#russian jr nationals 2020

[goddessofwisdom18]

Hi, if you're USAmerican please consider contacting your senators to tell them to vote against Trump's cabinet picks!

RFK JR. is being nominated for secretary of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He is a known anti-vaxxer, including perpetuating the myth that vaccines cause Autism. He has also been accused of rape by a former babysitter, something he publically refused to comment on besides saying he was “not a church boy … I have so many skeletons in my closet”.

You can email your senators here or call them at their numbers using this script (last slide).

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Russell Vought is being nominated for Director of the Office of Management and Budget, which is the office that was used for the funding freeze this past week. He is a Trump loyalist who aims to dismantle civil service as we know it to ensure the government is filled to the brim with Trump loyalists. He is willing to use military power to make this happen. Additionally, he is one of the architects of Project 2025.

You can email your senators here or call them at their numbers using this script.

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Tulsi Gabbard is being nominated for Director of National Intelligence. She has no relevant experience for this position. In the past she has parroted Russian propaganda, including myths that justified Russia's invasion of Ukraine. She has also had secret meetings with war criminal Bashar Al-Assad. She was raised in and still adheres to a religious sect that some have called a cult and that has been tied to scams.

You can email your senators here or call them at their numbers.

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Kash Patel is being nominated for Director of the FBI. He has continuously courted QAnon and other conspiracy theories, including the theory that Biden's win in 2020 was illegitimate and that there is such a thing as "the deep state." QAnon perpetuates antisemitic myths that have been around for millennia.

You can email your senators here or call them at their numbers.

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Even if your senators are Republicans, contacting them is still worth it; you have no idea what is going on behind the scenes and what might make them act. Your email might be the final push they need, and even if it isn't, it's still worth it to show them we're still here and not giving up. Every piece of effort counts.

Please reblog, even if you aren't USAmerican. This will have impacts that reach far beyond the U.S.!!

[misfitwashere]

The man no rational person would put in charge of the public’s health

ROBERT REICH

JAN 28

Friends,

Tomorrow, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will appear before the Senate Finance Committee for the first of two confirmation hearings as Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. 

This is a big deal. Kennedy Jr. is a nutcase and conspiracy theorist with racist tendencies. 

If confirmed, he’d have sweeping control over 18 agencies critical to the nation’s health, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

In his confirmation hearings, keep your eye on these three big issues: 

Vaccines

Kennedy Jr. has assured senators that he doesn’t want to take vaccines away from Americans but just wants to cast more “sunlight” onto the science behind them. 

But his history of anti-vaccine advocacy has made those promises difficult to believe.

Over the past five years, Kennedy Jr. has repeated over 100 times false claims linking vaccines to autism — a theory debunked by decades of scientific research.

He has claimed that COVID-19 was “targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people” and that “the people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.”

And that “the Chinese are spending hundreds of millions of dollars developing ethnic bioweapons and we are developing ethnic bioweapons. They’re collecting Russian DNA. They’re collecting Chinese DNA so we can target people by race.”

He was a leading proponent of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, erroneously suggesting the vaccine has killed more people than it has saved.

In his 2021 book, The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health, he alleged, without plausible evidence, that Dr. Fauci performed “genocidal experiments, sabotaged treatments for AIDS, and conspired with Bill Gates to suppress information about COVID-19.” This is libelous nonsense.

RFK Jr.’s misinformation about vaccines continues to endanger public health.

Kennedy Jr.’s nomination comes as childhood vaccination rates are falling. According to KFF, a nonprofit group that researches health policy issues, less than 93 percent of kindergartners had received all of their state-required vaccines in the 2023-2024 school year, compared with 95 percent in the 2019-2020 school year.

The secretary of Health and Human Services also shares with the surgeon general the nation’s highest pulpit for speaking about health care. That means that Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vax bias is likely to deter more parents from getting their children vaccinated. 

The good news is we’ve largely eliminated these diseases. The bad news is we’ve eliminated the memory of these diseases. So parents are now more prone to worry about the safety of vaccines.

Kennedy has opposed vaccine mandates — including those for children to attend schools. He could direct the Center for Disease Control to remove requirements that children receive certain vaccines, and leave the decision up to parents or guardians. 

He cold also stop shielding manufacturers and providers of COVID vaccines from legal liability — which would spur a tidal wave of litigation over alleged injuries from the shots.

Bird flu

The H5N1 bird flu virus is ripping across America. As of January 16, an estimated 928 herds of dairy cattle in 16 states have been infected, according to the Agriculture Department.

Experts worry that bird flu has the potential to set off another pandemic if it were to mutate to spread easily among people. So far, at least 67 cases have been found in people, mostly farmworkers. One person has died from the virus.

There have been no documented instances of human-to-human transmission of bird flu in the United States, at least so far. 

Kennedy Jr. would oversee the CDC, which has managed much of the outbreak and tracked the risk to humans, as well as the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, an agency responsible for managing the nation’s stockpile of flu vaccines, which currently includes two bird flu vaccine candidates. 

He’d also have authority over the FDA, which would need to authorize the vaccines before they could be used in people.

Given his anti-vax advocacy, there is no reason to trust his judgment on any of this. 

Public health insurance 

If confirmed, Kennedy Jr. would also oversee Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act. Taken together, these three programs provide health insurance to more than half the American population. 

Many Republicans in Congress want to let expire the subsidies that make Obamacare premiums more affordable. They have also expressed interest in imposing work requirements for Medicaid eligibility. Trump’s nominee to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz, has previously expressed support for privatizing Medicare. 

We don’t know Kennedy Jr.’s views on any of this, but I’m wary. 

The bigger picture 

Kennedy Jr. is not just a nutcase. He’s also a designated hitter in the oligarchy’s efforts to get government out of public health — and force Americans to rely instead on private for-profit corporations for their health insurance, hospitalization, vaccines, and pharmaceuticals. 

These corporations continue to merge into giant for-profit monopolies and oligopolies. 

Recall that Kennedy Jr.’s candidacy for president was supported by billionaire Timothy Mellon — grandson of Andrew Mellon and an heir to the Mellon banking fortune — who donated $15 million to Kennedy Jr.’s SuperPAC. (Mellon was also a major donor to PACs supporting Trump.)

Friends, I knew and worked for Robert F. Kennedy. Robert F. Kennedy Junior is no Robert F. Kennedy. Robert F. Kennedy was passionately committed to social justice. He would never have suggested that a deadly virus was targeted at certain races. 

In 1962, when Robert F. Kennedy was President John F. Kennedy’s attorney general, JFK signed the Vaccination Assistance Act in order to, in the words of a CDC report, “achieve as quickly as possible the protection of the population, especially of all preschool children … through intensive immunization activity.”

The Senate should reject RFK Jr.’s nomination to be secretary of Health and Human Services. 

[guitarhappyman]

What the Trump Nominees Have Not Done—And Will Not Do

5 Comments / December 5, 2024

Victor Davis Hanson

American Greatness

Deflated by the resounding November defeat, the left now believes it can magically rebound by destroying Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees.

Many of Trump’s picks are well outside the usual Washington, DC/New York political, media, and corporate nexus.

But that is precisely the point—to insert reformers into a bloated, incompetent, and weaponized government who are not part of it.

Trump’s nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, is already drawing severe criticism.

His furious enemies cannot go after his resume, since he has spent a lifetime in private, congressional, and executive billets, both in investigations and intelligence.

Instead, they claim he is too vindictive and does not reflect the ethos of the FBI.

But what will Patel not do as the new director?

He will not serially lie under oath to federal investigators as did interim FBI Director Andrew McCabe, a current Patel critic.

He will not forge an FBI court affidavit, as did convicted felon and agency lawyer Kevin Clinesmith.

He will not claim amnesia 245 times under congressional oath to evade embarrassing admissions as did former Director James Comey.

He will not partner with a foreign national to collect dirt and subvert a presidential campaign as the FBI did with Christopher Steele in 2016

He will not use the FBI to draft social media to suppress news unfavorable to a presidential candidate on the eve of an election.

He would not have suppressed FBI knowledge that Hunter Biden’s laptop was genuine—to allow the lie to spread that it was “Russian disinformation” on the eve of the 2020 election.

He will not raid the home of an ex-president with SWAT teams, surveil Catholics, monitor parents at school board meetings, or go after pro-life peaceful protestors.

Decorated combat veteran Pete Hegseth is another controversial nominee for secretary of defense.

What will Hegseth likely not do?

Go AWOL without notifying the president of a serious medical procedure as did current Secretary Lloyd Austin?

Install race and gender criteria for promotion and mandate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training?

Insinuate falsely that cabals of white supremacists had infiltrated the military—only to alienate that entire demographic and thus ensure the Pentagon came up 40,000 recruits short?

Oversee the scramble from Kabul that saw $50 billion in U.S. military equipment abandoned to Taliban terrorists?

Watch passively as a Chinese spy balloon traversed the continental United States for a week?

Allow the chairman of the Joint Chiefs to promise his Chinese communist counterpart that the People’s Liberation Army would first be informed if the President of the United States was felt to issue a dangerous order?

Rotate into the Pentagon from a defense contractor boardship and then leave office to rotate back there to leverage procurement decisions?

Oversee the Pentagon’s serial flunking of fiscal audits?

Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is certainly a maverick. He may earn the most Democratic hits, given his former liberal credentials.

But what will RFK also not do as HHS secretary?

Oversee his agencies circumventing U.S. law by transferring money to communist China to help it produce lethal gain-of-function viruses of the COVID-19 sort—in the manner of Dr. Fauci?

Organize scientists to go after critics of mandatory masking and defame them?

Give pharmaceutical companies near-lifetime exemptions from legal jeopardy for rushing into production mRNA vaccines not traditionally vetted and tested?

Leave office to monetize his HHS expertise and thus make millions from the pharmaceutical companies?

Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence, former congressional representative and military veteran Tulsi Gabbard, will soon be defamed in congressional hearings.

But what has Gabbard not done?

Joined “51 former intelligence authorities” to lie on the eve of the 2020 election that the Hunter Biden laptop “had all the hallmarks” of a Russian information/disinformation operation”—in an effort to swing the election to incumbent Joe Biden?

Lied under congressional oath like former DNI James Clapper, who claimed he only gave the “least untruthful answer” in congressional testimony?

Encourage the FBI to monitor a presidential campaign in efforts to discredit it—in the manner of former CIA Director John Brennan, who lied not once but twice under oath?

Fail to foresee the American meltdown in Kabul, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, or the Houthis takeover of the Red Sea?

We are going to hear some outrageous things in the upcoming congressional confirmation hearings.

But one thing we will not hear about are the crimes, deceptions, and utter incompetence of prior and current government grandees.

The current crew, not their proposed Trump replacements, prompted the sick and tired American people to demand different people.

Voters want novel approaches to reform a government that they not only no longer trust but also now deeply fear.

[darkmaga-returns]

Donald Trump pledged he would waste no time quickly implementing executive actions on his first day in office, with many of them reversing or eliminating those implemented by the Biden administration.

Donald Trump is teeing up for an executive order signing spree the moment he’s back in office. What may be on his list?

Get On The Phone to Vladimir Putin Fast:

A phone call with the Russian President could take place "in the coming days or weeks," according to Trump's national security advisor. An in-person meeting is expected "very quickly."

📹 TRUMP PROMISES TO 'END THE WAR IN UKRAINE' AND 'PREVENT WORLD WAR III' https://t.co/6ZMNdEQVkR pic.twitter.com/DjFGMTB9HO— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) January 19, 2025

Withdraw Funding For Ukraine:

“I will end the war in Ukraine […] and I will prevent World War III from happening,” Trump told D.C. victory rally. Ukraine conflict is just “dying to be settled,” he said earlier, and insisted that “Biden and Kamala got us into that war.”

Stop “Border Invasion”:

“Close the border. Day 1” to all illegal aliens, declare a national border emergency, enlist the help of the US military to launch “the largest deportation program in American history,” Trump said.

Spill Truth About ‘Laptop from Hell’

Trump may suspend security clearances for the 51 national security officials who “lied” about Hunter Biden’s laptop ahead of the 2020 presidential election

Put End To DEI:

Trump vowed to dismantle the “destructive and divisive” diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring practices “across both government and the private sector."

Disclose Secret Files:

Pledge to blow the lid on trove of classified files on the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. “It’s all going to be released!”

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Hunter Walker at TPM:

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) has been making headlines for his “rocky rollout” since being named former President Donald Trump’s running mate last month. The bad headlines and poll numbers have been driven by Vance’s extreme comments about “childless cat ladies,” abortion, and more. Well, along with extreme comments, Vance has some extreme investments. 

Vance has had a six-figure stake in Rumble, an online video platform. The company has played host to Russian propaganda and to far-right personalities like Stew Peters and Tim Pool. It has also featured even more extreme content, including explicitly neo-Nazi images and themes like this song touting the “Reich” and calling for Jews to be placed in ovens from a “dissident rapper” with a dedicated page on the site. The site features a plethora of channels and videos dedicated to the concept of “white genocide,” which is a core belief for white supremacists. It also hosts channels for explicitly white supremacist organizations including VDare and Patriot Front, which has led masked demonstrations around the country. 

A former Marine, Vance was elected in 2022 after a career as a bestselling author and venture capitalist. In both the financial world and as he rose in politics, Vance has been backed by the Silicon Valley investor and right-wing donor Peter Thiel. The pair co-founded a firm, Narya Capital, in 2020. In keeping with Thiel’s preferred styling, the company was named after a reference to the “Lord of the Rings” fantasy novels.  In 2021, Narya Capital made a major investment in Rumble. The investment, which made Narya one of Rumble’s top shareholders, also gave the firm a seat on Rumble’s board. Financial disclosures filed by Vance in conjunction with his Senate bid also show that he made a personal investment in Rumble that was valued between $100,000 and $250,000.  Rumble went public in 2022 following Narya’s investment. In a filing last year that was reported by CNBC, Narya indicated it planned to sell more than three million shares of Rumble. Narya’s initial investment in Rumble totaled over seven million shares. 

[...] Vance isn’t the only figure in Trumpworld who has financial ties to Rumble. Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s son, signed a seven-figure podcast deal with the company last year. Trump Jr. reportedly played a “pivotal role” in persuading his father to bring Vance onto the Republican presidential ticket. Trump Jr. did not respond to questions about the extremist content on Rumble and about whether his financial relationships influenced his support for Vance.

Trump VP pick J.D. Vance is an investor in Rumble, a far-right YouTube alternative that is filled with Neo-Nazis content, along with antisemitism, white nationalism, anti-LGBTQ+ extremism, and other bigotries.

[trump-executive-orders]

Holding Former Government Officials Accountable for Election Interference and Improper Disclosure of Sensitive Governmental Information

Issued January 20, 2025.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1. Purpose. In the closing weeks of the 2020 Presidential campaign, at least 51 former intelligence officials coordinated with the Biden campaign to issue a letter discrediting the reporting that President Joseph R. Biden's son had abandoned his laptop at a computer repair business. Signatories of the letter falsely suggested that the news story was part of a Russian disinformation campaign.

Before being issued, the letter was sent to the CIA Prepublication Classification Review Board, the body typically assigned to formally evaluate the sensitive nature of documents prior to publication. Senior CIA officials were made aware of the contents of the letter, and multiple signatories held clearances at the time and maintained ongoing contractual relationships with the CIA.

Federal policymakers must be able to rely on analysis conducted by the Intelligence Community and be confident that it is accurate, crated with professionalism, and free from politically motivated engineering to affect political outcomes in the United States. The signatories willfully weaponized the gravitas of the Intelligence Community to manipulate the political process and undermine our democratic institutions. This fabrication of the imprimatur of the Intelligance Community to suppress information essential to the American people during a Presidential election is an egregious breach of trust reminiscent of a third world country. And now the faith of Americans in all other patriotic intelligence professionals who are sworn to protect the Nation has been imperiled.

National security is also damaged by the publication of classified information. Former National Security Advisor John R. Bolton published a memoir for monetary gain after he was terminated from his White House position in 2019. The book was rife with sensitive information drawn from his time in government. The memoir's reckless treatment of sensitive information undermined the ability of future presidents to request and obtain candid advice on matters of national security from their staff. Publication also created a grave risk that classified material was publicly exposed.

To remedy these abuses of the public trust, this Order directs the revocation of any active or current security clearances held by: (i) the former intelligence officials who engaged in misleading and inappropriate political coordination with the 2020 Biden presidential campaign; and (ii) John R. Bolton.

Sec. 2. Policy. (a) It is the policy of the United States to ensure that the Intelligence Community not be engaged in partisan politics or otherwise used by a U.S. political campaign for electioneering purposes. The term "Intelligence Community" has the meaning given the term in section 3003 of title 50, United States Code.

(b) It is the policy of the United States that classified information not be publicly disclosed in memoirs, especially those published for personal monetary gain.

Sec. 3. Implementation. (a) Effective immediately, the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, shall revoke any current or active clearances held by the following individuals:

(1) James R. Clapper Jr. (2) Michael V. Hayden (3) Leon E. Panetta (4) John O. Brennan (5) C. Thomas Fingar (6) Richard H. Ledgett Jr. (7) John E. McLaughlin (8) Michael J. Morell (9) Michael G. Vickers (10) Douglas H. Wise (11) Nicholas J. Rasmussen (12) Russell E. Travers (13) Andrew Liepman (14) John H. Moseman (15) Larry Pfeiffer (16) Jeremy B. Bash (17) Rodney Snyder (18) Glenn S. Gerstell (19) David B. Buckley (20) Nada G. Bakos (21) James B. Bruce (22) David S. Cariens (23) Janice Cariens (24) Paul R. Kolbe (25) Peter L. Corsell (26) Roger Z. George (27) Steven L. Hall (28) Kent Harrington (29) Don Hepburn (30) Timothy D. Kilbourn (31) Ronald A. Marks (32) Jonna H. Mendez (33) Emile Nakhleh (34) Gerald A. O'Shea (35) David Priess (36) Pamela Purcilly (37) Marc Polymeropoulos (38) Chris Savos (39) Nick Shapiro (40) John Sipher (41) Stephen B. Slick (42) Cynthia Strand (43) Greg Tarbell (44) David Terry (45) Gregory F. Treverton (46) John D. Tullius (47) David A. Vanell (48) Winston P. Wiley (49) Kristin Wood (50) John R. Bolton

Two signatories, Patty Patricia A. Brandmaeir and Brett Davis, are deceased.

(b) Within 90 days of this order, the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, shall submit a report to the President through the National Security Advisor that details:

(i) any additional inappropriate activity that occured within the Intelligence Community or by anyone who held a security clearance, related to the letter signed by the 51 former intelligence officials;

(ii) recommendations to prevent the Intelligence Community or anyone who works for or within it from inappropriately influencing domestic elections; and

(iii) any disciplinary action--including the termination of security clearances--that should be taken against anyone who engaged in inappropriate conduct related to the letter signed by the 51 former intelligence officials.

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

[notwiselybuttoowell]

Trump has spoken openly about his plans should he win the presidency, including using the military at the border and in cities struggling with violent crime. His plans also have included using the military against foreign drug cartels, a view echoed by other Republican primary candidates such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, the former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor.

The threats have raised questions about the meaning of military oaths, presidential power and who Trump could appoint to support his approach.

Trump already has suggested he might bring back retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who served briefly as Trump’s national security adviser and twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during its Russian influence probe before being pardoned by Trump. Flynn suggested in the aftermath of the 2020 election that Trump could seize voting machines and order the military in some states to help rerun the election.

Attempts to invoke the Insurrection Act and use the military for domestic policing would likely elicit pushback from the Pentagon, where the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is Gen. Charles Q. Brown. He was one of the eight members of the Joint Chiefs who signed a memo to military personnel in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The memo emphasized the oaths they took and called the events of that day, which were intended to stop certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory over Trump, “sedition and insurrection.”

Trump and his party nevertheless retain wide support among those who have served in the military. AP VoteCast, an in-depth survey of more than 94,000 voters nationwide, showed that 59% of U.S. military veterans voted for Trump in the 2020 presidential election. In the 2022 midterms, 57% of military veterans supported Republican candidates.

Presidents have issued a total of 40 proclamations invoking the law, some of those done multiple times for the same crisis, Nunn said. Lyndon Johnson invoked it three times — in Baltimore, Chicago and Washington — in response to the unrest in cities after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.

William Banks, a Syracuse University law professor and expert in national security law, said a military officer is not forced to follow “unlawful orders.” That could create a difficult situation for leaders whose units are called on for domestic policing, since they can face charges for taking unlawful actions.

“But there is a big thumb on the scale in favor of the president’s interpretation of whether the order is lawful,” Banks said. “You’d have a really big row to hoe and you would have a big fuss inside the military if you chose not to follow a presidential order.”

Nunn, who has suggested steps to restrict the invocation of the law, said military personnel cannot be ordered to break the law.

“Members of the military are legally obliged to disobey an unlawful order. At the same time, that is a lot to ask of the military because they are also obliged to obey orders,” he said. “And the punishment for disobeying an order that turns out to be lawful is your career is over, and you may well be going to jail for a very long time. The stakes for them are extraordinarily high.”

[originalleftist]

Divide and Conquer.

I think a lot of people maybe misunderstand what is meant when we say that a third party vote is a vote for Trump/Republicans. After all, they're not actually voting for Republicans. How are they helping Republicans any more than they're helping Democrats by voting third party, or independent, or staying home? So it's easy to get defensive, and see this argument as just an attempt by Democrats to suppress alternatives.

But here's the thing: Republicans are the minority. Their signature policies are, often, hated by most Americans. Republicans have won the popular vote in ONE presidential election since the 80s. If the Republican Texas Attorney General Paxton's remarks about suppressing 2 million votes in 2020 are true, Texas would likely be a Blue state in a fair election. The only way they can win national elections is by suppressing the vote, or otherwise manipulating the outcome. And one of the ways that they do that is by trying to divide the opposition.

Divide and conquer. It's one of the oldest strategies in the books. If you are weaker than your opponents, you try to pit your opponents against each other, then gobble them up one and at a time. Republicans do this all the time, most notably by trying to pit the progressive Left against "moderate" or "establishment" Democrats. Their allies in the Kremlin have it down to an art form (in 2016, Russian operatives literally organized opposing rallies at the same time and place on social media).

This is why voting third party, or independent, or not voting, hurts Democrats more than it does Republicans, as a rule. Because you're not just taking a neutral third option. You're splitting the anti-Republican fascism vote. And that's the only way that they win. This is why a Biden primary challenger (Dean Phillips) and a third party candidate (Cornell West) both turned out to have gotten donations from Harlan Crow (the billionaire with the Nazi memorabilia collection who bought Clarence Thomas). This is why Steve Bannon is backing up RFK Jr. It sure as fuck isn't because they want a progressive alternative in the White House.

Keep this in mind next year. Whatever grievances you have with Democrats, remember that the only way MAGA Republicans win is if the majority who oppose them are divided, and that there is a reason why Right-wing billionaires and their media allies want you voting for "third party" candidates, and it sure as Hell isn't because they want a more progressive America.

Edit: Corrected "lackeys" to "allies" when describing the Kremlin's association with the Republican Party/MAGA. I don't think Putin works for anyone but himself.

[brookston]

Holidays 8.28

Holidays

Bow Tie Day

Crackers Over the Keyboard Day

Criminal Appreciation Day

Crumbs Between the Keys Day

Dream Day Quest and Jubilee

828 Day

Emerati Women’s Day (UAE)

Emmett Till Day

End of the Fairy Tale Day

Giving Black Day (a.k.a. Give 828)

Gone-ta-Pott Day [every 28th]

Green Shirt Guy Day

I Have a Dream Day

International Read Comics in Public Day

Manifest 828 Day

Mariamoba (Republic of Georgia)

National Bow Tie Day

National Grandparents Day (Mexico)

National Over It Day

National Power Rangers Day

National Thoughtful Day

Nativity of Nephthys (Egyptian Goddess of Love)

Race Your Mouse Around the Icons Day

Radio Commercial Day

Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day

Russian Germans Day (Germany)

Scientific American Day

Significant Historical Events Day

Tan Suit Day

Watermelon Day (French Republic)

World Day of Turners Syndrome

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Cheese Sacrifice Day

National Cherry Turnover Day

National Red Wine Day

Stuffed Green Bell Peppers Day

Subway Sandwich Day

4th & Last Monday in August

Araw ng mga Bayani (National Heroes’ Day; Philippines) [Last Monday]

August/Summer Bank Holiday (UK) [Last Monday]

International Day of Cyber Attack Ceasefire [Last Monday]

Liberation Day (Hong Kong) [Last Monday]

Motorist Consideration Monday [Monday of Be Kind to Humankind Week]

Notting Hill Carnival (UK) [Last Monday & day before]

Social Justice Day (Antarctica) [4th Monday]

Independence Days

Holy Empire of Reunion (Declared; 1997) [unrecognized]

Luana (Declared; 2019) [unrecognized]

Moldova (from USSR; 1991)

Ohio Empire (Declared; 2008) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Alexander of Constantinople (Christian; Saint)

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Abkhazia)

Augustine of Hippo (Christian; Saint) [brewers] *

Ayyankali Jayanti (Kerala, India)

Constant Troyon (Artology)

Edmund Arrowsmith (Christian; Saint)

Edward Burne-Jones (Artology)

Feast of the Mother of God (Georgia, Macedonia, Serbia)

Festival for Luna (Ancient Rome)

Festival for Sol (Ancient Rome)

Festival of the Neon Revolution

First Onam (Rice Harvest Festival; Kerala, India)

Frank Gorshin Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Hermes of Rome (Christian; Saint)

Julian (Christian; Saint)

Junipero Serra (Christian; Saint)

Marimba (Virgin’s Assumption; Georgia)

Mariotte (Positivist; Saint)

Media Aestas III (Pagan)

More Rum Day (Pastafarian)

Moses the Black (Christian; Saint)

Uncle Norton the Elephant (Muppetism)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Sensho (先勝 Japan) [Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon.]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 40 of 60)

Premieres

Animal Crackers (Film; 1930)

Cain's Jawbone, by E. Powys Mathers (Novel/Puzzle; 1934)

Come Clean, by Puddle of Mudd (Album; 2001)

The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas (Novel; 1844)

Do the Evolution, by Pearl Jam (Animated Music Video; 1998)

54 (Film; 1998)

Flying Leathernecks (Film; 1951)

Gallipoli (Film; 1981)

Get Rich Quick Porky (WB LT Cartoon; 1937)

Honeymoon in Vegas (Film; 1992)

I Have a Dream, by Martin Luther King Jr. (Speech; 1963)

Let’s Get It On, by Marvin Gaye (Album; 1973)

Lohengrin, by Richard Wagner (Opera; 1850)

Mary of Scotland (Film; 1936)

Mickey’s Follies (Disney Cartoon; 1929)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (TV Series; 1993)

Narcos (TV Series; 2015)

The New Mutants (Film; 2020)

Perri (Disney Film; 1957)

Personal, 19th Jack Reacher book, by Lee Child (Novel; 2014)

Phineas and Verb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe (Animated Film; 2020)

Private Lessons (Film; 1981)

Q. Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!, by Devo (Album; 1978)

Rope (Film; 1948)

Smile, by Katy Perry (Album; 2020)

Song of the Thin Man (Film; 1947)

Studio 54 (Film; 1998)

Tease for Two (WB LT Cartoon; 1965)

Travelling Without Moving, by Jamiroquai (Album; 1996)

The Truth About Mother Goose (Disney Cartoon; 1957)

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (Film; 1992)

Victoria (TV Series; 2016)

Walk This Way by Aerosmith (Song; 1975)

Yankee Doodle Bugs (WB LT Cartoon; 1954)

Today’s Name Days

Adelinde, Aline, Augustin (Austria)

Augustin, Tin (Croatia)

Augustýn (Czech Republic)

Augustinus (Denmark)

August, Gustav, Kustas, Kustav, Kusti, Kusto (Estonia)

Tauno (Finland)

Augustin, Elouan (France)

Adelinde, Aline, Augustin, Vivian (Germany)

Damon (Greece)

Ágoston (Hungary)

Agostino, Ermete (Italy)

Auguste, Guste, Ranna (Latvia)

Augustinas, Patricija, Steigvilė, Tarvilas (Lithuania)

Artur, August (Norway)

Adelina, Aleksander, Aleksy, Augustyn, Patrycja, Sobiesław, Stronisław (Poland)

Augustín (Slovakia)

Agustín (Spain)

Fatima, Leila (Sweden)

Agustin, August, Augusta, Augustina, Austen, Austin, Austina, Austyn, Gus, Gustava, Gustavo (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 240 of 2024; 125 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 1 of week 35 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Coll (Hazel) [Day 21 of 28]

Chinese: Month 7 (Geng-Shen), Day 13 (Wu-Wu)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 11 Elul 5783

Islamic: 11 Safar 1445

J Cal: 30 Hasa; Nineday [30 of 30]

Julian: 15 August 2023

Moon: 92%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 16 Gutenberg (9th Month) [Mariotte]

Runic Half Month: Rad (Motion) [Day 1 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 68 of 94)

Zodiac: Virgo (Day 7 of 32)

Calendar Changes

Rad (Motion) [Half-Month 17 of 24; Runic Half-Months] (thru 9.9)

[thalkonvotes]

Holding Former Government Officials Accountable for Election Interference and Improper Disclosure of Sensitive Governmental Information

4 Section Presidential Action

Section 1. "Purpose"

In the last few weeks of the 2020 Presidential campaign, it is said that at least 51 former intelligence officials coordinated with the Biden campaign to issue a letter discrediting that President Joe Biden's son had abandoned his laptop at a computer repair business. It was suggested that the news story was part of a Russian disinformation campaign.

Before the letter was officially issued, it was sent to the CIA Prepublication Classification Review Board, this department is in charge of evaluating materials for sensitive information before it is published. Senior CIA officials were made aware of the contents of the letter, along with multiple signatories who held clearances at the time, and maintained ongoing contracts with the CIA.

Federal policymakers must be able to rely on analysis conducted by the Intelligence Community and be confident that it is accurate, crafted with professionalism, and free from politically motivated engineering to affect political outcomes in the United States. Those signatures that signed the letter willfully weaponized the seriousness of the Intelligence Community to manipulate the political process and undermine our democratic institutions. The approval of this lie by the Intelligence Community to suppress information essential to the American people during a Presidential election is a huge breach of trust and is similar of a third world country. Because of this breech of trust, several of Americans in patriotic intelligence professions are now in danger.

National security is also damaged by the publication of classified information. Former National Security Advisor John R. Bolton, published a memoir for monetary gain after he was terminated from the White House in 2019. The book was full of sensitive information drawn from his time in the government. The publishing of this book prevents our future presidents to request and obtain honest advice on matters of national security from their staff. Publication of this book also created a huge risk that classified material was publicly exposed.

To fix the abuses of public trust, this Order directs the call back of any active or current security clearances held by:

the former intelligence officials who engaged in misleading the inappropriate political coordination with the 2020 Biden presidential campaign

John R. Bolton

Section 2 (3 Parts) "Policy"

Part A - It is the policy of the United States to keep the Intelligence Community separate from the political parties, and/or used by a U.S> political campaign for electioneering purposes. The term "Intelligence Community" has the meaning given the term in section 3003 of title 50, United States Code

Part B - It is policy of the United States that individuals who hold government-issued security clearances should not use their clearance status to influence U.S. elections.

Part C - It is policy of the United States that classified information not be publicly disclosed in memoirs, especially not for personal monetary gain.

Section 3 (2 Parts) "Implementation"

Part A - The Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, shall remove any current or active clearances held by the following individuals:

James R. Clapper Jr.

Michael V. Hayden

Leon E. Panetta

John O. Brennan

C. Thomas Fingar

Richard H. Ledgett Jr.

John E McLaughlin

Michael J. Morell

Michael G. Vickers

Douglas H. Wise

Nicholas J. Rasmussen

Russel E. Travers

Andrew Liepman

John H. Moseman

Larry Pfeiffer

Jeremy B. Bash

Rodney Snyder

Glenn S. Gerstell

David B. Buckley

Nada G. Bakos

James B. Bruce

David S. Cariens

Janice Cariens

Paul R. Klobe

Peter l. Coresell

Roger Z. George

Steven L. Hall

Kent Harrington

Don Hepburn

Timothy D. Kilbourn

Ronald A. Marks

Jonna H. Mendez

Emile Nakhleh

Gerald A. O'Shea

David Priess

Pamela Purcilly

Marc Polymeropoulos

Chris Savos

Nick Shapiro

John Sipher

Stephen B. Slick

Cynthia Strand

Greg Trabell

David Terry

Gregory F. Treverton

John D. Tullius

David A. Vanell

Winsotn P. Wiley

Kristin Wood

John R. Bolton

(two signatories are deceased as of this proclamation; Patty Patricia A. Brandmaeir and Brett Davis)

Part B (3 Sub-Sections) - By April 20, 2025, the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, shall submit a report to the President through the National Security Advisor that details.

Sub-Section 1 - additional inappropriate activity that occurred within the Intelligence Community, by anyone contracted by the Intelligence Community or by anyone who held a security clearance, or related to the letter signed by the 51 former intelligence officials

Sub-Section 2 - Recommendations to prevent the Intelligence Community or anyone who works for or within it from inappropriately influencing domestic elections

Sub-Section 3 - any disciplinary action (including the termination of security clearances) that should be taken against anyone who engaged in inappropriate conduct related to the letter signed by the 51 former intelligence officials

Section 4 (3 Parts) "General Provisions"

Part A - This order will not affect or impair the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof, or the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals

Part B - This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations

Part C - This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

[ivankahasbeentreatedsounfairly]

The NY Times

Adam Goldman and Devlin Barrett

Wray told F.B.I. employees he wanted to keep the focus on the bureau’s work.

The F.B.I. director, Christopher A. Wray, said on Wednesday that he intended to resign before the Trump administration took office, bowing to the reality that President-elect Donald J. Trump had publicly declared his desire to replace him.

Mr. Wray announced the move while addressing employees on Wednesday afternoon in remarks that tacitly acknowledged the politically charged position the F.B.I. now faces with an incoming president who openly scorns the agency.

“I’ve decided the right thing for the bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration in January and then step down,” Mr. Wray said, adding, “This is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.”

The director spoke wistfully about his time at the F.B.I. “This is not easy for me,” he said, addressing a packed conference room at F.B.I. headquarters, as many more watched on video feeds at F.B.I. offices around the country. “I love this place, I love our mission and I love our people.” He left the room to a standing ovation, and some shed tears as Mr. Wray shook employees’ hands on the way out, according to an F.B.I. official.

The announcement comes after Mr. Trump said in late November that he intended to nominate Kash Patel, a longtime loyalist, to run the F.B.I., and more than two years before Mr. Wray’s 10-year term would have expired.

Paul Abbate, the deputy F.B.I. director, is set to retire in late April but would typically serve as acting director until Mr. Patel is confirmed. It is not clear who would replace Mr. Abbate, the most senior agent in the bureau, or whether he would actually stay past the change of the administration.

Over more than seven years, Mr. Wray oversaw one of the most consequential and tumultuous periods in the bureau’s history, juggling high-profile criminal investigations of political figures, heated congressional inquiries and two attempted assassinations of Mr. Trump.

Even as he fended off Mr. Trump’s relentless criticisms of the F.B.I., Mr. Wray supervised a wide array of national security issues that included terrorism, escalating cyberattacks and threats from geopolitical rivals like China, Iran and Russia. He also had to grapple with a spate of mass shootings and the rise of right-wing extremism while managing an agency with 35,000 employees and a budget of more than $10 billion.

But it was the bureau’s scrutiny of Mr. Trump that almost certainly cut short Mr. Wray’s tenure.

His F.B.I. repeatedly investigated Mr. Trump, including by conducting a court-approved search of the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago estate in 2022 for classified documents, examining his widespread efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and delving into the possible links between his 2016 campaign and Russian intelligence operatives engaged in election interference.

Under Mr. Wray’s watch, agents also investigated the current president, Joseph R. Biden Jr., over his handling of sensitive records after he left the vice presidency. They undertook several other politically charged cases that made the agency the subject of sharp partisan scrutiny, including its inquiry into Hunter Biden.

In the face of intense political cajoling, second-guessing and condemnation, Mr. Wray frequently urged his agents to “keep calm and tackle hard,” and preached a strict adherence to the investigative process that has been the agency’s calling card for decades.

His apparent successor could not be more different. Mr. Patel, a former federal prosecutor and public defender, is a fierce critic of the F.B.I. and has vowed to fire its leadership, empty its headquarters and root out the president-elect’s perceived enemies in what he calls the “deep state.”

Mr. Wray’s resignation was not unexpected, but former and current F.B.I. agents said the news still hit hard. They voiced wariness at what could ensue if Mr. Patel was confirmed and said they were bracing themselves for upheaval.

Mr. Trump on Wednesday welcomed the news of the move, praising it on social media as “a great day for America.”

Under Mr. Wray’s leadership, he added, the bureau had “raided my home, without cause, worked diligently on illegally impeaching and indicting me, and has done everything else to interfere with the success and future of America.”

Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Mr. Patel said that “we look forward to a very smooth transition at the F.B.I., and I’ll be ready to go on Day 1.”

Mr. Wray became the bureau’s eighth director in August 2017, after Mr. Trump fired James B. Comey from the job in 2017 in the middle of the Russia investigation.

At the start, Mr. Trump called Mr. Wray “a man of impeccable credentials.” But the president quickly soured on him.

Mr. Wray withstood extraordinary pressure from Mr. Trump to leverage the powers of law enforcement to damage his perceived enemies and later to play down the threats of right-wing violent extremism and Russian election interference.

The rift between the men grew as Mr. Wray waved off false claims the president peddled about voter fraud and left-wing extremists. His tenure became increasingly tenuous after William P. Barr resigned as attorney general in December 2020, in part because he had fallen out of favor with the president. Mr. Barr was said to have argued against firing the F.B.I. director, shielding Mr. Wray from Mr. Trump’s fury.

Mr. Trump’s allies also took aim at Mr. Wray, faulting him for not speaking out vociferously against the Russia investigation or the botched wiretap of a former Trump campaign adviser.

During the 2024 campaign, Mr. Trump publicly declared that Mr. Wray should resign, and it was clear his antipathy had only intensified, partly because of the 2022 search of his Florida home.

After an assassination attempt in July at a rally in Butler, Pa., Mr. Trump lashed out at the F.B.I. because the bureau did not definitively say he had been shot in the ear.

“No wonder the once storied F.B.I. has lost the confidence of America!” Mr. Trump wrote on social media.

In leaving before Mr. Trump is sworn in, Mr. Wray may avoid the kind of public standoff that marked some firings during the first Trump administration. But the turbulence at the F.B.I. is all but certain to continue if Mr. Patel is confirmed and Mr. Trump tries to make sweeping changes at the agency.

Mr. Trump has vowed to investigate and possibly prosecute his perceived enemies, whom he accuses of unfairly prosecuting him. He has also called for investigations of prosecutors, judges and politicians.

Though separated by years, the investigations into Mr. Trump led to the firing and resignation of two F.B.I. directors, highlighting the political perils of scrutinizing the incoming president.

Only a few months into his first term, Mr. Trump abruptly fired Mr. Comey, prompting bureau officials to open an inquiry into whether the president dismissed him to obstruct the Russia investigation. The firing helped spur the appointment of Robert S. Mueller III as a special counsel to take over the broader inquiry, intensifying Mr. Trump’s ire toward it.

Just as Mr. Comey’s downfall was in part his refusal to pledge his loyalty to the president to protect him from investigation, Mr. Wray remained quiet when the president promoted politicized narratives about law enforcement, particularly the Russia investigation, and increasingly sought the bureau’s intervention in matters that could help him politically.

Though the president has the authority to fire the F.B.I. director anytime, only one director had been fired in the bureau’s 108-year history before Mr. Trump began his first term. President Bill Clinton fired William S. Sessions in 1993.

Mr. Wray was considered a safe choice to lead the F.B.I. and bring stability to an agency rattled by Mr. Comey’s firing. A former federal prosecutor who defended Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey in the so-called Bridgegate scandal, Mr. Wray also served in the upper ranks of the Justice Department under President George W. Bush and helped guide the department through the response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Former and current F.B.I. officials said he was a cross between the laconic and hard-charging Mr. Mueller, who ran the bureau for more than a decade after Sept. 11, and Mr. Comey, whom they viewed as too focused on his public persona.

Mr. Wray, known for his quiet demeanor, kept a lower profile than Mr. Comey, a move calculated in part to avoid the president’s wrath, and his decision to stay out of politics won him the support of current and former F.B.I. agents. But Mr. Trump quickly directed his salvos at Mr. Wray.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/12/11/us/trump-news#wray-trump-fbi-director

[bllsbailey]

What the Trump Nominees Have Not Done -- And Will Not Do

Deflated by the resounding November defeat, the left now believes it can magically rebound by destroying President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet nominees.

Many of Trump's picks are well outside the usual Washington, D.C./New York political, media, and corporate nexus.

But that is precisely the point -- to insert reformers into a bloated, incompetent, and weaponized government who are not part of it.

Trump's nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, is already drawing severe criticism.

His furious enemies cannot go after his resume since he has spent a lifetime in private, congressional, and executive billets, both in investigations and intelligence.

Instead, they claim he is too vindictive and does not reflect the ethos of the FBI.

But what will Patel not do as the new director?

He will not serially lie under oath to federal investigators as did interim FBI Director Andrew McCabe, a current Patel critic.

He will not forge an FBI court affidavit, as did convicted felon and agency lawyer Kevin Clinesmith.

He will not claim amnesia 245 times under congressional oath to evade embarrassing admissions as did former Director James Comey.

He will not partner with a foreign national to collect dirt and subvert a presidential campaign as the FBI did with Christopher Steele in 2016.

He will not use the FBI to draft social media to suppress news unfavorable to a presidential candidate on the eve of an election.

He would not have suppressed FBI knowledge that Hunter Biden's laptop was genuine -- to allow the lie to spread that it was "Russian disinformation" on the eve of the 2020 election.

He will not raid the home of an ex-president with SWAT teams, surveil Catholics, monitor parents at school board meetings, or go after pro-life peaceful protestors.

Decorated combat veteran Pete Hegseth is another controversial nominee for secretary of defense.

What will Hegseth likely not do?

Go AWOL without notifying the president of a serious medical procedure as did current Secretary Lloyd Austin?

Install race and gender criteria for promotion and mandate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training?

Insinuate falsely that cabals of white supremacists had infiltrated the military --only to alienate that entire demographic and thus ensure the Pentagon came up 40,000 recruits short?

Oversee the scramble from Kabul that saw $50 billion in U.S. military equipment abandoned to Taliban terrorists?

Watch passively as a Chinese spy balloon traversed the continental United States for a week?

Allow the chairman of the Joint Chiefs to promise his Chinese communist counterpart that the People's Liberation Army would first be informed if the President of the United States was felt to issue a dangerous order?

Rotate into the Pentagon from a defense contractor boardship and then leave office to rotate back there to leverage procurement decisions?

Oversee the Pentagon's serial flunking of fiscal audits?

Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is certainly a maverick. He may earn the most Democratic hits, given his former liberal credentials.

But what will RFK also not do as HHS secretary?

Oversee his agencies circumventing U.S. law by transferring money to communist China to help it produce lethal gain-of-function viruses of the COVID-19 sort -- in the manner of Dr. Fauci?

Organize scientists to go after critics of mandatory masking and defame them?

Give pharmaceutical companies near-lifetime exemptions from legal jeopardy for rushing into production mRNA vaccines not traditionally vetted and tested?

Leave office to monetize his HHS expertise and thus make millions from the pharmaceutical companies?

Trump's nominee for Director of National Intelligence, former congressional representative and military veteran Tulsi Gabbard, will soon be defamed in congressional hearings.

But what has Gabbard not done?

Joined "51 former intelligence authorities" to lie on the eve of the 2020 election that the Hunter Biden laptop "had all the hallmarks" of a Russian information/disinformation operation" -- in an effort to swing the election to incumbent Joe Biden?

Lied under congressional oath like former DNI James Clapper, who claimed he only gave the "least untruthful answer" in congressional testimony?

Encourage the FBI to monitor a presidential campaign in efforts to discredit it --in the manner of former CIA Director John Brennan, who lied not once but twice under oath?

Fail to foresee the American meltdown in Kabul, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, or the Houthis' takeover of the Red Sea?

We are going to hear some outrageous things in the upcoming congressional confirmation hearings.

But one thing we will not hear about are the crimes, deceptions, and utter incompetence of prior and current government grandees.

The current crew, not their proposed Trump replacements, prompted the sick and tired American people to demand different people.

Voters want novel approaches to reform a government that they not only no longer trust but also now deeply fear.

[mightyflamethrower]

n January 3, 2020, the Trump administration conducted a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport, killing Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani.

Soleimani had a long record of waging surrogate wars against Americans, especially during the Iraq conflict and its aftermath.

After the Trump cancellation of the Iran Deal, followed by U.S. sanctions, Soleimani reportedly stepped up violence against regional American bases—most of which Trump himself ironically wished to remove.

A few days later, Iran staged a performance-art retaliatory strike against Americans in Iraq and Syria, assuming Trump had no desire for a wider Middle East war.

Soleimani had a long record of waging surrogate wars against Americans, especially during the Iraq conflict and its aftermath.

After the Trump cancellation of the Iran Deal, followed by U.S. sanctions, Soleimani reportedly stepped up violence against regional American bases—most of which Trump himself ironically wished to remove.

A few days later, Iran staged a performance-art retaliatory strike against Americans in Iraq and Syria, assuming Trump had no desire for a wider Middle East war.

An inept Biden administration has utterly destroyed U.S. deterrence abroad through both actual and symbolic disasters: the Chinese dressing down of U.S. diplomats in Anchorage; the humiliating skedaddle from Afghanistan; the brazen flight of a Chinese spy balloon across the U.S.; the invasion of Ukraine by Russia; the October 7, 2023 massacre of 1200 Israelis; the serial Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea; the visible restraint of Israeli from fully replying to Iranian missile attacks on its homeland; and renewed bellicosity on the part of both North Korea and China toward American allies such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.

Of course, a second-term Trump must radically reform the Pentagon and beef up the military while warning enemies of the consequences to follow from any unwise aggression.

But if opponents believe such admonitions remain only vocal threats, then empty verbiage surely will erode deterrence further—such as Joe Biden’s serial and empty braggadocio, “Don’t!”

Biden’s past theatrical finger-shaking translated into aggressors like Putin going into Ukraine, Iran sending missiles into Israel, and the Houthis serially hitting shipping in the Red Sea.

Given the past messes of the Iraqi, Libyan, and Syrian interventions, and the catastrophic Biden humiliation in Afghanistan, Trump in 2024 is much more emphatic about the need to avoid such overseas dead-end entanglements or even the gratuitous use of force that historically can sometimes lead to tit-for-tat entanglements.

Still, Trump’s selection of J.D. Vance as vice president, along with Tulsi Gabbard, RFK, Jr., and Tucker Carlson as close advisors, coupled with the announcements that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and prior UN Ambassador Nikki Haley will not be in the administration, may be misinterpreted by scheming foreign adversaries as proof of Trump neo-isolationism.

Moreover, the U.S. is battered by an unsustainable $37 trillion national debt and a nonexistent southern border that saw 12 million illegal aliens enter with impunity.

So, the use of force abroad is now often seen in a zero-sum fashion as coming at the expense of unaddressed American needs at home.

Moreover, a woke, manpower-short military has not achieved strategic advantages from wars abroad, while disparaging and alienating the very working-class recruits who disproportionately fight and die in them.

Recently, even as President-elect Trump’s inner circle emphasized an end to endless conflicts, Trump warned Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin not to escalate his attacks against Ukraine. Yet that advice was followed by a Russian massive drone onslaught against civilian Ukrainian targets.

Putin no doubt wishes to encourage American enemies to test Trump’s deterrent rhetoric against his campaign’s domestic promises to mind America’s own business at home.

Is there a way to square the deterrence circle?

Trump will have to speak clearly and softly while carrying a club. And for the first few months of his administration, he will be tested as never before to make it clear to Iran and its terrorist surrogates, China, North Korea, and Russia that aggression against US interests will be swiftly and quietly met with disproportionate and overwhelming repercussions.

Yet Trump will likely have to rely on drones, missiles, and air strikes and not on major engagements, to deter enemies from aggression—and his domestic critics from claiming he turned into a globalist interventionist.

He is not.

Trump remains a Jacksonian. But such deterrence entails warning from time to time the reckless and adventurous abroad that our allies have no better friend than America and our adversaries no worse enemy.

In other words, Trump must remind Americans only by periodically deterring enemies can he prevent endless wars.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 12.14 (after 1920)

1939 – Winter War: The Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations for invading Finland. 1940 – Plutonium (specifically Pu-238) is first isolated at Berkeley, California. 1948 – Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann are granted a patent for their cathode-ray tube amusement device, the earliest known interactive electronic game. 1955 – Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Ceylon, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nepal, Portugal, Romania and Spain join the United Nations through United Nations Security Council Resolution 109. 1958 – The 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition becomes the first to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility. 1960 – Convention against Discrimination in Education of UNESCO is adopted. 1962 – NASA's Mariner 2 becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus. 1963 – The dam containing the Baldwin Hills Reservoir bursts, killing five people and damaging hundreds of homes in Los Angeles, California. 1964 – American Civil Rights Movement: Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that Congress can use the Constitution's Commerce Clause to fight discrimination. 1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: Over 200 of East Pakistan's intellectuals are executed by the Pakistan Army and their local allies. (The date is commemorated in Bangladesh as Martyred Intellectuals Day.) 1972 – Apollo program: Eugene Cernan is the most recent person to walk on the Moon, after he and Harrison Schmitt complete the third and final extravehicular activity (EVA) of the Apollo 17 mission. 1981 – Arab–Israeli conflict: Israel's Knesset ratifies the Golan Heights Law, extending Israeli law to the Golan Heights. 1985 – Wilma Mankiller takes office as the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. 1986 – Qasba Aligarh massacre: Over 400 Muhajirs killed in revenge killings in Qasba colony after a raid on Pashtun heroin processing and distribution center in Sohrab Goth by the security forces. 1992 – War in Abkhazia: Siege of Tkvarcheli: A helicopter carrying evacuees from Tkvarcheli is shot down, resulting in at least 52 deaths, including 25 children. The incident catalyses more concerted Russian military intervention on behalf of Abkhazia. 1994 – Construction begins on the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river. 1995 – Yugoslav Wars: The Dayton Agreement is signed in Paris by the leaders of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1998 – Yugoslav Wars: The Yugoslav Army ambushes a group of Kosovo Liberation Army fighters attempting to smuggle weapons from Albania into Kosovo, killing 36. 1999 – Torrential rains cause flash floods in Vargas, Venezuela, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the complete collapse of the state's infrastructure. 2003 – Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf narrowly escapes an assassination attempt. 2004 – The Millau Viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world, is formally inaugurated near Millau, France. 2012 – Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting: Twenty-eight people, including the gunman, are killed in Sandy Hook, Connecticut. 2013 – A reported coup attempt in South Sudan leads to continued fighting and hundreds of casualties. 2017 – The Walt Disney Company announces that it would acquire 21st Century Fox, including the 20th Century Fox movie studio, for $52.4 billion. 2020 – A total solar eclipse is visible from parts of the South Pacific Ocean, southern South America, and the South Atlantic Ocean.

[mystlnewsonline]

Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev Charged with Ransomware Attacks

Russian National Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev Charged with Ransomware Attacks Against Critical Infrastructure Ransomware Attacks Against Law Enforcement Agencies in Washington, D.C. and New Jersey, As Well As Other Victims Worldwide; U.S. Department of State Offers Reward Up to $10M (STL.News) The Justice Department yesterday unsealed two indictments charging a Russian national and resident with using three different ransomware variants to attack numerous victims throughout the United States, including law enforcement agencies in Washington, D.C. and New Jersey, as well as victims in healthcare and other sectors nationwide. According to the indictment obtained in the District of New Jersey, from at least as early as 2020, Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev, aka Wazawaka, aka m1x, aka Boriselcin, aka Uhodiransomwar, allegedly participated in conspiracies to deploy three ransomware variants.  These variants are known as LockBit, Babuk, and Hive, and Matveev transmitted ransom demands in connection with each.  The perpetrators behind each of these variants, including Matveev, have allegedly used these types of ransomware to attack thousands of victims in the United States and around the world.  These victims include law enforcement and other government agencies, hospitals, and schools.  Total ransom demands allegedly made by the members of these three global ransomware campaigns to their victim's amount to as much as $400 million, while total victim ransom payments amount to as much as $200 million. "From his home base in Russia, Matveev allegedly used multiple ransomware variants to attack critical infrastructure around the world, including hospitals, government agencies, and victims in other sectors," said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "These international crimes demand a coordinated response.  We will not relent in imposing consequences on the most egregious actors in the cybercrime ecosystem." On or about June 25, 2020, Matveev and his LockBit coconspirators allegedly deployed LockBit ransomware against a law enforcement agency in Passaic County, New Jersey.  Additionally, on or about May 27, 2022, Matveev and his Hive coconspirators allegedly deployed Hive against a nonprofit behavioral healthcare organization headquartered in Mercer County, New Jersey.  On April 26, 2021, Matveev and his Babuk coconspirators allegedly deployed Babuk against the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. "From Russia and hiding behind multiple aliases, Matveev is alleged to have used these ransomware strains to encrypt and hold hostage for ransom the data of numerous victims, including hospitals, schools, nonprofits, and law enforcement agencies, like the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C.," said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey.  "Thanks to the extraordinary investigative work of prosecutors from my office and our FBI partners, Matveev no longer hides in the shadows – we have publicly identified his criminal acts and charged him with multiple federal crimes.  Let today's charges be a reminder to cybercriminals everywhere – my office is devoted to combatting cybercrime and will spare no resources in bringing to justice those who use ransomware attacks to target victims." According to the indictment obtained in the District of Columbia, between April 21, 2021, and May 9, 2021, Matveev allegedly participated in conspiracies to deploy Babuk and to transmit a ransom demand.  Specifically, on April 26, 2021, Matveev and his Babuk co-conspirators allegedly deployed Babuk ransomware against the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., and then threatened to disclose sensitive information to the public unless a payment was made. "Data theft and extortion attempts by ransomware groups are corrosive, cynical attacks on key institutions and the good people behind them as they go about their business and serve the public," said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia.  "Whether these criminals target law enforcement, other government agencies, or private companies like health care providers, we will use every tool at our disposal to prosecute and punish such offenses.  Thanks to exceptional work by our partners here, we identified and charged this culprit." "The FBI is steadfast in our commitment to disrupting cybercriminals like Matveev," said Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI's Cyber Division.  "The FBI will continue to impose costs on cyber adversaries through our joint collaboration with our private sector and international partners, and we will not tolerate these criminal acts against American citizens." The LockBit ransomware variant first appeared around January 2020.  LockBit actors have executed over 1,400 attacks against victims in the United States and around the world, issuing over $100 million in ransom demands and receiving over $75 million in ransom payments. The Babuk ransomware variant first appeared around December 2020.  Babuk actors executed over 65 attacks against victims in the United States and around the world, issuing over $49 million in ransom demands and receiving as much as $13 million in ransom payments. Since June 2021, the Hive ransomware group has targeted more than 1,400 victims around the world and received as much as $120 million in ransom payments. The LockBit, Babuk, and Hive ransomware variants operated in the same general manner: first, the ransomware actors would identify and unlawfully access vulnerable computer systems, sometimes through their own hacking, or by purchasing stolen access credentials from others.  Second, the actors would deploy the ransomware variant within the victim's computer system, allowing the actors to encrypt and steal data thereon.  Next, the actors would send a ransom note to the victim demanding a payment in exchange for decrypting the victim's data or refraining from sharing it publicly.  Finally, the ransomware actors would negotiate a ransom amount with each victim willing to pay.  If a victim did not pay, ransomware actors would often post that victim's data on a public website, often called a data leak site. Matveev is charged with conspiring to transmit ransom demands, conspiring to damage protected computers, and intentionally damaging protected computers.  If convicted, he faces over 20 years in prison. The FBI Newark Field Office's Cyber Crimes Task Force is investigating the case with valuable assistance from the Jersey City Police Department, New Jersey State Police, Newark IRS Criminal Investigation, and international partners from European Cyber Crime Centre of Europol, National Police Agency of Japan, Gendarmerie Nationale Cyberspace Command of France, National Crime Agency and South West Regional Organized Crime Unit of the United Kingdom, Kantonspolizei Zürich of Switzerland, High-Tech Crime Unit of the Dutch Police Services Agency of the Netherlands, Bundeskriminalamt and Landeskriminalamt of Germany, Mossos d'Esquadra Police Department of Spain, Norwegian Police Service of Norway, and Swedish Police Authority of Sweden. Trial Attorneys Jessica C. Peck, Benjamin Proctor, and Jorge Gonzalez of the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS); Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew M. Trombly and David E. Malagold for the District of New Jersey's Cybercrime Unit in Newark; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Aloi for the District of Columbia's Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section are prosecuting the case. The FBI Tampa Field Office and Orlando Resident Agency, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Chauncey Bratt for the Middle District of Florida and CCIPS Trial Attorneys Christen Gallagher and Alison Zitron, made critical contributions to the case.  The FBI Washington Field Office and Metropolitan Police Department also provided valuable assistance. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs and National Security Division also provided significant assistance. Victims of LockBit, Babuk, or Hive ransomware should contact their local FBI field office for further information.  For additional information on ransomware, including the LockBit, Babuk, and Hive variants, please visit StopRansomware.gov. Additionally, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today announced that it is designating the defendant for his role in launching ransomware attacks against U.S. law enforcement, businesses, and critical infrastructure. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Justice Read the full article

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2020 Four Continents Championships, Bavarian Open & Russian Junior Nationals: Info & Streaming

The Four Continents Championships takes place in South Korea this week, while Russia selects its Junior World team at the Junior National Championships. Bavarian Open, a B competition in Germany, also features several top skaters among its entries. This post will be updated as more info appears.

Live results | Entries | Detailed schedule | Website | ISU

SCHEDULE

Korean Standard Time (UTC+9). Subscribe to our Google Calendar to get all competition times in your own time zone!

Feb. 6: Rhythm Dance 11:00; Pairs’ SP 14:15; Ladies’ SP 18:40 Feb. 7: Free Dance 13:30; Men’s SP 18:05 Feb. 8: Ladies’ FS 13:00; Pairs’ FS 18:15 Feb. 9: Men’s FS 11:30; Gala 17:30

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Be careful of popups and ads on free streaming sites. We are not responsible for the quality of the streams; we only provide the links. Many streams for major figure skating events have geographic restrictions. In order to unblock streams, consider using a VPN (Virtual Private Network). Free VPN services are available, but the safer/more reliable ones require a fee.

HOW TO WATCH

Fan streams: These fan-run streams may livestream part or all of the event: Stream 1. Check the streams when the events are on. The streams are available worldwide.

ISU: The ISU will livestream the entire competition and gala on the Skating ISU Youtube channel in countries that do not have broadcasting rights for the event. See here for a list of broadcasters and geo-restriction info.

NBC Gold: Subscribers in the USA can watch the competition (excluding the gala) live on NBC Gold. NBC Gold is only available in the USA.

Channel One Russia: Russia’s Channel One will stream the entire competition and gala live. Schedule in Moscow Time:

2/6: Rhythm Dance 04:55; Pairs’ SP 08:10; Ladies’ SP 12:00

2/7: Free Dance 07:25; Men’s SP 11:35

2/8: Ladies’ FS 06:50; Pairs’ FS 11:55

2/9: Men’s FS 05:25; Gala 11:25

Official stream (geoblocked)

Fuji TV: Japan’s Fuji TV will air parts of the competition on TV. Viewers with Fuji On Demand can watch the entire competition live online (available in Japan only). Broadcast schedule in JST:

2/6: Ladies’ SP 20:00 (live? 1 hr 20 min in)

2/7: Men’s SP 20:00 (live? 2 hrs in)

2/8: Ladies’ FS 19:00 (taped)

2/9: Men’s FS 20:00 (taped)

Unblocked Fuji TV stream

SBS Sports: South Korea’s SBS Sports will air parts of the competition live. Schedule in KST:

2/6: Ladies’ SP 21:00 (live 2 hrs 20 min in)

2/7: Men’s SP 17:55 (live)

2/8: Ladies’ FS 20:00 (taped)

2/9: Men’s FS 20:00 (taped)

Official stream (geoblocked)

CCTV5: China’s CCTV5 & CCTV5+ will air parts of the competition live. Schedule in China Standard Time:

2/6: Rhythm Dance 14:00 (CCTV5, taped); Pairs’ SP 17:00 (CCTV5, taped)

2/7: Ladies’ SP 15:30 (CCTV5, taped); Free Dance 16:30 (CCTV5, taped); Men’s SP 22:45 (CCTV5, taped)

2/8: Ladies’ FS 14:05 (CCTV5, live 2 hrs 5 min in); Pairs’ FS 17:00 (CCTV5, live)

2/9: Men’s FS 12:30 (CCTV5, live 2 hrs in); Gala 16:30 (CCTV5+, live)

Official streams: CCTV5, CCTV5+ (geoblocked)

Instructions for creating an account on feiliuzhibo (free unblocked streaming)

Tencent: China’s Tencent will livestream parts of the competition. These streams may or may not be geoblocked; check when the events are on. Schedule and links in China Standard Time:

2/6: Pairs’ SP 14:00 (live 45 min in)

2/7: Men’s SP 19:00 (live 2 hrs in)

2/8: Ladies’ FS 14:00 (live 2 hrs in); Pair’s FS 18:00 (live 45 min in)

2/9: Men’s FS 12:30 (live 2 hrs in); Gala 17:00 (live 30 min in)

ELTA: Taiwan’s ELTA Sports 3 will air the entire competition and gala live. Schedule in China Standard Time:

2/6: Rhythm Dance 10:00 (live); Pairs’ SP 13:15 (live); Ladies’ SP 17:30 (live)

2/7: Free Dance 12:30 (live); Men’s SP 17:00 (live)

2/8: Ladies’ FS 12:00 (live); Pairs’ FS 17:15 (live)

2/9: Men’s FS 10:30 (live); Gala 16:30 (live)

Official stream (geoblocked)

TAP: TAP W will air the entire competition and gala live in the Philippines. Official stream; click on TAP W (geoblocked)

Other TV channels: Other TV channels may also air the competition. See here for a list of broadcasters with ISU broadcasting rights. Check your local TV channels for other skating broadcasts.

On demand: The ISU Youtube channel archives their livestreams. The videos are available in countries that do not have broadcasting rights. Videos will also be uploaded online by fans. Search skaters' names on Youtube and filter by upload date for the latest videos.

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BAVARIAN OPEN

Bavarian Open is a B competition. Events will be held at novice, junior, and senior levels.

Results & entries | Schedule | Website | ISU

Designation: B competition When: Feb. 3-9 Where: Oberstdorf, Germany Level & disciplines: novice/junior/senior men, ladies, ice dance, pairs How to watch: Free live stream

Notable entries: Senior - Shun Sato, Yuto Kishina, Marin Honda, Satoko Miyahara, Mishina/Galliamov, Sales/Wamsteeker, Lauriault/Le Gac. Junior - Stephen Gogolev, Joseph Phan, Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda, Eric Sjoberg, Madeline Schizas, D’Alessandro/Waddell, Yoshida/Nishiyama, Brown/Brown, Nguyen/Kolesnik

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RUSSIAN JUNIOR NATIONALS

Russian Junior Nationals will decide Russia’s Junior World team.

Results | Entries (English) | Schedule | Website

When: Feb. 4-8 Where: Saransk, Russia Level & disciplines: junior men, ladies, ice dance, pairs

Schedule (UTC+3)

2/6: Men’s SP 14:00; Ladies’ SP 17:30; Rhythm Dance 20:15 2/7: Men’s FS 14:00; Pairs’ SP 17:00; Ladies’ FS 19:00 2/8: Free Dance 12:00; Pairs’ FS 15:15

How to watch: Channel 1 Russian livestream (geoblocked to Russia). International livestream will be provided on the Channel 1 Youtube. Videos will also be archived on the Channel 1 Youtube.