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  1. #121
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    Thinking

    I seldom share things from over-there ...
    But this was an exceptional standout ...

    Via Project Avalon Forum ...


    State of the Disunion Address by Dennis Leahy

    The state of the disunion of the USA, Inc., February 9, 2020.


    Note: I am not a billionaire or a millionaire, nor a mouthpiece for oligarchs, so some of you with a Pavlovian response to the oligarchic narrative will not be interested in what I have to say. Save yourself from a furrowed brow and close this thread quickly.

    For others, well, I am a human, I am a US citizen, I have opinions that are based on my honest attempts at discovering and espousing the truth. I have no agenda to get into your wallet, your pants, or to manipulate you into supporting me in any way. If nothing else, see me as the "fool on the hill." What follows, in bullet-point format, is my honest assessment of the actual current state of the disunion of the USA (as overtly managed by oligarchic representatives of the USA, Inc.)


    ● The USA, Inc. is a corporate entity. 99.9999% of the citizens contained within the confines of the USA, Inc. have no stock in this corporate entity, and no influence on the workings of this corporate entity.


    ● The USA, Inc. is not a constitutional republic other than "on paper", and never has been.


    ● The USA, Inc. is, and has always been, owned and controlled by unelected oligarchs. Synonyms for the "oligarchs" are "the shadow government", "the unelected government", the "permanent government", and "the deep state."


    ● An orchestrated ruse used by the oligarchs is the pretense of any semblance of democracy, the pretense of free and fair elections, and the pretense that elected officials represent citizens.


    ● All elected officials solely represent the oligarchs.


    ● The USA, Inc. election ruse is orchestrated using two corporate entities (DNC and RNC), while providing the appearance of (a binary) electoral choice by citizens.


    ● The RNC and DNC corporations are the public relations face of the oligarchs, perpetuating the notion that US citizens have governmental representation.


    ● The RNC and DNC corporations run the USA, Inc.'s "elections", in effect, hiring their own replacements (from the DNC and RNC pool.)


    ● The RNC and DNC corporations are controlled by oligarchs, and willingly serve oligarchs.


    ● The RNC and DNC corporations and their politicians - like Mobster Families - really do fight each other for a chance to enrich themselves as faux public servants, knowing full well that they only serve oligarchs. This fight for a very lucrative share of the oligarch's crumbs is cast as a difference of political/governance ideals as part of the control narrative.


    ● The oligarchs do not really care whether the major politicians that are "elected" are branded as "Democrats" or "Republicans", because all major decisions and the underlying agenda are controlled by the oligarchs and are served equally by both of the faux-political parties.


    ● The oligarchs own and control all major media.


    ● All major media is dedicated to oligarchic narrative control, propagandizing citizens relentlessly from birth to death to accept the oligarchic narrative as if it was the truth.


    ● There may or may not be various, distinct "shadow" groups within the oligarchy, but there is only one global network of corporations that all oligarchs are connected to and interconnected with as a feeding tube. Individual oligarchs own and control the major corporations within the global network, and are interconnected with all of the other corporate entities.


    ● Every major politician, globally, is fed by the same global network of corporations - even the ones who profess to oppose the oligarchs (like Sanders.)


    ● The agenda of the oligarchs is to own and control every "resource" on planet Earth. Humans are simply seen as a disposable "resource" by oligarchs.


    ● No major USA, Inc. politician cares about you or your family in any way, nor do they care about the environment, nor do they care about any other living entities on Earth. Sociopathy is a required trait for major politicians in the USA, Inc.


    ● Current oligarchic agenda includes the destruction of the democratically elected governments of Venezuela, Syria, and quasi-theocratic Iran, the elimination of Palestine, and continued imperial expansion into African nations. Regardless which Democrat or Republican sits in the Big Chair in the White House, regardless whether the US Senate and House of "Representatives" have a Democrat or Republican majority, the agenda of the oligarchs will be followed (as should be obvious to anyone geopolitically savvy over the past decades when it became so amazingly overt that the agenda was consistent regardless of the dominant political faction.)


    ● A favored ruse within the narrative control in the USA, Inc. is to pretend to be a follower of Jesus Christ. It should be overtly obvious - even hilarious - to any actual follower of the "Prince of Peace", whose major message can be summed up with the phrase, "Love God and love your neighbor as yourself" that the purportedly Christian politicians represent the exact opposite of Christ's teachings.


    ● "Q"/qanon is a messenger of the oligarchs.


    ● The most frightening concepts to the oligarchs are sharing and cooperation, because the oligarchic agenda is ownership and competition. This is why any world government with a degree of actual socialism (which is actually sharing among the people rather than ownership by the oligarchs) is targeted for destruction.


    ● Oligarchs do fight among themselves for expansion of their control and ownership of the whole. They are not one big happy family that shares the Earth's "resources" among themselves. This is not to be confused as weakness or vulnerability - their inter-fights are merely chess matches.


    ● No one, human or alien, is going to rescue humanity from the oligarchs. The only slight possibility that I can see would be for the citizens of the most egregious countries (the US being the alpha) to break the oligarch's control over their country's government by uniting and taking over the election system, citizens rewriting all election laws to end political parties and make a requirement for running for elected office that the candidate must not be connected to the global network of corporations. Otherwise, oligarch representatives (every politician you can name) will retain oligarchic control.

    Source: OP thread page

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  3. #122
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    Global warning ...


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  5. #123
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    Thumbs Up

    And speaking of global, it's not all bad ...

    From a big fav of mine ...


    Leonid & Friends: The Story So Far.


    Using his own video material together with an interview with Jazz.Ru Magazine, this is the story of how a musical director from Moscow has won the hearts of jazz/rock fans worldwide by painstakingly transcribing his favourite songs and creating a note-perfect tribute band to the American super-group, Chicago.
    26:33 minutes

    Best viewed in full screen



    More here ...

    Leonid & Friends | 2020 USA Tour Schedule
    Last edited by Gio, 11th February 2020 at 16:54.

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  7. #124
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    Question

    Back to the business ...



    U.S. Border Seizures of Meth, Fentanyl Set to Break Records in 2020

    Listen/Read
    here

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  9. #125
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    Question

    On the date of his one year anniversary in office ...

    'Attorney general Bill Barr gets an ethics complaint for Valentine’s Day' ...




    US attorney general Bill Barr isn’t getting much love of late.


    Today, he became the subject of a complaint to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The government watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is requesting an investigation into Barr’s alleged violations of Justice Department (DOJ) rules and ethical conduct standards for executive branch employees.

    At the heart of the complaint are Barr’s public comments about an ongoing inquiry—namely, the DOJ’s probe into the origins of the FBI investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election (aka “investigate the investigators”). His allegedly prejudicial “inflammatory and disparaging” statements on matters related to an active probe taint the inquiry’s integrity and public sentiment and appear to violate government rules and codes of conduct, CREW argues.

    But that is not the sole problem, it adds, and there’s evidence to support that sentiment, this week especially.

    Barr came under fire Tuesday after career prosecutors withdrew from the Roger Stone case, following president Donald Trump’s tweets disparaging their sentencing recommendations. The proposed punishment for Trump’s associate was within statutory guidelines, yet the DOJ subsequently filed a new sentencing memo with a reduced recommended sentence, claiming the action was unrelated to the president’s sentiments (meanwhile, an emboldened Trump suggested that the prosecutors doing their jobs had gone “rogue”).

    Lawyers were furious. “Bill Barr’s DOJ is plainly nothing more than a satellite office of the White House,” said Glenn Kirschner, an NBC News and MSNBC legal analyst who worked as a federal prosecutor for 30 years. “Trump tweets his outrage and Barr reacts like a lapdog.”

    Barr attempted to redeem himself yesterday, telling ABC News that it was “impossible” to do his job with the president’s continual public commentary undermining his legal authority. Barr insisted that he must do what he thinks is right, regardless of the president’s desires.

    However, his view of what’s proper is so often identical to the president’s wants that not everyone was sold on his uncommonly critical response to the tweeter-in-chief. Given Barr’s track record, the cynicism was perhaps warranted.

    Last year, for example, Barr’s initial summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into foreign election meddling and obstruction of justice by Trump mischaracterized and minimized the inquiry’s conclusions. Since, he’s advanced the Trump narrative that the FBI “spied” on the president’s campaign and called Mueller’s investigation a politically motivated “sham.”

    So, some question whether Barr really needs the president to stop tweeting because he’s sincerely interested in the DOJ’s integrity as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer. Perhaps, in fact, his real complaint is that he can’t act as Trump’s puppet if the president discloses his desires on social media and exposes Barr’s role in making those wishes his command.

    “It sure looks like what he really meant was that it’s hard to keep acting to protect the president instead of enforce the law when Trump keeps saying the quiet part out loud,” CREW spokesman Jordan Libowitz told Quartz today. “He should be judged by his actions, and his actions harm the integrity of the Department of Justice.”

    Whether the OIG will act on the request to initiate an investigation of Barr is unclear, however. The office has limited authority in this context. A provision in the Inspector General Act of 1978 carves out an exception to the general rule that the OIG is responsible for investigating alleged misconduct in executive branch agencies, leaving inquiries about the DOJ to the department’s own Office of Professional Responsibility.

    Technically then, the OIG must ask Barr’s subordinates for the green light to inquire into their boss’s deeds and, if given, coordinate and cooperate with the very department that’s being probed. That seems highly unlikely to happen.

    Still, doing nothing about Barr’s seeming submission to Trump—as evidenced by his actions and his apparent flouting of ethics rules and conduct codes—has dangerous long-term consequences that can’t be ignored. “If he keeps acting as if he were the president’s private attorney and not the Attorney General of the United States,” Libowitz warned, “Americans will continue to lose confidence in our justice system. And that is a terrifying precedent.”


    Source

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  11. #126
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    LOL

    Trump takes limo on track at Daytona 500 ...


    I believe this action now qualifies him ...

    And I sense Jeff Foxworthy would agree...



    You Might Be a Redneck If...


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  13. #127
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    Question

    For your inspection ...

    Medicare for All: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

    As presidential candidates continue to discuss Medicare for All, John Oliver explores how much it might cost, what it will change, and who it will help.
    Feb 16, 2020

    19:53 minutes



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  15. #128
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    Thinking

    Into the bottomless pit ...

    Is the U.S. Headed Towards Tyranny?
    Timothy Snyder Discusses | Amanpour and Company



    President Trump has just announced the sentence commutation of former Illinois Governor Rob Blagojevich, a move that arrives just days after the DOJ overruled a harsher prison sentence for Roger Stone. Given the increased White House involvement in judicial matters, Yale University's Timothy Snyder, a historian and author who has devoted much of his career to understanding the rise of tyranny in different parts of the world, sits down with Ana Cabrera to discuss his concerns about a worrying trend taking root in the U.S.

    Originally aired on February 18, 2020.

    19:46 minutes



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  17. #129
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    Question

    I take no sides in this ongoing story, though i have to admit Mr. Assange
    has most probably miscalculated the cost of all this to himself ...


    WikiLeaks – public enemy Julian Assange | DW Documentary

    The Wikileaks revelations shocked the world, and co-founder Julian Assange shot to fame. WikiLeaks exposed U.S. army war crimes, the secret emails of top international politicians and controversial secret service surveillance methods.

    Assange’s relentless pursuit of total transparency has changed the face of journalism and given rise to much imitation, as well as fierce criticism.

    But it seems the spell has broken. After spending seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, Julian Assange is now in a cell at Belmarsh, a maximum-security prison in London. In many ways, he is being treated as a terrorist. His health has suffered. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer has even referred to a "murderous system” designed to make an example of Assange.

    Assange took on a very powerful opponent. The U.S.A. is pressing charges for obtaining and disclosing classified information. Now, the extradition hearing is about to begin in London. If Assange is extradited from England to the U.S.A., he faces up to 175 years in jail for espionage. Experts are expecting one of the most significant trials of its kind to date.

    "WikiLeaks - Public Enemy Julian Assange” is a detailed depiction of the rise and fall of Julian Assange. The film reveals some personal glimpses into different aspects of the story: meetings with Assange’s worried father, talks with high-ranking U.S. officials, an exclusive interview with whistleblower Edward Snowden. And every time the key question re-emerges: Is Julian Assange a journalist or a spy?
    Feb 25, 2020

    26:24 minutes



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  19. #130
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    Question

    hmm ...



    The New Yorker wordlessly sums up Trump's coronavirus problem


    For years, experts have warned that President Trump "has been squandering the credibility he could need in a moment of national emergency, like a terrorist attack or a public health crisis," Annie Karni, Michael Crowley, and Maggie Haberman write at The New York Times. And if the COVID-19 outbreak proves to be that moment, "his history of issuing false claims could make it harder to sell the public on any plans to address coronavirus."

    Trump has already "made inaccurate or questionable claims" about the new virus, the Times notes. "Current Trump allies said the fact that the president chose to address the growing public health crisis quickly after returning from a trip to India showed how seriously he was taking the outbreak. But privately, they say he has been reluctant to give in to what he has called an 'alarmist' view of the virus's potential to cause damage as he warily watches the effect of the outbreak on the stock market."

    The new cover of The New Yorker makes a similar point more succinctly, suggesting his self-restricted vision is hampering America's response:

    For what it's worth, epidemiology experts say the best thing for Americans to do right now is stay calm and not panic about the coronavirus, The Washington Post reports, as well as wash your hands regularly, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, and stay home if you're feeling sick. But "those surgical masks? If you're not sick, you don't need to wear them," the Post adds. "The main point of the mask is to keep someone who is infected with the virus from spreading it to others," says Timothy Brewer, a professor of epidemiology and medicine at UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health. You can relate that to the New Yorker cover at your leisure.

    Peter Weber/ theweek.com

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  21. #131
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    Question

    "Cogito, ergo sum" ...

    For your inspection and entertainment, this presentation
    examines the possibilities ...



    ARE WE LIVING IN A SIMULATION?


    Mar 3, 2020

    39:57 minutes



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  23. #132
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    Its time has come ...

    From the American heartland and comedian ...


    Lewis Black | A Very Special "The Rant Is Due"


    Lewis reads rants for an audience of empty chairs and viewers around the world. Taped live at the Silver Creek Event Center at Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo MI.
    * Note contains his usual colorful swear flow ...

    Mar 15, 2020

    26:04 minutes


    Last edited by Gio, 18th March 2020 at 06:46.

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  25. #133
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    Thanks, Gio. Sometimes a good rant by proxy is what a soul needs.

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  27. #134
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    Thinking

    Ya think ...



    Anxiety on rise due to coronavirus, say mental health charities

    People with existing issues, including OCD, are particularly vulnerable


    The coronavirus epidemic is causing increased stress and anxiety, , particularly people with existing mental health problems, practitioners and campaigners have said.

    Reactions to the crisis can include feeling overwhelmed, fearful, sad, angry and helpless, according to experts. Some people may have difficulty sleeping or concentrating. Fear of contact with others, travelling on public transport or going into public spaces may increase, and some people will have physical symptoms, such as an increased heart rate or upset stomach.

    The World Health Organization has acknowledged that the crisis is generating stress, and has advised people to avoid watching, reading or listening to news that causes feelings of anxiety or distress.

    Stephen Buckley, of the mental health charity Mind, said: “We know that the coronavirus and its impact are causing stress and worry for many people. If you already have a mental health problem, it’s possible that the worries of coronavirus may be affecting how you’re coping.”

    Quarantine or self-isolation is likely to have a negative impact on mental wellbeing. A review of the psychological impact of quarantine published in the Lancet in February said: “Separation from loved ones, the loss of freedom, uncertainty over disease status, and boredom can, on occasion, create dramatic effects. Suicide has been reported, substantial anger generated, and lawsuits brought following the imposition of quarantine in previous outbreaks.

    “The potential benefits of mandatory mass quarantine need to be weighed carefully against the possible psychological costs.”

    According to Kathryn Kinmond, a psychotherapist in Staffordshire and a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, uncertainty is a key driver of anxiety. “Coronavirus gives rise to lots of uncertainty, and this has particular resonance with people who suffer from anxiety.” Clients were “inevitably” raising concerns about the coronavirus in therapy sessions, she said.

    Ashley Fulwood, of OCD UK, said the charity had received an increase in calls and emails from people with obsessive compulsive disorder who were developing a new fixation on the coronavirus.

    Around a quarter of people with OCD experience compulsive cleaning, such as handwashing over a fear of contamination, according to Fulwood.

    “I’m seeing for some of those people their OCD is intensifying, there is lots of avoidance going on and lots more washing than is recommended by the government – for some people their OCD is being triggered to the point where they’re washing for 20 minutes or longer,” he said.

    Emily Burke, an 18-year-old student in Hertfordshire, has had OCD for four years and said she was finding the extensive media coverage and social media posts difficult to deal with.

    “I’ve worked hard on it and I don’t wash my hands as much as I used to, so it’s really triggering. It’s not even like I can just turn off social media because it’s everywhere, everyone is saying: ‘Have you washed your hands?’” she said.

    Panic attacks may also be a response to the coronavirus outbreak, according to David Crepaz-Keay, of the Mental Health Foundation.

    “One of the things that leads to panic attacks is excessive worrying for unsubstantiated reasons,” he said. “There are a relatively small number of people in this country affected by coronavirus … We shouldn’t allow that anxiety to cause us more problems than it warrants at the moment.”

    Tom Kinniburgh, a 33-year-old game designer in London, started experiencing panic attacks after a number of fellow travellers began feeling ill on their return flight from a skiing trip in Val d’Isere, near northern Italy.

    “I started feeling a bit ill and then I’d see news articles or reports about the virus spreading and self-isolation, and I’d get this huge wave of fear,” he said. “It felt like it made me have a cough, and then it sort of settled in my stomach and made my heart palpitate and essentially made me not be able to breathe.”

    He said he started to worry he had contracted the virus, but the symptoms quickly disappeared and after talking to a friend who is a doctor, he realised he was experiencing panic attacks.

    “They lasted up to 30 minutes, and they were really quite debilitating, with real shortness of breath, tingling and loss of eyesight in some regard.”

    Sarah, from Gateshead, who did not want her surname published, said she had increased her dosage of anti-anxiety medication.

    “Some of the things that politicians say, and also then some of the reporting of it … can create that initial anxiety response,” she said.

    Rosie Weatherley of Mind said mental health services were making plans to provide continued treatment in the case of restrictions on movement and the closure of workplaces.

    “A lot of people are reliant on interaction with therapists, but some of that can be done by phone or online. People with mental health issues need to ensure their medication supplies are sufficient for any periods of self-isolation,” she said.

    Mind’s advice to people who have behavioural problems about hygiene includes avoiding repeatedly reading the same advice, asking other people not to keep reminding them to wash their hands, setting time limits on handwashing, and using breathing exercises.

    Source/reference links: theguardian.com

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  29. #135
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    Question

    In many ways they resemble the Ultra-right
    Christian fundamentalist here in the West.


    Cossacks and the church | DW Documentary

    "Russia - a global power, confident and strong. That’s the image projected by President Vladimir Putin. Decades after the Soviet Union’s collapse, Putin is relying on Russian traditions and values from the tsarist past to kindle patriotism. Many Russians see Vladimir Putin as the man who has returned pride, glory and honor to their nation. The Cossacks, an ultra-conservative group, are key to Putin's grip on power. They are honored as guardians of traditional Russian values and serve Putin as nationalist paramilitaries. Tens of thousands of Russians identify as Cossacks. They trace their origins to horsemen who formed mounted bands in the Russian steppes during the 15th Century. Over the course of time, they served many masters - including the tsars. After the Communist revolution, they faced oppression and persecution ...

    During World War II, some were active in Hitler's armies. Now, President Putin is capitalizing on their nationalistic priorities. This documentary looks at the role Cossacks play in supporting police in Moscow, including during demonstrations by regime opponents. Another pillar of support for Putin is the Russian Orthodox Church. It has resurged under Putin, and exercises considerable political influence - an alliance that benefits both sides. Article 14, paragraph 2 of the Russian constitution defines the separation of church and state. But the Russian Orthodox Church sees itself as a bulwark against outside influence and supports the Kremlin, for example in its annexation of Crimea. It sees itself as the protector of Russian values, and views homosexuality as a sign of an impending apocalypse. The filmmakers show how nostalgia for "Glorious Russia" and the values of the tsarist period are playing out in modern day Russian politics."


    Mar 26, 2020

    42:25 minutes



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