I had promised myself and my family that on this holiday I would do nothing but relax. However events have overtaken my good intentions. I find myself in the unusual position of having twice been in a position to know directly that governments were lying in globe-shaking events, firstly Iraqi WMD and now the “Russian hacks”.
Anybody who believes the latest report issued by Obama as “proof” provides anything of the sort is very easily impressed by some entirely meaningless diagrams. William Binney, who was Technical Director at the NSA and actually designed their surveillance capabilities, has advised me by email. It is plain from the report itself that the Russian groups discussed have been under targeted NSA surveillance for a period longer than the timeframe for the DNC and Podesta leaks. It is therefore inconceivable that the NSA would not have detected and traced those particular data flows and they would be saved. In other words, the NSA would have the actual hack on record, would be able to recognise the emails themselves and tell you exactly the second the transmission or transmissions took place and how they were routed. They would be able to give you date, time and IP addresses. In fact, not only do they produce no evidence of this kind, they do not even claim to have this kind of definite evidence.
Secondly, Bill points out that WikiLeaks is in itself a top priority target and any transmission to WikiLeaks or any of its major operatives would be tracked, captured and saved by NSA as a matter of routine. The exact route and date of the transmission or transmissions of the particular emails to WikiLeaks would be available. In fact, not only does the report not make this information available, it makes no claim at all to know anything about how the information was got to WikiLeaks.
Of course Russian hackers exist. They attack this blog pretty well continually – as do hackers from the USA and many other countries. Of course there have been attempted Russian hacks of the DNC. But the report gives no evidence at all of the alleged successful hack that transmitted these particular emails, nor any evidence of the connection between the hackers and the Russian government, let alone Putin.
There could be no evidence because in reality these were leaks, not hacks. The report is, frankly, a pile of complete and utter dross. To base grave accusations of election hacking on this report is ludicrous. Obama has been a severe disappointment to all progressive thinkers in virtually every possible way. He now goes out of power with absolutely no grace and in a storm of delusion and deceit. His purpose is apparently to weaken Trump politically, but to achieve that at the expense of heightening tensions with Russia to Cold War levels, is shameful. The very pettiness of Obama’s tongue out to Putin – minor sanctions and expelling some diplomatic families – itself shows that Obama is lying about the pretext. If he really believed that Russia had “hacked the election”, surely that would require a much less feeble response. By refusing to retaliate, Russia has shown the kind of polish that eludes Obama as he takes his empty charisma and presentational skills into a no doubt lucrative future in the private sector.
The implication of a post from earlier today (“Richard Braverman”) is that President Obama’s rapid rise from political/legislative obscurity shows that he was “foisted on” the nation by someone or other. That implication was confirmed by another poster (Lysias) who identified the “foisters” as the CIA, acting on behalf of its real masters, aka “Big Finance”.
I must confess that this is the first time that I have read that the relatively short political/legislative experience of a successful Republican or Democrat candidate indicates that he has been “foisted” onto the nation by the CIA (or indeed by anyone else… except the electors).
Were that curious notion true, then what should one make of the successful candidatures of, say, Harry Truman (10 years as a US senator and 1 year as VP); or of Dwight Eisenhower (no political/legislative experience); or of Ronald Reagan (8 years as governor of California); or to go slightly further back, of Woodrow Wilson (2 years as governor of New Jersey)?
It is of course also interesting to observe that the career of one other successful Presidential candidate of whom certain posters appear to think rather highly has also been marked by zero political/legislative experience. I refer of course to The Donald, who, presumably, has also been” foisted” onto the nation by the CIA. The same Donald who, according to one of the commenters referred to above, is going to” smash up” the CIA.
YCMIU 🙂
“Harry Truman (10 years as a US senator and 1 year as VP)” succeeded to office on the death of FDR. That ought to render your idea that he was foisted on the nation by the CIA, which of course he had not then founded, idiotic. What is true is that the right wing and racist leadership of the Democratic Party insisted on dropping Henry Wallace from the ticket because of his radicalism.
” Dwight Eisenhower (no political/legislative experience);” had plenty of political experience- read any biography- and like many other Presidential candidates (Washington, Jackson etc etc) had the advantage of considerable prestige as the Commander in Chief of the Allied forces in western Europe
“Ronald Reagan (8 years as governor of California)” Was also both a Union leader and an experienced and effective spokesman for right wing causes over more than two decades before he became President.
” Woodrow Wilson (2 years as governor of New Jersey)?” was Principal of Princeton University for eight years.
Obama, who, by comparison with any of the above, was a newcomer to electoral politics when he became President, has long and unquestionable ties with the CIA, going right back to his childhood. There is little doubt that both his father and step father were Agency assets as was his mother, in Indonesia in the wake of the massacre of communist supporters (and those resembling them) which brought Suharto to power.
““Harry Truman (10 years as a US senator and 1 year as VP)” succeeded to office on the death of FDR. That ought to render your idea that he was foisted on the nation by the CIA, which of course he had not then founded, idiotic.”
_____________________
Of course it would be idiotic. But I didn’t say he was, did I. What I said was that none of those examples was “foisted” on the nation by anyone (except the electors), just as President Obama was not “foisted” on the nation by the CIA.
Or perhaps you agree with Lysias that President Obama was “foisted ” on the nation by the CIA?
Bevs
I do realise you’re pissed with me because I forced you into an admission that you were an adherent of the “Fourth International” – ie, a Trotskyite.
I apologise if that caused you some pain but surely you agree that it was better for readers to hear this from your own mouth rather than just have me saying it?
However, your displeasure should not be a reason for you to depart, as you have just done, from your usual very high standards of intellectual and commenting integrity.
A very silly post which I will put down to the stresses of the season. If you knew anything about either Trotskyism or the Fourth Internationals you would understand that my views were not consonant with any of them. You are in the same position as those Orange bigots who insisted that Anglicans were Papists, and about as deserving of an answer.
Regarding Truman it is quite clear-and very well known- that he was indeed foisted on the democratic Party by precisely those interests which now support the CIA.
You really shouldn’t comment on either Marxist theory or US history, because you know little more than wikipedia can tell you about them.
If Bevin is a trotskyite, I’m a John Bircher.
His bleatings are sheeply and of hive mentality, garden-variety progressive or Left-Lite, if you prefer.
Please stop conflating geldings with stallions.
And in amongst the bickering a vital point is lost. Habbs is right, believe it or not! And he didn’t need to write 5 paragraphs. If Hitlery was the CIA’s man she would have beat Obomba to the nomination all those years ago… What the CIA etc want is compromised politicians. They’ll work with anyone and on anyone. The more secrets the better. They should in fact be called the secrets service. A willing candidate like Hitlery would be better I suppose; but they’d have a large file just in case…
I’m afraid Trots don’t usually have as many good words for Uncle Joe.
I did not use the word “foisted”. Even if the word accurately expresses my thoughts, the use of quotation marks around the word leads to the erroneous belief that I used the word.
Harry Truman was foisted on the nation by the bosses of the Democratic Party (in particular, Boss Flynn of my native borough of the Bronx), who forced FDR to take Henry Wallace off the Democratic 1944 ticket, in full knowledge that whoever replaced Wallace on the ticket would soon be president, in view of the visibly catastrophic state of FDR’s health.
I see that you have made this point.
You are right, of course (as they say in Kerry).
Habba knows nothing about American politics or history. There’s no shame in that, but it ought to prevent him from cutting and pasting these glib little factoids.
And yet you lecture me on American politics as though your point of view had some secret-sauce meaning.
You are clever, but not so much as you claim.
Harry Truman gave us the CIA from the foundations of the OSS,Oh So Social! One of FDR’s son-in-laws claims That FDR was murdered. Ike was a lifelong democrat when the Council on Foreign Relations ran him for President. Woodrow Wilson was in the pockets of the International Banksters through their agent Mandell House. Reagan was a democrat before he became a Republican. Most of the Presidents we have had since the early 1900’s have been in the pockets of the international banksters and you definitely have Obama right.
“One of FDR’s son-in-laws claims That FDR was murdered.”
Or, alternatively, in the Bible according to St Lysias:
“Harry Truman was foisted on the nation by the bosses of the Democratic Part…. in full knowledge that whoever replaced Wallace on the ticket would soon be president, in view of the VISIBLY CATASTROPHIC STATE OF FDR’s HEALTH (emphasis added)”.
There are no limits to people’s (contradictory) imaginings 🙂
++++++++++++++++++++
The only people who foist US Presidents on the nation are the good electors. Boring compared to conspiracy theories, but true.
Is it not a better interpretation of Obama that he started off with good intentions, but his point of view was sidelined by greater powers such as AIPAC, though not only them. In his last times, Obama seems to have lost control. That is why the confusion. As a last effort, there was a UNSC vote which Israel didn’t like, and the speech by Kerry. You resist Israel at your peril.
With Trump, all is different. Entirely unpredictable. He may obey Israel, or maybe not. My opinion is that he will end up doing what’s he’s told.
“Is it not a better interpretation of Obama that he started off with good intentions, but his point of view was sidelined by greater powers”
__________________
The disadvantage of that point of view – which could at least be discussed – is that it’s much less “exciting” than a good conspiracy theory such as, for example, that Obama was a CIA “Manchurian candidate”.
latest from Mercouris: The Russian–Turkish ceasefire plan for Syria: official text and analysis
As of today, Jan 1, 2017, there are still almost three weeks left in his term, which is enough time for him and his increasingly desperate handlers, to do some serious damage.
Seconded.
In light of very recent events (assassinations, plane crashes and ‘terror attacks’), I wouldn’t dare predict what’s going to happen over the next three weeks.
Silence from the likes of me will shortly be permanent, what with all the laws the vermin are passing to try and stifle dissent.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12-24/obama-signs-countering-disinformation-and-propaganda-act-law
(incidentally, during the passage of this law they changed the name of it three times, to try and hide what they were doing from the public)
All those who are part of these criminal governments, and all those associated with them, and all those who are paid by them to disseminate propaganda, are going to be brought before a court of law; and that includes all members of the so-called ‘security services’.
The only way the vermin can avoid this is to start World War Three.
It ain’t going to happen: Do not pass Go, go straight to Jail.
Oh dear!
High praise, and a joke, as President Obama awards Bill and Melinda Gates with Medal of Freedom
http://www.geekwire.com/2016/high-praise-joke-president-obama-awards-bill-melinda-gates-medal-freedom/
22 Nov 2016 – Bill and Melinda Gates were awarded with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony at The White House on Tuesday, and in his introduction of the couple …
The eponymous Bill was given airtime on the BiBiCee two days ago to create anxiety in the population.
Bill Gates: We are vulnerable to flu epidemic in next decade
30 December 2016
Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates says he is crossing his fingers that a deadly flu epidemic does not strike in the next 10 years because the world is “a bit vulnerable right now”.
Mr Gates, whose foundation invests in improving global healthcare, said the Ebola and Zika crises showed the systems for responding to emergencies are still not strong enough.
He was speaking to Dame Sally Davies, the Chief Medical Officer for England and BBC Radio 4’s Today programme guest editor. She revealed that her department had recently rehearsed a “nasty flu” scenario. She said in the UK the NHS was “pretty well prepared” but it would take at least six months from the start of a flu pandemic to get an effective vaccine.
2hrs 10mins in
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b085yyyk
Remember the Roche Tamiflu rip off?
Tamiflu: Millions wasted on flu drug, claims major report
10 April 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26954482
I just looked up the US price. !!!
10 capsules of 30mg 1 dose pack $109.00
10 capsules of 45mg 1 dose pack $109.00
10 capsules of 75mg 1 dose pack $122.00
Gates might know that Cameron appointed Lord O’Neill ex CEO Goldman Sachs to report on antimicrobial resistance so this country is not exactly backwards on medical matters.
https://amr-review.org/
The drug manufacturers here continue to make large profits so all’s well in that sphere of operations Mr Gates as it is in Amerika. I am sure they are chafing at the bit.
2hrs 10mins in
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b085yyyk
Remember the Roche Tamiflu rip off?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26954482
I just looked up the US price. !!!
10 capsules of 30mg 1 dose pack $109.00
10 capsules of 45mg 1 dose pack $109.00
10 capsules of 75mg 1 dose pack $122.00
Sharp Ears will surely be aware that there was a influenza pandemic in 1918/19 which killed many millions world-wide.
Indeed, it is claimed that that pandemic killed more people than WW1 itself.
So Gates’s apprehension is perhaps not entirely unwarranted despite the scorn poured on it by a former NHS non-clinical employee?
LOL
What’s funny – the 1918/19 influenza pandemic, the claim that it killed more people than WW1 or the reference to a former NHS (non-clinical) employee?
Now begone for some more irrelevant cutting-and-pasting!
“Sharp Ears will surely be aware that there was a influenza pandemic in 1918/19 which killed many millions world-wide.”
There was a (sic) influenza pandemic in 1918/19. It is claimed that bacterial pneumonia was the main cause of death. However Lelord Kordel and all his family used I understand to chew on a clove of garlic before going to sleep. All his very large family survived the pandemic, all of them. Stay clear of most vaccines, if not all. Garlic is very good for you. The only real side effect I am aware of is it dulls the brain.
Or edit out the last sentence. 🙂 Just a bit of fun. Happy New Year!
I wonder if Mr Goss would agree that the vaccine one should stay especially clear of is the polio vaccine?
I dare say that if you’re inclined to think that the polio vaccine is the gold standard of vaccines, you’ve got some serious homework to perform. The fact that the manifestations of improvement in the rate of polio infection coincides with the momentous improvement in sanitation in 1st world societies has not escaped the notice of many biologists. Were you aware of this? And are you also fully aware of the term ‘faith based medicine/science’ and all that that might entail?
The “medal of freedom” which allows the Gates’ Foundation to continue administering ‘life-saving’ vaccines pumped full of sterilisation drugs in its global attempt at euthanasia of less-developed countries.
YCMIU.
But Mr Goss has form when it comes to dreaming up medical conspiracies (HIV, Ebola fever….)
Tut Tut Habba you shouldn’t be stifling Mr Goss’s creativity.
“But Mr Goss has form when it comes to dreaming up medical conspiracies (HIV, Ebola fever….)”
So should all thinking people. You should watch this. I doubt you will. It shows Gallo lying through his teeth to Dr Leonard Horowitz (for which he later apologised when he admitted his own role in the creation of AIDS).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgiMqgjS-zM
As with Ukraine and the subject that cannot be mentioned except on the 9/11 thread there are other conspiracy theories for which I will subsequently be proven correct, while yourself and Resident Дурак will continue whatever it is you think your purpose in life is.
And as such, it now carries all the prestige, and is every bit as astute as the Nobel Peace Prize; a badge of honor now to frauds, jades and quiche nibbling posers near and far. A ‘Participation Trophy’ as it were, for the squatter presently occupying those really swell digs on Pennsylvania Ave.
Hey people,
The guy that broke the HSBC scandal (laundering drug money etc) is broke and about to lose his home.
Surely this must be the place where someone like that can get some help from the kind folk here before he loses everything
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/12/30/please-help-hsbc-whistleblower-nicholas-wilson-stay-in-his-home/
Although looking today he seems to have had plenty of help
http://nicholaswilson.com/crowdfunding-appeal/
You again elide the truth to make a silly noise.
These were not Russian ‘groups’ or average ‘hackers’. They were specific Russian intelligence agencies, namely GRU and FSB, probing and sniffing around on the Internet to look for ways to access US official data. The fact that part of the Democrat party ‘hack’ occurred via a phishing exercise organised by these agencies that exploited American citizens’ own weakness/stupidity does not make the Russians’ behaviour acceptable. It’s reasonable if not vital to expel Russian diplomats who in one way or another have been engaged in supporting such activities that obviously amount to direct interference in US domestic politics. There’s no reason not to trust the Americans in identifying such people with unerring precision.
That said, Obama has made a fool of himself (again) by not acting during the election campaign since (as you say) the Americans have known about much of this for a good while.
“The exact route and date of the transmission or transmissions of the particular emails to WikiLeaks would be available. In fact, not only does the report not make this information available, it makes no claim at all to know anything about how the information was got to WikiLeaks.”
So what? It maybe does not suit the Americans to tell the Russians and Wikileaks exactly what they know, as that might compromise other operations.
In short, you (like me) have no idea whatsoever what is really going on in all this. And it perhaps is a bit much praising Russia for its ‘polish’ in the whole affair? It’s easy to be ‘polished’ if you simply bump off anyone who exposes or gets too close to your dirty dealings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia
Is that a message for Craig or an attempt to get some traffic on your own website?
Mr Crawford
I welcome your post and that the fact you have posted. I wish you would do so more often although you will have noticed that the regular commenters rarely meet reasoned argument with reasoned argument and will write off anything with which they disagree as racist/fascist/sexist/or any other -ist which springs into their blinkered minds.
Feminist?
It is heartening that you have found someone with whom you appear to be in general agreement.
Perhaps I can help with regard to your understanding of the phrase “reasoned argument.”
Mr. Crawford may or may not be correct – but his argument is manifestly dis-ingenious. His argument appears to be a basic recapitulation of the argument made by the US government, an argument which itself is predicated on a report it commissioned from the DHS and FBI. A reasoned argument would make mention of the fact that the report comes with an official disclaimer, namely;
“This report is provided “as is” for informational purposes only. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not provide any warranties of any kind regarding any information contained within.”
Given the similarity of Mr. Crawford;s argument to that of the DHS then I do wonder why he did not mention that his argument is not based on any facts.
The disclaimer can be explained in one word, lawyers.
As litigious as the USA is, it necessitates covering ones’ own a**. The disclaimer doesn’t mean the report does not contain “any facts”. It is possible the report contains factual inaccuracies that might be discovered at a later date, at which point the DHS has a means to deny liability. I admit it doesn’t make for good optics, but it is not justification for dismissing anything and everything contained in the report.
The U.S. is indeed litigious, but federal agencies like the DHS are generally protected from suits by the doctrine of sovereign immunity. To have a chance of winning, a plaintiff would have to establish that what the DHS said was not only incorrect but grossly irresponsible. Then there’s the further matter that any plaintiff would have difficulty establishing that he had standing to bring suit.
Better safe than sorry. I suppose that sums up my previous post in its entirety.
If it were THAT confident it’s facts were correct….and lets face it if you are going to accuse another country of hacking files and emails to corrupt an election…it had better be pretty watertight in factual content. After all we’re talking nuclear superpowers here and not a debating society. Its better safe than sorry NOT to release such inconclusive evidence.
Good try…but your argument just does not cut it.
The Russian hacking story is still very much in play and there is no definitive evidence of anything.
This man made some statements that hew claimed were factual
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErlDSJHRVMA
These comments were made to the United Nations and were recorded for posterity. He occupied a senior Government position and as such was privy to information not available to the ordinary citizen.
Every substantive word he spoke was false and the passage of time has proven this contention. As a consequence of his words $ trillions of treasure were expended, at a minimum hundreds of thousands were killed, and a chain of events was initiated that destabilized the world and whose ultimate consequences are not yet known.
How is the legal case against Colin Powell proceeding?
With regard to the veracity of the leaked e-mails…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/24/debbie-wasserman-schultz-resigns-dnc-chair-emails-sanders
(And there’s a lot of similar examples as well)
Hillary kept confidential state correspondence on her private server, which was hacked. This is still part of an ongoing FBI investigation.
And by the way, nothing has been seen of Julian Assange since about 18th October. Wikileaks seem to have been deeply compromised, and all of the major players in Wikileaks have mysteriously done a disappearing act.
Even if the disclaimer does eliminate some tiny risk, doesn’t adding it also defeat the whole purpose of the exercise?
It certainly has very much undermined what they were trying to do. Fact.
Do you imagine the NSA does not sniff around for Russian data?
@Charles Crawford, I’m a little confused by your Post as you end it by admitting, “(like me) have no idea whatsoever what is really going on in all this”, yet you start by claiming to know the “truth” !!
Then despite Craig’s repeated statements that this is not a hacking issue but due to a leak, you proceed with apparently detailed knowledge about “the hackers”, which is all the more amazing as per your aforementioned admittance that you have no idea what’s really going on !
It would seem that yes, you really have no idea about what you have no idea about !!
Once hacked the emails can be copied to a MicroSD and sent by carrier pigeon, or the postal service even and the NSA would be none the wiser.
The person responsible for the hacking itself would be easy enough to trace, that is precisely what mass surveillance of communications by the security services is for.
Trump just said that anything he wants kept private he writes down and sends to the recipient by courier. He says you have to regard anything put on computer as already published.
But the act of hacking, if it occurs, ought to be visible to NSA, whatever later happens to the intercepted data.
You should look at the list of journalists killed in Ukraine, in Iraq, indeed in all the places where the west has waged its proxy wars on behalf of Israel. I do not share Habbabkuk’s invite to post more often. In fact I much prefer for you the curse of Sir Walter Scott:
. . . If such there breathes go mark him well
For him no minstrel raptures swell
High though his title, power and pelf,
the wretch concentred all in self,
living shall forfeit fair renown
and doubly dying shall go down
to the vile dust from whence he sprung
unwept, unhonored and unsung.
since Scott wished it on those of us who are not so patriotically partisan, and not prepared to send children to their graves for the old lie of Horace: “Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori.”
The Scott thing turned out to be something of a paraphrase and I am surprised you learned people did not take me to task since I left out “proud his name, boundless his wealth as wish could claim, despite these titles” power and pelf . . .Good poet and novelist. A bit too obsessed with the power and the glory, but largely a good man.
@Joh Goss.
The author of the poem ‘Love of Country’ is Sir Walter Raleigh’. Not Scott.
When I was at school it was Sir Walter Scott unless they taught me wrong. I thought it came from The Lay of the Last Minstrel. It starts “Breathes there a man with sould so dead. . . ” Hand up if I’m wrong.
“These were not Russian ‘groups’ or average ‘hackers’. They were specific Russian intelligence agencies, namely GRU and FSB, probing and sniffing around on the Internet to look for ways to access US official data. The fact that part of the Democrat party ‘hack’ occurred via a phishing exercise organised by these agencies that exploited American citizens’ own weakness/stupidity does not make the Russians’ behaviour acceptable.”
This is nothing but a series of assertions ‘backed’ by this laughable substitute for evidence: “It maybe does not suit the Americans to tell the Russians and Wikileaks exactly what they know, as that might compromise other operations….”
Which leads one to question why the news of these ‘successful intelligence operations’ (for surely that is what they must have been) were leaked in so many ways on so many occasions.
The reality is that if there were anything resembling evidence behind this crude frame-up involving the Kievan Banderistas and the cruder operatives in the CIA, it would have been published everywhere. Instead we simply have a crescendo of unsubstantiated charges.
This Galloway radio show is good fun; he has his regular US political commentaor on, who is trying to justify Obama’s expulsion of the Russian diplomats, by emphaising how much general outrage, ( especially from the secret services !), there is against anybody trying to interfere with the American democracy, and when Galloway chooses to mention, from the thousands of examples he could have chosen, Victoria Nuland’s role in Ukraine, there’s an awkward silence, and then a sheepish agreement that the US has done bad things ! 😀
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEPUdbV3vPs
(Incidently Galloways states in this that he also knows the person who provided the stuff to Wikileakes)
Take a look at this:
Anonymous – New Year Important Message 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Szy5Wm09ukY
Forget the video (it’s total BS). The point I’m making is that ‘Anonymous’ are verified by YouTube (see the little tick beside the username). What does that tell you about both YouTube and ‘Anonymous’?
none of the Arab Uprisings have held
Turkey, which had opposed Assad throughout the Syrian conflict, “now seems to have abandoned the rebels – and the events in east Aleppo attest to this,” Khashan added.
As its cooperation tightened with Moscow, Turkey stood conspicuously quiet as the Syrian regime, supported by Russia, took full control of Aleppo this month, handing the rebels their biggest defeat in the civil war so far.
http://www.france24.com/en/20161231-analysis-syria-regime-assad-emboldened-russia-peace-talks-turkey-usa
So where have the 3,000 White Helmets relocated?
This is important, these “heroes” were paid by America.
Has America let them go or are they relocated, it would be quite unhelpful to America if stuff came out about The White Helmets.
Arab Spring
which country
kicked it all off?
Have a fucking guess.
Yemen seems a likey bet;
http://wearechange.org/turkish-jets-transfer-rebels-syria-yemen/
Not just America either- the FO contributed millions of the poor bloody British taxpayer’s money to the scam.
Maybe stuff will come out, under Trump. One can hope.
Maybe we can do more than hope.
Speaking in Palm Beach, Florida Trump stated that with regard to the hacking/leaks of DNC e-mails “I know things other people don’t”
Asked what that information included he replied “You will find out on Tuesday or Wednesday”
Obama may be exiting in a cloud of disillusion, delusion and deceit – but at least he will be doing so with the lights still on.
The Washington Post advised the world that “Russian hackers have been foiled in a plot to penetrate the US electricity grid via a utility in Vermont.”
If only the Washington Post had had the foresight to contact the Burlington Electric Department prior to publishing it may have discovered that the problem was confined to a single Burlington Electric Department laptop that was not connected to the electric grid.
I am sure that the Washington Post has expressed grave concern over the fake news phenomena. I guess there is merit in the old maxim “If you can’t beat them join them”
I am confident that in 2017 The Washington Post will provide stiff competition to the New York Times, the BBC and the Murdoch propaganda stable for the most prolific purveyor of fake news.
Don’t forget UK contributions…
Tartous is the Russian Navy base on the Mediterranean, this is one of the main reasons, if not the MAIN reason for Russia being in Syria.
Islamic State claims bomb attack in Syria’s Tartous
I just love the smell of censorship in the morning, so this is for all you rats who are the enablers of the police state…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB3XGrWZQlM
And how about this
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hW9cCWm53H4
The most pertinent song ever writen!
I’m afraid that I got the usual ‘this video is blocked in your territory’ from YouTube (I’m in France).
Here’s one for you, Shatnersrug…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sFw5Mt70vY
Try it this time
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iL3yPjFBlhE
Shatnersrug, thanks for that, but I’m afraid I still can’t see The Fugs:
“This video contains content from Warner Chappell, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds.”
Right now THIS one should work!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vPtYQGTAzYg
It finally bloody worked with your latest link. Take note, folks, there’s always ways of getting round these censorship blocks/bollocks.
For those who can relate to the Fug’s ‘CIA Man’, here’s John Cale…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-uPkGlTnxw
Chapter and verse, for the record, on the disgraceful corruption of the so called honours system by the Tories.
‘New Year Honours 2017: Cameron ‘host’ among recipients
A Tory official whose London home David Cameron stayed in after he left Downing Street this summer has been appointed CBE in the New Year Honours list.
Associate treasurer Dominic Johnson is one of several party figures to be honoured for political service.
A spokesman for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the Tories were “making a mockery of our honours system”.
Businessman David Ord, who gave £25,000 to the Conservatives the day after Theresa May became leader, also gets a knighthood for political service and service to the South West.
The co-owner of Bristol Port Company, who had been south-west regional treasurer of the Conservative Party in the 1990s, was a regular financial backer of the party under David Cameron, donating both nationally and in support of local MPs. In total he has given more than £1m in cash donations to the party, according to the Electoral Commission.
Mr Johnson is CEO of investment firm Somerset Capital, which he founded with another Conservative MP, Jacob Rees-Mogg. He provided temporary accommodation for Mr Cameron and his family after the prime minister’s resignation in the wake of the EU referendum this summer.
Mr Cameron had been expecting to leave office in October, but brought his departure forward to July after the Conservative leadership contest ended earlier than expected. The PM was unable to move back into his previous London home, which he swapped in 2010 for Downing Street, as it had been rented out.
According to Mr Cameron’s entry in the Commons register of members’ interests, the former prime minister – who stood down as an MP in September – occupied the property provided by Mr Johnson between 18 July and 31 October at a rentable value of £2,650 a week, a benefit in kind equivalent to £37,100.
Honours on the basis of political service, which since 2012 have been considered by a committee led by the former Tory MP Sir Michael Spicer, have proved controversial.
Mr Cameron was criticised for including many of his close aides and associates in his resignation honours list in July – prompting calls from opposition parties for his successor Theresa May to intervene and for more transparency in the process.
Other Conservatives to receive honours this time around include director of campaigning Darren Mott (OBE), deputy head of fundraising Louise Goodall (MBE) and Alexandra Broadrick (MBE), former chief of staff to Conservative Party chairman Lord Feldman.
A spokesman for Mr Corbyn told the Guardian: “Every crony appointment is an insult to the incredible people from right across Britain who are rewarded for the great contributions they make to our national life.”
Elsewhere in the world of politics, there are New Year honours for Conservative MP Julian Brazier..who gets a knighthood.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38466990
I believe Private Eye publishes quite a lengthy article after each Honours List pointing to a number of people it believes (I suppose) should not have been honoured.
Of course it also uses the “among recipients” line and always omits to give the total number of people honoured. It is not for me to wonder why that should be so, of course.
” I find myself in the unusual position of having twice been in a position to know directly that governments were lying in globe-shaking events, firstly Iraqi WMD and now the “Russian hacks”
in the Thick of it.. I found Craig’s Blog through looking into Iraq.. And Now we Know Thanks to people like Craig.. Ect just how Sick the establishment are..
anyway.. Happy New year
Happy New Year, Craig.
Barry O’Bomber’s ludicrous, valedictory expulsions of Russian diplomats for reasons of domestic politics, as you point out, cried for an authoritative responsed. Thanks for interrupting your holiday to provide it.
Happy new year everyone
To you too, Glenn, good to see you back.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/01/putins-real-long-game-214589
“This leads to the final point: hard power matters. Russia maintains the second most powerful military in the world, and spends more than 5 percent of its weakened GDP on defense. Russia used military force to invade and occupy Georgian territory in 2008 to disrupt the expansion of NATO, and in 2013 in Ukraine to disrupt the expansion of the EU. They have invested heavily in military reform, new generations of hardware and weapons, and expansive special operations training, much of which debuted in the wars in Ukraine and Syria. There is no denying that Russia is willing to back up its rhetoric and policy with deployed force, and that the rest of the world notices.
The West must accept that Putin has transformed what we see as tremendous weakness into considerable strength. If Russia were a strong economy closely linked to the global system, it would have vulnerabilities to more traditional diplomacy. But in the emerging world order, it is a significant actor – and in the current Russian political landscape, no new sanctions can overcome the defensive, insular war-economy mentality that the Kremlin has built.”
“We avoided war with Russia because we helped defeat hillary” )Progressive mantra of self recrimination)
Can you Neville Chamberlain Party Members compare/contrast the above, you know, just for the record?
Please excuse my disregard for Chamberlain’s record Bevin. Sacred Cows are difficult to put down, but some have seen the mercy killing as just.
During the critical decades of the Cold War, the Soviet Union and the whole Communist bloc also had a “defensive, insular war-economy mentality”.
Would you not admit that it was a very good thing that war with the Soviet Union was avoided at that time was a very good thing?
Eh? So many open-ended questions in your reply I can’t begin to address.
If your reference is to avoiding war with Russia Post 2016 that domino has yet to be played.
It was indeed a good thing that there was no war with the USSR. Any war would have been against the background of Mutually Assured Destruction – and so obviously war should be avoided in such a scenario.
However times have changed. Our intellect and ability to think has improved and this has meant that we are better able to conceive of and implement unorthodox solutions that derive from “out of the box thinking” A consequence of the improvement in our intellect is our ability to develop new and better weapons.
There has been no such improvement in Russian intellect and so they are still stuck in past. If you want evidence witness their bizarre attempt to destroy the US electricity grid by infecting a single unconnected laptop in Vermont. Truly pathetic.
All of this leads to the doctrine of nuclear supremacy. The fact that God has granted us the ability to develop nuclear supremacy probably means that God wants us to launch a nuclear war against Russia and for us to emerge victorious.
(A longer version of this comment will likely appear as a Washington Post editorial).
“Russia used military force to invade and occupy Georgian territory in 2008..”
This is a travesty- Georgia initiated the brief war by invading territories which wished to remain within the Russian sphere.
Is this ignorance on your part or a crude attempt to put one over the readers of this blog?
So far as Chamberlain is concerned: my suspicion is that you know nothing about the man, his policies or, indeed, Munich and that you are simply repeating tired old memes from the ’40s.
As to your obsession with the Hillary Clinton debacle- she didn’t need any help to lose the election-she had the DNC, the MSM , the neo-cons and every bozo in America by her side. They did what was regarded as impossible. What makes it all the funnier is that, as the emails show, Hillary and her friends did everything that they could to make sure that Trump won the Republican nomination- they were afraid of Cruz, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio!!!
Same thing happened in 1979-80. The Democrats wanted Reagan to get the nomination. They thought he would be easy to beat.
In the same way that the Conservative Party in the UK is rather pleased that Mr Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party.
“In the same way that the Conservative Party in the UK is rather pleased that Mr Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party.”
Goodness ! I missed this admission that Mr Corbyn will be the next PM !
What happened, a crack occurred & some light got through ?! 😀
In a free and fair election, by the way. Well, almost free – £3 per voter.
Of course those Democrats turned out to be very wrong. As the Dems were wrong again about Trump.
The next British general election will show that the Conservatives were not wrong.
Re writing history again I’m afraid – the facts are that rather a lot took place on both sides before the Georgian “invasion” of its own territories e.g. who started shelling Georgian villages on 1 August? Who was allowing “volunteers” to join the Ossetians? Who was engaging in a cyber war against the Georgians? But hey you post your one sided account – that is what you do.
Those proclaiming the innocence of the Putin regime regarding cyber attacks seem to forget that they do have something of a record in this are already as Georgia, Estonia and Ukraine can all testify. Not that amounts to definitive proof, but it should at least lead to considering Russian counter claims with a degree of scepticism.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/georgia/2539157/Georgia-Russia-conducting-cyber-war.html
http://dailysignal.com/2016/12/16/how-russias-cyberattacks-have-affected-ukraine/
One thing about the corporate lunatic asylum we now live in is the death of the Arts.
This is one of the last real/artistic songs, and it’s from 2006; repeat, 2006, ten years ago…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi6keFpm-BY
Whether you like this kind of music or not, the point is that in the corporate lunatic asylum all art is snuffed out.
Neko is great 🙂
Try Elena Friederberger this album has me utterly captivated
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0T8aZEmbws
This is classic regarding the Hillary campaign stuffing voting boxes. Why would they? Did they not realise there may be cameras around?
Anyway blame Putin. Blame Russia. Might as well.
https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=IplriwiNpG4
Arrests – Nil!
Corruption – 100%!
I agree!
Russian Parliamentary elections I’m afraid – the flag in the 2nd one was a bit of a give away.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3796116/Putin-s-party-sweeps-victory-Russian-elections-amid-evidence-vote-rigging-CCTV-catching-one-woman-stuffing-multiple-vote-slips-ballot-box.html
Note to Shushanka St, – there is a difference between useful idiots and the useless ones.
I even posted the link to one of them at time of the Russian Parliamentary Elections
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2016/09/barrel-bomb-conundrum/comment-page-1/#comment-624628
I suppose this is what is meant by post truth!
These clips are highly dubious – they appeared in the right wing media AFTER the democratic primaries supposedly claiming they were Russian clips, however, it’s pretty unlikely that a Russian sports hall would have quite so much basket ball paraphernalia or the use of large western numerals as opposed to Russian ones as you’d expect in a Russian polling station.
Personally I think the images are fake election propaganda that have been repurposed several times
Given the primaries were in the spring and the Russian election was in September then you should be able to point to their posting in the intervening period. The Russian flags, ballot boxes and fashions may be somewhat more difficult to explain. The Russians have the same numerals as we do – it is their alphabet that is different.
Let us not forget that the leader of the Russian Communist Party, Gennady Zyuganov, is on the record as saying that Putin’s Party (United Russia – or the PArty of Crooks and Thieves as it is commonly known) rigged the elections.
If you look closely you can even see the Russian state emblem on the ballot box in “Illinois” at he start of the clip.
The same emblem is on the ballot box in the sports hall in “Pennsylvania”!
Dude they’re fake. possibly shot in a American gym as election campaign fodder, Or maybe by Russian opposition but due to the lack of the Russian alphabet a severierly doubt it.
It’s so easy to fake crap like this and hope it goes viral in an election cycle I don’t know why you would even bother to draw attention to it. There is absolutely no way anyone with half a brain would rig a ballot with a clear view of cctv, in fact centre shot of the CCTV!!- it’s stupid you’ve either got to be a brain dead tabloid reader or so desperate to believe your team is right that you’d suspend disbelief
I didn’t draw attention to it!
RD has a long history of posting links to hoaxes & faked propaganda; desperate viewpoints call for desperate measures ! 😀
Indeed. He was commenting on a link posted by John Goss
Don’t forget the most lasting legacy of 3rd-generation CIA brat Obama. He presided over terminal-stage corruption of the US judicial cesspool: judges securely corrupted and compromised from top to bottom, putty in CIA’s hands.
http://www.justice-integrity.org/faq/1181-tainted-judge-grants-casino-10m-as-gop-prepares-to-pack-courts
Obama was ‘discovered’ in college and mentored by – non other than – that great and illustrious ‘gentleman’ (or rather ‘War-monger’) himself, Zbigniew Brzezinski – nuff said?
None of the Truthers I know had any hope of him being a ‘good guy’. Time has proved us correct.
‘Off her rocker’ Merkel mocked for urging Germans to beat terror with love and compassion
ANGELA Merkel was branded “mad” and “off her rocker” today after giving a bizarre New Year’s Eve speech telling Germans to fight the bombs and guns of Islamic State with love and compassion.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/749109/Angela-Merkel-German-Chancellor-ISIS-terror-refugees-migrants-compassion
Did Frau Merkel democratically ask the voters of Germany
“Would you like more than a million new people to enter our country in one year and pay for them?”
She stands again in September and all teh indications are that she will win http://www.infratest-dimap.de/umfragen-analysen/bundesweit/ard-deutschlandtrend/2016/dezember/
Not that many Germans read the Daily Express
A great laugh coming up on radio four this morning in 10 min.,’are we living in a post truth society?’ said the trailer ‘does it still matter to people, or has it become irrelevant?’
We will hear news people arguing for their right to speak and print fake news, come Leveson2, or not.
Why should people entertain themselves with newspapers when they have a much more diverse internet? Truth will not die because the liars have been in charge for far too long, it will thrive as it has done in the US, when it switched voters allegiances and made for long faces, the liars did not get it their way, now they are hatching ever more evil plans, hallo PNAC, and want to play old fashioned cold war again.
Two men who tried to stop the Nice truck driver’s deadly charge through crowds have been awarded France’s highest honour.
A special edition of the Legion d’Honneur has been announced for those who tried to halt the atrocity and those who helped the injured.
Franck Terrier rode his scooter alongside the truck, grabbing the side of the cab and punching the driver several times through the open window to stop him smashing into more people.
“I was ready to die,” he said at the time.
He told French media: “I remember the bodies flying everywhere… My wife pulled my arm and asked me where I was going. I stopped. I said, stay back! And I accelerated.” He also told how he had to slalom among the dead and injured to catch up with the lorry. “I wanted to stop him at all costs,” he said.
Another man, Alexandre Nigues, chased the truck on his bicycle and tried to wrench open the driver’s door as the huge vehicle barrelled through the Bastille Day crowds.
He told how the driver, still with his foot on the accelerator, pointed the gun at him and looked him in the eye.
Mr Nigues will also receive the Legion d’Honneur for his bravery – as will two police officers who ran after the lorry and shot the driver dead.
The state said the officers were being named Guardians of the Peace for “chasing on foot, and neutralising the lorry driver with the help of their weapons, and while risking their lives”.
Several doctors and firefighters will receive the national order of merit – the country’s second highest award – for their work with those who were hurt when Tunisian extremist Lahouaiej Bouhel, 31, targeted the crowds after evening fireworks.
He killed 86 people and left another 400 injured in the attack, for which Islamic State claimed responsibility – although they have never provided evidence of Bouhel’s affiliation with them.
The Nice attack was the first terror atrocity of its kind and was followed last month by a copycat attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, in which 12 people died.
http://news.sky.com/story/ready-to-die-legion-of-honour-for-nice-heroes-10714298
RobG
do you still think Nice was made up?
Why is the word Islamic still being attached to John McCain’s terrorist proxy colonisers?
Might as well say that Russia is a Christian country because half of Russia is populated by Christmas trees.
Isn’t it time to call them just USUKIS red-neck terrorists?
It makes Cameron’s honours list seem respectable!
Just like the Remoaners insult the choice of the British people, the angry anti-Trumpeters insult the choice of the American people;
“Rather than dealing with political and social reality of internal decay, the American establishment has tried to divert the cause to alleged Russian malfeasance. The reality is, however, that popular American sentiment is one of disgust with the Washington establishment and its mis-leaders in both main parties, Democrats and Republicans. That disgust embroils the mainstream media which is seen to be an integral part of a corrupt, venal establishment.
To try to lay the «blame» for Trump’s election on Russian cyber-attacks is an insult to a large section of the American citizenry. It is also a sign of chronic denial by the Washington establishment that decades of economic and foreign policy are in shambles – a shambles of its own making.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/46135.htm
I disagree.
I voted against the EU because a trading partnership has become 4th Reich, attacking the Middle East and housing aggressive nukes against Russia.
We need the trading partnership , foreigners and plurality to continue, and the aggression and bullying to cease.
We still have an unpayable debt to repay for our unforgiveable colonial past. We tried to eliminate the racist toffs who perpetuated the British Empire, but they wormed their way back in as Bliar and Crimenon.
Should we spit at our grandfathers/mothers’ sacrifices and allow the EU to be a tool for US aggression through Germany?
We need parliament to establish the facts, that racism is not a basis for policy-making. We refuse to belong to any organisation that targets the Middle-East or Russia for aggression. We are prepared to belong to a club which maintains civilised values , but we are not prepared to belong to a club which makes 15 million Syrians homeless, and the population of the world nervous by unwarranted aggression by madmen who support terrorists.
Hang Boris Johnson for supporting terror in Syria , hang May for blocking parliament. These are both treason.
Bring in a civilised politician, of which there appears to be only one left.
“It is hard to say what the real purpose of this fake DHS-FBI report is. But the fact that this silly list of IP addresses
was the best evidence they could provide should be a strong indication that there really is no evidence of Russian
hacking. Instead, it is more likely that Wikileaks is telling the truth in stating that they got the emails from a
disgruntled Democratic Party insider””
https://turningpointnews.org/exposing-political-corruption/dhs-fbi-claim-of-russian-hacking-is-fake-news
“It’s perfectly circular, highly predictable, very boring”
That about sums up your trolling; nothing intelligent to say about the points made in the article ? No of course not ! 😀
BTW you might want to look up what “plagiarise” means, as it’s obviously its not what you think !
The Turkish authorities have claimed that IS, admitted to carrying out the shootings that killed 39 people.
In my opinion, that report would’ve appeared more credible if, they had said the attack was carried out by a disgruntled PKK Kurd.
But they chose to claim that IS, carried out the attack. We all know IS, in its former mode ISIS, Daesh and al Qaeda, is linked to the West’s allies, such as Saudi Arabia.
The PKK has a history of attacking Turkish military and police targets, not tourist venues.
Kurds don’t attack civilians, like the Taliban and Al Qaida. They’ve experienced too much of that directly from false-flag USUKIS attacks. There may be some Kurds who serve the great satans but not the PKK.
Kurds don’t attack civilians
Yes they do. They used to concentrate on tourist traps, but their focus shifted after thye Syrian uprising.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/aug/28/turkey.leeglendinning
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/tourist-hurt-in-turkish-blast-dies-1425346.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/6248608/British-family-win-1m-terrorism-compensation-from-Turkey.htm
A few more here:
http://www.hri.org/docs/USSD-Terror/93/append.html
The PKK are not repeat not cuddly bunnies.
Meanwhile a perfectly timed attack has taken place in Iraq, reports claim at least 35 people died in a suicide bomber explosion. I say perfectly timed attack, as French president has Hollande arrived in Iraq.
Again the report claims that IS, carried the bombing, we must remain vigilant, and remember that, when the likes of Daesh or IS, claim responsibility, that the West/Israel/Saudi Arabia, Turkey etc, have links to and influence and train and arm these terrorists, to create circumstances, that sway the publics views.
The third part of the recent IS, al Qaeda bombing attacks has taken place in Somali, Mogadishu, again a al Qaeda linked terror group has claimed responsibility.
One wonders what kind of logistical support a terror group would need (and who has the resources to provide it) to carry out such wide ranging bombing sorites, from Turkey, to Iraq to Somali, Berlin, Paris, Nice, Belgium etc.
One also has to note that Reuters, is more often than not, the chosen vehicle to report these kind of “attacks.”
The kind of logistical support USUKIS can easily deliver.
It really is endemic of the US press, ( this occasion the CIA mouthpiece the Washington Post) to run with a story that Russian hackers, had infiltrated the US power grid at a Vermont utility.
When infact the laptop in question, had not even been connected to the power grid, and later information released, claimed that no sign of Russia hacking had been released.
One can only assume, that the Washington Post in its haste to smear Russia, has sacrificed its journalistic integrity, for clickbait sensationalism. It does make you wonder though, just how many times previously the WP, has comprised its integrity.
The Washington Post has a long history of being a mouthpiece of the CIA, ever since, in the early Cold War, Post publisher Phil Graham was one of the leaders of the CIA’s Operation Mockingbird project to manage news and the media.
Nor was the Post’s Watergate coverage any exception. In helping to bring Nixon down, the Post was doing just what the CIA wanted. The CIA’s fingerprints are all over the Watergate break-in. Nixon had been blackmailing the CIA using its role in the JFK assassination, and the CIA didn’t like that one little bit.
Can someone please explain to me what, if Russia influenced or attempted to influence the U.S. election, would have been so very wrong about doing this to a country that has such a long history of stealing elections and mounting coups in other countries as the U.S.?
The newly created CIA’s very first covert action was using every trick in the book to make sure the Communist-Socialist coalition did not win the 1948 Italian election. Then, the very next year, they sponsored a military coup that toppled the democratically elected president of Syria. I happen to be reading at the moment a history of colonialism in the Middle East. Turns out that president had been elected with 63 percent of the vote in 1943.
This delusional outrage with “interfering with US Democracy” is beyond surreal, and indeed Galloway shut-up somebody about this on the radio the other day just by saying “Victoria Nuland, Ukraine” ! 😀
Whoever did leak those emails actually was aiding the US democratic process as the information was real not made-up !
Wasn’t the shameless hypocrite Obama hhimself who tried to influence both the Scottish & BREXIT Referendums, and has just made derogatory comments about Labour & Corbyn ?!! :O
Speaking of George Galloway, former MP turned shock jock, I wonder how that film of his is doing – commercially, I mean. Has he started repaying the crowd funders out of profits or at least sent them a free DVD of the film or allowed them free entrance to the film’s showings as I believe I once read on here from one of his fans?
Who can shed any light on this rather curious affair?
“I wonder how that film of his is doing”
The film that you kept predicting would never see the light of day ?! 😀
I ask because I suppose at least some of the usual commenters were among the crowd funders……
Not to mention that the CIA (ably assisted by MI6) also played the lead role in organizing the overthrow of the Iranian PM Mohammed Mussadiq in 1953. (And the lord only knows how many others since then.)
http://www.lobster-magazine.co.uk/articles/l30iran.htm
From what you quote it would seem that quite few Iranians were very happy to see Dr Mossadeq kicked out.
But of course Mark Curtis covers his arse by referring, darkly, to “pay offs” and “bribery
In the opinion of many, the CIA and MI6 were doing Iran a considerable favour. After all, once Dr Mossadeq had been kicked out, Iran entered a period of almost three decades of stability, and as the apologists for” Presidents” Assad and Saddam Hussein are always telling us, stability is very important. 🙂