Softpanorama

 Home Switchboard Unix Administration Red Hat TCP/IP Networks Neoliberalism Toxic Managers
May the source be with you, but remember the KISS principle ;-)
Skepticism and critical thinking is not panacea, but can help to understand the world better

Ukraine-gate as Russiagate 2.0: an "all in" counterattack on Trump attempt to investigate origins of RussiaGate

The head of the CIA-linked STRATFOR called Ukraine “the most blatant coup in history.”

Obama/Brennan faction in CIA and FBI,  the nest of neocon vipers in the State Department and "FullOfSchiff" gang in House of Representatives sense their last chance to depose Trump using the intelligence services leaker;
 or, at least, improve Dems election chances ("Pelosi Gambit")

News Nancy Pelosi impeachment gambit Recommended Links Ciaramella as potential fake whistleblower, the sacrificial pawn for Brennan Obama administration participation in the intelligence services putsch against Trump MSM as attack dogs of color revolution Senate Trial and its effect of 2020 elections Blob attacks Trump: Viper nest of neocons in state department fuels Ukraingate Alexander Vindman role in Ukrainegate
Alexandra Chalupa role in fueling Russiagate House Democrats attempt to backstab Barr and derail his investigation into the origin of Russiagate Adam Schiff Witch Hunt The demagogy of constitutional law professor Pamela Karlan Coordinated set of leaks as a color revolution tool FBI and CIA contractor Crowdstrike and very suspicious DNC leak saga Brennan elections machinations Fake News scare and US NeoMcCartyism Creepy neocon Joe Biden and fleecing of Ukraine
Post-Russiagate remorse -- the second Iraq WDM fiasco  Poroshenko presidency Civil war in Ukraine Nulandgate UA officials role in fueling Russiagate and Ukrainegate Ukrainian Security Services role in Spygate (aka Russiagate) Ukraine debt enslavement Yovanovich and her fake drama Fiona Hill as Soros mole in Trump administration
Russiagate -- the attempt to entrap Trump with Russia ties by CIA, FBI, MI6 and Clinton mafia Strzokgate Steele dossier Special Prosecutor Mueller and his fishing expedition "Seventeen agencies" memo about Russian influence on elections Joseph Misfud and MI6 connection to Russiagate FBI contractor Fusion GPS Anti Trump Hysteria  Wiretaps of Trump and his associates during Presidential elections
Is national security state in the USA gone rogue ? History of American False Flag Operations Color revolutions Amorality and criminality of neoliberal elite  Audacious Oligarchy and "Democracy for Winners" Rosenstein and appointment of the special prosecutor Anti-Russian hysteria in connection emailgate and DNC leak The problem of control of intelligence services in democratic societies  
US and British media are servants of security apparatus MSM as fake news industry Media-Military-Industrial Complex Neoconservatism New American Militarism Elite Theory And the Revolt of the Elite      
Control of the MSM during color revolution is like air superiority in the war The Deep State The Iron Law of Oligarchy Principal-agent problem Pope Francis on danger of neoliberalism Militarism and reckless jingoism of the US neoliberal elite Skeptic Quotations Politically Incorrect Humor Hypocrisy and Pseudo-democracy

Introduction

 
From Slate: "
The Seekers abandoned their jobs, possessions, and spouses to wait for the flying saucer, but neither the aliens nor the apocalypse arrived. After several uncomfortable hours on the appointed day, Martin received a “message” saying that the group “had spread so much light that God had saved the world from destruction.” The group responded by proselytizing with a renewed vigour. According to Festinger, they resolved the intense conflict between reality and prophecy by seeking safety in numbers. “If more people can be persuaded that the system of belief is correct, then clearly, it must, after all, be correct.”
... [for members of the cult] "prophecies, per se, almost never fail. They are instead component parts of a complex and interwoven belief system which tends to be very resilient to challenge from outsiders. While the rest of us might focus on the accuracy of an isolated claim as a test of a group’s legitimacy, those who are part of that group—and already accept its whole theology—may not be troubled by what seems to them like a minor mismatch. A few people might abandon the group, typically the newest or least-committed adherents, but the vast majority experience little cognitive dissonance and so make only minor adjustments to their beliefs. They carry on, often feeling more spiritually enriched as a result.
"FullOfSchiff" people should be viewed as the members of a new hardcore cult of "Russian collision"
 

After it sponsored 2014 coup d'état which brought to power far right nationalists (which would have come to power in any case via next Parliamentary election, as Yanukovich has almost no chances to win them), the West, and first of all the USA,  is not going to make a prosperous paradise out of Ukraine. The collective West is only interested in stripping it of anything of value, and using it to inflict damage on Russia as weakening Russia is the geostrategic goal of Washington. The USA were instrumental in unleashing the civil war in Donbass. In the meantime the standard of living in Ukraine dropped at least two times, while currency dropped 3 times, While 2018 and 2019 looks like some stabilization on a very low level, it now is a debt slave and as such can go down much further.

Barr investigation was getting closer to understanding the role of Ukraine in Russiagate. While the issue of Biden criminality and corruption was important, timing was very bad, and being an impulsive person and a very bad diplomat  Trump in his phone call with Zelensky provided the Deep State an excellent opportunity for the counterattack. And it followed with the ferocity that actually surprised many observers.

Like in Russiagate the pretext was completely fake: semi-senile Biden does not represent any danger to Trump as an opponent in the 2020 election: he is a Hillary-style  corrupt classic neoliberal, and as such is very vulnerable to Trump attacks.  On a lighter note: Can you imagine the epic word salad that would be a Trump/Biden debate?

As such Biden is definitely preferable by "team Trump" then Sanders, Warren of Tulsi as an  opponent for Trump in 2020 election. And it was very a very stupid idea to try to undermine him because now Trump is probably facing Warren in the national elections -- a more formidable and far more dangerous opponent which can attract disaffected Trump voters, because her program reminds them Trump unfulfilled 2016 promises and first of all jobs and better Social protection from unemployment and critical illnesses. Just reading his promises by Warren can have a devastating effect of Trump.

So the working hypothesis should be that here Trump mixed vengeance with a honest desire to investigate corruption of a high level US official. During the Obama presidency, Biden was the US proconsul for Ukraine, and not only he was involved in many corruption schemes, he was heavily involved in February 2014 coups d'état. The head of the CIA-linked STRATFOR called Ukraine “the most blatant coup in history.” Several thousand Ukrainians were killed over a million displaced. Ukraine lost several territories.

In Ukraine the USA deviated from its longstanding policy of supporting constitutional order governance, allied with far right nationalists and smashed the constitutional order installing marionette far right government ( Nulandgate ) . On the part of the USA this was done to achieve geopolitical goals of weakening Russia. On the part of EU this was done for expanding EU economic “Lebensraum” into xUSSR space.  Subsequent Provisional Government of Yatsenyuk-Turchinov, and President Poroshenko were just the USA/EU marionette. Poroshenko was a known agent of US influence in Ukraine even before the February 2014 events. So it is not surprising that during 2016 campaign he acted as Clinton stooge and willing Russiagate helper.

A very plausible version of the story is as following (The Plundering of Ukraine by Corrupt American Democrats, by Israel Shamir - The Unz Review): 

After the 2014 coup, IMF demanded to raise the price of gas for the domestic consumer to European levels, and the new president Petro Poroshenko obliged them. The prices went sky-high. The Ukrainians were forced to pay many times more for their cooking and heating; and huge profits went to coffers of the gas companies. Instead of raising taxes or lowering prices, President Poroshenko demanded the gas companies to pay him or subsidise his projects. He said that he arranged the price hike; it means he should be considered a partner.

Burisma Gas company had to pay extortion money to the president Poroshenko. Eventually its founder and owner Mr Nicolai Zlochevsky decided to invite some important Westerners into the company’s board of directors hoping it would moderate Poroshenko’s appetites. He had brought in Biden’s son Hunter, John Kerry, Polish ex-President Kwasniewski; but it didn’t help him.

Poroshenko became furious that the fattened calf may escape him, and asked the Attorney General Shokin to investigate Burisma trusting some irregularities would emerge. AG Shokin immediately discovered that Burisma had paid these ‘stars’ between 50 and 150 thousand dollar per month each just for being on the list of directors. This is illegal by the Ukrainian tax code; it can’t be recognised as legitimate expenditure.

At that time Biden the father entered the fray. He called Poroshenko and gave him six hours to close the case against his son. Otherwise, one billion dollars of the US taxpayers’ funds won’t pass to the Ukrainian corruptioners. Zlochevsky, the Burisma owner, paid Biden well for this conversation: he received between three and ten million dollars, according to different sources.

AG Shokin said he can’t close the case within six hours; Poroshenko sacked him and installed Mr Lutsenko in his stead. Lutsenko was willing to dismiss the case of Burisma, but he also could not do it in a day, or even in a week. Biden, as we know, could not keep his trap shut: by talking about the pressure he put on Poroshenko, he incriminated himself. Meanwhile Mr Shokin gave evidence that Biden put pressure on Poroshenko to fire him, and now it was confirmed. The evidence was given to the US lawyers in connection with another case, Firtash case.

... ... ...

Two years ago, (that is already under President Trump) the United States began to investigate the allocation of 3 billion dollars; it was allocated in 2014, in 2015, in 2016; one billion dollars per year. The investigation showed that the documents were falsified, the money was transferred to Ukraine, and stolen. The investigators tracked each payment, discovered where the money went, where it was spent and how it was stolen.

As a result, in October 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice opened a criminal case for “Abuse of power and embezzlement of American taxpayers’ money”. Among the accused there are two consecutive Finance Ministers of the Ukraine, Mrs Natalie Ann Jaresko who served 2014-2016 and Mr Alexander Daniluk who served 2016-2018, and three US banks. The investigation caused the USAID to cease issuing grants since August 2019. As Trump said, now the US does not give away money and does not impose democracy.

The money was allocated with the flagrant violation of American law. There was no risk assessment, no audit reports. Normally the USAID, when allocating cash, always prepares a substantial package of documents. But the billions were given to Ukraine completely without documents. The criminal case on the embezzlement of USAID funds had been signed personally by the US Attorney General, so these issues are very much alive.

Sam Kislin was involved in this investigation. He is a good friend and associate of Giuliani, Trump’s lawyer and an ex-mayor of New York. Kislin is well known in Kiev, and I have many friends who are Sam’s friends [said Tsarev]. I learned of his progress, because some of my friends were detained in the United States, or interrogated in Ukraine. They briefed me about this. It appears that Burisma is just the tip of the scandal, the tip of the iceberg. If Trump will carry on, and use what was already initiated and investigated, the whole headquarters of the Democratic party will come down. They will not be able to hold elections. I have no right to name names, but believe me, leading functionaries of the Democratic party are involved.

Poroshenko was aware of that; he gave orders to declare Sam Kislin persona non grata. Once the old man (he is over 80) flew into Kiev airport and he was not allowed to come in; he spent the night in detention and was flown back to the US next day. Poroshenko had been totally allied with Clinton camp.

Of course, mentioning Biden in his phone call was a strategic mistake, and Trump now will pay the price.  Obama/Brennan faction  was not sleeping and realized that it can golden opportunity for the counterattack. 

The real reason of this recent bout of rage by the Deep State against Trump is probably that there are the multiple skeletons in the Ukrainian closets left after 2016 elections  (especially related to CrowdStrike as well as getting dirt of Trump via Alexandra Chalupa.)  After Barr visit to Italy, the Deep staters felt the real danger and acted accordingly: they launched a pre-emptive attack as the offence is the best form of defense.  In other words they want to sink  Barr and Durham  investigation into the roots of the Trump-Russia collusion hoax.

Looks like John Brennan went out of channels to solicit Five Eyes help in running sting operations. It is perfectly appropriate that Barr is seeking cooperation from Australia, Italy and Ukraine in pursuing possible criminal misconduct by FBI, CIA and other Federal employees. And the role of CrowdStrike in unleashing Russiagate should be investigated  as some facts suggest that they converted internal leak of DNC document in Russian intrusion by running a false flag operation, possibly from their Ukrainian servers.  In other words it was Crowdstrike specialists who broke into those servers with the specific goal to implicate Russians.  Now with Ukrainian material it became more plausible that while DNC was a leak by and disgruntled insider (possible Seth Rich), there was an subsequent to the leak additional operation of CIA with the goal to frame  Russia in the leak in which Ukrainians participated. False flag operations are  CIA specialty.

But it was much less  appropriate for Trump to touch the issue of biden corruption in his conversation with Zelensky, while he is on the campaign trail. this matter belongs tothe Department of justice which is obligated to investigate corruption of US officials in foreign territories due to the existence  of the  Foreign Corrupt Practices Acc of 1977

All-in-all Ukrainegate is probably more of a product of the sufferings on John Brennan and Co after the collapse of Mueller witch hunt -- a preemptive counterattack against Barr investigation of Russiagate origins.

"Foreign influence on the USA elections"  part of Ukrainegate is a complete fake

The most funny thing in this story is that Ukraine can't exert any foreign influence as n no way it is an independent country. So the "foreign influence" claim  is just a sad, cruel joke. Since 2014 coup d'état (aka EuroMaydan  color revolution, courtesy of Victoria "F*ck EU" Nuland) is fully controlled from Washington. So any reference about "foreign power" here is completely hypocritical.

Tha means that for all all practical purposes Ukrainegate should be viewed as Russiagate 2.0. It is a continuation of CIA/FBI/State Department  attempts to depose Trump under false pretences. It helps CIA-democrats to hide evidence and create another constant pressure point on Trump. They also expect that the impeachment investigation in the House will put enough dirt of Trump to increase their chances in 2020 election.

As s side effect of Ukrainegate is that it sanctified arms supplies to Ukraine as the issue that enjoy bipartisan consensus. While Trump behave way too clumsy and sleazy,  the wisdom of supplying arms to Ukraine to prolong war in Donbass is greatly suspect.  Obama who initiated the 2014 coup d'état in Ukraine later tried to avoid supplied arms to Ukraine despite the pressure from hawks in his cabinet, Only under Trump Ukraine got Javelins which no might end in God know which hands.

In his Sept. 29, 2019 post "CIA sets terms for Democrats: impeachment inquiry into Trump’s crimes’, Joseph Kishore reports:

“The scandal over the Ukraine call has been instigated by the intelligence agencies. It was a CIA agent in the White House who prepared the report that is the basis of the inquiry. It was the decision by a group of Democrats drawn from the military and intelligence agencies that led Pelosi and Schiff, both with longstanding ties to these same agencies, to shift from their previous opposition to impeachment."

The more interesting thing is, why did Pelosi agreed to the impeachment inquiry? Of course, it removed Biden from the list of contenders, which is probably good because he's lost it. But more importantly it creates real and sustainable anti-Trump sentiment among electorate. She wants a nominee who will keep the status quo and defeat Trump.  Looks like they are currently putting all the apples in the Warren bucket. But Warren promises are far to the left of any establishment stooge and unless she is co-opted like Trump, think might became interesting.

Christopher Neiweem who is a GOP strategist said for all we know the Warren campaign could be pushing the story hoping indirectly take down both Biden and Trump.

Intelligence community strikes back

The catalyst for impeachment is the alleged CIA whistleblower and the team of intelligence community officials he is going to bat for. Trump picked a fight with the wrong crowd. Now, they’re fighting back, with the Constitution in one hand and evidence of Trump’s corruption in the other. Game on.

You might call this team, collectively, “Deep State Throat.” They’re a deep state, all right, but not like Trump thinks. They’re not rogues. They’re patriots. Let’s just buckle up and watch how this plays out over the coming weeks and months.

To me, the whistleblower appears to have taken a leadership role [ of the whole team ], sticking his neck out to protect subordinates in the intelligence community while conveying their information to appropriate authorities through appropriate channels. It’s easy to see how the intelligence community inspector general steered it to the Congressional Intelligence Committees, under the cover of great credibility

The sentence "They’re a deep state, all right, but not like Trump thinks. They’re not rogues. They’re patriots." is pure bullshit. They are rogues. They've anointed themselves as "saviors of democracy". Ignoring the fact that democracy requires elections, not deep state manipulation. Like it or not, Trump won the 2016 election under the rules in place at the time. While his actions as the President raise many objections, nothing he had done rises to an impeachable offense. And nobody has the right to overturn that election except voters in the next election. So this is nothing but a Praetorian guard coup against the president. in best Rome traditions.

Trump is a horrible president who is doing some very bad things, but this issue is not one on which Dems could built a solid impeachment case. It amounts to an attempted coup. Trumps "crimes" were to ask that Ukraine cooperate with the Attorney General's investigations. Anyone that has seen Biden's disgusting, arrogant comments at the Council on Foreign Relations would have to agree with Trump that it "sounds horrible." If you want evidence of withholding aid for political purposes you need look no farther than Biden and Obama. What sickens me, however, is how completely the MSM bough this narrative. They never mention Biden's comments at the Council of Foreign Relations. They never mention that the fired Prosecutor General testified that he was fired because he made Biden unhappy. They misconstrue, they misdirect and they simply lie. This, unfortunately, is not new. Recall Russiagate and the lead up to the invasion of Iraq, among other things. Trump is often called a fascist, but compared to John Brennon, John Bolton, their like-minded colleagues and their enablers, Trump is a rank and incompetent amateur whose great sin is to fuck up the US descent into neofascism.

Interestingly, the same neocon/neolib alliance which endorsed George W. Bush's case for war with Iraq is pretty much the same alliance that is now, all these years later, braying for confrontation with Russia. Including the same cast of characters reading from the Iraq-war era playbook.

The prevailing sentiment of the media establishment during the months prior to the disastrous March 2003 invasion of Iraq was that of certainty: George Tenet's now infamous assurance to President Bush, that the case against Iraq was a "slam drunk," was essentially what major newspapers and television news outlets were telling the American people at the time.

The Bush administration cynically engaged in what we would today call a "disinformation campaign against its own citizens" by planting false stories abroad, safe in the knowledge that these stories would "bleed over" and be picked up by the American press.

The Bush II neocons were able to launder what were essentially "fake news" stories, such as the aluminum tubes fabrication , by leaking to Michael R. Gordon and Judith Miller of The New York Times. We see the  same set of well coordinated leaks here.

By 2002, no one had any right to be surprised by what Bush and Cheney were up to; since at least 1898 (when the U.S. declared war on Spain under the pretense of the fabricated Hearst battle cry "Remember the Maine!") American governments have repeatedly lied in order to promote their agenda abroad. And in 2002-3, the media walked in lock step with yet another administration in pushing for an unnecessary and costly war.

Like The New York Times, The Washington Post also relentlessly pushed the administration's case for war with Iraq. According to the journalist Greg Mitchell , "By the Post 's own admission, in the months before the war, it ran more than 140 stories on its front page promoting the war." All this, while its editorial page assured readers that the evidence Colin Powell presented to the United Nations on Iraq's WMD program was "irrefutable." According to the Post, it would be "hard to imagine" how anyone could doubt the administration's case.

But the Post was hardly alone in its enthusiasm for Bush's war. Among the most prominent proponents of the Iraq war was The New Yorker's Jeffrey Goldberg , who, a full year prior to the invasion, set out to link Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda. Writing for The New Yorker in March 2002, Goldberg retailed former CIA Director James Woolsey's opinion that "It would be a real shame if the C.I.A.'s substantial institutional hostility to Iraqi democratic resistance groups was keeping it from learning about Saddam's ties to Al Qaeda in northern Iraq."

Indeed, according to Goldberg , "The possibility that Saddam could supply weapons of mass destruction to anti-American terror groups is a powerful argument among advocates of regime change," while Saddam's "record of support for terrorist organizations, and the cruelty of his regime make him a threat that reaches far beyond the citizens of Iraq."

We see Deja Vu All Over Again in  case of a smooth transition of Russiagate into Russiagate 2.0 (aka Ukrainegate).

From Ukraine With Love: The real story of Biden corruption

In Ukraine the USA deviated from its longstanding policy of supporting constitutional order governance, allied with far right nationalists and smashed the constitutional order installing marionette far right government ( Nulandgate ) . On the part of the USA this was done to achieve geopolitical goals of weakening Russia. On the part of EU this was done for expanding EU economic "Lebensraum" into xUSSR space.

After the coup the fleecing of Ukrainian population by the new team of oligarchs who supported the coup started and the USA politicians and Ukrainian diaspora jointed this with great enthusiasm.  As the result the standard of living in Ukraine dropped at least to the half of very low level that existed in  2014 and currency depreciated ~300% (or 60% per year, although the process was uneven). Now Ukraine is the poorest country in Europe.

When DemoRats (Clinton wing of Democratic Party) dusted off and added Joe Biden to the already overclouded roster of candidates  (and falsified polls to show that he is a leader and thus artificially created a following for his candidacy), that was clearly a move directed on reelection of Trump, a very favorable for Trump event.  And it is true that DemoRats are afraid of Bernie Sanders more then of Trump.

In September three House committees announced earlier this month that they were investigating whether Trump used the withholding of military aid as leverage to get Ukraine’s new President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to probe the Bidens — an allegation that has been bolstered by a  "whistle-blower"( this person is not a whistle-blower but a leaker, as we are talking about potentially criminal actions by Biden which falled under Foreign Corrupt Practices Act , and which do deserve investigation both by the Ukrainian side and the Department of Justice)  complaint from inside the  intelligence community. Which makes it similar to Steele dossier. 

Democrats risked to discover that in the released transcript Trump did not cross the line and at this point you can say good-buy to Creepy Joe as the leader of the pack, if not as a candidate. So it could well be  that the "whistle-blower" is Warren sympathizer within the intelligence community and the whole operation was devised  to prop-up Warren and hurt Trump in best Russiagate style. Looks like powerful faction within the intelligence community clearly had a candidate in 2016. Do they also have one in 2020?

The US authorities now are obligated to conduct a full-scale inquiry of Biden behavior, but what is even worse tis that it will add a lot of additional air time to allegations about Biden criminality, linking their party’s 2020 presidential front-runner to Clinton family corruption.

The last thing Democrats want is another candidate on the defensive, after Trump was rolled over Hillary 2016.”  Also in view of the scandal voters may think Biden not only just too old to be the President, but that maybe that he carries was too much neoliberal baggage. The whistleblower incident is more likely to end the political career of Biden. The whole matter involving his son’s foreign business dealings not only raises unflattering questions but also provides plenty of reminders about his life in the swamp. Trump practically has been defined by his ability to outlive Democratic “witch hunts.'”

Trump probably will crush Creepy Joe even with all the negative factors he now has, or will acquire.  Creepy Joe (as WaPo nicknamed him) has three major skeletons in the closet:

  1. his narcoaddict son magically escaped justice when a crack pipe was found in his rental car
  2. Biden role in Ukrainian events which are disgusting if not outright criminal. Later after the EuroMaydan events he instrumental if firing Ukrainian Chief Persecutor to squash investigating of gas company Burisma (where his some do some reason got a position in the board of the company) which paid around $50K a month to his son) and his son financial dealings with China.  So his son fleeced impoverished Ukraine where standard living dropped 2-3 times after Euromaydan, which was converted into the debt slave of the  West and where most population live of $2 a day or less.

    The fact of the matter is that Hunter wasn’t on the board because of his expertise in Eastern European energy issues. He’s part of a long tradition of nepotism when family members of influential politicians profiting off a sense that it’s politically and economically useful to cultivate these connections.

    not to mention his past as the  "mentor" of Yanukovich whom he later backstabbed
  3. His China dealings also need careful investigation, and interpretation of some actions by Biden family in view of trade war with China might be very damaging for Biden.

At night on September 24, 2019 Pelosi  have announced they will pursue impeachment charges against President Trump because an unverified, hearsay whistleblower made a complaint about a phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski. 

In response Trump published the transcript of the call. Trump’s move to release the un-redacted transcripts of the phone call was the right move. But Dems did not stop. They just moved goalposts.

There are few hard facts: a leak claims a whistleblower in the intelligence community believes that during a July 25 phone call, Trump made unspecified “promises” to the Ukrainian president in return for his investigating Biden family corruption. The whistleblower did not have direct knowledge of what was said, and may have read a transcript or summary. Trump knew the call was monitored by multiple people yet said whatever he said anyway

The actual words matter a lot. If this whole thing looks like a dance around some flippant statement by the president about investigating corruption that may involve the Biden family turning it into a quid pro quo accusation, it will fail spectacularly with voters. If we all have to become whistleblower law experts the same way we all were obstruction experts just a few weeks ago, it fails.

Yet while the actual words matter, it should not be lost that none of what Trump was supposed to have really done — using military aid to get dirt on Biden — happened.  

No one claims the Ukrainians investigated Biden at Trump’s demand (and Dems insist there was no Biden wrongdoing anyway, so an investigation would be for naught). It is thus a big problem in this narrative that the long-promised military aid to the Ukraine was only delayed and then paid out, as if the bribe was given for nothing in return—which makes it hardly a bribe. Trump is apparently bad at bribing. Even though he made the decision to temporarily withhold the aid for some reason, the Ukrainians were never even told about it until weeks after the “extortion” phone call, meaning nobody’s arm got knowingly twisted. So no bribe was given, or to the Ukrainians’ knowledge, no money withheld.

In previous case FBI plot to entrap Trump with Moscow hotel  led to the Dems claim that they see a smoking gun. But there is no body on the ground under the muzzle. So will this devolve into another complicated thought crime, another “conspiracy” to commit without the committal?

“No explicit quid pro quo is necessary to betray your country,” helpfully tweeted Adam Schiff, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, a member of Congress Pro-isreal lobby. He does not even understand how right he is.

People became way too cynical following the collapse of Russiagate for Dems to have any level of success in derailing Trump.

Hunter Biden’s American-based firm, Rosemont Seneca Partners LLC, was hired by the Ukrainian natural gas firm, Burisma Holdings in 2014. They gave Hunter Biden a seat on their board and paid Biden’s firm an average of $166,000 a month during his employment with them. The problem? Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin in the Ukraine started a widespread corruption probe into Burisma Holdings with specific plans to look at all board members – including Joe Biden’s son.  (Source)

As Vice President, Joe Biden traveled to Ukraine to give them the news that the United States was going to be granting Ukraine $1 Billion in loan guarantees. While there, he threatened to pull the guarantees if they did not fire Prosecutor Shokin, who was investigating the firm Biden’s son was a board member of. (Source)

Sure enough, Ukraine folded in order to not risk losing the loan guarantees and fired Prosecutor Shokin. The corruption investigation into Burisma Holdings was abandoned and no charges were brought against the firm or Hunter Biden. Last year, Joe Biden bragged on video about personally strong-arming the Ukrainians into firing the prosecutor. (Source)

Is military assistance to Ukraine in the USA national interest, or this is a dangerous continuation of neocon foreign policy

The US neocons announced "iron support" for military assistance to Ukraine. They noted that Washington views military support for Kiev as serving the USA  national interest.

“Support by the United States for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine remains iron, and the US sees support for Ukraine through military assistance as an important national interest,” the US embassy in Kiev said.

On September 12, 2019 the US Senate Committee on Costs approved the allocation of $ 250 million to Ukraine to support the country's armed forces.  In other words the USA continue Cold War2 increasing the danger of World War III which would wipe our both the USA and Russia from the face of the Earth.

The interesting part of this phase of Cold War II is the role of intelligence agencies in unleashing and sustaining it. Which made intelligence agencies  an important political force in the USA, and as such the slide of the USA to the neofascist model of governance, which is reflected in the term the Deep State.  Barann is the face of those tendencies.  

Due to Ukraine-gate Biden is down and soon will be out Warren emerged as the most probable nominee

The most logical reading of the situation, based on known facts is that Biden gone, the corporate Dems such as Kamala Harris are much weaker..

Biden got in big trouble and the most natural path for him is down and put. He can't recover from the barrage of Ukraine-related dirt and deny his connection to his narcoaddict son; Ukraine+China factor will sink him sooner or later.

Warren looks like the net beneficiary of Pelosi initiated impeachment hearrings. This is the only silver lining in this dark cloud.

But please note that "Full of Schiff" candidates, the candidates that endorsed the impeachment (the list that includes Warren, only Tulsi has thecorage to abstain) might sill later regret jumping into this bandwagon. Because resulting polarization greatly favors Trump. Here we again will be completely distracted from real and complex issues facing the country into yet another senseless mud slinging match courtesy to Obama/Brennan faction in CIA. And that favors Trump.

With some PR skills Trump now can definitely present Warren as "yet another corrupt neoliberal"  hell bent of trating corruption within Dem Party, including the corruption of Clinton family differently from everybody else, ruthless female opportunist who tries to capitalize on her identity and resorts to dirty tricks to get to power. Or, worse, as a malleable pretender without any spine. Iether already controlled by the establishment, or candidate which establishment will have for lunch in two or three months since inauguration (as happened with Trump ;-)

Both variants pose some danger for her candidacy.

The Damocles sword of Senate trial hangs over Schiff

President Trump said he wants an impeachment trial in the Senate if the House impeaches him. If Republiucan  senators, who will control this process want that can drag Pelosi, Schiff and company via all the Obama and intelligence agencies dirt  and completely destroy Dems chances of winning 2020 depicting them as plotter, who wanted to overthrow legitimately elected President by any means possible.

Speaking to Fox & Friends the president claimed he wants a trial in the Senate. Host Brian Kilmeade responded, “You want a trial?” Trump replied, “Oh, I would! Look, number one, they should never, ever impeach. I watched, I watched five people on your network yesterday say there’s nothing here. Andy McCarthy, how about Ken, special prosecutor,” Trump said. Kilmeade interjected: “Ken Starr.” “Special counsel. Ken Starr, he was fantastic, he said there’s nothing here. So ready? Number one, there should never be an impeachment. This is not an impeachment,” Trump concluded.

The president's remarks come a day after White House counsel Pat Cipollone signaled during a meeting with key Senate Republicans that Trump has concluded he has more to gain politically from presenting a detailed defense at trial than from the GOP preventing a trial from happening at all.

 

Top Visited
 Switchboard
Latest
Past week
Past month

NEWS CONTENTS

Old News ;-)

Home 2099 2020 2019 2018 2017

For the list of top articles see Recommended Links section

[Apr 14, 2021] After The Bear Showed Its Teeth The Ukraine Filed For Peace

Now it looks more and more like a deliberate provocation. With Ukraine striving to get attention and the USA striving to stop NS2.
Notable quotes:
"... The new 2020/2024 Russia/Ukraine transit gas contract is 'pump or pay' in that Russia pays $7B over 5 years regardless of whether gas is shipped or not. So it doesn't matter if the volume drops. I am actually surprised that it has given the still harsh weather in Europe. ..."
"... Meanwhile more figures are out on NS2 and it looks, given good weather, that both Fortuna and AC could finish pipe laying in both Danish and German waters by the end of May. So operational by the end as of year as stated by Gazprom looks on the cards, if not earlier. ..."
"... I suspect that the US and its NATO lapdogs are playing a distraction game. And I think that the Russian government knows this; but also realizes that the Western nations are cirrently in the grips of madcap rulers. Thus Russia is not taking any chance. One can bet that, as the whole empire crashes, it would like to bring down as much of humanity down with it as it can. The future of the earth is not bright. ..."
"... The Oil Shock only added to the 1973-75 recession. The Oil Shock was political in nature, and somewhat coordinated with the USG itself. The deeper causes of the early 70s economic crisis, and of the end of Bretton Woods, was declining profitability across all advanced capitalist states. See Robert Brenner's book, The Economics of Global Turbulence. ..."
"... Nuland et al may be trying to show themselves loyal agents of Israel, testing whether Russia can be distracted from Syria, or pretending to raise the cost of NS2. Russia and China could make balanced moves in the Caribbean to tame the bullies, but may see no advantage in counterthreats. ..."
"... This will be followed by an attack on the two Republics, dead bodies everywhere, un indisputable reason to convince the Germans with to scrap Nord-2. ..."
"... I am wondering if this might be an advantage for Russia and other countries in the mid to long term, that their companies are forced to master all the complex technologies involved as fast as possible? Maybe they will even become competitors to their western equivalents? ..."
Apr 14, 2021 | www.moonofalabama.org
Jamesp , Apr 10 2021 14:58 utc | 1

First the Ukraine said it would use force to recover the renegade Donbass region as well as Crimea. It then moved heavy troops towards the contact lines. The ceasefire at the contact line was broken multiple times per day. Several Ukrainian soldiers died while attempting to remove a minefield in preparation of an attack.

It became clear that a war in Ukraine's east was likely to soon braek out. A successful war would help Ukraine's president Zelensky with the ever increasing domestic crises. A war would also give the U.S. more influence in Europe . The U.S. and NATO promised "unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty".

Russia gave several verbal warnings that any Ukrainian attack on the renegade provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk or Crimea would cause a serious Russian intervention. There was never a chance that the U.S. or NATO would intervene in such a war. But it was only after Russia started to move some of its troops around that sanity set in. It dawned on the Ukrainian leadership that the idea of waging war against a nuclear armed superpower was not a good one.

Late yesterday it suddenly decided to file for peace (machine translation):

The Armed Forces ruled out the use of force to "liberate" Donbass

KIEV, April 9 - RIA Novosti. "Liberation" of Donbass by force will lead to mass deaths of civilians and servicemen, and this is unacceptable for Kiev, said Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ruslan Khomchak.

"Being devoted to universal human values ​​and norms of international humanitarian law, our state puts the lives of its citizens in the first place," the General Staff's press center quoted him as saying.

According to Khomchak, the Ukrainian authorities consider the political and diplomatic way to resolve the situation in Donbass a priority. At the same time, he added that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are ready for an adequate response both to the escalation of the conflict and to "the complication of the military-political and military-strategic situation around the country."

Zelensky himself chipped in (machine translated):

Zelensky spoke for a truce in Donbass

MOSCOW, April 9 - RIA Novosti. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the need for a new truce in Donbass after visiting the contact line.

The head of state wrote on Facebook that shooting at the front lines had become "a dangerous routine." "After several months of observing a complete and general ceasefire, we returned to the need to establish a truce," Zelensky said.

As the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ruslan Khomchak emphasized earlier, the use of force to "liberate" Donbass is unacceptable for Kiev, as it is fraught with casualties among the civilian population and military personnel. At the same time, last week he said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will strengthen the grouping of troops in the Donbass and in the Crimean direction - in response to the "build-up" of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine.

It seems that order has come from Washington to stand down - at least for now. U.S. reconnaissance flights near Russia's border continue . One should therefore consider that the sudden call for a renewed ceasefire might be a ruse.

But if it is not why was all of this allowed to happen in the first place?

Posted by b on April 10, 2021 at 14:44 UTC | Permalink

It would be so beneficial to Russia in so many ways to fix the Ukraine problem once and for all, that America is now backpedalling fast and hoping the Russians do not get their fix. They want this to continue to be a set of problems for Russia. Avoiding a war would be great for all, but if the West thinks they can resume this contentious scenario, they will find they are wrong. I am willing to bet that most common citizens of ukraine are sick of all this vitriol and tension, crashing economy, and other hardships. Maybe the majority will finally speak up and get their say.

JohninMK , Apr 12 2021 22:42 utc | 160

Stonebird @ 155

The new 2020/2024 Russia/Ukraine transit gas contract is 'pump or pay' in that Russia pays $7B over 5 years regardless of whether gas is shipped or not. So it doesn't matter if the volume drops. I am actually surprised that it has given the still harsh weather in Europe.

Meanwhile more figures are out on NS2 and it looks, given good weather, that both Fortuna and AC could finish pipe laying in both Danish and German waters by the end of May. So operational by the end as of year as stated by Gazprom looks on the cards, if not earlier.

andreweed , Apr 10 2021 15:04 utc | 2

"why was all of this allowed to happen in the first place?"

because this is what bullies do. and when they sense they are about to lose in a fight, they ask for peace.

Mao Cheng Ji , Apr 10 2021 15:25 utc | 5

Once again, the World is saved. Pure West-emitted Goodness stopped The Dark Lord Putin in his tracks.

Jackrabbit , Apr 10 2021 15:38 utc | 7

At the same time, last week he said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will strengthen the grouping of troops in the Donbass and in the Crimean direction - in response to the "build-up" of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine.

If war is really unacceptable to Ukraine why aren't they pulling back their forces?

1) Because the "Russian aggression' propaganda must continue until Nord Stream 2 is terminated.

2) Because the threat of a war with NATO-supported Ukraine must be sustained to deter Russia in Idlib and elsewhere.

!!

Don , Apr 10 2021 15:42 utc | 8

@MapleLeaf

The only deterrent US ships provide is the type that Russia wants to avoid engaging the US directly for fear of an eventual nuclear exchange. Otherwise, those ships provide no challenge to their military capabilities.

I submit the ships are there to encourage Zelensky to take a risk thinking the US has his back. But it appears even he isn't this dumb and this whole thing is going to blow over as I predicted a week or two ago.

imo , Apr 10 2021 15:44 utc | 9

So, was it always about bluff, theater and optics? ... Or did they simply lose their will to die young? I guess Zelensky is a bad-joke comedian after all. He gets the local nazis off his neck (for a while) by being a bold bad-ass boy and passing ideological laws (far from reality); and then goes listen to the frontline generals as they explain the suicidal meaning of his comic bluster. Being an actor, it's all just a stage for a gig, it seems. So, now he tells his pet nazi thugs that Ruslan Khomchak has their phone numbers. Perhaps now that Phil-the-(UK)Greek has died the Nato biolabs will be working on the next 'Plan B' reincarnation-virus pandemic mix. Sputnik-V 2.0 better be ready soon.

bevin , Apr 10 2021 16:25 utc | 13

Maybe I missed it but there were elections in Ukraine last Sunday and
"The new Verkhovna Rada (parliament) of the Ukraine, elected on Sunday, will have an overwhelming national mandate to negotiate peace terms to end the five-year civil war.

"Sluha Narodu ("Servant of the People"), the party of President Volodymyr Zelensky, having won more than 43% of the votes countrywide, will now command majorities of both the party-list and the single-constituency seats in the new parliament; 253 seats altogether out of 422, or a "mono-coalition" as the party is calling the result, or as the hostile Ukrainian media term it, "a landslide [which] has never occurred in the contemporary history of Ukraine and it is more typical for post-Soviet Asian dictatorships..."

"...This beats earlier pollster predictions that Zelensky would be forced into a coalition with Holos ("The Voice"), a US-invented spoiler organization of Lvov region (Galicia) led by pop singer, Svyatoslav Vakarchuk. He ended up with less than 6% of the national votes, fewer than forecast. Holos has proved to be neither the voice of youth, nor an organization without oligarch support (it was backed by Victor Pinchuk), nor a political party at all.

"Polling better than predicted was the Donbass (Donetsk, Lugansk regions) party, Opposition Platform led by Victor Medvedchuk, which ended up with 13% nationally; 48% in Lugansk; 42% in Donetsk; 24% in Odessa; and 19% in Nikolaev. If the additional votes of the eastern Opposition Bloc of Boris Kolesnikov and Vadim Novinsky are counted with Medvedchuk's aggregate, together they have drawn majorities of 53% to 54%, putting Zelensky's party in the east in a minority.

"This is the first time democracy has defeated a US Government-installed putsch and junta in Europe since the election of Andreas Papandreou's Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) in 1982."

According to John Helmer "President Volodomyr Zelensky (right) is suffering from memory failure, mood swings, and other neurological disorders after his hospitalisation for Covid-19 five months ago..." The obvious theory is that Zelensky was playing for time while giving the ultra fascists and their Canadian sponsors free rein until the elections gave the Ukrainian people- powerless political flotsam and jetsam, tossed around by Ottawa Nazis, Anglo imperialism and a corrupt oligarchy which has been robbing everyone in sight, blind since time immemorial a chance to indicate that it would be an extremely dumb move to attack Russia. Amongst other reasons, because the average Ukrainian would very likely side with the Russians against their ancient persecutors the Poles and Balts.

For Helmer:
http://johnhelmer.net/reminder-of-july-21-2019-for-democrats-suffering-acute-memory-failure/#more-46171

psychohistorian , Apr 10 2021 16:25 utc | 14

b wrote
"
It seems that order has come from Washington to stand down - at least for now. U.S. reconnaissance flights near Russia's border continue. One should therefore consider that the sudden call for a renewed ceasefire might be a ruse.

But if it is not why was all of this allowed to happen in the first place?
"

Good question. It fits with the characterization of late empire flailing at trying to exert/maintain control over global narratives. Empire keeps hoping that Russia and China back down because they have no other options than bullying. This is just the latest example of the bully being faced up to.....thank you Mr. Putin!....we just hope the bully goes down without taking all the rest of us with it.

Steve , Apr 10 2021 16:44 utc | 16

I suspect that the US and its NATO lapdogs are playing a distraction game. And I think that the Russian government knows this; but also realizes that the Western nations are cirrently in the grips of madcap rulers. Thus Russia is not taking any chance. One can bet that, as the whole empire crashes, it would like to bring down as much of humanity down with it as it can. The future of the earth is not bright.

AriusArmenian , Apr 10 2021 16:58 utc | 19
If Ukraine doesn't start their self-destruction by launching war before end of June then I will believe the danger has passed this year and only because the crazies in the US are hesitating to push the final button.
JohnH , Apr 10 2021 16:59 utc | 20
Meanwhile the New York Times, which always claims to know everything about Russian intentions, is left clueless!
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/09/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war-troops-intervention.html
vk , Apr 10 2021 17:05 utc | 22
But if it is not why was all of this allowed to happen in the first place?

The only plausible explanation is that time isn't in favor of the Ukraine (and maybe the USA). Time is running up.

We should stop seeing capitalism as this unmovable, eternal and indestructible system, and the USA as this eternal and indestructible empire with endless resources. Both presuppositions are entirely false: capitalism and the USA are historically specific phenomena, and they will - 100% certainty - collapse and disappear eventually.

In politics, time is always relative. You know you won't last forever, but you know you don't need to: you just need to last longer than your political enemy. The fact that USA outlived the USSR gave it almost 17 years of incontestable supremacy, even though, analyzing the numbers, we know that the economic apex of the American Empire (its "golden age") was between Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson. The absence of its geopolitical rival resulted in the fact that the American Empire reached its pinnacle during Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, not at the time its people was the most happy, during 1945-1969.

But geopolitical apex doesn't always translate automatically to economic apex. The USA also suffered a lot with the Oil Crisis of 1974, after which it quickly started to financialize and deindustrialize, in a process that was best symbolized by the Nixon Reforms (the creation of the Petrodollar in 1971 with the secret talks with the Saudi royal family and the deal with China in 1972). This crisis was masked solely by the fact that the USSR suffered even more with the Oil Crisis than the USA, resulting into a relative ascension. This relative ascension can be verified by the fact that Ronald Reagan was the most popular POTUS of the post-war USA: his reign was, by all economic metrics, a monumental failure, but it was during his watch that the USSR started to collapse.

Signs of cracks in the USA were already evident when George H. W. Bush wasn't re-elected because of a tax revolt by the electorate. During Bill Clinton, the American Empire gained a lot of breathing space thanks to the absorption of the vital space left by the ex-USSR countries, which were ransacked by the American and, to a lesser extent, German, capitalists (Victoria Nuland's husband, for example, got extremely rich with the privatization of the communications services in ex-Yugoslavia, hence her particular interest in Eastern Europe affairs). But even during Bill Clinton we could already see some dark clouds, e.g. the infamous "twin deficits" increase. Bill Clinton also governed long enough to see the crisis of the Asian Tigers (1997) and the Dotcom Crisis (2000). The dark clouds that would result in the storm of September 2008 were already there, gathering.

Analyzing the economic data, we can clearly see that the USSR wasn't the only one in an age of stagnation: since 1990, only China and SE Asia genuinely grew. If the 21st Century is to be consolidated as the "Asian Century", then a historian of the 22nd Century will have to go back to that year (or even earlier, to the mid-1980s) to try to understand the Asian rise. Growth elsewhere (when it happened) was either vegetative or fruit of a relocation (i.e. rise in inequality, bankruptcy of some sectors in favor of others) of wealth. During the 2000s, almost all the economic growth can be exclusively traced back to China (Russia's and Brazil's commodity booms, SE Asia's continued dynamism due to China's outsourcing or financing of American debt).

The 2008 crisis ended Neoliberalism as a hegemonic ideology. Today's world is still very much neoliberal, but only because the global elites don't know what to do and, either way, it's being implemented in a very distorted way, very far from its ideological purity of the 1990s. No one takes neoliberalism seriously anymore, even among the high echelons of the economics priesthood. Some remnants of neoliberal thought are still alive in the form of some living fossils in Latin America, but its end if fait accompli.

It is in this world that the Ukraine chose to align with the American Empire. To put it simply, it chose the wrong side at the wrong time: it chose the West in an era that's shifting to the East. The euphoria of the fall of socialism masked the degeneration of capitalism that was started at the same time and it particularly impacted the Warsaw Pact (Comecon) and the Western ex-USSR nations.

The Ukraine debacle has two aspects. First of all: the Maidan color revolutionaries clearly envisioned a neonazi, pro-Western Ukraine in its territorial integrity, i.e. with Crimea, Luhansk and Donbas. They didn't see the pro-Russians being well-organized enough to be able to quickly fall back to Russia (Crimea being the most spectacular case, rapidly organizing a referendum and fully integrating with Russia). Those losses are big: without Crimea, Ukraine essentially lost any significant Black Sea influence, and without Donbas + Luhansk, it practically lost all its industry and economy. Donbas specifically was a huge blow to the Ukrainians: since the Tsarist era, it was the most industrialized and advanced region of the Russian Empire (even more than Moscow and St. Petersburg) and it continued to be so during the Soviet Era - three of the main Soviet General-Secretaries of the post-war era came from the region (Krushchev, Brezhnev and Gorbachev).

Secondly, Ukraine, by choosing capitalism, has put itself withing the capitalist metabolic clock. The era of the Marshall Plan is gone. The USA needs wealth and it needs now. It will have to pay tributes to its new metropolis, and the price is high. The USA will settle for nothing less than the entire Ukraine - including the rich regions of the Donbas basin, plus the Crimea (over which its powerful Navy will be able to project into Russian territory). It also won't settle for anything less than a fully NATO-integrated, IMF-controlled Ukraine. That's the price for a full accession to the capitalist club post-2008.

In this sense, Ukraine's time is very short, as it is sucking the IMF dry (financial black hole) and it will collapse soon. The patience of the Empire is short and is getting shorter. As is common with capitalist societies, the Ukraine is also starting to devour itself as it collapses with the lack of vital space: the liberal elites governing it are having to ask themselves how can they get out of this mess without being murdered by the neonazi base that sustains it; at this point, they're more worried about avoiding another Night of the Long Knives than in reconquering the Donbas and Crimea.

The only good aspect I see in the dissolution and extinction of the Ukraine is that it can finally put to rest the myth that Nazism is a brutal, but highly efficient, "system": there's not such a thing - and never was - as a "Nazi system". Germany already was the second industrial superpower by the time Hitler rose to power; he never elaborated any kind of economic theory or even policy, instead delegating it to the already existing (Weimarian) industrial elite. Hitler was just a very powerful cheerleader who dreamed in being an epic movie. There was never such a thing called "national socialism" - it was just the name of the Bavarian party that already existed when Hitler crossed the border; it was by mere chance of destiny that he came from Austria (Southern border) and not Denmark (Northern border), France/Alsace-Lorraine (Western border) or Poland-Sudentenland (Eastern border). Nazism is not a system, it is just crazy liberalism, and I hope the white supremacists and traditionalists in the West take note of that - if they don't want to be crushed.

MarkU , Apr 10 2021 17:28 utc | 27 Prof , Apr 10 2021 17:33 utc | 28
VK
The Oil Shock only added to the 1973-75 recession. The Oil Shock was political in nature, and somewhat coordinated with the USG itself. The deeper causes of the early 70s economic crisis, and of the end of Bretton Woods, was declining profitability across all advanced capitalist states. See Robert Brenner's book, The Economics of Global Turbulence.
oldhippie , Apr 10 2021 17:35 utc | 29

It is more than 24 hours since the initial announcement of a stand down and it would be nice to see some confirmation. Troops withdrawing would be confirmation. If it is happening in is not reported. What we get tends to be like the NYT item cited by John H @ 20. Nothing in that article but fantasy and delusion. The ongoing narrative crowds out facts until nothing is left. No one is as bad as NYT, still it is hard to trust anything we read.

Keeping an army in the field indefinitely is difficult. At minimum the troops must be fed and must be kept busy. Does Ukraine have the wherewithal to do that? I tend to doubt that, and yes, I am speculating. We will find out much later how bad desertion has been. We will find out much later how the hodgepodge of conscripts, mercs, Special Forces, and NATO got along. Reporting from 2014 had it that 600 NATO of every flavor were captured in the Debaltsevo cauldron. If you believe that. I can't see how Ukraine musters and fields another army after this if it is in fact over. More likely future armies will resemble what US manipulates in Syria -- Turks, Uighurs, jihadis from whole planet, mercs.

Domestic politics in Uke have to be crazy. No one can possibly know what is happening except the US Embassy. And they have their brains fogged by a lifetime of NYT fiction. No good locals for them to work with. If there was anyone good we would have seen them by now.

El Cid , Apr 10 2021 17:49 utc | 32

One must be awestruck with the talent the neo cons have for nation destruction. What they created in Ukraine is a virtual post nuclear war. Neither the EU or Russia want this basket-case-failed-Nazi state. Like the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, it has fortified its enemy whom it intended to weaken. Now, Putin has a Hezbollah type ally in the Donetsk and Lugansk region, and it has Russian Crimean back to the Motherland.

jayc , Apr 10 2021 18:02 utc | 34

Rick Rozoff, writing for the Antiwar website, has taken note of other activity - not least next week's scheduled appearances at NATO hdq of both the US Sec State and US Defence sec with Ukraine discussions on agenda.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-09/blinken-is-set-to-return-to-brussels-for-more-nato-meetings

Rozoff also notes that the CC of Ukraine armed forces continues with bluster about Ukraine's "territorial integrity" and invoking NATo Article 5.
https://news.antiwar.com/2021/04/09/ukraines-top-commander-invokes-natos-article-5-military-assistance-clause-as-west-continues-to-oversee-ukraines-war-in-the-donbass/

Sam F , Apr 10 2021 18:10 utc | 35

Nuland et al may be trying to show themselves loyal agents of Israel, testing whether Russia can be distracted from Syria, or pretending to raise the cost of NS2. Russia and China could make balanced moves in the Caribbean to tame the bullies, but may see no advantage in counterthreats.

Such an utter humiliation of the US to pursue such foolish and racist FP, admitting its complete control by money power in all federal branches and mass media.

dadooronron , Apr 10 2021 18:21 utc | 36

As others here suggest, it's possible to read this as a success for the neocons. Ukrainian gov't troop movements set off Russian troop movements, which are then portrayed as aggressive, justifying whatever. It is very hard to believe that they seriously contemplated an attack on Russia's doorstep, or in its antechamber. But the question remains as to how far Zelensky's can has been kicked down the road.

Baron , Apr 11 2021 9:00 utc | 108

It's a trap, the calls for peace, new negotiations and stuff, it's to create the impression that the West and Ukraine are the good boys.

The next stage will be a heap of accusations that Russia is breaking the peace, makes threatening moves, is poised to take over rUkraine.

This will be followed by an attack on the two Republics, dead bodies everywhere, un indisputable reason to convince the Germans with to scrap Nord-2.

Martin , Apr 11 2021 11:07 utc | 114

After foreign pressure, several western companies abandoned building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. For example, the pipes are now laid by the Russian ship Fortuna instead of a Swiss one ( https://www.unz.com/pescobar/ukraine-redux-war-russophobia-and-pipelineistan/).

I am wondering if this might be an advantage for Russia and other countries in the mid to long term, that their companies are forced to master all the complex technologies involved as fast as possible? Maybe they will even become competitors to their western equivalents?

Usually, when governments decide about big industry projects, they demand that their national companies get some orders to profit from the project. Now, it seems reversed. The German government is still not openly against Nord Stream 2, but it has to be finished without some of the companies originally involved.

[Apr 11, 2021] Reject Nord Stream 2 Once and for All

Apr 11, 2021 | www.wsj.com

William Wahl SUBSCRIBER 2 days ago

Just put Hunter on it. He'll fix this right up.
RODNEY SMITH SUBSCRIBER 2 days ago
Where does Burisma stand on the issue? Will be Biden's brief.

[Apr 11, 2021] Reject Nord Stream 2 Once and for All - WSJ by Oleksii Reznikov April 8, 2021 6:37 pm ET
  • SAVE
  • PRINT
  • TEXT
  • 95
A pipe bearing the Nord Stream 2 logo at a plant in Chelyabinsk, Russia, Feb. 26, 2020. PHOTO: MAXIM SHEMETOV/REUTERS
Listen to this article 5 minutes 00:00 / 05:07 1x Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma found himself in the company of a political titan, France's President François Mitterrand, on a gloomy day in December 1994. "Young man, you will be tricked, one way or another," Mitterrand told Mr. Kuchma, who was then the leader of a newly independent nation. Unsettled as he felt, Mr. Kuchma accepted the security assurances of the U.S., U.K. and Russia and signed the Budapest Memorandum. In exchange, Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal, then the third-largest in the world. Little did we know that two decades later one of the signatories -- Russia -- would attack Ukraine and occupy its sovereign territory. Now, after many years of wooing and cajoling, Russia's attitude toward Ukraine is again growing belligerent. The Minsk process to resolve the conflict is stalled, and foreign troops have yet to leave the Donbas, the Ukrainian region where fighting rages on. Despite the supposed cessation of hostilities agreed to in September 2014, when the Minsk protocol was signed, little progress has been made. Ukrainians therefore are bewildered by the continuing construction of the Baltic Sea pipeline, known as Nord Stream 2. Unlike the attack on Crimea, which came as a surprise, the pipeline's completion will have entirely predictable consequences for our national security. Ukraine will be irreparably weakened as soon as Russia has a new direct gas link to Germany. Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma found himself in the company of a political titan, France's President François Mitterrand, on a gloomy day in December 1994. "Young man, you will be tricked, one way or another," Mitterrand told Mr. Kuchma, who was then the leader of a newly independent nation. Unsettled as he felt, Mr. Kuchma accepted the security assurances of the U.S., U.K. and Russia and signed the Budapest Memorandum. In exchange, Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal, then the third-largest in the world. Little did we know that two decades later one of the signatories -- Russia -- would attack Ukraine and occupy its sovereign territory. Now, after many years of wooing and cajoling, Russia's attitude toward Ukraine is again growing belligerent. The Minsk process to resolve the conflict is stalled, and foreign troops have yet to leave the Donbas, the Ukrainian region where fighting rages on. Despite the supposed cessation of hostilities agreed to in September 2014, when the Minsk protocol was signed, little progress has been made. Ukrainians therefore are bewildered by the continuing construction of the Baltic Sea pipeline, known as Nord Stream 2. Unlike the attack on Crimea, which came as a surprise, the pipeline's completion will have entirely predictable consequences for our national security. Ukraine will be irreparably weakened as soon as Russia has a new direct gas link to Germany. Now, after many years of wooing and cajoling, Russia's attitude toward Ukraine is again growing belligerent. The Minsk process to resolve the conflict is stalled, and foreign troops have yet to leave the Donbas, the Ukrainian region where fighting rages on. Despite the supposed cessation of hostilities agreed to in September 2014, when the Minsk protocol was signed, little progress has been made. Ukrainians therefore are bewildered by the continuing construction of the Baltic Sea pipeline, known as Nord Stream 2. Unlike the attack on Crimea, which came as a surprise, the pipeline's completion will have entirely predictable consequences for our national security. Ukraine will be irreparably weakened as soon as Russia has a new direct gas link to Germany. Now, after many years of wooing and cajoling, Russia's attitude toward Ukraine is again growing belligerent. The Minsk process to resolve the conflict is stalled, and foreign troops have yet to leave the Donbas, the Ukrainian region where fighting rages on. Despite the supposed cessation of hostilities agreed to in September 2014, when the Minsk protocol was signed, little progress has been made. Ukrainians therefore are bewildered by the continuing construction of the Baltic Sea pipeline, known as Nord Stream 2. Unlike the attack on Crimea, which came as a surprise, the pipeline's completion will have entirely predictable consequences for our national security. Ukraine will be irreparably weakened as soon as Russia has a new direct gas link to Germany. Ukrainians therefore are bewildered by the continuing construction of the Baltic Sea pipeline, known as Nord Stream 2. Unlike the attack on Crimea, which came as a surprise, the pipeline's completion will have entirely predictable consequences for our national security. Ukraine will be irreparably weakened as soon as Russia has a new direct gas link to Germany. Ukrainians therefore are bewildered by the continuing construction of the Baltic Sea pipeline, known as Nord Stream 2. Unlike the attack on Crimea, which came as a surprise, the pipeline's completion will have entirely predictable consequences for our national security. Ukraine will be irreparably weakened as soon as Russia has a new direct gas link to Germany. With the Nord Stream 1 and Turk Stream pipelines already operational, Nord Stream 2 will complete the encirclement of Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic states, decoupling our energy security from Western Europe. Russia has tried to bully Ukraine by threatening gas cutoffs, most recently in June 2014. But Moscow has always had to be careful -- a large percentage of Russia's gas reaches Europe through Ukraine. If Nord Stream 2 is built, this consideration will be null and void. With the Nord Stream 1 and Turk Stream pipelines already operational, Nord Stream 2 will complete the encirclement of Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic states, decoupling our energy security from Western Europe. Russia has tried to bully Ukraine by threatening gas cutoffs, most recently in June 2014. But Moscow has always had to be careful -- a large percentage of Russia's gas reaches Europe through Ukraine. If Nord Stream 2 is built, this consideration will be null and void. me title=
NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP

Opinion: Morning Editorial Report
Apr 11, 2021 | www.wsj.com

All the day's Opinion headlines. PREVIEW SUBSCRIBE

The Kremlin has demonstrated time and again its willingness to use energy trade to advance its geopolitical ambitions. It would be unwise, if not reckless, for Europe to increase its dependence on Gazprom , Russia's state-owned energy company, and give Moscow direct control over which countries are supplied with gas and which can be cut off.

The current contract between Gazprom and Ukraine's gas-transit operator guarantees the flow of westward exports via Ukraine until the end of 2024. But make no mistake: The day Nord Stream 2 is completed, that promise will be worthless. Even if some transit through Ukraine persists, Ukraine will be subject to the Kremlin's whims.

The fighting in the Donbas, where Russia operates through its proxies, mercenaries and even regular troops, has continued unabated for more than seven years. The gas pipeline has been spared from shelling -- Russia needs uninterrupted gas flows through Ukraine as much as we do. This mutual dependence is a deterrent that Nord Stream 2 will remove.

Ukraine is grateful to the U.S. Congress, which recognized the true nature of this pipeline project, and the European Parliament, which voted 10-to-1 on Jan. 21 to demand a halt to construction with a resolution on the arrest of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny in Moscow.

Germany and Europe already have access to a massive gas-transit network spanning the Black and Baltic seas, Belarus and Ukraine. The existing capacity is more than 50% higher than current consumption of Russian gas in the European Union. Even if the demand increases as Germany is working to phase out nuclear and coal power generation, there is no commercial need for another pipeline.

While Germany has little to gain, Ukraine stands to lose billions of dollars in transit revenue if the second Baltic Sea gas link is built -- a fact that Nord Stream 2 apologists often present as the only basis for Ukrainian opposition. The economic effect will be significant, but the claim is deliberately misleading. Ukrainian soldiers will be putting their lives on the line if Russia decides to escalate the conflict in the Donbas after it no longer needs to consider the effect on gas exports.

Ukraine understands the need to strengthen the trans-Atlantic alliance and the desire to find a solution that works for both Washington and Berlin. It is, however, incumbent on the Kremlin first to demonstrate respect for international law. The ball is in Moscow's court. It can and should end hostilities in the Donbas region, withdraw its troops from the Crimean Peninsula and restore Ukrainian sovereignty.

me title=

President Biden was right to call the pipeline "a bad deal for Europe." As the project inches closer to completion, Ukrainians can't help but recall Mitterrand's words from nearly 30 years ago. Ukraine was tricked, just as the French president predicted. Let us not repeat history but learn from it. We must come together and reject Nord Stream 2 once and for all.

Mr. Reznikov is Ukraine's deputy prime minister for reintegration of the temporarily occupied territories. V

V Lee SUBSCRIBER 1 day ago

The Ukrainian kleptocracy will see their cut shrink or disappear when gas will start flowing via Nord Stream 2. Not "a bad deal for Europe" just for Ukraine.
A Koster SUBSCRIBER 17 hours ago
Did i mention Turkey's role in Syria ?

It's interesting that everyone conveniently fails "to mention the role that gas line geopolitics played in the "fallout" between Erdogan and Assad; as soon as Assad vetoed the Qatar-Turkey pipeline that would have brought massive wealth to his family's energy transshipment business (BMZ Ltd), Assad instead signing on to the Iran-Iraq-Syria "Friendship Pipeline", the friendship was ended and the war on Assad commenced"

A Koster SUBSCRIBER 1 day ago
This article is about one thing.. absolutely nothing to do with a risk to Ukraine's national security

'Ukraine stands to lose billions of dollars in transit revenue if the second Baltic Sea gas link is built"

And Turkey is in there like a dirty shirt.. see "Russia Warns of Full-Scale War in Eastern Ukraine, Blames Kyiv".. like it was with Azerbaijan as they slaughtered thousands of Christians in Armenia.. and all for the first find in the Caspian Sea by Azerbaijan since Russia's breakup.. HINT: they wanted.. not needed.. a direct route west for a pipeline from Azerbaijan to Turkey.. which they got in a Russia brokered peace deal

So i guess congratulations are in order to Biden's NATO as they loyally keep working on enlarging the EU and keeping the oil baron families of Erdogan and Alyiev filthy rich

James Schumaker SUBSCRIBER 1 hour ago
I suggest you look up the Budapest Memorandum. The U.S. gave no guarantees. Like Russia, it gave assurances. I also suggest you stop falling for pro-Trump talking points and look at what Trump actually did with regard to Ukraine. He tried to extort its President into digging up dirt on his main political opponent by threatening to withdraw military aid. That's what he was impeached for -- the first time.
RODNEY SMITH SUBSCRIBER 2 days ago
Where does Burisma stand on the issue? Will be Biden's brief.
Jens Praestgaard SUBSCRIBER 2 days ago
Otto von Bismarck's maxim for the newly formed German state was to always keep cordial relations with Russia. NordStream 2 is a step towards normalization of the German/Russian relationship after 120 years of failure.
Jim Mcdonnell SUBSCRIBER 2 days ago
Bismarck's policy made sense in 19th Century Europe, and had Kaiser Wilhelm II not scuttled it we would be living in a very different world. But he did scuttle it, and the world has changed - largely in ways Bismarck sought to prevent - a great deal, as has Europe.
Heiko Muhr SUBSCRIBER 2 days ago
Bismarck's thoughts about Germany's geopolitical situation are still relevant today. He argued that the map that matters for German politicians is the map of Europe [and since 1945 that frame has been enlarged, has included the US and Canada]. That Germany needed to pay particular attention to relationships with its neighbors. That the country was to small to dominate Europe, and should rely on a system of stable alliances to ensure stability, Ukraine and Russia are neighbors, Bismarck would have seen relationships with both countries as relevant. Communication channels need to be kept open, those relationships need to be managed. One neighbor, Russia, is an authoritarian state and since 2014 more openly aggressive. It needs to be contained and challenged. The US has not been a reliable partner in doing that in the last 4 years under Trump. That might change under a Biden, but will he be able to make and lock in the appropriate policy decisions? We'll see.
John Bute SUBSCRIBER 2 days ago
Germany has made a terrible strategic mistake by abandoning nuclear power to become more and more dependent on Russian natural gas. France gets 70% of its electricity from nuclear power and about 10% from fossil fuel. Only moderate increases in hydro power and renewable energy will make it fossil fuel independent.
Heiko Muhr SUBSCRIBER 2 days ago
German voters make their own decisions about climate change and definitely don't look for US advice. Power plants burning coal and producing nuclear energy are coming off the grid. Natural gas will continue to be important in that mix for quite some time. The Green Party's power is growing. It successfully expanded its electoral base in 2 state elections this spring with broad support from middle class voters. After all, environmentalism is a full belly movement. The Greens will challenge the German Conservatives, Merkel's Christian Democrats, in September at the ballot box in national elections and other state elections. And Merkel will not be on the ballot. Her CDU, which has been consistently the most pro-American party in Europe, finds that pro-American stance is now a big liability. 4 years of the Trump regime. which treated Germans as clients, changed the political landscape. Fewer Germans see the US is as a reliable partner, and that is now true even in Merkel's party.
SCOTT CORE SUBSCRIBER 1 day ago
Germany may view the US as an unreliable partner but they still rely on the US for economic and military protection. Perhaps Germans have replaced the US with NATO in their minds and ignored the fact that the US is the majority of NATO. Where Russia to threaten Germany where do you think Germany would turn? France? UK? China?
So Germans are free to trash Trump for asking them to provide a modicum of their own protection but in the end they will look to the US should they be threatened either economically by a cutoff of gas from Russia or a military threat from Russia.
Heiko Muhr SUBSCRIBER 20 hours ago
Look at Gallup polling data or the Pew Research Center's data in its Global attitudes program. In many countries Trump ranked even below Xi or Putin. He was perceived as the bigger threat--unstable, angry, without a strategic vision, just a ventilator of his emotions, a middle schooler craving attention, a clown. Yet he made these huge claims, all lies, that the US was respected and listened to. The polling data tells us otherwise. Trump's lying and the hubris that fell from these lies, that is unprecedented.
And now; THE LOSER. The Mouse-of-Mar-a-Lago. But, the Republican Party still follows him.. The man will be remembered as the worst president the US ever had, ranking even below the corrupt Harding and the imbecile Buchanan. The lowest of the low. And as THE LIAR [-->Trump should register that as a trademark]. History books won't be kind to him and the suckers that still gobble up his lies even now after the putsch or whatever you want to call the Capitol "riot." Barnum was right!
michael ring SUBSCRIBER 2 days ago
England and France have their own nuclear deterrents. Europeans just want cheap steady supply of energy. Russia is in the Middle East because Hillary and Obama destroyed Syria and Libya. Bush put us in Iraq and Afghanistan for 20 years! Trump started the withdrawal. Let's hope sleepy preacher Biden continues it.
Heiko Muhr SUBSCRIBER 2 days ago
A little reality check: At the very moment when Washington supposedly champions energy independence and warns European allies against becoming too dependent on Moscow, American refineries are buying more Russian oil than ever before.
Check out the article by Javier Blas on the Bloomberg News site, published Mar. 24, 2021: "U.S. Thirst for Russian Oil Hits Record High Despite Tough Talk."
David Thomson SUBSCRIBER 2 days ago
Puerto Rico buys Russian LNG because there are no American-built LNG tankers. Thanks to the Jones Act, we can't ship LNG from Texas to PR.
Eugene Boutz SUBSCRIBER 2 days ago (Edited)
Ukraine is composed of three *identities* which have nothing in common and want nothing in common.

There are the Russian speakers in the East and along the Black Sea, the people surrounding Lviv in the West which want to be European and the denizens of Kiev who tend to favor the values and views of the Chancellor of Germany in the '30s.

Ukraine already has a tripartite schism and is most likely headed for a tripartite split once the Russian Federation, having had its absolute fill of Kiev's games, obtains Beijing approbation to bring the matter to a conclusion with weaponry of which Kiev can only dream.

The United States is not going to fight a nuclear war with Russia over the interests of the Kiev faction nor does Germany want it to.

Nor do I.

Nor do you.

Heiko Muhr SUBSCRIBER 2 days ago (Edited)
The Germans are not going to cave. They will finish the pipeline. It is now 96 % built. The West Europeans started importing Russian gas more than 40 years ago. Ronald Reagan failed when he tried to stick it to the Germans with sanctions. And so will Cancun Ted. The old pipeline system that runs through Ukraine has been reverse-engineered with EU funds about a decade ago. Ukraine has already been reliably supplied from the West when the Russians cut supplies. The talking points in this piece are based on Cancun Ted's hallucinations, and not the facts on the ground. For a factual analysis see Eugene Rumer's long piece published today in Defense News "Punishing Germany for Nord Stream 2 does nothing to stop Putin." Rumer is the director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He previously worked as a national intelligence officer on Russia and Eurasia for the U.S. National Intelligence Council. He actually knows what he is talking about.
William Wahl SUBSCRIBER 2 days ago
Just put Hunter on it. He'll fix this right up.
michael ring SUBSCRIBER 2 days ago
Biden has been on the wrong side of every foreign policy decision in his entire career in Washington. Mitterrrand was a bureaucrat who started his rise in vischy France. Ukraine is in a tough spot. So is Russia. They have been fighting for 7 years. Body counts go up,citizens do not like it. Russia will not sacrifice one pipeline for another. Ukraine and Russia can agree to no NATO troops on their border and tensions will go down.
bruce miller SUBSCRIBER 2 days ago
And who talked Ukraine into giving up their nukes? Well we did. Or rather, Slick and his pals did. Bet the Ukrainians wish they'd kept a bunch. Just for old time's sake.
michael ring SUBSCRIBER 2 days ago
What bargaining power would they be?No person or government in their right mind would use them. This is about land grabbing.

[Apr 09, 2021] Behind the fog of war, though, a clear scenario emerges: the deep state/NATO combo using Kiev to start a war as a Hail Mary pass to ultimately bury NS2, and thus German-Russian relations.

Apr 09, 2021 | www.unz.com

Originally from: Ukraine redux, by Pepe Escobar - The Unz Review

Ukraine and Russia may be on the brink of war – with dire consequences for the whole of Eurasia. Let's cut to the chase, and plunge head-on into the fog of war.

On March 24, Ukrainian President Zelensky, for all practical purposes, signed a declaration of war against Russia, via decree No. 117/2021.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a joint press conference with European Council President in Kiev on March 3, 2021. Photo: AFP / Sergey Dolzhenko

The decree establishes that retaking Crimea from Russia is now Kiev's official policy. That's exactly what prompted an array of Ukrainian battle tanks to be shipped east on flatbed rail cars, following the saturation of the Ukrainian army by the US with military equipment including unmanned aerial vehicles, electronic warfare systems, anti-tank systems and man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS).

More crucially, the Zelensky decree is the proof any subsequent war will have been prompted by Kiev, debunking the proverbial claims of "Russian aggression." Crimea, since the referendum of March 2014, is part of the Russian Federation.

It was this (italics mine) de facto declaration of war, which Moscow took very seriously, that prompted the deployment of extra Russian forces to Crimea and closer to the Russian border with Donbass. Significantly, these include the crack 76 th Guards Air Assault Brigade, known as the Pskov paratroopers and, according to an intel report quoted to me, capable of taking Ukraine in only six hours.

It certainly does not help that in early April US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, fresh from his former position as a board member of missile manufacturer Raytheon, called Zelensky to promise "unwavering US support for Ukraine's sovereignty." That ties in with Moscow's interpretation that Zelensky would never have signed his decree without a green light from Washington.

On March 8, 2021, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during observance of International Women's Day in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. Photo: AFP / Mandel Ngan

Controlling the narrative

Sevastopol, already when I visited in December 2018 , is one of the most heavily defended places on the planet, impervious even to a NATO attack. In his decree, Zelensky specifically identifies Sevastopol as a prime target.

Once again, we're back to 2014 post-Maidan unfinished business.

To contain Russia, the US deep state/NATO combo needs to control the Black Sea – which, for all practical purposes, is now a Russian lake. And to control the Black Sea, they need to "neutralize" Crimea.

If any extra proof was necessary, it was provided by Zelensky himself on Tuesday this week in a phone call with NATO secretary-general and docile puppet Jens Stoltenberg.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg gives a press conference at the end of a NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels on March 24, 2021. Photo: AFP / Olivier Hoslet

Zelensky uttered the key phrase: "NATO is the only way to end the war in Donbass" – which means, in practice, NATO expanding its "presence" in the Black Sea. "Such a permanent presence should be a powerful deterrent to Russia, which continues the large-scale militarization of the region and hinders merchant shipping."

All of these crucial developments are and will continue to be invisible to global public opinion when it comes to the predominant, hegemon-controlled narrative.

The deep state/NATO combo is imprinting 24/7 that whatever happens next is due to "Russian aggression." Even if the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) launch a blitzkrieg against the Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics. (To do so against Sevastopol in Crimea would be certified mass suicide).

In the United States, Ron Paul has been one of the very few voices to state the obvious: "According to the media branch of the US military-industrial-congressional-media complex, Russian troop movements are not a response to clear threats from a neighbor, but instead are just more 'Russian aggression.'"

What's implied is that Washington/Brussels don't have a clear tactical, much less strategic game plan: only total narrative control.

And that is fueled by rabid Russophobia – masterfully deconstructed by the indispensable Andrei Martyanov, one of the world's top military analysts.

A possibly hopeful sign is that on March 31, the chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General Valery Gerasimov, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, talked on the phone about the proverbial "issues of mutual interest."

Days later, a Franco-German statement came out, calling on "all parties" to de-escalate. Merkel and Macron seem to have gotten the message in their videoconference with Putin – who must have subtly alluded to the effect generated by Kalibrs, Kinzhals and assorted hypersonic weapons if the going gets tough and the Europeans sanction a Kiev blitzkrieg.

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks as German Chancellor Angela Merkel looks on after a German-French Security Council video conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on February 5, 2021. Photo: AFP / Thibault Camus

The problem is Merkel and Macron don't control NATO. Yet Merkel and Macron at least are fully aware that if the US/NATO combo attacks Russian forces or Russian passport holders who live in Donbass, the devastating response will target the command centers that coordinated the attacks.

What does the hegemon want?

As part of his current Energizer bunny act, Zelensky made an extra eyebrow-raising move. This past Monday, he visited Qatar with a lofty delegation and clinched a raft of deals , not circumscribed to LNG but also including direct Kiev-Doha flights; Doha leasing or buying a Black Sea port; and strong "defense/military ties" – which could be a lovely euphemism for a possible transfer of jihadis from Libya and Syria to fight Russian infidels in Donbass.

Right on cue, Zelensly meets Turkey's Erdogan next Monday. Erdogan's intel services run the jihadi proxies in Idlib, and dodgy Qatari funds are still part of the picture. Arguably, the Turks are already transferring those "moderate rebels" to Ukraine. Russian intel is meticulously monitoring all this activity.

A series of informed discussions – see, for instance, here and here – is converging on what may be the top three targets for the hegemon amid all this mess, short of war: to provoke an irreparable fissure between Russia and the EU, under NATO auspices; to crash the Nord Steam 2 pipeline; and to boost profits in the weapons business for the military-industral complex.

So the key question then is whether Moscow would be able to apply a Sun Tzu move short of being lured into a hot war in the Donbass.

On the ground, the outlook is grim. Denis Pushilin, one of the top leaders of the Lugansk and Donetsk people's republics, has stated that the chances of avoiding war are "extremely small." Serbian sniper Dejan Beric – whom I met in Donetsk in 2015 and who is a certified expert on the ground – expects a Kiev attack in early May .

The extremely controversial Igor Strelkov, who may be termed an exponent of "orthodox socialism," a sharp critic of the Kremlin's policies who is one of the very few warlords who survived after 2014, has unequivocally stated that the only chance for peace is for the Russian army to control Ukrainian territory at least up to the Dnieper river. He stresses that a war in April is "very likely"; for Russia war "now" is better than war later; and there's a 99% possibility that Washington will not fight for Ukraine.

On this last item at least Strelkov has a point; Washington and NATO want a war fought to the last Ukrainian.

Rostislav Ischenko, the top Russian analyst of Ukraine whom I had the pleasure of meeting in Moscow in late 2018, persuasively argues that, "the overall diplomatic, military, political, financial and economic situation powerfully requires the Kiev authorities to intensify combat operations in Donbass.

"By the way," Ischenko added, "the Americans do not give a damn whether Ukraine will hold out for any time or whether it will be blown to pieces in an instant. They believe they stand to gain from either outcome."

Gotta defend Europe

Let's assume the worst in Donbass. Kiev launches its blitzkrieg. Russian intel documents everything. Moscow instantly announces it is using the full authority conferred by the UNSC to enforce the Minsk 2 ceasefire.

In what would be a matter of 8 hours or a maximum 48 hours, Russian forces smash the whole blitzkrieg apparatus to smithereens and send the Ukrainians back to their sandbox, which is approximately 75km north of the established contact zone.

In the Black Sea, incidentally, there's no contact zone. This means Russia may send out all its advanced subs plus the surface fleet anywhere around the "Russian lake": They are already deployed anyway.

Russian President Vladimir Putin looks on as Novator Design Bureau director-general Farid Abdrakhmanov and Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko shake hands during a signing ceremony for government contracts in Alabino, Moscow region, Russia. on June 27, 2019. Photo: AFP / Alexei Druzhinin / Sputnik

Once again Martyanov lays down the law when he predicts, referring to a group of Russian missiles developed by the Novator Design Bureau: "Crushing Ukies' command and control system is a matter of few hours, be that near border or in the operational and strategic Uki depth. Basically speaking, the whole of the Ukrainian 'navy' is worth less than the salvo of 3M54 or 3M14 which will be required to sink it. I think couple of Tarantuls will be enough to finish it off in or near Odessa and then give Kiev, especially its government district, a taste of modern stand-off weapons."

The absolutely key issue, which cannot be emphasized enough, is that Russia will not (italics mine) "invade" Ukraine. It doesn't need to, and it doesn't want to. What Moscow will do for sure is to support the Novorossiya people's republics with equipment, intel, electronic warfare, control of airspace and special forces. Even a no-fly zone will not be necessary; the "message" will be clear that were a NATO fighter jet to show up near the frontline, it would be summarily shot down.

And that brings us to the open "secret" whispered only in informal dinners in Brussels, and chancelleries across Eurasia: NATO puppets do not have the balls to get into an open conflict with Russia.

One thing is to have yapping dogs like Poland, Romania, the Baltic gang and Ukraine amplified by corporate media on their "Russian aggression" script. Factually, NATO had its collective behind unceremoniously kicked in Afghanistan. It shivered when it had to fight the Serbs in the late 1990s. And in the 2010s, it did not dare fight the Damascus and Axis of Resistance forces.

When all fails, myth prevails. Enter the US Army occupying parts of Europe to "defend" it against – who else? – those pesky Russians.

That's the rationale behind the annual US Army DEFENDER-Europe 21 , now on till the end of June, mobilizing 28,000 soldiers from the US and 25 NATO allies and "partners."

This month, men and heavy equipment pre-positioned in three US Army depots in Italy, Germany and the Netherlands will be transferred to multiple "training areas" in 12 countries. Oh, the joys of travel, no lockdown in an open air exercise since everyone has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Pipelineistan uber alles

Nord Stream 2 is not a big deal for Moscow; it's a Pipelineistan inconvenience at best. After all the Russian economy did not make a single ruble out of the not yet existent pipeline during the 2010s – and still it did fine. If NS2 is canceled, there are plans on the table to redirect the bulk of Russian gas shipments towards Eurasia, especially China.

Connecting German infrastructure for Nord Stream 2 is in place. In this handout photo released February 4, 2020, by the press service of Eugal, a view shows the Eugal pipeline, in Germany. The Eugal pipeline, which will receive gas from Nord Stream 2 in the future, has reached full pumping capacity, and the second line of the pipeline has been introduced. Photo: AFP / Press-service of Eugal / Sputnik

In parallel, Berlin knows very well that canceling NS2 will be an extremely serious breach of contract – involving hundreds of billions of euros; it was Germany that requested the pipeline to be built in the first place.

Germany's energiewende ("energy transition" policy) has been a disaster. German industrialists know very well that natural gas is the only alternative to nuclear energy. They are not exactly fond of Berlin becoming a mere hostage, condemned to buy ridiculously expensive shale gas from the hegemon – even assuming the egemon will be able to deliver, as its fracking industry is in shambles. Merkel explaining to German public opinion why they must revert to using coal or buy shale from the US will be a sight to see.

As it stands, NATO provocations against NS2 proceed unabated – via warships and helicopters. NS2 needed a permit to work in Danish waters, and it was granted only a month ago. Even as Russian ships are not as fast in laying pipes as the previous ships from Swiss-based Allseas , which backed down, intimidated by US sanctions, the Russian Fortuna is making steady progress, as noted by analyst Petri Krohn: one kilometer a day on its best days, at least 800 meters a day. With 35 km left, that should not take more than 50 days.

Conversations with German analysts reveal a fascinating shadowplay on the energy front between Berlin and Moscow – not to mention Beijing. Compare it with Washington: EU diplomats complain there's absolutely no one to negotiate with regarding NS2. And even assuming there would be some sort of deal, Berlin is inclined to admit Putin's judgment is correct: the Americans are "not agreement-capable." One just needs to look at the record.

Behind the fog of war, though, a clear scenario emerges: the deep state/NATO combo using Kiev to start a war as a Hail Mary pass to ultimately bury NS2, and thus German-Russian relations.

At the same time, the situation is evolving towards a possible new alignment in the heart of the "West": US/UK pitted against Germany/France. Some Anglosphere exceptionals are certainly more Russophobic than others.

The toxic encounter between Russophobia and Pipelineistan will not be over even if NS2 is completed. There will be more sanctions. There will be an attempt to exclude Russia from SWIFT. The proxy war in Syria will intensify. The hegemon will go no holds barred to keep creating all sorts of geopolitical harassment against Russia.

What a nice wag-the-dog op to distract domestic public opinion from massive money printing masking a looming economic collapse. As the empire crumbles, the narrative is set in stone: it's all the fault of "Russian aggression."

Alfa158 , says: April 8, 2021 at 12:05 am GMT • 1.9 days ago

Well, I'm hoping the Ukrainians will finally remember Bernard Lewis's warning about the U.S. and realize they are being used like a Kleenex: "America is harmless as an enemy but treacherous as a friend."
Americans have had it and will never tolerate sending combat troops into a Russia/Ukraine conflict no matter how much rah-rah let's you and him fight we'll hold your coat for you, faux patriotism the lugenpresse throw at them. Those of us who volunteered for the US military in the past have learned our lesson.

Agent76 , says: April 8, 2021 at 8:09 pm GMT • 1.1 days ago

Aug 10, 2020 Nord Stream 2 final stretch & Russia-Cyprus try to mend fences

https://www.youtube.com/embed/s4S_wOvCQAU?feature=oembed

Apr 4, 2019 NATO EXIT: Prof. Michel Chossudovsky

NATO is a criminal entity, an instrument of the Pentagon. There is no "Alliance". There is military Occupation.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/649_HXyJPAg?feature=oembed

Petermx , says: April 8, 2021 at 12:46 am GMT • 1.9 days ago

"The problem is Merkel and Macron don't control NATO." I don't know how a decision is made whether NATO will go to war or not but if Germany and France have no say in whether their soldiers will be sent to war or not, that must by a very scary thought for them.

I found the following analysis interesting and I think it makes sense. It suggests France and Germany have a say in matters and that they oppose any offensive Ukraine has in mind. The commentator analyzes the diplomatic language and Germany and France appear to be fed up. Without coming out and saying so directly, they see things more as Russia does than Ukraine. It's very unfortunate things have developed this way for Ukraine. In addition, if Merkel wants to be perceived as a complete failure as chancellor in Germany, only then will she let NS2 be stopped from being completed. This analysis suggests there may be some strain between France and Germany versus the USA.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/30Lzq-K-cO4?feature=oembed

Zarathustra , says: April 8, 2021 at 4:59 am GMT • 1.7 days ago

I do have to disagree. If Ukraine start a war Russia must take back all eastern part of Ukraine that has prevalent Russian population. Odessa and Zaporozhie is particularly important. Russia must also tale all Kiev area back.

Carlton Meyer , says: Website April 8, 2021 at 5:04 am GMT • 1.7 days ago

Several things to note:

1. Senior Ukrainian officers were once Soviet officers. They, and most of their troops, don't want to fight Russians and know it's foolish. The Ukrainian army will crumble if they come in contact with regular Russian troops. It's not that they are cowards, but sane. It would be like Canadian troops ordered to attack across the American border.

2. The American empire is furious and concerned that its long-time puppet disobeyed orders. Germany wants Russian gas and the empire wants that pipeline stopped. Not only to hurt Russia, but to teach the Germans a lesson. If fighting occurs in the Ukraine, would the Germans dare to buy natgas from evil Russians?

3. Most importantly, Israel controls the American government. A major goal is the destruction of Syria to allow the expansion of Greater Israel, as explained in the video below. This nearly succeeded until the Russians intervened. Fighting in Ukraine would divert Russian military resources from Syria so that nation can be destroyed, or Russia may give up Syrian support as part of a grand peace deal.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/P512QBpjoq4?feature=oembed

The Biden administration is fully supportive of finishing off Syria and Lebanon, then moving on to destroy Iran. The new talks about Iran's nuclear program will go nowhere. It's just a show so Biden can say he tried.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/pEigig2qWkc?feature=oembed

Silicon Silence , says: April 8, 2021 at 5:11 am GMT • 1.7 days ago
@anon

It makes all the difference when the revolving-door regulator-capture reframing is not "USA/Nato vs Russia" -- but rather the more accurate "Raytheon (et al) vs Russia."

The modern truth is: Russia and China have governments in control of policy and industry. The USA (and therefore also its yapping poodle collection) have Industry setting policy and running government for their 1%-er shareholder benefits.

Majority of One , says: April 8, 2021 at 6:06 am GMT • 1.7 days ago

Part of me wants to think that the Ukies will want to fold at the last moment. Yet all this apparent evidence points to their going for it and promptly getting their collective noses smashed in. Those who speculate in meta-political geo-strategic analysis cannot make sense of the moves by the largely incompetent shot-callers and their even more incompetent minions who cut the orders to their chessmen.

Heavy pressure by the equally incompetent regime in the Di$trict of Corruption, where carrot and stick are equally in play, is as Escobar points out, the force behind this nearly automatic death-sentence for the Kiev regime and the poor slobs who make up the draftee elements in the Ukrainian military.

Again, geopolitically, one wonders at the deeper string-pullers within the Pentagram, the CIA and the mass media of mind-control and message-massaging. Is this essentially a move to keep the American people–most particularly the edjumacated managerial and technical classes who make up the core of the alleged "middle-class"–"on message and in line"?

Yes, the WarDefense industry (aka Eisenhower's "Military-Industrial Complex") insist on ongoing wars and threats of war to maintain their profit margins for the prime owners of that false economic basis,prime actors such as the Rottenchild Crime Clan and the rest of the parasites clustered in City of London and Wall $treet.

How will the canny and ever wary Russians proceed? Will they operate in the manner that Escobar proposes, by not directly employing the considerable ground-forces which now stand on alert just to the eastwards of their mutually agreed upon Swiss-cheese border with the Novorussians in Donetsk and Luhansk? Or will Russian strategy be somewhat more comprehensive by liberating the rest of the primarily Russian-speaking parts of eastern and southern Ukraine which had largely backed the overthrown legitimate government of that bedizened composite nation and are still smarting under the heels of the Galician fascists and the smaller grouping of Russophobic Ukrainian nationalists who still harbor nightmares about the Bolshevik/Stalinoid Holodomar? There are, after all human considerations which may influence Kremlin policy.

Should Russia decide to make a move, it is my projection that they would never be likely to even attempt to occupy central Ukraine and would set a stop-line well to the east of Kiev. Something that bemusingly intrigues me is the Belarus factor. It would appear that the Minsk regime, smarting from the attempted coup by the Poles, Baltic states and Ukraine backing of "pro-Westerners, may be mobilizing to get into the action and perhaps readjust their boundaries somewhat southwards. This could indicate a countering move by the Uniates in Galicia to make common cause with their Roman Catholic brethren in the afore-mentioned Poland along with Lithuania and remove their lands of control from a shattered Ukraine and form a confederation with their neighbors to the west.

There is little doubt in my mind that Russia has numerous human assets in central and southwestern Ukraine, who along with elements of a disintegrating Ukie military, would unite to overthrow the rotten regime in Kiev and establish a markedly neutral smaller but more cohesive Ukraine–a natural though smaller nation which could serve as an essential buffer between a strengthening Russia and a collection of NATO nations which would then comprise a hodgepodge of hawks and doves, a discombobulated collection of politico-economic entities attempting to swim their ways to calmer shores or to maintain some semblance of "Great Reset" programming in the face of popular resistance to lockdowns and mandated AstraGenica jabbings.

Worst possible scenario is that someone in the Pentagon-dominated NATO command complex loses their cool and initiates a conflict that could result in planet-wide chaos and destruction. One would hope that cooler heads will take a few hits to their expansionist fantasies and decide to make the best of a failed bit of adventurism and bide their time -- if they feel they have any time remaining before globalist economies hit the skids, leading to a potential collapse to the myth of progress.

Vojkan , says: April 8, 2021 at 6:16 am GMT • 1.7 days ago

Everyone gets American logic. It's the Ukrainian logic that is truly baffling. Just how stupid do the Ukrainians have to be to attack when anyone with a brain knows what will be the outcome?

Silicon Silence , says: April 8, 2021 at 5:11 am GMT • 1.7 days ago
@anon

It makes all the difference when the revolving-door regulator-capture reframing is not "USA/Nato vs Russia" -- but rather the more accurate "Raytheon (et al) vs Russia."

The modern truth is: Russia and China have governments in control of policy and industry. The USA (and therefore also its yapping poodle collection) have Industry setting policy and running government for their 1%-er shareholder benefits.

GMC , says: April 8, 2021 at 6:37 am GMT • 1.7 days ago

You can't do any Normal business with a Crime Syndicate like the USA/ EU and or Israel. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and others. Russia is so close to being self sufficient , they could turn their back on the West and it's cut throat allies , and just look to the East until the West implodes. They will have to destroy all armies within close proximity to their borders, including the Ukrainian/Mercenary one. Moscow must still have Jew Oligarchy baggage, that is making money on Wall Street and those ties need to break apart or come to a Pro Russian agreement or else. Rename Kyiv to Berlin 1944, and Lviv to Dresden and take it from there – and don't look back anymore. And PS : on way to Lviv, Agent Orange every F..n Monsanto/Bayer, Dupont and Cargil farm – like they did to Vietnam.

Levtraro , says: April 8, 2021 at 6:50 am GMT • 1.7 days ago

Behind the fog of war, though, a clear scenario emerges: the deep state/NATO combo using Kiev to start a war as a Hail Mary pass to ultimately bury NS2, and thus German-Russian relations.

Yes but also the Ukraine needs to save those gas transit fees that will go kaput if NS2 is completed and operational, so it is the Ukraine the one with the most immediate incentive to start a war. Though they need just a small war, a little war to force the hands of the Germans to cancel NS2. Problem is the Russians have promised to give the Ukrainians more than what they bargained for. To save those gas transit fees the Ukrainians may end losing the country to a puppet installed by the Kremlin.

Schuetze , says: April 8, 2021 at 7:19 am GMT • 1.6 days ago

Escobar, besides not naming the Jew, does not mention which side Israel is likely to support. We can be pretty certain that whichever side Israel supports is going to be the victor in this conflict. Turkey is also important because of the Bosphorus, and Turkey and Israel are working together to exploit the Leviathan gas field to the detriment of Cyprus and Syria, so Israel can jerk Turkey around like a pitbull on a chain.

The US has been moving drones into Ukraine and they now are right on the border with Crimea. The US Marines also have a large presence in Romania, also likely including all kinds of drones. The Israelis are among the planet's leaders in drone technology, and surely own even more patents. Israel provides much of its drone technology to Turkey, and the Azerbeijanis used Turkish and Israeli drones in their short war with Armenia. During this short war the Azerbeijanis shot up all kinds of Russian equipment with their drones including Pantsir's and ZSU-23's.

The US also has all kinds of stealth drones and missiles, likely that is one area where they lead the entire planet.

Miro23 , says: April 8, 2021 at 10:13 am GMT • 1.5 days ago

https://vk.com/wall-57424472_304332

If this assessment is correct (in Russian but comes out OK in Google translate), then the US / NATO have to get involved to compensate for the lack of a Ukrainian air force – and in fact the rest of their obsolete equipment.

Personally, I can't imagine US or NATO troops on the ground in the Ukraine – and I don't see any planning for it, so what's the idea?

One possibility seems to be 1) to start the fighting 2) then start the real game, which is a massive anti-Russian media barrage "heroic Ukrainian patriots", "Russian atrocities", "killer Putin" etc. sufficient to finish with Nord Stream 2, divide Russia from France/Germany, plus reanimate NATO and sanction Russia. Basically to force Europe back into US hegemony, and away from independent decision making.

They won't have any problem with the UK (their most slavish follower) but at some point the French and Germans are surely going to become tired of all this CIA/Neo-con BS.

The Alarmist , says: April 8, 2021 at 10:18 am GMT • 1.5 days ago

[German Industrialists] are not exactly fond of Berlin becoming a mere hostage, condemned to buy ridiculously expensive shale gas from the hegemon .

German Industrialists and financiers have been repeatedly shaken down by the hegemon for fines related to a number of "infractions." The scuttlebutt I've heard from a number of them is that it got old a long time ago; what point is it to participate in the US market when your profits are repeatedly clawed back as "fines," and those in the US with whom you compete are given a leg up not just in the US, but on the world stage. Left to most industrialists, Germany might have gone its own way years ago. Oddly enough, it is the Ossivergeltungswaffe who dithers over breaking ranks with the "ally" that openly spied on her.

And even assuming there would be some sort of deal, Berlin is inclined to admit Putin's judgment is correct: the Americans are "not agreement-capable." One just needs to look at the record.

The most recent example would be the Doha agreement on the US withdrawal of forces and personnel from Afghanistan. Apparently the Pentagon recently awarded a number of contracts for contractor services in that country for some time well past the "agreed" withdrawal date, strongly suggesting the agreement to leave was a ruse.

Garliv , says: April 8, 2021 at 10:34 am GMT • 1.5 days ago
@J. Alfred Powell

Unfortunately we live in a world where history is/was erased, facts don't matter or they can be twisted to fit anything no matter how ridiculous, the present is what I say it is. Thus US and its vassals are just interested in their today's narrative.
Ukrainian leadership is hopelessly incompetent and corrupt so will do anything Biden's gang tells them. It's simply a depressing scenario.

street worm , says: April 8, 2021 at 12:59 pm GMT • 1.4 days ago

Blinken poking the Ukies to attack is a Hail Mary to stop NS2. Maybe it will work, maybe not. But a few hundred or a few thousand dead Ukies is worth the Russian boogeyman psy-op for the empire.

Marckus , says: April 8, 2021 at 1:23 pm GMT • 1.4 days ago

""Ukraine and Russia may be on the brink of War blah blah""

Contrary to what Pepe asserts the rest of the world will not give a shit. Memories of Chechnya? The sooner Putin over runs the place the better. You can bet the Ukrainian ruling elite, for all their gumption, have their jets all fuelled and ready with flight plans for the US via Switzerland...

Reaper , says: April 8, 2021 at 1:56 pm GMT • 1.4 days ago

"NATO puppets do not have the balls to get into an open conflict with Russia."

Sadly not so sure.
Some has it`s own agenda, like POland, Lithuania. Not even NATO/ US are in full control over that, and needs no more than a misstep. Like activate some system which is potentionally dangerous for Russia.
Or in different NATO/ US bases elsewhere in continental Europe.

"to provoke an irreparable fissure between Russia and the EU, under NATO auspices"
"When all fails, myth prevails. Enter the US Army occupying parts of Europe to "defend" it against – who else? – those pesky Russians."

This sounds to be the real goal.
For long since the US is jealous to Europe as it became more and more equal in economic and political power, and prevail better even with this "global pandemic".
EU wants more independence, US wants it`s colony to more obidient and follow commands.

If not just occupy, but "let" Europe partly destroyed even better: the treat of dominance reduced, and again can be the "nice savior" who helps and "brings democracy".

So seems far too real in the Ukrainian conflict Ukraine is just a side character.

Anonymous [902] Disclaimer , says: April 8, 2021 at 2:54 pm GMT • 1.3 days ago
@Vojkan

Good point. They simply can't "win" anything by attacking.

The (((US))) will provide plenty of encouragement and support as long as they get mountains of Ukrainian corpses in return. Those corpses can then be photographed and the photos broadcast all over the world as "proof" that Putin is Hitler. Basically, Ukrainians are being funnelled into the meat grinder for a globohmo psyop opportunity. What a way to die...

Realist , says: April 8, 2021 at 2:59 pm GMT • 1.3 days ago
@Fred777

The crumbling US economy will provide more than enough meat for the neocon's grinder.

Perhaps they will turn their attention to problems at home. The question is are they smart enough to recognize where the problem lies.

MLK , says: April 8, 2021 at 3:01 pm GMT • 1.3 days ago
@Robert Bruce

Are you referring to the Ukraine fiasco? Would that it were so that it was just a distraction. Just apply some reverse engineering to how Germany and Russia have a pretext to link up energy-wise when Ukraine was a perfectly serviceable transit point until NeoCon filth started working their magic.

[Apr 09, 2021] German Chancellor Merkel spoke to President Putin yesterday and apparently told him she wanted to see immediate de-escalation

Apr 09, 2021 | www.zerohedge.com

Indeed, let's not worry: German Chancellor Merkel spoke to President Putin yesterday and apparently told him she wanted to see immediate de-escalation or else she might not sell Russia any German cars; or buy Russian vaccine; or complete Nord-Stream 2 and tie the German economy into Russian gas supplies. Isn't realpolitik a German word originally?

"Destiny guides our fortunes more favourably than we could have expected. Look there, Sancho Panza, my friend, and see those thirty or so wild giants, with whom I intend to do battle and kill each and all of them, so with their stolen booty we can begin to enrich ourselves. This is noble, righteous warfare, for it is wonderfully useful to God to have such an evil race wiped from the face of the earth."

"What giants?" asked Sancho Panza.

"The ones you can see over there," answered his master, "with the huge arms, some of which are very nearly two leagues long."

"Now look, your grace," said Sancho, "what you see over there aren't giants, but windmills, and what seems to be arms are just their sails, that go around in the wind and turn the millstone."

"Obviously," replied Don Quixote, "you don't know much about adventures."

Or labour vs. capital; or realpolitik. But Happy Friday!

GreatCaesar'sGhost 1 hour ago

No nato troops will ever set foot in Ukraine. They're trying to pressure Russia into doing something so they can force the Germans to stop nordstream. The Ukrainians can't win here and they're being used. Not good.

USAllDay 56 minutes ago

Germans need the gas and Russia needs the revenue. These are facts that can not change.

GreatCaesar'sGhost 53 minutes ago

US has gas to sell. Greater Israel and their Saudi partners believe that after they overthrow Assad they will have gas to sell. I'm not sure the constantly virtue signaling German government will buy Russian gas if there's a war.

BeePee 43 minutes ago

Russia already sells gas. This will continue. Mistake to destablize Russia's economy.

GreatCaesar'sGhost 53 minutes ago

US has gas to sell. Greater Israel and their Saudi partners believe that after they overthrow Assad they will have gas to sell.

I'm not sure the constantly virtue signaling German government will buy Russian gas if there's a war.

land_of_the_few 51 minutes ago (Edited) remove link

They should just mock them mercilessly.

Formation flypasts with rainbow colored smoke, Village People blasting from frigates buzxing them, that kind of thing.

land_of_the_few 40 minutes ago

"In the Navy", anyone?

[Apr 03, 2021] Nord Stream 2 Warns Of Security Risks From Warships Low-Flying Planes - ZeroHedge

Apr 03, 2021 | www.zerohedge.com

Nord Stream 2 Warns Of Security Risks From Warships & Low-Flying Planes BY TYLER DURDEN SATURDAY, APR 03, 2021 - 09:20 AM

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

A senior official from Nord Stream 2 AG, the project company leading the Nord Stream 2 Russia to Germany natural gas pipeline project, has reported an uptick in "provocative" activity from warships and planes in the area where the pipeline is being built .

"Higher activity of naval vessels, airplanes and helicopters and civilian vessels of foreign states is observed in the work area after restarted construction of the offshore segment of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, whose actions are often clearly provocative ," said Nord Stream AG official Andrei Minin, according to the Russian news agency TASS .

Above: the pipe-laying vessel Fortuna, which is operated by the Russian company KVT-RUS and recently targeted by US sanctions. Image via Reuters

Minin said a 1.5-mile safety zone is established around the construction area where vessels are not supposed to enter. "Nevertheless, naval vessels of foreign countries are constantly registered near service ships performing work," he said.

He added that a Polish antisubmarine warfare airplane is "regularly flying around the work area at a small height and closely to the pipelay vessel."

Minin said in one provocation, an unidentified submarine was above surface within one mile of the pipeclay vessel Fortuna , a ship that was hit with US sanctions on January 19th. Minin said the activity indicates "obviously planned and prepared provocations." Besides warships and planes, he said fishing vessels have also come dangerously close to the construction area.

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1377891924300939264&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fgeopolitical%2Fnord-stream-2-warns-security-risks-warships-low-flying-planes&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=e1ffbdb%3A1614796141937&width=550px

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been in the crosshairs of the US for years, but despite sanctions and threats, Nord Stream AG reported on Thursday that the project is now 95 percent complete . Construction restarted in December 2020 after being suspended due to threats of US sanctions.

Although it's not clear if the US is involved in these provocations, it is likely. Washington seems willing to take extreme measures to stop the project and is threatening to sanction its ally Germany . Besides the US, another country keen to stop the project is Ukraine, which stands to lose up to $3 billion a year in gas transportation fees if the pipeline is complete.

The original Nord Stream consists of two lines that run from Vyborg, Russia, to Lubmin, Germany, near Greifswald. The new project would add two more lines, doubling the amount of natural gas Russia could export to Germany.
play_arrow

Be of Good Cheer 1 hour ago

$3 billion loss to the Biden Crime Family. No wonder he wants to stop NS2.

NoPension 1 hour ago

^^^^^!!!

Pair Of Dimes Shift 45 minutes ago

10% to the big guy would be $300M.

Damn right the big guy's handlers are pissed.

Rid'n Dirty 1 hour ago

The US spends over $1 trillion on "defense" with over 800 bases worldwide, yet we have no control over who illegally takes up residence here. America has become an ugly hegemon run by Wall Street and other corporate whores. Almost 2/3rds of the world is under some type of US sanction designed to wreck economies and starve innocent people (Houthis, Syrians and Iranians).

Let's see if Germany can do what's best for its economy for the first time since 1945.

Based Fren 1 hour ago

It's so tiresome. We just have to stick our finger in everyone else's business.

naro 1 hour ago

Have you heard of the MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX. Wars is their oxygen.....they are looking for wars wherever they can find it.

ManOnFirst 59 minutes ago

a Polish fishing vessel rammed a construction ship and blamed a faulty engine for the incident. I really hate the Poles. They are the whiniest, most cowardly country in the world. They lament the fall of their empire 1000 years ago and think they could still be a superpower if only the big, bad Russians weren't so mean. Oh, and the big, bad Germans too.

SoDamnMad 27 minutes ago

I'm surprised the Russians didn't throw a 3 liter gasoline jug with a burning rag taped to it down on that fishing vessel. Your telling me no steerage and no engine control. Two can play this game. Poles best not try to lay any communication cables in the next 20 years.

Games Without Frontiers 1 hour ago (Edited)

Globalists from the US doing everything they can to prevent a more independent EU. The further away you can get from a dying and dangerous empire the better.

2banana 1 hour ago

Established by whom?

Oh, you just made that sh!t up in international waters in one of the most heavily used trade routes in the world.

Minin said a 1.5-mile safety zone is established around the construction area where vessels are not supposed to enter. "Nevertheless, naval vessels of foreign countries are constantly registered near service ships performing work," he said.

Games Without Frontiers 1 hour ago

It's international waters but safety zones are always established on this type of industrial project, it's hard to enforce in open waters but the West looks like a bunch of tools as usual.

not-me---it-was-the-dog 43 minutes ago (Edited) remove link

google is your friend, my friend.

https://www.nord-stream.com/press-info/images/exclusion-zone-around-pipelay-vessel-2665/

https://ens.dk/sites/ens.dk/files/OlieGas/15_-_nord_stream_2_-_transboundary_impacts_-_environmental_impact_assessment_denmark_north-western_route._august_2018.pdf

.... Shipping and shipping lanes In Danish waters, the proposed NSP2 route will run inside and along the TSS Bornholmsgat for approximately 42 km close to the Swedish EEZ. The TSS Bornholmsgat carries most of the ship traffic to/from the Baltic Sea and experiences over 50,000 ship passages per year. The proposed NSP2 route additionally crosses the TSS Adlergrund in the Danish and German EEZs, which has approximately 7,000 ship movements per year. Safety exclusion zones will be implemented around slow-moving construction vessels. Only vessels involved in the construction of NSP2 will be allowed inside the safety zone; therefore, all other vessels not involved in construction activities will be requested to plan their journeys around the safety zone. The shipping lanes crossed by the proposed NSP2 route in Danish waters provide sufficient space and water depth for ships to plan their journey and safely navigate around possible temporary obstructions. The impact on ship traffic associated with the imposition of a safety zone is assessed to be minor and associated with local and temporary changes to the traffic scheme. Therefore, it is assessed that there will be no significant transboundary impacts on Baltic Sea ship traffic caused by the NSP2 project in Danish waters.

so....umm....since the work is being done in danish waters, well, gosh, i would guess the exclusion zones are set up with......wait for it......danish authorities. and the last bits in german waters will require german authorities to set up the exclusion zone.

https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2193430-construction-on-remaining-nord-stream-2-string-to-start

Jerzeel 17 minutes ago remove link

Ukraine gets 3B a year in transit fees for Russian gas...

rejectnumbskull 15 minutes ago

Besides the US, another country keen to stop the project is Ukraine, which stands to lose up to $3 billion a year in gas transportation fees if the pipeline is complete.

Did you not read this sentence in the article correctly?

[Apr 02, 2021] Biden's son Hunter, the "smartest guy" his father knows, has his feet firmly in his mouth in excerpts from an interview this Sunday

Apr 02, 2021 | www.moonofalabama.org

PJB , Apr 2 2021 21:50 utc | 107

Meanwhile Biden's son Hunter, the "smartest guy" his father knows, has his feet firmly in his mouth in excerpts from an interview this Sunday about his 💻 that was full of underage porn & business dealings involving his father when VPOTUS.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/hunter-biden-laptop-certainly-could-be-mine

Will the media still try to bury this, or is it time to replace old Joe?

ZH does a good job tee Ukraine v Russia today:

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/frightening-escalation-looms-russia-warns-nato-against-sending-any-troops-ukraine

[Apr 02, 2021] The construction site of Nord Stream 2 has been suffering harassment by various vessels and aircraft in recent months, which nearly led to damage to the pipeline itself, according to Nord Stream AG representative Andrey Minin.

Apr 02, 2021 | www.moonofalabama.org

karlof1 , Apr 1 2021 22:22 utc | 49

Nice work on pulling all the puzzle pieces together, b!

The really big problem will be weaning the Outlaw US Empire from its addiction to Unilateralism, which is its primary mode of operation aside from a very brief interlude when FDR was POTUS, devised the UN and its Charter, and got the Senate to ratify it so it would become an integral part of the USA's fundamental law of the land.

All one need do to see the gravity of the bolded text is to examine the Outlaw US Empire's behavior since FDR died--The USA immediately transformed into the Outlaw US Empire on 22 October 1945 when the UN Charter came into full force and the Empire was already in grave violation of its fundamentals.

That those millions of violations have never seen the inside of a courtroom doesn't mean they never occurred or aren't now happening globally.

I was going to post this on the other thread but will use it here as an example that's grave:

"Nord Stream AG Says Warships, Submarines and Helicopters Tried to Disrupt Pipeline's Construction":

"However, it seems that in March threats to the pipeline multiplied and became more 'real'.

"The construction site of Nord Stream 2 has been suffering harassment by various vessels and aircraft in recent months, which nearly led to damage to the pipeline itself, according to Nord Stream AG representative Andrey Minin. He stressed that the disturbances were 'clearly planned and thoroughly prepared provocations,' devised to stop the joint Russian-European project in its tracks ." [My Emphasis]

Unilateral Act of War anyone?!! Yes, its the Poles once again.

IMO, it's sad b omitted mentioning the newly formed Friends of the UN Charter Group in his article since it aims at drowning the "Unilateral, rules based international order" once and for all time. My promotion of it isn't going to be enough. If all but the Neoliberal nations become members, then they can jointly aver that there's only one system of international Law and its based on the UN Charter and all relevant treaties thus shutting up the Outlaw US Empire regardless its protests. Of course, a movement within the Empire that says the same as the Friends would go a long ways to getting us where we as humans want to go to--a peaceful planet that's concerned about the wellbeing of humans and all they need for support instead of making the rich ever richer through the terror of unremitting Class War.

And if you don't think that War isn't based on Terror, then you haven't seen migrant families busted up with the little kids being kidnapped and all put into concentration camps. ( China is beginning to bark up that very inhuman tree watered so well by the Outlaw US Empire.)

Nick , Apr 2 2021 0:16 utc | 71

Dumb Polacks are getting desparate
https://sputniknews.com/europe/202104011082512013-nord-stream-ag-says-warships-submarines-and-helicopters-tried-to-disrupt-pipelines-construction/

[Apr 02, 2021] Tentions in Ukraine are about stopping North Stream: The USA treats business as war, while treating war as business

Apr 02, 2021 | www.moonofalabama.org

karlof1 , Apr 2 2021 18:16 utc | 70

So Alfie, What's it all about?

Geoeconomics and Market Weight and it's not behind a paywall. Escobar intones:

"As it stands, Russia is very much focused on limitless possibilities in Southwest Asia, as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made it clear in the 10th Middle East conference at the Valdai club [Link at Original]. The Hegemon's treats on multiple fronts – Ukraine, Belarus, Syria, Nord Stream 2 – pale in comparison."

Awhile ago, I posted the following acutely correct adage: The USA treats business as war, while treating war as business. I added what Coolidge was misquoted as saying in 1925--The business of America is business (He actually said, "the chief business of the American people is business.") So when the POTUS says its just business, you should prepare for war.

Back to the linked article. While reading it ought to be easy to see why the BRI interconnectivity is seen as a huge threat to the two Outlaw Maritime Empires--UK/US--who initially set forth the parameters of the Great Game. (BTW, Lavrov's Great Game program interview English transcript is now complete.) They have no seat at the table whatsoever. You'll also see why the Outlaw US Empire will try to remain in Afghanistan forever as well as the reason why it can't admit the real reason for being there--to interdict the BRI and the development boom it promises to bring to a great many impoverished people throughout Eurasia. Talk about Human Rights!

But it looks like all the Empire's efforts will amount to little more than a mosquito attacking an elephant for there's no way it can stop BRI or Eurasian integration; at best, it can merely delay it and earn the enmity of the planet, including its own people. Clearly, India will cease its role in the Quad as staying locks it out from what it needs most--development that uplifts its impoverished tens of millions. And the loss of India means the certain loss of the Great Game for the Outlaw Empire.

In the grand scheme of things, Ukraine is merely a tsetse fly as is NATO ultimately. The real prize lies with the geoeconomic riches BRI and Eurasian Integration will generate and being a partner with it, not an adversary.

[Mar 30, 2021] Russian gas meets only a fraction of Germany's needs - Germany's Scholz

Mar 30, 2021 | finance.yahoo.com


More content below More content below More content below More content below More content below More content below More content below More content below

BERLIN, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Gas contributes only a fraction of Germany's energy consumption, and Russian gas only a fraction of that, so it is wrong to say that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will make Germany dependent on Russian energy, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said.

Asked about the flagship Kremlin project, which has been heavily criticised by the United States and some European countries, Scholz on Monday restated the German government's position that the pipeline was a private investment and should not be the target of U.S. sanctions.

The poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, blamed by most Western governments on Russian state actors, has led to renewed calls for the nearly complete pipeline, built by state-owned Gazprom, to be cancelled.

Critics of the pipeline say it increases Germany's reliance on Russian energy and deprives transit countries Poland and Ukraine of crucial leverage over the giant country to their east. (Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Maria Sheahan)

[Mar 26, 2021] The Biden Administration may impose sanctions on companies that help build North Stream 2, which risks a blowup with Berlin.

Mar 26, 2021 | www.unz.com

Germany is showing signs of an independent Russia policy. The main issue between the United States, Europe, and Russia now is the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would carry gas from Russia to Germany. The Biden Administration may impose sanctions on companies that help build it, which risks a blowup with Berlin .

Most Republicans want even sterner measures . Senator Ted Cruz is delaying confirmation of some of President Biden's officials unless he takes action.

Hostility towards Russia is one of the few issues that unite Republicans and Democrats – along with support for citizenship for illegal immigrants , interference in Syria, keeping troops in Afghanistan , and thwarting China . We can't count on Republicans or Democrats to stand up for Americans, but we can count on support for invading the world and inviting the world. This combination of an aggressive foreign policy and indifference towards citizens is why some call the current regime the Globalist American Empire (GAE). It may be based in Washington DC, but it has nothing to do with the historic American nation or its interests.

However, what I call the " American Paradox " may doom this "empire." It is run by people who seem to care nothing for the country; the empire is built on sand.

[Mar 21, 2021] The US neurotic dynamic is to escalate blindly until it achieves control

Mar 21, 2021 | www.moonofalabama.org

Oriental Voice , Mar 20 2021 0:35 utc | 76

@Posted by: Grieved | Mar 19 2021 23:05 utc | 55:

...., the US neurotic dynamic is to escalate blindly until it achieves control. This is the dynamic that must be defeated.

Yes that's problem all right, but can you ever defeat that dynamic given that the gorilla owns 10,000 nukes and has no moral qualms whatsoever of using them? Until a near perfect anti-nuke defense system is developed I surmise the world would just have to live with, and get used to, the juvenile antics of King Kong because it has stated time and again it would escalate all the way up to using its nukes, because that's what they are for according to a former Sec. of State.

I'm a pessimist on this issue. I'm afraid we'll just have to endure and live with a wild beast for a while to come.

[Mar 21, 2021] I think that Nord stream II is a turning point. If Germany caves in here, there's little hope to get rid of the leash for it and the whole of Europe.

Mar 21, 2021 | www.moonofalabama.org

xototox , Mar 20 2021 0:34 utc | 75

i've been a reader of moa for quite a few years now, but never contributed to the forum. mostly because after a while i found what i wanted to say anyway, and why pile on?

I really enjoy the civility of the forum, and it's internationality. And of course b's insights. as a German myself I share many points of view with him in matters i have knowledge in, or think that i do.

For example i think that trump sure might be seen as a disaster by many, but it was a gift to Europe, and Germany in particular, because he opened the eyes of many, many people here who for decades thought murrica is our friend, our big brother, who will always protect us from the evil of the world - namely communism, Russia and lately china. a majority of the people here, as well as in the rest of the so called "western world" have been brainwashed for about 7 decades to think that way, even when America committed the most obvious, heinous, horrible crimes against humanity and our civilization as a whole.

there was always a spin, "human rights", "democracy", "free trade" and so on, values that had to be "defended" - when in reality it was always an offensive aggression or even a "pre-emptive strike". people just swallowed what the media fed them and went on with their daily chores.

Trump changed that, suddenly the ugly side of the empire became visible, and i will always be grateful for that. because now it cannot be hidden anymore. it wasn't just the unruly behaviour of a "new rich" and uneducated bully who accidentally became president. politically, the general attitude was always the same, trump only worded it much more obvious, making it harder for politicians and media to spin. that's why our politicians and media (for the most part fed by trans-atlantic "think tanks") hated him almost more than Americans themselves - he made their lies obvious and transparent. if it wasn't so sad, it sometimes was almost funny to see them squirm, having to explain why our friend and protector suddenly became so selfish and hostile.

All of them welcomed of course the new Harris administration, being so progressive, just and friendly again - only to witness a change of paradigm they probably didn't even think trump was capable of, or willing to: i think in later years, this week will mark the "official" beginning of the new cold war era. this behaviour against Russia and china was not a slap, but a punch in the face and will NEVER be forgiven nor forgotten. the only question for europe is: does it finally have the balls to emancipate and stand up against the bully? or will it submit and become a collateral damage of it's downfall? in form of a nuclear wasteland maybe?

I think that Nord stream II is a turning point. If Germany caves in here, there's little hope to get rid of the leash for it and the whole of Europe.

If it stands tall, europe might become a buffer instead of a frontline. knowing and seeing our politicians, i'd say it doesn't look good.

[Mar 19, 2021] With the Nord Stream project, we see the Gangster mentality of the US imperialism -- Do as I say or else!

Notable quotes:
"... Nord Stream 2 is of vital importance to Germany's energy security. The German public was rather hostile to President Trump and Biden's victory was seen with relief. But when it sees how Biden pursues the same policies, and with a similar tone, it will turn on him ..."
"... Since Washington is now in conflict with a goodly part of the public it sees that creating foreign policy crises and enemies as an excellent course of action to shore up support. Americans are always ready to react against enemies no matter how slender the proof of the wrongdoing ascribed to the enemy. There is never a penalty to pay for lying in the US if you are in the mainstream media or in the political arena. Since the CIA controls much of the European media and their ruling class it would take quite a lot for Europeans to drop their status as vassal states. ..."
Mar 19, 2021 | www.moonofalabama.org

Piotr Berman , Mar 18 2021 19:06 utc | 5

Nord Stream 2 is of vital importance to Germany's energy security. The German public was rather hostile to President Trump and Biden's victory was seen with relief. But when it sees how Biden pursues the same policies, and with a similar tone, it will turn on him . <-- b

However "hostile", Germany contributed to uni-lateral Trumpian sanctions, and so far, North Stream 2 is the only beacon of independence. Take Ukraine: Germany and France form half of Normandy Four, and provided name for Steinmeier formula. Ukraine resolutely resists proceeding with any obligations under that formula. Germany is silent on that and support annual extensions of sanctions, not to mention sanctions on Syria, Venezuela and whatever EU sanctions.

Syria is an interesting example. It could be actually popular among German voters to facilitate reconstruction in that country and return of the refugees to their homeland. Iran and Russia are potentially good customers for German industry. Independence of German banks and other companies from whimsical sanctions from USA would help too.

Seemingly, ingrained masochism is hard to overcome.

karlof1 , Mar 18 2021 19:22 utc | 8

Seej @4--

Thanks for posting Pepe's comments, some of which are in his current article I linked to on the open thread. In my comment related to Pepe's article I noted his excerpt of Chinese academic Jisi and this specific part:

"the Americans are eager to deal with problems before they are ready to improve the relationship."

That observation is consistent with that of an entity that only wants its orders obeyed and seeks no relationship or friendship with any other entity since it sees itself as Top Dog, and #1 in every way. As with the Nord Stream project, we see the Gangster mentality--Do as I say or else!

Not only does the Emperor have no clothes or much of a working memory, he's got erectile disfunction too that's well beyond the ability of Viagra to fix.

psychohistorian , Mar 18 2021 19:38 utc | 9

So here we have Blinken, Winken and Nod providing direction for failing empire

Blinken is obvious
Winken is that behind the scenes, wink, wink, nod, nod (there ain't no class structure here) type VP and
Nod is the new normal as US President.

I am sure they will try to take America to new places, yet to be dreamt of....will the brainwashed of the West follow?

About Germany and Nord Stream II.....To a degree that I am not sure of, Germany is like Japan, a fully owned colony of empire....this may be the time that the Germany nut gets cracked wide open....interesting times indeed.

Where are the details of Blinken telling China how to behave? I can hardly wait for the next act of Blinken, Winken and Nod

Mao Cheng Ji , Mar 18 2021 19:50 utc | 11

"Why, after so many bad words towards it, would China help the U.S. with solving the North Korea problem? It has zero incentive to do so."

This (as well as the Germany/NS2 thing) sounds like a rather naive view. Western headlines are for western internal consumption. And what's happening behind the scene, what incentives are offered and what threats are made in exchange for what specific actions, we simply don't know.

Chris Cosmos , Mar 18 2021 21:43 utc | 29

I notice a lot of accusations that Washington is "stupid" but that's not true. You have to understand how Washington works before you make such statements. The Deep State knows that it can control the minds of most Americans by inventing "truths" without any need to prove anything.

Since Washington is now in conflict with a goodly part of the public it sees that creating foreign policy crises and enemies as an excellent course of action to shore up support. Americans are always ready to react against enemies no matter how slender the proof of the wrongdoing ascribed to the enemy. There is never a penalty to pay for lying in the US if you are in the mainstream media or in the political arena. Since the CIA controls much of the European media and their ruling class it would take quite a lot for Europeans to drop their status as vassal states.

Remember, Washington can throw endless amounts of money around and fund everything from terrorism, crime waves, sexual indiscretions a la Epstein (the CIA had it's own whorehouse which my father pointed out to me decades ago--it was in Roslyn Virginia and it used underage girls and boys to improve its soft-power).

So far, no one has paid a penalty for lying or corrupt practices in Washington if they were "made" men or women (Trump never got that far).

As long as Europe, Japan and some other countries continue to be vassal states the US can and will get away with anything. Nordstream 2 is the issue that may change all that. Once Germany rebels the rest may follow.

mastameta , Mar 18 2021 20:22 utc | 18

germany breaking rank will be first big turn in nato. nordstream is a non negotiable issue for germany. meanwhile the US is not agreement capable. on anything and the vaccine hoarding is a big F U in EU to so called allies. all the pieces are set. just need time to let it all play out. the global south woke to it before the slower europeans can see the world anew.

as for the US china alaska meeting, it does seem to me that the US administration and deep state or whatever you want to call it are not coordinated or fully aligned with each other. the timing of the US sanctions on hk officials seem designed to thwart any possible dialogue. as if some elements are working to ensure the meeting resolves nothing.

the china global times calls this move the US stick that comes down before any negotiation and says it's a continuation of trump era tactics. maybe. I see it more as designed to make the meeting fail instead of designed to achieve anything such as extracting concessions from china. not being agreement capable because it is sabotaged from within.

but at this pt in the crumbling empire it is perhaps foolish to analyze its tactics in terms of means and ends. its only 'rationale' at this pt is to just keep doing what it's doing. sanctions wars threats coercion and moral grandstanding. it only knows it is right and there is nothing else besides.

Bernard F. , Mar 18 2021 22:41 utc | 36

@mina
@piotr berman

About Vlora to be an Alternative to NS2. Just a Fake from Radio France International, paid for by french gov. France is now full play in US hand. Macron want NS2 [and soon NS1..] to be shut down.

Nord Stream 1 is 55 Md.M3/y
Nord Stream 2 too.

110Md.m3/year

The biggest ship to deliver US GNL in Europe is 260.000 m3. 1m3 GNL is 600m3 natural gaz.

It's me or my computer? 3 ship per day? How many ship necessary? 60? 80?
Not an economy, a nightmare.
American capitalism was plunder and is now parasitism.


In order to get energy, Germany need Russia. Nord Stream is a direct tie in order to avoid "reliable" intermediate like Ukraine or Poland.
In order to get everything under control US need [reliable intermediate] to cut the tie between [oil/gas fields] from Middleeast or Russia and Germany, the sole country in Europe with Great industrial/technical capacity.

And good economic links to Eurasien.

Pardon my Englisch, I'm french. And tired

[Feb 24, 2021] Poland, Ukraine Urge Biden to Do His Best 'to Put an End' to Nord Stream 2 Project

Feb 24, 2021 | www.moonofalabama.org

vk , Feb 22 2021 12:16 utc | 109

Clipping:

Poland, Ukraine Urge Biden to Do His Best 'to Put an End' to Nord Stream 2 Project

"Our calls for vigilance and boldness were heard in the US Congress, which pressed on with measures designed to stop this dangerous, divisive project. We call on US President Joe Biden to use all means at his disposal to prevent the project from completion", the pair added.

They think they have a voice in the US Congress? Should apply for Statehood then.

The ministers suggested that if completed, the project will add to Russia's drive "to try to convince the Ukrainian public that the West doesn't care about its own principles, and ultimately, about the security and prosperity of Ukraine".

But wasn't the critique against socialism from the Soviet space that it was "utopian", i.e. that it put its "principles" (ideology) before economic fundamentals?

--//--

EU must be 'united and determined' on Russia sanctions, says Borrell

90 years old and still has not grown up.

I guess old dogs indeed can't learn new tricks.

snake , Feb 22 2021 22:15 utc | 151

Poland, Ukraine Urge Biden to Do His Best 'to Put an End' to Nord Stream 2 Project
vk @ 109. Congress of the USA to interfere with the completion of Russian-German Nord stream II project because the LNG cartel in USA governed Texas, Lousisana , Oregon want to require every man women and child in Europe to pay monopoly prices for LNG. As I see it failure of Nord Stream II will be extremely dangerous to the survival of the solar and wind renewable energy efforts; its a do it or die situation for dominate energy is the goal of the LNG cartel...

[Feb 03, 2021] "for example, on September 28, 2018, Hunter ordered $95,000 transferred without explanation), a "business" run by Jim Biden out of a residential address. Jim regularly invoiced Hunter for office expenses and employee costs, as well as a monthly retainer cost of some $68,000, plus other fees in the tens of thousands of dollars."

Feb 03, 2021 | www.nakedcapitalism.com

DJG , February 2, 2021 at 6:38 pm

Hunter Biden's laptop. The article is by Peter Van Buren, who indeed is not a nutcase.

Anyone here ever / currently a free lance? You'll love these details:

"for example, on September 28, 2018, Hunter ordered $95,000 transferred without explanation), a "business" run by Jim Biden out of a residential address. Jim regularly invoiced Hunter for office expenses and employee costs, as well as a monthly retainer cost of some $68,000, plus other fees in the tens of thousands of dollars."

Sure: My accountant would have been ga-ga for that. Then there's this little tidbit in which the CPA seems to believe that paying taxes is voluntary:

"The CPA's concern is that the IRS is sensitive to the fact that some try to conceal income as loans to be written off as expenses later, especially if the amounts are large. This can trigger an audit. If the loans are "forgiven," then they are income. If not declared, that is potential fraud. The same note from the CPA indicates Hunter owes $600,000 in personal taxes and another $204,000 for Owasco and urges him to file a return even if he is not going to pay the taxes."

[Feb 03, 2021] Hunter Biden's Guilty Laptop - The American Conservative

Feb 03, 2021 | www.theamericanconservative.com

The most charitable reading of the sleazy saga is that Joe Biden, one of the most powerful men in the world, is an incredibly gullible idiot. (By vasilis asvestas / Shutterstock)

DECEMBER 31, 2020

|

12:01 AM

PETER VAN BUREN

Iread the files on Hunter Biden's laptop. They paint a sleazy picture of multi-million dollar wire transfers, potential money laundering, and possible tax evasion. They raise serious questions about the judgment and propriety of Jim Biden, the president-elect's brother, and Joe himself. Call it smoke not fire, but smoke that should not be ignored. The files were supplied to TAC by a known source previously established to have access.

Joe Biden is lucky a coordinated media effort kept Hunter out of the campaign. The FBI has had the laptop since 2019, when they subpoenaed the files in connection with a money laundering investigation. Federal investigators also served a round of subpoenas on December 8, a month after the election, including one for Hunter Biden himself. While the legal thrust of the investigation by the federal prosecutor in Delaware is taxes, the real focus seems to be on Hunter's Chinese connections. This all comes after the FBI has had over a year to examine some of the same files TAC looked at.

https://lockerdome.com/lad/13045197114175078?pubid=ld-dfp-ad-13045197114175078-0&pubo=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theamericanconservative.com&rid=&width=838

In the final weeks before the election, Hunter's laptop fell into Republican hands. The story went public in the New York Post , revealing that Hunter Biden introduced his father, then vice president, to a top executive at Ukrainian energy firm Burisma less than a year before the elder Biden pressured government officials in Ukraine into firing a prosecutor who was investigating the company. The meeting is mentioned in a message of appreciation that Vadym Pozharskyi, an adviser to the board of Burisma, sent Hunter Biden about a year after Hunter himself joined the Burisma board at a salary of $ 83,000 a month with no obvious work duties past making such introductions.

Nice work if you can get it, and to get it your dad better be vice president. If all that alone does not meet the test of impropriety, we need a new test. Hunter Biden's value to clients was his perceived access to the White House. His father Joe was at least a passive participant in the scheme, maybe more than that.

The problem was many Americans never heard this story. Twitter led a social media charge to not allow the information online. After years of salivating over every bit of Trump family gossip, the mainstream media claimed the Biden story did not matter, or was Russian disinfo . Surveys suggest the information could have swung the election if voters had known about it. One survey showed that enough people in battleground states would have changed their votes to give Trump 311 electoral votes and reelection.

No mind, really. As soon as it became clear Joe Biden was going to win, the media on all sides lost interest in the laptop. The story became about the story. It devolved into think pieces about the Orwellian role of social media and some online giggling about the sex tapes on the laptop. But our short attention spans have consequences. The laptop still has a lot to tell us.

me title=

00:11 / 01:00 Next Video First Panel, TAC's 7th Annual Foreign Policy Conference What Does 2020 Mean For Foreign Policy Cancel Autoplay is paused

Hunter's laptop was chock-a-block with video that appears to show Hunter smoking crack while engaged in a sex act with a woman, as well as numerous other sexually explicit images. There's evidence there that Hunter spent money on escorts , some $21,000 on cam sites, big plays on all sorts of depravities . There is also Joe's car insurance information, Hunter's SSN, pages of call logs, and lots of email addresses, bank account numbers, and personal information of prominent people. None of the material is encrypted, just dumped on a standard MacBook Pro using the password "Hunter02." The machine was regularly connected to the internet and might as well have had an electronic sign on it saying "My dad is important, here's what you'll need to blackmail me and others to get to him."

But there is more. The laptop shows Hunter, through a number of front companies, accepted money from Chinese and Ukrainian entities and moved that money to the U.S. where it was parceled out to other entities, including Joe Biden's brother. Some of it then went back to Chinese hands. There is no way a simple read-through can tell if the money was legal consulting fees or illegal money laundering and tax fraud. But it all smells bad: multi-million dollar transfers to LLCs without employees, residences used as multiple business addresses, legal tricks from Cyprus and the British Virgin Islands, and even a minor CIA connection.

Ask yourself if this demands more investigation. Ask yourself if voters might not have benefited from knowing more about Joe Biden's side of all this.

The majority of the contents of the laptop are a jumbled record of Hunter's international business ventures and financial records. Outstanding in the haystack are a large number of wire transfers. Those with traceable addresses appear to be mostly anonymous shell companies run out of lawyers' offices, with no employees and fuzzy public paper trails. One off the top involved $259,845 traveling on April 2, 2018, from the Hudson West III in New York to a numbered account held by Cathay Bank. Hudson West was created by Hunter Biden's own law firm, Owasco, with several Chinese nationals, including a Ye Jianming associate, Gong Wendong. Ye Jianming is chairman of CEFC China Energy, who reportedly had close ties to both the Chinese government and the People's Liberation Army. He's been arrested in China on corruption charges and has conveniently disappeared.

Biden in August 2018 also returned $100,000 back to CEFC in China via its own New York subsidiary LLC, Hudson West V, whose listed address is 12 Foxwood Road, Great Neck, NY 11024. That address is not a business office but instead a single family home worth over $6 million. Phone records suggest two people live there, including Gong Wendong. Money appears to move from physical China to virtual Hunter back to virtual China in the U.S., starting and ending in accounts tied to Gong Wendong after touching base with Hunter, a potential indicator of laundering. Chinese money in China changed into Chinese money in America. Caution is needed; while what looks like money laundering at first glance may indeed be so, it may be designed to hide the cash from the Chinese government while staying inside American law, a quasi-legal service Hunter possibly supplied.

That 12 Foxwood address shows up again on Biden's laptop as the mailing address for another Gong Wendong venture, ColdHarbour Capital, which sent and received money to Biden. It is also listed as the residence of Shan Gao, who appears to control accounts in Beijing tied to Hudson, CEFC, and 12 Foxwood.

The most significant appearance of 12 Foxwood was as the mailing address for a secured VISA card in the name of Biden's company, Hudson West III. The card is funded by someone unnamed through Cathay Bank for $99,000 and guaranteed by someone's checking account held by Cathay worth $450,000. Shared users of the card are Hunter and Gong Wendong. The card was opened as CEFC secured a stake in a Russian state-owned energy company. Biden and others subsequently used the credit card to purchase $101,291.46 worth of extravagant items, including airline tickets and multiple items at Apple stores, pharmacies, hotels, and restaurants. A Senate report characterized these transactions as "potential financial criminal activity." Putting money on a secured VISA card in lieu of a direct wire transfer to Biden may be seen by some as an attempt to hide the source of the money and thus allow Biden not to claim it as income.

James Biden and Sara Biden were also authorized users of the credit card, though their business connection to Hunter and Gong Wendong is unclear. Jim is Joe's brother, Sara his wife. Jim over the years has been a nightclub owner, insurance broker, political consultant, and investor. When he ran into financial trouble having triple mortgaged his home, he was bailed out via loans from Joe and Hunter and by a series of Joe's donors. Jim also received a loan of $500,000 from John Hynansky, a Ukrainian-American businessman and longtime donor to Joe Biden's campaigns. This all was in 2015, at the same time the then-vice president oversaw U.S. policy toward the country. As a senator, Joe Biden made use of a private jet owned by Hynansky's son.

The 12 Foxwood address also appears on millions of dollars worth of bank transfers among Cathay Bank, CEFC, and multiple semi-anonymous LLCs and hedge funds. One single transfer to Hudson West III on August 8, 2017, represented the movement of $5 million from Northern Capital International, which appears to be a Chinese government-owned import-export front company.

Switch over to the CDB Bank folder and you see a wire transfer from Burisma for 36,000 euros, run through a bank in Cyprus, to Biden's own account on that island. Burisma is the one company from the laptop that made the news. Hunter's role, what he actually did besides introduce his father to other people, is still unclear.

Burisma must be an interesting place. Hunter's laptop partially exposes a complex web of sub-companies in Cyprus and the British Virgin Islands such that figuring out who owns who is near impossible. Hunter, speaking to his business partner, speculates about buying a Lithuanian bank to receive the Ukrainian money, and he also notes that Joseph Cofer Black , former director of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center, sits on Burisma's board. Black previously served as vice chairman at mercenary provider Blackwater Worldwide (now Academi).

All just business, right? Not everyone saw it that way. An email from Wells Fargo's corporate compliance team (Wells Fargo handled many of the international wire transfers) asks on September 20, 2018, what the actual business of Hudson West is, who its owners are, and where it is located. Also asked is what the purpose of all the incoming wires is. It notes some business accounts appear to be for personal expenses. It also questions numerous outgoing wires to the Lion Hall Group (for example, on September 28, 2018, Hunter ordered $95,000 transferred without explanation), a "business" run by Jim Biden out of a residential address. Jim regularly invoiced Hunter for office expenses and employee costs, as well as a monthly retainer cost of some $68,000, plus other fees in the tens of thousands of dollars.

There is no record of these questions being answered. It is possible to see the disbursal of funds via credit card to Jim Biden as a way to diffuse the amounts away from Hunter, and via Jim's invoices, a way to convert income from China into deductible business expenses for Hunter in America, reducing his tax burden. The involvement of Lion Hall and Jim Biden also spreads the money around, lowering its profile. If the invoices were shown to be fraudulent (i.e., Jim did not actually consult for Hunter), the potential for tax fraud exists.

Besides Wells Fargo, others also had questions. Hunter's own CPA, preparing to file 2018 federal taxes, wrote to Hunter asking, "As far as Owasco [Hunter's law firm] is concerned there were some receipts we classified as loans. Owasco received approximately $550,000 from Burisma and paid about one half this amount to, I believe, someone named 'Devon.' I am not sure of the payee The one half payment to 'Devon' was not recorded as income."

Devon is likely Devon Archer , co-founder and managing partner of Rosemont Capital alongside Hunter. Who else was part of Rosemont? Christopher Heinz , John Kerry's son. And, small world, Devon Archer sat on the board of Burisma alongside Hunter Biden. The CPA's concern is that the IRS is sensitive to the fact that some try to conceal income as loans to be written off as expenses later, especially if the amounts are large. This can trigger an audit. If the loans are "forgiven," then they are income. If not declared, that is potential fraud.

The same note from the CPA indicates Hunter owes $600,000 in personal taxes and another $204,000 for Owasco and urges him to file a return even if he is not going to pay the taxes. Besides taxes, things did not always go well for Hunter. On March 6, 2019, he sent an email to a friend saying, "Buddy do you have a cash app to send me $100 until wire goes. I have no money for gas and I'm literally stuck at a rest stop on 95." He earlier had sought a $35,000 advance from his regular "draw" out of Owasco. And keep an eye on Hunter's health -- he pays close to $9,000 a quarter for life insurance.

Joe Biden is one lucky S.O.B. When the powers that be decided Barack Obama needed someone a little more, you know, establishment, as his VP to calm voters, there was Joe, as white-bread as the state he represented, vaulted into the White House that had otherwise eluded him. His only controversial points came from having supported the status quo for so many years that it had changed underneath him. Are we tough on crime, or do Black Lives Matter? Didn't matter to Joe, just point him in the right direction so he knows what to agree with. And so in 2020, when the Democrats realized exactly what kind of man they needed to wipe away the sins of two dishonest and chaotic primaries, well, there was Joe again.

Joe was fortunate that the mainstream media memory-holed Hunter's story and conservative media lost focus looking for a tweetable smoking gun when the truth was a bit too complicated to parse out in a sentence or two. But there is still a story here.

The short version is there's a lot to suggest money laundering and tax fraud on Hunter's part. The purpose of the money in and out was always unclear, with invoices for vague expenses and lots and lots of "consulting." One could invent a legal explanation for everything. One could imagine many illegal explanations. There is no way anyone could know the difference without seeing Hunter's taxes, asking him questions, and doing some serious forensic accounting. It is unlikely any of that will happen now that the election is over. Even to Guiliani et al., it really doesn't matter any more. They took one shot, missed, and walked away.

That will leave undigested the bigger tale of president-elect Biden, who ran in part on an anti-corruption platform following the Trump family escapades. While Joe Biden no doubt regrets what appears to have been a one-off meeting with the Burisma official, he did indeed take the meeting as VP. It's always easier to apologize when caught than seek permission in advance in Joe's world.

A 2017 email chain involving Hunter brokering an ultimately failed deal for a new venture with old friend CEFC, the Chinese energy company, described a 10 percent set-aside for the "big guy," whom former Hunter Biden partner Tony Bobulinski publicly identified as Joe Biden . Joe also took Hunter to China with him on Air Force Two and met with Chinese leaders while Hunter tried to make deals on his own. Joe also had Hunter and partner Devon Archer to the White House only two days before they joined Burisma. It was Joe's donors and pals who bailed out brother Jim over the years with sweetheart loans.

A lot of appearance of improprietous malarkey from a senior statesman who knows better. In places like China and the Ukraine, where corruption is endemic, it is assumed the sons of rich and powerful men have access to their father and that access is for sale. Hunter Biden traded on those assumptions for millions of dollars, and Joe stood by understanding what was happening. Every father wants to help his son, and Hunter, one can imagine, went to his dad time after time pleading for just one more little favor to get him clear of his sordid past. Joe, a decent man at heart, likely nodded. So a meeting. A handshake. An office visit, a posed photo, whatever would help but was still plausibly deniable. Until the next time. Just one more, Dad. Please?

Joe's larger role in all things Hunter needs to be questioned. Joe, as well as the Obama State Department, knew about Hunter's antics. Joe pretended Hunter's financial windfalls had nothing to do with their relationship and were simply a constant series of coincidental lucky breaks for a ne'er-do-well son who happened to fail upward while his dad was VP. Joe says he and his son never talked about business. Maybe Joe assumed Hunter's Porsche was just a lucky find (his car payments are on the laptop).

While, of course, Hunter is an adult with his own mind, his father was one of the most powerful men in the world and yet apparently did nothing to stop what was going on among Hunter, his brother Jim, the Chinese, the Ukrainians, and himself -- at minimum, the gross appearance of impropriety over a period of years. Biden's defense has always been sweeping : "My son did nothing wrong." That alone raises questions of judgment on the part of Joe Biden. Not least because in a few weeks he becomes president of the United States. And if the president does it, it's not illegal, right?

Peter Van Buren is the author of We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People , Hooper's War: A Novel of WWII Japan , and Ghosts of Tom Joad: A Story of the 99 Percent .

kouroi • a month ago

Maybe it is the sad truth..?

danram kouroi • a month ago

Maybe you're just deluded enough to believe it because it's what you want to believe.

kouroi danram • a month ago

Why do you project your certitude onto others. "Maybe" does not imply certainty, just the opposite...

5JimBob danram • a month ago • edited

Maybe you can offer information that contradicts the assertions and alleged facts in this article? Please make the effort to enlighten the rest of us. It'll force you to seriously read the article and learn its contents in order to refute them. If you can't do that then you haven't the courage to try and support your own assertions. It's hard to face the possibility that you're wrong, but if you build a case maybe you'll actually change a few minds here and there. As things stand right now you seem guilty to me of being "just deluded enough to (not) believe it (the article) because it's what you want to (not) believe."

Katepacomen • a month ago

Jared Kushner and I don't care

kenofken • a month ago

Nobody outside the Trump Cult cares about Hunter Biden and since they know Biden isn't really the president, they have no cause for concern.

former-vet kenofken • a month ago

That's exactly how I would have felt if Trump's kids had a strong appearance of selling their father's influence for tens of millions of dollars! And if the Trump kids business partners turned on them and gave testimony under oath to the FBI about it, and volumes of documentary evidence supported it!

Nothingburger! I'm sure you and the media would have agreed with how I felt, and completely ignored Trump corruption before the election. 'Cause that's the fair and balanced media we all enjoy!

penelopeo former-vet • a month ago

Silly vet. Trump's kids HAVE A STRONG APPEARANCE OF SELLING THEIR FATHER'S INFLUENCE.

Have you been living under a rock? Why did Ivanka get several Chinese patents AT THE SAME TIME Daddy was letting a Chinese company off the hook and hosting the Chinese leader at Mar-A-Lago? Why is Jared Kushner jetting off to ME countries looking for investment money while an active advisor in the West Wing? Why are Beavis and Butthead (Don Jr and Eric) looking for foreign properties while Daddy is president?

Wake up.

Joe_Hubris penelopeo • a month ago

Trump's children were actively involved in international business concerns long before Trump ran for office. Hunter Biden is a low-life crack head who never achieved anything until his daddy was VP. If you can't acknowledge the difference, you are incapable of reason.

Rick Mercier Joe_Hubris • a month ago

@Joe_Hubris Quite right, we all heard that donkey jr met with the Russians at Trump Tower. There was ample evidence, before he let it out himself. But that wasn't exactly conducting business, that was trying to steal an election.
Honest, Ivanka seems rather smart. Of course, Midlle Eastern money into Jared's businesses will dry up, still, they'll save the furniture.
But, as soon as they are given the chance, Beavis and Butthead will do their best to blow Trump Inc to smithereens and burn all that remains of it to the ground.

kasandra Joe_Hubris • a month ago

Oh, Hunter was in on the grift long before Joe became VP. He was brought into MBNA's "Executive Training" program and made a member of the Board of AMTRAC while his daddy was in the Senate.

sentry1 Joe_Hubris • a month ago

Is crack his drug of choice? That would surprise me.

former-vet penelopeo • a month ago

I'm awake. Whenever there have been allegations of corruption against Trump's family, I've tried to track the facts down (same as I've done with Biden, and before either of them other candidates/Presidents).

There is one difference. My perception of major media the past four years is that with Democrats, they've worked to minimize the damage on any story harmful to the left (Hunters' laptop and Tara Reades' allegations of rape being prime examples), while any story involving Trump they've exaggerated, left important facts out of their coverage, or outright lied. So I believe that if there was any real corruption involving Trump, the MSM would have covered it endlessly, just like they did with the bogus allegations of Trump collaborating with the Russians to steal the election, and many other examples.

I'm not hiding from facts involving Trump family corruption. I just haven't seen anything supporting it yet. I don't know if Jared Kushner was soliciting investment money in the ME; that has been rumor and innuendo by his political enemies with no factual basis so far. Ivanka having a fashion line and protecting it globally seems normal to me (China is a huge market - bigger than the U.S.). Don Jr. and Eric seem like they're doing the same things they were doing before DJT sought office, which is managing a normal business.

Everything about Hunter and Joe's brothers' business activities seem incredibly suspicious to me, on the other hand.

steve j. former-vet • a month ago

And there is solid evidence with the laptop, witnesses who have testified (no anonymous ones) and J Biden's recorded comments on Burisma.

danram former-vet • a month ago

Right! For example, I'm sure that Ivanka Trump got all of those lucrative licensing deals in China SOLELY because of her amazing financial and business acumen! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

patrick danram • a month ago

At least she has an actual product to sell in an actual business

JasonT danram • a month ago

She has been in business much longer than her dad has been in politics.

sentry1 danram • a month ago

It ain't that hard if you're not afraid to deal with the Chinese.

Shakin' my head sentry1 • a month ago

Well,cwe know "covid"Joe isn't shy about doing business with them,bright? He said he had more time with Chinese leaders than any modern president. And, using those chinese connections,he had a virus made, and crazy Nancy Pelosi helped him spread it on her end of the country. They used the impeachment, then the antics of the democratic socialists kicked in, with Nancy calling him fat. And, when he tried to restrict flights from china, they called him xenophobic and racist. Then distracted him more by inviting people to Chinese new year! Before the virus, Trump was unstoppable. With ultra low unemployment rates, and factories going strong, not to mention the legislation"Alzheimer's" Joe got going, causing at least one man twenty years in prison for stealing a shovel! No one really considered Biden to be a serious rival to trump then once they got the virus going, they used the lowering of the presidents ratings and the virtual emptying of every other candidates, plus the virus allowed them to get that mail in voting going, which is easier to tamper with than electronic voting machines. Did you notice,with all the super sick people,we had the highest turnout in history? Before you say it can't be true, another nugget to chew:right before the election, about 90% of the bad things"Dirty" Joe did just know kinda "vanished from social media!! We all know, if it shows up there, it never goes away, right? Wrong when the democratic socialists control them...so in honoring Joe's greatest accomplishment, I give to you....the JOVID virus...it's kinda...catchy, eh?but we need to shout out loud, so he can hear, that everyone knows what he did last year! JOVID! JOVID! Put your hands in the air like you just don't care and, with half the country hating this Biden clown we should be as loud as Metallica in a phone booth!! Don't let them get away with it!!!!

mrlyn60 danram • a month ago

Unlike Joe Biden's grifting clan, Trump's offspring had successful enterprises well before their father entered into politics. And yes, in China and a number of international countries also. Like their father, and unlike the Biden's, the Trump family didn't strike it rich from political office. In fact, President Trump donated his entire presidential salary of $400k/yr to charities all four years. Imagine Joe Biden doing that.

Michael Schaefer kenofken • a month ago

Real cults are into infanticide a la abortion on demand like the DNC.

sentry1 Michael Schaefer • a month ago • edited

It is a sad state we find ourselves in today. Democrats whine about "white privilege" against people who had nothing to do with slavery and in fact lost ancestors fighting it. Meanwhile in a more real and present instance of privilege at the expense of other humans, current vaccinations against Covid19 were developed using cell lines derived from aborted human children. To my knowledge not a single vaccine is being offered that does not rest on this heinous recipe.

sentry1 kenofken • a month ago

Buaaaaaahahahahahaha!

M Orban • a month ago • edited

- It worked when swiftboating Kerry,
- it worked with Hillary's emails.
...now it fell flat. 2:1. still a winning score.

any good so much winning memes out there?

[Jan 27, 2021] PACE decided to pass a non-binding resolution of more sanctions against Russia for the Navalny fiasco while Frau Merkel (and her likely successor) remains clear that Nord Stream II must be finished

Jan 27, 2021 | consortiumnews.com

Jeff Harrison , January 26, 2021 at 02:13

Incisive and grim. As Mr. Putin observed, Presidents come and go but the policy stays the same. But wait! I think there's more

WRT Iran. Iran recently announced that their sales of oil had increased substantially, without, of course identifying how much or with whom. If they are doing these transactions in national currencies, there's nothing other than piracy that the US can do, making the US more dependent on our vassals to carry our water here. But

In other news, the EU has decided to stop supporting Guido. If some of the OAS vassals get the idea that they, too, can stand on at least their two knees, maybe Mr. Maduro can get a bit more of a break. The US is sure to be wroth.

PACE decided to pass a non-binding resolution of more sanctions against Russia for the Navalny fiasco while Frau Merkel (and her likely successor) remains clear that Nord Stream II must be finished. The German FM pointed out that they could face serious court battles since the Pipeline consortium which includes other EU countries has all the permits they require.

The results are in aaaaannnnnddd – thanx to Covid, for the first time in history China had more Direct Foreign Investment (DFI) than the US. The US better hope that doesn't keep up ..

[Jan 20, 2021] The USA doesn't pay for oil or gas. It takes over the mining company, demands the project be funded by local or national borrowing from USA banks with sovereign guarantees, sells the product to a separate US company that pays peanuts to the miner and then onsells for a major markup (transfer pricing). Its called modern day stealing of other countries resources.

Jan 20, 2021 | www.moonofalabama.org

uncle tungsten , Jan 20 2021 21:02 utc | 70

dh #45

@42 I'm sure Maduro would take dollars.....or gold. Of course buying Venezuelan oil from an evil brutal socialist dictator would be a major climb down.

The USA doesn't pay for oil or gas. It takes over the mining company, demands the project be funded by local or national borrowing from USA banks with sovereign guarantees, sells the product to a separate US company that pays peanuts to the miner and then onsells for a major markup (transfer pricing). Its called modern day stealing of other countries resources.

Look at the report on keystone that you cited at #39 where

The Canadian province that invested $1.1 billion of taxpayers' money in the controversial Keystone XL project is now considering the sale of pipe and materials to try to recoup some funds.

"If the project ends, there would be assets that could be sold, such as enormous quantities of pipe," Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said in a press conference Monday.

Meanwhile the directors and shareholders got their fat checks and dividends from the municipal loan funds ;)

The USA will not pay in gold until it is on its knees - it simply will not pay. See how the USA 'bought' Tik Tok: blatant extortion/theft. The same as was done to Japan's high tech in the 60's 70's or whenever. Thieves.

[Jan 20, 2021] Policy to stop Nord Stream 2 will continue under Biden

Jan 20, 2021 | www.moonofalabama.org

karlof1 , Jan 20 2021 0:23 utc | 59

Policy to stop Nord Stream 2 will continue under Biden, although here we're told Biden will extend New START Treaty by the same person, Biden's nominee for Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. Defense nominee Austin was also covered in this article where we can see he reads from the same playbook as those who went before him. So it seems like continuity of its dystopic imperial policy will be what we see from the Outlaw US Empire, although we'll soon see if that also applies to Trump's Farewell boast that he was proud not to have started any "new" wars.

[Jan 20, 2021] There is nothing new in that German policy, for example it supported the building of pipelines from the USSR over President Reagan objections. Which does not mean that it wasn't enemy of the USSR - its destruction was the key for taking control of Eastern Europe and turning it into Germany's Latin America

Jan 20, 2021 | www.moonofalabama.org

uncle tungsten , Jan 20 2021 21:02 utc | 70

dh #45

@42 I'm sure Maduro would take dollars.....or gold. Of course buying Venezuelan oil from an evil brutal socialist dictator would be a major climb down.

The USA doesn't pay for oil or gas. It takes over the mining company, demands the project be funded by local or national borrowing from USA banks with sovereign guarantees, sells the product to a separate US company that pays peanuts to the miner and then onsells for a major markup (transfer pricing). Its called modern day stealing of other countries resources.

Look at the report on keystone that you cited at #39 where

The Canadian province that invested $1.1 billion of taxpayers' money in the controversial Keystone XL project is now considering the sale of pipe and materials to try to recoup some funds.

"If the project ends, there would be assets that could be sold, such as enormous quantities of pipe," Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said in a press conference Monday.

Meanwhile the directors and shareholders got their fat checks and dividends from the municipal loan funds ;)

The USA will not pay in gold until it is on its knees - it simply will not pay. See how the USA 'bought' Tik Tok: blatant extortion/theft. The same as was done to Japan's high tech in the 60's 70's or whenever. Thieves.

Phil Espin , Jan 20 2021 20:51 utc | 66

Hi b, Jim Kunstler has an interesting piece this week on the impact of EROI on the US recovery or lack thereof in the US shake sector. Just not enough cheap energy to get their economy going. Will Germany hold up against Trumps last minute sanctions against Nordstream if Biden maintains them? If Germany doesn't won't that put Germany in the same over expensive boat as US and lead to economic stagnation? Especially if all Russia's cheap energy ends up in China, which it almost certainly will.

Norwegian , Jan 20 2021 21:27 utc | 85
@Passer by | Jan 20 2021 21:22 utc | 82

Well since the qualifier was "In the EU" it can no longer be the UK, even if that is where russophobia has its home.

Passer by , Jan 20 2021 21:32 utc | 89
Posted by: Norwegian | Jan 20 2021 21:27 utc | 85

It is a thousand years old affair.

"Why do the USA, UK and Europe so hate Russia? How it is that Western antipathy, once thought due to anti-Communism, could be so easily revived over a crisis in distant Ukraine, against a Russia no longer communist? Why does the West accuse Russia of empire-building, when 15 states once part of the defunct Warsaw Pact are now part of NATO, and NATO troops now flank the Russian border? These are only some of the questions Creating Russophobia iinvestigates. Mettan begins by showing the strength of the prejudice against Russia through the Western response to a series of events: the Uberlingen mid-air collision, the Beslan hostage- taking, the Ossetia War, the Sochi Olympics and the crisis in Ukraine. He then delves into the historical, religious, ideological and geopolitical roots of the detestation of Russia in various European nations over thirteen centuries since Charlemagne competed with Byzantium for the title of heir to the Roman Empire. Mettan examines the geopolitical machinations expressed in those times through the medium of religion, leading to the great Christian schism between Germanic Rome and Byzantium and the European Crusades against Russian Orthodoxy. This history of taboos, prejudices and propaganda directed against the Orthodox Church provides the mythic foundations that shaped Western disdain for contemporary Russia. From the religious and imperial rivalry created by Charlemagne and the papacy to the genesis of French, English, German and then American Russophobia, the West has been engaged in more or less violent hostilities against Russia for a thousand years. Contemporary Russophobia is manufactured through the construction of an anti-Russian discourse in the media and the diplomatic world, and the fabrication and demonization of The Bad Guy, now personified by Vladimir Putin. Both feature in the meta-narrative, the mythical framework of the ferocious Russian bear ruled with a rod of iron by a vicious president. A synthetic reading of all these elements is presented in the light of recent events and in particular of the Ukrainian crisis and the recent American elections, showing how all the resources of the West's soft power have been mobilized to impose the tale of bad Russia dreaming of global conquest. "By hating Russia, one hurts oneself. Swiss journalist Guy Mettan pieces together the reasons of detestation of the Kremlin and of a rhetoric that goes back to Napoleonic times despite the long list of aggressions perpetrated in the meantime by the West. And he explains why pushing Moscow toward Asia is a very serious error." -Panorama, Italy "Like Saddam Hussein's mythical weapons of massive destruction in 2003, Peter the Great's fake will has been used to justify the aggressions and invasions that the Europeans, and now the Americans, still carry out against Russia." -Liberation, France

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34237648-creating-russophobia

Laguerre , Jan 20 2021 21:47 utc | 95

"Not at all, the center of russophobia will now be Germany. In is not a surprise that Russia recently declared that the center of russophobia in the EU are now France and Germany."

Hmm, perhaps.

Passer by , Jan 20 2021 21:57 utc | 97

Posted by: Laguerre | Jan 20 2021 21:47 utc | 95

The recent ban of the Hockey Tournament in Belarus, as well as the whole Belarus Maidan thing was driven mainly from Europe.

European institutions are russophobic too, with the EU Parliament being the most.

The new green parties in Europe are more russophobic than even some of the old parties.

FrancisPike , Jan 20 2021 21:58 utc | 98

Nord Stream 2 will be completed contrary to the opinions of four to five commenters on here. This is Germany & Russia that you are talking about. Sanctions did not stop the Crimean bridge. It makes no economic sense to deny European/West Asian (Russian produced) Liquid natural gas in order to subsidise 'transit fees' to Ukraine. The U.S.Congress' sanctions here are untenible, but don't expect Germany & Russia to publish how they will do it until completion.

karlof1 , Jan 20 2021 22:03 utc | 100

Reuters gleeful that Gazprom announced the possibility Nord Stream 2 won't be completed due to "political pressure." But such a warning is part of all standard potential risks announcements accompanying any prospectus--a fact Reuters ignored--which in this case is for the issuance of Eurobonds, although I question the judgement in making them dollar denominated.

Passer by , Jan 20 2021 22:07 utc | 103

@ FrancisPike | Jan 20 2021 21:58 utc | 98

Its not contrary to my opinion, but you appear to be young and naive person. There is nothing new in that German policy, for example it supported the building of pipelines from the USSR over President Reagan objections. Which does not mean that it wasn't enemy of the USSR - its destruction was the key for taking control of Eastern Europe and turning it into Germany's Latin America.

Someone can hate you and may want to make money at the same time too. But as soon as there is weakness, they will pounce on you and stab you in the back.

As for the pipeline, it will remain under a puppet russian government. No loss there too.

What the EU wants is to subdue Russia and later dismember it, taking hold of the population and natural resources.

In the mean time, there is nothing wrong with making some money too. As the EU worships a good living too.

[Jan 19, 2021] US expands sanctions against Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, targeting ships Russian firms working on vital pan-European projec

Jan 19, 2021 | www.rt.com

46 Follow RT on RT Outgoing US President Donald Trump has delivered his "parting gift" to the Moscow-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, with newly announced sanctions targeting a pipe-laying vessel and companies involved in the multinational project.

The specialist ship concerned, named, 'Fortuna,' and oil tanker 'Maksim Gorky', as well as two Russian firms, KVT-Rus and Rustanker, were blacklisted on Tuesday under CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) as part of Washington's economic war on Moscow. The same legislation had been previously used by the US to target numerous Russian officials and enterprises.

Russian energy giant Gazprom warned its investors earlier on Tuesday that Nord Stream 2 could be suspended or even canceled if more US restrictions are introduced.

ALSO ON RT.COM Gazprom warns investors that Nord Stream 2 could be canceled as Trump announces more US sanctions in 'parting gift'

However, Moscow has assured its partners that it intends to complete the project despite "harsh pressure on the part of Washington," according to Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov. Reacting to the new package of sanctions on Tuesday, Peskov called them "unlawful."

Meanwhile, the EU said it is in no rush to join the Washington-led sanction war on Nord Stream 2. EU foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, said that the bloc is not going to resist the construction of the project.

"Because we're talking about a private project, we can't hamper the operations of those companies if the German government agrees to it," Borrell said Tuesday.

Nord Stream 2 is an offshore gas pipeline, linking Russia and Germany with aim of providing cheaper energy to Central European customers. Under the agreement between Moscow and Berlin, it was to be launched in mid-2020, but the construction has been delayed due to strong opposition from Washington.

ALSO ON RT.COM One more European firm caves to US pressure on Nord Stream 2 project – media

The US, which is hoping to sell its Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) to Europe, has hit the project with several rounds of sanctions over scarcely credible claims that it could undermine European energy security. Critics say the real intent is to force EU members to buy from American companies.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!

46 Follow RT on RT Trends:

Fatback33 4 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 11:20 AM

The group that owns Washington makes the foreign policy. That policy is not for the benefit of the people.
DukeLeo Fatback33 1 hour ago 19 Jan, 2021 02:06 PM
That is correct. The private banks and corporations in the US are very upset about Nord Stream - 2, as they want Europe to buy US gas at double price. Washington thus introduces additional political gangsterism in the shape of new unilateral sanctions which have no merit in international law.
noremedy 4 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 11:22 AM
Is the U.S. so stupid that they do not realize that they are isolating themselves? Russia has developed SPFS, China CIPS, together with Iran, China and Russia are further developing a payment transfer system. Once in place and functioning this system will replace the western SWIFT system for international payment transfers. It will be the death knell for the US dollar. 327 million Americans are no match for the rest of the billions of the world's population. The next decade will see the total debasement of the US monetary system and the fall from power of the decaying and crumbling in every way U.S.A.
Hanonymouse noremedy 2 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 01:37 PM
They don't care. They have the most advanced military in the world. Might makes right, even today.
Shelbouy 3 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 12:25 PM
Russia currently supplies over 50% of the natural gas consumed by The EU. Germany and Italy are the largest importers of Russian natural gas. What is the issue of sanctions stemming from and why are the Americans doing this? A no brainer question I suppose. It's to make more money than the other supplier, and exert political pressure and demand obedience from its lackey. Germany.
David R. Evans Shelbouy 2 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 01:58 PM
Russia and Iran challenge perpetual US wars for Israel's Oded Yinon Plan. Washington is Israel-controlled territory.
Jewel Gyn 4 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 11:34 AM
Sanctions work both ways. With the outgoing Trump administration desperately laying mines for Biden, we await how sleepy Joe is going to mend strayed ties with EU.
Count_Cash 4 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 11:20 AM
The US mafia state continues with the same practices. The dog is barking but the caravan is going. The counter productiveness of sanctions always shows through in the end! I am sure with active efforts of Germany and Russia against US mafia oppression that a blowback will be felt by the US over time!
Dachaguy 4 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 11:24 AM
This is an act of war against Germany. NATO should respond and act against the aggressor, America.
xyz47 Dachaguy 42 minutes ago 19 Jan, 2021 03:20 PM
NATO is run by the US...
lovethy Dachaguy 2 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 01:04 PM
NATO has no separate existence. It's the USA's arm of aggression, suppression and domination. Germany after WWII is an occupied country of USA. Thousand of armed personnel stationed in Germany enforcing that occupation.
Chaz Dadkhah 3 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 12:19 PM
Further proof that Trump is no friend of Russia and is in a rush to punish them while he still has power. If it was the swamp telling him to do that, like his supporters suggest, then they would have waited till their man Biden came in to power in less than 24 hours to do it. Wake up!
Mac Kio 3 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 12:34 PM
USA hates fair competition. USA ignores all WTO rules.
Russkiy09 2 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 01:33 PM
By whining and not completing in the face of US, Russia is losing credibility. They should not have delayed to mobilize the pipe laying vessel and other equipment for one whole year. They should have mobilized in three months and finished by now. Same happens when Jewtin does not shoot down Zio air force bombing Syria everyday. But best option should have been to tell European vassals that "if you can, take our gas. But we will charge the highest amount and sell as much as we want, exclude Russophobic Baltic countries and Poland and neo-vassal Ukraine. Pay us not in your ponzi paper money but real goods and services or precious metals or other commodities or our own currency Ruble." I so wish I could be the President of Russia. Russians deserve to be as wealthy as the Swiss or SIngapore etc., not what they are getting. Their leaders should stand up for their interest. And stop empowering the greedy merchantalist Chinese and brotherhood Erdogan.
BlackIntel 1 hour ago 19 Jan, 2021 02:27 PM
America i captured by private interest; this project threatens American private companies hence the government is forced to protect capitalism. This is illegal
Ohhho 3 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 12:15 PM
That project was a mistake from the start: Russia should distance itself from the Evil empire, EU included! Stop wasting time and resources on trying to please the haters and keeping them more competitive with cheaper Russian natural gas: focus on real partners and potential allies elsewhere!
butterfly123 2 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 01:58 PM
I have said it before that part of the problem is at the door of the policy-makers and politicians in Russia. Pipeline project didn't spring up in the minds of politicians in Russia one morning, presumably. There should have been foresight, detailed planning, and opportunity creation for firms in Russia to acquire the skill-set and resources to advance this project. Not doing so has come to bite Russia hard and painful. Lessons learnt I hope Mr President!
jakro 4 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 11:37 AM
Good news. The swamp is getting deeper and bigger.
hermaflorissen 4 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 11:49 AM
Trump finally severed my expectations for the past 4 years. He should indeed perish.
ariadnatheo 1 hour ago 19 Jan, 2021 03:06 PM
That is one Trump measure that will not be overturned by the Senile One. They will need to amplify the RussiaRussiaRussia barking and scratching to divert attention from their dealings with China
Neville52 2 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 02:01 PM
Its time the other nations of the world turned their backs on the US. Its too risky if you are an international corporation to suddenly have large portions of your income cancelled due to some crazy politician in the US
5th Eye 2 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 02:03 PM
From empire to the collapse of empire, US follows UK to the letters. Soon it will be irrelevant. The only thing that remains for UK is the language. Probably hotdog for the US.
VonnDuff1 1 hour ago 19 Jan, 2021 02:10 PM
The USA Congress and its corrupt foreign policy dictates work to the detriment of Europe and Russia, while providing no tangible benefits to US states or citizens. So globalist demands wrapped in the stars & stripes, should be laughed at, by all freedom loving nations.

[Jan 15, 2021] Will the Senate Confirm Coup Plotter Victoria Nuland- -

Notable quotes:
"... By Medea Benjamin. cofounder of ..."
"... CODEPINK for Peace ..."
"... , and author of several books, including ..."
"... Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran ..."
"... . @medeabenjamin; Nicolas J. S. Davies, an independent journalist, a researcher with CODEPINK and the author of ..."
"... Blood On Our Hands: the American Invasion and Destruction of Iraq ..."
"... . @NicolasJSDavies; and Marcy Winograd of Progressive Democrats of America served as a 2020 Democratic delegate for Bernie Sanders,and is Coordinator of ..."
"... CODEPINK CONGRESS ..."
"... . @MarcyWinograd ..."
"... Foreign Affairs ..."
Jan 15, 2021 | www.nakedcapitalism.com

Will the Senate Confirm Coup Plotter Victoria Nuland? Posted on January 15, 2021 by Yves Smith

Yves here. Biden's nominees have skewed towards the awful, particularly on the foreign policy front. But his plan to install Victoria "Fuck the EU" Nuland at State is a standout. For those of you new to this site and not familiar with Nuland's sorry history, this post gives an overview of her role in fomenting the coup in Ukraine and in putting relations with Russia on a Cold War footing. The authors encourage readers to call their Senators and urge them to vote against her nomination.

And before you get unduly excited by Biden nominating Gary Gensler to the SEC, I would much rather have seem Gensler at Treasury. Gensler demonstrated at the CFTC that he's effective and dedicated to combatting abuses by Big Finance. However, his best shot at making the SEC feared and respected again is to appoint a tough head of enforcement, so keep an eye out for that pick.

The problem that Gensler will have at the SEC is that it is the only Federal financial services industry regulator that is subject to Congressional appropriations, rather that living off its fees and fines (the SEC collects far more than Congress allows it). And Democrats, like Joe Lieberman, then the Senator from Hedgistan, have been if anything more aggressive than Republicans in threatening the SEC and in keeping it budget-starved.

I had said to Lambert that if Biden wanted to be Machiavellian, the way to pretend to reward Elizabeth Warren while actually sandbagging her would be to make her SEC chair. Let's hope that isn't his logic for appointing Gensler.

By Medea Benjamin. cofounder of CODEPINK for Peace , and author of several books, including Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran . @medeabenjamin; Nicolas J. S. Davies, an independent journalist, a researcher with CODEPINK and the author of Blood On Our Hands: the American Invasion and Destruction of Iraq . @NicolasJSDavies; and Marcy Winograd of Progressive Democrats of America served as a 2020 Democratic delegate for Bernie Sanders,and is Coordinator of CODEPINK CONGRESS . @MarcyWinograd

Photo Credit: thetruthseeker.co.uk Nuland and Pyatt planning regime change in Kiev

Who is Victoria Nuland? Most Americans have never heard of her because the U.S. corporate media's foreign policy coverage is a wasteland. Most Americans have no idea that President-elect Biden's pick for Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs is stuck in the quicksand of 1950s U.S.-Russia Cold War politics and dreams of continued NATO expansion, an arms race on steroids and further encirclement of Russia.

Nor do they know that from 2003-2005, during the hostile U.S. military occupation of Iraq, Nuland was a foreign policy advisor to Dick Cheney, the Darth Vader of the Bush administration.

You can bet, however, that the people of Ukraine have heard of neocon Nuland. Many have even heard the leaked four-minute audio of her saying "Fuck the EU" during a 2014 phone call with the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt.

During the infamous call on which Nuland and Pyatt plotted to replace the elected Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych, Nuland expressed her not-so-diplomatic disgust with the European Union for grooming former heavyweight boxer and austerity champ Vitali Klitschko instead of U.S. puppet and NATO booklicker Artseniy Yatseniuk to replace Russia-friendly Yanukovych.

The "Fuck the EU" call went viral, as an embarrassed State Department, never denying the call's authenticity, blamed the Russians for tapping the phone, much as the NSA has tapped the phones of European allies.

Despite outrage from German Chancellor Angela Markel, no one fired Nuland, but her potty mouth upstaged the more serious story: the U.S. plot to overthrow Ukraine's elected government and America's responsibility for a civil war that has killed at least 13,000 people and left Ukraine the poorest country in Europe.

In the process, Nuland, her husband Robert Kagan, the co-founder of The Project for a New American Century , and their neocon cronies succeeded in sending U.S.-Russian relations into a dangerous downward spiral from which they have yet to recover.

Nuland accomplished this from a relatively junior position as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. How much more trouble could she stir up as the #3 official at Biden's State Department? We'll find out soon enough, if the Senate confirms her nomination.

Joe Biden should have learned from Obama's mistakes that appointments like this matter. In his first term , Obama allowed his hawkish Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Republican Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and military and CIA leaders held over from the Bush administration to ensure that endless war trumped his message of hope and change.

Obama, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, ended up presiding over indefinite detentions without charges or trials at Guantanamo Bay; an escalation of drone strikes that killed innocent civilians; a deepening of the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan; a self-reinforcing cycle of terrorism and counterterrorism; and disastrous new wars in Libya and Syria .

With Clinton out and new personnel in top spots in his second term, Obama began to take charge of his own foreign policy. He started working directly with Russia's President Putin to resolve crises in Syria and other hotspots. Putin helped avert an escalation of the war in Syria in September 2013 by negotiating the removal and destruction of Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles, and helped Obama negotiate an interim agreement with Iran that led to the JCPOA nuclear deal.

But the neocons were apoplectic that they failed to convince Obama to order a massive bombing campaign and escalate his covert, proxy war in Syria and at the receding prospect of a war with Iran. Fearing their control of U.S. foreign policy was slipping, the neocons launched a campaign to brand Obama as "weak" on foreign policy and remind him of their power.

With editorial help from Nuland, her husband Robert Kagan penned a 2014 New Republic article entitled "Superpowers Don't Get To Retire," proclaiming that "there is no democratic superpower waiting in the wings to save the world if this democratic superpower falters." Kagan called for an even more aggressive foreign policy to exorcise American fears of a multipolar world it can no longer dominate.

Obama invited Kagan to a private lunch at the White House, and the neocons' muscle-flexing pressured him to scale back his diplomacy with Russia, even as he quietly pushed ahead on Iran.

The neocons' coup de grace against Obama's better angels was Nuland's 2014 coup in debt-ridden Ukraine, a valuable imperial possession for its wealth of natural gas and a strategic candidate for NATO membership right on Russia's border.

When Ukraine's Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych spurned a U.S.-backed trade agreement with the European Union in favor of a $15 billion bailout from Russia, the State Department threw a tantrum.

Hell hath no fury like a superpower scorned.

The EU trade agreement was to open Ukraine's economy to imports from the EU, but without a reciprocal opening of EU markets to Ukraine, it was a lopsided deal Yanukovich could not accept. The deal was approved by the post-coup government, and has only added to Ukraine's economic woes.

The muscle for Nuland's $5 billion coup was Oleh Tyahnybok's neo-Nazi Svoboda Party and the shadowy new Right Sector militia. During her leaked phone call, Nuland referred to Tyahnybok as one of the "big three" opposition leaders on the outside who could help the U.S.-backed Prime Minister Yatsenyuk on the inside. This is the same Tyanhnybok who once delivered a speec h applauding Ukrainians for fighting Jews and "other scum" during World War II.

After protests in Kiev's Euromaidan square turned into battles with police in February 2014, Yanukovych and the Western-backed opposition signed an agreement brokered by France, Germany and Poland to form a national unity government and hold new elections by the end of the year.

But that was not good enough for the neo-Nazis and extreme right-wing forces the U.S. had helped to unleash. A violent mob led by the Right Sector militia marched on and invaded the parliament building , a scene no longer difficult for Americans to imagine. Yanukovych and his members of parliament fled for their lives.

Facing the loss of its most vital strategic naval base at Sevastopol in Crimea, Russia accepted the overwhelming result (a 97% majority, with an 83% turnout) of a referendum in which Crimea voted to leave Ukraine and rejoin Russia, which it had been a part of from 1783 to 1954.

The majority Russian-speaking provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk in Eastern Ukraine unilaterally declared independence from Ukraine, triggering a bloody civil war between U.S.- and Russian-backed forces that still rages in 2021.

U.S.-Russian relations have never recovered, even as U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals still pose the greatest single threat to our existence. Whatever Americans believe about the civil war in Ukraine and allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, we must not allow the neocons and the military-industrial complex they serve to deter Biden from conducting vital diplomacy with Russia to steer us off our suicidal path toward nuclear war.

Nuland and the neocons, however, remain committed to an ever-more debilitating and dangerous Cold War with Russia and China to justify a militarist foreign policy and record Pentagon budgets. In a July 2020 Foreign Affairs article entitled "Pinning Down Putin," Nuland absurdly claimed that Russia presents a greater threat to "the liberal world" than the U.S.S.R. posed during the old Cold War.

Nuland's narrative rests on an utterly mythical, ahistorical narrative of Russian aggression and U.S. good intentions. She pretends that Russia's military budget, which is one-tenth of America's, is evidence of "Russian confrontation and militarization" and calls on the U.S. and its allies to counter Russia by "maintaining robust defense budgets, continuing to modernize U.S. and allied nuclear weapons systems, and deploying new conventional missiles and missile defenses to protect against Russia's new weapons systems "

Nuland also wants to confront Russia with an aggressive NATO. Since her days as U.S. Ambassador to NATO during President George W. Bush's second term, she has been a supporter of NATO's expansion all the way up to Russia's border. She calls for "permanent bases along NATO's eastern border." We have pored over a map of Europe, but we can't find a country called NATO with any borders at all. Nuland sees Russia's commitment to defending itself after successive 20th century Western invasions as an intolerable obstacle to NATO's expansionist ambitions.

Nuland's militaristic worldview represents exactly the folly the U.S. has been pursuing since the 1990s under the influence of the neocons and "liberal interventionists," which has resulted in a systematic underinvestment in the American people while escalating tensions with Russia, China, Iran and other countries.

As Obama learned too late, the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time can, with a shove in the wrong direction, unleash years of intractable violence, chaos and international discord. Victoria Nuland would be a ticking time-bomb in Biden's State Department, waiting to sabotage his better angels much as she undermined Obama's second-term diplomacy.

So let's do Biden and the world a favor. Join World Beyond War , CODEPINK and dozens of other organizations opposing neocon Nuland's confirmation as a threat to peace and diplomacy. Call 202-224-3121 and tell your Senator to oppose Nuland's installation at the State Department.

John A , January 15, 2021 at 7:44 am

Nuland has also been declared persona non grata by Russia, so she would not be able to go with Biden, were he to visit Moscow. Russian foreign minister Lavrov, actually refused to shake her hand when she attended a US-Russia meeting with Kerry. She is poison to any attempt to peaceful relationships.

Susan the other , January 15, 2021 at 11:28 am

Yes, I remember that meeting clearly. Can't cite the network, but it covered her closely – body language only. I wonder where Biden stood on that act of diplomacy given his own corruption, and also what John Kerry's thinking is about now. John Kerry's stepson was in cahoots with Hunter Biden. It looked like Kerry brought her along for some rehabilitation and Lavrov was having none of it. Instead he went directly to the delegation from Ukraine and they stood in a circle all with their backs turned to Vicky who had no choice but to wander over to the coffee table and pretend she wasn't totally uncomfortable. Totally excluded. How can she recover from that?

The Rev Kev , January 15, 2021 at 9:10 am

If there is one thing that Russia hates it is fascists and that is because of the enormous damage caused by them in WW2. We call those invaders Nazis but the Russians seem to call them fascists. I sometimes wonder if it is part of their mother's milk this hatred. For people like Nuland to help topple the government of a large, bordering country like the Ukraine and install people that were literally fascists was too much for the Russians. These were fascist of a very low order that had the old 1930s routines down pat, including the torchlight parades. And there was Nuland, handing out cookies to the rioters, many of whom had been trained in rioting tactics in Poland and were being paid about $100 a day by the US if I recall correctly. Of course Nuland was not alone as there was also a Representative from the EU also handing out cookies. The only equivalent that comes to mind is a violent revolution in Canada using professional rioters and having diplomatic representatives from the Russian Federation and China handing out donuts to the rioter. I wonder what Washington would say about a stunt like that.

lyman alpha blob , January 15, 2021 at 9:32 am

Nuland is a disgusting human being. Since she is a right winger, regardless of what party may be listed on her voter ID, I don't think Bettridge's law applies here at all.

So glad all these 'woke' people put good old Uncle Joe back in office. Wonder how many realized they were supporting people being burned alive by actual Nazis in doing so?

From an actual journalist, Robert Parry – https://consortiumnews.com/2014/05/10/burning-ukraines-protesters-alive/

clarky90 , January 15, 2021 at 3:46 pm

So the USA now has literally placed, "literal fascists" in power?

Literally ..

Mark Gisleson , January 15, 2021 at 10:26 am

More war is not the answer to any of the problems facing us.

Carolinian , January 15, 2021 at 11:35 am

Thanks for this. Our "learned nothing/forgot nothing" Bourbon restoration will be led by one of the dimmer Bourbons who couldn't even set up a good grift in Ukraine without boasting about it and then angrily denying it. Should the press finally, improbably turn on him it should make for some fun news conferences. But perhaps he'll merely be moving to the White House basement from his Delaware basement.

Encephalitis Lethargica , January 15, 2021 at 12:47 pm

CFTC's budgets are also set through congressional authorization and appropriations. Yes, the CFPB is not subject to Congressional appropriations, but for good reasons. However, all financial regulation can be overturned by the Congressional Review Act.

As for the article, citation needed. Sort of a laundry heap of questionable material. Make no mistake, the Russo-Ukrainian War is a real war. Uniformed Russian armored infantry of 331st regiment of the 98th Svirsk airborne division dropped into Ukraine territory on 24 August 2014. From 25 to 27 August, Russian troops in civilian clothing, backed up by an armored column [not in disguise] took Novoazovsk. This is about Russia not being able to station 25,000 troops in Crimea as they had under Yanukovych. US troop levels in Europe have been at their lowest for the last 20 years. The US would like to [nay, needs to] keep it that way. However, the erosion of territorial integrity is a touchy subject in Europe given the lasting peace of the post-war period in a place where the wars have a pre-fix like "Hundred Years".

President Arseniy Yatsenyuk is of Jewish origin so the claims of coordination with Nazi sympathizers is dubious. Not even going to get the boycotted unconstitutional Crimean referendum.

As for WW III, Obama's defense department made it a priority to recover all the MANPADS, such as the Chinese-made FN-6 [via Qatar], Russian-made Strela-2's and Igla-S's [via Libya] from the FSA without so much as a thank you from the Russian Air Force. [Turkey, on the other hand, armed the FSA with Stinger's.] It should be noted that the Syrian conflict's death toll, in just four years, surpassed the 19-year death toll in all the Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq war theatres combined.

Think about this way: who needs NATO and the EU more to maintain his power structure, Joe Biden or Vladimir Putin. Isn't it clear Americans don't care, and American business does not look to compete in Russian anytime soon. The geography is wrong. But Putin must find a way to engender ethnicities who do not like the Russian Empire, who had been cleansed by Stalin. One way is to sell energy below cost to the republics and buy in back from political allies in the form of electricity. Something upon which the EU frowns. [Personally, I did not care for the way Putin early on systematically and indiscriminately starved Chechen civilians for years. It was cruel on a level unseen outside of the Rwandan genocide. More importantly, it was the Russian Federation abdicating its authority by not providing for its own citizens and not letting NGO's fill the calorie gap. I'd like to think had Putin's admin not been so wobbly the first few years, he might've let the Red Cross feed the children.]

John Steinbach , January 15, 2021 at 4:35 pm

There is overwhelming documentation of Yatsenuk's collaboration with Svboda & other fascist organizations in forming the coup government. For example: https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-crisis/analysis-u-s-cozies-kiev-government-including-far-right-n66061

Russia was never going to permit a US orchestrated coup in Ukraine without resistance. The idea that Putin needs NATO more than Biden does seems unreasonable.

steelyman , January 15, 2021 at 11:02 pm

Talking about "citations", perhaps you could supply the readership of this site with some credible citations and links for a few of the far fetched claims you're making here. Most of this comment reads like pro-Ukrainian propaganda.

Matthew G. Saroff , January 15, 2021 at 1:30 pm

I heard about Gary Gensler, Samantha Power, and Victoria Nuland, and I immediately thought, "The good, the bad, and the ugly."

Gensler surprised everyone when he was at the CFTC by doing his job, and doing it well, and his running the SEC is a good thing.

Samantha Power is an aggressive war monger, and in her position at USAID, she will likely have her fingers in regime change pie, since USAID is part of the deep state regime change apparatus..

Nuland is just a pro-Nazi nut though.

Jack Parsons , January 15, 2021 at 9:39 pm

About NATO and the Ukraine war:

I've long suspected that NATO has existed since 1991 to allow the US/EU axis to control Middle-Eastern and African resources. For example, the Rammstein military hospital is where every Gulf War soldier was airlifted for major treatment and convalescence.

Also, there is a huge international trade in opium. It's grown in Afpak and shipped out in every direction. I suspect that a fair amount of that flows through Ukraine and Crimea. If you look at a topo map of Crimea, there's a lot of seashore that could be good "smuggler's coves". Following this line of argument, Russia grabbing it from Ukraine was a gimme to Russia's gangsters. This, as well as the "Pipeline Wars", gives Russia a strong reason to encircle Ukraine.

[Jan 02, 2021] Maidan, Navalny, Kastellorizo -- The Chaos Strategy by Dimitris Konstantakopoulos

Notable quotes:
"... Imagine for a while that Pompeo and Netanyahu were able to ignite the huge conflict with Iran which they have been trying to do for years. The wider Middle East would become a land of ruins, and on top of that we would have also the corona crisis. It would be the end for the Chinese project One belt One road and a very promising beginning for Trump’s programme of “decoupling” from China. The same could happen if we go to a Greek-Turkish war, the most probable result of which is enormous destruction in both states and also in Cyprus. Given the destructive capacity of the Greek and Turkish weapons and the impossibility of destroying them by a surprise first strike, the two countries, if they go to war, risk going back two or three hundred years. A conflict around Iran, or between Greece and Turkey would also put enormous pressure on Russia. ..."
"... Spreading Chaos is another way of staging world war when you cannot use ‘normal’, ‘frontal’ methods of war. The policy of Trump and his allies contributes greatly to preparing for world war by attacking the very institutions of bourgeois democracy, any kind of national or international rule, by attacking the very principles of Logic, Logos and Science, necessary in order to transform human societies into herds of wild animals, in a sui generis repetition of the Nazi experiment. ..."
"... The way to get Greece and Turkey to war is by sending them ‘false signals’, either encouraging and supporting them, or implying a threat from the other country. Somebody was able to persuade Ankara to down the Russian jet in 2015, which was a case of extreme miscalculation. It is easier to make a miscalculation regarding Greece and Turkey, and there is an enormity of contradictory signals emanating from the US and Israel towards the two capitals. ..."
"... PS. The above article provides a possible explanation of the present Greek-Turkish crisis. A second explanation is that big oil multinationals want to provoke a crisis in order to exploit the hydrocarbons of the region, but we have no serious indications that big reserves really exist and are exploitable economically. A third explanation, not mutually excluded from what we have analyzed, is that third forces are trying to provoke a war in order to overthrow Erdogan and also have all the other consequences we described. ..."
Sep 17, 2020 | www.defenddemocracy.press

Twenty years ago, I was covering the Munich Security Forum as a journalist and I took an interview from Brent Scawcroft, National Security Adviser for President Bush (the father). I believe he was one of the men who played a huge role in pushing Boris Yeltsin to the crisis which culminated into the bombing of the Russian parliament in October 1993, thus opening the way to the biggest looting in the history of mankind, the so-called Russian privatisations. I asked Scawcroft what the US policy towards Russia and China should be . He answered: “We need to have better relations with Moscow and Beijing, than they can have between themselves”.

The way for the Empire to dominate in the Eastern Mediterranean, imposing its pax or pushing for war, is by having better relations with Athens and Ankara than they can have between themselves. Now they don’t have any at all.

Maidan Square, Kiev, 2014

The plane carrying the three EU Foreign Ministers, the French, the German and the Polish, had just taken off from Kiev when the agreement they had negotiated for a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the Ukrainian crisis collapsed and the carnage began in the Ukrainian capital. This was followed by the civil war and the unimaginable destruction of European-Russian relations.

The Ukrainian coup was a huge blow to Russia and the Ukraine, which is now in an extremely miserable state, a harbinger of Nazi militias and mafia groups, but also, indirectly, to Europe, which, destroying its relations with Russia at the behest of the Americans, is not only ridiculed, but has deprived itself of the possibility of an independent policy, an achievement which it is now going to ‘complete’ with the Navalny affair, if it leads to the cancelling of the strategic pipeline project NordStream II.

‘Fuck the EU’ was not only a phrase from Neocon Assistant Secretary of State Nuland to Ambassador Pyatt (then in Kiev, now in Athens); it was in reality one of the main purposes of the Maidan operation, that is the inauguration chapter of the new Cold War. Some weeks ago, Mike Pompeo repeated the Nuland coup, by using his influence on the Greek FM Dendias and on the Egyptian dictator Sissi to blow up the moratorium between Greece and Turkey the German chancellor Merkel had negotiated. ‘Fuck Germany and its moratoriums’!

The Coming War

The destruction of the Ukraine, Ukrainian-Russian and European-Russian relations was a very big step in the direction of preparing for world war against Russia and China. This is the central plan that defines many of the individual crises and episodes around the globe; and if one does not understand this, one cannot understand anything. As for Trump’s friendship with Russia, we are afraid that it is of no more value than Hitler’s friendship with Stalin or the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact.

The war with China and Russia is the main project of the extremist, radical wing of the Western capitalist establishment. But such a war cannot happen easily and it will not take a frontal form as WWI and WWII, because of the existence of nuclear weapons. But it will take all other possible forms.

Imagine for a while that Pompeo and Netanyahu were able to ignite the huge conflict with Iran which they have been trying to do for years. The wider Middle East would become a land of ruins, and on top of that we would have also the corona crisis. It would be the end for the Chinese project One belt One road and a very promising beginning for Trump’s programme of “decoupling” from China. The same could happen if we go to a Greek-Turkish war, the most probable result of which is enormous destruction in both states and also in Cyprus. Given the destructive capacity of the Greek and Turkish weapons and the impossibility of destroying them by a surprise first strike, the two countries, if they go to war, risk going back two or three hundred years. A conflict around Iran, or between Greece and Turkey would also put enormous pressure on Russia.

Spreading Chaos is another way of staging world war when you cannot use ‘normal’, ‘frontal’ methods of war. The policy of Trump and his allies contributes greatly to preparing for world war by attacking the very institutions of bourgeois democracy, any kind of national or international rule, by attacking the very principles of Logic, Logos and Science, necessary in order to transform human societies into herds of wild animals, in a sui generis repetition of the Nazi experiment.

You cannot wage war on Russia or China by any form of ‘liberal capitalism’. To wage such a huge war you need a totalitarian regime in the West, and this is the real programme, the historic mission of Trump, Pompeo, Thiel, Netanyahu etc.

The way to get Greece and Turkey to war is by sending them ‘false signals’, either encouraging and supporting them, or implying a threat from the other country. Somebody was able to persuade Ankara to down the Russian jet in 2015, which was a case of extreme miscalculation. It is easier to make a miscalculation regarding Greece and Turkey, and there is an enormity of contradictory signals emanating from the US and Israel towards the two capitals.

For example, a very strange article in the Foreign Affairs magazine states that the red line behind which Ankara will not be permitted to go is south of Crete. This red light is indirectly a green light for Turkey to go to the east or south-east of Crete. If Turkey sends its ships there the Greek government will be under tremendous pressure from both public opinion and the Armed Forces to react. This is not something Foreign Affairs can ignore, making us wonder if in fact some people want a war between Greece and Turkey to overthrow Erdogan, to weaken Turkey for decades, to attack Chinese projects and the EU. We could multiply such examples, including Trump’s encouragement of Erdogan. Insofar as the Turkish President does not want to go to a full rupture with the West, he is better prepared to accept as genuine any encouraging signals from Washington. But they can be a trap, as happened for example with Milosevich or Sadam.

Russia, NATO and a Greek-Turkish war

The other day a friend told me that a conflict between Greece and Turkey would only harm NATO: only the Russians would benefit, so it could not happen.

I replied that he was wrong. ‘If you are preparing for a world war, you do not even care so much about NATO. Instead you have to tear down all the institutions of bourgoies society and of the liberal capitalist order, including the EU, maybe even NATO itself, because they are not really made for such a war. They are certainly made to contain Russia, but not to play Russian roulette with the very existence of the world. A world war will not be decided by a Senate, no matter how oligarchic it will be. For such decisions you need Nero, Caligula, Heliogabalus. Such are Trump, Bolsonaro, Pompeo, Netanyahu and those behind them.

They would certainly prefer a Russia-Turkey conflict and have already tried to provoke it. But it is not easy.

A conflict with Greece is their second best alternative, because Greece has the means to destroy Turkey by destroying itself. A war between the two countries will destroy them and would set them back 200 or 300 years.

It is doubtful, after all, that Russia would benefit from such a development, even if it would be a blow to NATO. First, because Moscow would see the destruction of Hellenism, the main strategic ally of Russia in the Mediterranean for a thousand years. Governments and regimes can change, but losing a nation is another matter.

Second, Moscow will likely see, as a result of a war, a pro-Western dictatorship set up in Ankara. Having contributed to the destruction of a historic country like Greece, Turkey would not have the slightest future. It would be considered the outcast of all civilised nations, like Germany after World War II.

And of course, the big victims of the war will be China, with the One Belt, One Road plans and Europe itself.

This is the Chaos Strategy. It remains to be seen whether her opponents also have a strategy or not.

PS. The above article provides a possible explanation of the present Greek-Turkish crisis. A second explanation is that big oil multinationals want to provoke a crisis in order to exploit the hydrocarbons of the region, but we have no serious indications that big reserves really exist and are exploitable economically. A third explanation, not mutually excluded from what we have analyzed, is that third forces are trying to provoke a war in order to overthrow Erdogan and also have all the other consequences we described.

Also read

International consequences of a Greek – Turkish war. A way to avert it

[Dec 17, 2020] Joe Biden Warned In 2015 That Son Hunter's New Employer And Burisma Boss Was Corrupt

Dec 17, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

In today's episode of 'Things that should have come out during the impeachment,' just-released diplomatic memos reveal that Vice President Joe Biden's office was warned in 2015 that the Ukrainian oligarch who hired his son, Hunter, was deemed corrupt - and that the US Justice Department had gathered evidence to support that conclusion, according to Just The News .

"I assume all have the DoJ background on Zlochevsky," wrote former US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt in Kiev in a 2015 letter to Biden's top advisers, referring to Burisma Holdings founder Mykola Zlochevsky.

"The short unclas version (in non lawyer language) is that US and UK were cooperating on a case to seize his corrupt assets overseas (which had passed through the US)," Pyatt added, noting that the asset forfeiture case against the Ukrainian billionaire "fell apart" when individuals in the Ukrainian prosecutor general's office "acted to thwart the UK case."

Talking points

Pyatt's email also includes responses to several talking points Joe Biden's Washington staff crafted, should he be questioned about Hunter's role on the board of Burisma .

" Have you asked Hunter to step down from the board? Has he discussed that with you?" the talking points anticipated being asked.

" I'm not going to discuss private conversations with my family. Hunter is a private citizen and does independent work ," the memo recommended the vice president answer.

If pressed by a question asking whether Joe Biden thought "Zlochevsky is corrupt," the talking points suggested the vice president respond, "I'm not going to get into naming names or accusing individuals." - Just The News

... ... ...

The memos, released last week by Senate committees investigating Hunter Biden, also reveal that the US Justice Department was involved in the 2014 asset forfeiture brought against Zlochevsky in the UK , right as Hunter Biden was hired to sit on the board of Burisma.

Multiple State officials have attested to the awkward appearance of conflict of interest posed by Hunter's position on the board as the United States led efforts to fight corruption in Ukraine. In a September, 2015 speech, Pyatt railed against Ukrainian prosecutors for thwarting the UK asset forfeiture case against Zlochevsky.

Pyatt was recently deposed by investigators for the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee about the Ukraine controversy. Though his staff had reported an alleged Burisma bribe and believed the Bidens' conduct in Ukraine created an apparent conflict, Pyatt said he never felt compelled to raise such concerns with the vice president.

" So you never gave thought of raising a concern to the Vice President about this board position his son had? " a Senate investigator asked Pyatt during the deposition back in September.

"No," the ambassador answered. "He's the Vice President of the United States, and it would have been wildly out of place for me to raise something like that, especially insofar as it had zero impact on the work that I was doing ." - Just The News

Meanwhile, let's not forget that according to evidence from Hunter Biden's laptop published by the New York Post , Biden didn't just know about his son's business dealings in Ukraine and elsewhere, he participated in them .

And Democrats impeached Trump for asking Ukraine to investigate.


2 play_arrow

Max21c 26 minutes ago

Joe Biden Warned In 2015 That Son Hunter's New Employer And Burisma Boss Was Corrupt

This information might have been useful during the impeachment ...

But if the government secret police agencies revealed the truth to the public then how would Washingtonians have been able to push the impeachment scam as far as they did... and without the government distracted and bogged down in phony scandals and scams and lies and distortions then the swamp people might not have been able to pulloff their election fraud and seize power again. There might not even be as many dead people and as much damage to the country and its economy without the impeachment getting in the way of the pandemic response early on.

jammyjo 20 minutes ago remove link

C'mon man! Joe didn't know where his 50% was coming from.

rwe2late 40 minutes ago (Edited)

The Dems did not want a repetition of 2016 when the revelations of Hillary's misconduct helped thwart her election bid.

Thus, any exposure of Biden's misconduct and corruption was to be smothered and prevented from thwarting his election bid.

Hardly different than to stop showing the homecoming coffins and civilian casualties so that the war racket can continue.

kc_kilo 1 hour ago

Biden Crime Family

nypost.com

jpcdo028 1 hour ago

Obama is running the show and Joe will resign leaving Barack's honey pot running the country. The election was fixed by Obama, he always was the smartest guy in the room when it comes to making his dreams of destroying America come true. Obama only set people in place to destroy America and now he can blame Uncle Joe and DR of Love Jill.

walküre 1 hour ago

Barrack Hussein Robert Mugabe Obama

NoSoyBoys 59 minutes ago

Barry is too inept and lazy to have thought any of this out.

HANGTHEOWL 58 minutes ago

Obaqama is irrelevant,,,,he is just an ex puppet with no power,,,,,,this world is run by multi trillionaire Zionist bankers,,,peeon's like Obaqama are just used then disposed of,,,

walküre 1 hour ago remove link

FFS, Hunter was/is a crack head. His mind is mostly gone. He couldn't run a lemonade stand, let alone be a board member and understand the ramifications of major business decisions at foreign companies.

Hunter does not have the wherewithal to be held accountable for any white collar crimes.

Hunter's name on the documents is to conceal the identity of the real gangster, who is no other than the head of the family, the Pretender-Elect in Depends Joe Biden.

Sickening to watch how Joe obviously is allowing his own son being fed to the lions.

Man up Joe! He's your son and you're responsible!

Giant Meteor 1 hour ago remove link

The big guy is responsible for his crimes, that is to say, being the head of the crime family .. His son, being well, past the age of consent, is wholly responsible for his own crimes ..

nope-1004 1 hour ago (Edited)

Biden = Clinton = Bush = Obama = Holder = Rice = Podesta = corruption

If voting meant real change, it would be illegal.

[Dec 05, 2020] Poland slaps huge fine on Russian gas pipeline that doesn't even cross its borders -- RT Business News

Dec 05, 2020 | www.rt.com

Poland slaps huge fine on Russian gas pipeline that doesn't even cross its borders 7 Oct, 2020 11:06 Get short URL Poland slaps huge fine on Russian gas pipeline that doesn't even cross its borders © Gazprom / Nord Stream 2 45 Follow RT on RT Poland's antitrust watchdog UOKiK said on Wednesday it has imposed a 29 billion-zloty ($7.6 billion) fine on Russia's Gazprom over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, designed to boost gas supplies to the EU.

According to the regulator, the direct pipeline from Russia to Germany impedes competition on European Union energy markets and "violates the interests of consumers." The fine amounts to 10 percent of Gazprom's annual revenues – the maximum allowed penalty. Other companies participating in the construction of Nord Stream 2 have been fined $100 million. UOKiK gave Gazprom and its partners 30 days to terminate financing agreements and "restore" competition.

"The construction of Nord Stream 2 is a clear violation of market regulations," UOKiK head Tomasz Chróstny said in Warsaw on Wednesday, as cited by Bloomberg. Gas prices for consumers must be "the result of fair competition, and, once Nord Stream 2 is operational, it's likely that gas prices will increase and there'll be a risk of interruption to supplies," he said.

ALSO ON RT.COM Full stream ahead! Denmark removes final hurdle for Russian gas pipeline to Europe

Warsaw has long been opposing the expansion of the gas link directly connecting Russia with Germany, Europe's biggest market for the fuel, arguing it would deepen Europe's dependence on Russian energy. Meanwhile, many European nations have stressed that they want to diversify their energy sources, and Nord Stream 2 could be one of the ways to achieve that.

In 2019, Poland's President Andrzej Duda met US President Donald Trump to discuss the possibility of halting the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 project. Warsaw also inked several contracts with American companies to replace Russian supplies. The intention was to make Poland the future center for the re-export of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the region, according to US Ambassador to Poland Georgette Mosbacher.

ALSO ON RT.COM Washington & Warsaw make pact to obstruct Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline

The US administration has repeatedly criticized the Nord Stream 2 project, aiming to derail it in order to boost sales of American LNG to Europe.

The construction of the project's two pipelines, which will extend from the Russian coast to Germany and on to other European countries through the Baltic Sea, is nearing completion. It will have the capacity to deliver 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year, and Berlin has insisted it will help Germany meet its growing energy demand as it phases out coal and nuclear power.

[Nov 09, 2020] First gaslight, then calls for unity: Why should Biden get any more unity than Trump four years ago? by Wayne Dupree

So neoliberal Dems gaslighted everybody with Russiagate for four years, staged Ukrainegate, and now cry for unity. Funny, is not it
For four years, Democrats branded Donald Trump an illegitimate president and treated him as such. Then-President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden plotted with FBI Director James Comey a way to oust Trump's pick for national security advisor, Michael Flynn.
Now they face the results of the attempt to depose Trump via color revolution (aka Russiagate), the result of neo-McCarthyism hysteria and cry uncle. To paraphrase Tolstoy: all happy democracies may resemble one another, but every unhappy democracy is apparently unhappy in its own way.
Nov 09, 2020 | www.rt.com

Wayne Dupree has been to the White House to talk to President Trump about race relations and appeared at election events for him. He was named in Newsmax's top 50 Influential African-American Republicans in 2017, and, in 2016, served as a board member of the National Diversity Coalition for Donald Trump. Before entering politics, he served for eight years in the US Air Force. His website is here: www.waynedupree.com . Follow him on Twitter @WayneDupreeShow I've participated in eight elections including this one, and I've never before witnessed the open hostility and vitriol that's been aimed at President Trump.

No president was ever abused like Trump was from day one. The Republicans didn't cooperate with Barack Obama at all, but any thinking person can see the difference between the way Obama was treated and the way Trump has been treated. The past four years have set a dangerous precedent, and you know what they say about karma.

Representative Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer refused to work with President Trump on anything, but now the socialists want the Republicans to work with them. Interpretation: we want the Republicans to work with us as long as they believe everything we believe and do everything to help us, even if, in their eyes, it destroys America. No dissent will be accepted.

You really have to wonder about this arrogance from the Democrats and their call for unity, don't you? Joe Biden is calling for unity because he doesn't want to face the constant scrutiny the Trump administration faced. After all, do you think the hundreds of millions he received in campaign contributions didn't come with strings attached?

READ MORE Wayne Dupree: Why I, as a black man, am voting for Trump, along with a large number of people who consider themselves Democrats Wayne Dupree: Why I, as a black man, am voting for Trump, along with a large number of people who consider themselves Democrats

Right now, there's not enough critical thinking for unity to happen; our emotions govern too many of us. The media have played on that for four years. They convinced millions of Americans they would have to be insane to consider re-electing Trump, even though most Americans are sick of the establishment politicians and their big empty promises, sick of their endless and expensive foreign wars, sick of a sluggish economy, and tired of the outsourcing of American jobs.

How can unity happen when the rift between liberals and conservatives is larger than ever, and the two sides envision this country's future in vastly different ways? How will half of the American population ever again trust their sources of news and information when nearly every outlet has lost all pretense of objectivity? Every bit of reporting has become an opinion piece.

In marriage, they call these irreconcilable differences. It may not happen in my lifetime, but this country would do well to consider a peaceful separation.

Our national media have failed us. And that's all media, including social. They caught us all hook, line, and sinker. Why? Money. We are such a gullible species. The more people hear an idea promoted, the more it sounds true. This is why our country is divided. We rely too heavily on our media for information, true or not. They manipulate us with their words like modern-day bards. Journalism is indeed dead, and it's been replaced by sensationalism. But it all boils down to who's really at fault. To find that out, look in the mirror. Yes, we all let this happen to us.

I wouldn't blame people for believing phony news. Think about it: why do companies spend literally billions of dollars on commercials? Companies use commercials to change our buying habits, and they work extremely well on a subliminal level. Likewise, the mainstream and social media use misinformation, distortions, deceptions, and omissions to change people's voting behavior on that same subliminal level. The only way to ensure legitimate elections in the future is to destroy mainstream and social media's hold on our country.

ALSO ON RT.COM Bitter election aftermath suggests that US democracy really is in its death throes

In the past four years, the behavior of the Democrats has been that of junior high school bullies with no adult supervision. What all men want most is power, and the Democrats will do anything to get it. We can't take their low road, but should stand against their further attempts to turn this into a one-party nation. We need a broad spectrum of ideas to keep our country strong and our citizens cared for.

One party does not have all the answers, nor can they dictate to the other parties how to worship, think, or even eat. When I was young, I was a Bill Clinton Democrat. I walked away before the Obama administration and never looked back. I believe more and more people are doing that, and, by the 2022 midterms – well, watch out, Dems!

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.


[Nov 06, 2020] The EU bureaucracy and individual member states are using any, even the most absurd, reasons to enhance something they call 'containment' of Russia.

Nov 06, 2020 | www.moonofalabama.org

karlof1 , Nov 5 2020 18:43 utc | 127

In Lavrov's interview with Kommersant which was mostly about the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, he was asked about the US Election and then about the dire state of relations with the EU. Lavrov reiterates Russia's position:

"I repeat once again that Russia will respect the choice of the American people, and that we are ready to establish constructive cooperation with the winner of the race for the White House, regardless of his party affiliation. However, considering the current circumstances, we realistically assess the prospects of bilateral cooperation and do not expect too much. Anyhow, let's wait for the voting results. We don't have long to wait."

Yes, the interview was done prior to the vote counting anarchy. IMO, we can substitute the Outlaw US Empire for the EU in Lavrov's answer about the current crisis in relations:

"Russia's relations with the European Union are in crisis – and it is not our fault. The EU bureaucracy and individual member states are using any, even the most absurd, reasons to enhance something they call 'containment' of Russia.

"New sanctions, illegitimate from the international law perspective, are being imposed. Considering the number of sanctions imposed on our citizens under far-fetched pretexts, the EU is second only to the United States. The European media continue a broad anti-Russia campaign. In trade and economy, the Brussels bureaucracy is stepping up various protectionist policies, violating WTO rules and introducing its openly politicised rules of the game as they go.

"At the same time, we are being told that Russia can "earn" the right to have normal relations with the EU by changing its behaviour. This cynicism is absolutely off the scale."

Lavrov repeats it's up to the EU to alter its behavior:

"[O]ur European colleagues must clearly understand that any interaction is only possible on an honest and equal basis and respect for each other's interests. We will not allow any one-sided games here. There will be no unilateral goodwill gestures on our part. We still hope that a rational approach and common sense will prevail, both in Brussels and in member capitals. We are ready to wait for that as well."

IMO, that wait will last months.

[Nov 05, 2020] Exclusive- How the Bidens Made Off With Millions in Chinese Cash -

Nov 05, 2020 | www.theamericanconservative.com

Exclusive: How The Bidens Made Off With Millions In Chinese Cash

New documents show that as regulators closed in, Hunter struck a fresh deal with his Chinese partners World Food Program USA Board Chairman Hunter Biden speaks at the World Food Program USA's Annual McGovern-Dole Leadership Award Ceremony at Organization of American States on April 12, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for World Food Program USA)

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

|

12:01 AM

ARTHUR BLOOM

The Senate's report on Hunter Biden's activities released several months ago, which was spun by the New York Times as having shown "no evidence of wrongdoing," nevertheless had several important gaps in the business activities of the troubled son of the former vice president.

Draft legal documents and 2017 bank records obtained by The American Conservative show at least $5 million was transferred to Hunter and Jim Biden from companies associated with the Chinese conglomerate CEFC, with millions coming after the company had come under legal scrutiny both in the United States and China.

https://lockerdome.com/lad/13045197114175078?pubid=ld-dfp-ad-13045197114175078-0&pubo=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theamericanconservative.com&rid=www.theamericanconservative.com&width=838

CEFC official Patrick Ho was arrested in November 2017 and charged by the Southern District of New York with corruption, and was convicted last year. In addition, on or about March 1, 2018, CEFC Chairmen Ye Jianming was arrested in China for economic crimes and hasn't been seen since. CEFC assets in China were seized by Chinese state agencies. In the U.S., major beneficiaries were Hunter and Jim Biden.

What the following documents show is that as regulators moved to seize CEFC's assets, Hunter Biden attempted to take control of the company founded in partnership with it. Instead, after striking a deal with two CEFC employees in the U.S., the funds were disbursed over the next six months to his and his uncle's companies until it was all gone, in total at least $5 million.

2017 Bank Records

On August 5, 2017, the Bidens and CEFC entered into a 50-50 limited liability company agreement (Hudson West III) between Owasco, Hunter Biden's company, and Hudson West V (CEFC). The Sep 22, 2020 report from the Senate Judiciary Committee (the "HGSAC Report") surmised an agreement like this, but a copy can be seen, for the first time here . In early 2017, CEFC was ranked as one of the top 500 corporations in the world.

me title=

00:18 / 00:59

Hudson West III set up two bank accounts with Cathay Bank, with the first set up on or about August 5. A company associated with CEFC deposited $5 million into the account on August 8; no contribution was made by the Bidens. On Nov 2, 2017, CEFC Limited deposited a further $1 million into the account. (Subsequently, the Hudson West III account shows a wire of $1 million back to CEFC Limited on Nov 21, followed a few days later on Nov 27 by a credit memo for $999,938. The HGSAC Report interpreted the Nov 21 wire transfer as a return of the $1 million, but appear to have omitted consideration of the credit memo apparently reversing the return). The net result is that CEFC and its affiliates deposited almost exactly $6 million into Hudson West III in 2017.

In the 5 months between August 8 and Dec 31, 2017, Hudson West III disbursed almost $1.6 million to Owasco (Hunter Biden) in wire transfers and credit card binges by the Bidens. The transfers appear to have been structured as $165,000 in monthly payments, plus two other payments of $400,000 and $220,387.

Collated screengrabs from Hudson West III bank statements showing payments to Owasco (Wells Fargo Clearing Services LLC)

The HGSAC Report reported on the $99,000 credit card spree by the Bidens in early September 2017, but, in addition to that spree, there was an additional $77,700 in credit card sprees, making a total of $176,700 for the five month period.

Figure 2. Screengrab from Hudson West III bank statements showing credit card disbursements

Total expenditures by Hudson West III in the five months were $1,947,439, of which $1,522,000 went to the Bidens (via Owasco and credit cards). Hudson West III bank accounts contained more than $4 million in cash at the end of 2017.

March 2018 Deal

Shortly after the arrest of CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming on March 1, 2018, there appears to have been a rolling seizure of CEFC assets. Even with the profligate spending by the Bidens, Hudson West III would still have had about $3.5 million in cash in March.

On March 26, a Chinese-American employee who was fiercely loyal to Hunter suggested to him that Hunter and the two CEFC employees in the U.S. (Mervyn Yan and Kevin Dong) figure out a way to appropriate the Hudson West III cash before it was frozen by Chinese regulators or receivers:

you guys (You/Mervyn/Kevin) figure out a way to have the money transferred to the right U.S. account before any restriction levied by Chinese regulators or appointed new boss in charge of manage the enterprise Ye left behind.

In fact, Hunter had already begun the process of appropriating Hudson West III cash before a receiver could arrive. On March 18, Hunter's lawyer sent a letter to Mervyn Yan proposing that Hudson West V (the proximate CEFC entity) assign its interest in Hudson West III to Owasco (Hunter), a transaction which would give control of all the cash to Hunter (see here , and here ).

On or about March 30, 2018, Hunter and the two Chinese appear to have worked out a different arrangement. Among the newly available documents are redlined versions of an assignment agreement in which Hudson West V assigned its 50% interest in Hudson West III to Coldharbour Capital Inc., with Kevin Dong the proposed signatory for Hudson West V, Mervyn Yan for Coldharbour Capital and Hunter signatory for Owasco's consent to the assignment.

The HGSAC Report does not appear to have had access to these documents: they noted that ownership of Hudson West III at some point was 50% Coldharbour, but does not appear to have been aware of the prior ownership of this interest by Hudson West V or the assignment to Coldharbour in late March 2018.

During the next six months, the cash was completely drained into the accounts of Owasco and Coldharbour, spent on consulting fees and expenses. According to the HGSAC Report, total payments from Hudson West III to Owasco amount to an astonishing $4,790,375 by September 2018, when the Hudson West III accounts were totally depleted. In November 2018, Hudson West III was dissolved by Owasco and Coldharbour.

From the 2017 bank records, we know that $1,444,000 had been transferred to Owasco in 2017 (excluding direct payment of credit card sprees); thus, transfers to Owasco in the first eight months of 2018 were approximately $3,345,000.

The assignment of Hudson West V's interest in Hudson West III to Coldharbour and the dissipation of cash to the Hudson West III managers would probably not have stood up to a determined receiver appointed by the Chinese parent company, but there doesn't appear to have been any attempt by the parent company to stop or control the dissipation of Hudson West III's cash reserves.

Lion Hall (Jim Biden) Invoices

Included in the newly available material are invoices to Owasco and, separately, to Hudson West III from Jim Biden doing business as Lion Hall Group. The HGSAC Report stated that, between Aug 14, 2017 and Aug 3, 2018, Owasco sent 20 wires totaling $1,398,999 to Lion Hall Group. The newly available documents show that Jim Biden charged Owasco $82,500 per month as a "monthly retainer for international business development":

Readers will recall that Hudson West III bank statements showed regular monthly payments of $165,000 for the last 5 months of 2017. The corollary is that Hunter split this regular monthly payment from Hudson West III 50:50 with Jim Biden. The HGSAC Report notes that the payments to Lion Hall Group had been flagged by Owasco's bank (Wells Fargo) for potential criminal activity. The new documents contain an inquiry email from Wells Fargo compliance, together with a reply from Hunter which was unresponsive on the key compliance questions. By the time that Wells Fargo raised its compliance concerns, the Hudson West III cash had been exhausted and with it, presumably the stream of 50-50 payments to Uncle Jim.

As noted above, in addition to the regular $165,000 monthly payments, Owasco received other large transfers in 2017 and presumably in 2018. It is not known whether Uncle Jim split these 50-50 as well, or whether this was a side transaction by Hunter.

Concurrent with this flood of money from CEFC, Hunter continued to receive a lavish stipend from Burisma. Nonetheless, by the end of 2018, Hunter had hundreds of thousands in tax liens. In March 2019, despite having received millions from Chinese business interests, Hunter even had to plead with former partner Jeffrey Cooper to email him $100 for gas so that he wouldn't be stranded on the highway. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Arthur Bloom is editor of The American Conservative online. He was previously deputy editor of the Daily Caller and a columnist for the Catholic Herald. He holds masters degrees in urban planning and American studies from the University of Kansas. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Spectator (UK), The Guardian, Quillette, The American Spectator , Modern Age, and Tiny Mix Tapes. email

        Hannibal Jubal Jim9310 • a day ago

        Not by the Conservative press. But certainly by the Liberal press. I was born in a country where all the news sources were owned by one of the political parties. Now I live in a country where we have the de facto situation. In America we are very good at setting the standard as the de jure state of affairs, while ignoring the de facto state of affairs. Every country has its share of hypocrisy. But there are few places, if any, where it is institutionalized as America. We need to do much better. Despite what the Conservatives say, the Liberal press used to try to do journalism. But they have given up.

        Kent Hannibal Jubal • a day ago

        I'm old enough to remember when CNN was a pretty middle of the road news organization. But Fox came along and proved that naked partisanship, half-truths, innuendo, and brightening up the hate centers of the brain was a far more profitable way of doing business. CNN just had to compete.

        FL Transplant Kent • a day ago

        Yep. When it's all about the money and Fox showed how to print it others naturally follow.

        FL Transplant Hannibal Jubal • a day ago

        We do have the Fox "News" Network (Most watched cable news channel, or so the continually brag, and with TV/cable being where most Americans get their news from that makes them a pretty big player) and One America "News" Network. Ad in the Sinclair Broadcasting Network--they have no problem sending out canned od-eds supporting Trump so they should have no ideological objection to pursuing this story. Perhaps they could do some investigating and reporting instead of filling their airtime with unsubstantiated accusations made by others that they take at face value.

        Not to mention there are some print sources--The Washington Times, the NY Post, the Orange County Register, Des Moines Register, etc.

        Tom Riddle FL Transplant • a day ago

        Right? Between Fox News, the Murdoch owned papers, Breitbart, the Daiky Caller/Wire, and Sinclair, the idea that right isn't represented in the media is frankly insane. Even Q Anon has a better reach in Facebook than the NYT and they are a pure distillation of conservatism.

        "There is no conservative media" is an idea about as tethered to reality as conservative media is in general.

        Seek Hannibal Jubal • a day ago

        This is news. Hunter Biden is most likely a crook. And a well-known watchdog group has just filed a 12-page complaint with DOJ requesting an investigation. Also check out this TV appearance on Newsmax.

        https://nlpc.org/2020/10/30...

        Hannibal Jubal Seek • a day ago

        Hunter Biden is most likely a crook. But what a person "most likely is" is not news. I used to watch Newsmax because it is good to hear about stories that the liberal press doesn't cover. And it is good to get varying perspectives on news events even if the liberal press covers them. But I can't take tv news any more. They are all mostly useless for people like me who detest both political parties. I watch only Newsy. You should try if you are really interested in news.

        "watchdog group" you say? And that is supposed to me make me think that there is a difference between that and the Republican Party? The liberals pioneered that trick. Now everyone uses it. That is, name (effectively) an arm of the Democratic Party a "watchdog" and that is supposed to give it credibility. But the trick is subject to our First Law of Politics. Whatever tactic one party deploys, as long as it is successful, the other party will deploy it. No matter how much they denounced it previously. At best, they will rename it. But usually, they don't bother.

        In any case, unless this "watchdog group" is alleging a crime there is no basis for a DOJ investigation. What is the criminal accusation?

        Schopenhauer • 2 days ago

        So this blockbuster piece of information that's so important for us to know before we vote--

        Came out months ago and TAC is reporting it on the morning of the election? OK then, I'm sure it will get the consideration it deserves.

        We can all revisit it after Biden crushes Trump and the Senate's GOP majority is shown the door.

        Victor_the_thinker Schopenhauer • 2 days ago

        I'm not gonna lie, I didn't even waste my time reading this piece. Arthur seems to have all of a sudden become interested in corruption (which likely didn't even happen) in a way he expressed no interest in for the last 4 years. Forgive me if I don't vote him as an honest broker.

        Schopenhauer Victor_the_thinker • 2 days ago • edited

        It's just so weak. This isn't an October surprise -- this is like a turkey surprise casserole served two weeks after Thanksgiving. Even if this were a game-changing piece of reporting, it seems a dubious tactic to release it on the morning of the election on a website that probably gets less views than some random 16 year old dancing on Tik-Tok.

        brian_in_brooklyn Schopenhauer • 2 days ago

        "This isn't an October surprise -- this is like a turkey surprise casserole served two weeks after Thanksgiving. "

        Thank you for a good laugh

        Seek Victor_the_thinker • a day ago

        I believe Arthur Bloom. He's done his homework. And believe it, the Bidens are very corrupt.

        Victor_the_thinker Seek • a day ago

        Whatever dude. Why do I care if you believe him?

        Blood Alcohol Schopenhauer • 2 days ago • edited

        It takes time for some gossip columnists who "write' for TAC to spit shine the garbage they collect.

        tonyrendon • 2 days ago

        This is absolutely pathetic.

        Gerber tonyrendon • a day ago

        TAC's pivot over the last couple years into Brietbart territory is embarrassing. A lot of rightwing media and personalities held out for awhile on Trump, but eventually saw where the wind was blowing and jumped in the deep end. I hope no one on the principled right or left ever lets them forget it. No shelter for scoundrels....

        Guest • 2 days ago

        Thanks for publishing this. I hope more such pieces appear here in the next few weeks. TAC's regular readers from the Left don't like it. Good. Rub their noses in it.

        Victor_the_thinker Guest • 2 days ago

        Don't like it? We're laughing at you guys. Please do keep publishing this stuff. No one cares outside of the conservative ghetto.

        Schopenhauer Guest • a day ago

        Hey, snowflake, most of us regular readers from the left contribute far more to this site than a million drive-by Trump sycophants.

        Ruth Harris Guest • a day ago

        I was mentioning Hunter Biden and his Ukraine dealings back in 2014 but I don't have a public forum outside email and social media and no one thought it of interest till his dad was running for president against a man who by many accounts has been a crook his entire adult life, and proud of it.

        mhopeful • 2 days ago

        This will absolutely ruin Hunter Biden's chances of being elected President this year.

        Zgler mhopeful • a day ago

        ^^^This!

        RIIP • 2 days ago

        1. What on earth does any of this have to do with Joe Biden? It's not a crime to have a relative who's committed a crime.

        2. Even if $5 million bucks went right into Joe Biden's pocket, it's chump change compared to the Trump family criminal enterprise.

        I'm just curious, do people actually pay to read this garbage?

        https://americancarnage2020...

        Seek RIIP • a day ago • edited

        Joe Biden claims he had no knowledge of his son's dealings. Evidence from his business partnerships with the Chinese say otherwise. Here's a sample:

        https://nlpc.org/2020/11/01...

        Ruth Harris Seek • a day ago

        So Hunter failed to register as a foreign agent. Isn't that what Mike Flynn got busted for along with some other Trump campaign officials? And hasn't Trump demanded his people all be forgiven for their transgressions cause it wasn't really a bad thing?

        JonF311 • 2 days ago

        Sigh. I appreciate that TAC will present a diversity of views. I did not expect this magazine to descend into the midden of mere scandalmongering.

        Blood Alcohol JonF311 • 2 days ago

        I recommend a new by-line to replace the one printed on the cover of the TAC print copies: GOSSIP OVER REALITY - BULLSHIT OVER SUBSTANCE. Sigh.

        JoeMyGod • 2 days ago

        Typical load of crap from this nutjob site.

        bradleyscreek JoeMyGod • a day ago

        Out of curiosity, among the hundreds if not thousands of websites you could be reading right now, apart from thousands of decent monographs and works of fiction, why are you spending time this morning at this "nutjob site," going so far as to login to the comments section to express to the other presumably "nut job" readers that you're better than them?

        This speaks VOLUMES about your worth as a human being. When you wake up around 3 AM over the next few nights, it'll hit you. Let it sink in. Let it marinate. From such truths character is built.

        JoeMyGod bradleyscreek • a day ago

        You've got moobs. Sad.

        Annie from Alaska bradleyscreek • a day ago

        It's pretty extreme. TAC comment section has become unusable bickering and taunts even after blocking half the content. I don't know what they are hoping to accomplish other than confirming our worst guesses about their character.

        RAF • 2 days ago

        Exclusive? Of course! No one in their right mind would print it. And the enemy of the state-fake news outlets are all looking for scoops and looking to win major awards and prizes for breaking a story-----and for some reason all of these thousands of journalists did not get this "exclusive."

        Does credibility mean anything anymore?

        Schopenhauer RAF • 2 days ago

        I guess that's the advantage of writing for a magazine that's beyond the reach of the market. The irony, the irony.

        fred lapides • 2 days ago

        all unproved nonsense.Where is the indictment, when, after all Trump and Barr woprk hand in hand...simply BS stuff to support Trump. Should Trump lose, watch the legal stuff that he will confront. Now worry about that

        Siberian Khatru • 2 days ago • edited

        When did this site turn into The Tucker Carlson show ? Please return to the thoughtful conservative thought that you are know for. Sign of the times I guess and how internet culture can demean us all.

        Schopenhauer Siberian Khatru • 2 days ago • edited

        I'm always tickled when conservatives/ Republicans float Tucker Carlson as a viable Presidential candidate. Please, please, please -- do it, GOP! He'd make Trump's defeat today look measured.

        But he won't do it; he's nowhere near as deluded as his audience. More cynical, perhaps, but not more deluded.

        Victor_the_thinker Schopenhauer • 2 days ago

        It's the same delusion they engaged in with Trump. They overweight the feelings of their in group and underweight the population as a whole. Tucker doesn't actually have many viewers in the scheme of winning a national election. He couldn't appeal to moderates.

        Blood Alcohol Siberian Khatru • 2 days ago • edited

        TAC editors have decided "thoughtful conservative thought" doesn't sell. Hence the garbage.

        Victor_the_thinker Blood Alcohol • 2 days ago

        They've been watching "White Grievance Tonight with Tucker Carlson" and seen the numbers he's been doing and think they will be that, just in print.

[Nov 03, 2020] Did Hunter Biden Help Facilitate NBCUniversal's Beijing Theme Park- -

Nov 03, 2020 | www.theamericanconservative.com

An email from the famous hard drive indicates a Chinese state-owned company wanted an introduction from Rosemont Seneca Hunter Biden, from ABC News Nightline one year ago ( Source )

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

|

8:00 AM

ARTHUR BLOOM

Back in March, I wrote a column in these pages about the Chinese business entanglements of major media companies in the U.S. By far the most seriously entangled is Comcast, the owner of NBCUniversal, parent company of NBC and MSNBC, which is in the process of opening a Universal Studios theme park in Beijing.

Portions of Hunter Biden's hard drive have now been shared with TAC. On the drive is an email from president of Rosemont Seneca Eric Schwerin, a company co-founded by Hunter and John Kerry's stepson, saying that Chinese state-owned enterprise CITIC was hoping they would make introductions with Universal employees and propose the Beijing theme park.

https://lockerdome.com/lad/13045197114175078?pubid=ld-dfp-ad-13045197114175078-0&pubo=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theamericanconservative.com&rid=www.theamericanconservative.com&width=838

"They'd like an introduction to Universal (Comcast) as they'd like to open a Universal Studios China theme park outside of Beijing," Schwerin writes. "As I said, that one should be easy via Melissa Mayfield/David Cohen [two Comcast executives]."

"She said they'd like to pay us for our help on these -- I told her we'd discuss whether we could do that -- but were sure we could figure something out even if it was success fee based on the US side but that I would talk to you," Schwerin added.

To what extent this was followed up on is at this point unclear. However, what it indicates is that a company founded by two Democratic political scions was willing to facilitate a deal for their friendliest media network, a network that has been unrelentingly hostile to Trump and more or less completely ignored recent Hunter Biden disclosures. If Hunter helped facilitate a sweet deal like this, it's only fair that they scratch his back too.

me title=

00:13 / 00:59 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Arthur Bloom is editor of The American Conservative online. He was previously deputy editor of the Daily Caller and a columnist for the Catholic Herald. He holds masters degrees in urban planning and American studies from the University of Kansas. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Spectator (UK), The Guardian, Quillette, The American Spectator , Modern Age, and Tiny Mix Tapes.

[Nov 02, 2020] Hunter Biden's 'Laptop From Hell' Was National Security Nightmare -

Nov 02, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

Hunter Biden's 'Laptop From Hell' Was National Security Nightmare

by Tyler Durden Sun, 11/01/2020 - 15:45 Twitter Facebook Reddit Email Print

Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop contained a 'treasure trove of top-secret material, including his father's private emails and mobile phone numbers,' and was protected by the password "Hunter02", according to the Daily Mail .

The younger Biden's MacBook Pro was full of 'classic blackmail material' between compromising sexual material and the private information of not only the Bidens, but also Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Hunter's passport, driver's license, social security and credit card numbers were also on the laptop, which revealed that he spent $21,000 on a 'live cam' porn website (while claiming he was too broke to pay his stripper baby-mama child support?).

Via the Mail :

The material, none of which was encrypted or protected by anything as basic as two-factor authentication, includes:

  • Joe Biden's personal mobile number and three private email addresses as well as the names of his Secret Service agents;
  • Mobile numbers for former President Bill Clinton, his wife Hillary and almost every member of former President Barack Obama's cabinet;
  • A contact database of 1,500 people including actress Gwyneth Paltrow, Coldplay singer Chris Martin, former Presidential candidate John Kerry and ex-FBI boss Louis Freeh;
  • Personal documents including Hunter's passport, driver's licence, social security card, credit cards and bank statements;
  • Details of Hunter's drug and sex problems, including $21,000 spent on one 'live cam' porn website and 'selfies' of him engaging in sex acts and smoking crack cocaine;

The article does not that while Hunter may have used his family name to boost deals with Chinese and Ukrainian firms, there is nothing implicating Joe Biden in any wrongdoing (just a massive like that he 'never spoke with Hunter' about his business dealings).

"'It's a data breach and dangerous to have this type of material floating around," one former police commander told the Mail . "For someone prominent, there is not only a risk of great reputational damage but also a risk of blackmail should the material fall into the wrong hand s."

Hunter's laptop was filled with 11 gigabytes of material covering the period from when his father was Vice President, to when Hunter dropped it off at a Mac Store in Wilmington, Delaware. wee-weed up , 10 hours ago

"What laptop?" -- MSM

Macho Latte , 10 hours ago

The Progs are now using the MSM to broadcast the Biden corruption scandal so that they can use it to justify elevating Queen Kam El Tow to POTUS very soon after the Biden inauguration. He'll be gone before April 1. Queen Kami will give him a pardon within minutes of seizing power. All investigations into the Criminal Elite will be disappeared and all evidence will be destroyed.

Progs don't take a dump, son, without a plan.
- Admiral Painter

systemsplanet , 9 hours ago

FBI was planning on using Hunter's laptop as Biden's control file.

ImGumbydmmt , 5 hours ago

And they are BOTH (Hunter and Hitlery) still walking out and about the world as free people.

Sessions?

Barr?

Durham?

Wray?

Riiiiight.

ballot box?

Cartridge box is all thats left folks

Kan , 4 hours ago

Clinton crime family is still doing the 501.3c TAX dodge for trillions of dollars from the gates foundation and over 100 universities in the jUSSA.... many other fun things.

BaNNeD oN THe RuN , 9 hours ago

Exactly, plus there is no way that the NSA did not have the IP and MAC address of every computer that had ever downloaded every email to and from Hunter Biden. The "Big Guy" had been on the Senate Intelligence Committee and already knew this which is why he insisted on verbal directions only.

What "voters" don't fully understand is that elected representatives are the first line of "useful idiots" for deep state.

BGen. Jack Ripper , 10 hours ago

The FBI and CIA are the real national security nightmare

Vivekwhu , 10 hours ago

Spot on! Good luck in claiming back the US Republic from these traitors at the top. This must start this Tuesday or it is all done for.

Macho Latte , 9 hours ago

Too many people succumb to the psychological warfare that has been raging against us for 5 decades. It is very difficult to break free from the indoctrination regardless of intelligence or education. The backbone of the DemonRat organization is a very strong emotion that overcomes all logic and reason. It is HATE. Today it is called by the gentle name of Identity Politics. Nevertheless, it is still a hate based psychological manipulation. Women need to hate men. Blacks need to hate everyone. Whites need to hate themselves. Everybody needs to Hate Trump.

Argon1 , 5 hours ago

They have power, they are corrupt, but such things are not absolute. Which is why people are made examples of in law (pour encourager les autres ), but enforcement is minimal. Number of Federal employees 2 million, population 330 million, number of FBI employees 35,000 of which we can say only a 3rd will be available some are office staff, sick and others have long term commitments. So these riots would have meant FBI would have been deployed even if not used etc or would have been at the Mexican border since the wall closing has allowed a much tougher border regime.

Proudly Unaffiliated , 6 hours ago

As represented by FBIbook and DNCIA.

LetThemEatRand , 10 hours ago

Countdown to charges being brought against everyone who ever possessed the hard drives.... Certainly more likely than anyone with the last name Biden getting in trouble. MSM has already declared that there is no evidence that Joe had any involvement in Hunter's business deals, which is demonstrably false. There's the "Big Guy" emails; there's the fact that these foreign entities kept paying Hunter millions for his "name," and they would not have continued to do so if they were getting nothing in return; there's the fact that Bobulinksi has proof that Joe attended meeting with Hunter's employers; and that's just scratching the surface with what we know now.

ponchoramic , 10 hours ago

The laptop/ hard drives were abandoned for more than 90 days, transffering ownership to the shop owner, by law!

hashr_syndicate , 2 hours ago

@ Caloot

Crack is not purified, it is just changed to a base form which lowers it melting point allowing someone to smoke it, hence the term free base. Smoking allows for a faster uptake into the body giving more or a rush. The only way you can get the same rush with coke is to shoot it up. The closest you could come your statement of it being true is to perform an acid/base extraction by turning it into crack and then filtering contaminants and then using an acid to drop the carbon back off and returning it to cocaine.

cabystander , 6 hours ago

To quote Schumer (+/-): the intelligence agencies have six ways from Sunday of getting you.

That can be extended to the Government, in general. In spades.

Gobble D. Goop , 9 hours ago

Apparantly, C. Wray has an interest in keeping the laptop suppressed:

https://www.infowars.com/posts/the-fbi-snow-job-on-bidens-laptops/

HardlyZero , 9 hours ago

Yes. Wray and Barr.

https://truepundit.com/exclusive-fbi-dir-wray-profited-from-hunter-bidens-illegal-china-russia-kickback-deal-is-this-why-the-fbi-covered-up-hunters-laptop/

radical-extremist , 10 hours ago

"This has all been debunked and we're not going to dignify it by responding to it."

- The Democrat News Media Complex

Floki_Ragnarsson , 9 hours ago

The FBI has NEVER had America's interests at heart. Ruby Ridge ring a bell?

invention13 , 9 hours ago

No, the FBI has it's own interests at heart. I would love to see the files that J. Edgar had on everyone in Washington.

edotabin , 9 hours ago

Why are you surprised? You are dealing with a culture so corrupt, so rabid, so evil.... These people smell worse, are dirtier than and are harder to remove than than 6 months of cat urine in an abandoned house.

Anyone who has dealt with cat urine in abandoned and severely neglected houses knows how extensive the steps required are to remove the rot/stench.

Hint: When you open the doors and windows and run outside, you can still smell it 30-40 yards away. I've even had to use a jackhammer at an angle to chisel it out from the concrete slab.

TBT or not TBT , 7 hours ago

The D after the name is the tell. It's a party of racketeers, pervs and grifters seeking more power. The very best of them are merely amoral cynical AF Machiavellians.

Vivekwhu , 10 hours ago

And the FBI kept all this secret while Trump was being impeached over a phonecall to the Ukrainian president? Why? So they could blackmail and control another US President, as in this vile corrupt Biden creature, when he was quietly elected next week? This is the only possible explanation for Wray and his band of corrupt leaders.

Just how rotten is the FBI, uh, the premier law enforcement agency in the world???

radical-extremist , 9 hours ago

"We'll be prepared to issue comments on Hunter Biden's laptops after the election. For right now our focus is on dangerous white supremacist militias and hate crime hoaxes."

- C. Wray, Director of the FBI

J J Pettigrew , 9 hours ago

And why did Christopher Wray sit on this for ten months?

Comey protected Hillary

Wray protects Biden

novictim , 9 hours ago

"'It's a data breach and dangerous to have this type of material floating around," one former police commander told the Mail . "For someone prominent, there is not only a risk of great reputational damage but also a risk of blackmail should the material fall into the wrong hand s."

Show of hands:

Who thinks that the CCP spy chief that the Bidens were in business with did not already have all of this blackmail material?

The Bidens kept the secrets from the USA and even screwed that up. But the Ukrainians, Russians and Chinese Communist Party had all of this all along. That is why China Joe is such a great alternative to Trump for them. China Joe is totally and completely compromised and millions have already voted for him. Which would be funny if not for the insane Deep State that also seems to be owned by the Communists.

radical-extremist , 9 hours ago

Biden is in no way compromised because any evidence the CCP goes public with will never be reported on, except by maybe Fox News.

cjones1 , 9 hours ago

Mueller was FBI Director when both Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden were committing national security violations and money grubbing, "pay to play" diplomacy - 2012 election interference by the IRS, etc., too!

This "Deep State" complicity in and enabling of such corruption runs several levels deep in our intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

J J Pettigrew , 7 hours ago

Comey protected Hillary

Wray protects Biden

and as luck would have it...both Democrats.

And the attacks on the GOP elected President...fake and falsified with the assistance of......

those who protected Biden and Hillary.

Remarkable for an apolitical entity such as the FBI.

Shut. It. Down. , 9 hours ago

Stripper mama's lawyer needs to file a subpoena for access to the hard drive.

No telling what assets Hunter was hiding while trying to weasel out of child support.

Should be good for another couple mil.

LetThemEatRand , 10 hours ago

Note that the FBI investigation into Hunter is for "money laundering," as opposed to anything involving public corruption or influence peddling. That tells me that they are carefully avoiding anything that would involve Joe. And we all know that a year or two from now or whenever this story settles down, there will be a page 8 newspaper article about how the FBI found insufficient evidence of any criminal activity by Hunter to justify charges.

They keep using the same script, and it always ends in a twist ending involving anyone you've ever heard of doing nothing wrong other than "poor judgment."

quanttech , 8 hours ago

Biden values - bomb children in countries that never attacked us. tell supporters they're organic, grass-fed love bombs.

Trump values - bomb children in countries that never attacked us. tell supporters we're withdrawing from the wars while INCREASING the bombings.

American values - duuuuuuuh i dont care as long as inocent children are being bombed. duuuuuuuh i'm so sad they cancelled keeping up with the khardashians. duuuuuuuuuuuh i need a chicken sandwhich but i'm too fat to get out of my lazyboy duuuuuh

SummerSausage , 9 hours ago

CIA trailed Hunter to brothels and drug dens when he was overseas. They knew.

Foreign countries sucked electronic information off Hunters computers and phones when he was overseas. They knew.

Jill and Joe kept Hunter away from children. They knew.

Kerry's step son was in business with hunter. They knew.

Obama spied on everybody. He knew.

American media covered up for Hunter & Joe for years. They knew.

Looks like normal Americans were the last to know.

J S Bach , 9 hours ago

"There is not only a risk of great reputational damage but also a risk of blackmail should the material fall into the wrong hands."

Yep... and with this knowledge... ANYONE who votes for Joe Biden is a traitor to this country whether they like it or not.

From Dante's "Inferno"...

The ninth (deepest) circle of hell is reserved for traitors...

"9). Treachery: The deepest circle of Hell, where Satan resides. As with the last two circles, this one is further divided, into four rounds. The first is Caina, named after the biblical Cain, who murdered his brother. This round is for traitors to family. The second, Antenora -- from Antenor of Troy, who betrayed the Greeks -- is reserved for political/national traitors. The third is Ptolomaea for Ptolemy, son of Abubus, who is known for inviting Simon Maccabaeus and his sons to dinner and then murdering them. This round is for hosts who betray their guests; they are punished more harshly because of the belief that having guests means entering into a voluntary relationship, and betraying a relationship willingly entered is more despicable than betraying a relationship born into. The fourth round is Judecca, after Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Christ. This round is reserved for traitors to their lords/benefactors/masters. As in the previous circle, the subdivisions each have their own demons and punishments."

Not to take all of this literally, but it shows the wisdom of our ancestors and the intense acrimony they felt towards this most nefarious act.

freedommusic , 7 hours ago

Imagine what was on Weiners laptop.

So let's review boys and girls.

The FBI now has Anthony Weiner's and Hunter Biden's laptops.

If Law enforcement and the DOJ do NOT do the jobs they swore an oath to, then who does that leave to uphold the Constitution and Rule of Law?

Chew on that for a moment...

jeff montanye , 7 hours ago

don't forget seth rich's phone and laptop never looked at by either the d.c. police or the fbi.

corruption in washington d.c. is like the hindus' turtle akupara on the back of a larger turtle, on the back of . . .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtles_all_the_way_down

UnicornTears , 9 hours ago

National pulse has the story.

Christopher Wray is directly implicated in the laptop emails. He recieved a 14% stake in Rosneft shares. Arrest everyone in DC and get some rope.

OpenEyes , 8 hours ago

Yes, it's coming out that Wray was actually on the other side of the table in Hunter's negotiation for his Chinese "chairman" in the deal to buy into the Russian energy company. Wray was working for the law firm representing the Russian energy company (he made millions there before coming into the FBI). Not only was Wray aware of the crime, he was a player in that deal. No wonder the laptop, and all other evidence, has sat untouched in a dark vault at the FBI for almost a year.

I'm hoping that Trump fires Wray, Haspel and Barr on Wednesday regardless of the election outcome. Then I'm hoping that Wray is facing an indigtment before Christmas.

Floki_Ragnarsson , 9 hours ago

What REALLY sinks the Bidens is having to account for all of that cash that they a) never paid taxes on and b) Potato Head Joe NEVER declared on his financial disclosure forms as required by law!

BinAnunnaki , 8 hours ago

They both go to jail for not registering under FARA.

Just like Michael Flinn

OllieHalsall , 9 hours ago

Giving evidence to a criminal organisation like the FBI is like asking Joe Biden to babysit your 11 year old daughter.

You wouldn't do it would you!

American2 , 9 hours ago

Immediately, ask for Bill Clinton, or Jeffery Epstein as his replacement.

Someone Else , 8 hours ago

Landslide for Trump!

desertboy , 9 hours ago

Anybody who could think the Biden's would be played by the CCCP in China business dealings is a conspiracy theorist.

And everyone knows Joe Biden is too smart to be co-opted by his son in his dealings, anyway.

(straight-face delivery)

Nunny , 9 hours ago

Bada-bing

UnicornTears , 9 hours ago

"Never underestimate Joe's ability to screw things up"

The MagicNegro

Ision , 9 hours ago

I wonder if Hunter ever held a government job, or appointment, which involved the handling of classified information? I have no idea.

But, exactly how did Hunter get TS information on his computer?

No matter. The National Security Act of 1947 applies. Since it does, multiple felonies have been committed. How many people are involved in the commission of these felonies, besides Hunter?

Just like Hillary's illegal servers...the existence of which automatically gives rise to dozens of felonies...Hunter's felonies are automatic with the existence of ANY TS classified information, found outside of officially controlled, and authorized, locations.

If anyone planned to deliberately deliver such information to unauthorized individuals, additional felonies are involved.

There is simply no excuse, or defense.

I say this as a former NSA field agent. It appears Hunter should be in prison, along with Hillary.

MTGOPLAYER , 9 hours ago

According to the FBI, as long as his intentions were pure, no crime was committed.

vasilievich , 9 hours ago

I can't begin to describe how shocked and angry I am - and I've been involved to the extent of risk to my life.

I've had one US Army person say to me: You were in...!?

Invert This MM , 7 hours ago

The crime families like to keep together. There are pictures on the laptop of Hunter doing Malia Obama. Her cocaine riddled credit card was in the picture. Hunter has a tattoo of the Finger Lakes on his back. That region is suspected of being an area heavy into child trafficking. These people are sick.

9.0onthericterscale , 9 hours ago

Demlibs keep screeching out 'Russia Russia Russia!' like they have Tourettes Syndrome.

They can't help it anymore .It's so far past the point of meaningfulness you gotta feel sorry for the little +ards.

Mzhen , 9 hours ago

Hunter took three laptops to the repair shop. And they were all wet . Which appears to indicate a deliberate attempt by someone to destroy the data. Before there were second thoughts. This period of time coincided with the final breakup with Hallie.

almostnuts , 9 hours ago

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Hmmmm. Hiding assets from child support, all those cozy names with phone numbers attached, passport info, ss info, 21,000$ in **** sites. This isn't going to well huh Robert? Anyhow the fbi has you covered, but your drug habit is going to kill you because you are a liability to a lot of people, places, and things. From now on Robert i'd beware of pretty women in a foreign land and don't sleep in the same place every night. You may be well connected, but you're marked for disposal. Tah, tah, be reading about you.

DavidJoshimisk , 7 hours ago

So if I understand this correctly.........Hunter and Jim Biden were front men for the Biden Family operations and the Big Guy was calling the shots. So...Obama and the FBI knew nothing of this? Seems unlikely.

Oilwatcher , 10 hours ago

Dude must be baked hard all the time to go off and leave data like that at a repair shop instead of coughing up an $80 repair bill.

Anonymous IX , 10 hours ago

Exactly.

"Baked hard" + arrogance (with having always gotten away with no consequences for all his illegal/immoral actions in the past).

Sometimes the powerful and mighty fall hard. Evidently, we're in one of those epoches. He may suffer very little criminal action against him, but he'll never recover...nor will the Bidens...from a scandal of this magnitude and distasteful revelations.

ponchoramic , 10 hours ago

He probably hates his Pop. I think it's in some of his texts. Def the blacksheep of family. Prob why he was on drugs in the first place.

Samual Vimes , 9 hours ago

Recovering drug addict Hunter Biden 'broke sober streak ...

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/13029782/hunter-biden-party-los-angeles-drugs-sober-mansion/

HUNTER Biden rented a pricey Los Angeles mansion for a party and allegedly "broke his sober streak" after fighting with his new wife weeks ago, according to a new report. Joe Biden's son ...

glasshour , 8 hours ago

The Bidens are compromised.

Detain. Interrogate. Jail.

OpenEyes , 9 hours ago

It's coming out that Wray was actually on the other side of the table in Hunter's negotiation for his Chinese "chairman" in the deal to buy into the Russian energy company. Wray was working for the law firm representing the Russian energy company (he made millions there before coming into the FBI). Not only was Wray aware of the crime, he was a player in that deal. No wonder the laptop, and all other evidence, has sat untouched in a dark vault at the FBI for almost a year.

I'm hoping that Trump fires Wray, Haspel and Barr on Wednesday regardless of the election outcome. Then I'm hoping that Wray is facing an indigtment before Christmas.

OpenEyes , 8 hours ago

And Fauci too. God, I hope he gets rid of that slime-ball.

[Nov 02, 2020] Hunter Biden's Story Could Help Hillary Clinton To Become Vice President

Nov 02, 2020 | www.moonofalabama.org

Hunter Biden's Story Could Help Hillary Clinton To Become Vice President

The recently revealed business deals of Hunter Biden will strongly influence politics after an eventual Joe Biden win in tomorrows election.

On October 15 the New York Post published a story on Hunter Biden based on data from a laptop Joe Biden's son had left with a repair shop. The Biden family has not disputed that the laptop or the data on it is genuine. Next to the porn on the laptop there were thousand of emails which describe shady deals with a (now defunct) large Chinese energy company , CEFC.

Twitter , Facebook and other media like the Intercept tried to prevent the distribution of the story. They falsely claimed that the information was 'hacked' or unproven. The censorship inevitably made the story more prominent and increased the number of people who learned of it.

A week after the NY Post story ran Tony Bobulinski, a former business partner of Hunter Biden, went public with further allegations against him:

Tony Bobulinski, a former business associate of Hunter Biden, said Wednesday night that he can confirm details regarding his overseas business dealings, including that a reference to a "Big Guy" in a May 13, 2017 email did, in fact, refer to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

In a lengthy statement, Bobulinski identified himself as the CEO of Sinohawk Holdings, a firm he described as "a partnership between the Chinese operating through CEFC/Chairman Ye and the Biden family." He added that Hunter Biden and James Gilliar, another business associate, brought him on as CEO of the venture.

"Hunter Biden called his dad 'the Big Guy' or 'my Chairman,' and frequently referenced asking him for his sign-off or advice on various potential deals that we were discussing," Bobulinski said. "I've seen Vice President Biden saying he never talked to Hunter about his business. I've seen firsthand that that's not true, because it wasn't just Hunter's business, they said they were putting the Biden family name and its legacy on the line."

A number of outlets have each carried various snippets of the whole story of Hunter Biden's very profitable dealings with foreign companies. That has created a confusing picture. Stephen McIntyre, who has done useful investigative research on climate change, Russiagate, and the OPCW shenanigans in Syria, has thankfully created a 19 pages long timeline with all the Biden-China evidence that has so far seen the daylight. He writes:

The Biden family was involved in two major Chinese deals:
  • a carried stake in Bohai Harvest Partners Investment Fund. Their interest in this deal began in 2013. Hunter Biden, Devon Archer and James Bulger each had 10% interests. This fund is still active. Bobulinski was not involved in this deal.
  • a second deal initiated in 2017 in which the Bidens received $5 million from Chinese energy company CEFC and/or its officers. CEFC had, in a short period, become a huge company and, even more quickly, disintegrated. This second deal was the one involving Patrick Ho, who was arrested in Nov 2017 in US for corruption, Gongwen Dong and its chairman Ye Jianming, who was arrested in China and/or disappeared in March 2018.
Nearly all of the interesting texts and emails from 2017 and Bobulinski's information are limited to this second deal. These were only a small fraction of sleazy transactions by Hunter Biden, Devon Archer and associates. Concurrent with this affair were transactions in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Russia as well as participation in major frauds by John Galanis and Jason Sugarman in which Archer (but not so far, Hunter Biden) have been convicted. The texts and emails have been released in a piecemeal and disorganized way. In this article, I'll attempt to re-assemble a narrative of events for the CEFC affair.
...

Another timeline of the Hunter Biden affairs with slightly different material has been collected by Seamus Bruner and John Solomon. They write:

The New York Post broke news last week that Joe Biden himself may have benefited from his son's dealings. The Post quoted a cryptic message from one of Hunter's partners, saying that "10 [percent] held by H for the big guy?" The recipient of that message, Tony Bobulinski, says "there is no question" that "H" stands for Hunter and the "big guy" is Joe Biden.

We gain further insight into the operations of Biden Inc. in emails provided to us by Bevan Cooney, a former business associate of Hunter Biden. Cooney, who is currently in prison for his role in the Indian Bond Scheme that is sending Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer also to jail, shared 26,000 emails that show what Hunter's role was in their business ventures. The Biden name was considered "currency" for their foreign business ventures, and was a "direct pipeline" to the Obama-Biden administration. Deals involving Hunter benefited from the "Biden lift," the help that the name would provide in overseas dealings.

What might the Bidens' foreign benefactors have expected in return for all this largesse? We can't say. But some may see a correlation between that foreign money and Joe Biden's policy posture toward the sources of that money.

Stephen McIntyre has promised to update his timeline with the material revealed by the other authors. As McIntyre is always diligent in his work his timeline can be taken as an authoritative source.

While I am still digging through the above collections here my first thoughts on why these matter.

The facts show that Hunter Biden and other traded on and profited from Joe Biden's position by selling his 'influence' to foreign companies. It is likely that Joe Biden at least indirectly also profited from that work.

The evidence is not rumored Russiagate material like the shoddy Steele dossier but real stuff which has legal consequences :

A federal judge named Joe Biden as a possible "witness" along with his son Hunter in a criminal fraud case last year that ended in the convictions of two of Hunter's business partners, according to little-noticed court documents. The Democratic presidential candidate's appearance on a witness list casts new doubt on his claims he knew nothing about his son's shady business dealings.

As revenge for Russiagate the Republicans will use the affair to their utmost advantage.

There are only two ways for Joe Biden to prevent Republicans and independent media from further digging into the affair and all the potentially illegal issues it reveals.

  • If Joe Biden loses the election the scandal will likely vanish as soon as he retreats from the public view.
  • If Joe Biden wins the election the scandal will fester until he resigns.

The second case is especially interesting. Vice President candidate Kamala Harris has been groomed by Hillary Clinton's inner circle since 2017 :

The Democrats' "Great Freshman Hope," Sen. Kamala Harris, is heading to the Hamptons to meet with Hillary Clinton's biggest backers.

The California senator is being fêted in Bridgehampton on Saturday at the home of MWWPR guru Michael Kempner, a staunch Clinton supporter who was one of her national-finance co-chairs and a led fund-raiser for her 2008 bid for the presidency. He was also listed as one of the top "bundlers" for Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign, having raised $3 million.

Clinton's recent Foreign Affairs piece, A National Security Reckoning - How Washington Should Think About Power , must be seen as a job application for a high position in a Harris (Biden) administration. Removing Joe Biden soon after he has won may well be in Clinton's interest.

Should the somewhat demented Joe Biden leave 'for health reasons' soon after he has been sworn into office Kamala Harris would become President. She then could use the 25th Amendment to select Hillary Clinton as the new Vice President.

If, after a Biden win in the election, Hillary Clinton supporters in the liberul media stop censoring the Hunter Biden affair or even start to further expose it we can be sure that such a scheme is on the verge of being implemented.

Posted by b on November 2, 2020 at 19:07 UTC | Permalink

Jose Garcia , Nov 2 2020 19:27 utc | 1

Bingo. The Clintons are never too far away from all political shenanigans that go on in the US. They and their cohorts were called the Southern Mafia for a reason.
lysias , Nov 2 2020 19:29 utc | 2
Once LBJ became president, the corruption case against him quickly disappeared.
lysias , Nov 2 2020 19:31 utc | 3
If Kamala Harris does this, she must have a death wish.
Perimetr , Nov 2 2020 19:33 utc | 4
As I suggested once before on MoA, Harris was chosen by the Clintons. B has explained why. ,
Ghost Ship , Nov 2 2020 19:35 utc | 5
Once Hillary is VP, something happens to Harris and Hillary becomes president.
Christian J. Chuba , Nov 2 2020 19:41 utc | 6
A Joe Biden impeachment if guilty of payouts from China would be a victory of our system of checks and balances. Still not voting for Trump.

Steele Dossier update I read that the primary source for Steele was Ms. Galkina, basically a nobody creating fiction for pay and not a 'a high ranking Kremlin official'. Does this mean that the Trump Shills like Don Jr, Hannity, Ingraham, et al will stop calling it Russian misinformation sent to the Democrats to attack Donald Trump?

Jackrabbit , Nov 2 2020 19:49 utc | 7
This is plausible.

Hillary as Pres. or V. Pres. is the only reason why the Deep State might prefer Biden over Trump.

!!

Down South , Nov 2 2020 19:53 utc | 8
It explains why they chose Joe Biden as presidential candidate even though he is clearly not up to the job. He is to be the expendable Trojan horse through which some very unpalatable to the public people will gain power they otherwise would not have been able to.

This should worry those who will vote for Biden. What they are voting for and what they are going to get is not the same thing.

Jpc , Nov 2 2020 19:57 utc | 9
The US electorate have been grossly deceived by the MSM and social (hah!) media providers.
Down South , Nov 2 2020 19:58 utc | 10
after an eventual Joe Biden win in tomorrows election

I don't agree with this though.

I think Trump is going to win.

Paul Damascene , Nov 2 2020 20:02 utc | 11
Useful clarity, b, as always.
Not sure I can agree that Republican reps will drag this into the light post election.
My impression was that they didn't go into Ukraine defense at impeachment was that the campaign finance / money laundering / influence peddling gravy train there, as elsewhere, probably, was and is bipartisan.
Daniel Lynch , Nov 2 2020 20:02 utc | 12
I can buy everything B is saying, but who exactly will investigate President Biden if D's win both Houses of Congress?

Bill Barr could start an investigation, if one has not already been started, but government moves slowly so it is hard to see the Trump administration bringing charges before Biden is sworn in.

But if Hillary wants to throw Biden under the bus after the election, well she could probably do so.

urblintz , Nov 2 2020 20:05 utc | 13
@#10
Alas, DS... no one wins here. We all lose, either way.
Wind Hippo , Nov 2 2020 20:16 utc | 14
The best arguments against life extension science are people like Clinton, Biden, and Pelosi. Imagine them as speaker or senator or Supreme Court justice for the next 1000 years.
james , Nov 2 2020 20:18 utc | 15
thanks b... as jr the bunny notes - this is plausible... the clintons sure are creepy... this is a good halloween story..
Old and Grumpy , Nov 2 2020 20:24 utc | 16
Wouldn't the 25th amendment be the desired method of transferring power to Harris? Although it has always struck me a wee bit odd that the computer repairman called the FBI after making a copy, which in turn he gave to Rudy Giuliana. Do all computer repairmen have Rudy on speed dial by any chance? Sadly the weird of the whole scenario is very Clintonian. How long til an Arkancide or two happens. Can't the Clintons just go away for good?
Bill , Nov 2 2020 20:35 utc | 17
@ Daniel Lynch | Nov 2 2020 20:02 utc | 12

The democrats will investigate and kick Biden out. The democrats knew all along that this stuff about Biden was real but they had no chance to win with the other losers. So, the order was given to the others to drop from the race and let strawman Biden beat Bernie. If Biden gets elected, they will bring all his dirt up, impeach him and govern from the shadows through Kamala who has no principles and questionable character (e.g., slept with Willie to move her career up).

pnyx , Nov 2 2020 20:37 utc | 18
Or maybe Harris poisons Biden to speed things up and invites Micky Mouse to become her vice president.

Come on B, this is really clumsy, below your standard. We all know that Biden is corrupt, but we also know that Tronald is even more corrupt, that he is a fascist who has filled every post in his administration with the most disgusting reactionary you can find in the country. And that means something. The man belongs to scrap iron. One cannot reject the bad in favor of the even worse. That is irrational.

Tsar Nicholas , Nov 2 2020 20:37 utc | 19
Biden will not win, MoA. You were also wrong about Covid-19.
NemesisCalling , Nov 2 2020 20:49 utc | 20
Yes, this has been hinted on by my local conservative radio host since Pelosi introduced legislation re: removing unfit presidents about a month ago.

It was always about removing Biden, if he were elected, not Trump.

Biden has never struck me during his whole campaign of a genuine interest in the presidency.

It has always seemed more like he was doing it begrudgingly for "the cause."

Contrast this to the emotion Trump exhibited during his 2016 run when he gripped and nearly ripped his notes in anger after a debate with Hillary Clinton ended. Or how he sat stone-faced during Obama's speech during a white house correspondence dinner where Obama tore into Trump and the audience roared with laughter. Trump just stared right back.

These are pieces any sane person can put together with the understanding that these men are all still subject to egoism and revenge. It is not all elites against us as some simpletons wish to boil it down to. It is much more subtle and so you must use discernment and study their tells and what gives their true desires away.

oldhippie , Nov 2 2020 21:08 utc | 21

Hillary is so unlikely to have authored the Foreign Affairs article. Staff work. Whose staff? Uninteresting to pursue. Other than that appearance Hills has been very quiet. Suspiciously quiet. Could be that Obama or whoever succeeded in shutting her up, that would have been daunting and just plain hard. Better bet is her health is failing.
lulu , Nov 2 2020 21:10 utc | 22
b, you may need to check this story:

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai 's right-hand man "I'm not a spy" Mark Simon falls on his sword for the Hunter Biden story .

In short, Mark Simon took initiative and gave $10,000 to a guy called Crhistopher Balding , an associate professor at Beijing University and late moved to Vietnam on Fulbright Scholarship, to prepare and disseminate the "Aspen dossier" detailing supposed Chinese influence ops targeting the Biden family basing an the "info/disinformation" from a supposed Swiss investigator Martin Aspen.

After NBC article exposes Martin Aspen is actually an AI-created persona, Jimmy Lai, who depends on the support from USG to continue his anti-China activities in HK, publicly distance himself from the whole operation, and his trusted lieutenant Mark Simon, a possible CIA agent, announced his resignation from Apple Daily after Balding exposed his involvement. Detail here

teri , Nov 2 2020 21:11 utc | 23
Okay, sleazy and yet very normal (one might say habitual) corruption in a US political family. But by 2017, Joe Biden was out of office, and there is nothing that suggests that he, rather than his repulsive son, was profiting before that.
The stake in the Bohai Harvest Partners Investment Fund (2013) does not name Joe Biden as an investor at all.

This may be why the FBI, the media, and even Glenn Greenwald in his article, say that there is nothing in this pile of dog crap that implicates Joe Biden at this point.

Plymouth Rock , Nov 2 2020 21:13 utc | 24
All very plausible, all very Byzantine and decadent. The "United States of America" is in the midst of decay and breakup, which will occur no matter who is "elected" or otherwise gains power, legally or militarily. It is only a question of which "gang in power" -to use Murray Rothbard's phrase- is running your successor state.
lulu , Nov 2 2020 21:25 utc | 25

How a fake persona laid the groundwork for a Hunter Biden conspiracy deluge .

A quick search on BHR Partners , it says:

According to The New Yorker, in June 2013, "[Jonathan] Li, Archer, and other business partners signed a memorandum of understanding to create the fund, which they named BHR Partners, and, in November, they signed contracts related to the deal. Hunter became an unpaid member of BHR's board but did not take an equity stake in BHR Partners until after his father left the White House →".

The Aspen Dossier was peddled by Balding to right wing websites, which then first published in mid-Sept and now got the momentum.

c1ue , Nov 2 2020 21:29 utc | 26
The notion that the Democrats will allow their party name to be associated with a deposed Democrat President seems more than far-fetched.
Far more likely is that the "investigation" will drag on long enough to fade from public view, then quietly pardon everyone.
This Biden to Harris to HRC seems much more like a plot for a fantasy/spy novel.
Norwegian , Nov 2 2020 21:31 utc | 27
Stephen McIntyre is a very credible source. I have followed his climate work, it is top notch.

Hillary Clinton as vice president? Who could have guessed? /s She will have the same role as Cheney had over Bush. A nightmare scenario.

H.Schmatz , Nov 2 2020 21:33 utc | 28
Meanwhile...we are being distracted by the Huntergate ...an autum of terror in being prepared in Europe...
At least 150 private military contractors have been transported to Europe on Pentagon-chartered flights over the last weeks, including from Benghazi, #Libya via #Malta to Sofia, #Bulgaria

https://twitter.com/dgaytandzhieva/status/1322605905054257155


H.Schmatz , Nov 2 2020 21:36 utc | 29
Posted by: H.Schmatz | Nov 2 2020 21:33 utc | 28

Someone also added to this:

https://twitter.com/GDarkconrad/status/1323158782000640005

Sunny Runny Burger , Nov 2 2020 21:40 utc | 30
Harris could simply resign some weeks after Clinton II gets the VP, Harris could do so for any reason but if it was me writing the script I would cook up some mumbo jumbo about "clean slate", "not yet ready", "for the sake of blah-blah" and so on.

That way Harris can come back and fill the gap between Clinton II and Clinton III (no prizes for guessing who).

Not that I don't think the US won't be gone long before that can happen or won't be in a civil war if any of it does or maybe from Biden or the "election" alone.

vk , Nov 2 2020 21:47 utc | 31
I agree with many here: looks like a typical political elite family corruption (Roman-style corruption).

But I have a theory: with Reagan's hegemony (1980-1992), the old Democrat elites were wiped out. The Democratic Party came near to extinction, the USA almost becoming a single-party nation. Reagan looked invincible, the consensus he commanded among the American people incontestable. He easily elected his successor (George H. W. Bush).

The Democrats were reborn, like a Phoenix, thanks to a huge transformation: the rise of the so-called "Southern Democrats". This newly-born faction, much more conservative, had one clear leadership: Bill Clinton, from Arkansas.

Bill Clinton then surprisingly won against George H. W. Bush and got extremely lucky: he got the USSR in tatters, ready for the sack. The ransacking of the Soviet Sphere marked the only time after the post-war miracle (1945-1974) when the USA registered a trade surplus (+38%).

This ransacking, in my theory, generated the rise of a new set of families of a new Democrat elite. All of then are vassals to the Clinton family (as we can deduce from the de facto fusion between the Clinton Foundation and the DNC), but each got the right to a piece of the ex-Soviet cake. Victoria Nuland, for example, got the telecommunication industries of the ex-Yugoslavia through her husband. My guess is the Bidens are part of this new, "Southern Democrat" elite, hence their casual connections with ex-Soviet states and mafias.

Everything must have been done quickly and hastily, as Bill Clinton wasn't able to elect his successor (Al Gore). This realization that "time was short" may explain the apparent amateurish partition of the ex-socialist cake by those families. Hence the laptop episode.

The Obama phenomenon may be easily explained: the crisis of 2008 prompted Wall Street to enter the field because they needed the bailout (Bush's Congress blocked the bailout in November 2008, putting the Texan on his knees) to pass as soon as January 2009. Hilary Clinton was senator for New York (you cannot be elected in NY without Wall Street's consent), so it wasn't that she was in any position to rig the DNC at that moment. Penny Pritzker somehow convinced Wall Street moguls Obama (senator from Illinois, USA's second financial center) was the better candidate to the task. Even then, Hilary competed with Obama, and there were primaries, so the process wasn't as smooth as many alt-rightists like to tell us today. Plus, Hilary was still young, so she had time: she may have calculated Obama would be left to clean the shit from the crisis and she would reap the economic recovery as his successor; that Obama survived and easily got reelected is merely one of those windfalls of destiny.

Anyhow, the fact is that Obama disappeared after his second term and the Clintons came back to the forefront of the Democratic Party. This is an indication he was more of a detour on the party's project, the Southern Democrats never really losing grip. I don't think the Bidens are, therefore, part of Obama's entourage, but of the Clinton's.

Willy2 , Nov 2 2020 21:51 utc | 32
- When I read that Hillary Clinton has put out a job application then I almost want Trump to win the presidential election of 2020.
- There was one person who said that the choice between Clinton and Trump (in 2016) and Biden and Trump (in 2020) was the choice between having typhoid and having cholera.
lulu , Nov 2 2020 21:58 utc | 33
Quick check on Chinese webiste, the exact name of the joint fund Hunter Biden's company participated is Bohai Harvest RST (Shanghai) Equity Investment Fund Management Co. Ltd , a sub fund of Bohai Harvest Partners Investment Fund.

Its aim is to use Shanghai FTA to covert Chinese Yuan to dollar to invest overseas.

(Somehow, I personally doubt this kind of funds could be used by rich Chinese tycoons and corrupt officials to shift their illegal gains out of China.)

As mention above, Hunter was unpaid board member of BHR and didn't have an equity stake in BHR Partners .

Obviously, it looks rather nepotism, but isn't it the fact that lots of relatives of the American (Chinese, European, Japanes, etc.) politicians have been doing these kind dubious business deals all the time?

Are any patriotic Trump supporters making a big fuss about this: Wilbur Ross Remained on Chinese Joint Venture Board While Running U.S.-China Trade War .

Probably, the pot shouldn't call the kettle black?

Sakineh Bagoom , Nov 2 2020 22:03 utc | 34
I don't know b. Too many if, then, elses, for this nirvana to occur.
I'll bide/bite my time and wait.
SteveLaudig , Nov 2 2020 22:05 utc | 35
Hunter was quite the sleaze an "honorary" Trump family member.
Jackrabbit , Nov 2 2020 22:05 utc | 36
I don't know much abou the Hillary-Kamala relationship but I do know that Hillary is prehaps the only person that Congress can agree on to be VP.

Fact check: If the vice president becomes president, House speaker doesn't become new VP

"Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress," Section 2 of the amendment explains.

!!
Carlton Meyer , Nov 2 2020 22:15 utc | 37
Biden is a petty criminal compared to the Clinton crime family.

Her role in massive arms smuggling from Benghazi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc4wrSIOUxc


And the coup in Honduras: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3RXl3u9oxw

oldhippie , Nov 2 2020 22:15 utc | 38
Vk@31

Penny Pritzker? Where do you come up with this stuff? She's a nasty piece of work all right but that she moved Wall Street or played kingmaker is just absurd.

Penny couldn't even manage basic South Side real estate swindles without buckets of help. Including from Obama. Who has a long family pedigree and outranks Pritzkers in every way.

S , Nov 2 2020 22:16 utc | 39
@Christian J. Chuba #6
I read that the primary source for Steele was Ms. Galkina, basically a nobody creating fiction for pay and not a 'a high ranking Kremlin official'. Does this mean that the Trump Shills like Don Jr, Hannity, Ingraham, et al will stop calling it Russian misinformation sent to the Democrats to attack Donald Trump?

You might have missed this, but it has been established by U.S. scientists that Russians are not animals. Russians is a giant fungal mycelium that may form animal mimic fruiting bodies colloquially known as "Russian individuals". Thus, while it may appear to you that Galkina is a separate organism, in reality "she" is a mere outgrowth of Russians. Any action taken by "her" is an action of the entire organism. That is why any time a Russian fruiting body misbehaves, the sanctions are imposed on the entire mycelium. Hope this helps.

lulu , Nov 2 2020 22:16 utc | 40
Suddenly , some of the woke liberals and MSM journos start to doubt the corrupt Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui aka Miles Kwok, a fugitive, and MSM's mostly beloved master of Chinese "leaker", is working for CCP(!) and begin to expose his undemocratic behavour:


- Guo Wengui Is Sending Mobs After Chinese Dissidents


- They once peddled misinformation for Guo Wengui and Steve Bannon. Now they're speaking out

All because of his involvement of collecting/making-up disinformation "leaks" about Biden family?

vk , Nov 2 2020 22:19 utc | 41
@ Posted by: oldhippie | Nov 2 2020 22:15 utc | 38

She was Obama's main fundraiser I think. This is public knowledge.

Obama raised double of what John McCain did. It was a comfortable victory.

gottlieb , Nov 2 2020 22:21 utc | 42
I think Biden was chosen, because no one wanted him, as a 'consensus candidate' against Bernie Sanders. Sanders is a much more existential threat to the 'establishment' than Donald Trump. And yeah, sheep dog etc. the point is the ideas behind Sanders - to begin mitigation of corporate power - is the enemy.

Hillary Clinton? If the plan is to seal the deal for a third party movement to actually rival the two-party monopoly, then good plan.

Bemildred , Nov 2 2020 22:29 utc | 43
Posted by: lulu | Nov 2 2020 22:16 utc | 40

Yeah, no doubt they suckered Hunter, then saved the laptop for October while making up a story for how they got it. I have always felt - I won't say thought - that the whole story stunk, it was just too convenient, the timing too perfect, the scandal too juicy, and Trump is a vindictive person, it's payback. Perhaps they enhanced the contents a bit too. If there is an investigation, it could be interesting.

Jen , Nov 2 2020 22:38 utc | 44
B's prediction that Joe Biden being pushed out early during his first term as President, either because of Hunter Biden's scandals or his own worsening dementia, to be replaced by Kamala Harris as President who would then nominate The Klintonator as her VP, will depend on Biden winning the Presidency.

The way the election seems to be going - I have seen some news that an Australian news reporter in the US, monitoring the news polls and speaking to people, is confused because while the polls predict a Biden win, the majority of the people he talks to (I presume he travels quite a lot and speaks to people of very different backgrounds and communities) are voting for Trump - the results may be very close, they will depend on votes coming from US voters casting votes overseas or mail-in votes, the Electoral College voting may be very close and I hazard that the final result may not be known until December.

Plenty of time then for both Democrats and Republicans to accuse each other of stalling on the results, for fighting to break out all around the nation, and cities to try to enforce lockdowns to the extent of calling in the military. Perhaps when civil war breaks out, someone will propose some kind of unity government, Congress in its panic will agree and somehow The Klintonator manages to wangle her way into the Presidency or a position as Secretary of Defense or Secretary of State.

james , Nov 2 2020 22:50 utc | 45
here is a post from someone at sst - jersey jeffersonian - quoting from a website... i don't know if or how much of this is true, but it goes with all of this..

"It seems now that Chris Wray's FBI was sitting on the Hunter Biden laptop, too.

And probably, beyond permitting the whole impeachment farago to plow ahead by hiding evidence supportive of President Trump's actions, or lack thereof, in Ukraine, because certain activities in which Wray had been involved earlier might come back to haunt him. Here is a passage quoted from James Kunstler's blog post of this morning on this point:

"...here's a strange Swamp sidelight to all this: CEFC's main exploit during the Biden hook-up years was the purchase of a 14 percent stake in Russia's oil-and-gas giant, Rosneft, to help China circumvent US sanctions on Russia's oil sales. Guess who was one of the lawyers working for Rosneft: Christopher Wray, just before he became FBI director. And guess who has been sitting on Hunter Biden's laptop since at least December of 2019. Oh, the FBI. And guess what else: the Rosneft files have since been deleted by Mr. Wray's old law firm, King and Spalding."

Recall here Biden's negotiations with the head of CEFC, Ho Chiping, to establish a humongous LPG facility in Louisiana (see the referenced blog post for more information)." here is the website link as well for the specific quote - The Awful Reckoning

lysias , Nov 2 2020 22:57 utc | 46
When the last serious dispute about who had won a presidential election occurred, in 1876, they had four months between the election and the inauguration of the new president to resolve the matter, and then the dispute was only resolved at the last moment, just before the inauguration date.

Now, with the inauguration date moved back from March to December, they will have considerably less time to resolve a dispute.

JoeG , Nov 2 2020 23:00 utc | 47
Trump has already won FL.
The early voting makes that clear.
https://joeisdone.github.io/florida/

[Oct 31, 2020] Article on Joe and Hunter Biden Censored By The Intercept by Greenwald

Oct 31, 2020 | greenwald.substack.com

An attempt to assess the importance of the known evidence, and a critique of media lies to protect their favored candidate, could not be published at The Intercept Oct 29 675 380

I am posting here the most recent draft of my article about Joe and Hunter Biden -- the last one seen by Intercept editors before telling me that they refuse to publish it absent major structural changes involving the removal of all sections critical of Joe Biden, leaving only a narrow article critiquing media outlets. I will also, in a separate post, publish all communications I had with Intercept editors surrounding this article so you can see the censorship in action and, given the Intercept's denials, decide for yourselves (this is the kind of transparency responsible journalists provide, and which the Intercept refuses to this day to provide regarding their conduct in the Reality Winner story). This draft obviously would have gone through one more round of proof-reading and editing by me -- to shorten it, fix typos, etc -- but it's important for the integrity of the claims to publish the draft in unchanged form that Intercept editors last saw, and announced that they would not "edit" but completely gut as a condition to publication:

Subscribe

TITLE: THE REAL SCANDAL: U.S. MEDIA USES FALSEHOODS TO DEFEND JOE BIDEN FROM HUNTER'S EMAILS

Publication by the New York Post two weeks ago of emails from Hunter Biden's laptop, relating to Vice President Joe Biden's work in Ukraine , and subsequent articles from other outlets concerning the Biden family's pursuit of business opportunities in China , provoked extraordinary efforts by a de facto union of media outlets, Silicon Valley giants and the intelligence community to suppress these stories.

One outcome is that the Biden campaign concluded, rationally, that there is no need for the front-running presidential candidate to address even the most basic and relevant questions raised by these materials. Rather than condemn Biden for ignoring these questions -- the natural instinct of a healthy press when it comes to a presidential election -- journalists have instead led the way in concocting excuses to justify his silence.

After the Post's first article, both that newspaper and other news outlets have published numerous other emails and texts purportedly written to and from Hunter reflecting his efforts to induce his father to take actions as Vice President beneficial to the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, on whose board of directors Hunter sat for a monthly payment of $50,000, as well as proposals for lucrative business deals in China that traded on his influence with his father.

Individuals included in some of the email chains have confirmed the contents' authenticity . One of Hunter's former business partners, Tony Bubolinski, has stepped forward on the record to confirm the authenticity of many of the emails and to insist that Hunter along with Joe Biden's brother Jim were planning on including the former Vice President in at least one deal in China. And GOP pollster Frank Luntz, who appeared in one of the published email chains, appeared to confirm the authenticity as well, though he refused to answer follow-up questions about it.

Thus far, no proof has been offered by Bubolinski that Biden ever consummated his participation in any of those discussed deals. The Wall Street Journal says that it found no corporate records reflecting that a deal was finalized and that "text messages and emails related to the venture that were provided to the Journal by Mr. Bobulinski, mainly from the spring and summer of 2017, don't show either Hunter Biden or James Biden discussing a role for Joe Biden in the venture."

But nobody claimed that any such deals had been consummated -- so the conclusion that one had not been does not negate the story. Moreover, some texts and emails whose authenticity has not been disputed state that Hunter was adamant that any discussions about the involvement of the Vice President be held only verbally and never put in writing.

Beyond that, the Journal's columnist Kimberly Strassel reviewed a stash of documents and "found correspondence corroborates and expands on emails recently published by the New York Post," including ones where Hunter was insisting that it was his connection to his father that was the greatest asset sought by the Chinese conglomerate with whom they were negotiating. The New York Times on Sunday reached a similar conclusion : while no documents prove that such a deal was consummated, "records produced by Mr. Bobulinski show that in 2017, Hunter Biden and James Biden were involved in negotiations about a joint venture with a Chinese energy and finance company called CEFC China Energy," and "make clear that Hunter Biden saw the family name as a valuable asset, angrily citing his 'family's brand' as a reason he is valuable to the proposed venture."

These documents also demonstrate, reported the Times, "that the countries that Hunter Biden, James Biden and their associates planned to target for deals overlapped with nations where Joe Biden had previously been involved as vice president." Strassel noted that "a May 2017 'expectations' document shows Hunter receiving 20% of the equity in the venture and holding another 10% for 'the big guy' -- who Mr. Bobulinski attests is Joe Biden." And the independent journalist Matt Taibbi published an article on Sunday with ample documentation suggesting that Biden's attempt to replace a Ukranian prosecutor in 2015 benefited Burisma.

All of these new materials, the authenticity of which has never been disputed by Hunter Biden or the Biden campaign, raise important questions about whether the former Vice President and current front-running presidential candidate was aware of efforts by his son to peddle influence with the Vice President for profit, and also whether the Vice President ever took actions in his official capacity with the intention, at least in part, of benefitting his son's business associates. But in the two weeks since the Post published its initial story, a union of the nation's most powerful entities, including its news media, have taken extraordinary steps to obscure and bury these questions rather than try to provide answers to them.

The initial documents, claimed the New York Post, were obtained when the laptops containing them were left at a Delaware repair shop with water damage and never picked up, allowing the owner to access its contents and then turn them over to both the FBI and a lawyer for Trump advisor Rudy Giuliani. The repair store owner confirmed this narrative in interviews with news outlets and then (under penalty of prosecution) to a Senate Committee; he also provided the receipt purportedly signed by Hunter. Neither Hunter nor the Biden campaign has denied these claims.

Publication of that initial New York Post story provoked a highly unusual censorship campaign by Facebook and Twitter. Facebook, through a long-time former Democratic Party operative, vowed to suppress the story pending its "fact-check," one that has as of yet produced no public conclusions. And while Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey apologized for Twitter's handling of the censorship and reversed the policy that led to the blocking of all links the story, the New York Post, the nation's fourth-largest newspaper, continues to be locked out of its Twitter account, unable to post as the election approaches, for almost two weeks.

After that initial censorship burst from Silicon Valley, whose workforce and oligarchs have donated almost entirely to the Biden campaign, it was the nation's media outlets and former CIA and other intelligence officials who took the lead in constructing reasons why the story should be dismissed, or at least treated with scorn. As usual for the Trump era, the theme that took center stage to accomplish this goal was an unsubstantiated claim about the Kremlin responsibility for the story.

Numerous news outlets, including the Intercept , quickly cited a public letter signed by former CIA officials and other agents of the security state claiming that the documents have the "classic trademarks" of a "Russian disinformation" plot. But, as media outlets and even intelligence agencies are now slowly admitting, no evidence has ever been presented to corroborate this assertion. On Friday, the New York Times reported that "no concrete evidence has emerged that the laptop contains Russian disinformation" and the paper said even the FBI has "acknowledged that it had not found any Russian disinformation on the laptop."

The Washington Post on Sunday published an op-ed -- by Thomas Rid, one of those centrists establishmentarian professors whom media outlets routinely use to provide the facade of expert approval for deranged conspiracy theories -- that contained this extraordinary proclamation: "We must treat the Hunter Biden leaks as if they were a foreign intelligence operation -- even if they probably aren't."

Even the letter from the former intelligence officials cited by The Intercept and other outlets to insinuate that this was all part of some "Russian disinformation" scheme explicitly admitted that "we do not have evidence of Russian involvement," though many media outlets omitted that crucial acknowledgement when citing the letter in order to disparage the story as a Kremlin plot:

Despite this complete lack of evidence, the Biden campaign adopted this phrase used by intelligence officials and media outlets as its mantra for why the materials should not be discussed and why they would not answer basic questions about them. "I think we need to be very, very clear that what he's doing here is amplifying Russian misinformation," said Biden Deputy Campaign Manager Kate Bedingfield about the possibility that Trump would raise the Biden emails at Thursday night's debate. Biden's senior advisor Symone Sanders similarly warned on MSNBC : "if the president decides to amplify these latest smears against the vice president and his only living son, that is Russian disinformation."

The few mainstream journalists who tried merely to discuss these materials have been vilified. For the crime of simply noting it on Twitter that first day, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman had her name trend all morning along with the derogatory nickname "MAGA Haberman." CBS News' Bo Erickson was widely attacked even by his some in the media simply for asking Biden what his response to the story was. And Biden himself refused to answer, accusing Erickson of spreading a "smear."

That it is irresponsible and even unethical to mention these documents became a pervasive view in mainstream journalism. The NPR Public Editor, in an anazing statement representative of much of the prevailing media mentality, explicitly justified NPR's refusal to cover the story on the ground that "we do not want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories . . . [or] waste the readers' and listeners' time on stories that are just pure distractions."

NPR Public Editor @NPRpubliceditor Why haven't you seen any stories from NPR about the NY Post's Hunter Biden story? Read more in this week's newsletter➡️ tinyurl.com/y67vlzj2

October 22nd 2020

7,781 Retweets 20,498 Likes

To justify her own show's failure to cover the story, 60 Minutes' Leslie Stahl resorted to an entirely different justification . "It can't be verified," the CBS reporter claimed when confronted by President Trump in an interview about her program's failure to cover the Hunter Biden documents. When Trump insisted there were multiple ways to verify the materials on the laptop, Stahl simply repeated the same phrase : "it can't be verified."

After the final presidential debate on Thursday night, a CNN panel mocked the story as too complex and obscure for anyone to follow -- a self-fulfilling prophecy given that, as the network's media reporter Brian Stelter noted with pride , the story has barely been mentioned either on CNN or MSNBC. As the New York Times noted on Friday : "most viewers of CNN and MSNBC would not have heard much about the unconfirmed Hunter Biden emails.... CNN's mentions of "Hunter" peaked at 20 seconds and MSNBC's at 24 seconds one day last week."

On Sunday, CNN's Christiane Amanpour barely pretended to be interested in any journalism surrounding the story, scoffing during an interview at requests from the RNC's Elizabeth Harrington to cover the story and verify the documents by telling her: "We're not going to do your work for you." Watch how the U.S.'s most mainstream journalists are openly announcing their refusal to even consider what these documents might reflect about the Democratic front-runner:

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/oSB_fQHbSiA?rel=0&autoplay=0&showinfo=0

These journalists are desperate not to know. As Taibbi wrote on Sunday about this tawdry press spectacle: " The least curious people in the country right now appear to be the credentialed news media, a situation normally unique to tinpot authoritarian societies."

All of those excuses and pretexts -- emanating largely from a national media that is all but explicit in their eagerness for Biden to win -- served for the first week or more after the Post story to create a cone of silence around this story and, to this very day, a protective shield for Biden. As a result, the front-running presidential candidate knows that he does not have to answer even the most basic questions about these documents because most of the national press has already signaled that they will not press him to do so; to the contrary, they will concoct defenses on his behalf to avoid discussing it.

The relevant questions for Biden raised by this new reporting are as glaring as they are important. Yet Biden has had to answer very few of them yet because he has not been asked and, when he has, media outlets have justified his refusal to answer rather than demand that he do so. We submitted nine questions to his campaign about these documents that the public has the absolute right to know, including:

  • whether he claims any the emails or texts are fabricated (and, if so, which specific ones);

  • whether he knows if Hunter did indeed drop off laptops at the Delaware repair store;

  • whether Hunter ever asked him to meet with Burisma executives or whether he in fact did so;

  • whether Biden ever knew about business proposals in Ukraine or China being pursued by his son and brother in which Biden was a proposed participant and,

  • how Biden could justify expending so much energy as Vice President demanding that the Ukrainian General Prosecutor be fired, and why the replacement -- Yuriy Lutsenko, someone who had no experience in law ; was a crony of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko; and himself had a history of corruption allegations -- was acceptable if Biden's goal really was to fight corruption in Ukraine rather than benefit Burisma or control Ukrainian internal affairs for some other objective.

Though the Biden campaign indicated that they would respond to the Intercept's questions, they have not done so. A statement they released to other outlets contains no answers to any of these questions except to claim that Biden "has never even considered being involved in business with his family, nor in any business overseas." To date, even as the Biden campaign echoes the baseless claims of media outlets that anyone discussing this story is "amplifying Russian disinformation," neither Hunter Biden nor the Biden campaign have even said whether they claim the emails and other documents -- which they and the press continue to label "Russian disinformation" -- are forgeries or whether they are authentic.

The Biden campaign clearly believes it has no need to answer any of these questions by virtue of a panoply of media excuses offered on its behalf that collapse upon the most minimal scrutiny:

First , the claim that the material is of suspect authenticity or cannot be verified -- the excuse used on behalf of Biden by Leslie Stahl and Christiane Amanpour, among others -- is blatantly false for numerous reasons. As someone who has reported similar large archives in partnership with numerous media outlets around the world (including the Snowden archive in 2014 and the Intercept's Brazil Archive over the last year showing corruption by high-level Bolsonaro officials ), and who also covered the reporting of similar archives by other outlets (the Panama Papers, the WikiLeaks war logs of 2010 and DNC/Podesta emails of 2016), it is clear to me that the trove of documents from Hunter Biden's emails has been verified in ways quite similar to those.

With an archive of this size, one can never independently authenticate every word in every last document unless the subject of the reporting voluntarily confirms it in advance, which they rarely do. What has been done with similar archives is journalists obtain enough verification to create high levels of journalistic confidence in the materials. Some of the materials provided by the source can be independently confirmed, proving genuine access by the source to a hard drive, a telephone, or a database. Other parties in email chains can confirm the authenticity of the email or text conversations in which they participated. One investigates non-public facts contained in the documents to determine that they conform to what the documents reflect. Technology specialists can examine the materials to ensure no signs of forgeries are detected.

This is the process that enabled the largest and most established media outlets around the world to report similar large archives obtained without authorization. In those other cases, no media outlet was able to verify every word of every document prior to publication. There was no way to prove the negative that the source or someone else had not altered or forged some of the material. That level of verification is both unattainable and unnecessary. What is needed is substantial evidence to create high confidence in the authentication process.

The Hunter Biden documents have at least as much verification as those other archives that were widely reported. There are sources in the email chains who have verified that the published emails are accurate. The archive contains private photos and videos of Hunter whose authenticity is not in doubt. A former business partner of Hunter has stated, unequivocally and on the record, that not only are the emails authentic but they describe events accurately, including proposed participation by the former Vice President in at least one deal Hunter and Jim Biden were pursuing in China. And, most importantly of all, neither Hunter Biden nor the Biden campaign has even suggested, let alone claimed, that a single email or text is fake.

Why is the failure of the Bidens to claim that these emails are forged so significant? Because when journalists report on a massive archive, they know that the most important event in the reporting's authentication process comes when the subjects of the reporting have an opportunity to deny that the materials are genuine. Of course that is what someone would do if major media outlets were preparing to publish, or in fact were publishing, fabricated or forged materials in their names; they would say so in order to sow doubt about the materials if not kill the credibility of the reporting.

The silence of the Bidens may not be dispositive on the question of the material's authenticity, but when added to the mountain of other authentication evidence, it is quite convincing: at least equal to the authentication evidence in other reporting on similarly large archives.

Second , the oft-repeated claim from news outlets and CIA operatives that the published emails and texts were "Russian disinformation" was, from the start, obviously baseless and reckless. No evidence -- literally none -- has been presented to suggest involvement by any Russians in the dissemination of these materials, let alone that it was part of some official plot by Moscow. As always, anything is possible -- when one does not know for certain what the provenance of materials is, nothing can be ruled out -- but in journalism, evidence is required before news outlets can validly start blaming some foreign government for the release of information. And none has ever been presented. Yet the claim that this was "Russian disinformation" was published in countless news outlets, television broadcasts, and the social media accounts of journalists, typically by pointing to the evidence-free claims of ex-CIA officials.

Worse is the "disinformation" part of the media's equation. How can these materials constitute "disinformation" if they are authentic emails and texts actually sent to and from Hunter Biden? The ease with which news outlets that are supposed to be skeptical of evidence-free pronouncements by the intelligence community instead printed their assertions about "Russian disinformation" is alarming in the extreme. But they did it because they instinctively wanted to find a reason to justify ignoring the contents of these emails, so claiming that Russia was behind it, and that the materials were "disinformation," became their placeholder until they could figure out what else they should say to justify ignoring these documents.

Third , the media rush to exonerate Biden on the question of whether he engaged in corruption vis-a-vis Ukraine and Burisma rested on what are, at best, factually dubious defenses of the former Vice President. Much of this controversy centers on Biden's aggressive efforts while Vice President in late 2015 to force the Ukrainian government to fire its Chief Prosecutor, Viktor Shokhin, and replace him with someone acceptable to the U.S., which turned out to be Yuriy Lutsenko. These events are undisputed by virtue of a video of Biden boasting in front of an audience of how he flew to Kiev and forced the Ukrainians to fire Shokhin, upon pain of losing $1 billion in aid.

But two towering questions have long been prompted by these events, and the recently published emails make them more urgent than ever: 1) was the firing of the Ukrainian General Prosecutor such a high priority for Biden as Vice President of the U.S. because of his son's highly lucrative role on the board of Burisma, and 2) if that was not the motive, why was it so important for Biden to dictate who the chief prosecutor of Ukraine was?

The standard answer to the question about Biden's motive -- offered both by Biden and his media defenders -- is that he, along with the IMF and EU, wanted Shokhin fired because the U.S. and its allies were eager to clean up Ukraine, and they viewed Shokhin as insufficiently vigilant in fighting corruption.

"Biden's brief was to sweet-talk and jawbone Poroshenko into making reforms that Ukraine's Western benefactors wanted to see as," wrote the Washington Post's Glenn Kessler in what the Post calls a "fact-check." Kessler also endorsed the key defense of Biden: that the firing of Shokhin was bad for Burima, not good for it. "The United States viewed [Shokhin] as ineffective and beholden to Poroshenko and Ukraine's corrupt oligarchs. In particular, Shokin had failed to pursue an investigation of the founder of Burisma, Mykola Zlochevsky," Kessler claims.

But that claim does not even pass the laugh test. The U.S. and its European allies are not opposed to corruption by their puppet regimes. They are allies with the most corrupt regimes on the planet, from Riyadh to Cairo, and always have been. Since when does the U.S. devote itself to ensuring good government in the nations it is trying to control? If anything, allowing corruption to flourish has been a key tool in enabling the U.S. to exert power in other countries and to open up their markets to U.S. companies.

Beyond that, if increasing prosecutorial independence and strengthening anti-corruption vigilance were really Biden's goal in working to demand the firing of the Ukrainian chief prosecutor, why would the successor to Shokhin, Yuriy Lutsenko, possibly be acceptable? Lutsenko, after all, had "no legal background as general prosecutor," was principally known only as a lackey of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, was forced in 2009 to "resign as interior minister after being detained by police at Frankfurt airport for being drunk and disorderly," and "was subsequently jailed for embezzlement and abuse of office, though his defenders said the sentence was politically motivated."

Is it remotely convincing to you that Biden would have accepted someone like Lutsenko if his motive really were to fortify anti-corruption prosecutions in Ukraine? Yet that's exactly what Biden did: he personally told Poroshenko that Lutsenko was an acceptable alternative and promptly released the $1 billion after his appointment was announced. Whatever Biden's motive was in using his power as U.S. Vice President to change the prosecutor in Ukraine, his acceptance of someone like Lutsenko strongly suggests that combatting Ukrainian corruption was not it.

As for the other claim on which Biden and his media allies have heavily relied -- that firing Shokhin was not a favor for Burisma because Shokhin was not pursuing any investigations against Burisma -- the evidence does not justify that assertion.

It is true that no evidence, including these new emails, constitute proof that Biden's motive in demanding Shokhin's termination was to benefit Burisma. But nothing demonstrates that Shokhin was impeding investigations into Burisma. Indeed, the New York Times in 2019 published one of the most comprehensive investigations to date of the claims made in defense of Biden when it comes to Ukraine and the firing of this prosecutor, and, while noting that "no evidence has surfaced that the former vice president intentionally tried to help his son by pressing for the prosecutor general's dismissal," this is what its reporters concluded about Shokhin and Burisma:

[Biden's] pressure campaign eventually worked. The prosecutor general, long a target of criticism from other Western nations and international lenders, was voted out months later by the Ukrainian Parliament .

Among those who had a stake in the outcome was Hunter Biden , Mr. Biden's younger son, who at the time was on the board of an energy company owned by a Ukrainian oligarch who had been in the sights of the fired prosecutor general .

The Times added: "Mr. Shokhin's office had oversight of investigations into [Burisma's billionaire founder] Zlochevsky and his businesses, including Burisma." By contrast, they said, Lutsenko, the replacement approved by Vice President Biden, "initially continued investigating Mr. Zlochevsky and Burisma, but cleared him of all charges within 10 months of taking office."

So whether or not it was Biden's intention to confer benefits on Burisma by demanding Shokhin's firing, it ended up quite favorable for Burisma given that the utterly inexperienced Lutesenko "cleared [Burisma's founder] of all charges within 10 months of taking office."

The new comprehensive report from journalist Taibbi on Sunday also strongly supports the view that there were clear antagonisms between Shokhin and Burisma, such that firing the Ukrainian prosecutor would have been beneficial for Burisma. Taibbi, who reported for many years while based in Russia and remains very well-sourced in the region, detailed:

For all the negative press about Shokhin, there's no doubt that there were multiple active cases involving Zlochevsky/Burisma during his short tenure. This was even once admitted by American reporters, before it became taboo to describe such cases untethered to words like "dormant." Here's how Ken Vogel at the New York Times put it in May of 2019:

"When Mr. Shokhin became prosecutor general in February 2015, he inherited several investigations into the company and Mr. Zlochevsky, including for suspicion of tax evasion and money laundering. Mr. Shokin also opened an investigation into the granting of lucrative gas licenses to companies owned by Mr. Zlochevsky when he was the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources."

Ukrainian officials I reached this week confirmed that multiple cases were active during that time.

"There were different numbers, but from 7 to 14," says Serhii Horbatiuk, former head of the special investigations department for the Prosecutor General's Office, when asked how many Burisma cases there were.

"There may have been two to three episodes combined, and some have already been closed, so I don't know the exact amount." But, Horbatiuk insists, there were many cases, most of them technically started under Yarema, but at least active under Shokin.

The numbers quoted by Horbatiuk gibe with those offered by more recent General Prosecutor Rulsan Ryaboshapka, who last year said there were at one time or another " 13 or 14 " cases in existence involving Burisma or Zlochevsky.

Taibbi reviews real-time reporting in both Ukraine and the U.S. to document several other pending investigations against Burisma and Zlochevsky that was overseen by the prosecutor whose firing Biden demanded. He notes that Shokhin himself has repeatedly said he was pursuing several investigations against Zlochevsky at the time Biden demanded his firing. In sum, Taibbi concludes, "one can't say there's no evidence of active Burisma cases even during the last days of Shokin, who says that it was the February, 2016 seizure order [against Zlochevsky's assets] that got him fired."

And, Taibbi notes, "the story looks even odder when one wonders why the United States would exercise so much foreign policy muscle to get Shokin fired, only to allow in a replacement -- Yuri Lutsenko -- who by all accounts was a spectacularly bigger failure in the battle against corruption in general, and Zlochevsky in particular." In sum: "it's unquestionable that the cases against Burisma were all closed by Shokin's successor, chosen in consultation with Joe Biden, whose son remained on the board of said company for three more years, earning upwards of $50,000 per month."

The publicly known facts, augmented by the recent emails, texts and on-the-record accounts, suggest serious sleaze by Joe Biden's son Hunter in trying to peddle his influence with the Vice President for profit. But they also raise real questions about whether Joe Biden knew about and even himself engaged in a form of legalized corruption. Specifically, these newly revealed information suggest Biden was using his power to benefit his son's business Ukrainian associates, and allowing his name to be traded on while Vice President for his son and brother to pursue business opportunities in China. These are questions which a minimally healthy press would want answered, not buried -- regardless of how many similar or worse scandals the Trump family has.

But the real scandal that has been proven is not the former Vice President's misconduct but that of his supporters and allies in the U.S. media. As Taibbi's headline put it: "With the Hunter Biden Exposé, Suppression is a Bigger Scandal Than the Actual Story."

The reality is the U.S. press has been planning for this moment for four years -- cooking up justifications for refusing to report on newsworthy material that might help Donald Trump get re-elected. One major factor is the undeniable truth that journalists with national outlets based in New York, Washington and West Coast cities overwhelmingly not just favor Joe Biden but are desperate to see Donald Trump defeated.

It takes an enormous amount of gullibility to believe that any humans are capable of separating such an intense partisan preference from their journalistic judgment. Many barely even bother to pretend: critiques of Joe Biden are often attacked first not by Biden campaign operatives but by political reporters at national news outlets who make little secret of their eagerness to help Biden win.

But much of this has to do with the fallout from the 2016 election. During that campaign, news outlets, including The Intercept, did their jobs as journalists by reporting on the contents of newsworthy, authentic documents: namely, the emails published by WikiLeaks from the John Podesta and DNC inboxes which, among other things, revealed corruption so severe that it forced the resignation of the top five officials of the DNC. That the materials were hacked, and that intelligence agencies were suggesting Russia was responsible, not negate the newsworthiness of the documents, which is why media outlets across the country repeatedly reported on their contents.

Nonetheless, journalists have spent four years being attacked as Trump enablers in their overwhelmingly Democratic and liberal cultural circles: the cities in which they live are overwhelmingly Democratic, and their demographic -- large-city, college-educated professionals -- has vanishingly little Trump support. A New York Times survey of campaign data from Monday tells just a part of this story of cultural insularity and homogeniety:

Joe Biden has outraised President Trump on the strength of some of the wealthiest and most educated ZIP codes in the United States, running up the fund-raising score in cities and suburbs so resoundingly that he collected more money than Mr. Trump on all but two days in the last two months....It is not just that much of Mr. Biden's strongest support comes overwhelmingly from the two coasts, which it does.... [U]nder Mr. Trump, Republicans have hemorrhaged support from white voters with college degrees. In ZIP codes with a median household income of at least $100,000, Mr. Biden smashed Mr. Trump in fund-raising, $486 million to only $167 million -- accounting for almost his entire financial edge....One Upper West Side ZIP code -- 10024 -- accounted for more than $8 million for Mr. Biden, and New York City in total delivered $85.6 million for him -- more than he raised in every state other than California....

The median household in the United States was $68,703 in 2019. In ZIP codes above that level, Mr. Biden outraised Mr. Trump by $389.1 million. Below that level, Mr. Trump was actually ahead by $53.4 million.

Wanting to avoid a repeat of feeling scorn and shunning in their own extremely pro-Democratic, anti-Trump circles, national media outlets have spent four years inventing standards for election-year reporting on hacked materials that never previously existed and that are utterly anathema to the core journalistic function. The Washington Post's Executive Editor Marty Baron, for instance, issued a memo full of cautions about how Post reporters should, or should not, discuss hacked materials even if their authenticity is not in doubt.

That a media outlet should even consider refraining from reporting on materials they know to be authentic and in the public interest because of questions about their provenance is the opposite of how journalism has been practiced. In the days before the 2016 election, for instance, the New York Times received by mail one year of Donald Trump's tax returns and -- despite having no idea who sent it to them or how that person obtained it: was is stolen or hacked by a foreign power? -- the Times reported on its contents .

When asked by NPR why they would report on documents when they do not know the source let alone the source's motives in providing them, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David Barstow compellingly explained what had always been the core principle of journalism: namely, a journalist only cares about two questions -- (1) are documents authentic and (2) are they in the public interest? -- but does not care about what motives a source has in providing the documents or how they were obtained when deciding whether to reporting them:

Michael Barbaro @mikiebarb Why NYT's David Barstow does not care who leaked us Trump's tax return, or what the motivation was. Listen: The Journalist Who Broke Open Trump's Taxes On Why He Doesn't Care Who The Source Is David Barstow, the three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and co-author of the bombshell New York Times investigation of Donald J. Trump's taxes, was asked whether he cared who had anonymously m soundcloud.com

October 4th 2016

418 Retweets 812 Likes

The U.S. media often laments that people have lost faith in its pronouncements, that they are increasingly viewed as untrustworthy and that many people view Fake News sites are more reliable than established news outlets. They are good at complaining about this, but very bad at asking whether any of their own conduct is responsible for it.

A media outlet that renounces its core function -- pursuing answers to relevant questions about powerful people -- is one that deserves to lose the public's faith and confidence. And that is exactly what the U.S. media, with some exceptions, attempted to do with this story: they took the lead not in investigating these documents but in concocting excuses for why they should be ignored.

As my colleague Lee Fang put it on Sunday : "The partisan double standards in the media are mind boggling this year, and much of the supposedly left independent media is just as cowardly and conformist as the mainstream corporate media. Everyone is reading the room and acting out of fear." Discussing his story from Sunday, Taibbi summed up the most important point this way: "The whole point is that the press loses its way when it cares more about who benefits from information than whether it's true."

Subscribe

675 380

← Previous Next → Frank P Huguenard Oct 29

Glen, I just paid for a subscription so that I can say this one FACT. The PODESTA EMAILS WERE NOT THE RESULT OF A HACK.

Please stop reporting this nonsense. The cover story was all part of the plan (approved by HRC) to shift attention to a Trump-Russia collusion narrative that has always been fiction. Guccifer 2.0 was created out of this same scheme. The meta data on the files prove that it's impossible that those emails were hacked, they had to be downloaded on a local device (thumbdrive most likely).

The FISA Abuse, the spying on Trump, The plan to implicate collusion, the Flynn frameup, the Impeachment, The Mueller investigation were not the base crimes, those were all part of a cover up. By you insinuating that the DNC server got hacked (which there is zero evidence for), you are wittingly or unwittingly complicit in perpetuating the lie that it was. You're missing a much, much bigger story here. The biden laptop isn't even the tip of the icebeg here.

Ask yourself this; "Why would dozens of high level DOJ, FBI, CIA and Whitehouse officials in the Obama Administration put their careers on the line and commit literally hundreds of felonies all in an effort to obstruct/neutralize Trump?" That is first question any true journo should be asking right now.

Reply 85 replies Alex G. 23 hr

I became a fan of yours when I was in law school at UC Hastings in 2003. Your the best, for sure. But fuck...

I got to be honest...I'm glad the press is ignoring this story. There's just too much at stake. Biden might be losing his edge, his family might be trading in his name, but who gives a shit? The alternative is worse by light years.

And yeah, I don't trust the "people" out there to get it right. The "people" are rubes. Those idiots voted for this piece of shit once before, they'll do it again, in a heartbeat.

More importantly, you really want to do Rudy Giuliani's work for him? I don't know, I don't get it...why so eager to make the campaign's case for them? It's not a rhetorical question. I just don't get it.

Reply

[Oct 31, 2020] Senate Committee Verifies Bobulinski Evidence On Bidens (So Why Is MSM Covering It Up-)

Oct 31, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

Authored by Sara Carter via SaraACarter.com,

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee confirmed Wednesday the information exposed by former Hunter Biden business associate Tony Bobulinski that connects the former Vice President to companies and ventures in China. But you wouldn't know it by following the main stream press.

Bobulinski's bombshell interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson Tuesday, along with Carlson's follow up exclusive on Wednesday, revealed that Democratic candidate Joe Biden was aware of his son's business questionable overseas business dealings. It should be a huge story. After all, Joe Biden has publicly denied knowing about his son's business ventures in China, Ukraine and other parts of the world.

So why isn't this story on the front page of every newspaper and covered by every cable network?

How is it possible that the majority of main stream media outlets, newspapers and cable networks had no problem running unsubstantiated stories about President Donald Trump, his family and his businesses only to find out later – without corrections- that the information they published was bogus.

Here, there is an eye witness to the Biden family operations: Bobulinski. He has come forward and shown his credibility. He has verified documents, photos, receipts from Hunter Biden's hard drive that the FBI had obtained, along with President Trump's friend and personal lawyer former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Why hasn't the FBI done anything with this before the election? The bureau has had it for almost a year. Giuliani then did the only thing he could do – he turned over the documents to The New York Post. Those documents obtained from Hunter Biden's laptop are the massive breadcrumbs to a real political scandal.

These documents raise serious questions as to whether or not our possible future president really is compromised by foreign adversaries, or whether or not he was using his position in government to profit his family.

Still, it's only crickets from the main stream media. At the same time, big tech giants like Twitter, Google and Facebook are also working diligently to squash the story and keep the truth from the American people.

me title=

Tucker Carlson had the highest ratings – historic ratings – at Fox News Tuesday night with more than 7 million viewers tuning in for the Bobulinski story. Yet, the Bobulinski interview wasn't trending on Twitter, and in fact, it appeared that his story was non-existent on the other networks.

Not even the Senators, who held a hearing on Wednesday, could get a straight answer from Twitter's CEO Jack Dorsey on why his platform banned The New York Post stories.

Sen. Ted Cruz said on Twitter "What @Jack told the Senate, under oath, is false."

"I just tried to tweet the @nypost story alleging Biden's CCP corruption. Still Blocked."

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1321499884919377927&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fsenate-committee-verifies-bobulinski-evidence-bidens-so-why-msm-covering-it&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

Censorship in full force. However, this is not like the old Soviet censorship – this is a bizarre new self-censorship by elitist leftists who believe they know what's best for the American people.

Think about this – what if this story was about information these news agencies discovered on Donald Trump Jr. or Eric Trump. How would they treat it?

Let's start with the most widely discussed and central to the issue of alleged corruption was Hunter Biden's paid position on the board of Ukrainian energy giant Burisma Holdings. Despite the fact Hunter Biden had no background in energy he was being paid more than $50,000 a month and in some instances as much as $83,000 a month.

What about the most concerning connection for the Biden's with China's CEFC, an energy giant that is compared to Goldman Sachs. It is directly connected to the Chinese Communist Party and according to Bobulinski, as well as senior lawmakers investigating, possible used as leverage against the Bidens by the communist government.

"Joe Biden and the Biden family are compromised" said Bobulinski in Tuesday night's hour long interview with Carlson. He said he turned over evidence to the FBI and openly spoke about his alleged meetings with then Vice President Joe Biden. Biden is referred to by his son Hunter Biden in emails obtained by the FBI and first published by The New York Post as the 'Big Guy' and or 'the Chairman.'

Bobulinski revealed that he "held a top-secret clearance from the NSA and the DOE. I served this country for four years in one of the most elite environments in the world, the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, and to have a congressmen out there speaking about Russian disinformation or Joe Biden at a public debate referencing Russian disinformation when he knows he sat face-to-face with me, I traveled around the world with his son and his brother. To say that and associate that with my name is absolutely disgusting to me ."

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1321263064319217665&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fsenate-committee-verifies-bobulinski-evidence-bidens-so-why-msm-covering-it&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

Joe Biden, however, has publicly denied having any financial gain from his son's, Hunter, business ventures. He said at the second Presidential debate, "I have not taken a penny from any foreign source ever in my life." However, Biden has refused to answer any questions regarding the allegations or address some of the accusations against him or his son.

The American public has the right to know if their next president has been compromised by their families business dealings with the communist Chinese. Moreover, many of the business ventures his son was connected with were during his tenure as Vice President.

Our nation has been divided but not by President Trump. It's been divided by an army of bureaucrats, liberal elites, the New Democratic socialists, special interests and more importantly a biased partisan media.

NEVER MISS THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST

ZEROHEDGE DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX

Receive a daily recap featuring a curated list of must-read stories.

For now, Americans will be left in the dark. On Wednesday committee Chairman Sen. Ron Johnson, R- WI, told The Daily Caller, that Bobulinski will not be called to testify before the Nov. 3 elections. He said the committee is working to review all the information that has been provided to the committee by Bobulinski.

The information has to be verified, as it is subject to the same false information to Congress laws that verbal or written testimony does.

However, a Johnson spokesperson told the Caller that all the material provided by Bobulinski to the committee is legitimate and verified .

The committee has "also" not come across any "signs" or evidence to suggest the content Hunter Biden and Bobulinksi content is false , the spokesperson added.

It's tragic to think that if by chance – a small remote chance – that Biden actually wins the election justice will never be served and our nation will fundamentally change.

America will be at a crossroads on November 3. The main stream media is doing its part to ensure that the American people are not informed, so it is up to you to vote your conscience and seek out the truth.

Col. Leghorn CSA , 9 hours ago

I suggest enabling RICO charges against any media that conspires to hide the truth.

[Oct 31, 2020] Yes, Hunter Biden is corrupt. It's one of the perks of having a daddy who helps run a global empire. Deal with it by Yasha Levine

Notable quotes:
"... New York Post story ..."
"... If you want a quick rundown of the Burisma op and Hunter's role in it, check out this 2019 report in the Wall Street Journal. This respectable news outlet might not have called what he did there as "corruption" or "graft," but that's exactly what it was: Hunter traded his dad's name and access for money. ..."
Oct 20, 2020 | yasha.substack.com
What's truly scandalous about this whole Hunter thing is that it shows just how normalized elite corruption is in our imperial society and how little anyone at the top cares.

Last week I stepped away from the Internet for 24 hours and came back to find the most ridiculous thing took place: Twitter decided to just straight up censor a New York Post story that weaponized Hunter Biden's boring rich kid degenerate life and his corrupt dealings in Ukraine. This crude attempt at censorship only inflamed interest in this obvious h


Cypher Oct 29

Glenn, was curious for your take on Yasha Levine's piece on the matter. As far as the censorship angle goes, I think you are both in agreement, but as far as just how big a story this really is, he seems to be a little more jaded. https://yasha.substack.com/p/yes-hunter-biden-is-corrupt-its-one

Reply
Political Economist Oct 29

It's unclear at this point how much Joe knew about what was going on. For my part, I suspect he knew but was not actually directing Hunter's activities. I actually also doubt that he has any idea that a piece of the China deal was being held for him, if indeed it was.

That said, I think it is clear that he knew that Hunter was throwing the Biden name around to gin up business deals and he didn't tell him to stop it.

I think it's also clear that the media in general is desperate to avoid any mention of the story...which is, in my mind at least, the best argument to vote for Trump. A lapdog media is no check on the crazy stuff that happens in DC

Reply Cypher Oct 29

Here's Yasha's conclusion:

If you want a quick rundown of the Burisma op and Hunter's role in it, check out this 2019 report in the Wall Street Journal. This respectable news outlet might not have called what he did there as "corruption" or "graft," but that's exactly what it was: Hunter traded his dad's name and access for money.

So it's strange that people have been getting so worked up over this New York Post story. Even if the emails end up being fake or some details were fudged, it's doesn't change anything because they're riffing on something real. If Hunter hadn't sold his access to a Ukrainian oligarch, there would be no story here -- fake emails or no. And that's what's truly scandalous about this whole Hunter Biden thing: It shows just how normalized elite corruption is in our imperial society and how little anyone at the top cares about it.

Watching liberals deflect this reality by screaming about some devious foreign plot to subvert democracy well, it's hard to be shocked or outraged anymore. All you can do now is mock it and laugh.

-- Yasha Levine

PS: Aside from all the other problems, screaming about "the Russians" every time Hunter's corruption comes up is yet another example of the xenophobia and racism that's become totally normalized among our liberal elite.

https://archive.is/mFtFL#selection-2549.0-2552.0

Reply SAH 8 hr

Each time I read about Hunter's scandal in Ukraine, I have to think of VP Joe Biden and his family! They all, in this way, traded in VP Biden's name and position! So the real question is, why is this behavior so widespread amongst these family members?! Honestly...without cooperation from the VP, would that have happened to the degree it did?!

Let's see...."If you don't fire the prosecutor, you're not getting the one billion dollars!"

Reply Cypher Oct 29

Also, I see that you brushed on the fact that it might be corruption, but it's been legalized: "But they also raise real questions about whether Joe Biden knew about and even himself engaged in a form of legalized corruption."

So what Levine is saying is that - yeah it's bad, but it's not only legal - it's been going on for years and across both parties.

Reply Candis 22 hr

Yeah..the swamp..we know.

judd 21 hr

from a purely political standpoint, the reason once credible liberal/mainstream sources seek to suppress/malign right wing and conservative voices is simple: these voices would inform policy as most americans would embrace those voices. most people want to hear tucker carlson call looters...looters - especially when no one else is saying it. and want to see fair and impartial handling of media. so every viewpoint is ignored, or derided...this isnt to say that righwing voices are always correct - just that they appeal to a deep seated need that is missing on the left: simplicity. not everything has to be analyzed to death. not everything has shades of white supremacy. not everything reeks of...the list goes on and on. some things are just simple. we need safety. we need a good economy. the truth is multiplex and evolving, and not everything is just because a dark web of college educated journalist elitist say so. trump and his supporters exist because of msm. they enabled him, they created this massive nationwide gaslighting of simple straight forward policies and ideas that most people have held peacefully for decades (like the fact that censorship is indeed bad). and if he wins, it'll be because of the deeply corrupt media elites. and i hope he wins. they deserve it.

on this article, it looks like hunter did some shady stuff, but as for this story, it lacks real credibility, and as a consumer of news in america, i'd ask the question why msm ran with russiagate for 3 years with zero credible evidence but is silent now. the truth is simple. we don't need to go further.

Reply

[Oct 31, 2020] First steal, then find

Is UPS a subsidiary of the US intelligence agencies, or DNC or both ? Who would think about such a possibility ;-)
Oct 31, 2020 | www.rt.com
UPS has found documents that went missing in transit to Tucker Carlson, putting to rest questions about the whereabouts of a trove that the Fox News host had called "damning" of presidential candidate Joe Biden's family.

"After an extensive search, we have found the contents of the package and are arranging for its return," a UPS spokesman told the Daily Beast on Thursday. "UPS will always focus first on our customers and will never stop working to solve issues and make things right."

ALSO ON RT.COM Hunter's ex-business partner says Joe Biden is 'COMPROMISED' by China, while detailing family deals in explosive interview

While the successful search resolved the issue of the documents' whereabouts, questions remain about how they disappeared from a package sent to Carlson in California from a producer in New York -- and who, if anyone, was behind it. Without naming the company involved or specifically saying the papers were purposely targeted and stolen, Carlson suggested on his show on Wednesday night that the disappearance wasn't coincidental.

"As of tonight, the [shipping] company has no idea and no working theory even about what happened to this trove of material – documents that are directly relevant to the presidential campaign just six days from now," Carlson said. The company's executives "seemed baffled and deeply bothered by this, and so are we."

//www.youtube.com/embed/Wuul_R-vwhI

Carlson described the package as containing confidential documents about the Biden family and said they were "authentic, real and damning." He said he asked a Fox producer in New York to send the documents to him in Los Angeles, where he had traveled to interview former Biden business associated Tony Bobulinski on Tuesday. The package didn't show up on Tuesday morning, prompting UPS to begin an exhaustive search.

Mainstream media critics mocked Carlson for saying the documents had disappeared, including some who suggested that they never existed. HuffPost said Carlson "concocted yet another conspiracy theory " to explain the disappearance of documents related to what they called his "conspiracy theory" about Biden's son, Hunter.

Carlson devoted his entire show on Tuesday night to the Bobulinski interview, which provided more specific allegations about the Biden family's business dealings in China following an Oct. 14 New York Post report on the ventures. Although Bobulinski provided legal documents, text messages and recordings to back up his claims, the interview was largely ignored by other mainstream media outlets.

//www.youtube.com/embed/2zLfBRgeFFo

Like this story? Share it with a friend!

[Oct 30, 2020] What Tony Bobulinski told me and why it matters by Tucker Carlson

Oct 30, 2020 | www.foxnews.com

Tuesday night, we heard at length and on camera from one of the Biden family's former business partners. His name is Tony Bobulinski. He's a very successful businessman and a Navy veteran.

Bobulinski spoke to "Tucker Carlson Tonight" for a full hour. He told us he met two separate times with Joe Biden himself. Not just with Joe Biden's son or his brother, but with Joe Biden -- the former vice president and the man now running for president -- to discuss business deals with the communist government of China .

That's a very serious claim, and whatever your political views, it's hard to dismiss it when Tony Bobulinski makes it because Bobulinsky is an unusually credible witness. He's not a partisan, he's not seeking money, he's not seeking publicity. He did not want to come on our show.

But when Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and the Biden campaign accused Tony Bobulinski of participating in a Russian disinformation effort, he felt he had no choice. That was a slander against him and against his family. So Bobulinski came to us. He arrived with heaps of evidence to bolster the story he was telling. He brought contemporaneous audio recordings, text messages, e-mails, many financial documents.

Video

By the end of the hour, it was very clear to us that Tony Bobulinski was telling the truth and that Joe Biden was lying. We believe that any honest person who watched the entire hour would come to the same conclusion.

Well, on Wednesday, a Senate committee confirmed it . The Senate Homeland Security Committee reported that all of Tony Bobulinski's documents are, in fact, real. They are authentic. They are not forgeries. This is not Russian disinformation. It is real.

Bobulinski told a remarkable story. Joe Biden -- who, once again, could be president of the United States next week, was planning business deals with America's most formidable global opponent. And when he was caught doing it, Joe Biden lied. And then he went further. He slandered an innocent man as a traitor to his own country. It is clear that Joe Biden did that. That's not a partisan talking point uttered in bad faith on behalf of another presidential campaign. It's true.

https://c0c754eabe03683fa93ffdd97cfadeee.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

So the question is, what is Joe Biden's excuse for doing that? What is his version of this story? Everyone has a version and we'd like to hear it, but we don't know what Joe Biden's version of the story is, because no one in America's vast media landscape has pressed Joe Biden to answer the question. Instead, reporters at all levels and their editors and their publishers have openly collaborated with Joe Biden's political campaign. That is unprecedented. It has never happened in American history.

Video

Wednesday morning, the big papers completely ignored what Tony Bobulinski had to say. So did the other television networks. Not a single word about Bobulinski appeared on CNN or anywhere else. Newsweek decided to cover it, but came to the conclusion that the real story was about QAnon somehow. This is Soviet-style suppression of information about a legitimate news story. Days before an election, the ramifications of it are impossible to imagine. But we do know the media cannot continue in the way that it has.

No one believes the media anymore and no one should. You should be offended by this, not because the media are liberal, but because this is an attack on our democracy. You've heard that phrase again and again, but this is what it looks like. In a self-governing country, voters have a right -- an obligation -- to know who they're voting for. In this case, they have the right to know the Democratic nominee for president was a willing partner in his family's lucrative influence-peddling operation, an operation that went on for decades and stretched from China and Ukraine all the way to Oman, Romania, Luxembourg and many other countries. This is not speculation once again, and it's not a partisan attack. It's true, and Tony bobulinski confirmed it.

Bobulinski met with Joe Biden at a hotel bar in Los Angeles in early May of 2017, and when he did, Joe Biden's son introduced Bobulinski this way: "Dad. Here's the individual I told you about that's helping us with the business that we're working on and the Chinese."

The man I told you about.

Video

Now, written documents confirmed this is real. At one point, Joe Biden's son texted Tony Bobulinski to say that Joe Biden, his father, was making key decisions about their business deals with China.

CARLSON: When Hunter Biden said his chairman, he was talking about his dad.

me title=

BOBULINSKI: Correct, and what Hunter is referencing there is, he spoke with his father and his father is giving an emphatic 'no' to the ask that I had, which was putting proper governance in place around Oneida Holdings.

CARLSON: So, Joe Biden is vetoing your plan for putting stricter governance in the company. I mean, and it's it's right here in the email.

BOBULINSKI: Yes, Tucker, I want to be very careful in front of the American people. That is not me writing that. That is not me claiming that. That is Hunter Biden writing on his own phone. Typing in that 'I spoke with my chairman,' referencing his father.

All this is spelled out in the clearest possible language in documents that Bobulinski provided us, documents that subsequently federal authorities have authenticated as real.

On May 13, 2017, for example, Hunter Biden got an email explaining how his family would be paid for their deal with the Chinese energy company. His father, Joe Biden, was getting 10%.

BOBULINSKI: In that email, there's a statement where they go through the equity, Jim Biden's referenced as, you know, 10%. It doesn't say Biden, it says Jim. And then it has 10% for the big guy held by H. I 1,000% sit here and know that the big guy is referencing Joe Biden. It's, that's crystal clear to me because I lived it. I met with the former vice president in person multiple times.

That was three years ago, and we still don't know where all that money went, because the media haven't forced Joe Biden to tell us. But Tony, Bobulinski did add a telling detail. Joe Biden's brother, Jim, saw his stake in the deal double from 10% to 20%. Was Jim Biden getting his brother's share again? It might be worth finding out.

me title=

We also know that according to an email from a top Chinese official, this one written on July 26, 2017, the Chinese proposed a $5 million dollar interest-free loan to the Biden family, "based on their trust on [sic] BD [Biden] family." The e-mail continued, "Should this Chinese company, CEFC, keep lending more to the family?" And indeed, CEFC was supposed to send another $5 million dollars to the Bidens' business ventures. Apparently, that money never made it to the business. Where did it go? A recent Senate report suggests it went to Hunter Biden directly. And from there, who knows? Again, no one's asked.

JIM BIDEN REFUSES TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT FAMILY'S BUSINESS DEALINGS

Tony Bobulinski also told us he learned Hunter Biden became the personal attorney to the chairman of CEFC, Ye Jianming, just as they were tendering 14% of a Russian state-owned energy company. That was a deal valued at $9 billion dollars. It's pretty sleazy. It's pretty amazing, actually, that this happened and no one noticed.

We're not going to spend the next six months leading you through a maze of complex financial transactions. This isn't that complicated: Millions of dollars linked directly to the Communist Party of China went to Joe Biden's family, and not because they're capable businessmen. Jim Biden's one business success appears to have been running a nightclub in Delaware that ultimately went under.

No, the Bidens were cut in on the world's most lucrative business deals, massive infrastructure deals in countries around the world for one reason: Because Joe Biden was a powerful government official willing to leverage his power on behalf of his family.

Now, if that's not a crime, it's very close to a crime and it's certainly something every person voting should know about. The Bidens didn't do this once. They did it for decades. So the question is, how did they get away with it for so long? Tony Bobulinski asked Jim Biden that question directly. To his credit Jim Biden answered that question honestly.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

me title=

BOBULINSKI: And I remember looking at Jim Biden and saying, 'How are you guys getting away with this?' Like, 'Aren't you concerned?' And he looked at me and he laughed a little bit and said, 'Plausible deniability.'

CARLSON: He said that out loud.

BOBULINSKI: Yes, he said it directly to me. One on one, in a cabana at the Peninsula Hotel.

"Plausible deniability." In other words, "we lie." We get away with selling access to the U.S. government, which we do not own, because we lie about what we're doing. And as we lie, we try to make those lies plausible. That's why we call it "plausible deniability." That is the answer that Joe Biden's brother gave when asked directly.

So the question is, what is Joe Biden's answer to that question? We wish we knew.

ForFoxSake!!! 1 hour ago Everything that is happening right now is because Trump was right about the swamp, the media, and the ruling class families who have been selling out America for decades. ohhappyday657 1 hour ago Tucker is doing this country a great service. The FBI doesn't seem to want to engage. Mr. Bobulinski is a patriot and we are lucky he came forward. The Bidens need to be called out for their high crimes and misdemeanors. Joe should be impeached for his time as VP. Thank you Tucker. resipsaloquitor ohhappyday657 29 minutes ago You can smell the desperation on the Trump supporters. The lies, the distortions and the grasping, pathetic search for the proverbial Hail Mary to salvage the quickly sinking ship. If Mr. Bobulinski is the best you have the Democrats will 'trump' you with: 227,000 dead Americans, close to 9 million more infected and an economy in tatters. The day of reckoning is approaching and a dozen Bobulinskis won't change that. Trump and his unseemly administration are doomed.

[Oct 30, 2020] Tucker Carlson's interview with Tony Bobulinski is must-see TV by Andrea Widburg

Oct 28, 2020 | www.americanthinker.com

On Tuesday night, Tucker Carlson did something he'd never done before: he dedicated his entire show to a single interview. The person he interviewed was Tony Bobulinski, an experienced international businessman who found himself working with Hunter Biden, James Biden, and others on a deal between the Biden group and CEFC, a Chinese energy company with ties to the communist government and the military. Bobulinski powerfully confirms that Joe Biden was deeply involved in the transaction, which had its beginnings when Joe was still vice president.

Fox News has not yet uploaded (and may never upload) the interview in its entirety. However, the four videos below bring together almost everything from the interview.

Tucker opened by making the point that he was dedicating his show to the Bobulinski interview because the rest of the American media are assiduously ignoring the story, downplaying it, or claiming it's a Russian smear. The leader of the Russian smear approach is, naturally, Rep. Adam Schiff, a man who has all the hallmarks of a conscienceless psychopath. Ironically, it was Schiff's smear about Hunter Biden's hard drive that led Bobulinski, a Democrat, to go public with his story.

If you can't watch the interview, here's a brief overview:

Bobulinksi is a former naval officer with a Q clearance. That's an extremely high clearance level for people working in the Department of Energy -- and Bobulinski worked in the Navy's nuclear program. He comes from a military family and is very proud of that legacy.

After leaving the Navy, Bobulinski became an international businessman. His expertise led to Hunter Biden and his people wooing Bobulinski to give them the business expertise they needed to get their partnership up and running.

The partnership, SinoHawk, was intended to bring together CEFC and the Biden family. Both Hunter and James Biden, after all, brought nothing to the table other than their last name and, with it, the promise that China would have access to political influence at the highest level of American government.

Bobulinski's name recently became public knowledge when James Gilliar, another businessman working on SinoHawk, sent an email to Tony Bobulinski, setting out the terms Gilliar had been negotiating with CEFC. What caught everyone's interest was the statement that Hunter would hold "10[%] for the Big Guy." Bobulinski confirmed that Joe Biden was the "Big Guy."

At this point, Schiff, the media, and Joe Biden, none of whom ever denied the legitimacy of the email, claimed that the whole thing was a Russian smear. This unfounded accusation got Bobulinski's dander up. As a naval officer from a military family and a true patriot, being smeared as a Russian agent was beyond the pale.

Bobulinski demanded that Schiff retract the insult, and when Schiff failed to do so, he went public and did a full document dump. Bobulinski had saved everything -- every document, every email, and every text.

That's the quick background to the interview with Carlson, during which Bobulinski said that

  • Hunter and James Biden brought nothing to the deal other than the Biden family name.
  • What China wanted was the Biden family name.
  • Joe Biden was involved in the business deal, so much so that he had veto power over negotiations.
  • In 2017, Bobulinski met Joe Biden twice when the Biden side of SinoHawk was courting him to step in and act as CEO.
  • Bobulinski also spoke at length with James Biden, Joe's brother.
  • When Bobulinski asked James how they could get away with this kind of deal, which seemed to be falling into dangerous territory, given that Joe could run again for president, James announced, "Plausible deniability."
  • The Biden group stiffed Bobulinski, leaving him out of pocket for all his expenses while channeling CEFC's money into another entity that did not involve Bobulinski.

If we had a decent media establishment, this story would be on every front page and at the top of every news hour. Instead, Bobulinski is trying desperately to get Americans to know that he is not a Russian agent and that Joe Biden was in bed with the communist Chinese government, starting when he was vice president and continuing after he left the White House. This screen shot from Memeorandum shows that none of the legacy media outlets is touching the story:

(As an aside, and separate from the Bobulinski interview, a former CIA operations office believes it's entirely possible that Biden was already doing China's bidding in 2012, when the Obama administration gave China free rein in the South China Sea.)

In case the embedded videos do not play, you can find them here , here , here , and here .

We've always known that Joe Biden is an odd bird. Just think of the lies, the egotistical boasting, the offers to fight people, the skinny-dipping, and the way he fondles and sniffs little girls. He is a genuinely creepy man.

It speaks volumes about Washington, D.C. and the Democrat party that Joe spent 47 years in the swamp and rose to the second highest office in the land. What we've learned now, though, irrefutably and without any Russian hokum, is that Joe Biden is also a profoundly corrupt man who willingly sold out America and her allies to enrich himself and his sleazy, incompetent family.

Image: Tony Bobulinski Tucker Carlson interview . Tucker Carlson Show screen grab.

me title=

Fox News has not yet uploaded (and may never upload) the interview in its entirety. However, the four videos below bring together almost everything from the interview.

Tucker opened by making the point that he was dedicating his show to the Bobulinski interview because the rest of the American media are assiduously ignoring the story, downplaying it, or claiming it's a Russian smear. The leader of the Russian smear approach is, naturally, Rep. Adam Schiff, a man who has all the hallmarks of a conscienceless psychopath. Ironically, it was Schiff's smear about Hunter Biden's hard drive that led Bobulinski, a Democrat, to go public with his story.

If you can't watch the interview, here's a brief overview:

Bobulinksi is a former naval officer with a Q clearance. That's an extremely high clearance level for people working in the Department of Energy -- and Bobulinski worked in the Navy's nuclear program. He comes from a military family and is very proud of that legacy.

https://lockerdome.com/lad/9371484590420070?pubid=ld-8832-1542&pubo=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.americanthinker.com&rid=www.americanthinker.com&width=610

After leaving the Navy, Bobulinski became an international businessman. His expertise led to Hunter Biden and his people wooing Bobulinski to give them the business expertise they needed to get their partnership up and running.

The partnership, SinoHawk, was intended to bring together CEFC and the Biden family. Both Hunter and James Biden, after all, brought nothing to the table other than their last name and, with it, the promise that China would have access to political influence at the highest level of American government.

Bobulinski's name recently became public knowledge when James Gilliar, another businessman working on SinoHawk, sent an email to Tony Bobulinski, setting out the terms Gilliar had been negotiating with CEFC. What caught everyone's interest was the statement that Hunter would hold "10[%] for the Big Guy." Bobulinski confirmed that Joe Biden was the "Big Guy."

At this point, Schiff, the media, and Joe Biden, none of whom ever denied the legitimacy of the email, claimed that the whole thing was a Russian smear. This unfounded accusation got Bobulinski's dander up. As a naval officer from a military family and a true patriot, being smeared as a Russian agent was beyond the pale.

Bobulinski demanded that Schiff retract the insult, and when Schiff failed to do so, he went public and did a full document dump. Bobulinski had saved everything -- every document, every email, and every text.

That's the quick background to the interview with Carlson, during which Bobulinski said that

  • Hunter and James Biden brought nothing to the deal other than the Biden family name.
  • What China wanted was the Biden family name.
  • Joe Biden was involved in the business deal, so much so that he had veto power over negotiations.
  • In 2017, Bobulinski met Joe Biden twice when the Biden side of SinoHawk was courting him to step in and act as CEO.
  • Bobulinski also spoke at length with James Biden, Joe's brother.
  • When Bobulinski asked James how they could get away with this kind of deal, which seemed to be falling into dangerous territory, given that Joe could run again for president, James announced, "Plausible deniability."
  • The Biden group stiffed Bobulinski, leaving him out of pocket for all his expenses while channeling CEFC's money into another entity that did not involve Bobulinski.

If we had a decent media establishment, this story would be on every front page and at the top of every news hour. Instead, Bobulinski is trying desperately to get Americans to know that he is not a Russian agent and that Joe Biden was in bed with the communist Chinese government, starting when he was vice president and continuing after he left the White House. This screen shot from Memeorandum shows that none of the legacy media outlets is touching the story:

Read more: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/10/tucker_carlsons_interview_with_tony_bobulinski_is_mustsee_tv.html#ixzz6cECCtpGU
Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook

[Oct 30, 2020] Vindman No.2 -- Trump Assails White House Mole- -They Should Fire, Shame Punish Everybody Associated With This Fraud

Pecunia non olet -- "money does not stink" in a new interpretation "Profits for the book do not stink"
It is possible that F. Scott Fitzgerald alludes to Vespasian's jest in The Great Gatsby with the phrase "non-olfactory money"
Oct 30, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

Update (1745ET): President Trump just took a minute away from the campaign trail to weigh in on the 'coming out' of Miles Taylor, the formerly "anonymous" op-ed writer and self-proclaimed leader of the internal White House #resistance,

"Who is Miles Taylor?" President Trump wrote, before recounting Taylor's association with various adversaries of the administration. He added that "they should fire, shame, and punish everybody associated with this FRAUD on the American people" - a group that would presumably include some members or former members of his own inner circle, as well as the editors of the NYT.

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1321568122017517568&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=true&id=1321568126635368448&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

A photo of Taylor and Trump has been circulating on Twitter since before Trump published his tweet, and we imagine Trump's response to the inevitable reporter question will be his usual "so what?".

Meanwhile, CNN has reportedly decided not to fire Taylor, even though he lied on air to one of the network's anchors (anderson cooper, clip below) despite being a paid employee of the company.

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1321565816811331584&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

https://lockerdome.com/lad/13084989113709670?pubid=ld-dfp-ad-13084989113709670-0&pubo=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com&rid=www.zerohedge.com&width=890

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1321568176539340800&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

It's still unclear what Google's response will be.

* * *

Roughly two years have passed since an anonymous Trump Administration insider published an op-ed - then later, a whole book - warning Americans how President Trump was a danger to the nation, primarily due to his "lack of character".

Well, on Wednesday afternoon, with six days left until the big day, the MSM and their political operative allies, orchestrated the public coming-out of Miles Taylor, a former senior official within Trump's Homeland Security Department who, before today, was best known as the first former senior administration official to endorse Joe Biden for president.

In the year since Taylor has left the White House, he has parlayed his national security bona fides (which were burnished during a stint working for Dick Cheney in the Bush White House) into a top job working for Google, as well as a lucrative contract to appear as a talking head on CNN and...did we mention the book deal?

Shortly following a teaser from George Conway, who called his fellow conservative Republican a "true patriot"....

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1321481912049979392&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

...Buzzfeed Ben - excuse us, Ben Smith - the former top man at Buzzfeed who left that struggling media company to take the coveted job as the NYT's media columnist (a position formerly held by both Brian Stelter and, before him, the legendary American media reporter David Carr), was the first to confirm Taylor's identity, followed by a tweet from Taylor acknowledging that it was all true.

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-5&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1321534426287886338&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

Taylor published a statement on his reasoning for "why I'm no longer 'anonymous'" via his new Medium page, which is strange, considering he now works for CNN, technically. In the statement, Taylor wrote that Trump "sees personal criticism as subversive" followed by a Teddy Roosevelt quote condemning those who say the president must not be criticized as "not only unpatriotic and servile, but...morally treasonable to the American public." Later in the piece, he quoted Abraham Lincoln.

Though Taylor acknowledged that he has been a life-long Republican, and that he "wanted this president to succeed", he said Trump is "a man without character", and "his personal defects have resulted in leadership failures so significant that they can be measured in lost American lives."

Read the full statement below:

More than two years ago, I published an anonymous opinion piece in The New York Times about Donald Trump's perilous presidency, while I was serving under him. He responded with a short but telling tweet: "TREASON?" Trump sees personal criticism as subversive. I take a different view.

As Theodore Roosevelt wrote, "To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or anyone else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about anyone else." We do not owe the President our silence. We owe him and the American people the truth. Make no mistake: I am a Republican, and I wanted this President to succeed. That's why I came into the Administration with John Kelly, and it's why I stayed on as Chief of Staff at the Department of Homeland Security. But too often in times of crisis, I saw Donald Trump prove he is a man without character, and his personal defects have resulted in leadership failures so significant that they can be measured in lost American lives.

I witnessed Trump's inability to do his job over the course of two-and-a-half years. Everyone saw it, though most were hesitant to speak up for fear of reprisals. So when I left the Administration I wrote A Warning, a character study of the current Commander in Chief and a caution to voters that it wasn't as bad as it looked inside the Trump Administration -- it was worse. While I claim sole authorship of the work, the sentiments expressed within it were widely held among officials at the highest levels of the federal government. In other words, Trump's own lieutenants were alarmed by his instability.

Much has been made of the fact that these writings were published anonymously. The decision wasn't easy, I wrestled with it, and I understand why some people consider it questionable to levy such serious charges against a sitting President under the cover of anonymity. But my reasoning was straightforward, and I stand by it. Issuing my critiques without attribution forced the President to answer them directly on their merits or not at all, rather than creating distractions through petty insults and name-calling. I wanted the attention to be on the arguments themselves. At the time I asked, "What will he do when there is no person to attack, only an idea?" We got the answer. He became unhinged. And the ideas stood on their own two feet. To be clear, writing those works was not about eminence (they were published without attribution), not about money (I declined a hefty monetary advance and pledged to donate the bulk of the proceeds), and not about crafting a score-settling "tell all" (my focus was on the President himself and his character, not denigrating former colleagues). Nevertheless, I made clear I wasn't afraid to criticize the President under my name. In fact, I pledged to do so. That is why I've already been vocal throughout the general election. I've tried to convey as best I can -- based on my own experience -- how Donald Trump has made America less safe, less certain of its identity and destiny, and less united. He has responded predictably, with personal attacks meant to obscure the underlying message that he is unfit for the office he holds. Yet Trump has failed to bury the truth.

Why? Because since the op-ed was published, I've been joined by an unprecedented number of former colleagues who've chosen to speak out against the man they once served. Donald Trump's character and record have now been challenged in myriad ways by his own former Chief of Staff, National Security Advisor, Communications Director, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Director of National Intelligence, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and others he personally appointed. History will also record the names of those souls who had everything to lose but stood up anyway, including Trump officials Fiona Hill, Michael McKinley, John Mitnick, Elizabeth Neumann, Bob Shanks, Olivia Troye, Josh Venable, Alexander Vindman, and many more. I applaud their courage. These are not "Deep Staters" who conspired to thwart their boss. Many of them were Trump supporters, and all of them are patriots who accepted great personal risks to speak candidly about a man they've seen retaliate and even incite violence against his opponents. (I've likewise experienced the cost of condemning the President, as doing so has taken a considerable toll on my job, daily life, marriage, finances, and personal safety.) These public servants were not intimidated. And you shouldn't be either. As descendants of revolutionaries, honest dissent is part of our American character, and we must reject the culture of political intimidation that's been cultivated by this President. That's why I'm writing this note -- to urge you to speak out if you haven't.

While I hope a few more Trump officials will quickly find their consciences, your words are now more important than theirs. It's time to come forward and shine a light on the discord that's infected our public discourse. You can speak loudest with your vote and persuade others with your voice. Don't be afraid of open debate. As I've said before, there is no better screen test for truth than to see it audition next to delusion. This election is a two-part referendum: first, on the character of a man, and second, on the character of our nation. That's why I'm also urging fellow Republicans to put country over party, even if that means supporting Trump's Democratic opponent. Although former Vice President Joe Biden is likely to pursue progressive reforms that conservatives oppose (and rest assured, we will challenge them in the loyal opposition), his policy agenda cannot equal the damage done by the current President to the fabric of our Republic. I believe Joe Biden's decency will bring us back together where Donald Trump's dishonesty has torn us apart.

Trump has been exactly what we conservatives always said government should NOT be: expansive, wasteful, arbitrary, unpredictable, and prone to abuses of power. Worse still, as I've noted previously, he's waged an all-out assault on reason, preferring to enthrone emotion and impulse in the seat of government. The consequences have been calamitous, and if given four more years, he will push the limits of his power further than the "high crimes and misdemeanors" for which he was already impeached.

Trust me. We spent years trying to ameliorate Trump's poor decisions (often unsuccessfully), many of which will be back with a vengeance in a second term. Recall, this is the man who told us, "When somebody's president of the United States, the authority is total." I believe more than ever that Trump unbound will mean a nation undone -- a continued downward slide into social acrimony, with the United States fading into the background of a world stage it once commanded, to say nothing of the damage to our democratic institutions.

I was wrong, however, about one major assertion in my original op-ed. The country cannot rely on well-intentioned, unelected bureaucrats around the President to steer him toward what's right. He has purged most of them anyway. Nor can they rely on Congress to deliver us from Trump's wayward whims. The people themselves are the ultimate check on the nation's chief executive. We alone must determine whether his behavior warrants continuance in office, and we face a momentous decision, as our choice about Trump's future will affect our future for years to come. With that in mind, he doesn't deserve a second term in office, and we don't deserve to live through it.

Removing Trump will not be the end of our woes, unfortunately. While on the road visiting swing states for the past month, it's become clear to me how far apart Americans have grown from one another. We've perpetuated the seemingly endless hostility stoked by this divisive President, so if we really want to restore vibrance to our civic life, the change must begin with each of us, not just with the occupant of the Oval Office. Fortunately, past generations have lit the way toward national reconciliation in even harder times.

On the brink of a civil war that literally split our nation in two, Abraham Lincoln called on the people not to lose sight of one other. He said in his Inaugural Address:

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

Heed Lincoln's words. We must return to our founding principles. We must rediscover our better angels. And we must reconcile with each other, repairing the bonds of affection that make us fellow Americans.

Mere minutes after Taylor's big coming-out, the online backlash began. Even members of the '#resistance' slammed Taylor for his involvement in executing Trump's child-separation policy, and for waiting this long to speak up.

As it turns out, Google execs reportedly misled their own employees when they insisted that Taylor wasn't involved with the child-separation policy, an issue that ranks as Trump's paramount sin among denizens of Silicon Valley.

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-6&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1321544515233210370&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

Many also complained about the NYT hyping up the identity of the "anonymous" insider to try and suggest that he was a top-level staffer, prompting speculation about Rex Tillerson, John Kelly or even James Mattis. Trump's current chief of staff Mark Meadows,

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-7&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1321543822699073545&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

For those hard-core Dems who can't understand why people are so mad at the Patriotic whistleblower, well here's @Yashar with an explanation.

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-8&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1321543822699073545&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

Kayleigh McEnany made a similar point.

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-9&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1321548602305441792&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

And journalist Judd Legum with the extended version of that explanation, in which he denounces "Anonymous" as little more than a grifter, who played a "critical role" in the family separation policy, now working to parlay his brief time in the Trump Administration into a quick buck.

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-10&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1321536581040295944&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-11&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=true&id=1321538376923754499&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-12&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=true&id=1321538690791940097&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-13&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=true&id=1321538969499242500&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

Not only did he help carry it out, but Taylor "actively helped sell" the Trump Administration zero tolerance policy for immigrants.

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-14&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=true&id=1321539331891363842&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-15&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=true&id=1321541970834194434&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-16&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=true&id=1321542301903212544&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

Taylor wasn't the only one to face criticism: some slammed the NYT for distorting "Anonymous's" role in the administration.

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-17&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1321547894642614273&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

Some were incredulous that Taylor left the administration and now works for Google and CNN.

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-18&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1321546046363721728&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fanonymous-author-outs-himself-liberal-media-immediately-slams-him-child-separating&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px NEVER MISS THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST

ZEROHEDGE DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX

Receive a daily recap featuring a curated list of must-read stories.

With Taylor now outed as a child prison guard, as we have no doubt he will be branded by the left, we imagine Google will need to make a statement at some point about whether Taylor will continue on in his role, or be...fired.


play_arrow Unknown User , 58 minutes ago

A typical Neoliberal incapable of comprehending loyalty and ready to sellout anyone for a dollar.

Everybodys All American , 1 hour ago

This little man operates like a CIA agent. I'd be shocked if that's not the case. He actually said he believes in Joe Biden's' decency. No one in their right mind is saying that ...

gmrpeabody , 50 minutes ago

Biden's decency..? Now THAT'S funny...

JLee2027 , 1 hour ago

Just another one who betrayed his country for bucks and fame. Hope it was worth it.

Perseus-Reflected , 1 hour ago

Looks like a latte-drinking little b!tch to me.

aspen1880 , 58 minutes ago

he "identifies" with bish

chelydra , 4 minutes ago

The epitome of an effete, preening dandy.

hot sauce technician , 1 hour ago

Everything the biden campaign is doing seems to backfire on it.

LVrunner , 58 minutes ago

Should be giving away puppies soon like Hilary did at this point.

Redhotfill , 1 hour ago

Working for Google, CNN, Book deal yeah Pay Offs! Surprised no Netflx stock options.

44magnum , 1 hour ago

Or a seat on the board

mrslippryFIST , 1 hour ago

The year isnt over yet.

OGAorSAD , 1 hour ago

And we care why? Should be a headline with Section 230 being repealed, and multiple indictments of Biden's, Clinton's, and Obama's

nope-1004 , 54 minutes ago

Never heard of him.

The fact that he's a documented public liar and democrat makes complete sense though.

mrslippryFIST , 1 hour ago

Hah, little beta cuck didn't get his 15mins so he outs himself to get his 15 mins of fame.

This is what participation ribbons gives you.

Willie the Pimp , 1 hour ago

What else would you expect from an obvious jizz guzzler? The LGBT have destroyed the USSA.

pictur3plane , 1 hour ago

SOY BOY NOTHING BURGER.

JRobby , 52 minutes ago

Oh! Look! He shops at Amazon!!!

Pop this prick and dump him in a landfill

Friedrich not Salma , 54 minutes ago

DNC probably asked him to reveal himself to eat up Teevee time and distract from Hunter's story.

Md4 , 53 minutes ago

Zactly.

Where's Hunter?

Boxed Merlot , 31 minutes ago

...Where's Hunter?...

Chillin with Mr. Corzine? You remember that guy don't you? He's another GS Vice President and Mr. Obama's prized confidant in his financial wizardry that ripped off his "investors" to the tune of frn1B and slunk out of the public eye.

Mr. Biden looks at him with envy. https://www.gloucestercitynews.net/clearysnotebook/2013/08/sound-off-a-beach-bum.html

enjoy

silent one , 1 minute ago

Hunt Hunter

fxrxexexdxoxmx2 , 1 hour ago

Now there is man who really loves men.

whether underground , 1 hour ago

+1 for making me laugh

freedommusic , 52 minutes ago

Who are these people? Look at the way they dress. Look at the smug arrogant look on their faces.

They are caught in a bubble and are totally divorced from reality.

It should be requirement of every individual who enters government to spend at least one year unclogging apartment building sewer stoppages.

Having a basic grasp of reality and a first hand look at where sewage actually goes is vital to a healthy reality based outlook on life.

Peace

Salsa Verde , 1 hour ago

Scumbags gonna scum.

EnoughBS21 , 56 minutes ago

How's it feel, little traitor? You threw Trump under the bus and now your "new friends" are tossing you away.

A Mister nobody!

Md4 , 54 minutes ago

And was " anonymous".

Credible?

44magnum , 1 hour ago

Trump has no character and Biden is senile.

So he picks Biden and the whore? She is definitely a character.

I am more equal than others , 1 hour ago

Judging character from afar. It is an amazing skill that has never existed.

novictim , 46 minutes ago

On the scales of justice, Trump is light as a feather while these Leftist infiltrator-traitors and grifters, China-stooges and bribe takers, are lead weights on the American Republic. There is no parallel to the corruption that has been revealed about the Russia-Collusion hoax and now the truth about Biden's sale of US' China-policy in return for the CCP padding the Biden family nest egg.

Watergate has nothing on these latest scandals. And Trump comes away from all of this like a shining star.

JmanSilver.Gold , 44 minutes ago

Just another leftwing swamprat.

Floki_Ragnarsson , 46 minutes ago

So this weasel turd creates the problem, whines about it, and then makes a book deal, bags a CNN job, etc?

Obviously a slimy Democrud.

Teamtc321 , 51 minutes ago

***** shadow man talks about character? Typical Demshelvic POS.

Joe Biden is burning down.

zerozerosevenhedgeBow1 , 1 hour ago

Ahh... Wallet before country, honor and integrity. I see a trend of "Public Service". Delete his security clearance before he tries to change genders, because politically then you probably couldn't afterwards.

Hipneck911 , 45 minutes ago

So a minor level DHS obama holdover who is a lifelong democrat-donated to Obamas campaign-and probably had all of maybe ONE meeting where the President was present. AKA typical leftist LOSER.

Imagine That , 1 hour ago

Big fuss about a chicken-sh*t nobody, who the world will forget before he changes his silk panties.

Pvt Joker , 45 minutes ago

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies"

Yeah, Imma say this guy and any one who thinks like him is my enemy.

Occams_Razor_Trader_Part_Deux , 47 minutes ago

You had me till Vindman.................... you're an operative .....................

Blaster09 , 55 minutes ago

Another POS!!!

lwilland1012 , 1 hour ago

Give people enough time, and they will always show you their true colors. Just watch and listen.

novictim , 42 minutes ago

But the election is on Tuesday. Millions have already voted.

The MSM has betrayed every American in ways unthinkable just a decade ago.

Dindu Nuffins , 45 minutes ago

Not worth changing the news cycle from the laptop. No one cares who this rat is, undifferentiated as he is from the many others.

[Oct 30, 2020] Tucker Carlson's interview with Tony Bobulinski is must-see TV - American Thinker

Oct 30, 2020 | www.americanthinker.com

October 28, 2020 Tucker Carlson's interview with Tony Bobulinski is must-see TV By Andrea Widburg

On Tuesday night, Tucker Carlson did something he'd never done before: he dedicated his entire show to a single interview. The person he interviewed was Tony Bobulinski, an experienced international businessman who found himself working with Hunter Biden, James Biden, and others on a deal between the Biden group and CEFC, a Chinese energy company with ties to the communist government and the military. Bobulinski powerfully confirms that Joe Biden was deeply involved in the transaction, which had its beginnings when Joe was still vice president.

Fox News has not yet uploaded (and may never upload) the interview in its entirety. However, the four videos below bring together almost everything from the interview.

Tucker opened by making the point that he was dedicating his show to the Bobulinski interview because the rest of the American media are assiduously ignoring the story, downplaying it, or claiming it's a Russian smear. The leader of the Russian smear approach is, naturally, Rep. Adam Schiff, a man who has all the hallmarks of a conscienceless psychopath. Ironically, it was Schiff's smear about Hunter Biden's hard drive that led Bobulinski, a Democrat, to go public with his story.

If you can't watch the interview, here's a brief overview:

Bobulinksi is a former naval officer with a Q clearance. That's an extremely high clearance level for people working in the Department of Energy -- and Bobulinski worked in the Navy's nuclear program. He comes from a military family and is very proud of that legacy.

After leaving the Navy, Bobulinski became an international businessman. His expertise led to Hunter Biden and his people wooing Bobulinski to give them the business expertise they needed to get their partnership up and running.

The partnership, SinoHawk, was intended to bring together CEFC and the Biden family. Both Hunter and James Biden, after all, brought nothing to the table other than their last name and, with it, the promise that China would have access to political influence at the highest level of American government.

Bobulinski's name recently became public knowledge when James Gilliar, another businessman working on SinoHawk, sent an email to Tony Bobulinski, setting out the terms Gilliar had been negotiating with CEFC. What caught everyone's interest was the statement that Hunter would hold "10[%] for the Big Guy." Bobulinski confirmed that Joe Biden was the "Big Guy."

At this point, Schiff, the media, and Joe Biden, none of whom ever denied the legitimacy of the email, claimed that the whole thing was a Russian smear. This unfounded accusation got Bobulinski's dander up. As a naval officer from a military family and a true patriot, being smeared as a Russian agent was beyond the pale.

Bobulinski demanded that Schiff retract the insult, and when Schiff failed to do so, he went public and did a full document dump. Bobulinski had saved everything -- every document, every email, and every text.

That's the quick background to the interview with Carlson, during which Bobulinski said that

  • Hunter and James Biden brought nothing to the deal other than the Biden family name.
  • What China wanted was the Biden family name.
  • Joe Biden was involved in the business deal, so much so that he had veto power over negotiations.
  • In 2017, Bobulinski met Joe Biden twice when the Biden side of SinoHawk was courting him to step in and act as CEO.
  • Bobulinski also spoke at length with James Biden, Joe's brother.
  • When Bobulinski asked James how they could get away with this kind of deal, which seemed to be falling into dangerous territory, given that Joe could run again for president, James announced, "Plausible deniability."
  • The Biden group stiffed Bobulinski, leaving him out of pocket for all his expenses while channeling CEFC's money into another entity that did not involve Bobulinski.

If we had a decent media establishment, this story would be on every front page and at the top of every news hour. Instead, Bobulinski is trying desperately to get Americans to know that he is not a Russian agent and that Joe Biden was in bed with the communist Chinese government, starting when he was vice president and continuing after he left the White House. This screen shot from Memeorandum shows that none of the legacy media outlets is touching the story:

(As an aside, and separate from the Bobulinski interview, a former CIA operations office believes it's entirely possible that Biden was already doing China's bidding in 2012, when the Obama administration gave China free rein in the South China Sea.)

In case the embedded videos do not play, you can find them here , here , here , and here .

We've always known that Joe Biden is an odd bird. Just think of the lies, the egotistical boasting, the offers to fight people, the skinny-dipping, and the way he fondles and sniffs little girls. He is a genuinely creepy man.

It speaks volumes about Washington, D.C. and the Democrat party that Joe spent 47 years in the swamp and rose to the second highest office in the land. What we've learned now, though, irrefutably and without any Russian hokum, is that Joe Biden is also a profoundly corrupt man who willingly sold out America and her allies to enrich himself and his sleazy, incompetent family.

Image: Tony Bobulinski Tucker Carlson interview . Tucker Carlson Show screen grab.

me title=

Fox News has not yet uploaded (and may never upload) the interview in its entirety. However, the four videos below bring together almost everything from the interview.

Tucker opened by making the point that he was dedicating his show to the Bobulinski interview because the rest of the American media are assiduously ignoring the story, downplaying it, or claiming it's a Russian smear. The leader of the Russian smear approach is, naturally, Rep. Adam Schiff, a man who has all the hallmarks of a conscienceless psychopath. Ironically, it was Schiff's smear about Hunter Biden's hard drive that led Bobulinski, a Democrat, to go public with his story.

If you can't watch the interview, here's a brief overview:

Bobulinksi is a former naval officer with a Q clearance. That's an extremely high clearance level for people working in the Department of Energy -- and Bobulinski worked in the Navy's nuclear program. He comes from a military family and is very proud of that legacy.

https://lockerdome.com/lad/9371484590420070?pubid=ld-8832-1542&pubo=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.americanthinker.com&rid=www.americanthinker.com&width=610

After leaving the Navy, Bobulinski became an international businessman. His expertise led to Hunter Biden and his people wooing Bobulinski to give them the business expertise they needed to get their partnership up and running.

The partnership, SinoHawk, was intended to bring together CEFC and the Biden family. Both Hunter and James Biden, after all, brought nothing to the table other than their last name and, with it, the promise that China would have access to political influence at the highest level of American government.

Bobulinski's name recently became public knowledge when James Gilliar, another businessman working on SinoHawk, sent an email to Tony Bobulinski, setting out the terms Gilliar had been negotiating with CEFC. What caught everyone's interest was the statement that Hunter would hold "10[%] for the Big Guy." Bobulinski confirmed that Joe Biden was the "Big Guy."

At this point, Schiff, the media, and Joe Biden, none of whom ever denied the legitimacy of the email, claimed that the whole thing was a Russian smear. This unfounded accusation got Bobulinski's dander up. As a naval officer from a military family and a true patriot, being smeared as a Russian agent was beyond the pale.

Bobulinski demanded that Schiff retract the insult, and when Schiff failed to do so, he went public and did a full document dump. Bobulinski had saved everything -- every document, every email, and every text.

That's the quick background to the interview with Carlson, during which Bobulinski said that

  • Hunter and James Biden brought nothing to the deal other than the Biden family name.
  • What China wanted was the Biden family name.
  • Joe Biden was involved in the business deal, so much so that he had veto power over negotiations.
  • In 2017, Bobulinski met Joe Biden twice when the Biden side of SinoHawk was courting him to step in and act as CEO.
  • Bobulinski also spoke at length with James Biden, Joe's brother.
  • When Bobulinski asked James how they could get away with this kind of deal, which seemed to be falling into dangerous territory, given that Joe could run again for president, James announced, "Plausible deniability."
  • The Biden group stiffed Bobulinski, leaving him out of pocket for all his expenses while channeling CEFC's money into another entity that did not involve Bobulinski.

If we had a decent media establishment, this story would be on every front page and at the top of every news hour. Instead, Bobulinski is trying desperately to get Americans to know that he is not a Russian agent and that Joe Biden was in bed with the communist Chinese government, starting when he was vice president and continuing after he left the White House. This screen shot from Memeorandum shows that none of the legacy media outlets is touching the story:

Read more: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/10/tucker_carlsons_interview_with_tony_bobulinski_is_mustsee_tv.html#ixzz6cECCtpGU
Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook

[Oct 30, 2020] Hunter Biden Documents Mysteriously Vanish From Overnight Envelope, Tucker Carlson Says

Oct 30, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

Authored by Ivan Pentchoukov via The Epoch Times,

A collection of confidential documents related to the Biden family mysteriously vanished from an envelope sent to Fox News host Tucker Carlson , the host said on Wednesday night.

Carlson's team allegedly received the documents from a source on Monday. At the time, Carlson was on the West Coast filming an interview with Tony Bobulinski, the former business partner of Hunter Biden and James Biden. Carlson requested the documents to be sent to the West Coast.

According to Carlson, the producer shipped the documents overnight to California using a large national package carrier. He didn't name the company, saying only that it's a "brand name company."

"The Biden documents never arrived in Los Angeles. Tuesday morning we received word from our shipping company that our package had been opened and the contents were missing," Carlson said. "The documents had disappeared."

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1321608055549775872&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fgeopolitical%2Fhunter-biden-documents-mysteriously-vanish-overnight-envelope-tucker-carlson-says&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

The company took the incident seriously and immediately began a search, Carlson said. The company traced the package from when it was dropped off in New York to the moment when an employee at a sorting facility reported that the package was opened and empty.

" The company's security team interviewed every employee who touched the envelope we sent. They searched the plane and the trucks that carried it. They went through the office in New York where our producers dropped the package off. They combed the entire cavernous sorting facility. They used pictures of what we had sent so that searchers would know what to look for," Carlson said.

"They far and beyond, but they found nothing."

"Those documents have vanished," he added.

"As of tonight, the company has no idea and no working theory even about what happened to this trove of materials, documents that are directly relevant to the presidential campaign just six days from now."

me title=

Executives at the shipping company were "baffled" and "deeply bothered" by the incident, Carlson said.

Carlson's interview with Bobulinski aired on Tuesday night. In the interview, Bobulinski opined that Joe Biden and the Biden family are compromised by China due to the business dealings of Hunter Biden and James Biden. Joe Biden has not publicly responded to Bobulinski's allegations, but during a presidential debate on Oct. 22 said he had "not taken a penny from any foreign source ever in my life."

NEVER MISS THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST

ZEROHEDGE DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX

Receive a daily recap featuring a curated list of must-read stories.

Bobulinski provided more than 1,700 pages of emails and more than 600 screenshots of text messages to Senate investigators and handed over to the FBI the smartphones he used during his business dealings with the Bidens. The documents detailed a failed joint venture between a billionaire tied to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and a company owned by Hunter Biden, James Biden, Bobulinski and two other partners.

While the corporate documents don't mention Biden by name, emails sent between the partners suggest that either James Biden or Hunter Biden held a 10 percent stake for the former vice president. In the email, the stake is assigned to "the big guy," who Bobulinski says is Joe Biden.

_arrow NoDebt , 3 minutes ago

I heard Tucker talk about this earlier tonight and realized we are FULLY controlled now. Whatever the **** is going on, whether this is true or not doesn't matter. We are just unwitting participants in some kind of TV reality show now. Everything is meaningless.

lwilland1012 , 5 minutes ago

Please tell me he was smart enough to make copies...

CatInTheHat , 1 minute ago

Ok.

What was IN the documents and from whom?

This is an inside job. Probably a never Trumper at Fox. There are a few.

quanttech , 3 minutes ago

If Trump loses, Fox will go full Dem. Trump will start TrumpTV, and Tucker will need a job....

btw, Tucker should get the Nobel Peace Prize for keeping us out of Iran for the last 3.5 years.

Nona Yobiznes , 4 minutes ago

This story doesn't make sense. You sent confidential, highly sensitive documents via post? Because Tucker was on the west coast? You couldn't scan them in? Were they originals, and are there copies? This doesn't smell right.

icolbowca , 6 minutes ago

Takes a special kind of moron to send something like that via mail...

[Oct 30, 2020] UPS Suddenly Locates -Lost- Biden Evidence, Returning Docs To Tucker Carlson -

Notable quotes:
"... Biden's campaign earlier this month said Biden never had a meeting with an executive at a shady Ukrainian gas company, Burisma Holdings, while he was the vice president and his son sat on the board of the firm. A report from the New York Post, citing alleged Hunter Biden emails, suggested Hunter Biden had arranged a meeting between him, the executive, and Joe Biden. ..."
Oct 30, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

Delivery giant UPS confirmed Thursday it found a lost trove of documents that Fox News' Tucker Carlson said would provide revelations in the ever-growing scandal involving Joe Biden 's son Hunter and his overseas business dealings.

UPS Senior Public Relations Manager Matthew O'Connor told Business Insider on Thursday afternoon that the documents are located and are being sent to Carlson.

"After an extensive search, we have found the contents of the package and are arranging for its return," he said in a statement.

"UPS will always focus first on our customers, and will never stop working to solve issues and make things right. We work hard to ensure every package is delivered, including essential goods, precious family belongings and critical healthcare."

It came after Glenn Zaccara, UPS's corporate media relations director, confirmed Carlson used the company to ship the materials before they were lost.

"The package was reported with missing contents as it moved within our network," Zaccara said before they were located. "UPS is conducting an urgent investigation."

During his Wednesday night broadcast, Carlson said that a UPS employee notified them that their package "was open and empty apparently, it had been opened."

"The Biden documents never arrived in Los Angeles. Tuesday morning we received word from our shipping company that our package had been opened and the contents were missing," Carlson also remarked. "The documents had disappeared."

On Tuesday night, Carlson interviewed former Hunter Biden associate Tony Bobulinski, who claimed that the former Democratic vice president could be compromised by the Chinese Communist Party due to Hunter and brother James Biden's business dealings in the country.

Joe Biden has not responded to Bobulinski's allegations. Last week during his debate with President Donald Trump, he said he had "not taken a penny from any foreign source ever in my life."

Biden's campaign earlier this month said Biden never had a meeting with an executive at a shady Ukrainian gas company, Burisma Holdings, while he was the vice president and his son sat on the board of the firm. A report from the New York Post, citing alleged Hunter Biden emails, suggested Hunter Biden had arranged a meeting between him, the executive, and Joe Biden.

It's now possible that a special counsel will investigate Joe Biden should he win the presidency.

"You know, I am not a big fan of special counsels, but if Joe Biden wins the presidency, I don't see how you avoid one," Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) said . "Otherwise, this is going to be, you know, tucked away, and we will never know what happened. All this evidence is going to be buried."

UPS did not provide further details about the apparent mishap.

[Oct 30, 2020] Bobulinski will sing tonight - Sic Semper Tyrannis

Notable quotes:
"... Hunter Biden is the modern equivalent of the pre-Reformation papacy selling indulgences. Cash in exchange for unfettered passage into the promised land ..."
Oct 30, 2020 | turcopolier.typepad.com

Bobulinski will sing tonight


"Former Biden insider Tony Bobulinski allegedly has a recording of Biden family operatives begging him to stay quiet , or he will "bury" the reputations of everyone involved in Hunter's overseas dealings.

According to The Federalist 's Sean Davis, Bobulinski will play the tape on Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on Tuesday , when Carlson will devote his show 'entirely' to an interview with the Biden whistleblower."

"According to a source familiar with the planning, Bobulinski will play recordings of Biden family operatives begging him to stay quiet and claiming Bobulinski's revelations will "bury" the reputations of everyone involved in Hunter's overseas deals."

As The Federalist notes:

The Federalist confirmed with sources familiar with the plans that Bobulinski, a retired Navy lieutenant and Biden associate, will be airing tapes of Biden operatives begging Bobulinski to remain quiet as former Vice President Joe Biden nears the finish line to the White House next week.

Bobulinski flipped on the Bidens following a Senate report which revealed that they received a $5 million interest-free loan from a now-bankrupt Chinese energy company .

According to the former Biden insider, he was introduced to Joe Biden by Hunter, and they had an hour-long meeting where they discussed the Biden's business plans with the Chinese, with which he says Joe was "plainly familiar at least at a high level." " Zerohedge

--------------

First of all, Bobulinski is NOT a "retired Navy lieutenant." He is a former Navy Lieutenant.

Well, folks, it's up to you to watch TC's show tonight if you want to learn about this. Tucker's show is the most watched news show in the history of cable television, so the pain should not be too great, pl

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/youll-bury-everyone-involved-bobulinski-recorded-biden-operatives-begging-him-stay-quiet

ked , 27 October 2020 at 11:31 AM

I don't watch cable TV so I'll have to depend on the objectivity of observers. I'll be curious who / what is a "family operative"? are they traceable like a military chain-of-command?

in related news, we can get a fix on the play between private / public behaviors & the pace of Justice winding.

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/federal-judge-smacks-down-bill-barrs-attempt-to-have-doj-defend-trump-in-rape-defamation-case/

I am willing to predict that these examples will have equal impact on the election.

Diana L Croissant , 27 October 2020 at 11:59 AM

Tucker Carlson's show is my favorite news/commentary show. I try not to miss it. Because of the fact that he seems to try hard to verify his sources--and the people he interviews, I trust him. He also tries to provide guests from the left in an attempt to be fair.

He's definitely not a Hannity, who is the one who turns many off of FOX (though Hannity comes right after Tucker).

Deap , 27 October 2020 at 01:23 PM

Hunter Biden is the modern equivalent of the pre-Reformation papacy selling indulgences. Cash in exchange for unfettered passage into the promised land .

Paco , 27 October 2020 at 03:37 PM

selling indulgences.

If St. James day is on Sunday Indulgentia Plena.

Fred , 27 October 2020 at 03:42 PM

Ked,

Thank goodness the Federal Judge has allowed the lawsuit by the private citizen and writer, based on the 1990s allegation, to procede without government interference. I'm sure nobody will do that to democrats in the future. Meanwhile in the Flynn case the DOJ confirms that the govenment documents and discovery exhibits are ture and correct. I'm sure Judge Sullivan will procede expeditiously with granting the unopposed motion to dismiss that case.

https://twitter.com/Techno_Fog/status/1320935992329687040

GEORGE CHAMBERLAIN , 27 October 2020 at 04:08 PM

This story interests me because I believe he is the first to leave the sinking ship but not the last.
There would be no reason for this if he thought Joe would win and the investigation would be snuffed out.
If Trump wins there will most likely be a new version of "Let's Make A Deal" being aired on the nightly news.
I am down to one package of popcorn. I need to restock.

Norber M Salamon , 27 October 2020 at 04:18 PM

another interesting tid-bit:
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/hunter-biden-confesses-partnership-china-spy-chief-fumes-after-he-and-joe-named-criminal

Lyttennnburgh , 27 October 2020 at 04:30 PM

2Deap

Actually, indulgences were more akin to BitCoins. Especially after 1567, when His Holiness the Pope finally officially banned them... but they had been still produced and sold in large quantities. In France only Richeliue put a stop to this con.

turcopolier , 27 October 2020 at 04:35 PM

Lyttenburgh

Yes, the Catholic Church is so old that it has been corrupt and reformed many times

Fred , 27 October 2020 at 08:04 PM

George,

"version of "Let's Make A Deal""

The democrats turned that down a couple weeks ago, thus this is blowing up in their faces right now.

james , 27 October 2020 at 08:28 PM

lol! you are filling in some of the many blanks in my musical knowledge... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbX2diR9b4U

GEORGE CHAMBERLAIN , 27 October 2020 at 08:34 PM

Serve me my plate a Crow. Maybe.
He is saying now that he is 2nd generation military and that they pissed him off claiming he was a Russian asset.
That is plausible.
Maybe it is both?
Regardless it seems he has a great deal of proof.

Diana L Croissant , 27 October 2020 at 09:20 PM

I was convinced during the interview. Bobulinsky seemed pretty convincing in his concern for his own reputation, having been associated with the Biden "Mafia" in the first place.

It was clear during the interview that he had provided Tucker verification for his claims.

I am more concerned that this revelation comes too late and that many, many people have voted early. He referenced some hearings that will be held in Congress. I doubt that will affect the election, given the slow pace of anything getting done in Congress. I voted early, but I am not personally concerned because I did NOT vote for Biden; however, I am concerned that those who voted early for Biden could not now change their votes.

elaine , 27 October 2020 at 09:22 PM

ked, Tucker Carlson Tonight shows are usually on YouTube shortly
after they air on cable

turcopolier , 27 October 2020 at 09:25 PM

james

Yes. You have to watch out for unannounced medical visits. "Guido, get in the wagon, you need a check up."

akaPatience , 27 October 2020 at 10:12 PM

SO, if I understand the situation correctly, Bobulinski was essentially sought after, used and then screwed by the Bidens, which seems risky on the part of the clan. But I guess if Joe wins the election, they will have gotten away with it as I can't imagine, in spite of any damning evidence, the Bidens will suffer the same punishing rectal examination-like scrutiny and vilification the Trump family's been subjected to.

Eric Newhill , 27 October 2020 at 10:12 PM

Col Lang,
Hoping you write about your assessment of B and what he had to say.

I found him to be generally credible. All of his motives for singing largely make sense to me. I think he's a patriot. Some good supporting evidence. He's sharp. I liked him. He's the kind of guy I'd enjoy working with.

I don't know anything about the realm of international deal making and finance. I'm wondering how a Navy O3 works his way to enjoying yachts in Monaco while making $millions. Is he an Annapolis guy? Tight with the right classmates? Not a lot to be found on him via Google.

turcopolier , 27 October 2020 at 10:22 PM

Eric Newhill

He was no longer in the navy when he was messing around with the Biden familia. He was probably in the Navy three or four years. He ought to lay off on that. I'll think it over tonight.

turcopolier , 27 October 2020 at 10:24 PM

akapatience
Yes, bend over for the Silver Stallion. "Ah, I see a polyp!"

Fred , 27 October 2020 at 10:37 PM

akapatience,

Once Wray's FBI gets done with the Rusty Wallace Noose Case they'll have time to deep dive the laptop he's had for almost a year.

Col.,

Bobulinski seemed awful polished during that interview. Almost too good to be true. Hunter being a druggy and Burisma payments being real certainly lend an air to credibility.

Deap , 28 October 2020 at 01:55 AM

Adam Schiff:........"Bobolinski is a Russian agent".
BAM!

Executive summary of the interview.

Bobo , 28 October 2020 at 07:52 AM

Turns out Patrick Ho Hunters partner in CEFC had a FISA warrant on him when he was nabbed in New York awhile back. His first call was to Hunter to seek legal advice and Hunter represented him. So them scumbags in the FBI have been sitting on this for awhile and will use it on Joe (if elected) when needed. Must be modus operandi at the FBI in gathering dirt on all politicians via FISA's, Hoover is still there.
As with all of us Bobulinski is not lily white but is making an effort to clean his act and those around him. Lily White always comes in degrees. Not much in the NY Times, Wash Post or WSJ this morning but the WSJ deserves a little credit with McBurn's editorial.
Bobulinski obviously comes from a military family thus his harping on his Navy creds. Guess when your in that much sunshine you fall back strongly on anything available.

fakebot , 28 October 2020 at 09:25 AM

I don't doubt his credibility and it's good that he at least got on Tucker Carlson to provide some much needed answers, but he's not a known quantity and I have hard time imagining his revelations will change minds.

I think the FBI sandbagging the whole affair is what holds back this story getting the attention it deserves from the public. The president I'm sorry to say has been badly served by Wray, Haspel, and company. I think he should have replaced them months ago and waiting until reelection to do it may have been a mistake.

[Oct 30, 2020] Tucker Carlson- What Tony Bobulinski told me and why it matters - Fox News

Oct 30, 2020 | www.foxnews.com

Tuesday night, we heard at length and on camera from one of the Biden family's former business partners. His name is Tony Bobulinski. He's a very successful businessman and a Navy veteran.

Bobulinski spoke to "Tucker Carlson Tonight" for a full hour. He told us he met two separate times with Joe Biden himself. Not just with Joe Biden's son or his brother, but with Joe Biden -- the former vice president and the man now running for president -- to discuss business deals with the communist government of China .

That's a very serious claim, and whatever your political views, it's hard to dismiss it when Tony Bobulinski makes it because Bobulinsky is an unusually credible witness. He's not a partisan, he's not seeking money, he's not seeking publicity. He did not want to come on our show.

But when Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and the Biden campaign accused Tony Bobulinski of participating in a Russian disinformation effort, he felt he had no choice. That was a slander against him and against his family. So Bobulinski came to us. He arrived with heaps of evidence to bolster the story he was telling. He brought contemporaneous audio recordings, text messages, e-mails, many financial documents.

Video

By the end of the hour, it was very clear to us that Tony Bobulinski was telling the truth and that Joe Biden was lying. We believe that any honest person who watched the entire hour would come to the same conclusion.

Well, on Wednesday, a Senate committee confirmed it . The Senate Homeland Security Committee reported that all of Tony Bobulinski's documents are, in fact, real. They are authentic. They are not forgeries. This is not Russian disinformation. It is real.

Bobulinski told a remarkable story. Joe Biden -- who, once again, could be president of the United States next week, was planning business deals with America's most formidable global opponent. And when he was caught doing it, Joe Biden lied. And then he went further. He slandered an innocent man as a traitor to his own country. It is clear that Joe Biden did that. That's not a partisan talking point uttered in bad faith on behalf of another presidential campaign. It's true.

https://c0c754eabe03683fa93ffdd97cfadeee.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

So the question is, what is Joe Biden's excuse for doing that? What is his version of this story? Everyone has a version and we'd like to hear it, but we don't know what Joe Biden's version of the story is, because no one in America's vast media landscape has pressed Joe Biden to answer the question. Instead, reporters at all levels and their editors and their publishers have openly collaborated with Joe Biden's political campaign. That is unprecedented. It has never happened in American history.

Video

Wednesday morning, the big papers completely ignored what Tony Bobulinski had to say. So did the other television networks. Not a single word about Bobulinski appeared on CNN or anywhere else. Newsweek decided to cover it, but came to the conclusion that the real story was about QAnon somehow. This is Soviet-style suppression of information about a legitimate news story. Days before an election, the ramifications of it are impossible to imagine. But we do know the media cannot continue in the way that it has.

No one believes the media anymore and no one should. You should be offended by this, not because the media are liberal, but because this is an attack on our democracy. You've heard that phrase again and again, but this is what it looks like. In a self-governing country, voters have a right -- an obligation -- to know who they're voting for. In this case, they have the right to know the Democratic nominee for president was a willing partner in his family's lucrative influence-peddling operation, an operation that went on for decades and stretched from China and Ukraine all the way to Oman, Romania, Luxembourg and many other countries. This is not speculation once again, and it's not a partisan attack. It's true, and Tony bobulinski confirmed it.

Bobulinski met with Joe Biden at a hotel bar in Los Angeles in early May of 2017, and when he did, Joe Biden's son introduced Bobulinski this way: "Dad. Here's the individual I told you about that's helping us with the business that we're working on and the Chinese."

The man I told you about.

Video

Now, written documents confirmed this is real. At one point, Joe Biden's son texted Tony Bobulinski to say that Joe Biden, his father, was making key decisions about their business deals with China.

CARLSON: When Hunter Biden said his chairman, he was talking about his dad.

me title=

BOBULINSKI: Correct, and what Hunter is referencing there is, he spoke with his father and his father is giving an emphatic 'no' to the ask that I had, which was putting proper governance in place around Oneida Holdings.

CARLSON: So, Joe Biden is vetoing your plan for putting stricter governance in the company. I mean, and it's it's right here in the email.

BOBULINSKI: Yes, Tucker, I want to be very careful in front of the American people. That is not me writing that. That is not me claiming that. That is Hunter Biden writing on his own phone. Typing in that 'I spoke with my chairman,' referencing his father.

All this is spelled out in the clearest possible language in documents that Bobulinski provided us, documents that subsequently federal authorities have authenticated as real.

On May 13, 2017, for example, Hunter Biden got an email explaining how his family would be paid for their deal with the Chinese energy company. His father, Joe Biden, was getting 10%.

BOBULINSKI: In that email, there's a statement where they go through the equity, Jim Biden's referenced as, you know, 10%. It doesn't say Biden, it says Jim. And then it has 10% for the big guy held by H. I 1,000% sit here and know that the big guy is referencing Joe Biden. It's, that's crystal clear to me because I lived it. I met with the former vice president in person multiple times.

That was three years ago, and we still don't know where all that money went, because the media haven't forced Joe Biden to tell us. But Tony, Bobulinski did add a telling detail. Joe Biden's brother, Jim, saw his stake in the deal double from 10% to 20%. Was Jim Biden getting his brother's share again? It might be worth finding out.

me title=

We also know that according to an email from a top Chinese official, this one written on July 26, 2017, the Chinese proposed a $5 million dollar interest-free loan to the Biden family, "based on their trust on [sic] BD [Biden] family." The e-mail continued, "Should this Chinese company, CEFC, keep lending more to the family?" And indeed, CEFC was supposed to send another $5 million dollars to the Bidens' business ventures. Apparently, that money never made it to the business. Where did it go? A recent Senate report suggests it went to Hunter Biden directly. And from there, who knows? Again, no one's asked.

JIM BIDEN REFUSES TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT FAMILY'S BUSINESS DEALINGS

Tony Bobulinski also told us he learned Hunter Biden became the personal attorney to the chairman of CEFC, Ye Jianming, just as they were tendering 14% of a Russian state-owned energy company. That was a deal valued at $9 billion dollars. It's pretty sleazy. It's pretty amazing, actually, that this happened and no one noticed.

We're not going to spend the next six months leading you through a maze of complex financial transactions. This isn't that complicated: Millions of dollars linked directly to the Communist Party of China went to Joe Biden's family, and not because they're capable businessmen. Jim Biden's one business success appears to have been running a nightclub in Delaware that ultimately went under.

No, the Bidens were cut in on the world's most lucrative business deals, massive infrastructure deals in countries around the world for one reason: Because Joe Biden was a powerful government official willing to leverage his power on behalf of his family.

Now, if that's not a crime, it's very close to a crime and it's certainly something every person voting should know about. The Bidens didn't do this once. They did it for decades. So the question is, how did they get away with it for so long? Tony Bobulinski asked Jim Biden that question directly. To his credit Jim Biden answered that question honestly.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

me title=

BOBULINSKI: And I remember looking at Jim Biden and saying, 'How are you guys getting away with this?' Like, 'Aren't you concerned?' And he looked at me and he laughed a little bit and said, 'Plausible deniability.'

CARLSON: He said that out loud.

BOBULINSKI: Yes, he said it directly to me. One on one, in a cabana at the Peninsula Hotel.

"Plausible deniability." In other words, "we lie." We get away with selling access to the U.S. government, which we do not own, because we lie about what we're doing. And as we lie, we try to make those lies plausible. That's why we call it "plausible deniability." That is the answer that Joe Biden's brother gave when asked directly.

So the question is, what is Joe Biden's answer to that question? We wish we knew.

ForFoxSake!!! 1 hour ago Everything that is happening right now is because Trump was right about the swamp, the media, and the ruling class families who have been selling out America for decades. ohhappyday657 1 hour ago Tucker is doing this country a great service. The FBI doesn't seem to want to engage. Mr. Bobulinski is a patriot and we are lucky he came forward. The Bidens need to be called out for their high crimes and misdemeanors. Joe should be impeached for his time as VP. Thank you Tucker. resipsaloquitor ohhappyday657 29 minutes ago You can smell the desperation on the Trump supporters. The lies, the distortions and the grasping, pathetic search for the proverbial Hail Mary to salvage the quickly sinking ship. If Mr. Bobulinski is the best you have the Democrats will 'trump' you with: 227,000 dead Americans, close to 9 million more infected and an economy in tatters. The day of reckoning is approaching and a dozen Bobulinskis won't change that. Trump and his unseemly administration are doomed.

[Oct 30, 2020] Plausible Deniability

Oct 30, 2020 | turcopolier.typepad.com

"Plausible Deniability"


" ... the former CEO of SinoHawk Holdings, which he said was the partnership between the CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming and the two Biden family members.

"I remember saying, 'How are you guys getting away with this?' 'Aren't you concerned?'" he told Carlson.

He claims that Jim Biden chuckled.

"'Plausible Deniability,' he said it directly to me in a cabana at the Peninsula Hotel," he said.

In the interview, he outlines how an alleged meeting with Joe Biden took place on May 2, 2017. Fox News first reported text messages that indicated such a meeting. Bobulinski said that it was the Bidens, not him, who had pushed the meeting.

"They were sort of wining and dining me and presenting the strength of the Biden family to get me engaged and to take on the CEO role to develop SinoHawk in the U.S. and around the world in partnership with CEFC," he said.

He went at length into how Joe Biden arrived for a Milken conference, partly held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, and how he was introduced by Jim and Hunter Biden to the former vice president.

"I didn't request to meet with Joe" Biden, he said. "They requested that I meet with Joe [Biden ]. They were putting their entire family legacy on the line. They knew exactly what they were doing."" FN

-----------

Bobulinski is a successful international business hustler. I know the type well. The Biden familia wanted him in this China deal for the purpose of having him hold the reins of this enterprise even as they looted it for the purpose of quickly enriching the fam.

A TV commentator remarked last night after watching the interview that this defection from the Biden camp is reflective of an old business truth which can be stated as "don't screw your partner if he has enough material to sink you."

I am unimpressed with selfless patriotism as Bobu's most basic motivation in sticking it to Joe, Jimmy and Hunter Biden. A sense of betrayal in a business deal wrecked by the Bidens' overwhelming greed and their desire to consolidate family riches as fast as they could is a more plausible. motivation.

This does not mean that Bobu is not telling the truth. His collection of e-mails addressed to him and incriminating memoranda is most impressive.

IMO, what has been revealed is a truth with regard to the Biden crime family. They are nouveau riche grifters who will have a much grander stage for their efforts if Joe is elected as a presidential figurehead. pl

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/plausible-deniability-tony-bobulinski-biden-family

Deap , 28 October 2020 at 11:39 AM

Did Hunter Biden's young business partners bring anything of value to the table, or were they just name brand ride-alongs too. Archer, Conley, Heinz, etc. Biden was running a very leaky ship, with such a large but relatively unsophisticated and compromised entourage.

jonst , 28 October 2020 at 01:04 PM

I am, and I'm sure this is not an original observation, because it's as the Col notes, singularly unimpressed with the entire lot of them. Bobo, Jim B, Hunter B, Duncan Hunter, Joe B, Bulger's nephew, I've seen more gravitas among bookies, juicemen, and fences, that I grew up with in NYC. And I mean that. Not a throw away line. And THESE guys will run the show? And Harris I find singularity creep, artificial, and somehow just down right inappropriate. I would not select any of them to run a post office.

NancyK , 28 October 2020 at 01:13 PM

I guess it comes down to a choice between the grifters we know and the grifters we don't know. I still trust Joe Biden more than Trump.

Bill H , 28 October 2020 at 01:26 PM

I got a little tired of the man making so much of his "service to his country." Not that it isn't worth quite a lot and I respect him for it, but four years... I served six years, and what I dwell on is how much I loved serving in submarines and the enormous degree that it contributed to building my character. The degree to which my service benefited my country was trivial. It benefited me enormously.

Like you, I think he is telling the truth in that interview.

turcopolier , 28 October 2020 at 01:32 PM

nancyK
What is the evidence that Trump is a "grifter?" Not accusations, evidence?

Rick Merlotti , 28 October 2020 at 02:38 PM

NancyK

After 4 plus years of the intelligence agencies and MSM looking under every conceivable rock, you think that there is anything left to find about Trump? You are delusional and headed for a massive case of buyer's remorse if swiss-cheese-for-brains gets in.

Diana L Croissant , 28 October 2020 at 02:45 PM

Thank you for asking that question. I was about to ask it myself. My understanding is that Trump's children are working for him as he is President for little pay. They may be still handling Trump business accounts; but it seems they work for his White House office and its many functions--and for his campaign.

I still believe in the American middle class, the people who make American run. These are the people at his rallies, wearing MAGA hats, and showing up in overflow numbers.

They are not people who are easily swayed by "false prophets."

Trump keeps pointing out how well our economy was doing UNTIL China sent the virus (and, I DO believe they sent it). He promises the return of that economy.

That is why Biden now is totally into frightening people about COVID and pushing masks and social distancing. He is afraid that Trump will indeed be able to bring back a good economy. He doesn't know how to do that, as is clear by this desperate attempt to cover up his shady dealings with first Ukraine and now China.

Where I live, a large percentage of our population are clearly very tired and bored with the COVID scare. We still do as our DEMOCRAT Governor, who hails from the People's Republic of Boulder, Colorado, and the University of Colorado, where Socialist, Marxist, and Ultra Feminists rule in the Arts and Humanities. We call Boulder "forty square miles surrounded by reality." Unfortunately, the Boulder/Denver triangle contains the largest voting block. We used to be able to count on Colorado Springs, but the universities in that area and into Pueblo have also been taken over by the leftists.

What is also clear is that Biden's real hope was to build his own family dynasty by using the Presidency as nothing but a cash cow for him and his inept and useless son.

I don't care really what Bobulinski's motives were for coming forward with his documents and emails, I'm just thankful that he did. I hope it wasn't too late. And I'm thankful he chose Tucker Carlson's show as the place to do it.

akaPatience , 28 October 2020 at 03:01 PM

Joe Biden doesn't seem to be the brightest bulb for someone with a JD. To wit: why didn't he just offer that he's given his son some fatherly advice about business now and then? Instead, he's repeatedly and categorically denied discussing ANYTHING with his son about his business dealings, which we now know is provably false. I'm no lawyer but I'd think Joe's repeated lying infers a tacit admission of guilt. Deniability doesn't seem plausible in this case.

I'd even go so far as to infer that Joe's gotten away with business dealings of this sordid sort for SO long that he's become sloppy (e.g., the braggadocio ON VIDEO of withholding US aid to Ukraine until its solicitor investigating Burisma, which was paying his son $50-80 thousand per month, was fired.) He obviously has the [justifiable] expectation of never being held accountable.

JohninMK , 28 October 2020 at 03:15 PM

Did anyone else clock his comment that he wasn't being paid, not even expenses, for all these trips. He said he was funding them himself, presumably until the $5M arrived.

Then it didn't but the Bidens got their $5M. The Bidens arrogance just piles onto their stupidity. Did they really think that kind of operator would take it lying down?

eakens , 28 October 2020 at 03:49 PM

NancyK. It unfortunately appears a vaccine for covid is way ahead of anything for TDS

smoke , 28 October 2020 at 06:09 PM

@ Diana Croissant

With one foot in Colorado Springs, I'd like to suggest that you may be overstating the weight of the local colleges in ColSpr's growing Democrat numbers. El Paso county election results have remained fairly reliably Republican, if not by as sure a margin as once.

Population growth may be more significant mover, the high rate of in-migration to Colorado, esp Denver. The seven county Greater Denver-Boulder area, with a population of 3.3 million, grew 1.1% last year, and has grown as fast or faster in the previous ten years. In number, the Denver population has grown faster than anywhere else in the state. In the past ten years the population of Denver Co alone increased 21%.

Colorado Springs/ El Paso Co. has grown quickly in the same period, but not as much as Denver. The current population of 720,000 increased 16% from ten years ago. A good part of this growth has been driven by Denver's growth and skyrocketing housing prices. A house costs much less in El Paso County.

Too many Denverites are choosing to commute an hour+ from ColSpr to Denver, as seen by the explosion of new housing at the north end of El Paso County and the now-daily traffic crawl at rush hour on I-25 between ColSpr and Denver. Just try to get up to the speed limit on that stretch. The state is adding extra lanes as fast as it can. It appears that Denver attitudes move in with many of these commuters. Is ColSpr fated to become a bedroom community?

Finally, Colorado appears to be one of the places attracting migrants from the blighted, overbuilt, overdetermined coasts. Again, newcomers arrive with attitudes from the places they left.

I am hoping that the open skies and spaces, the particular self-reliance of rural Colorado, and the more democratic openness to citizen initiatives via the ballot will mellow their views.

This level of population growth and shifting politics, lacking a concommitant growth in productivity of local biz and industry, is not viewed with equanimity by older inhabitants of ColSpr. IMO It would be best if Colorado remained independent, with reasonable political compromise and collaboration between parties, as before it has been.

Is a comparable dynamic underway north of Denver in your direction?


The Twisted Genius , 28 October 2020 at 08:40 PM

pl and NancyK,

In reference to Trump's reputation as a grifter, I offer the following sample:
- He paid $2 million in fines and had to close down the Trump Foundation for using it as a personal piggy bank.
- The Eric Trump Foundation was forced to close for similar grift. It was funneling money into Trump family businesses and accounts. It's wasn't like the family directly stole money from kids with cancer, but it ended up doing just that.
- His friend Bannon's recent grift with his Build the Wall Foundation, along with Manafort's tax and bank fraud convictions, and Cohen's conviction for paying hush money for Trump's sexual escapades.
- The sham Trump University was forced to close with a $25 million settlement to two class action lawsuits and a NY civil lawsuit.

None of this sunk Trump. What it did do was inure the American public to the increasing shittyness of our politician's behavior. Hunter's antics would have caused Joe to withdraw from public life ten years ago, but today it's just par for the course.
-

turcopolier , 28 October 2020 at 11:19 PM

TTG
My friend, as I have told you before, you have no real knowledge of practice in the business world. Nobody says Trump has sold the US for his family's profit.

[Oct 25, 2020] RNC Spox Liz Harrington- Everything Democrats Accuse Us Of Doing Is What They Did With The Steele Dossier - Video - RealClearPolitics

Oct 25, 2020 | www.realclearpolitics.com

RNC Spox Liz Harrington: Everything Democrats Accuse Us Of Doing Is What They Did With The Steele Dossier Posted By Tim Hains
On Date October 23, 2020

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1319351107253141504&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.realclearpolitics.com%2Fvideo%2F2020%2F10%2F23%2Fgop_spox_elizabeth_harrington_everything_democrats_accuse_us_of_doing_is_what_they_did_with_steele_dossier.html&siteScreenName=rcpvideo&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

RNC's national spokesperson Liz Harrington battled CNN's Christiane Amanpour for refusing to engage with allegations of corruption against Joe Biden and his family after years of hyping unverified Trump-Russia allegations.

"Why don't you want to report this? This is one of the most powerful families in Washington," she asked. "And you're okay with our interests being sold out to profit Joe Biden and his family, while we're suffering during a pandemic from communist China?"

me title=

https://c5x8i7c7.ssl.hwcdn.net/vplayer-parallel/20200902_2348/ima_html5/index.html

https://c5x8i7c7.ssl.hwcdn.net/vplayer-parallel/20200902_2348/videojs/show.html?controls=1&loop=60&autoplay=0&tracker=a71d2729-c152-42a5-b839-e31cfd08bff8&height=227&width=402&vurl=%2F%2Fd14c63magvk61v.cloudfront.net%2Fvideos%2Fdgv_rcp%2F20201024150810_5f9441771320b%2Fdgv_rcp_trending_articles_20201024150810_5f9441771320b_new.mp4&poster=%2F%2Fd14c63magvk61v.cloudfront.net%2Fvideos%2Fdgv_rcp%2F20201024150810_5f9441771320b%2Fdgv_rcp_trending_articles_20201024150810_5f9441771320b_new.jpg

  • Trump Closing Statement: "Success Is What Will Bring Us Together"
  • Joe Biden: "You Know His Character," "Our Character Is On The Ballot, Look At Us Closely"
  • Hunter's Ex-Business Partner Says Joe Biden Lied About Business Deals In China, FBI Has Proof

"Absolutely, absolutely," CNN's Amanpour replied. Related Topics: Liz Harrington , Hunter Biden

[Oct 25, 2020] Tony Bobulinski to Provide Evidence in FBI, Senate Probes of Bidens - Newsmax.com

Oct 25, 2020 | www.newsmax.com

Hunter Biden, son of Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden, addresses the political party's virtual convention Aug. 20. ( Getty Images)

By Eric Mack | Thursday, 22 October 2020 06:08 PM

Short URL | Email Article | Comment | Contact | Print | A A Copy Shortlink

Former Hunter Biden business associate Tony Bobulinski is going to turn over his electronic devices and business records to the FBI and appear Friday before two Senate committees investigating accusations centered on content from a laptop linked to Hunter.

Fox News' reporter John Roberts tweeted:

"Tony Bobulinski will announce that he will turn his electronic devices and records of business dealings with Hunter and Jim Biden over to the FBI"

Bobulinski, a retired Navy lieutenant and CEO of Sinohawk Holdings, will hold a briefing in Nashville, Tennessee, as he attends Thursday night's debate as a guest of President Donald Trump, Roberts also reported.

https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

And both the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Senate Finance Committee will hear testimony from Bobulinski in their investigations into a purported pay-for-play scheme that some have alleged also benefited former Vice President Joe Biden.

Committee Chairmen Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, issued the following statement Thursday, announcing Bobulinski's cooperation Friday:

"As part of the committees' efforts to validate the authenticity of recently publicly released emails involving the Biden family's international financial entanglements, we sent letters to five individuals identified in the emails. Those letters were sent [Wednesday], and the deadline is Oct. 23, 2020. So far, the committees have received a response only from Mr. Tony Bobulinski, who appears to be willing to fully cooperate with our investigation.

"In fact, Mr. Bobulinski has already agreed to appear for an informal interview by the committees tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 23, 2020."

[Oct 25, 2020] Rudy Giuliani to Newsmax TV- Joe Biden Got 50 Percent of 'Bribe Money' - Newsmax.com

Ted Crus: "This whole issue is not about Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden by all appearances has led a troubled and challenging life. This whole inquiry is about Joe Biden who wants to be President and whether Joe Biden was personally corrupt," Cruz said. "One of the most striking things is what Joe Biden isn't saying... Biden has not denied that he personally met with the Ukrainian oligarch he repeatedly swore he never met.
Oct 25, 2020 | www.newsmax.com
Rudy Giuliani to Newsmax TV: Joe Biden Got 50 Percent of 'Bribe Money'

https://www.youtube.com/embed/coFx3ZDXWrg

Tuesday, 20 October 2020 10:00 PM

Short URL | Email Article | Comment | Contact | Print | A A Copy Shortlink

Former Vice President Joe Biden used his son Hunter Biden as a "bag man" and got 50% of the "bribe money" from foreign entities, Rudy Giuliani told Newsmax TV .

Appearing Tuesday on "Greg Kelly Reports," Giuliani, who says he is in possession of a copy of a hard drive purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden, said the current Democrat presidential nominee could have used several "flunkies" as a "bag man" rather than his own son, but instead involved Hunter in a purported bribery scheme with Chinese businesses.

"Ten percent of the money that was being whacked up, that was $10 million a year, and then 50% of the profits with three Chinese Communists, one of whom was a Chinese intelligence operative -- that 10% of that was going to H. for 'the big guy,'" Giuliani said.

"The big guy" has been identified by a Fox News source as Joe Biden, and Giuliani said his team has identified Joe Biden by other means as well.

https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

Pressed by host Greg Kelly for more revelations, Giuliani demurred, saying he has only been able to look through about half the hard drive so far.

Giuliani said the hard drive -- which he noted has never been denied as authentic by Joe or Hunter Biden -- contains evidence of about "five major federal crimes" and "$30-40 million" going to the Biden family as bribes.

The hard drive is said to have come from a laptop left at a Delaware repair shop by a man described by the owner of the shop as Hunter Biden. It was never picked up, and the original drive was given to the FBI.

In one purported email, Hunter Biden complains he receives no respect for his work, but tells his family he will not make them pay him "half your salary" like "Pop" did.

"This is not about Hunter," Giuliani said, but about what a criminal and "horrible father" Joe Biden is.

"These are major bribes in which he sold out the United States to China."

Important: See Newsmax TV now carried in 70 million cable homes, on DirecTV Ch. 349, Dish Network Ch. 216, Xfinity Ch. 1115, Spectrum, U-verse Ch. 1220, FiOS Ch. 615, Optimum Ch. 102, Cox cable, Suddenlink Ch. 102, CenturyLink 1209, Mediacom Ch. 277, Frontier 615 or Find More Cable Systems – Click Here.

[Oct 25, 2020] Twitter Nukes Alleged Hunter Biden Sex Tape After Letting Borat-Giuliani Sex Scene Trend

Notable quotes:
"... The "real issue" is the elite culture that produced and supports Biden. Looking at the family, you can tell it's just a bunch of degenerate mobster politicians. They're not even good at what they do. Who's behind them? Who is pushing Joe forward? ..."
"... It's a vampire squid of globo-homo kleptocracy and militant neoliberalism. Unfortunately the only other contender is our ziostooge DJT. ..."
"... I wouldn't call it the "elite culture" but one created by the CIA/FBI. They know who's doing what to whom and for how long and they've got the pictures, videos and confessions to prove it. If those agencies aren't shutdown or cleaned up, it won't matter who we elect...they will control them. ..."
"... It's a "culture" because it involves thousands of people: bureaucrats, journalists, politicians, attorneys, businessmen, bankers, and religious leaders. There is a conspiracy, but most of these people instictively know what to do and don't require orders. This basic class of people has been in power since Woodrow Wilson was put in the WH by Baruch and House. ..."
"... The politicians are like the Intel Agencies' zoo animals. ..."
Oct 25, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

A few days ago, the MSM and their political allies in the Democratic Party celebrated the release of a "compromising" photo appearing to show former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani with his hands down his pants. Giuliani claimed that he was merely retucking in his shirt after removing some recording equipment, but nevertheless, the whole news cycle played out in full view of the public as social media giants like Twitter and Facebook looked the other way, allowing the photo, and links to news stories covering the controversy (orchestrated by "Borat" prankster Sasha Baron Cohen) to circulate widely.

However, just days later, a Chinese digital media company has published footage showing a man who looks identical to Hunter Biden engaging in a sex fetish act with an unidentifiable woman (along with a photo purporting to show what appears to be the same man engaging in sex with a Ukrainian prostitute). But instead of allowing discussion and links to the video to circulate, Twitter has scrubbed all links and photos related to the video and story, and is suspending accounts that appear to be trying to spread the video or screenshots from the footage.

Some background: Late Saturday afternoon, a mysterious link surfaced on Reddit purporting to be the vaunted Hunter Biden sex tape - or at least, one of the Hunter Biden sex tapes (whispers about more footage have so far gone unsubstantiated).

In it, a naked Hunter Biden can be seen, smoking crack, and laying with an unidentified woman, possibly a prostitute. The woman's face is blurred out, making it impossible to tell whether or not she appeared to be underage.

The video itself was posted by a news site purporting to be an anti-CCP intelligence operation called G-TV, which is also tied to Guo Wengui, the Chinese billionaire dissident who is close to Steve Bannon (Bannon was reportedly arrested after a visit on Guo's yacht in Connecticut).

Interested parties can find the video here .

Footage of the sex act is preceded by footage of Guo Wengui at the national press club raging over a Chinese takeover of the US, "9/11 times a thousand," he says, before transitioning to a screed slamming Western politicians who collaborate with the CCP, and warning about the dangers of American kleptocrats falling sway to CCP "influence" (blackmail etc).

During the opening minutes if the video, Hunter can be heard complimenting the woman on her technique. "That's so professional," Hunter exclaims. "You can't even find that on there," he laughs as he gestures toward something off camera.

A few minutes in, the man who is allegedly Hunter Biden can be seen firing up a crack pipe.

The reaction on Twitter was swift. Users who tried to share the link and photos were quickly blocked (even though Twitter famously allows porn and nudity). Some cracked jokes about Hunter Biden receiving what appeared to be a 'footjob', while shrugging off the video as simply evidence that Biden has been victimized by revenge porn.

Others simply noted the disparity in treatment between the Hunter Biden story and the "Borat" revelations about Giuliani, and wondered aloud how Twitter might be handling this if those photos were of Donald Trump Jr., not Hunter Biden.

Of course, twitter didn't simply ignore the Giuliani photo; the news became one of the top trending topics (thanks to the fact that Twitter's user-base skews toward young leftists).

At any rate, the group that released the footage and the above-mentioned screenshot are promising to release more compromising material, while the MSM and Big Tech rallies to Hunter Biden's defense.

rtb61 , 2 hours ago

It is not like you were not warned before hand and could have investigated how Biden stole the primary through postal votes, when Gabbard by proposing new legislation to block that electoral fraud. The corporate Democrats are utter ****e, worse than the Republicans and the Libertarians are way better than the Republicans and of course in the USA the Greens are by far the best of them all (what a real political party should look and of course be like and just corruptly and ruthlessly attacked by the corporate Democrats showing how truly evil the corporate Demcrats are, denying Americans democracy).

Krink26 , 3 hours ago

What a train wreck. The real issue is his father. He sold out the second highest seat in the land. And he'd do it all again if he gets into the top spot.

TBT or not TBT , 3 hours ago

His dad had the presidential level judgement to bring this mess of a person on Air Force 2 diplomatic missions to corrupt countries to be the point man for family deal making. Stellar judgement!

Propaganda Phil , 1 hour ago

What? You don't want to see pics of Hunter smoking crack in the White House?

Didymus , 3 hours ago

The "real issue" is the elite culture that produced and supports Biden. Looking at the family, you can tell it's just a bunch of degenerate mobster politicians. They're not even good at what they do. Who's behind them? Who is pushing Joe forward?

It's a vampire squid of globo-homo kleptocracy and militant neoliberalism. Unfortunately the only other contender is our ziostooge DJT.

Gerrilea , 3 hours ago

I wouldn't call it the "elite culture" but one created by the CIA/FBI. They know who's doing what to whom and for how long and they've got the pictures, videos and confessions to prove it. If those agencies aren't shutdown or cleaned up, it won't matter who we elect...they will control them.

Didymus , 2 hours ago

It's a "culture" because it involves thousands of people: bureaucrats, journalists, politicians, attorneys, businessmen, bankers, and religious leaders. There is a conspiracy, but most of these people instictively know what to do and don't require orders. This basic class of people has been in power since Woodrow Wilson was put in the WH by Baruch and House.

palmereldritch , 1 hour ago

The politicians are like the Intel Agencies' zoo animals.

[Oct 25, 2020] Blaming Russia for Hunter's problems was a big misstep, Joe, and it may prove to be your downfalld by Micah Curtis

Oct 25, 2020 | www.rt.com

is a game and tech journalist from the US. Aside from writing for RT, he hosts the podcast Micah and The Hatman, and is an independent comic book writer. Follow Micah at @MindofMicahC

23 Oct, 2020 15:07 / Updated 1 day ago Get short URL Blaming Russia for Hunter's problems was a big misstep, Joe, and it may prove to be your downfall © Getty Images / David McNew / Staff 203 Follow RT on RT Joe Biden recently suggested that stories circulating about his son Hunter were part of a Russian disinformation campaign. Whatever he has or hasn't been up to, blaming another nation is unwise and won't go down well with voters.

It's safe to say that Hunter Biden, the son of former vice president and current presidential candidate Joe Biden, is having a rough time. After the contents of his laptop, including details of his international business dealings, came into the public domain, it transpired that the computer had been the subject of a subpoena in a money-laundering investigation. Now, former business partners are beginning to turn on him, and one of them has said that he's turning " everything " over to the FBI and the Senate. Another one claimed that Biden was consulted with regard to Hunter's foreign deals.

During the second and final presidential debate, Biden made a key mistake when it came to addressing these issues. Instead of simply stating that he had no comment to make, he decided to blame Russia for the fact that Hunter's emails had been leaked from the laptop's hard drive. Ah yes. So we're back to that old 'reliable' narrative. I'm assuming that Joe may have missed the embarrassment that was the Mueller investigation .

Maybe Biden doesn't like Russia. Whether he does or doesn't is inconsequential. It is a very bad idea to blame his problems on a foreign power. In fact, it's not the proper behavior of someone who wants to be president. Here's the truth. Hunter Biden's dealings across the pond likely had some issues. It's hard to say exactly what these might be, because there's an ongoing investigation. I don't think that Biden is so dumb that he doesn't realize that this hurts his chances of the presidency. However, there is a big lack of responsibility here. Blaming what's happening on anyone except Hunter is a bit silly. I'd even argue that it's incredibly irresponsible.

ALSO ON RT.COM By backing censorship of Hunter Biden story, mainstream media only hurt their own cause

What's even more obvious is the desperation. Biden and the Democrats in general want this story, whatever it is, to be squashed. It's why you have seen so little coverage on left-leaning TV networks. If Donald Trump Jr was in a similar situation it would be a story on every single one of them, and likely the subject of a Don Lemon lecture or five.

What Biden may not realize is that when voters see something being blamed on Russia, they tend to roll their eyes. It invokes the image of Boris and Natasha grabbing a laptop in the hopes of finally grabbing the moose and squirrel. It's cartoonish. And what happens if the worst-case scenario for Biden comes true and his son is indicted for something? Well, at that point it's more than just a ' Russian disinformation campaign' . It's very real indeed.

And this is where Biden could end up with plenty of egg on his face. If he and his son are in trouble, then no amount of blaming another country is going to change that. And it wouldn't surprise me if this becomes a major factor in the upcoming election. Why would you vote for someone who can't, or won't, take responsibility for what is going on with their own family?

What Biden needs to do at this point is come clean on what his level of involvement was, and simply be a dad to his son instead of a politician. Then again, Biden has been a politician longer than he's been a father, so it's hard saying which hat he plans on wearing for the next two weeks.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

MakeAmericaFree 1 day ago The world is witness to the blatant corruption and deceit at the highest levels of American government. Trump has tried to clean things up and he has a lot more left to do. We should wish him well in those efforts. I am starting to think Attorney General William Barr has capitulated though. Where are all the indictments, Mr. Barr? Reply 14 ariadnatheo MakeAmericaFree 1 day ago Barr? The CIA offspring? He does what he is told, not necessarily by his official boss SJMan333 1 day ago If Joe is running against another regular Republican politician, Hunter Biden's corruption would have been a non-issue. The US politics is a cesspool of corruption, money laundering, sex and all forms of moral decay. Each politician is in it for self-serving purposes. Position, power, money, etc etc. A big section of naive Americans believe their politicians are there to serve the people's interests. Politicians from both sides of the aisle have a tacit understanding NOT to cross a red line. They will never accuse their opponents of corruption. 'You make your money, I make mine.' is their omerta. They put up huge shows of debating with each other in public purportedly in defense of the people's welfare and benefits. Behind closed door, they celebrate their loots from the nation's tax money and illegal brides from businesses in camaraderie together. I don't like Trump. But his exposure of the alleged crimes of the Biden family is something to be applauded, even he's doing it for self-serving purposes. DukeLeo 1 day ago Joe Biden is using Hillary's methods. Not wise. You don't use the same fraud twice. shadow1369 DukeLeo 1 day ago Well the CIA have used the same lies for 75 years. White Elk shadow1369 1 day ago Must be a bit worn out by now. Reply 2 shadow1369 White Elk 1 day ago You would think so, you would also think that everybody would have seen through them by now, but not at all. The CIA orchestrated coup in Kiev used exactly the same methods as the one they orchestrated in Iran in 1953. The details of Operation Ajax are now publicly available, but few bother to look into it. allan Kaplan White Elk 1 day ago Not worn out but perfected! Lois Winters 1 day ago I am not surprised at anything Biden says after seeing his performance in these debates. He is obviously a tired old man and relies on sheafs of notes with the same old so called empathic statements to the citizens of America. It is a wonder that he's a presidential candidate at all. After all the original candidates finally were eliminated, no one but these two want this thankless job. allan Kaplan 1 day ago Now that the shameless "mind managers" the msm propagandists are in the opens, we, the people (an old cliche) must start making noises of holding these anti-American mouth pieces accountable. Compel to change the FCC Rules to take away their broadcasting licensees, penalized those self proclaimed journalists of zero integrities, jailed most of them, and never again allow such ego bloated nincompoops ever to come near the radio and TV stations and banned them from entering any newspaper offices as well. Other punitive measures must be enacted to deface and disregard these paid mouths of fake news and disinformation msm Complex! I'm starting a business of manufacturing toilet bowls and the pubic urinals with the faces impregnated into the ceramic of all those who exploited American freedom of speech to advance their personal careers and that would certainly include almost all the politicians and the tech giants etc. What do you think as a statement to test the real FREE SPEECH?

[Oct 25, 2020] Delaware GOP Senate Candidate Says Sen. Chris Coons' Daughter is 'Featured on Hunter's Laptop'

Oct 25, 2020 | www.thegatewaypundit.com


 Lauren Witzke @LaurenWitzkeDE US Senate candidate, DE BIG BREAKING NEWS: "Sources close to and with deep knowledge of the investigation, have informed me that Chris Coons' DAUGHTER in addition to seven other underage girls are also featured on [Hunter Biden's] laptop." 1:22 PM · Oct 24, 2020 5.2K 4.4K people are T

[Oct 25, 2020] Insiders Spill the Beans on Dirty Trick the FBI DOJ Employed to Rig the Hunter Biden Laptop Investigation

Oct 25, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com


3 play_arrow

Cracker Pipes , 29 minutes ago

CCP Hunter Biden sex/crack tape just dropped...

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/10/go-chinas-gtv-releases-videos-hunter-biden-sex-tapes-smoking-crack/

aspen1880 , 11 minutes ago

there has been no gov accountability in the USA for any party since Abe

ponchoramic , 19 minutes ago

Only people who are genuinely interested in the skulduggery will understand the reality of any political situation. The rest of the public will just scratch & sniff their way through.

General public sentiment: It's politics, they're all the same. Bunch of liars. Lalala.

[Oct 25, 2020] The Devil doesn't steal souls. They are sold by their owners.

Oct 25, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

IRC162 , 3 hours ago

The Democrat party is an existential threat to the United States of America

Cheap Chinese Crap , 3 hours ago

And, no, I don't feel bad for R. Hunter Biden, nor is he a victim.

He is a WLLLING PARTICIPANT in his father's vast corruption schemes and lived mega-large while the living was good.

The Devil doesn't steal souls. They are sold by their owners.

He could have walked away but he didn't.

And it makes me wonder how corrupt his brother was since that was Joe's fair-haired boy until he died from spending too much time on a cell phone.

Make_Mine_A_Double , 2 hours ago

Yeahhhh, might have to revisit the autopsy and death certificate on that one.

Though Hunter didn't waste any time bangin' deceased bros wifey - what a fambly.

Anno Domini , 3 hours ago

The Hunter sex stuff merely illustrates that there is mega Kompromat on the Bidens. It gets worse.

Here, just 2 weeks after DJT wins the White House, old Joe is recorded telling Ukraine's leader to clean up the evidence BEFORE Trump gets wind of it. This is it. Pure guilt on display-- it's always the coverup.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/10/released-biden-call-ukraine-november-2016-election-shows-biden-pressuring-president-poroshenko-end-burisma-investigation/Biden corruption.

SurfingUSA , 3 hours ago

Your link just goes to a .jpg

I think you mean this:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/10/released-biden-call-ukraine-november-2016-election-shows-biden-pressuring-president-poroshenko-end-burisma-investigation/

Go down to "Biden secret phone call," or straight to this Twitter link:

https://twitter.com/Rob60965449/status/1320134533803638784

Anno Domini , 3 hours ago

Thanx.

lwilland1012 , 3 hours ago

Means nothing without INDICTMENTS! Get off your keister and do something useful for once in your life, Barr, you sad Swamp sack of garbage!

Totally_Disillusioned , 3 hours ago

The Bidens are so owned by the Chinese CCP it's almost unfathomable...and they are so stupid.

aspnaz , 2 hours ago

Worrying about Russians while the CCP are infesting the country.

Totally_Disillusioned , 3 hours ago

Hunter is free and 21 yrs old and can engage in any sexual perversions with a consenting adult. What he can't do however is sell his father's political influence to foreign govts. That's treason.

quanttech , 3 hours ago

correct, and all the sex stuff takes the focus away from the financial crimes.

Templar X , 3 hours ago

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

...For years, I watched one betrayal after another, as politicians like Joe Biden sold out American Workers at every turn -- shattering the lives of millions of American families while THEIR families raked in millions of dollars...

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1319822460443750402

Kefeer , 3 hours ago

Where is the story about the rental car return and the left behind crack-pipe? Remember that story - Hertz? 2016

Report: Cocaine Pipe Found In Joe Biden Son's Rental Car In 2016 (fisrt 45 seconds or so (Watter's World)

[Oct 25, 2020] China's Elite-Capture Strategy The Bidens -

Oct 25, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

China's Elite-Capture Strategy & The Bidens

by Tyler Durden Sat, 10/24/2020 - 22:30 Twitter Facebook Reddit Email Print

Authored by Clive Hamilton and Mareike Ohlberg via The Epoch Times,.

Excerpted from the book: 'Hidden Hand: Exposing How the Chinese Communist Party Is Reshaping the World'

In 2018 the well-connected Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin pointed out that China had been building networks of influence in the United States over many years, and that the U.S. government "is preparing for the possibility that the Chinese government will decide to weaponize" them to get what it wants. (Although Beijing is not known to use Russian-style "active measures" in the West, deploying them is only a matter of political calculation.)

One of the CCP's most auda­cious penetration operations, Chinagate in 1996, saw a top intelligence operative meeting a naive President Clinton in the White House, along with donations to the Clinton campaign made through people with ties to the Chinese military.

Beijing has been working to gain influence in the U.S. Congress since the 1970s. Through the activities of the CCP's International Liaison Department, and Party-linked bodies like the China Association for International Friendly Contact, China has made some influential friends. Nevertheless, Congress has for the most part remained skeptical of China, although its voice has been muted at times by the influence of "pro-China" members. The president, the White House, the bureaucracy, think tanks, and business lobby groups have all been targeted by Beijing, to good effect.

Democratic Presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden gestures as he speaks during the final presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 22, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

Until recently, almost all players in Washington D.C. and beyond were convinced by the "peaceful rise of China" trope, and the value of "constructive engagement." The common belief was that as China developed economically, it would naturally morph into a liberal state. This view was not without foundation, because the more liberal factions within the CCP did struggle with the hardliners, but in the U.S. it reinforced a kind of institutional naivety that was exploited by Beijing. Many of those who stuck to this view even after the evidence pointed firmly to the contrary had a strong personal investment in defending Beijing.

The billionaire businessman and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg was a late entrant in the contest to become the 2020 Democratic Party candidate for U.S. president. He is the most Beijing-friendly of all aspirants. With extensive investments in China, he opposes the tariff war and often speaks up for the CCP regime.

https://lockerdome.com/lad/13084989113709670?pubid=ld-dfp-ad-13084989113709670-0&pubo=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com&rid=www.zerohedge.com&width=890

Former Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg addresses his staff and the media after announcing that he will be ending his campaign, in New York City, on March 4, 2020. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

His media company has suppressed stories critical of CCP leaders, and Bloomberg himself claimed in 2019 that "Xi Jinping is not a dictator" because he has to satisfy his constituency.

The Washington Post 's Josh Rogin argued that "his [Bloomberg's] misreading of the Chinese government's character and ambitions could be devastating for U.S. national security and foreign policy. He would be advocating for a naive policy of engagement and wishful thinking that has already been tried and failed."

In May 2019 Joe Biden distinguished himself from all of the other candidates for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination by ridiculing the idea that China is a strategic threat to the United States. "China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man," he told a campaign crowd in Iowa City. Biden had for years adopted a soft approach to China. When President Obama's secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, was taking a tougher position towards China's adventurism in Asia, Vice President Biden was urging caution. Biden had formed a warm personal relationship with Xi Jinping when Xi was vice president and president-in-waiting.

Hunter Biden (R) with then President Barack Obama (L) and Vice President Joe Biden during a college basketball game at the Verizon Center in Washington on Jan. 30, 2010. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

In his second term, Obama replaced Clinton as secretary of state with the more accommodating John Kerry. The dynamics help to explain why Obama's 2012 "pivot to Asia" was a damp squib. The United States stood back while China annexed islands and features in the South China Sea and built military bases on them, something Xi had promised Obama he would not do. Breaking the promise has given China an enormous strategic advantage.

Joe Biden cleaves to the belief, now abandoned by many China scholars and most Washington politicians, that engagement with China will entice it into being a responsible stakeholder. The University of Pennsylvania's D.C. think tank -- named, for him, the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement -- aims to address threats to the liberal international order, yet China is absent from the threats identified on its website : Russia, climate change and terrorism. Biden has spoken about China's violation of human rights but still clings to the idea of China's "peaceful rise."

So does it matter if Joe Biden has a different view of China? It does, because there is evidence that the CCP has been currying his favor by awarding business deals that have enriched his son, Hunter Biden. One account of this is given by Peter Schweizer in his 2019 book "Secret Empires." Some of his key claims were subsequently challenged and Schweizer refined them in an op-ed in the New York Times (famous for fact-checking). In short, when Vice President Biden travelled to China in December 2013 on an official trip, his son flew with him on Airforce Two. While Biden senior was engaging in soft diplomacy with China's leaders, Hunter was having other kinds of meetings. Then, "less than two weeks after the trip, Hunter's firm which he founded with two other businessmen [including John Kerry's stepson] in June 2013, finalized a deal to open a fund, BHR Partners, whose largest shareholder is the government-run Bank of China, even though he had scant background in private equity."

The Bank of China is owned by the state and controlled by the CCP. Hunter Biden's exact role in the company is disputed, but one expert has said that his share in it would be worth around $20 million.

NEVER MISS THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST

ZEROHEDGE DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX

Receive a daily recap featuring a curated list of must-read stories.

However, the point here is not the ethics of the Bidens (as the news media have framed it) but the way in which the CCP can influence senior politicians. This "corruption by proxy," in which top leaders keep their hands clean while their family members exploit their association to make fortunes, has been perfected by the "red aristocracy" in Beijing .

Cover of the book "Hidden Hand" by Clive Hamilton and Mareike Ohlberg.

In the crucial years 2014 and 2015, Beijing was aggressively expanding into the South China Sea while Obama, Kerry, and Biden were sitting on their hands...

  • 46
  • 11027

2 play_arrow e-man , 1 hour ago

" Chinagate in 1996, saw a top intelligence operative meeting a naive President Clinton in the White House"

I wonder how much a naive President Clinton got for selling out America.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States%E2%80%93China_Relations_Act_of_2000

Soloamber , 1 hour ago

Exactly correct and some of the biggest enemies the USA has are inside the fence .

They include most MSM , "higher education ' , climate change con men , and all levels of government

that are infiltrated or bought .

The intel agencies see the political gong show as theatre to be ignored unless they stage a coup like the one on Trump .

Oldwood , 1 hour ago

Globalism is not nationalism. It pervades all economies, all borders.

This election is NOT a choice between democrat and republican. It is a war to retain America as a constitutional sovereign republic versus capitulation to a globalist regime comprised of unelected elitist organizations unaccountable to anyone. A illusory democracy will remain, where voting will be simply a certification of indoctrinated themes and agendas, and contradictory voices will be expunged as threats to peace and "harmony ", if acknowledged at all.

NoDebt , 1 hour ago

In his second term, Obama replaced Clinton as secretary of state with the more accommodating John Kerry.

Because there are some thing so distasteful even a Clinton won't do them?

Sinophile , 35 minutes ago

Neolib: Russia, Russia, Russia.....

Neocon: China, China, China.....

Redpilled: DC, DC,DC.....

Only one of the three admits the truth.

Russia did not destroy America.

China did not destroy America.

Washington DC destroyed Amerika.

Handful of Dust , 57 minutes ago

Allegedly, Bloomberg himself is in some of those videos of Pedo Parties with underage Chinese girls.

The FBI will crucify a soccer Mom for trying to get her baby daughter into college, yet ignores widespread pedophilia of some of our top politicians and their sons.

Soloamber , 1 hour ago

Biden was in political power the entire time millions of USA jobs were sent to China .

Pay back is a bitch especially when your kid gets rich from pay to play .

Whiskey Tango Texas , 1 minute ago

An anti-CCP group called "The New Federal State of China" is now releasing Hunter Biden sex tape footage in order to show the depth of CCP infiltration and how compromised / owned the Bidens are specifically.

They claim to be dropping new stuff every hour.

https://thedonald.win/p/11PVkKV2gr/hunter-bidens-sex-tapes-the-ccps/

Shemp 4 Victory , 1 hour ago

Two China-bashing neocons getting an excerpt of drivel from their book printed in Falun Gong's propaganda megaphone The Epoch Times - what an amazing coincidence.

Well, I suppose weekend Tyler must have bills to pay like anyone else...

East Indian , 1 hour ago

You may expose the hidden hand or any other part of anatomy, but people of America do not seem to care or notice; if they ever notice, then that story is disappeared by the tech giants; and if the story escapes black out, then a counter-story breaks, whereby America will be caught doing the same things in China...

The time for taking a firm stand is approaching. Whosoever takes a firm stand will survive...

Parrotile , 1 hour ago

Big drama! The Chinese are copying US decades-old policy!

Yes, Non-Communist China is certainly reshaping the World, despite the US's efforts to stop them (which includes the US -made "China Virus" - NO credible evidence that there was any "leak" from the Wuhan facility, but ZeroHedge just keeps on trotting out the anti-China rhetoric to keep the Republican cretinocracy happy!)

America drops record quantities of munitions on those who don't bend the knee to their "rulers", whilst China has the One Belt, One Road program (and by fortifying the Spratley Island chain, has shown that they are very aware of how the US goaded Japan into the Pearl Harbour incident.

China provides added value via trade, the US indulges in frank piracy.

When the end comes (and it will), may your God help you, since you may rest assured that the rest of the civilised World will be cheering in the streets (and rightly so).

[Oct 25, 2020] Jaw-Dropping Report Details Chinese State-Owned Company's Partnership With Biden, Kerry Families by Jennifer Van Laar

Oct 23, 2020 | redstate.com

(This is the first in a series of articles exploring Hunter Biden and Chris Heinz's business dealings with Chinese entities. Additional reporting and research have been provided by RedState's Scott Hounsell . Links to additional pieces are at the bottom.)

A nearly 60-page intelligence report dated October 2 and provided to RedState late Wednesday, October 21 details the relationship between multiple Chinese State-Owned Entities (SOE's) and companies owned by Hunter Biden, Chris Heinz (stepson of former Secretary of State John Kerry), Devon Archer, James Bulger, and suspected Chinese intelligence asset Michael Lin. Despite what Hunter Biden's attorney claimed in 2019 , Hunter started traveling to China shortly before the Big Guy became Vice President and signed contracts with SOE's while the Big Guy was Vice President.

According to Christopher Balding, Associate Professor at Peking University HSBC School of Business Shenzhen – who notes that he did not vote for Donald Trump in 2016 and will not be voting for him this year – who reviewed the report before publication:

Lost among the salacious revelations about laptop provenance is the more mundane reality of influence and money of major United States political figures. Ill-informed accusations of Russian hacking and disinformation face the documented reality of a major Chinese state financial partnership with the children of major political figures. A report by an Asian research firm raises worrying questions about the financial links between China and Hunter Biden.

Beginning just before Joe Biden's ascendancy to the Vice Presidency, Hunter Biden was traveling to Beijing meeting with Chinese financial institutions and political figures would ultimately become his investors. Finalized in 2013, the investment partnership included money from the Chinese government, social security, and major state-owned banks a veritable who's who of Chinese state finance.

It is not simply the state money that should cause concern but the structures and deals that took place. Most investment in specific projects came from state-owned entities and flowed into state-backed projects or enterprises.

According to the report Hunter Biden made incredible profits for essentially doing nothing, including a tidy sum off of a copper mine in the Congo and another healthy bundle for allowing the Bank of China to allocate its share of an IPO in Hong Kong to his venture capital firm, BHR. So he's either the world's savviest investor or there are some shenanigans/influence-peddling going on.

These activities were directed by people at the highest levels of the Chinese Communist Party, according to the report.

The entire arrangement speaks to Chinese state interests. Meetings were held at locations that in China speak to the welcoming of foreign dignitaries or state to state relations. The Chinese organizations surrounding Hunter Biden are known intelligence and influence operatives to the United States government. The innocuous names like Chinese People's Institute for Foreign Affairs exist to " carry out government-directed policies and cooperative initiatives with influential foreigners without being perceived as a formal part of the Chinese government."

Balding, an American who lived in China for nine years, says of the report's veracity:

I did not write the report and I am not responsible for the report. I have gone over the report with a fine-tooth comb and can find nothing factually wrong with the report. Everything is cited and documented. Arguably the only weakness is that we do not have internal emails between Chinese players or the Chinese and Bidens that would make explicit what the links clearly imply.

Among the other revelations in the report:

Balding says this information is easily discoverable, that "there is no secret method for discovering this data other than actually looking," and that knowing how the Chinese government operates, the links between Beijing and the Bidens are very worrisome:

Having lived in China for nine years throughout the Xi regime's construction of concentration camps and having witnessed first hand their use of influence and intelligence operations, the Biden links worry me profoundly.

Whether Joe Biden personally knew the details, a very untenable position, it is simply political malpractice to not be aware of the details of these financial arrangements. These documentable financial links simply cannot be wished away.

The entire report can be read here .

Part 2: Hunter, Joe Biden's 2013 China Trip Overlapped With Ukrainian Delegation

Part 3: State-Owned Bank of China is Majority Owner of Hunter Biden's Venture Capital Firm

Part 4: Hunter Biden's Company Partnered With Chinese Military to Acquire Stealth Tech, Assisted By The Big Guy and John Kerry

[Oct 24, 2020] Rep. Gosar Calls To Defund NPR As Backlash Grows Over Biden Laptop Coverup

Oct 24, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

Rep. Gosar Calls To Defund NPR As Backlash Grows Over Biden Laptop Coverup

by Tyler Durden Fri, 10/23/2020 - 14:40 Twitter Facebook Reddit Email Print

Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar has called for defunding National Public Radio after the outlet officially refused to cover the Hunter Biden laptop scandal (while happily peddling anti-Trump rumors for years) - calling it a ' waste of time. '

"It's time to defund @NPR. This is appalling. #DefundNPR," Gosar tweeted on Thursday.

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1319295742092013580&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Frep-gosar-calls-defund-npr-backlash-grows-over-biden-laptop-coverup&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

Gosar joins a growing chorus of conservative voices who are furious over the outlet's decision to censor perhaps the biggest political bombshell in decades .

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1319291578477805576&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Frep-gosar-calls-defund-npr-backlash-grows-over-biden-laptop-coverup&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

As Jack Phillips of the Epoch Times notes:

NPR public editor Kelly McBride published an inquiry on its website Thursday from a listener who did not understand why the outlet was ignoring the story.

"Someone please explain why NPR has apparently not reported on the Joe Biden, Hunter Biden story in the last week or so that Joe did know about Hunter's business connections in Europe that Joe had previously denied having knowledge?" listener Carolyn Abbott asked.

about:blank

about:blank

me title=

McBride responded in saying there are "many, many red flags" in an investigation carried out by the New York Post, which last week published reports that were sourced from the alleged laptop hard drive. NPR then went on to repeat claims that Russia is attempting to interfere in the election.

" Even if Russia can't be positively connected to this information, the story of how Trump associates Steve Bannon and Rudy Giuliani came into a copy of this computer hard drive has not been verified and seems suspect. And if that story could be verified, the NY Post did no forensic work to convince consumers that the emails and photos that are the basis for their report have not been altered," McBride said, adding: "But the biggest reason you haven't heard much on NPR about the Post story is that the assertions don't amount to much."

Her response included a statement from NPR managing editor Terence Samuel.

" We don't want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories , and we don't want to waste the listeners' and readers' time on stories that are just pure distractions. And quite frankly, that's where we ended up, this was a politically driven event and we decided to treat it that way," Samuel said.

The claims that the reports are part of a Russian disinformation plot were dismissed by Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe.

The FBI, meanwhile, did not dispute Ratcliffe's statements earlier this week.

FBI Assistant Director Jill C. Tyson sent a letter to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, in response to Johnson's request for more information about the emails, reports around which have alleged that Hunter Biden tried to introduce a Ukrainian businessman to his father when he served as vice president in the Obama administration. The law enforcement agency said it has "nothing to add at this time" to Ratcliffe's statement.

A number of conservatives and allies of President Donald Trump criticized NPR following its decision to publish the inquiry .

NEVER MISS THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST

ZEROHEDGE DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX

Receive a daily recap featuring a curated list of must-read stories.

" Wow. Foreign corruption from a major party is not considered news for taxpayer-funded #fakenews NPR, " wrote the America First PAC on Twitter in response.

It came as Twitter and Facebook also announced they would either block or limit the reach of the NY Post's reports. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany's account and a Trump campaign account were also blocked. The Senate Judiciary Committee, as a result, voted to issue subpoenas on Thursday to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to appear before the committee after raising concerns about censorship and election interference.

Biden's campaign has denied that he ever met with a Ukrainian gas company official, which was allegedly revealed in a trove of emails that purportedly were found on a laptop hard drive belonging to his son, Hunter, who sat on the company's board while his father was the vice president. The NY Post also obtained a hard drive containing the emails from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Other allegations have surfaced in recent reports over the days, including from a former Hunter Biden associate who confirmed the legitimacy of an email.

"The Attorney General of Delaware's office indicated that the FBI has 'ongoing investigations regarding the veracity of this entire story.' And it would be unsurprising for an investigation of a disinformation action involving Rudy Giuliani and those assisting him to involve questions about money laundering, especially since there are other documented inquiries into his dealings," the campaign said.

TheFederalistPapers , 22 minutes ago

I work way too hard to fund these ****ers. NPR is owned by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and sneak a peek at their Board of Directors https://www.cpb.org/aboutcpb/leadership/board

Jeremy Roenick , 22 minutes ago

NPR = Tax payer funded propaganda

[Oct 24, 2020] Full statement by Tony Bobulinski on his business dealings with Biden and the Chinese.

Oct 24, 2020 | www.moonofalabama.org

Down South , Oct 22 2020 19:39 utc | 15

https://m.facebook.com/wxyzdetroit/posts/10157530043341135

Full statement by Tony Bobulinski on his business dealings with Biden and the Chinese.

Down South , Oct 22 2020 19:52 utc | 17

This is big!

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/10/22/biden-whistleblower-emails-chinese-energy-company-gave-5-million-non-secured-forgivable-loan-biden-family/amp/

[Oct 24, 2020] The blockage of Nordstream 2 is about The Dark Heart of Europe not Russia

Oct 24, 2020 | www.unz.com

A123 , says: October 23, 2020 at 3:35 pm GMT

@MLK

Take Nord Stream II. If Trump hadn't taken the oath, it would have been up and running years ago. Would that it were so that this was a gift to Russia and Germany, but it's much worse than that. Why isn't anyone else curious as to who got what in return?

The blockage of Nordstream 2 is about The Dark Heart of Europe not Russia...

This is one of Putin's few serious errors. He would be much better off pushing gas projects that flowed east...

PEACE

AriusArmenian , says: October 23, 2020 at 4:47 pm GMT

Europe is a glove on the US hand and is easily led around by its nose by the CIA and MI6 that infest the MSM and run one false flag after another.

Politicians in the EU are mediocre creatures that crave the dollars stuffed into their pockets by the US. They are enjoying the ride while it lasts until they go down with the US.

[Oct 23, 2020] The Biden/CCP set-up.

Oct 23, 2020 | www.baldingsworld.com

play_arrow No_Pretzel_Logic 9 hours ago (Edited)

Don't know if this was already posted but it looks like a VERY GOOD read. The Biden/CCP set-up.

https://www.baldingsworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/KVBJHB.pdf

Might want to download that PDF....possible it won't be up for long.

[Oct 23, 2020] During the years that Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. was helping the credit card industry win passage of a law making it harder for consumers to file for bankruptcy protection, his son had a consulting agreement that lasted five years with one of the largest companies pushing for the changes...

Oct 23, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

johnny two shoes , 9 hours ago

During the years that Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. was helping the credit card industry win passage of a law making it harder for consumers to file for bankruptcy protection, his son had a consulting agreement that lasted five years with one of the largest companies pushing for the changes...

It was a savage piece of legislation, and Joe Biden even worked to block an amendment that would have offered bankruptcy protection to people with medical debt. The bill also blocked people from discharging private student loan debt under bankruptcy. Total student loan debt was under $400 billion in 2005; it surged in the wake of the law's passage and is now over $1.5 trillion.

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/25/us/politics/25biden.html

https://nypost.com/2019/10/15/joe-bidens-brother-and-son-have-a-long-history-of-profiting-off-his-name/

junction , 9 hours ago

The bank was MBNA. I know from personal experience that MBNA charged a late penalty on online payments for their credit card on the last day due, illegally calling the payment late even though the Federal Reserve Bank has a rule that if you make payment before the cut-off time on the last date due, your payment must be considered as processed that date. MBNA also kept funds that should have been transferred to the state's Abandoned Property Fund, to boost its bottom line while its criminal owners were trying to sell the bank to Bank of America.

[Oct 23, 2020] Bad and very bad news about Biden family

Oct 23, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com


9 play_arrow

Occams_Razor_Trader , 11 hours ago

In Biden Family News:

The Good News: Media reports of Hunter Biden boffing his dead brother's wife

were media exaggerations ..........................

The Bad News: It appears that Hunter Biden was actually molesting his dead brother's 14 year old daughter

FreedomWriter , 10 hours ago

Well, at the risk of sounding tasteless, Joe always liked them young. Why should Hunter be any different?

[Oct 23, 2020] KVBJHB.pdf

Highly recommended!
Oct 23, 2020 | www.baldingsworld.com

1. SUMMARY -3-

2. THE NEXUS OF CHINESE MONEY & INFLUENCE - 4 -

3. HUNTER RECEIVED CHINESE STATE MONEY - 7 -

2010 Hunter Courts Chinese State Money - 7 -

2012 Hunter's First China Deal - Wanxiang - 9 -

2012 - 2013 Hunter's Second China Deal - BHR -10 -

2013 Biden and Hunter visit China and meet BHR CEO LI -11 -

2015 Hunter's Third China Deal - Sino-Ocean -17 -

2012 Archer's China Deal - Sichuan Chemical -17 -

2019 Biden denies knowledge of Hunter's China Deals -18 -

4. HOW BIDEN WAS COMPROMISED BYTHE CPC -19-

Biden Family Compromised -19 -

The Approach -20-

TheStrawman -21-

The Intro - 22 -

Targeted by China's Foreign Influence Organizations - 24 -

Biden and Hunter Mix Business with Politics - 25 -

The Set-Up -26-

Lin Continues to Promote Chinese Culture - 28-

Hunter Cultivated by Chinese Intelligence (Updated) - 31 -

Biden Softens View on China - 32 -

5. THE PLAYERS -33-

HUNTER AND PARTNERS - 33 -

CHINA'S STATE CAPITAL - 34 -

US-CHINATOUCHPOINTS - 39 -

CHINA'S FOREIGN INFLUENCE ORGANIZATIONS - 40 -

6. DETAILED TIMELINE -44-

7. APPENDICES -57-

- 2 -

TYPHOON INVESTIGATIONS PROJECTTIME

1. SUMMARY

l. Joe Biden's compromising partnership with the Communist Part}' of China runs
via Yang Jiechi (CPC's Central Foreign Affairs Commission). YANG met frequently
with BIDEN during his tenure at the Chinese embassy in Washington.

2. Hunter Biden's 2013 Bohai Harvest Rosemont investment partnership was set-up
by Ministry' of Foreign Affairs institutions designed to garner influence with foreign
leaders during YANG's tenure as Foreign Minister.

3. HUNTER has a direct line to the Politburo, according to SOURCE A, a senior
finance professional in China.

4. Michael Lin brokered the BHR partnership and partners with MOFA foreign
influence organizations.

5. LIN is a POI for his work on behalf of China, as confirmed by SOURCE В and
SOURCE С (at two separate national intelligence agencies).

6. BHR is a state managed operation. Leading shareholder in BHR is a Bank of China
and BHR's partners are SOEs that funnel revenue/assets to BHR.

7. HUNTER continues to hold 10% in BHR. He visited China in 2010 and met with
major Chinese government financial companies that would later back BHR.

8. HUNTER's BHR stake (purchased for $400,000) is now likely be worth approx.
$50 million (fees and capital appreciation based on BHR's $6.5 billion AUM).

9. HUNTER also did business with Chinese tycoons linked with the Chinese military
and against the interests of US national security.

10. BIDEN's foreign policy stance towards China (formerly hawkish), has since turned
positive despite China's country's rising geopolitical assertiveness.

[Oct 23, 2020] 'Don't Mention Joe Being Involved' -- New Biden Biz Partner Emerges, Confirms "Big Guy" Was Directly Involved In China Deal

Hunter, Ivanka, and especially Kushner are essentially apples from the same goverment corruption tree. The problem is much deeper the Biden Family of Trump family.
Oct 23, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

Former Hunter Biden business partner Tony Bobulinski has confirmed that an email published in the New York Post 's bombshell exposé is indeed genuine - something the Biden camp hasn't disputed, and that the "Big Guy" described in one of those emails is none other than Joe Biden himself . Bobulinski also says Joe Biden was lying when he said he and Hunter never discussed business dealings.

"My name is Tony Bobulinski. The facts set forth below are true and accurate; they are not any form of domestic or foreign disinformation. Any suggestion to the contrary is false and offensive. I am the recipient of the email published seven days ago by the New York Post, which showed a copy to Hunter Biden and Rob Walker. That email is genuine .' -New York Post

Bobulinski issued the statement late Wednesday, affirming that, contrary to Joe Biden's claims that he never discussed business dealings with Hunter, the former Veep actually profited from his son's dealings, which were undertaken with the full support of the Biden family.

Bobulinski claims cash and equity positions and 10% stakes in dealings were set aside for " the big guy ," - aka Joe Biden .

Bobulinski said: "I've seen Vice President Biden saying he never talked to Hunter about business" - "I've seen firsthand that that's not true."

" I've seen firsthand that that's not true, because it wasn't just Hunter's business, they said they were putting the Biden family name and its legacy on the line."

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1319284479869898760&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fbehind-curtain-biden-biz-partner-confirms-joe-involved-hunters-huge-china-deal&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

What's more, Bobulinski was admonished at one point for mentioning Joe Biden in communications :

https://lockerdome.com/lad/13084989113709670?pubid=ld-dfp-ad-13084989113709670-0&pubo=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com&rid=www.zerohedge.com&width=890

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1319286930287161349&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fbehind-curtain-biden-biz-partner-confirms-joe-involved-hunters-huge-china-deal&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

According to Bobulinski, he was the CEO of Sinohawk Holding, a holding company partnership between now-bankrupt CEFC China Energy Co. and the Biden family. He said the Chinese weren't in partnership for any kind of commercial purpose: they were there to pay for "influence" in the US.

"I realized the Chinese were not really focused on a healthy financial ROI. They were looking at this as a political or influence investment. Once I realized that Hunter wanted to use the company as his personal piggy bank by just taking money out of it as soon as it came from the Chinese, I took steps to prevent that from happening"

In the final weeks of the presidential campaign, Joe Biden has labeled Hunter Biden's emails as a "smear" campaign against him, and Democrats like Adam Schiff have accused these reports of being linked to a Russian intelligence operation, even though intelligence officials have said there's no evidence that this is true.

NEVER MISS THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST

ZEROHEDGE DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX

Receive a daily recap featuring a curated list of must-read stories.

Here is Bobulinski's statement in full ( emphasis ours ):

My name is Tony Bobulinski. The facts set forth below are true and accurate ; they are not any form of domestic or foreign disinformation. Any suggestion to the contrary is false and offensive. I am the recipient of the email published seven days ago by the New York Post which showed a copy to Hunter Biden and Rob Walker. That email is genuine .

This afternoon I received a request from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and the Senate Committee on Finance requesting all documents relating to my business affairs with the Biden family as well as various foreign entities and individuals. I have extensive relevant records and communications and I intend to produce those items to both Committees in the immediate future.

I am the grandson of a 37 year Army Intelligence officer, the son of a 20+ year career Naval Officer and the brother of a 28 year career Naval Flight Officer. I myself served our country for 4 years and left the Navy as LT Bobulinski. I held a high level security clearance and was an instructor and then CTO for Naval Nuclear Power Training Command. I take great pride in the time my family and I served this country. I am also not a political person. What few campaign contributions I have made in my life were to Democrats.

If the media and big tech companies had done their jobs over the past several weeks I would be irrelevant in this story . Given my long standing service and devotion to this great country, I could no longer allow my family's name to be associated or tied to Russian disinformation or implied lies and false narratives dominating the media right now.

After leaving the military I became an institutional investor investing extensively around the world and on every continent. I have traveled to over 50 countries. I believe, hands down, we live in the greatest country in the world.

What I am outlining is fact . I know it is fact because I lived it. I am the CEO of Sinohawk Holdings which was a partnership between the Chinese operating through CEFC/Chairman Ye and the Biden family . I was brought into the company to be the CEO by James Gilliar and Hunter Biden. The reference to "the Big Guy" in the much publicized May 13, 2017 email is in fact a reference to Joe Biden. The other "JB" referenced in that email is Jim Biden, Joe's brother.

Hunter Biden called his dad 'the Big Guy' or 'my Chairman,' and frequently referenced asking him for his sign-off or advice on various potential deals that we were discussing . I've seen Vice President Biden saying he never talked to Hunter about his business. I've seen firsthand that that's not true, because it wasn't just Hunter's business, they said they were putting the Biden family name and its legacy on the line.

I realized the Chinese were not really focused on a healthy financial ROI. They were looking at this as a political or influence investment. Once I realized that Hunter wanted to use the company as his personal piggy bank by just taking money out of it as soon as it came from the Chinese, I took steps to prevent that from happening.

The Johnson Report connected some dots in a way that shocked me -- it made me realize the Bidens had gone behind my back and gotten paid millions of dollars by the Chinese, even though they told me they hadn't and wouldn't do that to their partners.

I would ask the Biden family to address the American people and outline the facts so I can go back to being irrelevant -- and so I am not put in a position to have to answer those questions for them.

I don't have a political ax to grind; I just saw behind the Biden curtain and I grew concerned with what I saw. The Biden family aggressively leveraged the Biden family name to make millions of dollars from foreign entities even though some were from communist controlled China.

God Bless America!!!!

All of which will likely be "muted" in tonight's highly anticipated debate.

  • Truther , 2 hours ago

    So, a presidential candidate with 47 years of non-accomplishments, turns out to be a CCP minion...

    jumpnjon , 2 hours ago

    And the amazing thing is they can't see how idiotic they are. Or they are just plain EVIL.

    FreeMoney , 2 hours ago

    It is TDS or NPC "orange man bad."

    No Democrat is voting FOR Biden. He is obviously corrupt and sun downing.

    Trump is partially trying to wreck the existing system by eliminating regulation, and unwinding bad trade or military support deals. He shoots holes in just about every international organization that the lefties all love unconditionally, UN? WHO? NATO? WTO? while openly discussing tearing apart the lefties favorite charity of open boarders, unlimited welfare, and permanent communist voter block creation.

    Democrats are voting against Trump.

    Deck , 1 hour ago

    The blind delusion and hypocrisy of trumptards never ends.

    Which one of you MAGA-bots want to talk about Ivanka getting sweet business deals in China when she flew there on your dime?

    Which one of you wants to talk about trumps deals there, or Kushner's cushy job where he has influenced policy that has harmed your families and communities?

    Which one of you wants to talk about Trump's Chinese dealing or the taxes he pays there, or that he sells EOs and state department favors at $250,000 a pop out of Mara Lago?

    Non of you care about these things, because both sides do them. The only reason you're talking about this you want YOUR corrupt guy in there, but the reality is showing favoritism to kids is as old as time, in politics and in the private sector.

    Leroy Whitby , 1 hour ago

    In the Biden family, they are both stupid and evil. They are nowhere near as smart as the Obamas or Clintons. The Clintons are just evil. They have heard right and wrong at church and otherwise, and chose to sell out their nation...

    HellKitty , 1 hour ago

    I am still having a hard time to understand why Biden Jr, left his MacBook (not only one, but 3!) at the repair shop and never picked them up. I wish some criminal psychologist stand up and explain that irrational behaviour.

    Stormtrooper , 53 minutes ago

    He was probably high on crack-cocaine when he dropped them off and couldn't remember where he took them

    AutoLode , 52 minutes ago

    If hunter is making millions upon millions can't he buy a new MacBook Pro or dozens of them if he's prone to spilling stuff on them

    and none of his partners are smart enough to tell him to not let go of his hard drives ?

    weird

    CallingDrFraudschi , 1 hour ago

    In order to make an equivalent analogy, you'd have to figure out a way to become business partners with people in Ukraine and in China and make a personal profit from leveraging your political connections all the while selling away the livelihoods of the Americans you purport to support.

    Whilst you may not like the way Trump files & "pays" taxes, it's all legal within the tax code framework here in the US. Selling out your country for millions to Ukraine & China however IS NOT.

    That's treason and sedition!

    BaNNeD oN THe RuN , 1 hour ago

    A WWE wrestling match. If you pretend it is anything else you are deluded.

    Trump gets 4 more years, unless he demands more in exchange for putting up with the abuse that Deep State is prepared to pay. Hence the delay in releasing final election results. For now, it has to appear that it could go either way.

    You think Deep State did not already know what the Bidens and the rest of the Obama crew were up to in 2008-16? Of course they did... the extra grift they collect is part of the reward system for doing as they are told.

    DefinitelyNotAFed , 2 hours ago

    The Clintons are more corrupt than the Biden's. So far, there is no evidence of human trafficking of the kind the Clintons were/are involved in.

    The Biden's real crime is being dumber and getting caught in their treasonous corruption.

    Pandelis , 43 minutes ago

    Bobby Kennedy knew what he was up to and still continued on his fight. John might not have known the full extent of what he was up against, but Bobby certainly did because he saw what happened to his brother etc. It is a long subject it seems to me you are not as tuned in as you think you are... there is plenty out there to read and learn the truth from.

    On trump's minions "communications logged, travel, meeting logged" ... for what?? anybody cares or able to check on them ... get real.

    do they have a security clearance ... ever ask WHY was not able to obtain one?

    without a security clearance and to have the power of the White House beyond you is really corrupt to me ... a bag of money is nothing, here we are talking billions and trillions

    Ex-Oligarch , 1 hour ago

    There's nothing "dirty" about exposing your competitor's misdeeds.

    It is "fighting dirty" to accuse your competitor of things he didn't actually do .

    There doesn't seem to be much dispute that the emails are genuine.

    Also, the media seems to be starting up a counter-narrative that Trump should be focusing on policy disputes rather than Biden's corruption. But Biden himself has been avoiding policy issues because his party is split between far-left extremists and moderates, and he can't afford to alienate either one. He has flip-flopped over and over trying to appease both constituencies. Instead, his strategy has been to present a choice of personalities, in the hope that the public is so fatigued from the constant hostility directed towards Trump and the president's rough style that they will opt for him instead, regardless of his policy positions.

    knightowl77 , 1 hour ago

    Except that the media was FINE with the Dems investigating Trump for 4 years for his Alleged misdeeds.....the misdeeds that were actually done by Klinton & Hiden.

    They even impeached Trump for allegedly doing what Biden actually did in the Ukraine...This FARCE has gone on long enough, and It ALL must be exposed to the public Now!

    For 4 years they have accused Trump of everything that they themselves have actually done. ENOUGH!

    FreedomWriter , 43 minutes ago

    That's a pretty weak strategy for Creepy Joe. Do you think it will stand up when his son is arrested for CP possession, sexual assault, corruption, and human trafficking?

    But then again, we are talking about Dem voters here.

    gordo , 59 minutes ago

    Hunter's laptop reveals

    Joe Biden gets a 10-50% cut of the loot
    Hunter banged his 14 year old niece Natalie while smoking his crack pipe and texted Joe about it.
    Joe Biden gets a cut of the Burisma loot
    Joe Biden gets a cut of the Chinese loot

    The CCP has all the dirt on Joe that makes Epstein look like amateur hour.|

    am I missing anything?

[Oct 22, 2020] Sean Davis on Twitter- -A source with direct knowledge says Tony Bobulinski has provided all relevant Hunter Biden documents, including conversations from Hunter himself about leveraging the family name in business deals with communist China, to congressi

Oct 22, 2020 | twitter.com
Kayleigh McEnany @kayleighmcenany 10h
Lesley Stahl "DISCREDITED HERSELF" She repeatedly cited the Senate GOP Report on Biden corruption @realDonaldTrump : "Do you think it's OK for the mayor of Moscow's wife to give him millions?" Lesley falsely says "no real evidence of that" It's in the VERY report she cites! 225K views 0:02 / 2:14 1.4K 11.3K 25K
10h Jack Posobiec @JackPosobiec 10h
Planning out my afternoon before the debate. Should I go and take a look at Hunter's hard drive today, folks? 1.4K 3.4K 24.1K
10h Rep. Jim Jordan @Jim_Jordan 8h
NPR covered the fake Steele Dossier. But won't cover the real Hunter Biden emails. "Journalism." Quote Tweet NPR Public Editor @NPRpubliceditor · 12h Why haven't you seen any stories from NPR about the NY Post's Hunter Biden story? Read more in this week's newsletter https:// tinyurl.com/y67vlzj2 Show this thread
8h
1.9K 10K 23.7K
8h Megyn Kelly @megynkelly 7h
Actually she tried to mock him (re: the economy) by saying "u know that's not true," & then when he doubled down she retreated: "I'm not going to fact check u now." But she just tried. In an effort to sound tough. & then didn't have her facts ready. Ouch. Lesley Stahl Chides Trump Over Economy Claims in Interview He Stormed Out Of CBS is previewing Lesley Stahl's 60 Minutes interview with Donald Trump, which the president has been raging against ever since he reportedly stormed out in the middle of it. mediaite.com 2.6K 6.2K 23.1K
7h Mollie @MZHemingway 9h
THREAD. Lesley Stahl's completely ignorant and partisan and indefensible performance in this interview is an embarrassment to journalists, while also very typical of journalists. Quote Tweet Byron York @ByronYork · 10h In '60 Minutes' interview, Trump says the Obama administration 'spied on my campaign.' Leslie Stahl tells him, 'There's no real evidence of that.' 1/3 https:// facebook.com/153080620724/p osts/10165668067695725 Show this thread 1.3K 9.5K 21.2K
9h Scott Adams @ScottAdamsSays 13h
How would you like to run for president against an incumbent who did so well on foreign policy that the debates don't even need to include that topic? That's actually happening. 349 6K 20.8K
13h Ronna McDaniel @GOPChairwoman 11h
Last night, Hunter Biden's business partner went *on the record* about corrupt foreign business deals involving the Democrat nominee for President of the United States. How many mentions did the story get on CNN, MSNBC, NBC, ABC and CBS this morning? ZERO. 2K 10K 20.1K
Show this thread 11h
Show this thread
11h Jack Posobiec @JackPosobiec 8h
Biden is already impeachable and he isn't even in office yet And they know it Because Kamala is the real candidate 683 5.1K 19.8K

[Oct 22, 2020] An email dated May 15, 2017 sent from Jim, Joe's brother, to Hunter and his team revealed the list of key domestic contacts for phase one target projects in the Biden family business: Harris, D-Calif.; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo; NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio; former Virginia Gov. Terry McCauliffe

Oct 22, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

Mike K , 8 hours ago

Headline:

"Chinese Energy Firm Gives Biden Crime Family $5 Million "Interest-Free" Loan Through Investment Vehicle Described as 'Consulting Fees' to Hunter Biden."

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/10/chinese-energy-firm-gives-biden-crime-family-5-million-interest-free-loan-investment-vehicle-described-consulting-fees-hunter-biden/

ReadyForHillary , 8 hours ago

That Hunter must be a brilliant guy! He's being paid a fortune to sit on boards and provide consulting to a number of institutions all over the world!

Enraged , 10 hours ago

An email dated May 15, 2017 sent from Jim, Joe's brother, to Hunter and his team revealed the list of key domestic contacts for phase one target projects in the Biden family business: Harris, D-Calif.; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo; NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio; former Virginia Gov. Terry McCauliffe.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/10/new-email-reveals-kamala-harris-top-democrats-listed-key-domestic-contacts-biden-family-business-ventures/

[Oct 21, 2020] Wikipedia and truth

Oct 21, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com


3 play_arrow

Lucky Guesst , 2 hours ago

Hunter Biden's current Wikipedia page.......

Biden served on the board of Burisma Holdings , a major Ukrainian natural gas producer, from 2014 to 2019. He and his father have been the subjects of debunked right-wing conspiracy theories pushed by Donald Trump and his allies concerning Biden business dealings and anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine. [1]

CheapBastard , 2 hours ago

And wiki has the nerve to ask for donations.

[Oct 21, 2020] So, Joe... all of those incriminating emails on your son's laptop aren't proof of "profiting off your family name", huh?

Oct 21, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

J S Bach , 2 hours ago

So, Joe... all of those incriminating emails on your son's laptop aren't proof of "profiting off your family name", huh?

The lying never ceases with these wretches. It's all they know how to do.

Their father in hell awaits them all.

HANGTHEOWL , 2 hours ago

They know to just keep lying,,the media will cover for them and so will the government,,,both sides will,,even though they will make it seem like they are doing something about it,,,,,

snatchpounder , 2 hours ago

Yes the Biden crime family has years of experience yet Boobus Americanus will dutifully line up and vote for the demented old crook.

radical-extremist , 2 hours ago

Because they know they're protected by the Democrat Media Complex.

Reaper , 3 hours ago

Hunter was his father's bagman.

Bay of Pigs , 2 hours ago

Joe's denial isn't going to work. Why?

Evidence, that's why.

markar , 1 hour ago

Hunter used daddie's name to bilk the poor Sioux tribe out of $60 mill in a fraudulent bond deal. His partner Cooney took the fall and is now in prison for it. He's spilling the beans. The other partner in the scam, Devon Archer lost his appeal and is going to prison in Jan for the same crime. Where's Hunter?

[Oct 21, 2020] BOOM! Rudy Giuliani Drops a Bomb -- Joe Biden Broke the Law by NOT Notifying Officials of Hunter's Naked Crack Smoking and Sexual Abuse of Minors

Oct 21, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

Teamtc321 , 2 hours ago

BOOM! Rudy Giuliani Drops a Bomb -- Joe Biden Broke the Law by NOT Notifying Officials of Hunter's Naked Crack Smoking and Sexual Abuse of Minors (VIDEO

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/10/boom-rudy-giuliani-drops-bomb-joe-biden-broke-law-not-notifying-officials-hunters-naked-crack-smoking-sexual-abuse-minors-video/

[Oct 21, 2020] Joe Biden Insists Son Never Profited Off Family Name; Except Hunter And Ex-President Of Poland Say He Did -

Oct 21, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

Joe Biden Insists Son Never Profited Off Family Name; Except Hunter And Ex-President Of Poland Say He Did

by Tyler Durden Wed, 10/21/2020 - 12:25 Twitter Facebook Reddit Email Print

In a Tuesday interview, former Vice President Joe Biden claimed that there was no basis "whatsoever" to claims that his son, Hunter, profited off the family name .

When asked local Wisconsin TV station WISN if there was any legitimacy to comments by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) that Hunter " together with other Biden family members, profited off the Biden name ," the former Vice President replied " None whatsoever, " adding (without finishing the sentence) " This is the same garbage Rudy Giuliani, Trump's henchman... "

"It's the last ditch effort in this desperate campaign to smear me and my family."

https://www.youtube.com/embed/7NDwG-2UqvI?start=280

Except, Hunter admitted he profited off his family name!

"If your last name wasn't Biden, do you think you would've been asked to be on the board of Burisma?" asked ABC News ' Amy Robach in an October 15, 2019 interview.

"I don't know. I don't know. Probably not, in retrospect," said Hunter. " I don't think that there's a lot of things that would have happened in my life if my last name wasn't Biden ," he added, " because my dad was Vice President of the United States. "

"There's literally nothing, as a young man or as a full-grown adult that -- my father in some way hasn't had influence over."

https://www.youtube.com/embed/IFlZPnS0gKc?start=52

What's more, the former President of Poland and Burisma board member Aleksander Kwasniewski said last November that Hunter was picked to sit on the company's board because of his name .

me title=

"I understand that if someone asks me to be part of some project it's not only because I'm so good, it's also because I am Kwasniewski and I am a former president of Poland. ... Being Biden is not bad. It's a good name ," he said.

NEVER MISS THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST

ZEROHEDGE DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX

Receive a daily recap featuring a curated list of must-read stories.

Let's also not glaze over the fact that both Joe and Hunter said that Joe had 'no knowledge' of Hunter's international business dealings, while recently released emails from Hunter's laptop prove that Hunter 'introduced' Joe to a top Burisma executive - a meeting Biden's camp says never happened. Joe also met with a CCP-linked delegation of Chinese investors arranged by Hunter and his business partners, according to emails released by imprisoned ex-Hunter business associate, Bevan Cooney.

  • Banana Republican , 3 hours ago

    I'll tell ya Joe -- it's not Hunter we're after. It's you.
    And you're about to meet your well-deserved demise.

    ALLLIVESSPLATTER , 3 hours ago

    Isn't that what they said about Hillary.

    Banana Republican , 3 hours ago

    Good point. Then again, we don't hear much from her these days.

    Awakened Saxon , 3 hours ago

    Still alive. Still rich. Still unpunished. Still out of prison.

    She won.

    Joeman34 , 3 hours ago

    BS, the fact that she never realized her ultimate dream of becoming President is proof she lost. Fine, she's rich and she's not in prison where she should be. At least history isn't tainted by another Clinton presidency. I still hold out hope her, and Bill's, day of reckoning will come. It's just taking a lot longer than it should.

    BorisTheBlade , 2 hours ago

    Losing power for power-hungry people is a very punishment. She imagined herself first female president and got her desire crushed. That must've hurt quite a bit, not that I sympathize given how many people she crushed.

[Oct 21, 2020] Biden's global pay for play schemes using his drug addict son as bagman spanned Ukraine, Romania, Poland, Kazakhstan

Oct 21, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

markar , 53 minutes ago

Biden's global pay for play schemes using his drug addict son as bagman spanned Ukraine, Romania, Poland, Kazakhstan, and the grand daddy of all, China makes him a national security risk. The fact he's this close to being president is a sad commentary on how far the country has fallen into the abyss.

DefendYourBase4 , 51 minutes ago

what is sad is the FBI do nothing. The FBI is a criminal organization as far as i am concerned, and they are not to be taken seriously. ive already had multiple visits with them and i laugh in their face

markar , 1 hour ago

Joe Biden was the architect of a 1986 crime bill that specifically targeted Blacks with very stiff sentences for small amounts of crack cocaine. Biden is the spawn of the KKK and a long time racist. Look up his vile comments over the years including recently. That BLM supports this scumbag is proof they care little about the well being of Black people.

[Oct 21, 2020] Rudy Giuliani Turns Over Alleged Photos Of Underage Girls From Hunter's Hard Drive To Delaware Police -

Oct 20, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

Things just took a very dark turn in the Hunter Biden laptop scandal.

While the alleged crack, cronyism, corruption was enough to spark the biggest media suppression in history, and no denials whatsoever from the Biden camp, the bombshell that Rudy Giuliani just dropped, if true, is egregious to say the least (not just with regard Hunter Biden but the law enforcement authorities who have allegedly had this information since before Trump's impeachment but done nothing about it).

In an interview this evening with Newsmax TV, former NYC Mayor and current attorney to President Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani announces he has turned over Hunter Biden's laptop hard-drive to Delaware State Police due to pictures of underage girls and inappropriate text messages.

In one of the texts, Hunter Biden allegedly says to his sister-in-law (also his lover) that he face-timed a 14-year-old girl while naked and doing crack - "she told my therapist that I was sexually inappropriate."

Giuliani adds, "this would be with regard an unnamed 14 year old girl," adding that "this is supported by numerous pictures of underage girls."

Watch the full interview below (the above exchange begins around 5:20):

https://www.youtube.com/embed/coFx3ZDXWrg

Furthermore, JustTheNews' John Solomon reports that former New York Police Department commissioner Bernard Kerik joined him when he delivered photographs and text messages to the New Castle County Police Department.

https://lockerdome.com/lad/13084989113709670?pubid=ld-dfp-ad-13084989113709670-0&pubo=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com&rid=www.zerohedge.com&width=890

"I told them other details about what appears to be an inappropriate sexual relationship," he said in an interview. "They told me it would be investigated."

Law enforcement officials in Delaware told Just the News that Giuliani's concerns have been forwarded to the state Department of Justice.

"The FBI has had this for a long time," Giuliani said.

"No indication they did anything about this, so I went to the local police and said, 'What are you going to do about this?'"

Perhaps the most damning statement from Giuliani, with regard the election, was the former mayor alleging that:

"I will tell you the evidence I gave them states it was reported to Joe Biden. What did he do about it?"

Before this is wholly dismissed as yet more Russian disinformation or 'Giuliani' lies, we remind readers that we previously reported that Hunter Biden's alleged laptop contents included a curious piece of evidence - a photograph of an FBI subpoena which bears the signature of the agency's top child porn investigator, special agent Joshua Wilson.

FBI agent Wilson's identity was confirmed by both