Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Heavily Armed Clowns

Circus Goers,

One week after President Trump accused Saudi Arabia of deliberately conspiring to drive up oil prices during his speech before the United Nations General Assembly, the president stepped up his rhetoric against America's most important strategic ally in the Middle East during a rally in Southaven Mississippi Tuesday night, implying that the US could withdraw the military protection it provides to the kingdom and warning that the Saudi regime that it wouldn't survive for "two weeks" without US support.
In a rebuke that may have been inspired by OPEC's refusal to raise production at the September meeting in Algiers (though Saudi officials have said both on the record and in several reported leaks that they're looking into unilateral cuts) Trump told the crowd that he had warned Saudi Arabia's King Salman that he "might not be there for two weeks without us," adding "you have to pay for your military." Trump's remarks triggered uproarious applause. 

The U.S. ambassador to NATO is Kay Baily Hutchinson, a long-term Republican politician with no military experience. Her choice of words in today's press briefing was clearly unprofessional:
Question: [...] Ma’am, can you be more specific what kind of new information that you are bringing to the table regarding the breach of the INF Treaty? And more explicitly also, what kind of countermeasures that you are considering.
Ambassador Hutchison: The countermeasures would be to take out the missiles that are in development by Russia in violation of the treaty. So that would be the countermeasure eventually. We are trying not to do anything that would violate the treaty on our side, which allows research, but not going forward into development, and we are carefully keeping the INF Treaty requirements on our side, while Russia is violating. ...
The reporters in the room were in disbelieve over such aggressive wording and followed up:
Question: Thanks, Ambassador. Lorne [Inaudible], Associated Press. Just to clarify a little bit when you said to take out the missiles that are in development, we are a little excited here. Do you mean to get those withdrawn? You don’t mean to actually take them out in a more [inaudible]?
Ambassador Hutchison: Well, withdrawing, yes. Getting them to withdraw would be our choice, of course. But I think the question was what would you do if this continues to a point where we know that they are capable of delivering. And at that point we would then be looking at a capability to take out a missile that could hit any of our countries in Europe and hit America in Alaska. So it is in all of our interests, and Canada as well, I suppose. So we have our North Atlantic risk as well as the European risk.
So what is the ambassador going to do? Bomb Russia over a disagreement about the technical specification of a potential new missile that is not even deployed yet?

​New South Korean estimate is that North Korea may have up to 60 nuclear "devices".​

National Security Advisor, Mike Pompeo will be in North Korea Sunday to talk about nukes and stuff. The US will have to give some really good stuff, strategic stuff, before those Nukes will be traded away. Peace and reunification would work. Everybody can see that.

Stiff economic sanctions despite North Korean concessions are the current block to further progress. 
This is really simple to read.
​Supreme Court Nomination Circus resumes. (Evil Clowns, as far as the eye can see. I detest frat-boy clowns, but the others seem no better.  sigh...)

Attorney Michael Avenatti, whose prior clients have come up short on credibility with investigators, has a new client, who saw Frat-Boy Brett spike punch with Everclear and Quaaludes, and have  "sexually inappropriate behavior with girls".​ (How novel in 1982! Sure he was the right frat-boy?)

Grassley writes: "The full details of Dr. Ford's polygraph are particularly important because the Senate Judiciary Committee has received a sworn statement from a longtime boyfriend of Dr. Ford's, stating that he personally witnessed Dr. Ford coaching a friend on polygraph examinations. When asked under oath in the hearing whether she'd ever given any tips or advice to someone who was planning on taking a polygraph, Dr. Ford replied, "Never." This statement raises specific concerns about the reliability of her polygraph examination results."

​FBI supplemental-frat-party-investigation will be completed this week (today?), shared with Senators, reviewed, and confirmation vote will also be this week.​

Caitlin Johnstone is relieved that at least Democratic Party and Republican Party "thought leaders" can agree on the fundamental core values of American "democracy".
“Issues around national security and believing in democratic principles as they relate to foreign policy,” replied Tanden. “And opposing authoritarianism, and opposing the kind of creeping populism that undermines democracy itself.” ...
“I do think if you’ve served in government -this isn’t universally true but somewhat true- that you do have somewhat more of a sense of the complexity of things, and many of its decisions are not black and white, that in public policy there are plusses and minuses to most policies,” Kristol said. “There are authentic disagreements both about values, but also just about how certain things are gonna work or not work… and that is what adds a kind of humility to one’s belief that one is kind of always right about everything.”​...
​ America’s two mainstream political parties agree furiously with one another on war, neoliberalism, Orwellian surveillance, and every other agenda which increases the power and profit of the plutocratic class which owns them both.

The FBI has posted 37 pages of Clinton (Secretary of State, Hillary) documents pertaining to the Uranium One deal where lots of American Uranium got sold to Russia and the Clintons got showered with Russian money. It's not for anybody to see. It's posted in a dark closet. Triple locked. Need-to-know basis. Eyes-only, and so on.

Finally, I'm sure it will work this time, not like last month. I was so disappointed. (Weird that I have to find this on "Russia Today".)
We should all get a text message from the President today after lunch!
FEMA says that starting 2:18 p.m. EDT every working cell phone within coverage should receive a notice that reads: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.” Unlike most other alerts sent by the agency, this one cannot be opted out of, so short of turning the device off or blocking the wireless signal, there will be no way to avoid it. The test warning will also be broadcast through radio and television, interrupting usual programming, about two minutes later.

​Awaiting Punch Line​

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