Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
May 2, 2021
The MoA Week In Review – OT 2021-033

Last week's posts at Moon of Alabama:

> Correction: An earlier version of this story, published Thursday, incorrectly reported that One America News was warned by the FBI that it was the target of a Russian influence operation. That version also said the FBI had provided a similar warning to Rudolph W. Giuliani, which he has since disputed. This version has been corrected to remove assertions that OAN and Giuliani received the warnings. <

> The research also shows that poverty is highest among the least educated: people with a high school education, at most, had a poverty rate of 22.2% in March. During the same month, Black Americans saw a poverty rate of 21.2% and child poverty reached a pandemic high of 17.4%. <


Other issues:

Civil War:

Syria:

Afghanistan:

Must see:

Use as open thread …

Comments

If barflies have yet to read the interview of Lavrov by Dmitry Kiselev, I suggest they do so soon. Recently, Putin issued an executive order to compile a list of unfriendly states, which is general reaction to all the anti-Russian actions since the Ukraine coup. Here’s what Lavrov/Kiselev said on that topic, although readers might want to consult the prior discussion for context:
“Dmitry Kiselev: Is there any certainty as to who will definitely join the list of unfriendly states?
“Sergey Lavrov: The Government of Russia is attending to this on instructions from President of Russia Vladimir Putin. We are participating in this work, as are other respective agencies. I would not like to jump the gun right now. We are reluctant to be indiscriminate and put on that list just any country that will say somewhere ‘something wrong’ about Russia. Our decision will be based, of course, on a deep-going analysis of the situation and on whether we see opportunities to have a dialogue with that country in a different way. If we come to the conclusion that there is no chance of this, then, I think, the list will, of course, be periodically extended. But this is not a ‘dead’ paper. As is only natural, it will be revised in tune with how our relations develop with this or that state.
“Dmitry Kiselev: When will the public be able to read this list?
“Sergey Lavrov: Soon, I think. The Russian Government has concrete assignments. We understand the criteria that are guiding us in this work. So, I think, the wait will not be very long now.
“Dmitry Kiselev: Will the unfriendly states be banned from hiring local workforce?
“Sergey Lavrov: There will be a ban on hiring any physical persons whether Russian or foreign.
“Dmitry Kiselev: Is this the only measure with regard to unfriendly states or some others are in the offing?
“Sergey Lavrov: At this stage, this is the concrete aim set in the executive order signed by President of Russia Vladimir Putin.”
When the list is published, you can bet the national debt it will be taken out of context by the usual players. The discussion over Donbass is very lengthy and detailed, with new facts also revealed in the related discussion over Georgia that needs to be carefully read. And the concluding discussion on dedollarization and sanctions are also important.
Over the past month much has happened yet nothing has happened. Perhaps May will provide a different story.

Posted by: karlof1 | May 3 2021 23:17 utc | 101

Oooooooooh…..scary! The ever hawkish neocon rag Washington Free Beacon has informed us that Iran teased an attack on the US Capitol Building.
https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/iran-teases-attack-on-us-capitol-building-as-biden-admin-prepares-to-lift-sanctions/
https://twitter.com/KasraAarabi/status/1388891431583031301
You gotta wonder – Why would IRGC bother making such a video? Who’s the intended audience? Why now with many sanctions about to be lifted? Could this be CIA psyops posing as (or having hacked) “official” Iranian Twitter accounts?

Posted by: K_C_ | May 3 2021 23:27 utc | 102

Lots of fine words about strategic issues of us confronting russia. But I think it comes down to us does not want to risk humiliation and expense.

Posted by: jared | May 4 2021 0:25 utc | 103

“Why now with many sanctions about to be lifted?”
Because there are no sanctions “about to be lifted”. The IRGC knows that and is reassuring the Iranian common folk that they know it. They are letting the Iranian public know they are not fooled and they remember that the American empire is not agreement capable.
The liberals are going to get smashed in the coming elections in Iran.

Posted by: William Gruff | May 4 2021 0:46 utc | 104

So the stuff with Zarif is real, interesting.
Seems like Iran house still needs a bit cleaning.

Posted by: Smith | May 4 2021 0:53 utc | 105

@ smith, must be cause not a peep from fars news agency… https://www.farsnews.ir/en/

Posted by: james | May 4 2021 1:09 utc | 106

Karlof1 @ 77, 99:
I saw in your comments that you had visited the coal-mining regions in West Virginia. Are you interested in the history of Blair Mountain, the wars fought by the coal miners and their communities against their employers and the US Army in the 1920s, and the ongoing struggle since then to have Blair Mountain listed as a historical site and prevent it from being literally erased from memory as well as physically by coal mining companies?

Posted by: Jen | May 4 2021 1:10 utc | 107

James #107
Use tiny url it works a treat.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | May 4 2021 3:05 utc | 108

Colombia: protests are growing, demands are increasing, another general strike will happen Wed. May 5th. Seems to me like a tipping point is close but i’m not sure.
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Colombia-National-Strike-Committee-Calls-For-New-Protest-May-5-20210503-0021.html
“The demands are, in addition to the withdrawal of the tax reform, which has already been achieved, the withdrawal of bill 010 of the health reform, and the strengthening of the national vaccination plan.
Also, the creation of a basic income; defense of national agricultural production; support for small businesses; zero university tuition; rejection of in-person classes; and stopping forced eradication and spraying with glyphosate.”
Remember that Colombia is a sortof NATO member (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-nato-idUSKCN1IR0E8), not full blown, but a “partner”. It’s the only NATO “partner” in Latin America. Problem is it’s collapsing and instead of helping to strengthen the Empire’s grip on Latin America it is going to need more help to keep the puppet governing cult from getting their throats cut.

Posted by: migueljose | May 4 2021 4:03 utc | 109

Vijay Prashaad digs deeper into Xin Xiang region and, together with a Chinese colleague gives some informative history and stories from people there. Details Chinese government’s concern 20 years ago and then their plan to improve. Now, Xin Xiang has achieved impressive growth but is the unfortunate target of U.S./UK imperial subversion.
https://orinocotribune.com/the-us-is-trying-to-light-the-match-of-islamic-extremism-in-chinas-xinjiang/

Posted by: migueljose | May 4 2021 4:15 utc | 110

Below from The Register

China has again moved to ensure its web giants don’t prove too disruptive to its economy, hauling 13 of them in for “supervision interviews” with a panel of regulators.
As announced by the Peoples’ Bank of China (PBOC), it and the nation’s Banking Regulatory Commission, Securities Regulatory Commission, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, plus “other financial management departments” all gathered to give the web giants an earful.
Tencent, TikTok developer ByteDance, the finance operation of super-giant e-tailer JD.com, and China’s Uber clone Didi, which now also offers vehicle fleet leasing services, were among the companies required to attend.
The bank and other regulators called on the web giants to carry on innovating with financial services, but to do so while obeying all laws that apply to more conventional finance companies.
“The development of financial business must be based on serving the real economy and preventing financial risks,” the bank said.
All companies that attended, the bank says, heartily agreed to regulators’ suggestions, funnily enough, and left having agreed to “attach great importance to self-inspection and rectification work, under the guidance of financial management departments, fully benchmark financial regulatory requirements, formulate rectification plans, and earnestly implement them.”
The interviews-without-coffee follow China’s sudden cancellation of the float of Ant Group, Alibaba’s finance arm, over fears that its peer-to-peer lending practices would not be good for the economy. Alibaba was then hauled over the coals for restricting access to its e-commerce platforms for brands that had the temerity to sell on rival sites.
The thirteen companies summoned for interview will be well aware of Alibaba’s troubles, and almost certainly keen to avoid similar worries. ®

You don’t see this sort of regulation of the financial industry in the West, do you? This is the civilization war we are in….who runs finance and for what result? Barbarism or “socialism” was the question on the table at MoA for a while….

Posted by: psychohistorian | May 4 2021 4:30 utc | 111

I was wondering what Melinda Gates thought about her husband Bill being a friend of Epstein and I guess now we know.
It is quite clear that Bill is enjoying being a tool of empire and it will be interesting to see what Melinda Gates does with her money coming out of the divorce. I keep hoping for one or more of the rich folk to get the QEEG/neuromodulation mental health technique bug like I have because of my success with it/those techniques. I want to blow the Big Pharma lock on mental health therapy off the planet with the non-invasive, non-drug related neuromodulation techniques.
Are you listening Melinda?

Posted by: psychohistorian | May 4 2021 4:46 utc | 112

Posted by: psychohistorian | May 4 2021 4:46 utc | 113
(Bill and Melinda call it a day)
Melinda reminds me of the Exceptionally Durable UK Actress, Charlotte Rampling, whose wiki entry on her Career says “1960 to present”.
There’s a certain irony to the Bill & Melinda split. Bill & Paul Allen outsmarted IBM in the Personal Computer game by realising that computers are software, not machines. And now Bill’s marriage software has decided that it’s tired of spending time with a machine:-)

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | May 4 2021 6:10 utc | 113

Posted by: karlof1 | May 3 2021 23:17 utc | 102
Good to have you back, in one piece and with fully charged batteries. A bit of envy, 8k miles that’s a good distance to cover.
Probably is better that not much happens with so many things happening, since changes in our time are mostly for the worse, or maybe not all of them for the worse, I just found out that Pearly Harbor Gates day of infamy is upon the philanthropist in chief, maybe that pierced barrel will leak some really toxic stuff.
The last Zakharova briefing is posted in English, it covers a lot of things. Glad to have you back.

Posted by: Paco | May 4 2021 6:49 utc | 114

@James
There is no percussion* but I think it will remind you of good times in Oaxaca, Los Panchos dedicate this song to the philanthroper in chief, “Don’t love me so much, darling”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLKmwp9wJ6s
Actually there’s a nice play of maracas.

Posted by: Paco | May 4 2021 8:23 utc | 115

@vk
The greens are coming. That’s visible since some time.
Now the big German publications are giving them a “happy end”…. “new” “fresh” “she is going to change politics”
Baerbocks face all over the cover
Funny how they all took lessons in the “London school of economics”
Re Mercouries Vid.
Is it just me who is suffering from this massive monitarisation?
I mean 8-10 20sec spots in this 25m clip… Is this standard? Not used to watch directly

Posted by: Kartoschka | May 4 2021 10:26 utc | 116

Another win for the indefatigable Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa [NZ] see PSNA.
22 April 2021
Tēnā koe
Thank you for your email.
In recent days, I have received a large number of similar emails regarding the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.
The Human Rights Commission has not adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism, and it has no plans to do so.
The Commission undertakes a lot of work against racism, Islamophobia, and other very serious forms of intolerance in Aotearoa, including antisemitism. As you may know, the Race Relations Commissioner is leading work alongside the Government’s plan to develop a National Action Plan against Racism.
It is possible to be critical of the actions of the Israeli government, and supportive of Palestinian human rights, without being antisemitic. But this requires some understanding of antisemitic tropes, so that they can be avoided. The Commission is preparing a short paper advising on antisemitic tropes, and this will be published on the Commission’s website within the next few weeks. I will let you know when this short note is published. I hope you will find it useful. The Race Relations Commissioner and I will be very pleased to discuss the note with you, if you might find this useful.
I appreciate you taking the time to write to me.
Paul Hunt
The NZ Prime Minister has also declined to poke China in the eye over ‘internal matters.’
The NZ PM and the NZ government know all too well what gratuitous China bashing will lead to.
Pragmatism trumps hostility.
The minor right wing ACT party is attempting to bring on a motion condemning China for ‘genocide’ in the NZ parliament. Sadly the Green party appears to support this motion. ‘Once were warriors’ to say the least.
Some genocides are greater than others.

Posted by: Paul | May 4 2021 10:39 utc | 117

Since Jen @108 brought up the history of the coal miners’ battles with the capitalists in West Virginia that people might be unfamiliar with, is anyone familiar with the old children’s rhyme:

It’s raining, it’s pouring
The old man is snoring
He went to bed with a hole in his head
And he didn’t get up in the morning

Way back when I was little it was known that this rhyme was about one of the miners who was killed by scabrous Pinkerton scum in West Virginia. “…hole in his head” obviously refers to a bullet hole. “He went to bed…”? He was carried there by his fellow strikers who didn’t know what else to do after the shooting. “The old man is snoring” is of course a reference to gasping and choking breathing someone with severe head trauma does when barely clinging to life. Mom likely tried to reassure the children with “Don’t fret. Daddy’s just snoring.” Finally, “And he didn’t get up in the morning” is the obvious conclusion because he died.
Of additional interest would be the efforts that Google and other establishment tools have invested in burying the original words and meaning of this rhyme and dismissing it as just meaningless children’s gibberish. Search for it yourselves and see. Makes me wonder how much other American working class history and culture has been scrubbed away and buried by those who control the narratives.

Posted by: William Gruff | May 4 2021 11:51 utc | 118

@Posted by: Paul | May 4 2021 10:39 utc | 117
“Antisemitism” is the Swiss Army Knife of words.
It is adaptable and useful, it can be used opportunistically in so many diverse situations.

Posted by: librul | May 4 2021 12:03 utc | 119

Fun break-down of U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, (32nd ?) annual World Threat Assessment before the Senate Armed Forces Committee – appropriate it would follow the Oscars.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/russia-poses-existential-threat-north-south-pentagon-intelligence-chief (actually from AntiWar and yet reasonable)
Somewhat ironic that it is referred to as the World Threat Assessment as that might be deemed a self-reference.

Posted by: jared | May 4 2021 12:19 utc | 120

Sorry for this “drive-by” comment made when I haven’t had the chance to keep up with all the threads and comments.
To me the fall and death of the Swiss embassy employee from an 18th floor in Iran looks like murder, more specifically it looks like Mossad murder because they have a penchant for going after soft targets tangential to whoever they want to punish (possibly Switzerland in this case but it could be more specific).
I predict an elaborate explanation for how it wasn’t and perhaps also how it was supposedly a tangential death to something entirely different like “a family squabble” (that’s bs they’ve used successfully before).
Let see if it blows up in their faces.

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | May 4 2021 12:52 utc | 121

Posted by: librul | May 4 2021 12:03 utc | 119
Thanks librul, you have a way with words too.
Apparently, like some alleged ‘genocides,’ some alleged ‘Semites’ are greater than the other real Semites.
On China bashing, a full court campaign against the NZ government via stink tank pundits, MSM and social media will flop because the NZ public can see the confected concern for Chinese muslims is totally fake.
Since when have Australia and the US cared about any muslims? They like bombing them. Hardly the moral high ground there.
Besides, the NZ public is simply sick of being lectured to by Australian and US hypocrites.
NZ has had to remind the very butch Australian foreign minister, Marese Payne, that the five eyes is an intelligence sharing network, not an alliance where buffoons like Trump can bluff and blunder, huff and puff, then all that is required is for NZ to follow subsequent orders.
That doesn’t work any more. This time Australia and the US have wedged themselves, by their own obvious hypocrisy.

Posted by: Paul | May 4 2021 13:36 utc | 122

It seems that leaked video is all the rage:
https://www.rt.com/news/522865-israel-netanyahu-hidden-camera/
Stop the World, I Want to Get Off.

Posted by: jared | May 4 2021 14:02 utc | 123

William Gruff @May4 11:51 #118
I remember the rhyme as: “bumped his head”.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | May 4 2021 14:13 utc | 124

Open Thread? Great!
I was shouted out of the virutal room at another web site for posting Tweets from the Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional (Mexico’s Ministry of Defence)… along with a few suggestive added comments. It’s so irritating, the most sacred of sacred cows, that Mexicans must be the eternal repressed underclass of the US. Or maybe it’s because Cinco de Mayo is almost here, and people are stirred up. No talk of Mexico defending itself!
Anyway, another poster suggested that a color revolution might be under construction in Mexico. There was a derailment of a subway car (@MetroCDMX) in the early AM of May 4. The following Tweet shows the military response, and I think, suggests that Mexico’s Ministry of Defence is aware of possible uprising/revolt, and plans to aggressively defend against it. That’s my read – see for yourself.
https://twitter.com/SEDENAmx/status/1389464711142514696
I made further speculative comments about the Canadian Army possibly training in Mexico (due to photos of tanks in the dust and so on from their Twitter account; exercise Maple Resolve is way too far north for heaps of dust in early May — @CanadianArmy) and wondered about a Royal Air Force jet leaving New Orleans and RAF Pumas flying over Pasadena
https://twitter.com/tropicostation/status/1388999619598688257
https://twitter.com/air_intel/status/1388916088851795968
Some British and French troops have been in Texas for Exercise Warfighter.
Prince Harry received an ovation at an event in LA recently.
https://sputniknews.com/society/202105031082790533-prince-harry-appears-at-charity-event-alone-for-first-time-since-returning-to-us-receives-ovation/
And according to Canadian PM Trudeau’s itinerary, he is speaking with His Majesty the Prince of Wales today (May 4th).
In conclusion, no potential national security concerns anywhere on the North American continent, nothing to see here, move along please.
The Bundeswehr flew over Nevada recently too, while their top brass met with some from the UK.
https://twitter.com/air_intel/status/1384915097575960584
https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1385981804180656135
They discussed ‘future opportunities’.

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | May 4 2021 14:14 utc | 125

lysias @May3 20:12 #91
There’s plenty of other strangeness, such as:

  • ARAMCO IPO, which was delayed for years, finally happened just before the pandemic – just a coincidence?
  • The strange departure of John Bolton in September 2019.

!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | May 4 2021 14:17 utc | 126

Interesting – the people are becoming irrelevant to government.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/abolish-the-fbi_3799023.html
The people need to regain control of their government.

Posted by: jared | May 4 2021 14:46 utc | 127

Japan feared U.S. military would take control of Fukushima response in 2011
If you’re a province, you’re a province. No other way to put that.
–//–
Biden’s Plan Promises Permanent Decline
So, that means Biden is, best case scenario, the American Brezhnev. A fair judgement, in my opinion.
–//–
Tell the truth, America… the G7 meeting is all about trying to contain the rise of China
I’m more surprised the G7 still exists than it has degenerated into an anti-China club.
–//–
India’s reported infections surge past 20 million, though the number is likely higher.
What problem?! India is the Largest Democracy in the World! It is just like China, but better! All those COVID-19 data are fake news, India is fine! It’s all a pro-China communist conspiracy!
Western MSM are trying to put the blame on India’s pandemic fiasco on Modi. But really, the problem with India is India. Modi is merely a symptom of the degeneracy of the Indian people & system.

Posted by: vk | May 4 2021 14:56 utc | 128