#{ august mueller — thread }

[angeldcgs]

closed: @lvciddreamt who: august "gus" mueller, he/him, 31, landscaper/painter

it seemed as though the pleasure he was experiencing had altered his spacial awareness, as gus could've sworn he had more room on the bed to flip them over so he was on top. at least there'd been just enough space for his partner, but unfortunately for him, his lapse in judgement sent him rolling off the edge of the bed and to the floor, smacking his head on the bedside table along the way and landing with a groan. "fuck... how do you know if you're concussed?"

[gothwives]

maybe he and marisol would continue treading the same tired track repeatedly, wearing each other down until one of them finally snapped. since childhood, gus never pictured himself making it past forty— didn't think he'd even make it to adulthood at times, but now that he'd made it there, he figured it was only a matter of time before one of his vices put him in the grave. if anything, he hoped that could be a comfort to marisol. that she wouldn't have to keep dealing with him for long. while he was still breathing, though, he would do whatever it took to remain unforgettable to her, and keep his memory alive long after he was gone. this was just another of those enduring performances, and he put his all into it. his tongue poked out to wet his lips, tracing a slow trail as he watched her shed an article of clothing, earning her a hum of appreciation. "that's right, spread your legs for me. pull those panties to the side, lemme see your pretty pussy. wanna see how wet i made you." with his belt undone, gus made quick work of his button and fly, sliding the vintage denim down his legs and kicking them off to the side. as he watched her heed his instructions, a broad palm pressed over the crotch of his boxer briefs, groping his stiffened cock and groaning from the physical and visual stimulation. "so fucking pretty for me... show me your tits, baby. squeeze 'em nice and hard." this was a performance that would be burned into his brain for as long as he lived, replaying it at will anytime he closed his eyes, and he never wanted it to end. finally, he couldn't take the separation any longer, and so he grasped onto her thighs and tugged her down to the edge of the bed, kneeling before her and wasting no time in ridding her of her soaked panties. like a man starved, he dove in between her legs face first, greedy tongue licking a flat stripe up her wet cunt, moaning at the taste as his lashes fluttered. his gaze remained trained up at her, watching her expressions change while his lips circled around her clit, suckling ever so gently to contrast his prior roughness. "so good, baby... fucking tastes like honey." hands remained hooked around her upper thighs to keep her spread open and held down as he feasted on her. her arousal was practically dripping down his chin, face nuzzling further into her until his nose was pressed against her pubic bone and he returned to licking up and down her slit. each time he reached her clit, the tip of his tongue flexed and flickered over it, teasing the sensitive bundle of nerves.

nothing could really pull her away from him. she might have sworn she was done, told him countless times she didn't want to see him again, but they always wound up twisted in sheets and repeating the whole cycle all over again. try as she might, she saw no end to what they shared in sight. deep down, part of her knew that she'd rather have the chaos that came with august rather than a white picket fence with some guy who didn't know how to fuck her, regardless of what she insisted otherwise. "that's a load of bullshit too, august. the world can't possibly have that much influence over you! i just think that you don't want to change for the better. you'd rather be like this because it's all you know how to do." she regretted her words as soon as she uttered them, but she was too caught up in the heat of their disagreement to even entertain the idea of apologizing. "that's your fucking issue! you think that they're just gonna use you for your money and tell you what you want to hear or think you already know! they're fucking helpful! maybe if you pulled your head out of your ass for long enough you'd be able to see that for yourself!" she shot back, suddenly feeling hot all over. "no, you're not good at it. you're fucking terrible at it." he certainly knew the best way to get her to shut up, that was for sure. the intensity he kissed her with told her a different tale than his words. when he kissed her, she felt loved, she could tell how much he wanted her. couldn't contain the moan that escaped her as his thigh pressed more intently against her, hips moved on their own accord, grinding ever so slightly against him. knew what she was doing to him, could feel the growing bulge in the man's jeans. had it not been for the layers of clothing separating them, he'd have a clear indication of the fact that he wasn't the only one feeling aroused. marisol couldn't deny it any longer, she was absolutely powerless when it came to him at the end of the day. eyes were fixated on him as he pushed his fingers into her mouth, tongue swirled around the digits, non verbally agreeing with him. she did love him, and she did need him. emitted a low groan once she felt a hand wrap around her throat, always had been quite fond of his hand being there. there was nothing gentle about what they shared, but marisol liked it that way. she didn't want to be treated like she was porcelain, she wanted to be handled roughly. august wasn't wrong when he said that nobody would ever touch her the way that he did. her heart hammered in her chest as he tossed her onto the bed, gaze never wavering from the man. hips lifted slightly as her own hands moved to the waistband of her skirt, sliding the article of clothing down her toned legs.

[yobaba30]

Thank you, Seth Abramson

(THREAD) BREAKING: The NYT just published the biggest political news since the Mueller Report was published: we now know at least 3 of the federal probes still ongoing post-Mueller—and all involve election interference. I hope you will REPOST and read on 

1/ POST-MUELLER INVESTIGATION #1, per the NYT: "Investigators are still examining the campaign contacts of an Israeli specialist in social media manipulation who has worked for Prince Mohammed [bin Zayed of the UAE]." (NB: I'll list the three investigations, then explain them.)

2/ POST-MUELLER INVESTIGATION #2, per the NYT: "Investigators are still examining...a Lebanese-American businessman [George Nader] who acted as [a pre-election] emissary [for Mohammed bin Zayed of the UAE, also known as "MBZ"].

3/ POST-MUELLER INVESTIGATION #3, per the NYT: "Prosecutors are investigating whether another top Republican donor whose security company worked for the prince [Elliot Broidy, named RNC deputy finance chair post-election by Trump] should legally have registered as [MBZ's] agent."

4/ (The NEW YORK TIMES has also implied that a *fourth* investigation is ongoing—but because the reference to it mentions the "special counsel," I've held off on saying that the TIMES is "officially" reporting it as ongoing. In the next tweet I'll summarize its contours, though.)

5/ POST-MUELLER INVESTIGATION #4, per the NYT (see prior tweet for note): "[Prosecutors] also questioned Rashid al-Malik, an Emirati real-estate developer close to MBZ and...the head of Emirati intelligence. Mr. al-Malik is also close to Mr. Trump’s friend Tom Barrack... (cont.)

6/ ...and investigators are asking whether al-Malik was part of an illegal [UAE] influence scheme, according to two people familiar with the matter." From PROOF OF CONSPIRACY research, I know the key al-Malik intel involves pre-election contact with Barrack—and possibly Manafort.

7/ Those who read this feed know that I've long been saying—and saying, too, that those most fully "in the know" are saying—that the pre-election crimes most likely to implicate Trump and his family involve bribery and aiding and abetting, and *not just Russia* but other nations.

8/ The Mueller Report is a must-read for every American, despite being long and complex. Once you've read it—and this is the hard part—you have to understand that, for all the terrible stuff you just read, it's only a narrow window on a much larger story still being investigated.

9/ The MIDDLE EAST EYE is a London-based British media outlet run by a longtime editor at THE GUARDIAN—one of the most respected media outlets in the United Kingdom. 15 months ago it broke harrowing news of a multinational conspiracy to elect Donald Trump.                                                                                                                                                                EXCLUSIVE: The secret yacht summit that realigned the Middle East | Middle East Eye                        Arab leaders from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Jordan plotted to counter Turkey and Iran, and replace the GCC and Arab League                        https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-secret-yacht-summit-realigned-middle-east                                                            

10/ Beginning then—in March 2018—journalists around the world began investigating this conspiracy. I know not just because I've written a book about the "Red Sea Conspiracy," but because major-media journalists from all over have contacted me to say they're working on this, too.

11/  There are 3 reasons you've heard little about this: 1)  The best reporting on it is in foreign media. 2)  Our media consistently "buries the lede" in reporting on the story—as it considers America not ready for it. 3)  The story is so complex it's taken over a year to research.

12/  I'll now tell you the basic facts of the story that has emerged: 1)  Six nations hatched a plot to elect Trump. The plot was hatched in 2015; the nations involved were Russia, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt. The leaders of these countries were all involved. 13/ 2)  Three of these six nations—Russia, Israel, the UAE—had infiltrated deep into the Trump campaign by March 2016: Russia through Dimitri Simes; the UAE through Yousef al-Otaiba; Israel through Kushner, Groner, and Birnbaum. The campaign understood the plan these nations had. 14/ 3)  The plan was simple: historic detentes between the US and Russia and the Sunni Arab Gulf states and Israel; the US drops all sanctions on Russia and Russia agrees to withdraw support for Iran, thus clearing a path for a new Arab-Israeli alliance to remake the Middle East. 15/   4)  The Trump campaign became aware of the plan via *many* interlocutors: Kushner; Flynn; Nader; Manafort; al-Otaiba; Simes; Birnbaum; Barrack; others. The plan was seen as a "grand bargain" and sometimes called that—other times it was called "the Middle East Marshall Plan." 16/ 5)  Russia began operations in what would become the plot (through the GRU and IRA) in 2014, at a time it was in a *massive* new joint investment program with the UAE and there were regular high-level Moscow/Abu Dhabi contacts. The UAE and Russia knew Trump would run by 2013. 17/ 6)  By March 2016, Russia had become the first nation with a "man in"—Dimitri Simes. (Though you could argue Kushner saw himself as an unofficial agent of Israel prior to that). By April 2016, Israel had a "man in"—via Birnbaum. By May 2017, UAE had a "man in"—with al-Otaiba. 18/ 7)  Saudi Arabia (whose leader, MBS, is a mentee of the UAE's MBZ); Egypt (whose leader, el-Sisi, is in power because of the UAE's MBZ); and Bahrain (whose leader is basically along for the ride), did not *need* their own agents, as they effectively were using the Emiratis'. 18/ 7)  The conspirators spent March through July trying to get access directly to the Trumps, though Jared Kushner was conspiring with Simes, al-Otaiba, and Netanyahu's office by late spring. On August 3, 2016, agents of Israel, Russia, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia got to Trump Jr. 19/ 8)  At that August 3 Trump Tower meeting, both the family and campaign were represented: the family via Don Jr., the campaign via Trump's chief domestic policy adviser, Stephen Miller. Four nations offered the Trump campaign illegal pre-election assistance; Don Jr. said yes.

20/ I've given you the most basic contours. The full story (at least as I've written it) takes 500 pages and 3,500+ endnotes. It can't be relayed on Social Media. But it is fully sourced, and sourced with the top media outlets in the world (particularly in the US, the UK, and Israel). PS/ Many may wonder, "What's the connection between the Mueller Report and this?" The answer: Mueller's report is a prequel, following 2 of 7 characters—the US and Russia—in what was, in the event, a full five-act play. It's the TALES OF BEEDLE THE BARD to Rowling's HARRY POTTER.

[sirfrogsworth]

This isn’t over. Unfortunately.

“While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

I’m afraid we did not get a giant smoking gun. 

But we do have tons of smaller smoking guns. 

It will be up to Congress and the Southern District of New York to pull on those threads. 

I’d like to post some tidbits from Reddit user PoppinKREAM. An amazing aggregator and summarizer of relevant sources. 

There is not enough to prosecute due to the intent of the 2 questions the Special Counsel Office investigated - whether or not there was collusion and whether or not the President obstructed justice.

The Special Counsel found that no one from the Trump Campaign tacitly or expressively conspired or coordinated with Russia with their election interference.

The obstruction of justice allegation is unresolved. Without any legal conclusions he's left it to the Attorney General if anything they found constitutes a crime. With regards to obstruction of justice allegations Special Counsel Mueller stated that "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

It should also be noted that there are multiple criminal investigations that have been siphoned off to other jurisdictions. Special Counsel Mueller investigated collusion and obstruction.

Some questions that need answering;

Why did Trump's Campaign Chairman and Deputy Campaign Chairman meet with a former Russian intelligence officer?

Konstatin Kilimnik met with Trump Campaign Chairman Manafort and Deputy Campaign Chairman Gates on August 2nd 2016 where Manafort shared internal polling data with the Russian operative. According to Andrew Weissman, a prosecutor on Special Counsel Mueller's team, the meeting is *“very much to the heart of what the special counsel’s office is investigating."*[1]

Why did the Trump Campaign meet with Russian operatives during the 2016 Presidential Campaign at the Trump Tower?

One of the Russian operatives, Natalia Veselnitskaya, is an outspoken opponent of the Magnitsky Act.[2] Trump Jr. admitted to discussing adoptions, which means they discussed Russian sanctions. Russia banned Americans from adopting Russian orphans in retaliation for the Magnistky Act sanctions that targeted Russia's oligarchs.[3] While the Kremlin has vehemently denied Veselnitskaya working for the Russian government, Swiss authorities allege that she was involved in an attempt to enlist a foreign country's law enforcement agent as a double-agent to work for the Russians.[4] She did this on behalf of Russian Deputy Attorney General Saak Albertovich Karapetyan who was recently killed in a helicopter accident.[5] Moreover, in 2017 at the G20 summit Putin and Trump discussed adoptions and the Magnitsky Act.[6] The other Russian operative present at the infamous Trump Tower meeting, Rinat Akhmetshin, has ties to Russian intelligence and has a history of being embroiled in court cases related to hacking campaigns. Russian operative Rinat Akhmetshin also has ties to former Trump Campaign Adviser and convicted felon Paul Manafort[7]

Why did senior Trump Campaign officials direct Roger Stone to find out about Wikileaks releasing illegally hacked damaging information on the Clinton Campaign?^[8]

At a time when then candidate Trump had been warned by the FBI that Russians and other foreign adversaries would try to interfere with the election and was asked to alert the FBI of any suspicious overtures to their campaign.[9] Despite the intelligence briefing then candidate Trump continued to deny any wrong-doing by the Russians during the campaign.[10]

President Trump repeatedly lied about doing business with Russia. It is an irrefutable fact that his personal attorney lied. The question is why?

Why did President Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen lie to Congress about the Trump Organization pursuing an incredibly lucrative Trump Tower project in Moscow during the 2016 Presidential campaign?

Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the Trump Organization pursuing a Moscow Trump Tower project during the 2016 Presidential Campaign.[11] Special Counsel Mueller charged Cohen for making false statements to Congress. Cohen made false statements to minimize the link between the Moscow Trump Tower project and then Candidate Trump as his company continued the venture well into the 2016 Presidential Campaign.[12]

Also...

With Special Counsel Mueller's investigation wrapping up here is a growing list of criminal investigations into associates of the President as well as criminal investigations into his businesses and organizations;

1) The Trump Foundation is under investigation.[1] The Trump Foundation has dissolved following an investigation led by the New York Attorney General.[2]

2a) President Trump's Personal Attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty.[3] Michael Cohen was sentenced to 3 years in prison.[4] Special Counsel Mueller has stated that Cohen made "substantial and significant efforts to remediate his misconduct."[5]

And Cohen gave Mueller "information about attempts by other Russian nationals to reach" Trump's presidential campaign as far back as November 2015.

...Likewise, Mueller said, it was "material" that Cohen during the campaign "had a substantial telephone call about the project with an assistant to the press secretary" for Russia's president, Vladimir Putin.

Cohen's lies hid "the fact that the Moscow Project was a lucrative business opportunity that sought, and likely required, the assistance of the Russian government."

2b) The President's former personal attorney Michael Cohen has implicated President Trump in crimes they committed together;[6]

Pg. 11

“During the campaign, Cohen played a central role in two similar schemes to purchase the rights to stories - each from women who claimed to have had an affair with Individual-1 - so as to suppress the stories and thereby prevent them from influencing the election. With respect to both payments, Cohen acted with the intent to influence the 2016 presidential election. Cohen coordinated his actions with one or more members of the campaign, including through meetings and phone calls, about the fact, nature, and timing of payments. In particular, and as Cohen himself has now admitted, with respect to both payments, he acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1.”

3) National Security Advisor Michael Flynn pleaded guilty.[7] Judge Sullivan delivered a blistering rebuke, "I am not hiding my disgust, my disdain for your criminal offense," Judge Sullivan continued "[t]hat undermines everything this flag over here stands for. Arguably, you sold your country out." Michael Flynn asked to postpone his sentencing so that he can further cooperate with federal investigations. Judge Sullivan later apologized to Flynn for his outburst.[8]

4) Foreign Policy Advisor George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty.[9] Papadopoulos was sentenced to two weeks in jail for lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russians.[10]

5) Deputy Campaign Chairman Richard Gates pleaded guilty.[11] Special Counsel Mueller has delayed Rick Gates sentencing as he continues to cooperate in several ongoing investigations.[12]

6) Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort was convicted for committing several crimes. Manafort was sentenced to 47 months for bank and tax fraud charges.[13] Moreover, Manafort was convicted on foreign lobbying and witness tampering charges and will be in prison for 7 years.[14]

7) Trump Campaign Adviser Roger Stone has been indicted by Special Counsel Mueller.[15]

8) The Trump Organization is under investigation for campaign finance violations and may face criminal charges.[16]

9) President Trump's Inaugural Committee has been subpoenaed by multiple organizations including the Attorney General of the District of Columbia, New Jersey Attorney General, and Manhattan federal prosecutors.[17]

[adenovir]

It’s not just Trump-Russia...

(THREAD) Pre-election Russia collusion may take down Trump. It's equally possible the Trumps' pre- and post-election collusion with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Israel will do it—a course of collusion also connected to the Kremlin. I explain here. I hope you'll read on and share.

1/ I must stress how unbelievably complex the "Grand Bargain" theory of the Trump-Russia case is—a different thing from saying it's not substantiated. It's substantiated in *almost every single particular*—it just *also* happens to be very confusing. Not byzantine—just confusing.

2/ The basics: Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the UAE all view Iran as their chief regional enemy. Iran is propped up by Russia. Therefore the Saudis, Israelis, and Emiratis all need a US government willing to find a way to get the Kremlin to *stop* supporting Iran in the Middle East.

3/ The best way to get Russia to stop supporting Iran—or reduce support—was/is to drop all sanctions on Russia over its 2014 annexation of Crimea, as that'd be worth *trillions* to the Kremlin over the next decade. Everyone knew that Clinton wouldn't do this—and that Trump would.

4/ Per the NYT, on August 3, 2016, Donald Trump Jr. met secretly at Trump Tower with a Saudi and Emirati emissary, George Nader, as well as an Israeli intelligence expert, Joel Zamel, with *significant* ties to both Israeli intelligence *and* Russian oligarchs allied with Putin.

5/ Per the NYT, Nader and Zamel both—effectively on behalf of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Israel, and Russia—offered the Trumps clandestine collusive assistance to win the 2016 election. Jr. reacted favorably to this offer—which got into the specifics of how the collusion would work.

6/ Zamel specifically offered a domestic disinformation campaign in the United States that would use fake social media accounts to sway "micro-targeted" U.S. voters toward Trump—basically *exactly* what ended up happening. Zamel has been connected to Bannon's Cambridge Analytica.

7/ Nader was an emissary from the Saudi Crown Prince ("MBS") and the Emirati Crown Prince ("MBZ"), while Zamel was connected to a Trump-linked Russian oligarch (Rybolovlev), Israeli intel, and Cambridge Analytica. Together they had money, microtargeting, and "dark" intel methods.

8/ Jesus... this is where it gets insane. I'm going to post five articles now that are absolutely necessary to what I'm about to say. This is... serious stuff, and it needs to be right. Please take a look at the following five articles:

9/ KEY ARTICLE 1:

Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election

https://www.nytimes.com/…/trump-jr-saudi-uae-nader-prince-z…

10/ KEY ARTICLE 2:

Saudis Close to Crown Prince Discussed Killing Other Enemies a Year Before Khashoggi’s Death

https://www.nytimes.com/…/saudi-iran-assassinations-mohamme…

11/ KEY ARTICLE 3:

Top Cheney Aide in Muellers Sights as Probe Expands

https://www.thedailybeast.com/top-cheney-aide-in-muellers-s…

12/ KEY ARTICLE 4:

Abbas rival hired American mercenaries to kill in Yemen for UAE: report

https://www.i24news.tv/…/186610-181018-abbas-rival-hired-is…

13/ KEY ARTICLE 5:

Dahlan ‘cover-up team’ from Lebanon helps hide traces of Khashoggi murder

https://www.yenisafak.com/…/dahlan-cover-up-team-from-leban…

14/ Upshot: the Saudis and Emiratis formed a plot in 2015 to systematically assassinate Iranians and Iranian allies they considered a threat. To do this they needed the help of US mercenaries and quality intel—two things it now appears the Trumps and their allies helped provide.

15/ In other words, the Saudis, Emiratis, Israelis, and Russians didn't offer the Trumps pre-election collusive assistance for free—indeed they asked for a lot. The Russians would get trillions once the 2014 sanctions were dropped, and the other nations would get... other things.

16/ Trump adviser Erik Prince—who was *also* at the secret meeting with Nader, Zamel, and Don Jr. at Trump Tower in August '16—ran a mercenary army. Elliott Broidy, who had enormous access to Trump as a lobbyist and RNC finance co-chair, also was connected to a mercenary company.

17/ Jared Kushner—who wasn't at the August '16 meeting but *would* attend a followup in December with MBZ (who secretly entered the US for the meeting), Bannon, and the Zamel-connected Mike Flynn—struck up a very close "friendship" with MBS (the other Crown Prince) post-election.

18/ Numerous reports say Kushner got intel from his father-in-law's Presidential Daily Briefing—which only Trump could permit him to take—and gave it to MBS. The intel—a list of MBS' enemies—allowed MBS to target his domestic enemies and kill some of them.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/…/Saudi-crown-prince-brags-Jare…

19/ MBS subsequently told friends that Kushner was "in his pocket." And why would he think otherwise? Trump had (apparently) declassified intel for MBS' use as part of his program of domestic and international assassination. It was that very program that targeted Jamal Khashoggi.

20/ So *no one* was surprised when—despite the CIA concluding that MBS ordered Khashoggi killed—Trump gave his "I'm colluding with this guy" response, saying (as he had of Putin) that he believed MBS wasn't involved in the killing because... wait for it... MBS told him he wasn't.

21/ This five-party collusion explains why Trump went to Saudi Arabia first on his first trip abroad and immediately sold them weapons; why Kushner uses WhatsApp for all his MBS communications (it frustrates oversight); why Prince was Trump's envoy to Russia in the Seychelles...

22/ ...why Broidy was given $1 billion in business by Nader; why Nader met with White House officials repeatedly in the first 60 days of Trump's administration; why Mueller originally suspected Papadopoulos as an Israeli spy; why Flynn, Barrack, Gates, and other Trump allies...

23/ ...began lobbying Trump as soon as he was elected to send nuclear tech to Saudi Arabia (partly to build new nuclear reactors, but with a longer-term goal of letting Saudi Arabia and the UAE develop nuclear weapons as a deterrence of Iran); why Trump ripped up the Iran deal...

24/ ...even though Iran was in compliance; and more. Look: we know Trump's top aides were willing to assist foreign nations in assassinating people living in the U.S., because that's *exactly* what Mike Flynn was caught trying to do—extradite a Turkish cleric to be killed abroad.

25/ The reason this is all so confusing is that *some* of the motives in play may have been reasonable. Iran *is* a state sponsor of terrorism—so it's not so far out of bounds to think that a U.S. government might want to assist Iran's many enemies in the Middle East if possible.

26/ But many of the motives involved were *illegal*, too. Namely—as was the case with Russia—the Trumps (plus Kushner) are *easily* bribed, and willing to set U.S. policy on the basis of bribes. With Putin, it was billions in real estate deals in Moscow that easily bribed Trump.

27/ With Saudi Arabia, Trump and Jared being the *only* people in the White House who supported the Saudi blockade of Qatar suggests that—when Qatar shortly thereafter turned around and "loaned" Jared $1 billion—they were being strong-armed by secret Trump-Saudi Arabia collusion.

28/ Just so, the Trumps are trying to expand (and *have* expanded) their real estate empire into the UAE, which makes pleasing the Emiratis important as a business proposition. And since Trump doesn't care how many people the Saudis or Emiratis assassinate, why not help them out?

29/ This sort of Bribery—a federal crime—is of course impeachable under the Constitution. But if a story that just came out in the Middle East Eye—which has been *very* accurate on the Khashoggi case—is correct, the Trumps may have just crossed the line into something far darker.

30/ If this BREAKING NEWS is accurate, the Trumps *actively* participated in the Saudi-Emirati-Israeli assassination scheme—which, remember, per the links in this thread, both Nader and Zamel were part of—in order to get financial benefits on the back end.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/…/saudis-using-pompeos-plan-s…

31/ Simply put, under circumstances in which you know MBS is criminally responsible for the murder of a Washington Post journalist, you *can't* assist him in escaping detection by delivering to him a plan to do just that. That'd be Accessory After the Fact to First-Degree Murder.

32/ *Obviously* I want to see the Middle East Eye story reported elsewhere also, but again, the Middle East Eye has repeatedly broken news in the Khashoggi case. Plus, their scoop fits with *all the other evidence* we have of this plot dating back (at least) to early August 2016.

33/ I can't help but recall, now, how Pompeo was the CIA director, and then Tillerson was pushed out at State so Pompeo could replace him, and then Trump started singing his praises in terms of his *loyalty*. Well, it'd take that sort of "loyal" person to do something like this.

34/ There are too many angles here to count: for instance, one wouldn't normally think Bannon would be at all the planning meetings for Trump-Russia-Saudi-Emirati-Israeli collusion—but it makes sense when you understand that Zamel and Cambridge Analytica were crucial to the plan.

35/ Flynn's involvement might also be a mystery, until you learn that Zamel had previously tried to recruit him for *his* intel outfit (Flynn had one too), and Flynn thereafter became an *energy lobbyist* trying to bring nuclear energy (thus, eventually, weapons) to Saudi Arabia.

36/ A list of the people relevant to this plot:

Trump Sr. Trump Jr. Kushner Bannon Flynn Nader Broidy Prince Zamel MBS MBZ Rybolovlev* Barrack Gates McFarlane Dmitriev + others

*There's credible evidence Rybolovlev had two secret meetings with Trump in the 10 days pre-election.

37/ My point in writing this thread *isn't* thinking I can explain every aspect of this to all of you on Twitter—the 5- (really 6-) nation "Grand Bargain" requires, literally, an entire book to explain properly. And—as importantly—to document with reliable, major-media reporting.

38/ The important thing to understand is that all the major-media reporting you've read saying that Mueller is looking at *multi-state collusion*—not just a "bipolar" collusion between the Trumps and Russia—is not just correct but *richly* supported by reams of *public* evidence.

39/ This also means that when you see continued reporting on the Khashoggi case, you shouldn't see it as merely the tail-end of a story from weeks ago that is losing steam... but quite possibly the *beginning* of a story that will ultimately lead to the end of Trump's presidency.

40/ I've been saying forever that "Trump-Russia"—which is now the catch-all term for all pre- and post-election collusive activities orchestrated by the Trumps and their allies—is about *greed*. These are really *really* bad people, folks—and we'll soon learn just *how* bad. /end

UPDATE/ This thread continues, with additional *significant* evidence of the "Grand Bargain," here:

https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1064904175761403906

(THE GRAND BARGAIN) If the "grand bargain" theory of the Russia case is accurate—and it is—we'd expect to see MBS pay Rybolovlev hundreds of millions in laundered money to pay Russia for the social media campaign the Saudis promised Jr. And hey—guess what?

https://www.nytimes.com/…/salvator-mundi-da-vinci-saudi-pri…

2/ That's right:

1. Rybolovlev agent offers Trump Jr. (on 8/3/16) a Russia disinformation campaign in the presence of an MBS agent. MBS apparently offers to bankroll it. 2. Trump Jr. says yes. 3. A year later, an MBS agent overpays Rybolovlev by $300 MILLION PLUS for a painting.

3/ The only plausible reason Nader—the MBS agent—offers collusive assistance to the Trumps at *the same secret Trump Tower meeting* at which Zamel (a Rybolovlev agent) pitches a disinformation campaign mirroring Russia's is if the Saudis can bankroll it. So MBS *owed* Rybolovlev.

4/ Below is info on Zamel as Rybolovlev agent. Note: Rybolovlev a) apparently held two secret tarmac meetings with Trump himself in the 10 days before the 2016 election (Charlotte/Las Vegas), b) previously overpaid Trump by tens of millions for a property.

https://www.haaretz.com/…/.premium-who-is-joel-zamel-austra…

5/ But wait! you say. Did Zamel have the sort of micro-targeting data needed to coordinate a Russian pre-election propaganda campaign in the U.S.? Well, almost the very day after the election Zamel *publicly* announced a partnership with... Trump's data-firm, Cambridge Analytica.

6/ And once Trump won, Kushner and Bannon (Trump's data guys) started showing up at secret transition meetings with... MBZ (the other Crown Prince behind the August '16 collusion offer) and Flynn (a former Zamel associate and fellow intel guy) and George Nader (representing MBS).

7/ But why make Don Jr. the first point man in receiving offers of a digital campaign to hurt Clinton? I don't know, was Don Jr. in contact with WikiLeaks to try to find out how to help his dad during the *same 2-week period* he accepted a digital collusion offer from Zamel? Yep.

8/ Can I just repeat that a Saudi prince who's a top ally of MBS overpaid a Trump-linked Russian oligarch for a *painting* by... OVER 300 MILLION? (Re-read multiple times.) Per the NYT, Christie's—the auction house—and everyone else was like, uh, where did this guy get the money?

9/ The key point: this *isn't* a theory of the case that exists only on Twitter. This appears to be *Mueller's theory of the case* with respect to Trump-Russia: that it's a Bribery, Money Laundering, Fraud, and Conspiracy case involving *multiple* nations.

https://newrepublic.com/…/mueller-probe-going-beyond-russia…

10/ Another point about that painting: as NYT notes, many think it's a) not good work, and b) even worse, *fake*. So that transaction is *suspicious as hell*—and it's effectively between the two people in the *world* you'd most suspect of needing to launder money over collusion.

— Seth Abramson, the author of "Proof of Collusion: How Trump Betrayed America"

[gothwives]

of all the shitty, back-breaking jobs he'd taken on since he'd gotten into the landscaping business, this one had the best perks by far. who needs health coverage when you've got a gorgeous heiress practically throwing herself at you? you'd think by then they'd have dropped the whole fighting like cats and dogs act and just accepted that they'd always end up right back in the same state of undress, but that bitter bickering was what made the sex that much more mind blowing. "you're obsessed with yourself, princess. don't go projecting that shit on me." obsession was a bit much, but it wasn't far off either. there was just something about dani that gus couldn't get enough of, like an itch he couldn't scratch. no matter how many times they hooked up, he always found himself wanting more, found himself craving her body and her beguiling antics. "i can read you like a book, dani..." fingers slipped beneath her panties just to slide between slick folds, gliding up and down easily as he groaned into the kiss, nearly stumbling in following her towards the desk. every time they came together, they always left behind a mess in their wake. they were so focused on each other, their surroundings were completely lost on them, too wrapped up in arousal to care what they knocked down or pushed over. crystalline blue eyes fluttered open once their lips parted, gaze immediately drawn down between her legs once she begun to slip off her panties. he could feel his mouth water as she revealed herself to him, wolfish grin splitting his face in two and a chuckle cutting through the tension in the room. "i'll say..." with that, he'd dropped to his knees, unable to resist giving her a reminder of just why she was so hooked on him for even a second. broad palms went to her thighs, pushing her legs open wider and keeping them spread while a calloused thumb traced over her skin, just marveling at her glistening pussy for a moment to commit the image to memory. his grip on her tightened once he leaned in and finally made contact with her flesh, wasting no time before swiping his tongue up the same trail his fingers had traveled just moments ago. the tip flicked against her clit teasingly before he went back to slithering it between her folds, just getting a taste and soaking up all her wetness.

               This was the moment when things spiraled out of their control. It happened every time. One minute, they were all feigned indifference as they silently competed over who was better at not-caring-at-all, the next, hands were pulling at clothes a little harsher than they needed to, previous curses turned into pleas instead. They were beyond acting fool and clueless, beyond pretending they didn’t know exactly how it was going to end since the moment they got into a room together with the intention of ‘going over’ the work; still, Danielle got light-headed and desperate for more time and time again. How couldn’t she when August was admitting what she already knew to be true? Anyone else was nothing more than a weapon they brought up to make each other jealous, just a little pawn in their game. “See? I knew you were obsessed with me.” It was easy, making fun of him, letting out simple jokes that cut whatever deeper meaning that could exist behind the words they whispered once they were too drunk on each other to care about what they said; but there was no denying in the way the blonde beamed at the male’s admission, or in the way her shiny lips parted in a silent moan as his fingers found their way under her skirt, soft movements driving her insane. “Of course you could–” She agreed, a bit too eager, perhaps. “Sometimes it’s like you could read my mind.” Chin tilted up to kiss Gus harder, hungrily, before she was pulling him towards her, making sure he followed her almost involuntary couple of steps back in search for the closest surface before her knees did something humiliating like giving in. But then she was sitting up on the meeting room’s desk and paying absolutely no attention to the hotel’s renovation paperwork that fell to the ground. Instead, she broke the kiss with hooded eyes and shallow breath, fingers moving to flip up her skirt with a self-pleased grin on her face, more than happy to put on a show for August as she dragged her panties down her thighs, delicate black lace falling to his feet, slick cunt perfectly exposed for him. “This seems way better than blocking my number, don’t you think?” Teasing words rolled out of her tongue.

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

As the summer drew to a close, Labor Day attained almost mythic status for followers of the Mueller investigation. Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani repeatedly claimed that the Mueller probe was poised to wrap up by the beginning of September, while others breathlessly predicted that indictments of Roger Stone and even Donald Trump Jr. were imminent.

Instead, none of that happened. And now Mueller-watchers may have to wait even longer to learn what the special counsel investigation has in store. With the midterm elections less than 60 days away, some observers have predicted that Mueller will refrain from taking steps that could affect the outcome — although as former FBI director James Comey can attest, there’s no ironclad rule forbidding Department of Justice officials from taking action, even on the eve of an election.

As we enter this possible quiet period, however, it’s a good time to take stock of what Mueller has accomplished so far, and what questions are left unanswered.

The special counsel investigation tends to be described as a single, sprawling entity, with many details still in shadow. But there are several distinct tracks or areas of focus within the investigation that Mueller is pursuing simultaneously. Sketching out the trajectory of these tracks can help illuminate the special counsel’s strategy so far — and where it might go next. Legal experts say the special counsel is closing in on the parts of the probe that have the biggest impact for Trump and the people in his orbit.

Pre-existing illegal activity by Trump associates

So far, the longest-running element of the Mueller investigation — the indictment and trials of former campaign Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort for financial crimes and foreign lobbying violations — is the thread that has the fewest obvious connections to the president. Manafort was already under surveillance by the FBI in connection with these crimes when he was working for the Trump campaign, and many of the crimes for which he was indicted took place before 2016.

Manafort was found guilty on eight counts, and his conviction could prove relevant for other parts of the investigation if he provides information about coordination between Trump campaign officials and Russian agents in 2016 in exchange for a more favorable sentence. But Lisa Griffin, a former federal prosecutor and law professor at Duke University, said the “window is closing” for that kind of cooperation. According to some reports, Manafort sought a plea deal for his second trial, which could have led to cooperation, but the talks broke down.

Russian coordination with the Trump campaign

The splashiest moments of the Mueller investigation so far have been the two sprawling sets of charges issued by the special counsel’s office against 25 Russian nationals and three Russian businesses. These documents allege that the Russians engaged in a complex, yearslong cyber-influence and hacking campaign with the explicit intent of undermining Hillary Clinton and supporting Trump in the 2016 election.

These individuals and businesses are highly unlikely to see the inside of a U.S. courtroom. But the indictments are important because they offer detailed evidence that Russians were actively working to buoy Trump’s candidacy, despite the president’s protestations to the contrary, and that they did it by sowing discord, spreading misinformation, and leaking damaging hacked materials about his opponent.

The charging documents pointedly stopped short of saying that the Russian efforts tipped the election to Trump, or that Trump campaign officials knowingly coordinated with the Russian agents. Legal experts, however, say that it’s entirely possible that the indictments of the Russians are just the foundation for future charges against Americans who may have solicited or participated in the circulation of the hacked materials or offered favorable treatment on issues like sanctions in exchange.1

The question is whether these Americans — if they exist and are charged — were affiliated with the Trump campaign and how close they are to the president. One frequently discussed possibility is that Roger Stone, an informal Trump advisor who has been under scrutiny for some time because of his murky links to people responsible for hacking and leaking the Democrats’ emails, will be indicted.

Stone, who formally cut ties with Trump in 2015, was a relatively minor figure in the president’s campaign. But the indictment of anyone affiliated with the president for crimes related to election interference could mark a turning point in the investigation, which so far hasn’t addressed the question of whether Americans knowingly worked with Russians to influence the outcome of the election. And it’s still possible that higher-level members of the Trump campaign — even the president or his children — could eventually be implicated.

Obstruction of justice

Mueller’s reported probe into potential obstruction of justice has the most obvious implications for the president, although there have yet to be any charges that are directly linked to obstruction. Some experts, like Griffin, say that from a purely legal standpoint, there is plenty of publicly available evidence that Trump attempted to obstruct law enforcement in their investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election — whether it was through his firing of former FBI director Comey (which the president himself said was related to “this Russia thing”) or tweets calling on high-level officials in the Department of Justice to end Mueller’s probe. That’s in addition to any other evidence Mueller may have gathered from Trump administration insiders like former White House counsel Donald McGahn.

“This part of the investigation should be easy for Mueller — it’s not nearly as complex or labor-intensive as unraveling what was happening with that Russian troll farm,” said Samuel Buell, a professor at Duke Law School and a lead prosecutor on the Enron case.

In fact, collecting evidence to support an obstruction case against Trump might actually be a less knotty problem for Mueller than determining whether he can win the case in court. Some are skeptical about whether Trump’s threatening tweets can actually constitute criminal behavior. And then there’s the question of whether Mueller would actually charge the president with obstruction of justice. It’s not clear, for example, whether it’s even possible to charge a sitting president with a crime.

But Mueller can also include evidence of obstruction in his ultimate report to the Department of Justice — which could be fodder for Congress to bring impeachment charges.

Other crimes committed during the investigation

For months, Trump has been toying with the idea of sitting down for a formal interview with Mueller. Buell says that he doesn’t expect this to happen. There’s simply too much danger that the president would lie under oath.

“In any moderately complex federal investigation, you always end up with some people who get in trouble for lying,” he said. So far, several of the people charged in Mueller’s investigation have already fallen into this category, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn, Dutch attorney Alexander van der Zwaan, and onetime Trump aide George Papadapoulos. Some of these defendants — like Flynn — are cooperating with investigators in other aspects of the investigation, but others, like van der Zwaan, appear to have been charged with perjury or making false statements simply to signal that lying to investigators carries consequences.

Mueller is reportedly allowing Trump to submit written answers to questions about whether his campaign coordinated with Russia to interfere with the election, which poses fewer risks. But that doesn’t mean Mueller won’t still push for an interview on questions related to obstruction. But will he subpoena Trump to appear before the grand jury if the president doesn’t agree to a voluntary interview? Whether a president can be subpoenaed in a criminal case is also unclear — and the inevitable legal battle that would ensue could carry more risks than benefits for the special counsel. (Brett Kavanaugh was asked about this very issue during his confirmation hearings Wednesday and refused to comment.) But refusing a subpoena could also play badly for the president, from both a political and legal perspective — even potentially forcing him to invoke the Fifth Amendment.

Ironically, the most concrete legal threat to Trump so far has come from outside the Mueller investigation. In August, former Trump attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to making an illegal campaign contribution at the direction of the president. The charges against Cohen were brought by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, who may be sharing information with Mueller but are operating independently from the special counsel.

Former prosecutors say it’s not surprising that Mueller is proceeding slowly and carefully when it comes to the parts of the investigation that have the biggest implications for the president. “This case is enormously complex,” Griffin said. “It involves international actors, complicated financial dealings, surreptitious communications — cases like this take a long time to develop under normal circumstances. And Mueller is operating under tremendous scrutiny. He’s going to want to build a rock-solid foundation before making any big moves.”

But whenever they occur, Mueller’s next announcement or round of charges could turn threats to the president that have so far been hypothetical into something very real.

[armeniaitn]

Tufenkian Gallery to Present ‘Crossroads, Crossing, and Convergence’ Exhibition

New Post has been published on https://armenia.in-the.news/culture/tufenkian-gallery-to-present-crossroads-crossing-and-convergence-exhibition-76432-16-07-2021/

Tufenkian Gallery to Present ‘Crossroads, Crossing, and Convergence’ Exhibition

LOS ANGELES—Tufenkian Fine Arts will present “Crossroads, Crossing, and Convergence,” a group exhibition featuring a selection of first-generation immigrant female artists. The exhibition will run from Wednesday, July 21 and will be on view through Saturday, August 21.

The exhibition uses the word crossroads as a unifying principle – the artists, though varied in their approaches, are united under a shared identity of multiple cultural experiences. In a world filled with variety of unfamiliar thoughts, practices, racial, economic, social, and political divides; these artists are connected by a common thread of acceptance and tolerance which female immigrants have faced around the globe. The nine featured artists in the exhibition are women of diverse backgrounds making history, while ensuring that the vital pulse of LA’s art scene continues to beat in an ever-changing society between the “Crossroads Crossing and Convergence.”

For years, Andrea Aragon has employed Los Angeles’s distinct urban landscape, an environment saturated with graffiti and street vendors which is so familiar to native Angelinos like the artist herself, to stimulate her artistic practice. The artist aims to emulate the aura of her subject matter, using an impregnation of hues, shapes, and disorder in order to emphasize the rawness in each of her pieces.

Fatemeh Burnes is a pictorial, conceptual artist, as well as an artist-activist. Her current body of work has taken an autobiographical turn in the context of her experince as an immigrant and as a woman. Burnes is preoccupied with the nature around us and within us and the history we have made and that we make, a history defined not by time but by energy – as is nature, and as is art. She makes art not just to produce objects, but also to explore phenomena, whether they occur in the world or in her dreams, as thoughts in her mind or as rocks on the ground.

Andrea Aragon, “Bus Stop”, Oil on wooden panel, 18 1/8″ x 14 3/8″

Born and raised in Angola before migrating to California over twenty years ago, Nzuji De Magalhaes synthesizes both Angolan and American art forms to convey issues of stereotypes, myths, ethnicity, and politics. De Magalhaes utlizes a variety of artistic mediums – sand, beads, yarn, and glitter – to capture traditional Angolan art forms while serving as commentary on the ravaging effects of tourism and unfettered captalism from foreign escapistis which contribuite to her country’s domestic turmoil.

Gudrun Gotschke’s photographs are, like all photographs, still and stationary, yet they evoke movement and change. Gudrun was always deeply affected by her environment and her surroundings. The photographs in this exhibition similarly are in a relationship with each other, subtly and powerfully affecting each others’ moods and shifting the understanding of the moments captured within their frames.

Working across several media, including film, video, neon light, installation art, and photography, Miriam Kruishoop seeks to capture the disparity and the deliberate suppresion of minorities in our society by way of police brutality and institutional racism. The selected works come from Kruishoop’s LIVING IN AMERICA series in which highly charged portaits act as an instrument for navigating the complexities of the black experience in America.

Luigia Gio Martelloni’s artistic practice centers on uncovering hidden layers of truth, exploring dimensions of collective unconscious and subjective interpretation, and capturing the ephemeral and transient. Martelloni’s work pays particular attention to the natural world and its relation to humanity, transforming and reinterpreting everday realities: traces from nature, isolated fragments, geography, urban spaces, and diverse cultures.  

Lilli Mueller’s current work focuses on new labor-intensive, multi-media, interactive performace projects both locally and internationally that address global issues and the state of humanity worldwide. Her inspirations are drawn from the colors of life, human experiences, and the puzzle pieces of emotional states of mind, weaving like a red thread through layering visuals, hidden messages and symbols, assuming obvious perceptions and surprise reveals. 

She Loves Collective is a collection of female artists who share a strong belief in the power of creating social change by testing our conceptions of artistic medium, expression, and practice. The group aims to inspire and awaken the inner creative in us all and to promote love in all its myriad manifestations.

The Los Angeles-based artist Mei Xian Qiu was born to a third-generation Chinese family in the town of Pekalongan, on the island of Java, Indonesia, where as a child she was subject to cyclical violence and prejudice. Harnessing her upbringing and cultural heritage as inspiration for her unique visual language, Xian Qiu juxtaposes assumptions about ethnicity and customs with Pan-Asian, Chinese, and Western motifs in photographs which are designed to appear candid.

Tufenkian Fine Arts, a gallery located in Glendale, California, is dedicated to the advancement of modern and contemporary artists. We present and connect audiences to events and exhibitions fostering excellence in contemporary fine art.

Read original article here.

[angeldcgs]

“you know it’s more than that…” though he was normally one to avoid getting mushy-gushy at all times, gus couldn’t continue to play it cool acting like she didn’t mean the world to him. “i’ve never had anyone really be there for me, y’know? it means a lot.”

"don't say that." it's giving her far too much credit, and as it is gemma's pretty sure he's inflated her ego beyond repair. "all i did was teach you how to smile and nod even when i say something you disagree with."

[dipulb3]

Has John Roberts been watching 'Hamilton'?

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/has-john-roberts-been-watching-hamilton/

Has John Roberts been watching 'Hamilton'?

Big deal, right? It’s important because the justices rejected his claim of a temporary absolute immunity while in office. The historian Douglas Brinkley called it a “dark day” for Trump. And a criminal investigation into Trump’s company in New York can go forward.

Not that Trump cares, because the court also did him a favor.

The justices handed the cases — one involving the New York DA’s investigation of hush money payments to Trump’s alleged former mistress and the other involving lawmakers in the House — back to lower courts.

So while he’s not above the law, according to the court, his financial records are untouchable for the moment. Typical Supreme Court. That’s a clear victory for him heading into the last election where he’ll appear on a ballot. Read Appradab legal analyst Joan Biskupic on how Roberts threaded the needle so everyone felt like they got something to call a win.

Back in prison: Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations associated with those hush money payments the New York DA is investigating, was taken back into custody for violating terms of his pandemic-induced furlough.

Side note: Presidential legacies last. The other ruling released by the Supreme Court on Thursday involved tribal land in Oklahoma. Actions taken by Trump’s favorite President, Andrew Jackson, featured in the decision, which found that much of the state is still tribal land for the purpose of criminal prosecutions.

Has John Roberts been watching ‘Hamilton’?

We went to Appradab’s Katelyn Polantz to ask about today’s decision and what it means both for Trump and for future presidents. Our conversation is below:

ZBW: I find the Supreme Court to be extremely frustrating. They SAY he’s not above the law. But they also make sure voters will not see his financial information. What’s your take?

KP: A grand jury or Congress may not get access to Trump’s records by the election, but these opinions aren’t about the election. They’re about history and figuring out the justice system’s place in it.

You can tell by how much time Chief Justice Roberts spends, especially in the Vance decision, writing about events as far back as the saga of Aaron Burr. (Roberts even throws in a footnote about how the governor of the Louisiana Territory colluded with Spain!)

“In the two centuries since the Burr trial, successive Presidents have accepted [Chief Justice John] Marshall’s ruling that the Chief Executive is subject to subpoena,” Roberts writes.

Funny enough, remember when a subpoena of the President was the what-if of the Mueller investigation?

At the time — circa 2018 — soon-to-be-attorney general Bill Barr was of the belief the President shouldn’t be open to subpoena in a criminal investigation for obstruction, and Trump’s lawyers were getting ready to challenge a subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller.

Mueller never pulled the trigger, deciding his investigation didn’t want or need a detour in court over a subpoena when the fact-finding was already winding down.

But now we know what the Supreme Court likely would have said about that: The President is just like every man when it comes to criminal law.

Roberts and six of his colleagues are flatly shooting down Trump’s lawyers’ assertion during proceedings in this case — with the court deciding that if Trump shot someone on Fifth Avenue, he would not be immune from consequence.

An absolute immunity for the President isn’t “necessary or appropriate,” Roberts writes in this case. “Two hundred years ago, a great jurist of our Court established that no citizen, not even the President, is categorically above the common duty to produce evidence when called upon in a criminal proceeding. We reaffirm that principle,” the opinion ends.

So here we are, 200 years after Burr’s trial and almost three years after the question dogged the Mueller investigation. We have an answer now going forward, past November.

The latest on Covid

We keep writing the same thing every day, but it’s getting more important, not less. So here goes: The disconnect between Trump and the scientists is only getting more intense.

Turns out the CDC won’t revisit its guidelines for reopening schools despite Trump’s pressure.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who keeps popping up doing interviews with newspapers and podcasts (importantly, not on TV) , told a Wall Street Journal podcast on Wednesday that states where Covid is exploding may have to consider shutting back down.

He later clarified that. “Rather than think in terms of reverting back down to a complete shutdown, I would think we need to get the states pausing in their opening process,” Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told The Hill’s editor-at-large Steve Clemons on Thursday.

120 Covid-related deaths were reported in Florida on Wednesday, a single-day record.

This Texas Tribune report is worth reading: An increase in people dying at home suggests coronavirus deaths in Houston may be higher than reported.

And Berkeley frat parties meet Covid. Ugh.

What was it all for? The most galling thing about this new surge of coronavirus is that the early sacrifice of shutting down the economy now feels completely wasted. Everyone shut things down. And, because states opened early, it’s raging all over again.

Stop saying what should happen. Figure out how.

And it’s also why Trump’s demand that schools open is so craven. Of course the schools should open. Everyone wants the schools to open.

It’s how to open up without spreading the disease that no one can seem to figure out.

One very simple thing would be to wear a face mask in public to shut down people like this Ohio lawmaker who thinks nothing is wrong.

If the schools open, as Trump demands, and teachers and other adults who work there get sick, they’ll close again. Just like the states that must now pause reopening.

Yesterday, it was a summer camp in Arkansas that closed after people started testing positive. Now Nashville says it’s delaying the opening of its school year — which had been planned for August 4 — until Labor Day at least.

Presidents and policymakers need to play chess: Think ahead, identify possible outcomes and be ready for contingencies.

That’s hard to do when you don’t believe there’s a problem.

[gothwives]

"you're a real brat, y'know that?" all criticisms aside, gus couldn't pretend he wasn't ecstatic to get to fuck her. it was one of the few rewards he felt he deserved after struggling to hold their relationship together after all this time, and it was more than worth all the pain and frustration. "please... you and i both know that's not possible. i don't half ass anything." stepping forward to close the gap between them, gus ran a hand through her hair, coming around to clutch at the nape of her neck and stroking his thumb against it. "how bad did you miss me?"

"mm... smart answer." didn't actually have a doubt in her mind that he'd want to fuck her anyways. marisol knew that the world would likely have to be ending for him to turn down that opportunity. and even then, she couldn't say for certain. rolled her eyes at his query, a huff escaping her lips. "i will if you don't fuck me properly."

[nigeiadigitalmarketingcompany]

2:00PM Water Cooler 8/8/2019

Digital Elixir 2:00PM Water Cooler 8/8/2019

By Lambert Strether of Corrente

Politics

“But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?” –James Madison, Federalist 51

“They had one weapon left and both knew it: treachery.” –Frank Herbert, Dune

“2020 Democratic Presidential Nomination” [RealClearPolitics] (average of five polls). As of August 7: Biden down to 31.0% (31.6), Sanders down to 15.8% (16.6%), Warren flat at 15.5% (15.6%), Buttigieg flat at 5.5% (5.4%), Harris down at 8.3% (9.4%), Beto separating himself from the bottom feeders, interestingly. Others Brownian motion.

* * *

2020

Harris (D)(1): “Kamala Harris, The Early Years”:

Six weeks after the second largest bank failure in US history and about a week before the government would take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Kamala Harris was asked how the country would be different if she were POTUS for 8 years. This was her answer. pic.twitter.com/fGAyHCnq6S

— Walker Bragman (@WalkerBragman) August 8, 2019

Sanders (D)(1): Sanders goes into the lion’s den…

A thread of Youtube comments from Joe Rogan’s podcast with Bernie Sanders. pic.twitter.com/vUhgjtq9Cd

— rafael (@rafaelshimunov) August 7, 2019

… and comes out riding a lion.

* * *

“The Main Difference Between Warren and Sanders” [Benjamin Studebaker]. “Warren believes in a meritocratic system, where the deserving members of the working class and underclass can work hard and earn their way into the professional class. Sanders believes that all our citizens, regardless of class position, ought to be entitled to a decent life. That’s the difference. That’s why Warren declined to endorse Sanders in 2016. That’s why Warren says she would have accepted an offer to become Hillary Clinton’s Vice President. That’s why Warren still says she’s “capitalist to her bones”. That’s why Warren clapped for Trump when the president said there would never be socialism in this country:” • Excellent piece; I just cut out the bottom line. Studebaker really firing on all eight cylinders here

IA: “Gun policy activists organize Des Moines forum following mass shootings; Democratic presidential candidates will attend” [Des Moines Register]. “In the wake of mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, gun policy activists quickly organized a presidential “gun safety” forum in Des Moines Saturday. Despite Democratic presidential candidates’ busy Iowa schedules for this week — with the Iowa State Fair, the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the Fair, and several other multi-candidate events — at least 14 have said they will attend. The event starts at 8 a.m. at the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines. The event was organized by Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, groups advocating for gun regulation after previous mass shootings throughout the country.”

The Debates

“Sanders: Democratic debate format is ‘demeaning’” [The Hill]. “Speaking on the ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast, Sanders said ‘you shouldn’t even call them a debate.’ ‘What they are is a reality TV show in which you have to come up with a soundbite and all that stuff,’ he said. ‘It’s demeaning to the candidates and it’s demeaning to the American people. You can’t explain the complexity of health care in America in 45 seconds, nobody can.’” • Drag ’em, Bernie!

Identity Politics

Know your enemy:

White supremacy is often subconscious. & Clearly, our nation has not been inoculated. WS is our nation’s original sin;the driving logic of slavery, of Native genocide, of Jim Crow, of segregation, of mass incarceration,of “Send Her Back.”

It never went away. It was just dormant.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 8, 2019

Apparently, the “driving logic” of slavery had nothing to do with profit — or capital. Really?

“White Supremacy Is Not The Arsonist — It’s The Fire.” [Ryan Dalton, Medium]. • The same objection applies.

L’Affaire Joffrey Epstein

“The Right Kind of Continuity” [Jewish Currents]. “Within the Jewish institutional world, however, Wexner’s relationship with Epstein is significant in a different way. Wexner is among a small number of Jewish community megadonors, billionaires who provide an outsize and growing proportion of funding for communal organizations and to a large extent determine what those organizations look like. Along with Sheldon Adelson, Charles Bronfman, and a few others, he has spent millions of dollars on institutions ranging from Birthright Israel—which has sent over 500,000 young diaspora Jews on free trips to Israel—to the Jewish Theological Seminary, where Conservative rabbis are ordained… Epstein was closely involved with Wexner’s charitable giving; together, for instance, the two men helped fund the construction of a new building for Harvard’s Hillel. Tax filings suggest that Epstein spent six years as a trustee of the Wexner Foundation, and that the foundation gave millions of dollars to pet projects of his own…. These ties are now stoking anxiety and division behind the scenes at Jewish institutions led by Wexner-affiliated professionals.” • As well they might.

RussiaGate

“Did Russian Interference Affect the 2016 Election Results?” [Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball]. “No.” From the summary:

— Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s recent testimony was a reminder that Russia attempted to influence the outcome of the 2016 election and very well may try to do so again in 2020.

— This begs the question: Is there any evidence that Russian interference may have impacted the results, particularly in key states?

— The following analysis suggests that the 2016 results can be explained almost entirely based on the political and demographic characteristics of those states. So from that standpoint, the answer seems to be no.

So, a well-regarded, mainstream political scientist and horse-race analyst throws in the towel. Scholars Ferguson, Jorgenson, and Xie got this right in 2018; kudos to them. Humble bloggers who were also skeptical of enormous claims made on little evidence may also take a bow [lambert blushes modestly].

Realignment and Legitimacy

“The Destructive Politics of White Amnesia” [Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, The New Republic]. “To counter [Trump’s] terrifying demagoguery, the party must be as unified in its repudiation of racism, xenophobia, and misogyny as the Party of Trump has been in enabling them. One would think, therefore, that candidates angling to become the standard-bearer of the loyal opposition should be capable of articulating not only the danger of this political moment, but also how their own party helped create this tragedy. Democratic candidates will never be able to steer a fresh course so long as they continue decades of denial and dissemblance. Joe Biden’s status as the 2020 field’s front-runner, in spite of his cringeworthy efforts to account for his part in that history, speaks volumes about how far today’s Democrats still have to go before they can meet the challenges of Trumpism head-on. A good deal of Biden’s inflated standing comes from an all-too characteristic Democratic posture of risk aversion, compounded by a talismanic faith in Biden’s mystic “electability.” Many party leaders and voters clearly view a Biden candidacy as the safest post-Trump course correction—and Biden as a pragmatic man of the people with the unique ability to build coalitional bridges between coastal elites and the so-called forgotten men and women of America’s heartland.” • Crenshaw, a law professor, coined intersectionality. It will be interesting to see which non-amnesiac she endorses.

“Reapportionment Projections and the Potential Impact of New States” [ESRI (hat tip…)]. “[I]t is estimated that, compared to the current seat apportionment determined by the 2010 Census, nine states will lose one seat, six states will gain one seat, and one state will gain three seats. The final five seats in the apportionment process (seats 431-435) are given to Texas, Arizona, California, Montana, and Alabama. These “bubble” states are at the highest risk to lose seats as a result of any differences between the population projections and the actual Census 2020 counts. On the other hand, the five states that are closest to gaining additional seats are Minnesota, West Virginia, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Florida (four of which are projected to lose a seat when compared to the current 2010 apportionment). Based on these projections this would be the first time since statehood that California would lose a congressional seat.”

Stats Watch

Jobless Claims, week of August 3, 2019: “Declines to even more favorable levels are the results of the latest jobless claims report” [Econoday]. “The current state of the labor market, which is strong, isn’t why the Federal Reserve cut rates last week.”

Consumer Credit, June 2019: “Consumer credit came in below consensus expectations” [Econoday]. “Although the monthly drop indicates a loss of credit-card spending momentum, revolving credit for the second quarter still increased [for] the strongest quarterly growth in more than a year. This is a negative for household wealth but it has been a positive to consumer spending.”

Wholesale Trade, June 2019: “Inventories in the wholesale sector were unchanged” [Econoday]. “Inventories of autos did fall in June but were still up percent on the year. This will likely be a negative for near-term auto production.”

* * *

Today’s Fear & Greed Index: 26 Fear (previous close: 25, Extreme Fear) [CNN]. One week ago: 43 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Aug 7 at 12:19pm. • Restored at reader request. Note that the index is not always updated daily, sadly.

The Biosphere

“Climate Change and Land: Summary for Policymakers” (PDF) [IPCC]. An “approved draft” of a new report. Handy chart from page 4:

“What is Agrobiodiversity?” [FAO]. Yikes:

* Since the 1900s, some 75 percent of plant genetic diversity has been lost as farmers worldwide have left their multiple local varieties and landraces for genetically uniform, high-yielding varieties.

* 30 percent of livestock breeds are at risk of extinction; six breeds are lost each month.

* Today, 75 percent of the world’s food is generated from only 12 plants and five animal species.

* Of the 4 percent of the 250 000 to 300 000 known edible plant species, only 150 to 200 are used by humans. Only three – rice, maize and wheat – contribute nearly 60 percent of calories and proteins obtained by humans from plants.

* Animals provide some 30 percent of human requirements for food and agriculture and 12 percent of the world’s population live almost entirely on products from ruminants.

This all seems a little fragile.

“The Tragedy of the Tragedy of the Commons” [Scientific American]. “Fifty years ago, University of California professor Garrett Hardin penned an influential essay in the journal Science. Hardin saw all humans as selfish herders: we worry that our neighbors’ cattle will graze the best grass. So, we send more of our cows out to consume that grass first. We take it first, before someone else steals our share. This creates a vicious cycle of environmental degradation that Hardin described as the ‘tragedy of the commons.’ It’s hard to overstate Hardin’s impact on modern environmentalism…. [H]e promoted an idea he called ‘lifeboat ethics‘: since global resources are finite, Hardin believed the rich should throw poor people overboard to keep their boat above water…. But the facts are not on Hardin’s side. For one, he got the history of the commons wrong. As Susan Cox pointed out, early pastures were well regulated by local institutions. They were not free-for-all grazing sites where people took and took at the expense of everyone else. Many global commons have been similarly sustained through community institutions…. Despite what Hardin might have said, the climate crisis is not a tragedy of the commons. The culprit is not our individual impulses to consume fossil fuels to the ruin of all…. The truth is that two-thirds of all the carbon pollution ever released into the atmosphere can be traced to the activities of just ninety companies. These corporations’ efforts to successfully thwart climate action are the real tragedy.” • NC readers have long been familiar that Hardin is in error.

“Into the deep: Deep sea mining is upon us, whether you would risk it or not” [Ocean Bites]. “The deep sea is almost entirely unknown, with only about 5% of it having been explored with remote vehicles and less than 0.0001% of the seafloor having been sampled. This is largely due to how difficult it is to navigate the region….. we don’t know how mining could impact deep sea ecosystems, or even others. For example, global fisheries are an important source of income and food. Mining could stir up sediment from the bottom of the ocean, which could drift in and out of country boundaries, changing shallower ecosystems. Could this impact fisheries? The little we do know about deep sea ecosystems emphasizes how risky this is to them. Animals in the deep sea tend to live a long time, grow slowly, reproduce slowly, and reach sexual maturity later in life. All of these characteristics makes it difficult for these species to recover from disturbances, much less adapt to change…. Maybe one of the most concerning elements of the approach of deep sea mining is its legal ambiguity. Rights to the seafloor are generally controlled by two groups: countries, which have control over the continental shelves off their coasts, and the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which controls international waters referred to as the Area… ISA uses guidelines outlined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to make decisions; in this case, they follow Article 140, which states that mining can be done “for the benefit of mankind as a whole.” But that is the ultimate question. If “benefit” is interpreted economically alone, who benefits?”

Health Care

“Financial Eligibility Criteria and Medication Coverage for Independent Charity Patient Assistance Programs” [JAMA]. “In 2018, among 274 patient assistance programs operated by the 6 independent charity foundations, the majority did not provide coverage for uninsured patients. Medications that were covered by the patient assistance programs were generally more expensive than those that were not covered.” And:

“California auditor blasts Medi-Cal overseer for failing patients in 18 rural counties” [Sacramento Bee]. “In a report released Tuesday, California State Auditor Elaine Howle upbraided the state Department of Health Care Services for its failure to ensure Medi-Cal beneficiaries have adequate access and quality of care in 18 rural counties stretching from Inyo to the south to Tehama and Plumas in the north…. In a report released Tuesday, California State Auditor Elaine Howle upbraided the state Department of Health Care Services for its failure to ensure Medi-Cal beneficiaries have adequate access and quality of care in 18 rural counties stretching from Inyo to the south to Tehama and Plumas in the north…. Anthem has scheduled these Medi-Cal patients with AIDS specialists, psychiatrists, pulmonologists and physical therapists more than 300 miles away, according to the auditor’s report, and Health & Wellness has directed patients to travel more than 300 miles to see dermatologists and 200 or more miles to see ear, nose and throat doctors; kidney specialists; and neurologists.” • California’s Medicaid program.

“Just one season of playing football—even without a concussion—can cause brain damage” [Science]. “In the new study, researchers at the University of Rochester (U of R) in New York followed 38 of the school’s football players. The athletes wore helmets outfitted with accelerometers to track the number and force of hits during practices and games. Before and after each season, the scientists took MRI scans of the players’ brains. The researchers looked specifically at the midbrain, a region on the brain stem that governs primitive, thoughtless functions such as hearing and temperature regulation. When a player’s head is hit from any angle, the brain ripples like the surface of a pond after a rock is thrown, explains study author Adnan Hirad, a medical student at U of R. Although the forces can affect many regions of the brain, the midbrain’s central location makes it likely to sustain damage. The results were striking. Although only two of the 38 players received a concussion, more than two-thirds of them showed changes to the integrity of the white matter of their midbrains. Rotational hits—when a player’s helmet is struck by a glancing blow—were particularly bad for the midbrain’s white matter.”

The Last of the Feral Hogs, I Swear

Lot of dunking on this thread, for some reason. I think it’s interesting:

Ok y’all did it: A thread about hogs, ferality, and race in American history.

— Gabriel Rosenberg (@gnrosenberg) August 6, 2019

Class Warfare

“The College Wealth Divide: Education and Inequality in America, 1956-2016” [CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP13864]. From the abstract: “Using new long-run micro data, this paper studies wealth and income trends of college and non-college households in the United States since 1956. We document the emergence of a substantial college wealth premium since the 1980s, which is considerably larger than the college income premium. Over the past four decades, the wealth of American households with a college-educated head has tripled. By contrast, the wealth of non-college households has barely grown in real terms over the same period. Part of the rising wealth gap can be traced back to systematic portfolio differences between college and non-college households that give rise to different exposures to asset price changes. Non-college households have a lower exposure to the equity market and have profited much less from the recent surge in the stock market. We also discuss the importance of financial literacy and business ownership for the increase in wealth inequality between college and non-college households.” • Oh, man. “Financial literacy.”

EPI updates its productivity-pay gap chart:

“Here’s why the economy feels so bad when it sounds so good” [Business Insider]. “Americans are broadly pessimistic about what’s coming next, the Pew Research Center found earlier this year. Increasingly, they believe that our political and economic systems work only for those with power. This is because neither the stock market nor employment data captures what’s ailing most American families: rising costs for critical, necessary items. Meanwhile, despite wages eking up a little bit since the financial crisis, adjusted for inflation, Americans haven’t gotten a significant raise since 1999. This is why Americans are drowning in debt. As for the stock market, most people aren’t involved…. Employment numbers don’t tell you anything about that. Having a job doesn’t mean as much as it used to because wages simply don’t cover the same costs they used to.”

“Karl Marx Is Useful for Our Time, Not Just His” (interview) [David Harvey, Jacobin]. “The question of sovereignty is: Does the state control finance, or does finance control the state? In Greece, for instance, the latter is clearly the case — there, state sovereignty is pretty irrelevant, a minor part of the power relation running the country. Interestingly, this is even what’s said in the United States. When Bill Clinton came to power after the 1992 election, he laid out an economic program. His policy advisor Robert Rubin — who came from Goldman Sachs, and later became secretary of the Treasury — said, “You can’t do that.” Clinton said, “Why not?” Rubin replied, “Because the bondholders won’t let you.” Clinton supposedly said, “You mean my whole economic policy and my whole chances of re-election are dependent on a bunch of fucking bond traders?” And Rubin said yes. So Clinton implemented neoliberal measures like NAFTA and a whole set of welfare measures and did not deliver what he’d promised — free health care. I think we’re in a situation where it’s the money changers who rule, not the politicians.” • This is an interesting interview, and more “moderate” than the headline conveys. Harvey also has interesting things to say about the contrast between the US and the Chinese responses to the 2008 Crash.

“False Freedom: Sharing the Scraps from the Perilous Gig Economy” [Steven Greenhouse, Lit Hub]. “The digital on-demand economy resembles globalization in that it has created a larger, and often a worldwide, labor pool, putting workers in the United States, Canada, Britain, Germany, and other industrial nations in competition, via the internet, with workers in India, China, and elsewhere. Like globalization, the app-based economy often pulls down wages in the industrial world, even as it creates new opportunities for workers in poorer nations.”

“Foundation announces gift of more than $768,000 to unpaid Blackjewel miners” [WYMT]. “Two major announcements regarding relief for unpaid Blackjewel miners took place at the Harlan County Courthouse and at the Letcher County Extension Office Monday morning. Ross Kegan, former Vice President of Operations of Black Mountain Resources, spoke in Harlan County on behalf of the Richard and Leslie Gilliam Foundation. He said the foundation will give a total of $492,000 to Harlan County CAA so that each Blackjewel miner in the immediate-needs database will get $2,000. Another announcement took place in Letcher County at 11:00 a.m. and then another is expected to happen in Virginia. Kegan said the foundation is giving another $276,000 to Blackjewel miners in the area, which will also amount to $2,000 each.” • Foundation bails out unpaid workers in Harlan County, while DSA is silent. Another win for noblesse oblige!

News of the Wired

Not all programmers get free meals and massages. Thread:

if you have a cable modem, there’s a really good chance that it has a “DNS ALG”, which is a type of software that has no excuse to exist whatsoever, serves no identifiable purpose, and is absolutely batshit

— Utterly dispassionate, documentary hog slaughter (@gravislizard) August 8, 2019

* * *

Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, with (a) links, and even better (b) sources I should curate regularly, (c) how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal, and (d) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. Today’s plant (MF):

MF writes: “Spotted these while waiting for a table at a local restaurant with a friend. She tells me that these are Canna lilies, likely canna indica or a hybrid of canna indica with another canna species.”

* * *

Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the annual NC fundraiser.Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! So if you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldn’t see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I’m on the right track with coverage. When I get no donations for five or ten days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals:

Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated.

If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you!

2:00PM Water Cooler 8/8/2019

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[techyblogger]

Google: Word Count Is Not A Ranking Factor https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/cmcadi/google_word_count_is_not_a_ranking_factor/

Google's John Mueller said in a Reddit thread that Google does not use word count as a ranking factor. He wrote "Word count is not a ranking factor."

What's your view?

submitted by /u/souravseo [link] [comments] August 05, 2019 at 08:49PM

[thumbkenya76-blog]

Links 2/21/19

Scientists say every animal needs sleep. These fruit flies didn’t get the memo Science

World Bank’s ‘pandemic bonds’ under scrutiny after failing to pay out on Ebola FT

Global Trade Pain Stings Export Economies From Japan to Germany Bloomberg

New bill is “clear attempt by MidAmerican to monopolize the sun in Iowa” Bleeding Heartland

Volkswagen’s unequal justice: a Dieselgate employee and a manager Handelsblatt Today

Italy must face up to its fascist past – no amount of revisionism will erase its legacy of suffering Independent

Who Killed My Father by Édouard Louis — a warning to France’s elite FT

Brexit

With 37 days until Brexit, why are UK politicians defecting? Al Jazeera. Nice to see some headline writer focus on the timeline.

Britain’s impossible futures Paul Mason, Le Monde Diplomatique

Jeremy Corbyn heads to Brussels to give EU his vision of a Brexit deal Sky News

May and Juncker dive into Brexit fine print Politico

Revealed: How dark money is winning ‘the Brexit influencing game’ Open Democracy

Scotland’s Marriage of Inconvenience Foreign Policy

Chris Leslie interview: Labour have “massively underestimated” a new centrist party New Statesman

A divided Labour could hand the Tories another 12 years of power The Spectator

Antisemitism: no justification for singling out Labour Jewish Voice for Labour

Venezuela

Venezuelan Military Reject Trump’s Incitement to Rebel: ‘Over Our Dead Bodies’ Venezuelanalysis. Wait ’til you get to the part about Richard Branson.

Trump Likes ‘Beautiful’ Border Walls – Venezuela Should Build Him One Moon of Alabama

How a bridge between Colombia and Venezuela became part of a propaganda fight CBC

North Korea

How to End a Forever War Ask a Korean!

Himalayan emergency: It’s not too late to prevent melting glaciers Asian Correspondent

China?

Can readers translate to confirm? Thread:

any foreign journalist paying enough attention to 一号文件 No.1 Document (always on agriculture) published yesterday? One inconspicuous but highly siginificant line there spells death sentence for village-level self-governing/democracy across China. (Yes you know you missed it)

— imightknowchina (@itrulyknowchina) February 21, 2019

Odd account, good followers.

Transnational Carceral Capitalism in Xinjiang and Beyond Made in China

“Fronting a head,” William Gibson calls it:

China's Xinhua News Agency on Tuesday unveiled the world’s first female #AI news anchor, “Xin Xiaomeng,’ who will make her professional debut during the upcoming meetings of the country's national legislature and top political advisory body #TwoSessions pic.twitter.com/9gGDpfwfil

— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) February 20, 2019

Singapore defense minister: Cost of conflict in South China Sea ‘too high’ Deutsche Welle

Courting change in Malaysia The Interpreter

India

The Daily Fix: The time has come, Mr Modi, to make a strong statement against attacks on Kashmiris The Scroll (J-LS).

Understanding the Origins of the Pulwama Attack Inside Pakistan The Diplomat

Cow Vigilantes in India Killed at Least 44 People, Report Finds Bloomberg

Syraqistan

Political Bombshell as Gantz, Lapid Join Forces to Replace Netanyahu Haaretz

The Cult-Like Group Fighting Iran Der Spiegel. MEK, in Albania, with funding at best opaque.

New Cold War

What if the Mueller report changes nothing? Chris Cilizza, CNN (Oregoncharles)

* * *

From Stalin’s camps to Putin’s laws How ‘the Russian mafia’ came to be Meduza

State of Play: Russia and the Fraying West Carnegie Moscow Center

Trump Transition

The Classicist Who Sees Donald Trump as a Tragic Hero The New Yorker

The Trump campaign loved NDAs. An ex-staffer wants to nullify them with a class action. WaPo

Interior officials accused of violating ethics pledge The Hill

White House readies panel to question security risks of climate Reuters. Good luck with that.

Democrats in Disarray

Why Bernie Sanders Matters More Than People Think Benjamin Studebaker. “Sanders and his opponents represent two very different ideologies. Each of these ideologies wants control of the Democratic Party so that this party’s resources can be used to advance a different conception of what a good society looks like. This is not a matter of taste and these are not flavors of popcorn.”

For Sanders, 2020 will present challenges that didn’t exist in 2016 WaPo. FluffytheObeseCat: “Damned with faint praise by those who inhabit the most august quarters. Perhaps Bernie should ‘do the right thing’, and quit before he starts.”

A Centuries-Old Idea Could Revolutionize Climate Policy The Atlantic. AOC as… Alexander Hamilton.

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

APNewsBreak: Feds share watchlist with 1,400 private groups AP

Health Care

Nearly a quarter of rural hospitals are on the brink of closure Modern Healthcare

Guillotine Watch

FDA: Stealing Young People’s Blood Won’t Make You Immortal Cracked

Class Warfare

Fool’s Gold: Socialism is Just Capitalism Inverted Ghion Journal

Base Culture n+1

Antidote du jour (Rick):

Rick writes: “Cats are fine, but…just sayin’. Here are my two Tervuren and their Cardigan sibling. Photo is copyright 2016 Rick Adams, but you are welcome to use it. To me, this is Heaven.”

Bonus antidote:

VIDEO: 🇹🇷 In Istanbul, stray cats and dogs are not chased from the streets — instead authorities feed them and give them veterinary care, not only improving their health but that of residents who come into contact with them pic.twitter.com/PZPt4hqeVI

— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 18, 2019

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.

This entry was posted in Guest Post, Links on February 21, 2019 by Lambert Strether.

About Lambert Strether

Readers, I have had a correspondent characterize my views as realistic cynical. Let me briefly explain them. I believe in universal programs that provide concrete material benefits, especially to the working class. Medicare for All is the prime example, but tuition-free college and a Post Office Bank also fall under this heading. So do a Jobs Guarantee and a Debt Jubilee. Clearly, neither liberal Democrats nor conservative Republicans can deliver on such programs, because the two are different flavors of neoliberalism (“Because markets”). I don’t much care about the “ism” that delivers the benefits, although whichever one does have to put common humanity first, as opposed to markets. Could be a second FDR saving capitalism, democratic socialism leashing and collaring it, or communism razing it. I don’t much care, as long as the benefits are delivered. To me, the key issue — and this is why Medicare for All is always first with me — is the tens of thousands of excess “deaths from despair,” as described by the Case-Deaton study, and other recent studies. That enormous body count makes Medicare for All, at the very least, a moral and strategic imperative. And that level of suffering and organic damage makes the concerns of identity politics — even the worthy fight to help the refugees Bush, Obama, and Clinton’s wars created — bright shiny objects by comparison. Hence my frustration with the news flow — currently in my view the swirling intersection of two, separate Shock Doctrine campaigns, one by the Administration, and the other by out-of-power liberals and their allies in the State and in the press — a news flow that constantly forces me to focus on matters that I regard as of secondary importance to the excess deaths. What kind of political economy is it that halts or even reverses the increases in life expectancy that civilized societies have achieved? I am also very hopeful that the continuing destruction of both party establishments will open the space for voices supporting programs similar to those I have listed; let’s call such voices “the left.” Volatility creates opportunity, especially if the Democrat establishment, which puts markets first and opposes all such programs, isn’t allowed to get back into the saddle. Eyes on the prize! I love the tactical level, and secretly love even the horse race, since I’ve been blogging about it daily for fourteen years, but everything I write has this perspective at the back of it.

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