesting interview. Mesrobian breaks it down well… “Because Rogan doesn’t exclude everyone they want to exclude” is the big one. The other is even simpler, Rogan has more viewers than they do.
Posted by: ptb | Sep 25 2020 2:55 utc | 150
@118 Dr Wellington Yueh
“China is close to having the ability to manufacture it’s own EUV chip etching machines. ”
Do you have a source for that?
Posted by: Schmoe | Sep 25 2020 3:15 utc | 151
karlof1@ 138, thanks for your links to Lavrov’s UN speech and his press conference remarks – perhaps you found the following, but in the absence of a transcript (I couldn’t find one either) the video is at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XukZGZ2HQ9U
The speeches of Lavrov and Zahir were fairly standard I thought, but answers to questions had interesting points. Most particularly on the subject of how Russia and Iran were able to start a process of moving along matters in the Constitutional Committee process for Syria when there had been a stalemate, by each approaching those they had worked with there. (Lavrov even smiled at that point.) Made me think we ought perhaps to go to Geneva if we come to a sticking point deciding who wins the next election in the US. Or should it be Sochi?
Posted by: juliania | Sep 25 2020 3:58 utc | 152
Alistair Crooke is daring us to look into the abyss. Some of us cannot do that.
Karlof1 instead commands Crooke to “peer behind the curtain” to discern the real culprit: debt financialization and money printing. Well, yes, no disagreement there, but your recurring thesis is becoming a comfort haven. It’s a bloodless world where money power calls the shots, and Crooke is predicting that there will be blood.
The Duopoly hypothesis is another retreat to a position above the fray. A pox on both their houses! But I suspect that those who endorse the “duopoly” would identify themselves as lapsed progressives?
Crooke uses Anne Applebaum and her book “Twilight of Democracy: the seductive lure of of authoritarianism” to illustrate his thesis, and the essay demands a close, careful read. Paraphrasing paraphrasing (Don Bacon re. Applebaum) is not helpful. The title of the book, and the ’89er identity of Applebaum (a victorious Cold War warrior) lay the foundations, according to Crooke, for millenarian thinking (with its distinctive utopian overtones) which Applebaum, as an elite ideas manager (Jewish, of course) can then massage into “blue millenarianism”. Progress, pilgrims, progress! The USA is the indispensable nation for the progression of international liberalism! The Blue machine for freedom and justice over authoritarianism and despotism! The forces of light over darkness! Cynical Manichean mythmaking admittedly, but there are also more concrete initiatives afoot. Enter the Transition Integrity Project, the gaming scenario where the result is a forgone lose-lose for Trump. There will be war if the radical revolutionary and authoritarian Trump (now an all-inclusive bad guy) dares to claim he has won. This has been announced. A Trump win is a…..coup!
Crooke invites his readers to make a distinction between (red)authoritarianism and (blue)totalitarianism. This is the choice that the “duopoly” offers, and the consequences of this choice do not align. There’s no consensus. There is irretrievable division, like the attendees at Applebaum’s Polish dinner, or my own family. It’s war, and it is of the colour revolution variety so beloved by certain US elites and their minions. A Blue revolution perhaps?
Crooke, being English and historically literate, ends with some thoughts on Edmund Burke. “Reflections on the French Revolution” is a rare and challenging book, and it entirely changed my ways of thinking. Burke’s reflections led him to conclude that a conservative and gradual approach to human advancement (the rights of man) was a lot less bloodthirsty than revolution. But Applebaum, like many of her ideological colleagues, has made a profession of valorising and romancing the revolutionary spirit with it’s “heroism inspiring moral clarity”. And she is in the vanguard of intellectuals who have manipulated language to the extent that meanings have become maddeningly unhinged. Thus Burkean conservatism is being clothed in a light blue mantle as the preservation of western values and democracy. The POTUS is recast in treasonous imagery: a naked emperor, dark, radicalised and “other”.
But Applebaum has mollifying words for the deplorables who do not thrive in her America: we are going to hold this course. History will vindicate us, because we will write it. And we have undertaken the Right 2 Protect you.
There is a battle ahead and I do hope that Trump the man who was elected President has the courage to exert his authority.
P
Posted by: Australian lady | Sep 25 2020 6:42 utc | 153
As an european living in europe I am really much more worried about strategic bombers simulating attacks on Russia up to forty times every week,than who will be the judge in american kangaroo court or which criminal will be president of your fucking nation of lawyers that do not have a clue about human rights.
https://www.globalresearch.ca/provocative-us-air-sea-maneuvers-russias-borders/5724538
And it was there for more than seventy years,and you’re still in it.
Which year was it that Donovan sang?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1tFxaJviXA
Posted by: willie | Sep 25 2020 7:26 utc | 154
I notice that @vk has vanished when I ask him for proof that the HK protests have killed more than the US riots.
Anyway
@William Gruff
Tough love and all, but beating people until they cry is brutal, and the police doing it means police brutality.
Simple as.
Posted by: Smith | Sep 25 2020 7:28 utc | 155
Collision in Øresund Straits on Sep 23-Ctd
Photos of the damage to the Freighter show damage from a glancing collision on it’s Starboard stern
https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/russian-warship-collides-with-merchant-ship/
The same day as the collision it emerged that Sweden had lodged a protest with Moscow after “two Russian corvettes which entered territorial waters near Gothenburg” without permission.
Ref. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/36727/russian-warship-kazanets-collided-with-a-cargo-vessel-in-the-baltic-sea
If they were the same ships then the corvettes may have been travelling South. (Quote: the Kazanets was permitted to operate in Danish territorial waters and had notified the Danish authorities of its presence) So why not switch on the AIS ?
The damaged Corvette is also now reported to have headed to Baltiysk, in Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave.
With Freighter damage on Starboard indicates that the Corvette was Starboard of the Freighter but if they were travelling in opposite directions they should have been in separate shipping channels.
Posted by: intp1 | Sep 25 2020 7:43 utc | 156
“100% state-funded and corporate-funded troublemakers.
Ironically, the guy who was killed by feds was an assassin who ambushed a right winger and claimed self-defense.”
Posted by: Smith | Sep 24 2020 1:13 utc | 39
“where the cops basically allow the mob to burn, loot whatever they want and arrest anyone who try to stop them.”
Posted by: Smith | Sep 24 2020 11:58 utc | 66
“Yes, indeed, US cops allow these acts to happen.
Imagine if they were mass-arrested and jailed, like what the HK police did.
Imagine if the US police actually used colored water to hose down protesters, then identify them afterwards and arrest them. Would solve a lot of problems.”
Posted by: Smith | Sep 24 2020 12:48 utc | 77
…
Smith you are obviously not the sharpest tool in the shed.
The “State-Corporate funded troublemakers” in HK were supported by the West. You seem to be in confused hypocrisy.
The “assassin”? Which MSM told you to believe that? You are now judge jury and executioner of facts you know nothing about and blindly assume. Swallowing propaganda semen as you do fits your confusion and hypocrisy again. There’s still some on your face.
“Cops allowing crimes to be committed” you say? Are you a complete idiot or just a dumbfuck?
Cops are blatantly committing murder, and Citizens are resisting and uprising in violent protest. Which part do you not understand as the catalyst?
Finally- to clarify your idiocy-
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/23/oregon-portland-pro-trump-protests-violence-texts
“My Group 1776 2.0. Has been fighting Antifa in Seattle, Portland, for months”, Melchi writes, adding “this won’t be a simple fist fight. People will get shot, stabbed and beat.”
He also claims police cooperation in interstate violence, writing “Yes, going after them at night is the solution… Like we do in other states, tactical ambushes at night while backing up the police are key. You get the leaders and the violent ones and the police are happy to shut their mouths and cameras.”
Melchi nevertheless recommends that members disguise themselves to avoid the consequences of homicide.
Posted by: CitizenX | Sep 25 2020 8:08 utc | 157
@schmoe #151 re: EUV machines…will look it up. I was reading a series of articles, some at AnandTech, a less-western-focused tech journal that covers, among other things, chip fab stuff. Maybe tomorrow…I’m headed for sleep right now.
Posted by: Dr Wellington Yueh | Sep 25 2020 8:13 utc | 158
Willie @ 154
Great overall comment and links, I just learned something new which is why I like this blog.
Particularly like your Donovon track ! Must of been the sixties, Bob Dylan and Joan Biaez did some equally hard hitting truth songs then, as you will know.
I would like to contribute more truth songs, but fear b would frown. B should start a twin blog for political music.
On this very topic of inadicate media, music is a powerful and much neglected force for good. I’m sure many here would agree.
Posted by: Mark2 | Sep 25 2020 9:30 utc | 159
“Given Mr. Carlson’s reputation, any reasonable viewer ‘arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism’” about the host’s on-air comments.
This has to make you grin. Foxnews basically argues that Tucker Carlson is full of BS and is not to be believed. If Fox viewers were capable of critical thinking, their little heads would explode.
you really can’t make this crap up. the story
Posted by: dan of steele | Sep 25 2020 9:46 utc | 160
Thank you Mark2 for your appreciation.If I am right you live in Great Britain,I spent the first half of my life in the Netherlands,and this Donovan-song really hit me at the time,though it was never a hit.When listening to Radio London,and Radio Caroline,both broadcasting from outside British territorial waters and called “pirate-ships” in those second half of the sixties there were some really great “protest-songs” on the air,like Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind”,Donovan Leith’s “the Universal soldier”,Dutch group the Motions’s “Wasted Words” Boudewijn de Groot’s “Meneer de president” and last but not least and very much apocalyptical Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction”.If you are too young to know them,look them up.
Posted by: willie | Sep 25 2020 10:31 utc | 161
juliania @132
It is unfortunate if you find yourself offended by this, but you are precisely the useless baggage humanity carries with it that I was referring to. Your simple-minded attitude towards humanity’s accumulation of knowledge and technique is itself proof that you are one of the ones who is just along for the ride. Consider:
“But it was knowledge anyone who looked at the heavens and saw the pattern could have realized for themselves; it was not due to superior intellect, just know how. As is all magic. Once you know the trick, you are as smart as the shaman.”
Cultural progress is indeed the product of superior intellect. That is why dogs do not have culture. There is an enormous difference between teaching a “trick” to a dog (you in this case) and developing the “trick” in the first place.
“…rarely was it the case that science and art came together in one individual…”
This is the irrational individual consoling themselves for their weak intellect by suggesting it means they are some sort of artist. In the real world art and science do typically coincide, and what is far more common in the population is a lack of artistic productivity being found in the same individuals that lack of scientific literacy and creativity. Failure to understand science doesn’t make one an artiste, it just make one an idiot.
There is the rather “famous” notion of “multiple intelligences” proposed by the psychologist Howard Gardner to consider. The idea is that intelligence exists in a number of realms such as musical-rhythmic and harmonic, visual-spatial, verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, and existential. This notion is most often raised in order to console school children who lack the discipline to master basic arithmetic and thus artificially inflate their egos. In fact, though, these “intelligences” tend to all express in the same individuals, while most other individuals lack noteworthy expression of any of them.
Basically, the notion of “multiple intelligences” is just popular pseudoscience that lacks any supporting empirical evidence. It persists for no other reason than because it makes stupid people feel better about being stupid. I suppose that is better than popping Prozac or going to church, but it is hardly to be commended or promoted.
Your antiscience attitude is wrong and bad for humanity.
Posted by: William Gruff | Sep 25 2020 11:37 utc | 162
@ Citizen X
How am I an idiot or a dumbfuck?
The video is clear as day, the Patriot Prayer guy was ambushed by the assassin (who got killed by the feds):
https://www.rt.com/usa/499975-antifa-shooter-stalked-victim/
And this guy walked. Police didn’t give a shit. They wanted that to happen.
He walked around until he made a VICE interview and then got suicided by cops by the feds.
And you are saying to me that some notes from some spooks are proof of muh right wing violence?
Who cares about the notes, the violence is already here, but not from right wingers. Feel free to educate yourself.
Posted by: Smith | Sep 25 2020 11:39 utc | 163
UK already is preparing its people psychologically to receive a vaccine that doesn’t work:
Not a ‘Silver Bullet’: UK Scientists Say First COVID Vaccine Unlikely to Stop People Catching Virus
Translation: “first COVID vaccine”=AstraZeneca vaccine (or any other American vaccine).
Or, alternatively: the non-AstraZeneca vaccines won’t work either way, so we should just wait a little more for the AstraZeneca.
Or, alternatively: vaccine were never the solution either way, let’s wait whatever we need to wait for the AstraZeneca one. Furthermore, we should tolerate AstraZeneca vaccine’s nefarious side effects because it will work better than the others, and because there won’t be any “silver bullet” for the foreseeable future.
–//–
The conservative Korea Times lost its composure after unexpected apology from Kim Jong-un:
North Korean leader’s apology aimed at maintaining status quo: experts
The sub is hilarious:
North Korea’s unexpected apology over its killing of a South Korean civil servant earlier this week shows the totalitarian state does not want the issue to interfere with inter-Korean reconciliation, according to Pyongyang watchers, Friday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has apologized to the South Korean people for the death of the South Korean official from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, leaving experts scrambling to analyze the rare acknowledgement and apology.
How about, you know, not simplifying North Korea as a “totalitarian state”? That will help the “experts” with their analysis…
–//–
This is getting ridiculous:
Breonna Taylor protesters in Louisville smash windows & throw flare into LIBRARY, defying curfew day after cops are shot (VIDEOS)
Peaceful protests happened all day. Then, some infiltrated Black Blocks damage some property in the silent of the night and the MSM starts stoking the flames of political polarization.
The murder of Breonna Taylor was absurd: cops suddenly invaded her home at night (so it wasn’t a warrant). Her boyfriend – rightfully practicing his 2nd Amendment rights – used his gun to protect his property and hit the leg of one of the cops, correctly thinking they were bandits trying to rob him. The cops then retaliated by gunning down the house, hitting and killing Breonna Taylor in one of the rooms.
So, the Americans are in a situation that they have the right to defend their property, but cannot use it. The cops, on the other side, have essentially become a rogue organization, a la Praetorian Guard in Ancient Rome: they can do whatever the fuck they want, and nobody can even react to what they do.
Posted by: Bemildred | Sep 25 2020 12:49 utc | 165
Gruff @ 162
Your bang out of order with that comment to juliania, you do realise your comment says much more about you than her, don’t embarrass yourself ! I better leave it at that.
Oh but if you fuckers are so cleaver how come everything you touch turns to shit ?
Posted by: Mark2 | Sep 25 2020 12:52 utc | 166
vk @164: “…cops suddenly invaded her home at night (so it wasn’t a warrant).”
Actually, these kinds of warrants have become quite common in the US over the last couple decades, even though they conflict with and contradict things like castle doctrine and “stand your ground” laws. What’s worse is that police forces almost always execute these warrants late at night/early morning… when it is dark in any case… in order to catch the residents while they sleep.
In some parts of the country these kinds of warrants are issued for most arrests, as in 70% to 80% or more arrests are done by kicking in someone’s door in the middle of the night and storming in to grab them.
While we can hope that the publicity from Louisville of the danger these kinds of warrants represent forces some changes, I don’t really expect much. For some reason the authorities just love having the power to kick people’s doors in while the residents sleep. They’re not going to let that power go without some more revolutionary action from the public.
Posted by: William Gruff | Sep 25 2020 13:13 utc | 167
Mark2 @166
Your opinion is noted.
Unfortunately, I cannot answer your question as I do not know who you are referring to with “you fuckers”. Could you be more specific? I mean, reproduction, that is “fucking”, is important to the species as well, even though it is something in which most forms of life engage in one way or another so it isn’t something special or specific to our species. The reference is much to general for me to make much sense of.
Posted by: William Gruff | Sep 25 2020 13:25 utc | 168
Willie @ 161
Yes I am in the U.K.
been to Holland lovely people lovely place, that was the seventies, I’m 66 but still out there sticking it to the man.
And here is today’s news ——— Joan Baez ‘’Nasty man’’ YouTube
Posted by: Mark2 | Sep 25 2020 13:26 utc | 169
grudd wrote:
I do not know who you are referring to with “you fuckers”. Could you be more specific?
_________________
You must be one of those people with “weak intellect” if you can’t grasp to whom Mark2 was referring.
Posted by: jinn | Sep 25 2020 13:52 utc | 170
William Gruff @Sep25 13:25 #168
I do not know who you are referring to with “you fuckers”
I think Mark2’s “you fuckers” refers to the supremacist, devil-take-the-hindmost fuckers that are at the core of the rot in Western society. Where do you draw the line in throwing away “useless baggage”?
In your offensive remarks @162 I detect echos of Madeline Albright’s “we think it’s worth it” (to kill 500,000 Iraqi babies).
!!
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 25 2020 13:55 utc | 171
jinn @170: “You must be one of those people with “weak intellect”…”
Indeed, and I have never claimed otherwise. Since you clearly claim superior intellect, perhaps you could clarify specifically who the poster meant?
Posted by: William Gruff | Sep 25 2020 14:06 utc | 172
Well, I think the point is that “useless baggage” is an opinion, not a fact. One man’s “useless baggage” is someone else’s Grandma.
Another word is “scientism”, the treatment of science as a belief system rather than a methodology.
Posted by: Bemildred | Sep 25 2020 14:06 utc | 173
“Putin offers US exchange of ‘guarantees’ that both countries won’t meddle in each other’s elections or wider domestic affairs ”
Ha ha, fat chance the yanks will agree to anything like that.
Posted by: arby | Sep 25 2020 14:14 utc | 174
He died in his sleep, in the arms of his wife, the Gods were kind to him:
“He died unexpectedly in the middle of the night September 22 when traveling in a chauffeur-driven car with his wife from Samsun on the Black Sea in Turkey to Istanbul.”
André Vltchek’s Sudden Death
Posted by: Bemildred | Sep 25 2020 14:18 utc | 175
Posted by: arby | Sep 25 2020 14:14 utc | 174
RE: exchange of ‘guarantees’
Putin seems to have a very dry sense of humor.
Posted by: Bemildred | Sep 25 2020 14:22 utc | 176
Jackrabbit @171: “Where do you draw the line in throwing away “useless baggage”?”
I am unaware of where I ever suggested “throwing away” anyone. Could you point that out for me? Or perhaps you and others are seeing something that isn’t there.
“I detect…”
I think you are detecting something that only exists in your imagination.
Posted by: William Gruff | Sep 25 2020 14:31 utc | 177
Gruff wrote:
You must be one of those people with “weak intellect”…”
Indeed, and I have never claimed otherwise. Since you clearly claim superior intellect
___________________________
Perhaps given your acknowledged weak intellect, you should stop with the statements claiming you know who has a superior intellect. Your position is illogical.
Posted by: jinn | Sep 25 2020 14:47 utc | 178
Suspicious huge fire in HUAWEI research facility on 4G and 5G antennas and materials in the chinese city of Dongguan reported by Sputnik and RT.
Not yet on Yahoo news, however.
It is difficult not to think that it was due to sabotage of some sort. Covert action by Huawei’s enemies would be the most logical conclusion, considering the circumstances with the US doing everything in its power to sink Huawei.
Nothing as crass as that is beyond what to expect from the US at this present point. “we lied, we cheated, we stole.”
Posted by: CarlD | Sep 25 2020 14:54 utc | 179
William Gruff @Sep25 14:31 #177
I am unaware of where I ever suggested …
The term “useless baggage” suggests something to be discarded.
!!
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 25 2020 14:55 utc | 180
jinn @178: “Your position is illogical.”
On the contrary, it follows from your own post of “You must be one of those people with “weak intellect” if you can’t grasp to whom Mark2 was referring.” that you very clearly claim that you “grasp” something that I do not, indicating superior intellect.
I am still waiting for that implied superior intellect to inform me of what it “grasped” that was outside my grasp.
Posted by: William Gruff | Sep 25 2020 15:09 utc | 181
Hi Mark2,well we are of the same age.Looking into my proposition to listen,I now realize I was only ten or eleven years old when I heard that stuff on Radio London.And it all began when my ten bucks economies paid for an very used sony transistor radio bought from our house painter.In those years our national broadcast radio had only twenty five minutes a week of popular music,then referred to as “beatmusic”,including a top ten survey.On sunday morning we listened to Radio Luxemburg.
Posted by: willie | Sep 25 2020 15:24 utc | 182
Jackrabbit @180: “The term “useless baggage” suggests something to be discarded.”
That is your own addition. I’ve never supported the sentiment that “useless eaters” should be culled, and for the very reason that Bemildred @173 stated above that “One man’s “useless baggage” is someone else’s Grandma.” I even gave the regular poster james a massive ration of grief concerning a very similar point several weeks ago.
Why “throw away” someone just because in the larger scheme of things that one is useless when there is still plenty of room? Personally I am fond of a world filled with otherwise useless decorations. Someone being useless to the species other than as a repository of genetic material in no way makes the person disposable in my opinion. Apparently you have a different opinion and it was your choice to apply that opinion to my comment, but that opinion was never part of my comment. It is something that you brought with you.
Posted by: William Gruff | Sep 25 2020 15:27 utc | 183
China in Iraq
Chinese-Built Power Plant Stabilizes Iraq’s Electricity Supply
Posted by: arby | Sep 25 2020 16:22 utc | 184
very clearly claim that you “grasp” something that I do not, indicating superior intellect.
_____________________________
Your weak intellect obviously prevents you from understanding that I’m not the one claiming any superior intellect.
You should stop constantly making claims about superior intellect. Your acknowledged weak intellect disqualifies you from making such an assessment.
Posted by: jinn | Sep 25 2020 16:38 utc | 185
Oh dear, I seem to have stirred a hornet’s nest! But it is an important distinction to be making, which I will insist upon. So-called superior intellects are graced with standing on the shoulders of those who came before them as far as science goes – for instance Galileo did need his better telescope. I am sorry if I upset you, Mr. Gruff, and I thank Mark2 for his spirited defence. You brought a smile to my face, this morning, and it’s good to smile!
Mr. Gruff, you don’t agree with Socrates then? In the Meno he is careful to point out that even a slaveboy, who I suppose might be a younger example of useless baggage, can understand basic principles of geometry which cause his former opinions to be set aside. It was Socrates’ pupil, Aristotle, who thought there were ‘natural slaves’, persons of inferior intellect, and apparently he taught this theory to his pupil in Macedonia, Alexander the Great, who proceeded on the theory that Greeks were superior to others and quite happily set out to conquer the known world.
I won’t take it further, but you see where I am heading. It’s charming that you think of yourself also as useless baggage, but there is a danger in what you propose, even as probably what I suggest is as dangerous as it was for Socrates — still, I like his company so I will keep it. There’s some risk involved in any opinion, and even science can be wrong sometimes, since all that we think we know comes down to right (or wrong) opinion in the end. Time will tell.
In the Renaissance, proceeding from the earlier egg tempera regime, artists did accomplish masterworks using that former skill as the underlying basis for their oil paintings. And they accomplished masterful works to be viewed from afar – distortions if you looked at them up close, rather like what the early Greeks had accomplished in architecture. There was a lot of science involved in doing that, and portraiture from those times is remarkable, just as Greek sculptures are truly beautiful. I love the impressionists for the same reason – if you look close, which is where they are to paint, the painting dissolves in splashes of color;it’s not there. But stand back and there it is. Amazing.
When I read the Iliad in college days, I remembered that back in my home country there was, in the war memorial museum at its entrance, the replica of a large Greek sculpture of an old man with his sons being overcome by a sea serpent. I was a schoolgirl then, but that imposing if horrible image is from the Iliad, so appropriately placed far from its original home, at the edge of a different sea at the other end of the earth. Socrates is hard on the Homeric tales in the Republic, but he sure can quote Homer…
Sorry to have stirred things up
Posted by: juliania | Sep 25 2020 16:52 utc | 186
jinn @185: “Your acknowledged weak intellect disqualifies you from making such an assessment.”
And yet here you are assessing that I am disqualified from assessing, clearly indicating that you consider yourself superior. This superiority that you believe yourself to have that qualifies you to assess my qualifications for assessment is precisely why I requested that you clarify whom Mark2 @166 was referring to by “you fuckers”. That is a request that you have so far failed to deliver on so I once again make that request. You implied @170 that you knew what the poster was talking about and I am simply asking for you or the other poster to clarify.
Is it really so difficult for you to explain something that you claim to understand?
Posted by: William Gruff | Sep 25 2020 16:55 utc | 187
Australian lady @153–
Thanks for such a great reply and further unpacking of Crooke’s essay!
The battle is already enjoined and blood has already run in the streets, but it has yet to escalate as it most surely will. I live within a most twisted nation where most citizens are blind to its many overseas crimes. Getting a handle on what is the genuine versus the manufactured isn’t simple as I’m well removed from the street actions, and finding answers to the above means being on the ground in the middle. As you note, evil reigns within both factions of the Duopoly. Late in the Hudson interview I urged others to watch, he explains to Ross why Hillary was a greater evil than Trump–that Obama’s legacy is the Trump presidency. The genuine grievances underpinning the revolts on both sides have festered and grown over the past 20 years with Trump’s open Do Nothing Policy toward COVID acting as a bellows on the already smoldering fuse. As I wrote in my Critical Mass essay, the System has failed its citizens, but the citizenry has also failed in its duty to itself since the end of WW2 and, although it doesn’t know it, is collectively responsible for the massive dysfunction we now witness–both reds and blues. Overall US society has essentially painted itself into a polarized corner and barricaded itself in against itself where revolt seems to offer the only way out since both sides are talking past each other, both thinking they’re correct when they’re both wrong. The only exit from their corner is to join hands and oust the political structure that maneuvered them into their predicament. But they’re blinded by their rage and cannot see that pathway.
My writing has focused on the causes and occasionally I point to solutions. The current polarized environment needs to be shattered in such a way that results in solidarity–a complete 180–but I just don’t see that miracle happening. Until the blues and reds awaken to see their actual foes are the Duopoly and its masters and unite to fight them, the Outlaw US Empire will continue to swirl down the drain in a tempest of its own making.
“But it was knowledge anyone who looked at the heavens and saw the pattern could have realized for themselves; it was not due to superior intellect, just know how. As is all magic. Once you know the trick, you are as smart as the shaman.”
Posted by: juliania | Sep 24 2020 20:29 utc | 132
…
Spoken like a true Christian Charlatan. Ridicule Shamans as trickster magicians…and yet you worship “god” bowing down to idolatry, a fantasy novel called the bible, and make excuses for murder and abuses by christian “mystics”.
Ridiculing other traditions while preaching christianity as truth reflects your broken mirror.
Posted by: CitizenX | Sep 25 2020 17:10 utc | 189
@184
You’re supposed to bomb the power plants, not build them. They’re doing it all wrong.
Posted by: ptb | Sep 25 2020 17:16 utc | 190
In today’s editorial, the Global Times editor asks the following questions:
“What is difficult to understand is why it is so difficult to tell the truth in the Western world? This time, the US is obviously hunting TikTok. This concerns the long-term business environment of most Western companies. Why have those so-called clear-headed Western people remained silent, and turned a blind eye to the US’ evildoing?”
The editor could’ve widened the scope of his question beyond the TikTok saga and at minimum included the global silence about Assange.
juliania @186: “…even a slaveboy… can understand basic principles of geometry.” (emphasis added)
Please point out where you think I stated or implied otherwise.
Isn’t it remarkable how people see things that are not there?
Posted by: William Gruff | Sep 25 2020 17:23 utc | 192
juliania 186#
I don’t want to mingle with your spatty conversation with Gruff and Mark2 and bemildred,all commentators that I regularly appreciate ,but your reference to Socrates is what makes me jump on my chair a bit.I think everything we know about Socrates comes from Plato.If you affiche Socrates as a superior mind,I tend to agree,but do you know he would be stamped conspiration -theory spreader if he were living today.Why?Because in his last speech just before his last gasp he makes clear,like he is telling some secret, that the earth is hollow and that we actually live inside.Thank you for clearing that up.
Posted by: willie | Sep 25 2020 17:26 utc | 193
karlof1 @191
I believe there is more to trying to put TikTok under the control of the empire’s core corporations than just raping it for profits. TikTok is social media, and all social media will eventually be used by the population to circumvent mass communication controlled by big business. The empire needs the major social media channels to be under the control of the corporations internal to the empire so that speech that is a threat to the empire can be silenced on those channels. They need to be able to “cancel” voices on those channels and suspend accounts of those who promote views that the empire doesn’t like. They need to keep the narrative creation going one way: from big business to the public.
Posted by: William Gruff | Sep 25 2020 17:34 utc | 194
Within one year,….
ASML factory fire, delivery to China delayed,
Chinese electronic expert suicided,
Chinese virologist suicided,
Chinese ambassador murdered,
Huawei lab fire, [breaking news]
Canuck virologist murdered in Africa,
William BLum
Kevin Zeese
Stephen Cohen
Andre Vltchek
taken out,
Iranian gen Sulaiman murdered
CIA on steroid.
Posted by: denk | Sep 25 2020 18:17 utc | 196
William Gruff @194–
Agree about the Outlaw US Empire’s motive over TikTok. I’m on VK for a reason.
Russia’s FM has posted the Lavrov-Zarif presser transcript, which makes Lavrov appear to be Russia’s current fencer versus the Outlaw US Empire:
“Moscow and Tehran believe that the US’s illegal initiatives and actions cannot have any international legal implications for other countries and cannot commit any state to limit its legal cooperation with Iran….
“We also share the position according to which any attempts by external parties to remain on Syrian territory without the consent of the Syrian authorities, not to mention attempts to pursue separatist attitudes in Syria, are absolutely unacceptable and constitute a crude violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, as well as a transgression of other fundamental principles of international law….
“We know that the United States said that, despite the will of the entire global community, they believed the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council on Iran could be reimposed by Washington at will. These attempts have no prospects. The fact that the United States has threatened to impose sanctions on those who defy the American interpretation of the current situation serves as further proof of Washington’s desire to move like a bull in a china shop, putting ultimatums to everyone and punishing everyone indiscriminately because, in my view, the incumbent US administration has lost its diplomatic skills almost for good.
“Nonetheless, we are continuing to maintain our dialogue with the Americans, trying to make them listen to reason and to explain to them that an approach to international law like this has absolutely no prospects, but I do not know if our efforts will be successful. I am aware that the Europeans have also made similar attempts, but we also see how arrogantly Washington is treating any appeals to it to get back to the agreements based on international law.
“It was announced that all those who did not agree to Washington’s interpretation of the current situation as the one that takes all of us back to the need to resume the sanctions against Iran would be punished by the United States and subjected to additional economic and other restrictions.”
Lavrov closes with a review of the Navalny Saga, the short version being the EU nations aren’t obeying the treaty they signed in 1959, their public comments being “absurd.”
Very curious partners in the current military exercises in the Caucasus:
“During the exercise’s main stage, units of the Russian Armed Forces, as well as troop contingents from Armenia, Belarus, China, Pakistan and Myanmar, practiced actions to repel an attack, strike enemy forces and launch an offensive.”
And yet here you are assessing that I am disqualified from assessing, clearly indicating that you consider yourself superior.
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You have acknowledged that you have a weak intellect and that makes you jump to faulty conclusions about what I consider myself. You should stop trying to indicate who or what is a superior intellect. Its hopeless cause given your weak intellect.
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Is it really so difficult for you to explain something that you claim to understand?
____________________
Again with your faulty logic…
I merely suggested that your failure to understand might be due to your “weak intellect”. You agreed. But nevertheless you keep on babbling about superior intellects which I keep telling you is beyond your ken.
Posted by: jinn | Sep 25 2020 20:01 utc | 199
Two items at Strategic Culture merit attention. The first is an editorial assessing the UNGA speeches of Xi, Putin and Trump. If it reads similar to sentiments recorded here its because it does and rightfully so. Most would agree with its and my conclusion:
“Fascism, it seems, wasn’t fully defeated in World War II despite the enormous, heroic sacrifice of millions. It just lived to fight another day. Time to finally end it.”
The second is this think-piece written under the pseudonym of John Quincy Adams but more like Matthew Ehret who invites us to look at the Outlaw US Empire though the lens of Howard Zinn in the same way many looked at the installment of Putin through the lens of Richard Pipes. IMO, if Zinn were alive, he’d do a much better job. I do completely disagree with the conclusion and the real JQ Adams would know better–the “monsters” are all homegrown and Exceptional.