#Russian Stooges In America

[kyliaquilor]

You don’t tend to join an alliance with a power halfway around the world...unless you think your neighbor is going to invade you.

[liberalsarecool]

Democrats are loyal to Democracy/America.

Republicans betray all for a Russian stooge.

[tomorrowusa]

Right now is the time to get involved in the defeat of America's most dangerous enemy since the Cold War.

The traditional election season, starting on Labor Day, is a thing of the distant political past. And considering the magnitude of the threat to democracy, even waiting for the end of the primary season may be too late.

The worst president in our history is, arguably, stronger within the leadership ranks of the Republican Party than he has ever been. He is now the most dangerous presidential candidate in U.S. history. As a consequence, the great question before the rest of us is whether enough of us are ready to do whatever is necessary to defeat this threat as we have all those that have come before. Sadly, there is reason to believe that this time we may not meet the challenge. Right now, Donald Trump is one of two people who could be our next president. The race, at the moment, between him and President Joe Biden, is too close to call.

The people with their heads up their ass over Biden's age are either hypocrites or dissemblers. On Inauguration Day 2025, Donald Trump will be 95.66% of Joe Biden's age. And Trump will also be older in January of 2025 than Biden was upon assuming office in 2021. Biden may have a lifelong stutter but he is still grounded in reality in a way the narcissistic nepo baby Donald Trump never was.

Joe Biden by any objective metric has been one of the most successful presidents in modern U.S. history. He has led the creation of more major legislative initiatives benefiting the American people than any president in 60 years. He oversaw the creation of more than 14 million jobs during his first three years in office. He has brought down inflation and reduced the prices of vital medicines to affordable levels. He has restored American leadership worldwide, expanded our vital alliances like NATO, and stood up to our enemies. All presidents face challenges and make missteps. But it is hard to deny that in the wake of the U.S. economic recovery, the passage of the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, the CHIPs and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act, the expansion of NATO, and the creation of new Indo-Pacific alliances, Biden’s record is formidable. That a president with this record is in a horse race with a candidate who is a menace to the country, who led an insurrection, who is a pathological liar whom courts have found to be a fraud and a rapist, and who has no real ideas, no credible policy proposals, no record of actually ever achieving anything for the American people is chilling.

In normal times, over 40% of US voters would NOT pick a notorious sex offender for president. But these are not normal times.

You would have thought that the sight of mobs carrying Trump flags and weapons and chanting for the death of Vice President Mike Pence on January 6, 2021, would have been alarm enough. You would have thought the same of Trump’s Access Hollywood tape, in which he confessed his impulse to abuse women. You would have thought the two dozen women who accused him of abuse would have had that effect. Even if none of those things were quite warning enough, you would have thought the findings in the E. Jean Carroll case would have been enough. After all, respected federal judge Lew Kaplan wrote, “The fact that Mr. Trump sexually abused—indeed, raped—Ms. Carroll has been conclusively established and is binding in this case.” It should have been enough. But so far, it has not been.

And who would have thought that the party of Ronald Reagan is now led by a stooge of the Evil Empire?

You would have thought that Trump reaching out on national television to our Russian adversaries for aid during the 2016 campaign would have been enough. You would have thought the conclusive findings of every major U.S. intelligence agency that Russia sought to aid Trump’s campaign would have been enough. You would have thought that Robert Mueller’s finding 10 instances of possible obstruction of justice by Trump would have been enough. You would have thought Trump kowtowing to Vladimir Putin and taking his word over that of our intelligence and law enforcement communities would have been enough. You would have thought his illegally withholding aid to Ukraine to seek dirt on Joe Biden would have been enough. You would have thought his impeachment for that would have been enough.

Are you willing to spend more time and money than in previous election cycles to end a major threat to Western democracy and to undermine homegrown fascism for at least the rest of this decade?

So, ask yourself, is that enough to make you do more than you have done? Is that enough to commit for the next 10 months to do more than you have ever done during an election year? To give more? To canvas more? To spread the word more? To help get voters to the polls? To ensure every member of your family, your friends, your co-workers do the same? The stakes are too high to do less than everything you can.

I rarely quote Margaret Thatcher and would probably disagree with at least 90% of her views. But she did know something about winning elections and combating the USSR. If she was good for just one thing, it's for this observation in a speech made in her retirement.

[N]o battles are ever finally won; you have to go on winning them by example and by being prepared to defend your way of life against those who would attack it.

If we learn just one thing from the Trump threat, it's that we can never rest on our past laurels. A slacker democracy is one which will not outlast a determined demagogue.

Civic involvement by pro-democracy citizens is absolutely necessary to maintain freedom.

[wyrmfedgrave]

CNBC: Obama, Clinton excuse Biden's debate performance to fend off Democratic meltdown: 'Bad debate nights happen'

What's wrong with this picture? These 2 candidates aren't the same thing.

One bad TV 'performance' doesn't invalidate what Biden & his fellow Democrats have accomplished.

Has Biden made some bad decisions?

Yes - like backing the lying Israeli Palestinian genocide!

(Much like America followed a lying U.K. into Afghanistan... And, France into Vietnam. A cycle we really need to break!)

Yes, bad shit happens!!

That still doesn't change Biden's superior morals & plain humanity.

Biden & his team have done a lot of good for America.

Blame the high prices & recession on the guilty corporations trying to help the Rump keep their taxes low...

And, tRump's greatest achievement?

The Felon Don talked Americans into a home-grown terrorist attack on their own Congress - looking to overturn a lawful election & to assassinate the Rump's enemies & his own VP!!

And, Rump's proud of this...

So, 'damage control' - for Biden - is quite unnecessary.

It doesn't change my mind as to who I'm voting for.

Joe had a bad TV appearance...

So what?

I'm not voting for Biden due to a stupid TV spot.

I'm voting for the Joe that cares about our democracy & it's citizens.

Biden doesn't hate America like tRump does.

Joe isn't a stupid egotist & criminal who's being used as a Russian stooge.

Biden knows that America has always been a great nation.

Changing a Constitutional Democracy into a religious dystopia would only create another 3rd World economy...

One that's scared of the rest of the planet & only poisons itself thru un- controlled industrial pollution...

I don't see any advantage - for citizens - in such self-defeating policies.

So, I'm still riding with Biden!

Even if, as someone else said, Joe was a reincarnated Lovecraftian corpse - sitting up at his own wake!!

Biden is still the better corpse...

The Felon Don is nothing more than a national disgrace & he's not going to change.

Let's keep America great - Vote Blue Wave.

We'll need it, to get rid of the many problems that the Rump set up...

End.

[silverfox66]

As an American can I just say how fucking shameful it is how right you are that you can't depend on the USA

Like our leaders are making us into fucking fools who no one can trust cause oh... looks like we only honor commitments when we feel like it. The speaker can single handedly hold up aid for months by just not putting it to a vote, and the house can't even get it's shit together enough to sign the discharge petition to get it on the floor

It's just a disgrace, it's horrific and vile, and if all that weren't enough it's just plain stupid. America gets... fuck it gets so much out of sending military aid to Ukraine

It gets to fight a strategic rival without risking a single troop, it gets to dump old inventory where a lot of it was probably going to have to be decommissioned, we don't even send most of the money cause what that money actually mostly goes towards is restocking our own arsenal with new equipment which pays Americans wages we get to tax... the list of selfish reasons to help is almost endless and yet these pricks still fight tooth and nail to do the wrong thing

And once again, it makes us look like undependable allies cause we're fucking being undependable, and that weakens us so much strategically. Like even if you don't care about russia, it makes our allies in the Pacific question if they can actually depend on our support

Sorry, this stuff's just on my mind a whole lot, and would you believe that it's hard to find other Americans you can actually have this conversation with? So many smart people I know who in spite of that act like they don't have a brain in their head and just don't care

Meanwhile johnson is complaining that we need aid to Israel... well if that's what you want prick, isn't it nice that you have that sitting on your desk, already passed in the senate, and all you have to do it put it to a vote? Lightning speed legislation if you ignore the months you've stalled with it (and he's gonna send them on vacation yet again to stall more)

The fact one man can hold up the whole system, and the fact like 5 far right maga members can take the whole house hostage and the gop can't even muster the guts to sign a discharge petition... it's just sick, it makes the US into a fucking laughing stock and it's deserved

Can't even imagine if trump wins, mr wants to encourage russia to attack NATO allies. The fact that... that so few other Americans seem to care he said that, the fact that any one even considers voting for him as he sets all out political alliances on fire for his own gains... the hell is wrong with people?

Again, sorry. I just... this stuff eats at me sometimes. Just how fucking bad America is doing not just at being decent, but at serving our own interests

We could have put China and Iran in their place (something maga people claim to want) if when this invasion started we'd just dumped all out old inventory straight away, made clear we were loading up the pipeline with everything Ukraine needed, and basically said you don't fuck with the US industrial base

Might have even stopped the war, a lot harder to want to continue when you know the valve on the military aid was fully opened and then smashed so the artillery shells and fighters won't stop coming

Instead we rolled over and trickled things in, made ourselves look weak

Just can't stand it, just can't fucking stand how this country is run. Again, even if you don't care about the civilians killed in drone strikes, we should at least care about our own strategic interests

But we don't, far to many selfish scumbags, and russian stooges, and people who buy russian propaganda hook line and sinker

Anyway... hope you have a good day. Like I said, just know hardly anyone I can say this stuff to. No one seems to listen... and even if they did, I can shout all day and it's not like I can force johnson to act like an actual human being instead of toxic sludge in a suit

Just pass the damn aid, every last person with half a brain is begging you to including our generals

It makes me so frustrated and it's so damn shameful, a real stain on this country

It's such a shame that America has become an unreliable ally, I so much wish it was different. And it's bizarre to me how one speaker has so much power to block the voting of a bill. It's seems highly undemocratic to me.

Aiding Ukraine is the cheapest way to defeat America's number 1 enemy: russia. But decades of pro-russian propaganda has been so effective, it has infected American politicians and made them unwilling to stand up for freedom and democracy.

And I talk about the USA now, but here in Western Europe, we have the same problem. High on cheap gas, we have funded the russian war-machine for decades. That money has been turned into weapons and is now killing Ukrainians on a daily basis. And now we are too much of a coward to switch to a war economy.

Sorry, this stuff's just on my mind a whole lot, and would you believe that it's hard to find other Americans you can actually have this conversation with? So many smart people I know who in spite of that act like they don't have a brain in their head and just don't care

Oh same here. I can talk about this dire situation in Ukraine with only a handful of other people. Other people support Ukraine overall, but passively. And we need people to support Ukraine actively, we need more people to sound the alarm bells. But it feels like we're shouting into the void right now. Simply not enough people care.

I hope you have a nice day as well and thank you for standing with Ukraine.

[rametarin]

Frustrating

Folks believe the Russians brainwashed, “those stupid conservatives” into voting for Trump, and thus, “sabotaging the elections.”

My dude. That infantilizes folks you view your enemy and attributes way too much credit to the idea propaganda and shit on the TV dominates and dictates thought. Yes, it may have helped, but it didn’t convince the Trumpers to vote for Trump. It just reinforced it in the most ethereal manner to what they were already going to do.

And yet these people miraculously think either conservatives are mental children, or Putin is a super genius (neither are true) enough that someone shitposting on facebook or on tumblr en masse could sway the entire voter base.

You know what else the Russians have done? And Tumblr confirmed this, themselves. They pretended to be black, stirring shit with posting pro-BLM related stuff and deliberately posting and spreading information on the basis of race and race identity that helped to sow discord and discontent since 2010. They’ve been wagging the dog and MAKING it a big issue through propaganda to compliment the stateside campaigns.

And you know what the Russians were doing before that shit? Giving funding, money and marching orders to Marxists and communist or socialist sympathizers stateside, since the Soviet Union was a fucking thing. This is fact. They do this in every country that has a domestic, sympathetic movement towards their values throughout the late 1800s through the entire 1900s since the Oktober Revolution, and have been empowering guerilla campaigns to silence or destroy political/ideological opposition, take over places numerically and then have phony assed elections to “democratically” decide to be Soviet puppet states, since forever.

They do this shit all over South America, Africa and South Asia. They have for more than a century, now. They were exacerbators and rabblerousers and propagandists and guerillas and saboteurs, feeding every way to create division, discord, disharmony and irreconcilable differences by tricking groups of people with opposing passions to see themselves as mortal enemies.

And the most frustrating part of all of this is the people so willing to believe the Russians all but brainwashed, “the conservatives,” will scream about it being shallow, lies or propaganda that the Russians did similarly to the left-wing in the US (which is comprised of liberals, and liberal-when-convenient Marxist sympathizers that are actually more syndicalist, socialist or communist to platform the democratic party.)

Whether they genuinely believe Russia is what “caused” Trump or they’re sticking to the fiction because acting in bad faith and selective ignorance gets them a narrative they want (LIKE HOW RUSSIA IS ACTING EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY IN A POST INVASION OF UKRAINE WORLD), they will swear up and down the conservatives are stooges of Putin because some publisher said it’s true, but deny every piece of evidence one could put forwards that many left wingers are similarly duped or knowingly on the take.

Russian Imperialism is cold blooded and soulless. It will Courtney Love the fuck out of you and glamourize itself, allowing you to see what you want in it while capitalizing on your hope and desire. Not quite a shapeshifter, but an omitter that will lie to you, engineer circumstances around you, get people that do not value you or your intellect to reinforce the illusion to triangulate your belief, set up consequences for DISbelieving it, and then coerce you to act accordingly. Even when you KNOW what it wants is incorrect, forcing you to participate in its fiction or absolutely ice blooded take is how it keeps control.

The fact that some will acknowledge the depth and power of their manipulations and entrenchment, but only for their conservative enemies, while denying there’s any such entrenchment in American bureaucracy, college tenured professors or counterculture social groups, pisses me off something fierce. God damned hypocrites. The same people that will parrot any story about mean ole CIA destroying, “any BLACK group that teaches self-reliance and community solidarity” while omitting that many of those groups were also breaching Soviet sympathetic socialistic views and values and causes, will deny Russia had any hand at all in that.

[brookstonalmanac]

Beer Events 1.10

Events

Nicholas Kessler arrived in America (1854)

Rainier 1st used as beer brand name (by Seattle Brewing & Malting Co.; 1893)

Raymond Minea patented a Beer Stabilizer Coil Control (1939)

Beer Barrel Polecats (Three Stooges) premiered (1946)

Miller Brewing patented an Accelerated Lager Fermentation Process (1978)

S.S. Steiner patented Rho-Isoalpha Acid Hop Products and Methods (2002)

Russian River's Salvation 1st brewed (2006)

Fritkot recognized as Flemish cultural heritage by UNESCO (2014)

Breweries Opened

Home Brewing (Shenandoah, PA; 1900)

Exe Valley Brewery (England; 1984)

Calhoun's Microbrewery (Tennessee; 1995)

[angelsloveus]

When Dirty Russian-Connected Money Saved Trump’s Ass and His Ensuing Business Disasters Helped Destroy the Global and American Economies

As Trump’s taxes return to the news, here is the parallel context and setup where he went from failure on the verge of collapse to being propped up by money connected to Putin’s Russian government and the Russian mafia and then to failing repeatedly and spectacularly in those related business ventures, but in ways that allowed him to hide the dire straits of his finances and run as a “successful” “billionaire” for president in 2015-2016.  And, oh, he managed to fail in these ventures in ways that helped to bring on the global financial crises and America’s Great Recession of 2008.  As the house of cards image of himself Trump lied and cheated his way to building up comes tumbling down, a detailed look at that shady time when Trump was boosted by dirty Russian-connected money is essential.

n response to the bombshell report on Trump’s taxes that was released today, I am releasing a chapter on the scandals, bankruptcies, and financial problems of Trump from my eBook published on November 23, 2019.  These controversies surrounding the financial and business history of the Trump Organization (which even Steve Bannon has apparently described as a “criminal enterprise”) are of greater interest in light of this new New York Times report, but they should have been of far greater, sustained interest from 2015, when Trump began his candidacy for the presidency and when most of this information was already publicly available.  This research of mine was mainly conducted and published in different forms in 2016 and 2017, though some important segments came later., and the resulting material is best understood by reading my full eBook, eBook, A Song of Gas and Politics: How Ukraine Is at the Center of Trump-Russia, or, Ukrainegate: A “New” Phase in the Trump-Russia Saga Made from Recycled Materials, available for Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook (preview here), a detailed look at Trump-Russia and how its Ukraine machinations led to Trump’s impeachment, including Trump’s deeply relevant and deeply shady business history.  For helpful and important background on some of the figures mentioned, but not fully introduced, below—including Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top Russian mafia “godfather,” Semion Mogilevich, and his intricate work in Ukraine with Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash (and his front-company Highrock) and now convicted-by-Mueller’s-team-felon Paul Manafort for Putin stooge Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine, his Party of Regions and benefactor Rinat Akhmetov, and their schemes to bend Ukraine to Moscow’s will and fight pro-Western Ukrainian leader Yulia Tymoshenko; including Manafort’s work with Russian oligarch and top Putin operative Oleg Deripaska to advance Russian interests; including background on another of Putin’s top men in Ukraine, Viktor Medvedchuk; including how Rudy Giuliani’s longstanding ties with Mogilevich-connected Sam Kislin are also of interest, as is the history of Kislin’s old partner Tamir Sapir in Trumpworld; including interesting background on Felix Sater; including Alexander Shnaider’s ties to Russia and Ukraine, as well as those of his father-in-law, Boris Birshtein and his company Seabeco, as well as oligarch Alexander Mashkevich’s ties to all that—see my articles How Cohen’s and Manafort’s Ukraine Ties Tell the Deeper Story of Trump-Russia and the Mueller Probe and Think You Know How Deep Trump-Russia Goes? Think Again: This Chart/Info Will Blow Your Mind, which link to some more detailed work of mine on some of these individual subjects.  You can see all my Trump-Russia coverage here.

UPDATE: Sept 29: The new New York Times second bombshell report on Trump’s finances, this one about The Apprentice TV show being a screen onto which to project Trump’s “success” amidst a reality of failure behind it, discusses a dynamic that I already noted here close to a year ago and beginning in 2016. In other words, Trump’s “success” amounted to his obtaining shady Russian-/former Soviet-linked financing, letting others take the fall in disastrous deal after disastrous deal, outlitigating anyone trying to hold him accountable, and self-promotion on The Apprentice that helped to obscure his many scandals.

[dinkarternews]

When Dirty Russian-Connected Money Saved Trump’s Ass and His Ensuing Business Disasters Helped Destroy the Global and American Economies

As Trump’s taxes return to the news, here is the parallel context and setup where he went from failure on the verge of collapse to being propped up by money connected to Putin’s Russian government and the Russian mafia and then to failing repeatedly and spectacularly in those related business ventures, but in ways that allowed him to hide the dire straits of his finances and run as a “successful” “billionaire” for president in 2015-2016.  And, oh, he managed to fail in these ventures in ways that helped to bring on the global financial crises and America’s Great Recession of 2008.  As the house of cards image of himself Trump lied and cheated his way to building up comes tumbling down, a detailed look at that shady time when Trump was boosted by dirty Russian-connected money is essential.

In response to the bombshell report on Trump’s taxes that was released today, I am releasing a chapter on the scandals, bankruptcies, and financial problems of Trump from my eBook published on November 23, 2019.  These controversies surrounding the financial and business history of the Trump Organization (which even Steve Bannon has apparently described as a “criminal enterprise”) are of greater interest in light of this new New York Times report, but they should have been of far greater, sustained interest from 2015, when Trump began his candidacy for the presidency and when most of this information was already publicly available.  This research of mine was mainly conducted and published in different forms in 2016 and 2017, though some important segments came later., and the resulting material is best understood by reading my full eBook, eBook, A Song of Gas and Politics: How Ukraine Is at the Center of Trump-Russia, or, Ukrainegate: A “New” Phase in the Trump-Russia Saga Made from Recycled Materials, available for Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook (preview here), a detailed look at Trump-Russia and how its Ukraine machinations led to Trump’s impeachment, including Trump’s deeply relevant and deeply shady business history.  For helpful and important background on some of the figures mentioned, but not fully introduced, below—including Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top Russian mafia “godfather,” Semion Mogilevich, and his intricate work in Ukraine with Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash (and his front-company Highrock) and now convicted-by-Mueller’s-team-felon Paul Manafort for Putin stooge Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine, his Party of Regions and benefactor Rinat Akhmetov, and their schemes to bend Ukraine to Moscow’s will and fight pro-Western Ukrainian leader Yulia Tymoshenko; including Manafort’s work with Russian oligarch and top Putin operative Oleg Deripaska to advance Russian interests; including background on another of Putin’s top men in Ukraine, Viktor Medvedchuk; including how Rudy Giuliani’s longstanding ties with Mogilevich-connected Sam Kislin are also of interest, as is the history of Kislin’s old partner Tamir Sapir in Trumpworld; including interesting background on Felix Sater; including Alexander Shnaider’s ties to Russia and Ukraine, as well as those of his father-in-law, Boris Birshtein and his company Seabeco, as well as oligarch Alexander Mashkevich’s ties to all that—see my articles How Cohen’s and Manafort’s Ukraine Ties Tell the Deeper Story of Trump-Russia and the Mueller Probe and Think You Know How Deep Trump-Russia Goes? Think Again: This Chart/Info Will Blow Your Mind, which link to some more detailed work of mine on some of these individual subjects. 

[canada7news]

When Dirty Russian-Connected Money Saved Trump’s Ass and His Ensuing Business Disasters Helped Destroy the Global and American Economies

As Trump’s taxes return to the news, here is the parallel context and setup where he went from failure on the verge of collapse to being propped up by money connected to Putin’s Russian government and the Russian mafia and then to failing repeatedly and spectacularly in those related business ventures, but in ways that allowed him to hide the dire straits of his finances and run as a “successful” “billionaire” for president in 2015-2016.  And, oh, he managed to fail in these ventures in ways that helped to bring on the global financial crises and America’s Great Recession of 2008.  As the house of cards image of himself Trump lied and cheated his way to building up comes tumbling down, a detailed look at that shady time when Trump was boosted by dirty Russian-connected money is essential.

In response to the bombshell report on Trump’s taxes that was released today, I am releasing a chapter on the scandals, bankruptcies, and financial problems of Trump from my eBook published on November 23, 2019.  These controversies surrounding the financial and business history of the Trump Organization (which even Steve Bannon has apparently described as a “criminal enterprise”) are of greater interest in light of this new New York Times report, but they should have been of far greater, sustained interest from 2015, when Trump began his candidacy for the presidency and when most of this information was already publicly available.  This research of mine was mainly conducted and published in different forms in 2016 and 2017, though some important segments came later., and the resulting material is best understood by reading my full eBook, eBook, A Song of Gas and Politics: How Ukraine Is at the Center of Trump-Russia, or, Ukrainegate: A “New” Phase in the Trump-Russia Saga Made from Recycled Materials, available for Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook (preview here), a detailed look at Trump-Russia and how its Ukraine machinations led to Trump’s impeachment, including Trump’s deeply relevant and deeply shady business history.  For helpful and important background on some of the figures mentioned, but not fully introduced, below—including Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top Russian mafia “godfather,” Semion Mogilevich, and his intricate work in Ukraine with Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash (and his front-company Highrock) and now convicted-by-Mueller’s-team-felon Paul Manafort for Putin stooge Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine, his Party of Regions and benefactor Rinat Akhmetov, and their schemes to bend Ukraine to Moscow’s will and fight pro-Western Ukrainian leader Yulia Tymoshenko; including Manafort’s work with Russian oligarch and top Putin operative Oleg Deripaska to advance Russian interests; including background on another of Putin’s top men in Ukraine, Viktor Medvedchuk; including how Rudy Giuliani’s longstanding ties with Mogilevich-connected Sam Kislin are also of interest, as is the history of Kislin’s old partner Tamir Sapir in Trumpworld; including interesting background on Felix Sater; including Alexander Shnaider’s ties to Russia and Ukraine, as well as those of his father-in-law, Boris Birshtein and his company Seabeco, as well as oligarch Alexander Mashkevich’s ties to all that—see my articles How Cohen’s and Manafort’s Ukraine Ties Tell the Deeper Story of Trump-Russia and the Mueller Probe and Think You Know How Deep Trump-Russia Goes? Think Again: This Chart/Info Will Blow Your Mind, which link to some more detailed work of mine on some of these individual subjects.  You can see all my Trump-Russia coverage here. UPDATE: Sept 29: The new New York Times second bombshell report on Trump’s finances, this one about The Apprentice TV show being a screen onto which to project Trump’s “success” amidst a reality of failure behind it, discusses a dynamic that I already noted here close to a year ago and beginning in 2016. In other words, Trump’s “success” amounted to his obtaining shady Russian-/former Soviet-linked financing, letting others take the fall in disastrous deal after disastrous deal, outlitigating anyone trying to hold him accountable, and self-promotion on The Apprentice that helped to obscure his many scandals.

UPDATE: Sept 29: The new New York Times second bombshell report on Trump’s finances, this one about The Apprentice TV show being a screen onto which to project Trump’s “success” amidst a reality of failure behind it, discusses a dynamic that I already noted here close to a year ago and beginning in 2016. In other words, Trump’s “success” amounted to his obtaining shady Russian-/former Soviet-linked financing, letting others take the fall in disastrous deal after disastrous deal, outlitigating anyone trying to hold him accountable, and self-promotion on The Apprentice that helped to obscure his many scandals.

[alltimesinusa]

When Dirty Russian-Connected Money Saved Trump’s Ass and His Ensuing Business Disasters Helped Destroy the Global and American Economies

As Trump’s taxes return to the news, here is the parallel context and setup where he went from failure on the verge of collapse to being propped up by money connected to Putin’s Russian government and the Russian mafia and then to failing repeatedly and spectacularly in those related business ventures, but in ways that allowed him to hide the dire straits of his finances and run as a “successful” “billionaire” for president in 2015-2016.  And, oh, he managed to fail in these ventures in ways that helped to bring on the global financial crises and America’s Great Recession of 2008.  As the house of cards image of himself Trump lied and cheated his way to building up comes tumbling down, a detailed look at that shady time when Trump was boosted by dirty Russian-connected money is essential.

In response to the bombshell report on Trump’s taxes that was released today, I am releasing a chapter on the scandals, bankruptcies, and financial problems of Trump from my eBook published on November 23, 2019.  These controversies surrounding the financial and business history of the Trump Organization (which even Steve Bannon has apparently described as a “criminal enterprise”) are of greater interest in light of this new New York Times report, but they should have been of far greater, sustained interest from 2015, when Trump began his candidacy for the presidency and when most of this information was already publicly available.  This research of mine was mainly conducted and published in different forms in 2016 and 2017, though some important segments came later., and the resulting material is best understood by reading my full eBook, eBook, A Song of Gas and Politics: How Ukraine Is at the Center of Trump-Russia, or, Ukrainegate: A “New” Phase in the Trump-Russia Saga Made from Recycled Materials, available for Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook (preview here), a detailed look at Trump-Russia and how its Ukraine machinations led to Trump’s impeachment, including Trump’s deeply relevant and deeply shady business history.  For helpful and important background on some of the figures mentioned, but not fully introduced, below—including Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top Russian mafia “godfather,” Semion Mogilevich, and his intricate work in Ukraine with Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash (and his front-company Highrock) and now convicted-by-Mueller’s-team-felon Paul Manafort for Putin stooge Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine, his Party of Regions and benefactor Rinat Akhmetov, and their schemes to bend Ukraine to Moscow’s will and fight pro-Western Ukrainian leader Yulia Tymoshenko; including Manafort’s work with Russian oligarch and top Putin operative Oleg Deripaska to advance Russian interests; including background on another of Putin’s top men in Ukraine, Viktor Medvedchuk; including how Rudy Giuliani’s longstanding ties with Mogilevich-connected Sam Kislin are also of interest, as is the history of Kislin’s old partner Tamir Sapir in Trumpworld; including interesting background on Felix Sater; including Alexander Shnaider’s ties to Russia and Ukraine, as well as those of his father-in-law, Boris Birshtein and his company Seabeco, as well as oligarch Alexander Mashkevich’s ties to all that—see my articles How Cohen’s and Manafort’s Ukraine Ties Tell the Deeper Story of Trump-Russia and the Mueller Probe and Think You Know How Deep Trump-Russia Goes? Think Again: This Chart/Info Will Blow Your Mind, which link to some more detailed work of mine on some of these individual subjects.  You can see all my Trump-Russia coverage here.

UPDATE: Sept 29: The new New York Times second bombshell report on Trump’s finances, this one about The Apprentice TV show being a screen onto which to project Trump’s “success” amidst a reality of failure behind it, discusses a dynamic that I already noted here close to a year ago and beginning in 2016. In other words, Trump’s “success” amounted to his obtaining shady Russian-/former Soviet-linked financing, letting others take the fall in disastrous deal after disastrous deal, outlitigating anyone trying to hold him accountable, and self-promotion on The Apprentice that helped to obscure his many scandals.

[andrewtheprophet]

Nuclear war threat: Revelation 16

Nuclear war threat: Revelation 16

Nuclear war threat: Russian nukes would destroy UK and US, military expert warns By Will Stewart and Jack Newman and Chris Pleasance for MailOnline 09:28 27 Oct 2022, updated 14:48 27 Oct 2022 Huge Russian nuclear drills watched over by Vladimir Putin were a rehearsal for wiping Britain and America off the map, a state media stooge declared last night. Colonel Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief…

[tomorrowusa]

It's clear that America's autocratic enemies desperately want to elect Trump. It's the cheapest way for kleptocrats in Russia, North Korea, Iran, and North Korea to weaken the United States.

Foreign dictators manipulating US media is not new. But now we see Putin making direct monetary investments in platforms which promote stooges for the Kremlin.

The indictment unsealed in New York’s Southern District accused two employees of RT, the Kremlin’s media arm, of funneling nearly $10 million to an unidentified company, described only as “Company 1” in court documents. CNN has independently confirmed that “Company 1” is Tenet Media, which is a platform for independent content creators. It is self-described as a “network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues,” according to its website, which matches language contained in the newly unsealed indictment. The alleged Russian operation tapped two people to set up the company in their names to add to its legitimacy and the two founders were aware Russian money backed the operation, according to the indictment. The goal of the operation, according to prosecutors, was to fuel pro-Russian narratives, in part, by pushing content and news articles favoring Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and others who the Kremlin deemed to be friendlier to its interests. Among the commentators listed on Tenet Media’s website are right-wing personalities Benny Johnson, Tim Pool and Dave Rubin. All have released statements saying they were victims of the alleged Russian scheme and they maintained editorial control of the content they created. Each has a loyal fanbase online, with a combined roughly 6 million followers on YouTube alone. Pool interviewed Trump on his podcast in May.

Tenet Media was just one of Putin's tentacles in US media.

The DOJ’s revealing of the alleged Russian plot was part of a wider set of actions the Biden administration announced Wednesday it was taking to tackle a major Russian government-backed effort to influence the 2024 US presidential election including sanctions on 10 individuals and entities, and the seizure of 32 internet domains. At Russian President Vladimir Putin’s direction, three Russian companies used fake profiles to promote false narratives on social media, US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement. Internal documents produced by one of those Russian companies show one of the goals of the propaganda effort was to boost the candidacy of Trump or whoever emerged as the Republican nominee for president, according to an FBI affidavit.

Putin tried to deflect the negative publicity by claiming he liked Kamala Harris's laugh. Of course his puppet Weird Donald doesn't have a laugh – just a malicious sneer.

Putin will continue to try to interfere in elections until it becomes too costly for him to do so.

RELATED: The Kremlin has Putin-friendly influencers sowing pro-Trump propaganda.

Unsealed FBI Doc Exposes Terrifying Depth of Russian Disinfo Scheme

Of particular note, the documents released Wednesday included an affidavit that noted a Russian company is keeping a list of more than 2,800 influencers world wide, about one-fifth of whom are based in the United States, to monitor and potentially groom to spread Russian propaganda. The affidavit does not mention the full list of influencers, but is still a terrifying indicator of how deep the Russian plot to interfere in U.S. politics really goes. The Doppelganger program and its “Good Old USA Project” aimed to mimic mainstream media outlets to push pro-Russian policies through fake social media accounts. Documents show that the Kremlin specifically targeted Trump supporters, minorities, gamers, and swing-state voters by spreading far-right conspiracies and capitalizing on existing divisions in U.S. politics. ”They are afraid of losing the American way of life and the ‘American dream,’” Ilya Gambashidze, an architect of the project, wrote, outlining his scheme. “It is these sentiments that should be exploited in the course of an information campaign in/for the United States.” To do so, the Russian government would emphasize that Republicans are “victims of discrimination of people of color” and promote conspiracies that white middle-class people are being discriminated against. The “guerrilla media” plan needed to not only plant falsehoods, but also spread them far and wide. They targeted gamers and chatroom users, who they described as the “backbone of the right-wing trends in the US segment of the Internet,” and monitored social media influencers.

[wyrmfedgrave]

CNBC: Obama, Clinton excuse Biden's debate performance to fend off Democratic meltdown: 'Bad debate nights happen'

What's wrong with this picture? These 2 candidates aren't the same thing.

One bad TV 'performance' doesn't invalidate what Biden & his fellow Democrats have accomplished.

Has Biden made some bad decisions?

Yes - like backing the lying Israeli Palestinian genocide!

(Much like America followed a lying U.K. into Afghanistan... And, France into Vietnam. A cycle we really need to break!)

Yes, bad shit happens!!

That still doesn't change Biden's superior morals & plain humanity.

Biden & his team have done a lot of good for America.

Blame the high prices & recession on the guilty corporations trying to help the Rump keep their taxes low...

And, tRump's greatest achievement?

The Felon Don talked Americans into a home-grown terrorist attack on their own Congress - looking to overturn a lawful election & to assassinate the Rump's enemies & his own VP!!

And, Rump's proud of this...

So, 'damage control' - for Biden - is quite unnecessary.

It doesn't change my mind as to who I'm voting for.

Joe had a bad TV appearance...

So what?

I'm not voting for Biden due to a stupid TV spot.

I'm voting for the Joe that cares about our democracy & it's citizens.

Biden doesn't hate America like tRump does.

Joe isn't a stupid egotist & criminal who's being used as a Russian stooge.

Biden knows that America has always been a great nation.

Changing a Constitutional Democracy into a religious dystopia would only create another 3rd World economy...

One that's scared of the rest of the planet & only poisons itself thru un- controlled industrial pollution...

I don't see any advantage - for citizens - in such self-defeating policies.

So, I'm still riding with Biden!

Even if, as someone else said, Joe was a reincarnated Lovecraftian corpse - sitting up at his own wake!!

Biden is still the better corpse...

The Felon Don is nothing more than a national disgrace & he's not going to change.

Let's keep America great - Vote Blue Wave.

We'll need it, to get rid of the many problems that the Rump set up...

End.

[inbarfink]

What is Minion called in the various dubs and translations of 'Megamind'?

Latin America Spanish: Servil ('servile')

Spain: Esbirro ('henchman' or 'minion')

Armenian: Tsarra (meaning 'servant')

Brazilian Portuguese: Criado ('servant' or 'attendant')

Swedish: Hejduk ('henchman')

Russian: Prisluzhnik ('Minion' or 'Follower')

Bulgarian: Лакей (Sorry, I couldn't get verification for how it's pronounced but it means 'lackey' or 'footman')

Romanian: Lacheu ('lackey' or 'flanky')

Czech: Poskok ('Hop' but also 'underling', 'stooge')

Hungarian: Talpnyali (seems to be a corruption of the word 'Talpnyaló', which means 'fawning' or 'a toady')

Hebrew: Mesharetion ('Mesharet' means 'Servant' + the 'ion' makes it sounds more sci-fi and also help with the lipsync)

Japanese: Kobungyo (combination of the words 'Kobun', which means 'minion' and 'gyo', which means 'fish')

Croatian: MinimUm (a pun on the word 'Minimum' and 'Um', which is the Croatian word for 'Mind' - in contrast to Megamind who is called 'MaksimUm')

Georgian: Damkhmare ('assistant')

Danish: Følgesvend ('Companion', 'Sidekick')

French: Nounou ('Nanny' or 'babysitter')

[thewolfstarchives]

Hii, I would like you to post you favourite fic recs, the ones you love the most and think everyone should read? :3

 Hi! There’s a lot to choose from, and this is obviously a really hard question! But here are the ones we decided are truly some of our favourites, and we reread all the time!

Sorted by length:

Friends Don’t by shadow_prince (T, 2.2k, 1 chapter)

Remus huffed. “I mean, even at school. You never went on dates. And I thought maybe it was just because you were always with us and whatever, but. You never date.”

“What’s your point, Remus?”

“Why don’t you?”

He looked back down at the newspaper, unable to look him in the eye for the lie he knew would come next. “I just don’t like anyone.”

“Oh.”

Was that disappointment in his voice? No, it couldn’t be disappointment. Because that would mean Moony cared, and Moony didn’t care. Moony couldn’t care, because Moony was straight. If he wasn’t, he would have said something, and he hadn’t, so he had to be straight.

That didn’t stop him from glancing over the top of the paper to where he stood at the edge of the hallway. He was frozen in the way you froze just before you kicked off the ground on your broom. Right before a runner pushed off the block. Right before you dove off a cliff into the sea. Frozen with the promise of movement about to burst forth.

Sirius watched him, holding his breath.

“You’re lying.”

If You’d Let Me (But You Don’t) by @kerstintxt (T, 4.8k, 1 chapter)

"Today on the wire we have Sirius Black, the irresistible lead singer of The Marauders, a band we've been playing an awful lot lately, now that I think about it. They must be having a terrific time; just last year, the four boys from London were playing in tiny clubs and now they've just announced their first arena tour for next year. At the moment, they're touring in the UK, USA and Canada. Sirius, tell me, where are you right now?"

"Uh, give me a second. Remus", Sirius says as he leans a little too far over the edge of his bunk bed (a sharp turn of the bus would be really bad timing) so that he can look at Moony, who's reading on the bed under his. "Remus", Sirius says with the phone still pressed to his ear, "the nice lady on the radio wants to know where we are."

OR, the one where The Marauders are a rock band and Sirius should reeaalllly get his feelings for Remus under control if he doesn't want to ruin everything.

The London Underground Book Of Love by Children_of_the_Shadows (T, 5.2k, 1 chapter)

The cardinal rule of the London Underground is to never, ever make eye contact. It is a rule that, among many others, Sirius tends to follow despite his otherwise rebellious, non-rule-following nature. So the first time he makes eye contact with a human being in the subway comes as much of a shock to him as anyone else. Especially when he's unable to look away.

Love (Messy, Tragic, Devastating) by kmc123 (T, 12.7k, 1 chapter)

it is easier to say "fuck me harder" than to say "love me and only me" - k.y robinson

rumor has it by @punkaspadfoot​ (T, 15.1k, 1 chapter)

No student had ever figured out why Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin seemed to hate each other so much, and at this point in the year the seniors were done trying. All they had time to focus on now was finals and graduation, although the annual class trip provided a welcome distraction. Three days on a lake with their four favorite teachers and plenty of time to gossip had to be a good time, right?

Save Me, Save Me, Save Me by @mollymarymarie (N/A (no smut), 15.2k, 1 chapter)

Remus overhears a conversation between James and Sirius about Sirius being in love and discovers rather abruptly that he doesn't like the idea of Sirius being in love with anyone who isn't him. THEN WHY IS HE HELPING SIRIUS COOK THIS WOMAN DINNER??

Probably so that, while chopping vegetables in the kitchen, he and Sirius can perform an emotional duet, serenading each other to Phil Collin's "A Groovy Kind of Love." AND THEN GET ALL WEIRD ABOUT IT AFTERWARD.

Because they're idiots.

Let Nothing You Dismay by montparnasse (M, 18.9k, 1 chapter)

There are a few things Sirius really didn't count on for Christmas of 1979. The extreme sexual confusion is one of them; Remus Lupin is approximately seventy-eight of the rest.

Now I Wanna Be Your Dog by @remus-john-lupin (E, 20.1k, 7 chapters)

Sirius clunks about in his Doc Martens and listens to The Stooges and smokes cigarettes and wears his hair much too long and spends more time serving detention than not.

And is way too forward about his sudden feelings for Remus.

(A story about teenagers and summer love in the 70s.)

Vows Under the Covers by @mollymarymarie (Not Rated but has smut, 21.5k, 1 chapter)

Remus is getting married. And not to Sirius.

"All the promises - vows under the covers. We would play pretend, my love, But it was real. To me."

Likewise Variable by @oneangryshot (T, 28.9k, 17 chapters)

James has plans, Peter is the nurse, Sirius keeps fake blood up his sleeves, and Remus just tries to stay alive.

Solntse by @lumosinlove (N/A but has smut, 62k, 14 chapters)

Sirius, a young Russian billionaire hires Remus, who is working part time as a call boy to make ends meet. Things happen, feelings occur.

The Lad that Loved You by @mollymarymarie (N/A but has smut, 81.7k, 3 chapters)

James and Peter are out of sorts because Remus and Sirius are fighting. Except that they're not. They're REALLY not.

Here Comes Another One by PleaseDonateBlood (T, 82.7k, 17 chapters, WIP)

Do you ask every stranger you accidentally spontaneously befriend this many personal questions?

FRIEND it may have been spontaneous (destiny) but there was nothing accidental about this love

Also I guess that means this would be a bad time to ask for your name?

Your guess would be correct

What’s your name?

Wow. --- Sirius texts the wrong number. And so it begins. We did need another Wolfstar texting fic. We definitely did.

Currents by @quoththethestral (E, 109k, 17 chapters)

Remus Lupin and Sirius Black arrive in Sydney to compete in the Summer Olympics, both intent on making these games a better experience than the last. The two swimmers have a tumultuous history and intense rivalry, but can America’s golden boy and Great Britain’s notorious bad boy put their past behind them and find some common ground?

Palo Alto by @nachodiablo (M, 110.4k, 18 chapters)

Modern AU set in Silicon Valley.

It's easy for Sirius to ignore his mixed-up feelings while he's got Remus all to himself, but when Remus starts dating again, Sirius is forced to figure things out before Remus moves on for good. Or before James and Peter strangle them both.

Show Me Everything I Missed by @mollymarymarie (N/A but has smut & trigger warnings, 152.9k, 12 chapters)

In the middle of the aftermath left by life-shattering trauma, Sirius finds Remus, someone who understands better than anyone else ever could. And together, they take turns putting each other back together again when the nightmares of their pasts try to tear them apart.

Casting Moonshadows by Moonsign (M, 395.7k, 87 chapters, WIP)

Lonely and outcast by his classmates, Remus wishes on a moonshadow for a friend who understands him. To his amazement his wish is answered not once, but three times, by his former enemies, the Marauders.

Inquiries? Ask the Archivists!