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Cord The Seeker's avatar

"Sadly, we all know from the Russia-collusion canard what this means: The loop has been closed, and the circular reporting has begun. So now, as proof of the Times’ reporting on Barr and Durham, we have the fact that the Senate Judiciary Committee intends to investigate the special counsel probe."

""One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us ... Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back." - Carl Sagan

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Mark Wauck's avatar

Right. It's like buying a fake artifact of value. You're too invested in believing it's truly what it was sold to you as that you resist acknowledging that it's a fake.

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Cord The Seeker's avatar

Trump was an instrument of Putin is sort of like the Coronadoom response. There's no face saving way to climb down from it and the Establishment sank a lot of credibility and legitimacy into these projects. I think a lot of people at the New York Times really do believe that Trump was an instrument of Putin and I think there are some number of people in the IC who believe it too. I sort of think that John Brennan, a lunatic who could never have gotten hired as a janitor at the CIA back when the adults ran the place may be one of them.

A lot of people in the IC went with (Or still go along with) covering for the Russia hoax out careerism, and in some cases because they might be looking at ten years or more in the slammer. But I also think there is more actual belief in this than a lot of conservatives would like to contemplate.

EDIT: I think Alger Hiss told the same lies for so long that he eventually came to believe them, and by the end of his worthless life may actually have remembered it the way he told it. Something similar may be at work here.

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Steghorn21's avatar

Hi, Wayne! It's on my playlist for tonight. Looking forward to what Ritter has to say! Have a good day.

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Wayne RH's avatar

Haven't resolved my removal; using alt-identity to be able to read Mark's postings. thanks for sharing info and opinions, it's good to exercise our Freedom. (WRH)

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Wayne RH's avatar

My goofy email addy was being considered spam by Substack. I appreciate Mark's help in figuring this out.

*On topic! I'm interested in your take on Scott Ritter's stuff, Steghorn21.

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Mark Wauck's avatar

Wayne is experiencing problems with Substack, over which I have no control.

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Steghorn21's avatar

There's obviously a massive internal battle going on in DC, and to a lesser extent in the capitals of Europe between the neocon warmongers and Deep Staters with a remaining shred of sanity. Let's hope that these are signs that the latter are coming out on top. Any offers to Putin are going to have to be damned good to convince him.

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WayneRH's avatar

Hey S'21, hope you're doing well,

Somehow I've been disconnected with Substack other than viewing this directly online. So I've missed stuff or been late to the party somewhat... anyways

Did you have time to view the Ritter discussion Mark linked to? It's very long, just short of 3 hours. However, Scott really gets broadly and deeply into the Russia, Ukraine, Germany, NATO and US situation. I had to deal with life but managed to get through it in a couple sessions this evening. If you can, do take a listen. Very informative. As is typical of Scott, only with plenty of time for him to really get into stuff. Best regards! (WRH)

Ps., probably best I've been disconnected, it keeps my mass of comments to a minimum...

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AmericanCardigan's avatar

Speaking of NeoCon's... saw today where Tony B is calling out the Israeli's to "pull their weight" for Ukraine. What a joke.

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AmericanCardigan's avatar

Why Misfud's a CHS of course.

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AmericanCardigan's avatar

Isn't it common for Germany e.g. Die Welt to do an "about face" these days? I mean so much self reflection is so evident in their thinking. LOL.

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SMH's avatar

Now wouldn’t it be ironic if one aspect of “Crazy Vlad’s” original war plan was to sucker the West into wasting its weapons and military machinery in a war it couldn’t possibly win? Relying on the neo-cons consummate arrogance and penchant for fighting an enemy that doesn’t exist, like a Russian economy that was teetering on the brink and only needed a teeny, tiny little push to send it crashing down, I can definitely envision Putin and his Generals looking at one another and smiling while thinking, “Yeh, these clowns are just that stupid”!

I’m just spitballing but I don’t think it’s too far fetched to suggest that it’s a real possibility.

Everything that the neocons and saber rattlers have said has been proven wrong and all the damage that has been done has fallen almost entirely on the US and its allies!

The Russians have been playing chess and we’ve been playing grab ass. What an absolute catastrophe. Sound military and strategic planning beats hot air and bullshit every time-pardon my French.

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perle's avatar

More likely his original war plan was more limited in scope, and achieved in the first days of battle. The rest was given him on a silver platter by our 'geniuses.' and now he can play games and fret at not getting Kiev, even stage a small withdrawal from time to time, and allow us to pontificate at how incapable of victory the Russians are.

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SMH's avatar

Obviously we have him right where he wants us….

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AmericanCardigan's avatar

"Now wouldn’t it be ironic if one aspect of “Crazy Vlad’s” original war plan was to sucker the West into wasting its weapons and military machinery in a war it couldn’t possibly win?"

Question is: What does China think about the position US and NATO are in due to this?

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Steghorn21's avatar

Maybe China is thinking "Taiwan"

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SMH's avatar

I don’t think there’s any question about the Chinese thinking “Taiwan”, the question is when.

But hey, that’s not a problem, hell, lets start another war that we can’t possibly win and make a bunch more stupid decisions that blow up in our faces! And don’t forget that our CIC used to teach military tactics at the War College after he got his PhD at MIT in astrophysics.

No wait, he taught advanced aeronautical engineering and quantum physics at MIT and then taught naval battle strategy at Annapolis and then went on to become a record setting aviator at the Air Force Academy and finally lectured on monetary theory at Wharton. So we got nothing to worry about!

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Feb 1, 2023
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SMH's avatar

I think that he’s not only better than that, I think he’s smarter than that as well.

Can’t say the same for the dimwits that got us into this horrendous mess.

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perle's avatar

Viet Nam in 1973? We won. There was a peace treaty signed in Paris. Viet Nam fell when the North invaded two years later. That wasn't our war. Congress rejected all American participation.

As for Barr, the Revolution eats its own. After stating before the election in 2020 he would be on top of it, he then refused to investigate any and all allegations of fraud. Roberts refused to address any cases presented to the SC. Now they are enjoying the gratitude of the people they helped empower.

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WayneRH's avatar

Hey Perle,

I'm curious, did you see the same images I did? With the masses clamoring up ladders at the embassy trying to get into Helicopters? Oft compared to Afghanistan's victorious Biden-'withdrawal'. I'll confess, militarily VN was successful. As has been the standard, well since WWII, the politicians were shameful in executing our 'policies' and so forth. Hope you're having a great week! (WRH)

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stablesort's avatar

It's important to note that when Creighton Abrams assumed command from Westmoreland in 1968, he seriously turned the war over to South Vietnamese and they responded very well and managed to drive the North Viet Nam army out of the south.

The Viet Cong had been all but destroyed by the 1968 Tet Offensive having been intentionally sacrificed by the North. The Viet Cong never again played a major role in the war or in politics.

The Peace Treaty in Paris required the USA to support the South and replace weapon systems one for one against any renewed aggression by the North. The North spent a year on their side of the border reequipping their army with munitions from Russia/China (I'm not sure which, could have been both) and then once again attacked the South.

The US congress, feeling their oats after their victory over Nixon, reneged on our Treaty and cutoff all funding for the South. After a couple of heroic battles, the South was out of weapons and the North took over. That was the cause of the helicopters at the embassy and how Viet Nam was lost.

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perle's avatar

Everybody saw those pictures in 1975, but I can't recall seeing any pictures of the Afghanistan withdrawal. It was so unnecessary. I'm officially a Korean War vet, although I was sent to Germany as the war was winding down, and without a peace treaty we managed to preserve South Korea with 30,000 troops on the border, if I recall. Pity we didn't do that with Viet Nam. Even worse, Trump had us down to 250 troops and no casualties, and even invited the Taliban to participate in the government, an offer they messed up by resorting to violence. If not 100% secure, the people there were likely safer than in Chicago. Pity. It seems our politicians have their own agenda, and they may even be fooling themselves that they command the allegiance, the respect and the trust of the American citizen. Truth is, will we ever get a government worthy of our respect in the future? Meanwhile, thanks for your good wishes, and therein lies the secret to preserving the American way of life. Have a good day, week, year and do not let those people in Washington or Bruxelles control you. We may not be able to prevent them from messing up, but roll with the punches and never ever give up your way of life or your moral compass.

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WayneRH's avatar

Well said perle. I'll remind you of those video shots of men falling off evac aircraft leaving Afghanistan. Terrible images burned into my memory just as are the 1975 ones we've spoken of from VN. Not a good look of the USA.

Short of the 'president' actually provoking a Nuclear mistake, I've taken to living as you suggest - family, neighbors and community nearby absorb my focus. While the broad economy wrecks havoc, there's little I can do except take care of what's within my reach. I left the larger cities of the NorthWest when I retired, having been born in Seattle 65 years prior. The out-of-control crime, like most Democrat-governed cities/states was difficult to cope with but the laws Washington State put in place are just too crazy. For example, Seattle Police are required to lock up even a Concealed Carry Permit holder lawfully defending them self - witnesses or not. Eventually a court decides at a self-defense hearing is such a defense will be allowed, and then bail is set.

Suffice it to say, our government leadership fails us. As stablesort pointed out in his better detailed description of how we 'won' militarily but, of course, politicians carried on in their ways and the evacuation I reference depicted the real outcome of that 'conflict' in SE Asia. After our victory/loss, Pol Pot murdered what, 1 or 2 million Vietnamese citizens to cement his control? I'd liken that to our abandonment of Afghanistan - those numbers aren't reported because today, the MSM supports what happened since it was led by their preferred political party. You accurately noted what President Trump was accomplishing. The lying leadership and media of today pretend Ol' Joe was 'bound by Trumps agreement', which is such a travesty of the truth. I guess how good the USA is, or isn't, won't matter much to the murdered thus far and still being slaughtered Afghan folks who supported us, that we've abandoned . Anyways, the VN experience was part of my Army days: I proudly served and regret nothing. I submit I don't think I could do so today. Such is the fallen state of this country... I sleep well at night (mostly) and love this country. 'They' can not take that from me. Blessings Sir. (WRH)

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ML's avatar

Mark; shortly after Klinesmith first plead guilty, Bill Shipley, tweeting as Shipedwreckcrew, posted that Klinesmith could have been charged under a federal forgery statute that could get him 20 years for providing the Federal Government forged documents intended to falsely incriminate an American citizen, and that Durham's offer of a false statement plea with a maximum 5 year prison sentence was probably part of the deal.

IANAL and for the life of me cannot remember the text of the statute he posted, but it did pop up in my memory later when I read the Sussman indictment and other court filings. The former head of the FBI's cyber division and an SSA in the Chicago office testified in open court in the Sussman trial that the Trump-Alfabank white papers were more than likely fabricated by whoever provided them to the FBI (Joffe and the Georgia Tech researchers), and that the "7th Floor of the FBI" ins8sted on launching an investigation based on the data even after being informed of this.

Wouldnt providing this fabricated data to the FBI meet the elements of the forgery statute referenced above? And provide Durham a means to charge the AlfaBank hoaxsters--and perhaps FBI officials themselves--for using forged data to launch an invest8gation on Trump? And wouldnt the decision of Durham to target Sussman instead be a sign that the fix was in?

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Mark Wauck's avatar

That sounds right to me. I'm at the point that you'd need to prove to me that this wasn't a major fix. And I was for a long time a defender. The Klinesmith deal was an eye opener.

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MikeinFL's avatar

Love this line over at MOA regarding France sending over 12 more Caesar howitzers:

"They've been very successful in Ukraine, so the Ukrainians will be delighted, I am sure, to get another 12." Why not make it a baker's dozen???

https://www.moonofalabama.org/

edit: Oh, left off that France only has 77 remaining...

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AmericanCardigan's avatar

Yeah, they'll need those remaining 77 to hold off the vicious crowds at rally's like today's and in the near future.

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Richard A's avatar

This failure, the war, the Swift system we disallowed Russia to use, the ability of Russia to sell it's resources elsewhere, and the loss of status and respect of the US from the world was planned from the beginning to be a failure. JB got his instructions from our adversaries, who knows which? How many different countries has he gotten money from? We know of Russia, Ukraine, and China. We suspect many more, that's the Biden's MO pay to play, no reservations.

Possibly it will be proved later, especially if it's investigated. JB's supporters want the US reduced down to the lowest level possible, and they are having success.

But JB has more plans, or actually his handlers do. He will have 2 more years, and look how much damage he has done already! This coming recession is supposed to be a very bad one, because it's a continuation of the 2008 mess. Nothing was fixed then, and the "can" was kicked down the road. We need help from God to survive the next 2 years,. I hope the damage can be repaired, but with the inflation, this damages other countries and our status as reserve currency is ending, with a great deal of responsibility of this due to Biden.

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AmericanCardigan's avatar

JB "Zhou" doesn't take instructions from anyone. His ego won't let him. He's all knowing and surrounded by those NeoCon's "all knowing". He's been adversarial to Russia for as long as I can remember.

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Mark Wauck's avatar

Levi

@Levi_godman

"Russian trade appears to have largely bounced back to where it was before the invasion of Ukraine last February. Analysts estimate that Russia’s imports may have already recovered to prewar levels“ - NY Times

13.000 sanctions

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WayneRH's avatar

2023 GDP expected to RISE. Putin has been playin' 3-D Chess whilst the West expends Political Capital chasing... a vast array of perhaps nefarious agendas.

You mentioned, I believe, 235K Ukrainian deaths; The cost of this 'possible' nefarious agenda is staggering. I've said it before, the US looks like the 'isms of the 20th century. Altho' we've not started counting by the millions of lives lost - yet. Madness. Thanks Mark, (WRH)

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Joseph Kaplan's avatar

Not that I have a clue about any of this but: in the Talmud a good story explaining some serious point is called a midrash. Anyone is free to write one about anything. The more learned and respected you are to respect yours gets. Here’s my midrash on the Joe Biden/deep state end game:

Joe is being set up to take the fall via a not so sudden diagnosis of incurable senile dementia (as we used to call it back when I was a nursing home administrator.)

As some famous person said when asked how you go bankrupt: “slowly, then quickly”. That’s about how Joe’s sudden disappearance is going to be explained.

Next Kamala (god help us) rides in on her white horse declaring PEACE in our Time!

Some ungrateful reporter will tell her we tried that once before and she will babble something unintelligible. But no matter.

She declares the war in Ukraine must stop. She hate death because you know death is killing and wrong. Go tell Putin I’m coming to stop it.

Putin never heard anything so absurd but he has to meet her because she must a joke. But lol they make peace.

Kamala becomes the conquering hero and goes on to defeat the deep state because they can’t control her. No one can.

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AmericanCardigan's avatar

She makes a great word salad. Try it sometime.

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Tamsin's avatar

Elsa Kurt follows the recipe. https://youtu.be/XieOb2DKeFw

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Feb 1, 2023
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Mark Wauck's avatar

Lots of stuff on the net about the biolabs in Ukraine today.

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Jan 31, 2023
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Mark Wauck's avatar

Both Ritter and Doug Macgregor (who has excellent sources) stated today that Zelensky has told his US handlers that Ukraine has suffered something like 235K KIA, not to mention wounded. This is all very sick.

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Tamsin's avatar

Nuland thanks them for their sacrifice to achieve the greater good of decolonizing Russia.

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Mark Wauck's avatar

Both of them were very angry today about the evil that's being perpetrated.

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Jan 31, 2023
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AmericanCardigan's avatar

The question is how can Zhou save face in some manner where all credibility is not lost. I believe any negotiations with Russia will still result in devaluation of the dollar as the standard going forward.

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WayneRH's avatar

Hello Gavin, I suggest your having Zelenskyy be the Ukraine 'fall-guy' has merit, however with Russia stating they're fighting 'the US/NATO' I'll add another 'fall-guy' to make it work: Ol' Joe.

He's damaged (beyond repair or belief) anyways. Why, Afghanistan can be added with blame for the failing World economy, Dollar-hegemony failing, Covid lies to Ukraine and all put on Good Ol' Joe.

Ya gotta admit, it'd give the dems some footing for 2024... with only Cackles to be dealt with and that can be done in the primaries (*she got 0 delegates for 2020 after all, sounds likely feasible).

It's fun to speculate. They wouldn't even be stuck with Newsome. I think we'd find the RNC will love it; they'll have lots of excuses to keep their RINO show going, too! "In light of this National Emergency, we need those Experienced Leaders to remain!". Best to you sir! (WRH)

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