Pablo Picasso Still life 1918
O’Keefe
Vivek 2020
Mearsheimer
https://twitter.com/i/status/1839434787070644636
Nordstream
J6
https://twitter.com/i/status/1839282203722756181
1998
“..just as the meeting began, it seemed Trump in his less than subtle way was making it clear who is boss…”
• Zelensky Visibly Agitated As Trump Dominates Meeting (ZH)
Tensions were certainly on display before and during the Trump-Zelensky meeting at Trump Tower in New York. Going into the meeting, both men looked stern-faced, with Trump making a series of casual remarks which appeared aimed at gently belittling the Ukrainian leader and putting him in his place. This comes days after Zelensky went after J.D. Vance, and came close to directly criticizing Trump himself for calling for ceasefire and talks with Moscow. “We have a very good relationship, and I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with President Putin. And I think if we win I think we’re going to get it resolved very quickly,” Trump said in comments made before the press going into the meeting. But that caused an agitated Zelensky to poke back: “I hope we have more good relations,” Zelensky cut in.
“Oh, I see,” Trump responded. “But it takes two to tango, you know, and I we’re going to have a good meeting today. And I think the fact that we’re even together today is a very good sign.” As a result of this awkward exchange the mainstream media and possibly the White House itself is going to pounce. Trump will once again be painted as a GOP leader doing the bidding of Putin.But it is refreshing to hear a political leader who could be the next president so unashamedly call for robust diplomacy, and who understands the urgency of getting ceasefire negotiations going to bring an end to the countless deaths and suffering in Ukraine. Throughout the meeting, Trump looked to be his usual casual, in-control, and freewheeling self, which clearly put Zelensky and the Ukrainian delegation on edge. At another moment, just as the meeting began, it seemed Trump in his less than subtle way was making it clear who is boss…
Trump in the aftermath of the Zelensky meeting said that he “learned a lot” and said that ultimately “we both ant to see a fair deal made.” It is as yet unclear what the Republican presidential nominee thinks of Zelensky’s ‘victory plan’ – which was presumably presented in the Friday late morning meeting.
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“..four points – the continuation of Kiev’s Kursk incursion, NATO-style security guarantees from the West for Ukraine, the delivery of more advanced weapons, and international financial assistance for the country..”
• Trump ‘Hasn’t Changed’ His Mind After Zelensky Meeting (RT)
Former US President Donald Trump has said that he “learned a lot” during a meeting with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky on Friday, but that he has not changed his view that the conflict must be settled with a “fair deal.” Trump and Zelensky met at Trump Tower in New York, after Zelensky had been heavily criticized by Republicans for appearing to campaign for Trump’s presidential opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, earlier this week. At a rally in North Carolina on Thursday, Trump accused Zelensky of “making little nasty aspersions” toward him, describing the Ukrainian leader as “a man who refuses to make a deal.” In a short statement to reporters before the meeting, Trump boasted that he had a “very good relationship” with both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, promising to “get [the Ukraine conflict] resolved very quickly” if he wins November’s election.
Appearing beside Zelensky afterwards, Trump said: “I learned a lot, but I think I haven’t changed from the standpoint that we both want to see this end and we both want to see a fair deal made.” Asked how he would achieve this, Trump said that it is “too early to say that.” “I have my own ideas, and I’m sure the president definitely has his own ideas,” he added. Trump has repeatedly claimed that the conflict never would have happened if he were president in 2022, and insisted that he could force Zelensky and Putin into a diplomatic solution “within 24 hours” of being elected. Zelensky has also said that he wants the conflict settled quickly, but has ruled out doing so through negotiations. Earlier this week, he presented US President Joe Biden with a so-called ‘victory plan’, which he claims offers a roadmap to defeating Russia militarily.
While the document has not been made public, it consists of four points – the continuation of Kiev’s Kursk incursion, NATO-style security guarantees from the West for Ukraine, the delivery of more advanced weapons, and international financial assistance for the country, according to The Times.
Unlike Trump, Biden and Harris have refused to publicly discuss a diplomatic end to the conflict. Following his own meeting with Zelensky in the White House on Thursday, Biden announced more than $8 billion in military aid to Ukraine, while Harris described the idea of Kiev trading territory for peace as “dangerous and unacceptable.” Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, has said that Trump would likely freeze the conflict along the current line of contact and offer Russia a guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO, while Kiev’s European backers foot the bill for the country’s reconstruction. Moscow has declared Ukrainian neutrality as one of its main objectives, while insisting that any peace talks take into account the “territorial reality” of Russia controlling former Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye – plus Crimea.
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“..the Clintons themselves appear “to specialize in monetizing their public service for illegal private gain..”
“[The Clintons] are positioning themselves, as they did in Haiti and India, to get close to the rebuilding capital pools that likely will be funded by the US and allies..”
• Clintons Turn Page on Ukraine and ‘Radioactive’ Zelensky (Sp.)
By the time the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2024 reconvened on September 23 in New York City, Volodymyr Zelensky had already arrived in the US to present his “victory plan” to President Joe Biden. Nonetheless, the issues of Ukraine, its leadership and its crises were noticeably absent on this year’s CGI agenda. No Ukrainian political or social leaders took the stage during the Clintons’ 2024 event. This raised the eyebrows of those who remember how the Clintons woed the Zelenskys in 2022 and 2023. Hillary Clinton attended the public launch of the foundation formed by Volodymyr Zelensky’s spouse, Olena, in September 2022. A few months later Olena Zelenskaya received the Hillary Rodham Clinton Award for exceptional leadership. In September 2023, the Clintons announced a joint Ukraine Action Network initiative to solicit funds together with Olena during the CGI 2023 where she received the Clinton Global Citizen Award.
Wall Street analyst Charles Ortel suggested that Volodymyr Zelensky has become “radioactive” for the Clintons. Why is that? The pundit drew attention to the fact that Zelensky lost his legitimacy under Ukrainian law after his presidential term expired in May. The Kiev regime’s corruption has become so notorious that even US mainstream press that used to tout Zelensky as a “new Churchill” is now bashing his cabinet for not doing enough to stop the embezzlement of foreign funds. Ortel does not rule out that the funds from the widely advertised CGI Ukraine Action Network may have met the same fate as other Western funds which weren’t sufficiently supervised by any government or independent watchdogs. The Pew Research Center’s July survey found that confidence in Zelensky has dropped in the US and several European countries compared to last year.
Washington has been allegedly working on options to replace Zelensky with “a more manageable and less corrupt figure,” as the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) revealed in mid-August. Apparently, under these circumstances, the Clintons may have decided that any further bromance with the Zelensky family wouldn’t correspond to their interests, according to the analyst. One should bear in mind that the Clintons themselves appear “to specialize in monetizing their public service for illegal private gain,” said Ortel, who has carried out a private investigation into the Clinton Foundation’s alleged fraud for several years.”Despite at least two FBI investigations (2001-5 and 2016 forward), Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, to date, have not been punished for their charity frauds, based in New York, even though the Trump family has been punished twice for far smaller offenses, in my view following extensive review of their many false and materially misleading public filings,” the pundit told Sputnik.
The CGI 2024 silence on Ukraine is especially remarkable given the Clintons longstanding ties with the country’s politicians and tycoons, including oligarch Viktor Pinchuk and his wife Olena — daughter of former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma. “The Clinton Foundation, in various guises, has operated in Ukraine since 2004 and powerful citizens there have donated sizable sums, ostensibly, towards purported arms of this public charity,” the pundit said.
Last year Ortel suggested that the Clintons’ reinvigorated interest in Ukraine stemmed from their apparent desire to cash in on “a mammoth rebuilding package” once the hostilities ended. “[The Clintons] are positioning themselves, as they did in Haiti and India, to get close to the rebuilding capital pools that likely will be funded by the US and allies,” the Wall Street analyst presumed at the time.
However, this year has seen Russia thriving economically and advancing militarily in Ukraine. It has become clear that the conflict is unlikely to end on Washington’s terms. Furthermore, the damage is huge and the Ukraine project might not offer immediate financial gains for investors, according to the analyst. “Too much of Ukraine’s population has fled and likely never will return. Damage, to date, has been devastating. From Western perspective, an investment case for rebuilding necessary infrastructure is not possible to make, other than by lying about important assumptions,” Ortel said. Apparently, those circumstances prompted the Clintons to shift their focus to health, Africa and racial equity in order to solicit new funds. Likewise, if presidential candidate Kamala Harris manages to win in 2024, she and her team are likely to turn their back on Ukraine too, the pundit believes.
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“..the US administration is focused solely “on making sure that Ukraine has what it needs to be successful on that battlefield..”
• US Not Ruling Out Territory Trade In Ukraine Conflict (RT)
Washington does not rule out the possibility of Ukraine trading land for peace with Russia, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday. Following a White House meeting between US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, Kirby was asked if he agreed there was no way to end the conflict without Ukraine ceding territory to Russia. “I mean, that is going to be up to him,” he replied, referring to Zelensky. Kirby said the US administration is focused solely “on making sure that Ukraine has what it needs to be successful on that battlefield,” instead of being involved in the “game” of coming up with alternative scenarios and saying, “Gee, maybe we could convince Zelensky to trade this for that.”
“If and when and how this war ends, it is got to be in a way that… Zelensky and the Ukrainian people can accept. He gets to decide the conditions. He gets to decide the circumstances. And if there is trade space, he gets to decide what that trade space is,” he said. Kirby confirmed that Biden “would very much like to see the war ended as soon as possible,” but stressed that Kiev was not getting directions from the White House on what peace talks should look like. The US president announced another $8 billion in military assistance to Ukraine during his meeting with Zelensky in the oval office. Biden also thanked the Ukrainian leader for presenting him his plan for “victory” over Russia.
The details have not been made public, but Kirby said that the proposal includes “initiatives and steps and objectives” that Zelensky believes could end the conflict and deter Moscow in the future. In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow was ready to stop the fighting and begin talks with Ukraine if Kiev officially gave up its desire to join NATO and withdrew from the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye, which joined Russia after referendums in the fall of 2022. Zelensky rejected the offer, branding it an “ultimatum.” The Kremlin said those terms were no longer on the table after Ukraine launched an incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region in early August.
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“..it is clear that we will have to move from verbal warnings and demonstrations to practical measures..”
• Putin’s Nuclear Doctrine Updates Are A Final Warning To The West (Trenin)
Vladimir Putin’s decision to update Moscow’s nuclear doctrine isn’t a knee-jerk reaction to current events. Unlike, for example, the threat to attack deeper inside Russia with long-range missiles. The changes were flagged by the Russian president several months ago, and from yesterday’s speech we learned that the Strategic Deterrence Commission meets twice a year, which means that the document itself is constantly being re-read and re-thought. The merits of strengthening nuclear deterrence became clear more than two years ago, when the US declared that its goal – in the Ukraine conflict – is to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. The West then began its game of escalation. Moscow’s old nuclear doctrine was aimed at other wars and scenarios and proved ineffective at deterring the enemy in the new circumstances.
We will now see the reaction in the West, where unfortunately there are many people in high places who have convinced themselves that Putin is ‘bluffing’, that Russia is ‘afraid to respond’, and that it is therefore possible to behave with impunity toward it. The doctrinal correction is thus essentially a signal to the sober minds that remain in the halls of power in Washington: this is the last warning. At the same time, there is great anxiety in countries friendly to us – and other simply neutral ones – about the possibility of nuclear war. China may already be thinking about it. Beijing – along with India, Brazil, South Africa, and others – wants an imminent and unconditional end to the hostilities. We need to assure them that strengthening our deterrent is the only way to prevent the general nuclear war to which Washington’s mad and reckless strategy is leading the world.
At the same time, the US has long sought to separate the conflict in Ukraine from discussions of strategic stability and arms control. This would allow it to simultaneously wage war against Russia and obtain guarantees of its own security from Moscow. Understandably, this approach has not been successful. The US has realized this, but it wants to present itself to the international community as a promoter of global security – while framing Russia as an arsonist. It’s a simple trick, but exposing it in the majority countries of the world – I would like to emphasize these words – requires our attention and a concerted effort. The dialogue of trust with our partners must be continued and deepened.
If we are talking about Moscow’s next steps, they are less predictable than the previously announced correction of the nuclear doctrine. They will depend, among other things, on the enemy’s reaction to the president’s remarks yesterday. But it is clear that we will have to move from verbal warnings and demonstrations to practical measures. No one is going to say publicly what kind of action it will entail, and when and where it could happen.
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“Whatever Medinsky says is Putin’s thoughts exactly, more powerfully than Medvedev,” a Moscow source explains. “Putin wants the Americans to understand this.”
• Sending A Boy To Do A Man’s Job – Medinsky To Negotiate Istanbul-II (Helmer)
The last time an obscure official of junior rank named Vladimir Medinsky was recorded officially as having words with President Vladimir Putin was on November 20, 2019. At the time Medinsky was the Minister of Culture, and he was briefing Putin on one of his portfolio activities, the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. “Over 15,000 people attended the forum in St Petersburg,” Medinsky counted. “It lasted almost five days: it started earlier and ended later than scheduled… it was attended by 96 countries and saw the signing of over 90 international contracts for museum exhibitions, guest performances and exchanges…for the first time, and this is a very good trend, the forum was not just a club for cultural figures but also a place that attracted a lot of attention from the younger generation. Tens of thousands of St Petersburg students went to the forum.” Putin said next to nothing: “Yes…Why?..Good…Very good…A very good festival, we need to cooperate with them…Good. Thank you.”
Eight weeks later on January 24, 2020, the Kremlin announced that Putin had removed Medinsky from the culture ministry, and instead appointed him an assistant to the President. There were no other details in the official announcement; nothing leaked then or later to the press on whether this was a demotion or promotion. What is certain is that Medinsky’s talk of cultural events was camouflage. Putin had told Medinsky he was changing his role for one of the most personal foreign policy operations on Putin’s agenda. This didn’t materialize in public until Medinsky appeared as the leader of the Russian delegation to negotiate end-of-war terms with the Ukrainian government in Istanbul between March 29 and April 1, 2022. Medinsky was sharply criticized by the General Staff, State Duma, and press for the terms he initialled in the draft agreement. After these domestic attacks combined to reverse Putin’s support for the pact and the Kiev regime appeared to withdraw under Anglo-American orders, Medinsky disappeared from view.
But he has retained the role of Putin’s negotiator in the preparation of a sequel agreement, Istanbul-II. He reappeared publicly at the Kremlin on July 5, 2024, when Medinsky was listed by the Kremlin in negotiation of end-of-war terms between Putin and Hungarian prime minister Victor Orban, and through Orban, US presidential candidate Donald Trump. In the Kremlin communiqué of the Orban talks, Medinsky was ranked ahead of foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yury Ushakov. The Kremlin has not explained what the former expert on Russian culture and history was doing there. Despite evidence made public by Orban himself, the Kremlin has denied the discussion in which Medinsky participated was about terms for an end of the Ukraine war with the US, after the presidential election on November 5.
A Moscow source confirms Medinsky was identified to Orban as Putin’s personal messenger. “He remains the chief negotiator but he has not been seen with the Chinese or with the Indians. This means that Putin is only serious about Orban – of course not about Orban, but Trump whom Orban went on to meet in Miami on July 11.” Then last week, on September 20, Medinsky reappeared again in public, this time – and for his first time – at a weekly session of the Security Council. According to the Kremlin communiqué, Putin began by announcing “we all know that in recent years, history has often been used as a means of achieving political goals with regard to our country. This is often done in an opportunistic and unscrupulous manner. As such, this can be viewed as a current policy issue, and our country, its official authorities need to define their attitude to it. Therefore, I propose that we discuss this today. We have two speakers, Mr Medinsky and Mr Lavrov.”
What Medinsky had to say about Russian history remains top secret. His Security Council speech has not been quoted on the Kremlin website; the Kremlin’s Telegram platform has ignored it. Asked for a copy or a summary of Medinsky’s remarks, the Kremlin press office replied: “If we get it, we’ll add it. Follow the website”. So far as Moscow political observers can remember, this is the first time that an official statement on Russian history has been classified. Russian sources believe the reason is the same as Medinsky’s November 2019 meeting with Putin. It is camouflage. Only this time, the sources add, Putin’s purpose is to expose the camouflage himself, confirming he is ready for Istanbul-II, and is employing Medinsky in the president’s effort to override opposition to the end-of-war negotiations from the General Staff and from the Deputy Secretary of the Security Council, former president Dmitry Medvedev. “Whatever Medinsky says is Putin’s thoughts exactly, more powerfully than Medvedev,” a Moscow source explains. “Putin wants the Americans to understand this.”
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“British Foreign Secretary David Lammy accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of wanting to create a “mafia empire” and claimed that he could recognize imperialism because he was of African heritage..”
• West Replacing History With Propaganda – Moscow (RT)
Britain’s accusations of imperialism against Russia are just the most recent instance of a Western campaign to revise history and replace it with propaganda narratives, the Russian embassy in South Africa has said. Earlier this week, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of wanting to create a “mafia empire” and claimed that he could recognize imperialism because he was of African heritage. “The collective West is trying to substitute history with propaganda, step by step,” the Russian embassy in Pretoria said Thursday on X, pointing out a pattern of events. “The greatest colonial empire ever –Great Britain– somehow links Russia to enslaving peoples of Africa,” the embassy noted, referring to Lammy’s diatribe. Russia had no colonies in Africa, while the Soviet Union is widely regarded as having helped many African nations regain independence from European colonial powers, such as the UK, France, Belgium and Portugal.
“Japan accuses Russia of alleged ‘nuclear threats’ at the 79th anniversary of [the] A-bombing of Hiroshima by the US,” the embassy added. “Russia will not be invited to the 80th anniversary of [the] liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp by Soviet troops.” The US dropped two nuclear bombs on Japan in August 1945. At the 2023 commemoration in Hiroshima, taking place during the G7 summit, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida did not once mention the only country to ever use atomic weapons in war, while arguing that “Russia’s nuclear threat” was making Tokyo’s efforts towards a nuclear-free world more complicated. Japan has recently been taken under Washington’s “nuclear umbrella” and embarked on a remilitarization program, as part of a bloc with the US and South Korea aimed primarily against China.
Meanwhile, the Auschwitz Memorial Museum in Poland announced this week that Russia would not be invited to the January 2025 ceremonies marking the liberation of the notorious Nazi concentration camp. Museum director Piotr Cywinski claimed that Russia “does not understand the value of freedom” so its presence would be “cynical.” Troops of the Red Army’s 332nd Rifle Division reached the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp on January 27, 1945, liberating around 7,000 remaining prisoners. While the Polish museum invoked the current Russia-Ukraine conflict as the reason for the snub, the US and its Western allies have been minimizing and outright erasing the Soviet Union’s role in WWII for many years before that. The USSR did the lion’s share of the fighting against Nazi Germany and bore the brunt of the casualties in the war, losing an estimated 27 million lives in the process.
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“..many of those drafted into service are ill-suited to fighting: too old, too ill, too drunk..”
• Ukrainian Army Plagued By Desertion And Draft-dodging – The Economist (RT)
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s so-called ‘victory plan’ is being undermined by the reality that his nation does not have enough manpower or resources to prevail over Russia, The Economist reported on Thursday. Zelensky is currently visiting the US to promote his proposal, which reportedly boils down to the West increasing its backing in terms of cash and weapons so Kiev can continue fighting. The British magazine described the dire situation affecting the Ukrainian economy and dwindling military manpower. Unlike Moscow, which is fielding volunteers, Kiev relies on forced conscription, it noted. ”Officers complain that many of those drafted into service are ill-suited to fighting: too old, too ill, too drunk. There is no clear path out of the army once in it, which makes being mobilized seem like a one-way ticket to the morgue,” The Economist said.
”Some 5-10% of soldiers on active duty are absent without leave,” it added, noting that “fewer than 30% of Ukrainians consider draft-dodging shameful.” There is a generational gap, with younger men eligible for military service being far less inclined to support Zelensky’s uncompromising stance, compared to those too old to be recruited, the report added. In a separate editorial article on Thursday, the magazine accused Zelensky of “defying reality” with his military strategy, warning that he would “drive away Ukraine’s backers and further divide Ukrainian society” if he keeps pursuing it.
Ukraine needs to redefine victory over Russia as “becoming a prosperous, Western-leaning democracy,” after making concessions for the sake of peace. In return for “embracing this grim truth, Western leaders need to make his overriding war aim credible by ensuring that Ukraine has the military capacity and security guarantees it needs,” it suggested.Moscow has stated that NATO’s intention to draw Ukraine into its ranks was one of the key triggers for the hostilities. Its vision for a stable peace includes a cap on Ukraine’s military strength and its non-alignment. Kiev agreed to those terms during peace talks in the early phase of the conflict, but then reportedly made a U-turn at the West’s suggestion.
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“..this apparent double standard contradicts your public statements and raises troubling questions.”
• Whistleblower: Biden-Harris Administration Is Sabotaging Trump’s Campaign (ZH)
With the election nearly a month away and Donald Trump seeing some momentum in these final, crucial weeks, the Biden-Harris administration may be trying to undermine Trump’s ability to campaign in key swing states. We’re now learning that Trump recently had to cancel a planned campaign rally in the battleground state of Wisconsin after the Secret Service denied him adequate protection resources. On Tuesday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) addressed the issue in a letter to the acting director of the Secret Service, Ronald Rowe. He referenced allegations from a whistleblower who claimed that the cancellation was due to the agency’s lack of “sufficient assets” to ensure the safety of the Republican presidential nominee. “I write concerning new whistleblower allegations that the U.S. Secret Service effectively forced the Trump campaign to cancel an upcoming event in Wisconsin,” Hawley wrote.
“This new information calls into question your recent public statements regarding the level of security your agency is providing to the former president. It also suggests that the Secret Service’s inability to fully protect former President Trump may be affecting the conduct of the [..] This is serious claim, not just because it raises doubts about the ability of the Secret Service to protect Donald Trump, but because Wisconsin is a key battleground state. Trump narrowly won Wisconsin in 2016, only to lose by approximately 20,000 votes in 2020. While Kamala Harris has a slight advantage in Wisconsin according to the polls, she’s polling behind where both Biden and Hillary Clinton polled in their respective races against Trump. If the polls in 2024 are off by similar or even slightly smaller margins this year as they were in past years, Trump may be marginally ahead in Wisconsin.
Hawley continued, “At your recent press conference on September 20, you stated that former President Trump is receiving ‘the highest level of Secret Service protection’ and ‘he’s getting everything’ that ‘the current president has with respect to Secret Service assets.’ That same night, Secret Service secured a rally for Vice President Haris in Madison, Wisconsin.” So the Secret Service — an agency under the Biden-Harris administration — is essentially weaponizing federal resources to stifle Trump’s campaigning efforts in a pivotal swing state. Hawley’s letter continued: “Yet according to a whistleblower with direct knowledge of the exchange, Secret Service recently told the Trump campaign that it did not have sufficient assets to secure a potential campaign rally in Wisconsin for the former president. Other whistleblowers with knowledge of Secret Service planning protocols allege that failure to provide protection for a major public event is highly unusual and that a sitting president would never be denied resources in this way. If true, this apparent double standard contradicts your public statements and raises troubling questions.”
It sure does.
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Now we get news like this every day. Less than 6 weeks before the election.
• Nearly 750,000 Purged From North Carolina’s Voter Rolls (ET)
More than 747,000 registrants have been stripped from North Carolina’s voter rolls since the start of 2023 due to ineligibility, the state’s elections board announced on Sept. 26. North Carolina’s county boards of elections ended the 20-month purge in August, removing an average of 1,200 names per day, according to a North Carolina State Board of Elections news release. Voters can become ineligible for a variety of reasons. Possible reasons for removal from the rolls include death, relocation, continued inactivity, a felony conviction, a duplicate registration, lack of citizenship, a successful voter challenge, or their own request to be removed. Nearly 290,000—a plurality—of the latest removals were duplicate registrations for voters who had moved elsewhere in the state. The other top reasons were for inactivity in the last two federal elections (246,311) and death (130,688).
The Tar Heel State currently has more than 7.7 million registered voters. As one of a handful of swing states, North Carolina could be a deciding factor in the presidential election. With weeks still to go before Election Day, the state has already become a hotspot of election litigation. In August, the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the North Carolina Republican Party sued the state elections board over voter registration. The lawsuit charges that the board violated the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) by neglecting to collect required identifying information from more than 225,000 voter registrants. “By failing to collect certain statutorily required information prior to registering these applicants to vote, Defendants placed the integrity of the state’s elections into jeopardy,” the Aug. 23 complaint contends.
The GOP is also suing the board over its approval of the use of digital student IDs issued by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a valid form of voter ID. Republicans argue that state law does not authorize the use of electronic identification as a form of voter ID. A state judge rejected that argument earlier this month, though the party has appealed the matter to the North Carolina Court of Appeals. The elections board lost a legal battle with former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earlier this month when the North Carolina Supreme Court ordered his name removed from the state’s ballot. Kennedy suspended his campaign on Aug. 23, citing an uphill battle in the polls. He has since joined forces with the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump.
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The Founding Fathers were very wary of a dictatorship of the majority. This is why.
• Senator Unveils Bill to Increase Size of Supreme Court to 15 (ET)
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) unveiled comprehensive reform legislation on Sept. 26 to add six justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, raising the total from the current nine members to 15. The measure follows a bipartisan commission established by President Joe Biden found in late 2021 that Congress had authority to expand Supreme Court membership, and took no position on whether it should be done. Wyden’s bill, called the Judicial Modernization and Transparency Act, would expand the court over a period of 12 years. A president would be allowed to appoint one nominee in each of the first and third years of a term in office. It would also require a vote of two-thirds of Supreme Court justices to overturn acts of Congress, instead of a simple majority. One provision would subject justices to annual IRS audits of their tax returns and require the returns and audit results to be made public.
“The Supreme Court is in crisis and bold solutions are necessary to restore the public trust,” Wyden said in a statement. “More transparency, more accountability and more checks on a power hungry Supreme Court are just what the American people are asking for.” Congressional Democrats have been demanding reforms in recent years as they have grown increasingly incensed by high court rulings they disagree with on issues such as abortion, gun rights, environmental policy, and the administrative state. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, opposes Supreme Court expansion.“Sen. Graham is staunchly opposed to liberal Democrats’ efforts to pack the court,” Taylor Reidy, the senator’s communications director, told The Epoch Times.“He’s noted in the past that calls to pack the court are not efforts to make the court better. It’s simply a desire to make it more liberal.”
The justices approved a code of conduct governing their own behavior in November 2023. Critics say the code is toothless because it relies on voluntary compliance. Democrats have also criticized conservative justices such as Clarence Thomas for failing to initially declare gifts from wealthy friends who are Republican donors. Republicans say there is no evidence that Thomas granted any judicial favors to any of the gift givers. Thomas has said he was told he did not have to report the gifts and has vowed to disclose them going forward. Congressional Republicans say Democrats’ efforts to reform the Supreme Court are part of a larger political calculation. “It’s part of a campaign by the left to harass the Supreme Court because you don’t like some of the recent decisions,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said at a congressional hearing in November 2023. “This is all part of the left’s political master plan to delegitimize the Supreme Court.”
Wyden’s bill also imposes new requirements on Supreme Court justices and nominees. All Supreme Court nominees would be required to make three years of tax returns public upon nomination. Sitting justices would be recused from a case upon a two-thirds vote of the Supreme Court. The bill would also expand the number of circuit courts of appeal from the current 13 to 15. Other bills aimed at the Supreme Court are pending in Congress. The proposed Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act would allow members of the public to file complaints against justices for violating a code of conduct or for engaging “in conduct that undermines the integrity” of the court. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill in July 2023. One bill would limit the value of gifts justices may receive to $50, the same limit that applies to federal lawmakers. Another bill would limit Supreme Court justices’ terms to 18 years, a proposal endorsed by Biden.
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“..a border wall is now a good idea, but only if Harris is elected. Somehow if it’s Trump’s wall, it’s “ridiculous.“
• Trump: Kamala Will Stand In Front Of My Wall And Say She Did A Good Job (MN)
President Trump blasted Kamala Harris Thursday as the Democratic nominee is scheduled to appear at the border on Friday. Trump slammed Harris, who is supposedly the ‘border czar’ within the current regime for allowing Central and South American countries to flood the US with their “criminals”. “They’ve taken their drug dealers and they’ve emptied their jails almost. They’ll be emptied very soon, within the next two months. I guess they can’t get enough buses,” Trump stated. He further urged “they’re bringing people at record levels to our country. These are criminals. And their crime rate is the lowest it’s been ever that anybody can remember.” “Caracas has become a safe and wonderful city,” Trump continued, adding “Unlike our cities that are getting worse and worse with this horrible invasion that Kamala, in particular, because I’m no fan of Biden. He’s been a terrible president, doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
“But you know what? He assigned her the job. And whether you call her a border czar or just say that she was put in charge of the border, doesn’t make any difference,” Trump remarked. “Same thing. She’s done a horrible job. And she’ll be out there tomorrow, standing probably in front of the wall that I built, trying to say what a wonderful job she did,” Trump blasted. “And the fake news will believe her because that’s what they want to do. But she didn’t. And I hope everybody out there understands that,” he concluded. As we highlighted, Harris will make a stop at the border in Arizona today, marking only the second time in four years that she has visited to witness the calamity that has unfolded under her watch. Once again, she isn’t really going to the border, she’s stopping off there for a photo before going somewhere else. For the past week, Harris’ surrogates have been putting out the talking point that a border wall is now a good idea, but only if Harris is elected. Somehow if it’s Trump’s wall, it’s “ridiculous.”
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“Who knows what they’ll try next: a surface-to-air missile at his airplane. . .a directed-energy weapon. . . a poisoned cheeseburger. . .?”
• The Shadow of the Shadow (Kunstler)
There are many in our country today who are also not insane, just as in France circa 1794. This is actually the chief appeal of Mr. Trump, though he often expresses it clumsily, coming, as he does, from the rough and exacting world of property development, which is full of rough people in rough building trades using rough language. Secondarily, Mr. Trump represents leadership — the sheer idea that an actual person should be an executive-in-charge of a national polity — and it appears that a majority of the people in this land are finally sick of a faceless blob ruling madly from the shadows. Thirdly, Mr. Trump has become a national father figure, a titanic offense to a party run by women with daddy issues and to their Marxist allies dogmatically bent on destroying the family (along with every other institution). As it happens, countries need fathers, both actual and symbolic. What a surprise!
In the mad effort to evade judgment for their acts, the Democrats and their blob cadres are either trying to kill Mr. Trump directly, or are looking the other way while other nefarious parties attempt the wicked business. So far, no cigar. Who knows what they’ll try next: a surface-to-air missile at his airplane. . .a directed-energy weapon. . . a poisoned cheeseburger. . .? The candidate himself seems a little tinged these days with the same aura of dauntless resignation that was seen in Martin Luther King and the first Bobby Kennedy in 1968 — who both went about their business trying to rescue our country from war and wickedness despite the threats against them. Many upright, intelligent, bold figures stand with and behind Mr. Trump this time, people capable and willing to pick up the flag in the event it becomes necessary. Do not fear.
Meanwhile, you have to also wonder: what on earth possessed the Democrats to maneuver Kamala Harris into this race? Everyone in the party and the blob must know she doesn’t have an agile mind — beyond some ability for reciting parboiled slogans — nor much acquaintance with the workings of the world besides her dwindled wiles in political amour, and that she may actually have a drinking problem. She is left, finally, with no one to cheerlead for her but the harpies on The View and the degenerates on CNN and The New York Times who all know the score but are too invested in years of their own mendacity to even attempt to come clean.
Chatter arises that the awaited “October surprise” will involve “Joe Biden” resigning from office to make way for Kamala to become the First Woman President just before election day, affording her, supposedly, a magisterial prestige in the final leg of the race. Don’t bet on that. When he resigns, “JB” loses his power of the pardon. If he exercises it on the eve of resignation and lets son Hunter, brothers James, Frank, and other family members (including himself) off the hook for their global money-grubbing exploits, it will only besmirch Ms. Harris by association. He has to hang in office until after Nov 6, no matter how the election turns, and then he can pardon what’s left of his brains out. Before we even get to that point, all you have to worry about are unaccountable government factotums doing something over in Russia that will make Mr. Putin want to turn the USA into an ashtray.
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“..how did it make its way to the top of the agenda while the world is burning; and why do we smell a (giant) rat?”
• UN Won’t Protect Gaza, But Can Adopt A ‘Pact For The Future?’ (Pepe Escobar)
The United Nations and its Security Council’s inability – and unwillingness – to stop a live-streamed genocide has discredited it beyond any possible redemption. Any serious resolution inflicting serious consequences to Israel’s deadly psychopathology was, is, and will be blocked at the UN Security Council. Cue to a surrealist spectacle this past Sunday and Monday in New York right before the 79th annual General Assembly, where heads of state convened to deliver their lofty speeches at the GA podium. UN member-states adopted a Pact for the Future, with 143 votes in favor, only seven against, and 15 abstentions. The devil is in the details, of course: who actually designed it and approved it; how did it make its way to the top of the agenda while the world is burning; and why do we smell a (giant) rat?
The UN public relations machine announced, cheerfully, that the “key outcome of the Summit of the Future is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to steer humanity on a new course towards our common future.” Nice language, but to be clear, this is nothing like the Chinese, inclusive, philosophical concept of “community of a shared future for mankind.” It’s more like the common future envisaged by the Atlanticist plutocracy that rules the so-called “garden,” which only produces diktats for the “jungle.” Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, summed up the initiative aptly: The United Nations infringed upon its own principles to pander to a group of delegations from the ‘beautiful garden,’ who have usurped the talks from the very beginning. And the majority from the ‘jungle,’ like a herd, could not find courage enough to protest and defend their rights. They will bear responsibility for the consequences.
A number of diplomats, speaking off the record in quite bewildered tones, confirmed there were actually no serious prior negotiations and that the Pact was adopted by consensus with a minimalistic group of only seven nations – all from the “jungle” – trying to put up a Resistance, dismissing the prepared text and failing to add last-minute amendments. Even brand-new UN General Assembly President Philemon Yang tried to do something. The resisters proposed that Yang should postpone the voting until all provisions were agreed – specifically the ones on disarmament and the interfering role of NGOs in the work of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
But the “garden” applied Full Pressure to ram the Pact through, and the resisters came up with too little, too late. A few African diplomats complained, off the record, that their countries were contrary to the Pact but were voting “out of solidarity.” That’s code for being bullied or actually bribed by the “garden.” And now comes the clincher. Both Russia and Iran voted “No.” And China abstained. In short, the three key civilization-states, which happen to be the key drivers of Eurasia integration and arguably the three most important BRICS members, rejected the garden-manufactured Pact. The key unstated reason is that this Pact is ultimately against the BRICS and the rise of a second global pole.
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“..a ground operation by the Israeli army in Lebanon would be “a huge mistake, a huge risk of escalation.”
• Macron Says US Needs to Pressure Netanyahu Into Ceasefire With Hezbollah (Sp.)
The United States should put pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to establish a ceasefire between the Jewish state and Lebanese movement Hezbollah, French President Emmanuel Macron said. On Thursday, the leaders of the United States, the European Union, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire on the border between Israel and Lebanon. At the same time, both Israel and Lebanon stated that no agreements had been reached within the framework of this initiative. “I do believe that we still have some hours during which the prime minister can commit and give a chance for peace during these 21 days, and I do believe that the US now has to increase the pressure on the prime minister of Israel to do so,” Macron told Canadian broadcaster CBC News on Thursday.
Macron added that the whole world is waiting for Netanyahu’s decision, since Hezbollah has expressed its readiness for a ceasefire. He also noted that a ground operation by the Israeli army in Lebanon would be “a huge mistake, a huge risk of escalation.” Israel commenced extensive airstrikes on Monday targeting southern and eastern Lebanon. IDF Chief of the General Staff, Herzi Halevi, named this operation “Northern Arrows.” According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, the death toll from the bombardments has surpassed 1,500. In turn, Hezbollah launched scores of rockets toward northern Israel. This latest escalation followed a string of explosions involving pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon from September 17 to 18, which killed over 40 and left nearly 3,500 injured.
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“Indictments are one-sided and highly slanted interpretations of the facts by prosecutors to secure a conviction.”
• There May Be Less Than Meets the Eye in the Adams Indictment (Turley)
The federal five-count indictment of New York Mayor Eric Adams is on its face a damning document of alleged public corruption. The government is alleging that Turkish officials saw Adams as a rising star in the Democratic Party and started to groom him for influence. However, once beyond the details of the opulent rooms and flight upgrades, there may be less here than meets the eye in some of these charges. The campaign-contribution violations raise serious problems for Adams in the alleged solicitation of unlawful foreign contributions. Yet the counts must be read with caution. We have not seen the specific defenses to the allegations of using “straw men” to funnel unlawful contributions and the alleged favors bestowed on contributors. Indictments are one-sided and highly slanted interpretations of the facts by prosecutors to secure a conviction.
For example, many of the gifts from Turkish sources were realized in the form of upgrades on flights to business class or expensive hotel suites. It is not clear what Adams knew of the logistics for such travel or their inclusion in annual reports. Despite their public personas, many populist politicians tend to be a pampered class who expect to be feted in the best quarters as they speak as the “voice of the people.” That was captured most vividly by NYC Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sashaying at the Met Gala in a designer dress reading “tax the rich.” It was a scene with a crushing irony. The dress itself was worth more than some people make in a year and it was just “loaned” to AOC despite being made specifically for her. She also did not pay for her ticket, which would cost $35,000. It triggered an ethics investigation and allegations of ethical violations.
In one night, Ocasio-Cortez flaunted roughly half of the value of the alleged Adams gifts as she paraded as a social warrior among the social elite. The truly hilarious aspect was that it was the elite who were thrilled by the demonstration and subsidized it. The Adams allegations would constitute a fairly crude form of corruption by today’s standards. For the Biden family, it looks like small potatoes. Adams lacked a Hunter and the type of labyrinth of accounts maintained by the Bidens to funnel millions from foreign sources. One of the most discussed allegations concerns a high-rise building built by Turkish friends in Manhattan to serve as their new consulate. The Turks wanted the building opened before the arrival of the Turkish president in 2021, strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The problem is that, according to prosecutors, New York Fire Department officials found an array of dangerous defects in the building and believed that it was a fire risk.
They refused to allow the building to open until it met those standards. The government alleges that Turkish officials immediately dialed up their well-groomed ally, Adams, and told him that it was “his turn” to support Turkey.Adams intervened and prosecutors say that FDNY officials were afraid for their jobs. Once again, however, Adams has defenses. He can argue that New York is the home of the United Nations and a large population of diplomats and international organizations. This was a foreign country seeking to open a consulate and he intervened to avoid an embarrassing diplomatic tiff. Suggesting that a push to cut short fire inspections may be difficult to maintain under a bribery theory. That was the type of expansive case that government attorney Jack Smith used against former Virginia Republican Gov. Robert McDonnell and it failed spectacularly before the Supreme Court. There are other reasons besides flight upgrades why Adams might have facilitated a speed up of building approvals.
In the end, this is a Bob Menendez-lite indictment. Failing to publicly list how you moved from economy to business class on flights is hardly the stuff of “All the King’s Men.” It is more like “All the King’s Upgrades.” The biggest problem for Adams is that the US Attorney’s Office went public with a threat for all of those who do not cooperate and pledged that more will be “held accountable.” In other words, the indictment amplified the tune in a game of musical chairs. Anyone close to Adams may want to sit down before the music stops. That means that Adams can expect close associates to be testifying against him with the enthusiasm of those threatened with ruin by federal prosecutors. If Eric Adams is convicted, it will be at the hands of his associates. The jury will not be particularly sympathetic with a politician snaring the Bentley Suite at the St. Regis Istanbul. Prosecutors love to play on such opulence like their use of Paul Manafort’s $15,000 Ostrich coat. Combined with former friends and associates, it may be enough for the ultimate upgrade for Adams from business class to a federal cellblock.
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“This will be one for the history books.”
• “Invites Are Out”: Tesla’s October 10 Robotaxi Event Is A Go (ZH)
Elon Musk’s long-awaited and once-delayed Robotaxi event looks set to take place on October 10, with IBD reporting that “invites are out”. “Join us for We, Robot — our official unveiling of the future of autonomy,” the invitation reads, according to one obtained by Investors Business Daily. On Elon Musk’s X account this week he wrote: “This will be one for the history books.” “We, Robot. 10.10 Los Angeles,” a photo of the event announcement, appended to the post, said. Tesla confirmed its upcoming robotaxi reveal will happen in Los Angeles but hasn’t disclosed the exact venue. Bloomberg suggests the event may be held at Warner Bros. studio in Burbank, though this remains unconfirmed. On September 10, Tesla invited retail investors to enter a lottery for a chance to attend, with entries closing by September 17. Invitations were sent out Wednesday, with only a few investors selected to join in person.
Investors must RSVP by October 6 to attend the robotaxi reveal, according to the invitation. Tickets are non-transferable, and guests must be 21 or older. Additional details will follow once tickets are confirmed. The event starts at 7 p.m. on October 10 and will be livestreamed on Tesla’s social media platforms, including X and YouTube, the Investors Business Daily report says. Originally set for August 8, Tesla’s robotaxi reveal was postponed to October 10 for “important changes.” CEO Elon Musk hinted at additional product announcements during the event. According to Electrek, the robotaxi is rumored to be “Cybertruck-like” in design, without a steering wheel or pedals, and potentially smaller in size. A prototype was spotted testing at the Warner Bros. lot. Tesla may also showcase its latest Optimus humanoid robots with a focus on autonomous features.
Analysts expect to see the latest version of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software and possibly a demonstration of a fully autonomous robotaxi on a closed course. Deutsche Bank predicts Tesla may also unveil its new low-cost vehicle planned for next year.
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Catch me
https://twitter.com/i/status/1839289377203044625
Giraffe
Ears
https://twitter.com/i/status/1839638500452229388
Smile
https://twitter.com/i/status/1839630922955800866
Brood
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