shoebat--2020-09-30--Report: Retail Bankruptcies Reach Record Rates

I have said that a major trend to watch for is going to be not a “ Christmas Sleigh Ride ” , but a “ Slay ” ride because the US consumer-based economy is being utterly destroyed before our very eyes as people are so broke and owing to the lack of money in circulation and the fact that the US consumer is completely tapped out on his ability to access debt due to the debts that he is already burdened with and as he can barely , if even pay , his basic bills for survival , it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of reckoning .
COVID-19 did not cause this , but only facilitated an inevitable process by interrupting the normal economic cycle for a period of time that could also serve as a scapegoat for the inevitably destructive effects that the coming economic crisis would have and which should have been dealt with in 2007 and 2008 but never happened because it was delayed by money printing .
It is not a surprise then when the Wall Street Journal reports that retail bankruptcies have now reached record rates .
Retail bankruptcies , liquidations and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the first half of 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated industry changes , particularly the shift to online shopping , according to a report .
In the first six months , 18 retailers filed for chapter 11 protection , mostly concentrated in apparel and footwear , home furnishings , grocery and department stores , according to the report by professional-services firm BDO USA LLP .
They include department-store operators Neiman Marcus Group Ltd. , J.C. Penney Co. and Stage Stores Inc. , home-goods retailers Pier 1 Imports Inc. and Tuesday Morning Corp. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ July through mid-August , 11 more retailers filed , including apparel retailers Lucky Brand Dungarees LLC , Brooks Brothers Inc. , Ann Taylor parent Ascena Retail Group Inc. , Stein Mart Inc. , and Men ’ s Wearhouse and Jos .
A .
Bank parent Tailored Brands Inc .
This year is on pace to rival 2010 , when 48 retailers filed for bankruptcy in the wake of the 2007-09 recession , BDO said .
Retail bankruptcies in 2020 have already surpassed the 22 such filings recorded last year .
“ This is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history for retail , ” said Kyle Sturgeon , a managing partner at Atlanta-based turnaround advisory firm Meru LLC .
( source ) Based on my estimations , this year may be the worst on record , but even worse is coming .
As I noted , the fundamental problem is the debt levels and the inability to service the debts .
This is not an “ American ” problem but a historical problem common to all cultures , and the historically unprecedented levels of debt in the US magnify the problem and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change in their essence but only in their intensity .
The real determining factor for whether this happens or not will not be seen until at least November and December , and its full effects will not be understood or the system shock realized until the end of the first quarter of 2021 , since that is when the most complete economic reports will come out that will show the actual sales numbers .
This is because the period from Thanksgiving to Christmas makes up 25 % to 40 % of annual income @ @ @ @ @ @ @ major “ big box ” type stores run on margins as thin as a blade of grass , and how so much of the viability of many stores are forced into the last part of the year , there is a lot of intense pressure to ‘ make sure ’ that spending happens .
But so far , almost all of 2020 has been dominated by the effects of COVID-19 .
After months of shutdowns and in some cases lockdowns that are continuing , the economic disruptions have been so bad that people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gifts now have to concentrate what few resources they have on paying bills to try and not lose their living spaces , be they homes or apartments .
Christmas spending will happen , but the question is the rate .
Namely , will there be enough volume of spending to keep the US economy going , considering that it is run by consumerism and this is the most important period in the year for powering that engine through the coming year ?
Government-mandated store closures and social-distancing measures have intensified challenges that were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to BDO .
“ The trend is still a lot of liquidations and asset sales , and some of them are still trying to reorganize and emerge , ” said David Berliner , a partner in the business restructuring and turnaround services practice of BDO .
Consumers stuck at home due to the pandemic are buying more online than ever , the report said .
That trend comes on top of excessive debt , store saturation , high unemployment and changing shopper behaviors .
Demand for business attire and outfits for social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I don ’ t think it ’ s going to stop anytime soon , ” said Andy Graiser , co-president of commercial real-estate advisory firm A & G Real Estate Partners , who advises Tailored Brands , Ascena , Neiman Marcus and Stein Mart , among others .
High rates of bricks-and-mortar store closures are expected to continue , BDO said .
From January through mid-August , retailers had announced they would close a total of more than 10,000 stores in the U.S. , including locations of solvent companies such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ & Beyond Inc. and Gap Inc. That has already topped last year ’ s record 9,500 store closures .
Many of the closings through mid-August 2020 were due to retail bankruptcies , which accounted for nearly 6,000 closings .
Retailers are likely to decide to close as many as 25,000 U.S. stores in 2020 , according to global market-research firm Coresight Research .
This is precisely what I am warning about .
Some businesses have done very well , but the success of Amazon or Wal-Mart does not equate to success for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do well while the majority suffer gravely .
This is not just limited to effects on the consumer market for store goods , but also is threatening to undermine the commercial real estate market .
As I have noted before , the commercial real estate market is also burdened by debt like the US consumer , and when stores have to close because customers won ’ t spend , the landlords and the holding companies that own the properties where the stores were can no longer pay their bills to the bank , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The banks do not want this , because they they have to try an sell such property to another person , and the longer they hold it , the more likely it will be to be damaged beyond repair and may need to be demolished , which is another expense .
What I am emphasizing here is that which I have also warned before , and that is the real possibility of a ‘ snowball effect ’ where one problem tumbles into the next to the point that the US economy itself will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and will cause mass instability from the very rich to the very poor .
The mall is arguably dead .
A creation of the late 1960s and early 1970s ( some might say the 1950s for some areas ) as a part of the US consumer boom , many malls are going to cease to exist because of profitability issues .
This is a national trend and will be interesting to watch as it continues to unfold .
One can see this trend in real time in many malls since too often the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and those who are in the malls do not appear to be people shopping or families , but impoverished people or groups of questionable looking people too often doing questionable things .
This is the “ Christmas slay ride ” I am warning about .
I hope it does not happen because I do not want to see people lose their jobs and the economic situation get worse than what it already is .
However , the facts are very dire and I do not see anything in the future , trend-wise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As noted above , the landlords are in trouble too .
The entire economy is in miserable shape , and at this point , we are looking at a possible future scenario of a ‘ scramble for cash ’ between corporations , trying to get from another or hold on to , through all legal and probably at some point questionable legal means , every last bit of cash that they can transfer to different entities before declaring bankruptcy and disappearing .
As I have said and I will continue to say , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that people need to work as much as possible , pay down as many debts as possible , and distribute their money in the wisest way so to prepare for future debts and also to secure as many necessary provisions so to wade through an economic storm for , in the words of one contact I have who works in bond management for a major international corporation , probably about a ten years .
While these changes are unfortunate , there is little that can be done to stop them .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ upon considering these reports , use the data to make intelligent decisions , as the consequences for failing to act may be severe .
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I have said that a major trend to watch for is going to be not a “Christmas Sleigh Ride”, but a “Slay” ride because the US consumer-based economy is being utterly destroyed before our very eyes as people are so broke and owing to the lack of money in circulation and the fact that the US consumer is completely tapped out on his ability to access debt due to the debts that he is already burdened with and as he can barely, if even pay, his basic bills for survival, it is forcing at some point an economic day of reckoning. COVID-19 did not cause this, but only facilitated an inevitable process by interrupting the normal economic cycle for a period of time that could also serve as a scapegoat for the inevitably destructive effects that the coming economic crisis would have and which should have been dealt with in 2007 and 2008 but never happened because it was delayed by money printing.
It is not a surprise then when the Wall Street Journal reports that retail bankruptcies have now reached record rates.
Retail bankruptcies, liquidations and store closings in the U.S. reached records in the first half of 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated industry changes, particularly the shift to online shopping, according to a report. In the first six months, 18 retailers filed for chapter 11 protection, mostly concentrated in apparel and footwear, home furnishings, grocery and department stores, according to the report by professional-services firm BDO USA LLP. They include department-store operators Neiman Marcus Group Ltd., J.C. Penney Co. and Stage Stores Inc., home-goods retailers Pier 1 Imports Inc. and Tuesday Morning Corp. and vitamin seller GNC Holdings Inc. From July through mid-August, 11 more retailers filed, including apparel retailers Lucky Brand Dungarees LLC, Brooks Brothers Inc., Ann Taylor parent Ascena Retail Group Inc., Stein Mart Inc., and Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank parent Tailored Brands Inc. This year is on pace to rival 2010, when 48 retailers filed for bankruptcy in the wake of the 2007-09 recession, BDO said. Retail bankruptcies in 2020 have already surpassed the 22 such filings recorded last year. “This is almost certainly the worst year in recent history for retail,” said Kyle Sturgeon, a managing partner at Atlanta-based turnaround advisory firm Meru LLC. (source)
Based on my estimations, this year may be the worst on record, but even worse is coming. As I noted, the fundamental problem is the debt levels and the inability to service the debts. This is not an “American” problem but a historical problem common to all cultures, and the historically unprecedented levels of debt in the US magnify the problem and its effects, thus not making a change in their essence but only in their intensity.
The real determining factor for whether this happens or not will not be seen until at least November and December, and its full effects will not be understood or the system shock realized until the end of the first quarter of 2021, since that is when the most complete economic reports will come out that will show the actual sales numbers. This is because the period from Thanksgiving to Christmas makes up 25% to 40% of annual income for many retail businesses. Considering that major “big box” type stores run on margins as thin as a blade of grass, and how so much of the viability of many stores are forced into the last part of the year, there is a lot of intense pressure to ‘make sure’ that spending happens.
But so far, almost all of 2020 has been dominated by the effects of COVID-19. After months of shutdowns and in some cases lockdowns that are continuing, the economic disruptions have been so bad that people who are thinking about spending money on gifts now have to concentrate what few resources they have on paying bills to try and not lose their living spaces, be they homes or apartments. Christmas spending will happen, but the question is the rate. Namely, will there be enough volume of spending to keep the US economy going, considering that it is run by consumerism and this is the most important period in the year for powering that engine through the coming year?
Government-mandated store closures and social-distancing measures have intensified challenges that were facing bricks-and-mortar retailers before the pandemic, according to BDO. “The trend is still a lot of liquidations and asset sales, and some of them are still trying to reorganize and emerge,” said David Berliner, a partner in the business restructuring and turnaround services practice of BDO. Consumers stuck at home due to the pandemic are buying more online than ever, the report said. That trend comes on top of excessive debt, store saturation, high unemployment and changing shopper behaviors. Demand for business attire and outfits for social occasions, in particular, has cratered. “I don’t think it’s going to stop anytime soon,” said Andy Graiser, co-president of commercial real-estate advisory firm A&G Real Estate Partners, who advises Tailored Brands, Ascena, Neiman Marcus and Stein Mart, among others. High rates of bricks-and-mortar store closures are expected to continue, BDO said. From January through mid-August, retailers had announced they would close a total of more than 10,000 stores in the U.S., including locations of solvent companies such as Macy’s Inc., Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and Gap Inc. That has already topped last year’s record 9,500 store closures. Many of the closings through mid-August 2020 were due to retail bankruptcies, which accounted for nearly 6,000 closings. Retailers are likely to decide to close as many as 25,000 U.S. stores in 2020, according to global market-research firm Coresight Research.
This is precisely what I am warning about. Some businesses have done very well, but the success of Amazon or Wal-Mart does not equate to success for the rest of the country. Some will do well while the majority suffer gravely.
This is not just limited to effects on the consumer market for store goods, but also is threatening to undermine the commercial real estate market. As I have noted before, the commercial real estate market is also burdened by debt like the US consumer, and when stores have to close because customers won’t spend, the landlords and the holding companies that own the properties where the stores were can no longer pay their bills to the bank, and they may lose their properties. The banks do not want this, because they they have to try an sell such property to another person, and the longer they hold it, the more likely it will be to be damaged beyond repair and may need to be demolished, which is another expense.
What I am emphasizing here is that which I have also warned before, and that is the real possibility of a ‘snowball effect’ where one problem tumbles into the next to the point that the US economy itself will be gravely harmed for the whole nation and will cause mass instability from the very rich to the very poor.
Many of the stores going dark are anchors and other tenants in shopping malls. Real-estate research firm Green Street Advisors LLC has forecast that more than half of all mall-based department stores in the U.S. will close by the end of 2021. Landlords including mall owners Simon Property Group Inc. and Brookfield Property Partners LP have been stepping up, buying troubled tenants like J.C. Penney out of chapter 11, their third acquisition in four years of a bankrupt tenant.
The mall is arguably dead. A creation of the late 1960s and early 1970s (some might say the 1950s for some areas) as a part of the US consumer boom, many malls are going to cease to exist because of profitability issues. This is a national trend and will be interesting to watch as it continues to unfold. One can see this trend in real time in many malls since too often the malls are deserted, even on weekends, and those who are in the malls do not appear to be people shopping or families, but impoverished people or groups of questionable looking people too often doing questionable things.
More retailers are expected to seek bankruptcy in the fourth quarter, though the pace could slow as some hold off on filing in hopes of a profitable holiday season.
This is the “Christmas slay ride” I am warning about. I hope it does not happen because I do not want to see people lose their jobs and the economic situation get worse than what it already is. However, the facts are very dire and I do not see anything in the future, trend-wise, that will mitigate these effects.
Shaky companies that make it through the holiday season might survive only to encounter landlords that had agreed to rent deferrals but now want payment in full. “That’s a huge bubble that is going to burst,” Mr. Graiser said.
As noted above, the landlords are in trouble too. The entire economy is in miserable shape, and at this point, we are looking at a possible future scenario of a ‘scramble for cash’ between corporations, trying to get from another or hold on to, through all legal and probably at some point questionable legal means, every last bit of cash that they can transfer to different entities before declaring bankruptcy and disappearing.
As I have said and I will continue to say, because the principle remains the same, is that people need to work as much as possible, pay down as many debts as possible, and distribute their money in the wisest way so to prepare for future debts and also to secure as many necessary provisions so to wade through an economic storm for, in the words of one contact I have who works in bond management for a major international corporation, probably about a ten years.
While these changes are unfortunate, there is little that can be done to stop them. It is for the wise man to, upon considering these reports, use the data to make intelligent decisions, as the consequences for failing to act may be severe.
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shoebat--2020-09-29--Turkey Is Sending In Armies Of Islamic Jihadists Into Azerbaijan To Slaughter Christian Armenians

Armenians and Azerbaijanis are killing each other , in another ethnic conflict that is dangerously reoccurring in the Eastern world , where land is held more sacred than human life .
So far dozens of people have been killed and hundreds wounded .
The two nations are fighting over a region called Nagorno-Karabakh which is within Azerbaijan and but mainly inhabited by Armenians .
Armenia lays claim to the region which is ruled under a de facto government called the Republic of Artsakh which is backed by Russia .
But this independence of the region is rejected by NATO and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thus why the United States , Turkey , Israel and Germany are backing Azerbaijan , while Russia and Iran support Armenia .
The ethnic conflict is a continuation of Cold War proxy conflicts where the world ’ s two superpowers — the US and Russia — are competing over influence through rival nations .
This is not just a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan , but a conflict between Turkey and Armenia , since the Turks are using the Azeris as proxies against their enemy .
The president of the de facto Republic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , affirmed that Turkey is sending in volunteer fighters from other regions in Armenia : “ It is not Azerbaijan that is fighting against Artsakh , it is Turkey that is fighting .
Not only drones , not only planes , but also military units , the military , and so on .
I am not talking about mercenaries , I am not talking about [ volunteers ] from other countries , ” the Artsakh President stressed .
The volunteers he is speaking of are fighters from the war in Syria .
Instead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are now being sent into Azerbaijan to fight their biggest enemies , the Christians .
This was confirmed by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army , General Ziyad Hajji Ubayd , who said : “ The fighters have to go to the conflict in Azerbaijan to provide for their families due to poor economic conditions …We are ready to fight everywhere for Turkey ’ s national interests and security .
We defend our interests to achieve our goals ” .
According to the Guardian , a month ago a private Turkish security company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ border guards between Armenia and Azerbaijan .
But now the Turks have sent in hundreds of Syrian rebels into the conflict zone , Nagorno-Karabakh , to fight the Armenians .
As the Arab publication , Ajel , reported : “ News reports confirmed that Turkey has recruited several hundred Syrian refugees to fight against Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh region in conflict with Azerbaijan , which is supported by Ankara.
” For years Ankara has been using Syrian rebels as proxies for its foreign policy and expansionism .
Turkey has sent Syrian rebels into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Khalifa Haftar who are mere proxies of the Russians and French .
So , since Turkey is backing the Azerbaijanis against the Armenians , it is not surprising that they would send Syrian mercenaries into Nagorno-Karabakh .
What we are witnessing is not just a proxy conflict , but the revival of the Turkish empire .
We see Turkey in conflict with Greece and Egypt as it encroaches into their maritime territories in the Eastern Mediterranean ; we see Turkey leading the fight against ( and dominating ) the forces of Haftar in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Syria ; we see Turkey in Iraq and being heavily involved in leading Azerbaijan against Armenia .
Turkey is being militarily active in all the regions that she once controlled : in Libya , Syria , Iraq , in Greece ’ s maritime territory and in the Caucasus , all of these regions were once under the dominion of the Ottomans .
People within the Syrian National Army ( SNA ) have stated that up to “ 1,000 jihadists ” in their ranks have been deployed in Azerbaijan as mercenaries .
According to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the SNA have indeed been deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh .
According to Arab News : “ The Syrian mercenaries were reportedly recruited through an intermediary of the Turkish intelligence agency with a promised monthly wage of $ 2,000 , and transported via Turkish military cargo planes to the Azeri cities of Ganja and Baku using Georgian airspace.
” Elizabeth Tsurkov , a fellow at the Center for Global Policy , explained that Syrian fighters were signing up to go to Azerbaijan either through WhatsApp or at Turkish offices within Syria : “ About a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ among SNA fighters that they can register to go to Azerbaijan .
Many registered over WhatsApp , others apparently through offices in the Turkish-controlled areas .
The fighters registered due to the enticing rumored salaries of $ 2K- $ 2.5K ” .
The Idlib Post posted up a video on Twitter purportedly showing Syrian fighters on their way to Azerbaijan : The Idlib Post also posted up a photo purportedly showing a cargo transporter packed full of SNA fighters departing to Azerbaijan via Turkey : These fighters are from the al-Hamza division in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Free Syrian Army back in 2013 .
They are backed by the Turkish government who use them as fighters in northern Syria , especially in Afrin .
Their presence in Afrin has been troublesome , as locals there and in Damascus have demanded their removal after it was reported how the mercenary group held naked women in Al-Hamza prisons .
There was even a fierce gun battle between al-Hamza and members of “ Ahrar al-Sham ” from Damascus ’ Al-Ghouta , in which the latter , in collaboration with other factions , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the headquarters of al-Hamza and arrest its members .
These gunmen from the Damascus countryside , according to one Syrian report , freed detainees , including women held by Al-Hamza , from their headquarters after al-Hamza gunmen were expelled .
Imagine what these killers and sodomizers will do if they ever execute a reign of terror against Armenians .
Azerbaijan ’ s Defense Ministry accused Armenia of shelling the region of Dashkesan in Azerbaijan .
But Armenian officials accused Azerbaijan of opening fire on an Armenian military unit in the town of Vardenis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Armenian-Azeri border ) , setting a bus on fire and killing a civilian .
The Armenian government claims that the Azeris made the attack after misinformation was spread that Armenia shelled Dashkesan from Vardenis .
The Armenians have been quick to deny that they made any attack on Dashkesan , with Armenia ’ s Foreign Ministry affirming that Azerbaijan was “ expanding the geography of hostilities , including the aggression against the Republic of Armenia.
” Reports coming out of Armenia affirm that Azerbaijan attacked Vardenis using an orbiter , or an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ video footage by Public Radio of Armenia showing an orbiter being shot down by the Armenian military : In the midst of all of the chaos , there is now a report from the Armenian Ministry of Defense claiming that a Turkish F-16 shot down an Armenian SU-25 jet .
According to the Armenian Infocenter ( which is managed by the Armenian government ) , the Turkish F-16 departed from the Ganja Airbase in Azerbaijan at around 10:30 am local time , and bombed Armenian forces around the area of Vardenis .
Turkey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and ground troops of the Armenian Armed Forces around the area of Vardenis .
The Armenians then began to utilize anti-aircraft units against the F-16 , and a battle ensued between the Turkish jet and an Armenian SU-25 jet .
The Turkish fighter jet took out the SU-25 , killing the pilot .
“ Unfortunately , the pilot died heroically , ” the Armenian Unified Infocenter said .
“ The Turkish F16 was around 60km deep into Armenian territory and flying at an altitude of 8200 meters , ” the Infocenter added .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ denied that a Turkish F-16 fought with Armenian forces .
But , it is a fact that two months ago Turkey parked F-16s in Azerbaijan and did joint air force training with the Azeris to scare the Armenians .
At that time the Armenian government stated that “ According to the plan , the situation is evaluated , combat missions are specified , reconnaissance of the area is carried out in real conditions ” .
The Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan , in response , warned the Azeris that “ provocations will not be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also said that Armenian troops “ do not shell civilian targets in Azerbaijan and only target the engineering infrastructure and technical facilities of the Azerbaijani armed forces ” .
The president of the de facto Republic of Artsakh in Nagorno-Karabakh , Arain Harutyunyan , admitted in a news conference that the F-16 story “ is not conclusively proven.
” But in the same conference he declared that this is not a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan , but between Armenia and Turkey , denoting the reality of proxy conflicts between NATO and Russia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Turkish army , or rather the main modern weapons and ammunition at hand , drones .
The same F-16s , which have been in Azerbaijan for more than a month under the name of regular or joint military exercises , have been used since this morning.
” He also pointed out that the Azeris “ mainly use modern Turkish drones , which Turkey has been proud of in recent months ” .
This is about Turkish control over the Caucasus , just as the Turkish military ’ s operations in Libya , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is about establishing control in former Ottoman territories .
Soon , there will be no more cold wars , and the masters of the puppets will war against one another .
Blood will flow from the mountains , red crimson from the heart of men .
The armies of Belial , the sons of Sodom , holding up their red flag emblazoned by the slicing blade of the crescent , will be bent on doing exactly what they have done in the history of forgone days — sodomizing , pillaging and massacring .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to steal , and to kill , and to destroy.
” ( John 10:10 )

By Walid & Theodore Shoebat
Armenians and Azerbaijanis are killing each other, in another ethnic conflict that is dangerously reoccurring in the Eastern world, where land is held more sacred than human life. So far dozens of people have been killed and hundreds wounded. The two nations are fighting over a region called Nagorno-Karabakh which is within Azerbaijan and but mainly inhabited by Armenians. Armenia lays claim to the region which is ruled under a de facto government called the Republic of Artsakh which is backed by Russia. But this independence of the region is rejected by NATO and its allies who support Azerbaijani sovereignty; thus why the United States, Turkey, Israel and Germany are backing Azerbaijan, while Russia and Iran support Armenia. The ethnic conflict is a continuation of Cold War proxy conflicts where the world’s two superpowers — the US and Russia — are competing over influence through rival nations.
This is not just a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but a conflict between Turkey and Armenia, since the Turks are using the Azeris as proxies against their enemy. The president of the de facto Republic of Artsakh in Nagorno-Karabakh, Arain Harutyunyan, affirmed that Turkey is sending in volunteer fighters from other regions in Armenia: “It is not Azerbaijan that is fighting against Artsakh, it is Turkey that is fighting. Not only drones, not only planes, but also military units, the military, and so on. I am not talking about mercenaries, I am not talking about [volunteers] from other countries,” the Artsakh President stressed. The volunteers he is speaking of are fighters from the war in Syria. Instead of fighting other Muslims in Syria, they are now being sent into Azerbaijan to fight their biggest enemies, the Christians. This was confirmed by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, General Ziyad Hajji Ubayd, who said:
“The fighters have to go to the conflict in Azerbaijan to provide for their families due to poor economic conditions …We are ready to fight everywhere for Turkey’s national interests and security. We defend our interests to achieve our goals”.
According to the Guardian, a month ago a private Turkish security company began hiring Syrian rebels to work as border guards between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But now the Turks have sent in hundreds of Syrian rebels into the conflict zone, Nagorno-Karabakh, to fight the Armenians. As the Arab publication, Ajel, reported:
“News reports confirmed that Turkey has recruited several hundred Syrian refugees to fight against Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh region in conflict with Azerbaijan, which is supported by Ankara.”
For years Ankara has been using Syrian rebels as proxies for its foreign policy and expansionism. Turkey has sent Syrian rebels into Libya to fight against the forces of Khalifa Haftar who are mere proxies of the Russians and French. So, since Turkey is backing the Azerbaijanis against the Armenians, it is not surprising that they would send Syrian mercenaries into Nagorno-Karabakh. What we are witnessing is not just a proxy conflict, but the revival of the Turkish empire. We see Turkey in conflict with Greece and Egypt as it encroaches into their maritime territories in the Eastern Mediterranean; we see Turkey leading the fight against (and dominating) the forces of Haftar in Libya ; we see Turkey expanding into Syria; we see Turkey in Iraq and being heavily involved in leading Azerbaijan against Armenia. Turkey is being militarily active in all the regions that she once controlled: in Libya, Syria, Iraq, in Greece’s maritime territory and in the Caucasus, all of these regions were once under the dominion of the Ottomans.
People within the Syrian National Army (SNA) have stated that up to “1,000 jihadists” in their ranks have been deployed in Azerbaijan as mercenaries. According to Turkish journalist Hikmet Durgun, fighters from the SNA have indeed been deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh. According to Arab News: “The Syrian mercenaries were reportedly recruited through an intermediary of the Turkish intelligence agency with a promised monthly wage of $2,000, and transported via Turkish military cargo planes to the Azeri cities of Ganja and Baku using Georgian airspace.” Elizabeth Tsurkov, a fellow at the Center for Global Policy, explained that Syrian fighters were signing up to go to Azerbaijan either through WhatsApp or at Turkish offices within Syria:
“About a month ago, rumors spread on WhatsApp among SNA fighters that they can register to go to Azerbaijan. Many registered over WhatsApp, others apparently through offices in the Turkish-controlled areas. The fighters registered due to the enticing rumored salaries of $2K-$2.5K”.
The Idlib Post posted up a video on Twitter purportedly showing Syrian fighters on their way to Azerbaijan:
Syrian fighters sent by Turkey to #Azerbaijan are advancing to the front lines to fight with the Azerbaijani army on the #Armenian border. pic.twitter.com/ipCKoGUZlK — IDLIB POST (@IdlibEn) September 27, 2020
The Idlib Post also posted up a photo purportedly showing a cargo transporter packed full of SNA fighters departing to Azerbaijan via Turkey:
Today, a batch of 300 fighters of #SNA left from the Syrian lands in the countryside of #Aleppo to #Azerbaijan via #Turkey. pic.twitter.com/jcDnum6TUM — IDLIB POST (@IdlibEn) September 22, 2020
From Hamza Division source. Supposedly these Hamza men arrived in Baku today via Ankara. pic.twitter.com/lgUcSl1Fkp — Lindsey Snell (@LindseySnell) September 22, 2020
These fighters are from the al-Hamza division in Syria which was originally a part of the Free Syrian Army back in 2013. They are backed by the Turkish government who use them as fighters in northern Syria, especially in Afrin. Their presence in Afrin has been troublesome, as locals there and in Damascus have demanded their removal after it was reported how the mercenary group held naked women in Al-Hamza prisons. There was even a fierce gun battle between al-Hamza and members of “Ahrar al-Sham” from Damascus’ Al-Ghouta, in which the latter, in collaboration with other factions, were able to take over one of the headquarters of al-Hamza and arrest its members. These gunmen from the Damascus countryside, according to one Syrian report, freed detainees, including women held by Al-Hamza, from their headquarters after al-Hamza gunmen were expelled. Imagine what these killers and sodomizers will do if they ever execute a reign of terror against Armenians.
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry accused Armenia of shelling the region of Dashkesan in Azerbaijan. But Armenian officials accused Azerbaijan of opening fire on an Armenian military unit in the town of Vardenis (which lies between Lake Sevan and the Armenian-Azeri border), setting a bus on fire and killing a civilian. The Armenian government claims that the Azeris made the attack after misinformation was spread that Armenia shelled Dashkesan from Vardenis. The Armenians have been quick to deny that they made any attack on Dashkesan, with Armenia’s Foreign Ministry affirming that Azerbaijan was “expanding the geography of hostilities, including the aggression against the Republic of Armenia.” Reports coming out of Armenia affirm that Azerbaijan attacked Vardenis using an orbiter, or an unmanned aerial vehicle, and there is video footage by Public Radio of Armenia showing an orbiter being shot down by the Armenian military:
In the midst of all of the chaos, there is now a report from the Armenian Ministry of Defense claiming that a Turkish F-16 shot down an Armenian SU-25 jet.
#Armenian Su-25 was shot down by a #Turkish F-16 that took off from the Ganja airbase in Azerbaijan. @ArmeniaMODTeam — Government of Armenia (@armgov) September 29, 2020
According to the Armenian Infocenter (which is managed by the Armenian government), the Turkish F-16 departed from the Ganja Airbase in Azerbaijan at around 10:30 am local time, and bombed Armenian forces around the area of Vardenis.
Turkey’s F-16 fighter jet bombed settlements and ground troops of the Armenian Armed Forces around the area of Vardenis. The Armenians then began to utilize anti-aircraft units against the F-16, and a battle ensued between the Turkish jet and an Armenian SU-25 jet. The Turkish fighter jet took out the SU-25, killing the pilot. “Unfortunately, the pilot died heroically,” the Armenian Unified Infocenter said. “The Turkish F16 was around 60km deep into Armenian territory and flying at an altitude of 8200 meters,” the Infocenter added. Both the Turkish and Azeri governments have denied that a Turkish F-16 fought with Armenian forces. But, it is a fact that two months ago Turkey parked F-16s in Azerbaijan and did joint air force training with the Azeris to scare the Armenians. At that time the Armenian government stated that “According to the plan, the situation is evaluated, combat missions are specified, reconnaissance of the area is carried out in real conditions”. The Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan, in response, warned the Azeris that “provocations will not be unanswered”. The Armenian defense minister also said that Armenian troops “do not shell civilian targets in Azerbaijan and only target the engineering infrastructure and technical facilities of the Azerbaijani armed forces”.
The president of the de facto Republic of Artsakh in Nagorno-Karabakh, Arain Harutyunyan, admitted in a news conference that the F-16 story “is not conclusively proven.” But in the same conference he declared that this is not a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but between Armenia and Turkey, denoting the reality of proxy conflicts between NATO and Russia: ”They use the presence of the Turkish army, or rather the main modern weapons and ammunition at hand, drones. The same F-16s, which have been in Azerbaijan for more than a month under the name of regular or joint military exercises , have been used since this morning.” He also pointed out that the Azeris “mainly use modern Turkish drones, which Turkey has been proud of in recent months”.
This is about Turkish control over the Caucasus, just as the Turkish military’s operations in Libya, the Mediterranean, Syria and Iraq, is about establishing control in former Ottoman territories. Soon, there will be no more cold wars, and the masters of the puppets will war against one another. Blood will flow from the mountains, red crimson from the heart of men. The armies of Belial, the sons of Sodom, holding up their red flag emblazoned by the slicing blade of the crescent, will be bent on doing exactly what they have done in the history of forgone days — sodomizing, pillaging and massacring. “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” (John 10:10)
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shoebat--2020-09-29--Major US Hospital Network Hit With Malware Attack

Technology is a wonderful thing , and it has helped many people improve their lives .
However , as with all technology , it is a cautionary tale , since the tools that can free a man can also be used to enslave him .
NBC News reports on this topic by way of a series of hack attacks that have hit major US hospitals , potentially putting the lives of countless sick people at risk .
A major hospital chain has been hit by what appears to be one of the largest medical cyberattacks in United States history .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ which has more than 400 locations , primarily in the U.S. , began to fail over the weekend , and some hospitals have had to resort to filing patient information with pen and paper , according to multiple people familiar with the situation .
Universal Health Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment , but posted a statement to its website that its company-wide network “ is currently offline , due to an IT security issue .
One person familiar with the company ’ s response efforts who was not authorized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the attack “ looks and smells like ransomware.
” Ransomware is a type of malicious software that spreads across computer networks , encrypting files and demanding payment for a key to decrypt them .
It ’ s become a common tactic for hackers , though attacks of this scale against medical facilities aren ’ t common .
A patient died after a ransomware attack against a German hospital in early September required her to be moved to a different hospital , leading to speculation that it may be the first known death from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot of talk about whether or not hospitals , like even police departments and fire departments , should be in the hands of ‘ private businesses ’ .
While not always bad in the case of hospitals , they often run on tight budgets , and corners are often cut because of financial concerns or for shareholder gain , while sacrificing patient safety .
Public hospitals can do this , but because they are public entities , they have the unlimited funding of the government coffers , and so are less likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ less likely for the same reasons .
Taking hospitals hostage by the computer system today is no different than a group of people storming a hospital and holding the physical building , but the former is much ‘ safter ’ because it can kill a lot of people with no physical presence , only that of a computer .
It is a more ideal tool for inflicting maximum damage with minimum effort .
As a trend , this is something that people should be on the lookout for , and expect to see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It may also bring about , even temporarily , an rise in the use of “ paper ” records again , since if one can not access records by computer , there would need to be a physical backup or means to the same end as a safety measure .
“ Hackers ” are not just teenagers in their bedrooms with soda , or strange people who wear black hoodies and sit hunched over at computers in dark places late at night looking for people to attack online .
These are probably the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ groups that are the most dangerous are those in the militaries and governments of the world , since they have unlimited resources , unlimited legal protections and anonymity from their governments , and they are being paid for what they do ( as opposed to a ‘ street hacker ’ who does his craft to try and hopefully get paid by his actions ) .
Likewise , with the rise of AI , a lot of the ‘ hacking tools ’ today are now being built by the ‘ hackers ’ and it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , thus making the work more efficient and re-organizing the distribution of labor as a part of the pursuit .
Two Universal Health Services nurses , who requested to not be named because they weren ’ t authorized by the company to speak with the media , said that the attack began over the weekend and had left medical staff to work with pen and paper .
One of the nurses , who works in a facility in North Dakota , said that computers slowed and then eventually simply would not turn on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ As of this a.m. , all the computers are down completely , ” the nurse said .
Another registered nurse at a facility in Arizona who worked this weekend said “ the computer just started shutting down on its own.
” “ Our medication system is all online , so that ’ s been difficult , ” the Arizona nurse said .
I and many others have warned for years that putting all systems online and making it so that they can only be accessed online no matter what the business @ @ @ @ @ @ @ incidents such as this .
Life is not perfect , and as much as it can run very well most of the time , things happen , and when they do , the concentration of information into a single location puts the entire system at risk of destruction and with that , having real effects on real people .
The push for technology is good , but efficiency can not come at the expense of safety .
This is a common problem seen for decades , and even centuries in the ‘ corporate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so as the drive for greed is greater than the drive for care about the people working in the actual positions themselves .
One may see this in the future .
Many countries will attack places such as hospitals or other areas because in a war , there really are no rules since it is often a pursuit of power with no care for any one , except the form has changed but not the essence .
With global conflict escalating and the systems of war and attack changing in tools but remaining @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the past , we can see here , through a small example , a warning of what is to come , and that is that in a third global conflict , he who masters and dominates the computer will be most likely to have the most successful outcome .
Donate now to help support the work of this site .
When you donate , you are not donating to just any commentary group , but one that is endlessly observing the news , reading between the lines and separating hysteria and perception from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working every day , tirelessly investigating global trends and providing data and analysis to tell you what lies for the future .
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW OUR NEW SHOEBAT FACEBOOK PAGE

Technology is a wonderful thing, and it has helped many people improve their lives. However, as with all technology, it is a cautionary tale, since the tools that can free a man can also be used to enslave him. NBC News reports on this topic by way of a series of hack attacks that have hit major US hospitals, potentially putting the lives of countless sick people at risk.
A major hospital chain has been hit by what appears to be one of the largest medical cyberattacks in United States history. Computer systems for Universal Health Services, which has more than 400 locations, primarily in the U.S., began to fail over the weekend, and some hospitals have had to resort to filing patient information with pen and paper, according to multiple people familiar with the situation. Universal Health Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but posted a statement to its website that its company-wide network “is currently offline, due to an IT security issue. One person familiar with the company’s response efforts who was not authorized to speak to the press said that the attack “looks and smells like ransomware.” Ransomware is a type of malicious software that spreads across computer networks, encrypting files and demanding payment for a key to decrypt them. It’s become a common tactic for hackers, though attacks of this scale against medical facilities aren’t common. A patient died after a ransomware attack against a German hospital in early September required her to be moved to a different hospital, leading to speculation that it may be the first known death from ransomware. (source)
There is a lot of talk about whether or not hospitals, like even police departments and fire departments, should be in the hands of ‘private businesses’. While not always bad in the case of hospitals, they often run on tight budgets, and corners are often cut because of financial concerns or for shareholder gain, while sacrificing patient safety. Public hospitals can do this, but because they are public entities, they have the unlimited funding of the government coffers, and so are less likely to do this and when done, less likely for the same reasons.
Taking hospitals hostage by the computer system today is no different than a group of people storming a hospital and holding the physical building, but the former is much ‘safter’ because it can kill a lot of people with no physical presence, only that of a computer. It is a more ideal tool for inflicting maximum damage with minimum effort.
As a trend, this is something that people should be on the lookout for, and expect to see more of this in the future. It may also bring about, even temporarily, an rise in the use of “paper” records again, since if one cannot access records by computer, there would need to be a physical backup or means to the same end as a safety measure.
Hackers seeking to deploy ransomware often wait until the weekend, when a company is likely to not have as many technical staff members present.
“Hackers” are not just teenagers in their bedrooms with soda, or strange people who wear black hoodies and sit hunched over at computers in dark places late at night looking for people to attack online. These are probably the least worrisome groups. The real hacker groups that are the most dangerous are those in the militaries and governments of the world, since they have unlimited resources, unlimited legal protections and anonymity from their governments, and they are being paid for what they do (as opposed to a ‘street hacker’ who does his craft to try and hopefully get paid by his actions). Likewise, with the rise of AI, a lot of the ‘hacking tools’ today are now being built by the ‘hackers’ and it is the AI that does the hacking, thus making the work more efficient and re-organizing the distribution of labor as a part of the pursuit.
Two Universal Health Services nurses, who requested to not be named because they weren’t authorized by the company to speak with the media, said that the attack began over the weekend and had left medical staff to work with pen and paper. One of the nurses, who works in a facility in North Dakota, said that computers slowed and then eventually simply would not turn on in the early hours of Sunday morning. “As of this a.m., all the computers are down completely,” the nurse said. Another registered nurse at a facility in Arizona who worked this weekend said “the computer just started shutting down on its own.” “Our medication system is all online, so that’s been difficult,” the Arizona nurse said.
I and many others have warned for years that putting all systems online and making it so that they can only be accessed online no matter what the business does is a terrible idea because of incidents such as this. Life is not perfect, and as much as it can run very well most of the time, things happen, and when they do, the concentration of information into a single location puts the entire system at risk of destruction and with that, having real effects on real people.
The push for technology is good, but efficiency cannot come at the expense of safety. This is a common problem seen for decades, and even centuries in the ‘corporate world’, and continues to be so as the drive for greed is greater than the drive for care about the people working in the actual positions themselves.
While many patient charts at that facility are on paper, medication information is maintained online, though it’s backed up at the end of each day, the nurse said. “We had those up to date as of the 26th,” the person said. “Now we had to hand-label every medication,” the nurse said. “It’s all improv.” … “When nurses and physicians can’t access labs, radiology or cardiology reports, that can dramatically slow down treatment, and in extreme cases, force re-routing for critical care to other treatment centers,” he said. “When these systems go down, there is the very real possibility that people can die.”
One may see this in the future. Many countries will attack places such as hospitals or other areas because in a war, there really are no rules since it is often a pursuit of power with no care for any one, except the form has changed but not the essence.
With global conflict escalating and the systems of war and attack changing in tools but remaining in principle the exact same as in the past, we can see here, through a small example, a warning of what is to come, and that is that in a third global conflict, he who masters and dominates the computer will be most likely to have the most successful outcome.
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shoebat--2020-09-29--In This One Example, Trump’s Campaign Can’t Accurately Be Accused Of Racism

With racism being again used as a political tool on both sides , a new storm of controversy has emerged as Channel 4 News reports that recently uncovered documents from the Trump 2016 election campaign show that Trump largely ignored and wanted to dissuade African Americans from voting .
Channel 4 News has exclusively obtained a vast cache of data used by Donald Trump ’ s 2016 presidential campaign on almost 200 million American voters .
It reveals that 3.5 million Black Americans were categorised by Donald Trump ’ s campaign as ‘ Deterrence ’ – voters they wanted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , civil rights campaigners said the evidence amounted to a new form of voter “ suppression ” and called on Facebook to disclose ads and targeting information that has never been made public .
The ‘ Deterrence ’ project can be revealed after Channel 4 News obtained the database used by Trump ’ s digital campaign team – credited with helping deliver his shock victory to become president four years ago .
Vast in scale , it contains details on almost 200 million Americans , among more than 5,000 files , which together @ @ @ @ @ @ @ making it one of the biggest leaks in history .
It reveals not only the huge amounts of data held on every individual voter , but how that data was used and manipulated by models and algorithms .
In 16 key battleground states , millions of Americans were separated by an algorithm into one of eight categories , also described as ‘ audiences ’ , so they could then be targeted with tailored ads on Facebook and other platforms .
One of the categories was named ‘ Deterrence ’ , which was later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ data scientist as containing people that the campaign “ hope don ’ t show up to vote ” .
Analysis by Channel 4 News shows Black Americans – historically a community targeted with voter suppression tactics – were disproportionately marked ‘ Deterrence ’ by the 2016 campaign .
In Georgia , despite Black people constituting 32 % of the population , they made up 61 % of the ‘ Deterrence ’ category .
In North Carolina , Black people are 22 % of the population but were 46 % of ‘ Deterrence ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just 5.4 % of the population but made up 17 % of ‘ Deterrence ’ .
( source ) This story raises an interesting question- how important is the Black demographic bloc- what I will refer to as the Black bloc -to winning an election ?
As I have noted before , and many others too , politics often takes on a tribalistic quality that results in whole groups of people voting in particular patterns .
In the US , a particularly unique case is the Black bloc , which since the late @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rates of over 90 % .
The reason for this is , arguably , racial and even according to some people , enforced within many Black communities , where “ Democrat ” is synonymous with supporting “ one ’ s own ” .
I have noted this point before- with the Black bloc consistently supporting Democrats in voter turnouts over 90 % , there is no reason for either political party to care for their needs because the Democrats will assume the votes since practically anybody , as long as he is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Republicans will not , and logically so , spend money trying to convinced a demographic that overwhelmingly does not want to support them to give them support .
Based on this logic alone , the Black bloc has done the most damage to itself , and that it is the interest of the bloc , if it wants to seek its own interests ( meant in the best way possible , as every group does this and it is only natural ) , to stop uniformly supporting Democrat candidates because of mere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ else vote for the other party .
If the bloc did this , and even resembled the approximate 70-30 Democrat favor found among the Hispanic bloc , they would receive a lot more attention , and more likely a lot more care about their interests from people in power .
But this is not the case- as long at the “ Democrat ” label is affixed as tightly as it is , there is no national political party interest in caring about the Black bloc at election time save for select areas in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Census map of the Black population distribution in the US .
Most Blacks are concentrated in the American southeast for historical reasons .
Yet many of these states- Alabama , Arkansas , Louisiana , Mississippi , and South Carolina to name a few -have large and powerful White blocs that overwhelmingly vote Republican .
For our purposes , the Black vote in those states is largely irrelevant even though they have high Black populations ( such as almost 33 % in Mississippi and 25 % in Alabama ) because while uniform in voting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states make it so the vote of the Black bloc is not sufficient to swing a national election .
It is the same effect of how upstate New York state is largely Republican , but due to demographic concentration and the politics of largely New York City , the state is uniformly “ blue ” , and is also why Texas ( not this election , but likely beginning in 2024 ) is becoming a battleground state from once being a reliable and a solidly “ red ” state .
Thus what Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not -is a practical one not rooted in ‘ racism ’ but political reality .
The only areas where the Black bloc matters is in select urban areas or battleground states with a strong Black bloc such as Georgia , Michigan , and North Carolina ( as the report itself notes ) and since the logical assumption based on past behavior ( which is also the best indicator of future trends ) is a 90 % + Democrat voter turnout , the most logical strategy would be to , as the internal documents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as much as possible while encouraging other blocs who either are supporters or who may become supporters to vote .
It is true that racism has been frequently used by the Trump campaign for its benefit , as do many politicians .
However , in this particular case , even if racism was a factor , the logic behind the Trump campaign ’ s approach is not apparently racist but is strongly rooted in sound political realities backed up by years of measurable and publicly available data and experience .
As such , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this to some form of ‘ racism ’ , and doing such could only be understood as an attempt to attack Trump ’ s campaign while attempting to ignore or suppress what the same people who study demographics and campaign strategy for the Democrat party know already and have exploited for decades to their benefit .
Donate now to help support the work of this site .
When you donate , you are not donating to just any commentary group , but one that is endlessly observing the news , reading between the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reality .
In shoebat.com , we are working every day , tirelessly investigating global trends and providing data and analysis to tell you what lies for the future .
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW OUR NEW SHOEBAT FACEBOOK PAGE

With racism being again used as a political tool on both sides, a new storm of controversy has emerged as Channel 4 News reports that recently uncovered documents from the Trump 2016 election campaign show that Trump largely ignored and wanted to dissuade African Americans from voting.
Channel 4 News has exclusively obtained a vast cache of data used by Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign on almost 200 million American voters. It reveals that 3.5 million Black Americans were categorised by Donald Trump’s campaign as ‘Deterrence’ – voters they wanted to stay home on election day. Tonight, civil rights campaigners said the evidence amounted to a new form of voter “suppression” and called on Facebook to disclose ads and targeting information that has never been made public. The ‘Deterrence’ project can be revealed after Channel 4 News obtained the database used by Trump’s digital campaign team – credited with helping deliver his shock victory to become president four years ago. Vast in scale, it contains details on almost 200 million Americans, among more than 5,000 files, which together amass almost 5 terabytes of data – making it one of the biggest leaks in history. It reveals not only the huge amounts of data held on every individual voter, but how that data was used and manipulated by models and algorithms. In 16 key battleground states, millions of Americans were separated by an algorithm into one of eight categories, also described as ‘audiences’, so they could then be targeted with tailored ads on Facebook and other platforms. One of the categories was named ‘Deterrence’, which was later described publicly by Trump’s chief data scientist as containing people that the campaign “hope don’t show up to vote”. Analysis by Channel 4 News shows Black Americans – historically a community targeted with voter suppression tactics – were disproportionately marked ‘Deterrence’ by the 2016 campaign. In total, 3.5 million Black Americans were marked ‘Deterrence’. In Georgia, despite Black people constituting 32% of the population, they made up 61% of the ‘Deterrence’ category. In North Carolina, Black people are 22% of the population but were 46% of ‘Deterrence’. In Wisconsin, Black people constitute just 5.4% of the population but made up 17% of ‘Deterrence’. (source)
This story raises an interesting question- how important is the Black demographic bloc- what I will refer to as the Black bloc -to winning an election?
As I have noted before, and many others too, politics often takes on a tribalistic quality that results in whole groups of people voting in particular patterns. In the US, a particularly unique case is the Black bloc, which since the late 1960s has voted Democrat for decades at rates of over 90%. The reason for this is, arguably, racial and even according to some people, enforced within many Black communities, where “Democrat” is synonymous with supporting “one’s own”.
I have noted this point before- with the Black bloc consistently supporting Democrats in voter turnouts over 90%, there is no reason for either political party to care for their needs because the Democrats will assume the votes since practically anybody, as long as he is a Democrat, will be elected, while the Republicans will not, and logically so, spend money trying to convinced a demographic that overwhelmingly does not want to support them to give them support.
Based on this logic alone, the Black bloc has done the most damage to itself, and that it is the interest of the bloc, if it wants to seek its own interests (meant in the best way possible, as every group does this and it is only natural), to stop uniformly supporting Democrat candidates because of mere party affiliation and start making demands or else vote for the other party. If the bloc did this, and even resembled the approximate 70-30 Democrat favor found among the Hispanic bloc, they would receive a lot more attention, and more likely a lot more care about their interests from people in power.
But this is not the case- as long at the “Democrat” label is affixed as tightly as it is, there is no national political party interest in caring about the Black bloc at election time save for select areas in battleground states.
Below is a US Census map of the Black population distribution in the US.
Most Blacks are concentrated in the American southeast for historical reasons. Yet many of these states- Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina to name a few -have large and powerful White blocs that overwhelmingly vote Republican. For our purposes, the Black vote in those states is largely irrelevant even though they have high Black populations (such as almost 33% in Mississippi and 25% in Alabama) because while uniform in voting patterns, the surrounding factors in those states make it so the vote of the Black bloc is not sufficient to swing a national election. It is the same effect of how upstate New York state is largely Republican, but due to demographic concentration and the politics of largely New York City, the state is uniformly “blue”, and is also why Texas (not this election, but likely beginning in 2024) is becoming a battleground state from once being a reliable and a solidly “red” state.
Thus what Trump’s campaign said- like Trump or not -is a practical one not rooted in ‘racism’ but political reality. The only areas where the Black bloc matters is in select urban areas or battleground states with a strong Black bloc such as Georgia, Michigan, and North Carolina (as the report itself notes) and since the logical assumption based on past behavior (which is also the best indicator of future trends) is a 90%+ Democrat voter turnout, the most logical strategy would be to, as the internal documents note, deter the bloc from voting as much as possible while encouraging other blocs who either are supporters or who may become supporters to vote.
It is true that racism has been frequently used by the Trump campaign for its benefit, as do many politicians. However, in this particular case, even if racism was a factor, the logic behind the Trump campaign’s approach is not apparently racist but is strongly rooted in sound political realities backed up by years of measurable and publicly available data and experience. As such, there is not enough evidence to attribute this to some form of ‘racism’, and doing such could only be understood as an attempt to attack Trump’s campaign while attempting to ignore or suppress what the same people who study demographics and campaign strategy for the Democrat party know already and have exploited for decades to their benefit.
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shoebat--2020-09-30--Trump slaughtered Biden in the first debate

My analysis on the first debate :

Pakistani Government Signs Law That Would Put People In Prison For Life For "Blaspheming" Muhammad The government of Pakistan just signed a law that could...


shoebat--2020-09-30--Major Russian Skinhead Known For Making Anti-Government Statements “Kills Himself” In Prison

One of the trends that I have noted consistently is that in addition to the rise of socialism in all forms throughout the world and the return of Russia to the ways of the early twentieth century , there is also the return of old patterns of behavior .
Something that I noted , based on the experiences of people who lived in the USSR , was a consistent pattern of political dissidents , socially undesirable people , and others who mysteriously happen to “ commit suicide ” .
I warned that this could be a major pattern going forward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a part of the strategy used during the years behind the Iron Curtain .
Now from a story out of Lenta.ru , it has been noted that a major Russian skinhead with ties to various national socialist groups and organizations has now ‘ committed suicide ’ while in prison .
I do not wish to defend his life or his actions .
Shoebat.com has taken very clear positions about all forms of socialism , be it international socialism or national socialism , and has said that both are bad things with no good @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interests me about this story was this pattern of ‘ suicide ’ , as his family and friends strongly deny it .
A piece of paper covered with a pen is called the suicide note of Maxim Martsinkevich .
Relatives of the deceased , who saw the photo with her , believe that the handwriting is really similar to that of Martsinkevich .
However , none of them believe in the version of depression or other disorder , because of which Cleaver would kill himself ten months before his release .
Sources of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him claim that Martsinkevich was tortured , beating out a confession to the murders committed either in the late 90s , or in the early 2000s .
Then he really was a furious teenage skinhead , but Tesak in those years was still unlikely to come of age , while the statute of limitations under the article “ Murder ” in Russia is no more than 15 years , and for a particularly grave , if we are not talking about a crime , for which a person shines a life sentence .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ out what happened to Tesak , but after information appeared about the initiation of a criminal case under the article “ Driving to suicide ” , a refutation immediately followed : so far only a check is being carried out .
They do not believe in Tesak ’ s suicide because for all the years in which he over and over again created projects that violate the law , over and over again went to jail , beat people over and over again and got into fights , around him there was an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with questionable moral then a supervillain who leaves to return in the next episode .
As I noted , it does not matter what claims without evidence are about this man ’ s life , since the image that Russia attempts to present to the world about her prisons and the state of society versus reality are two extremely different things .
American prisons are miserable and terrible , but this fact is well-known and discussed- it is not treated as some secret , and eventually , the truth does come out from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so much in Russia , where prison is just as awful and like in nations who use a dictator-like approach to enforcing laws , prisoners are routinely abused in terrible ways by officials from the government and then bad attempts at lies are made to try and cover this up .
If he did kill himself , it may have been that he was so physically and psychologically abused that he destroyed himself as a response to it .
The truth is that one does not know what happened to him , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around information of internal matters , one will likely never know .
However , the pattern of using ‘ suicide ’ as a substitute for saying ‘ murder ’ in an attempt at poorly deceiving the public is not uncommon , and therefore must be suspected as a real and indeed , also a strong possibility .
Likewise , there is no trust that one can put in “ investigators , ” because while Russians are smart people , the history of bluffing and then poor attempts at lying can not be hidden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least most often , the truth or most of the truth comes out , and is admitted eventually by the government .
In Russia , this is not so , and “ investigations ” are even more politicized than those in the US .
I have often used the example of “ lysenkoism ” , as this is a prime example of the mindset with what a sovietized Russia has approached the pursuit of things from politics and investigations to even basic scientific truths , which is that truth is merely an extension @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be , and it does not matter if it is objectively wrong , and to say it is wrong will result in potentially severe punishment or even death .
The question we have to answer is , did “ Tesak ” commit suicide or not ?
So far , based on the circumstances , statements , and history of the situation , while we can not say ‘ yes or no ’ , we can say that there are a lot of very highly suspicious circumstances that if not answered , will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politics did not work out , Tesak , who was clearly a creatively gifted young man , created his first media project , Format-18 .
The one in this number is the first letter of Adolf Hitler ’ s name ( A ) , and the eight is the first letter of the last name ( H ) .
It was finally formed only in 2005 , when Tesak was 21 years old .
Skins from “ Format-18 ” filmed their workouts in the gym , paramilitary training camp in nature , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attacks on people of non-Slavic appearance .
It is still not known exactly how many videos were staged and how many were documentaries .
In fact , Tesak ’ s studio was ahead of its time by several years .
By the end of 2007 , when Russian YouTube was launched , Martsinkevich was already known .
He became one of the first in Russia to be made popular by the Internet .
He had many offline imitators who attacked migrants , and not for the purpose of staging .
One can not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the US , Germany , or another nation , noting the name similarity between Tesak ’ s group “ Format-18 ” and the British national socialist group Combat-18 founded by the American Harold Covington .
Likewise , his emergence onto YouTube as a major force in Russia beginning in 2007- a year that we at Shoebat.com have noted with interest in connection with the counter-jihad movement and other major nationalist entities that share direct ties to the governments of the Western World -force the above idea to be pondered .
One can not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but the overlap between this individual , events that have been known about for decades , and the events of the recent years as well as persons and affiliations are likely a study into themselves that would reveal much , and possibly this may have been the reason why he “ committed suicide ” , for it if really was a murder , than just as the entire purpose of Gladio was to put down “ stay-behind ” networks consisting of people who would delay a communist invasion until national troops could arrive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different than ‘ armed insurgents ’ , then was this the execution of a “ proxy agent ” ?
We do not know for sure , save that there are a lot of interesting questions .
The Forty-of-Forty movement in Russia , noted above , that is associated with members of the Russian Orthodox Church is a movement also to watch , since given the overlap between the ROC and the Russian government I have noted , one may ask if the murder of Tesak was essentially eliminating one ‘ agent ’ to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are often many things that one can not easily see taking place in the background .
The case of Tesak , while it may be as simple as it appears and is being superficially presented as , may be a lot more complex in reality .
One can never know , but there are more questions than answers , and in a case such as this , one can not help but wonder what really happened .
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One of the trends that I have noted consistently is that in addition to the rise of socialism in all forms throughout the world and the return of Russia to the ways of the early twentieth century, there is also the return of old patterns of behavior.
Something that I noted, based on the experiences of people who lived in the USSR, was a consistent pattern of political dissidents, socially undesirable people, and others who mysteriously happen to “commit suicide”. I warned that this could be a major pattern going forward to watch for, as it was a part of the strategy used during the years behind the Iron Curtain.
Now from a story out of Lenta.ru, it has been noted that a major Russian skinhead with ties to various national socialist groups and organizations has now ‘committed suicide’ while in prison.
Maxim Martsinkevich , nicknamed Tesak, the most famous neo-Nazi skinhead in Russia and the creator of the Format-18 extremist organizations banned in Russia and the Restrukt movement, was found dead in a cell in a detention center in Chelyabinsk. According to the official version, the 36-year-old activist committed suicide, but Tesak’s relatives and those who knew him well do not believe this. (source)
I do not wish to defend his life or his actions. Shoebat.com has taken very clear positions about all forms of socialism, be it international socialism or national socialism, and has said that both are bad things with no good ends except death and destruction.
What interests me about this story was this pattern of ‘suicide’, as his family and friends strongly deny it.
A piece of paper covered with a pen is called the suicide note of Maxim Martsinkevich. Relatives of the deceased, who saw the photo with her, believe that the handwriting is really similar to that of Martsinkevich. However, none of them believe in the version of depression or other disorder, because of which Cleaver would kill himself ten months before his release. Sources of “Lenta.ru” among people close to him claim that Martsinkevich was tortured, beating out a confession to the murders committed either in the late 90s, or in the early 2000s. Then he really was a furious teenage skinhead, but Tesak in those years was still unlikely to come of age, while the statute of limitations under the article “Murder” in Russia is no more than 15 years, and for a particularly grave, if we are not talking about a crime , for which a person shines a life sentence. … Now the investigators will have to figure out what happened to Tesak, but after information appeared about the initiation of a criminal case under the article “Driving to suicide”, a refutation immediately followed: so far only a check is being carried out. They do not believe in Tesak’s suicide because for all the years in which he over and over again created projects that violate the law, over and over again went to jail, beat people over and over again and got into fights, around him there was an image of, if not a superhero with questionable moral then a supervillain who leaves to return in the next episode.
As I noted, it does not matter what claims without evidence are about this man’s life, since the image that Russia attempts to present to the world about her prisons and the state of society versus reality are two extremely different things. American prisons are miserable and terrible, but this fact is well-known and discussed- it is not treated as some secret, and eventually, the truth does come out from under the lies. This is not so much in Russia, where prison is just as awful and like in nations who use a dictator-like approach to enforcing laws, prisoners are routinely abused in terrible ways by officials from the government and then bad attempts at lies are made to try and cover this up. If he did kill himself, it may have been that he was so physically and psychologically abused that he destroyed himself as a response to it.
The truth is that one does not know what happened to him, and given the intense secrecy that Russia places around information of internal matters, one will likely never know. However, the pattern of using ‘suicide’ as a substitute for saying ‘murder’ in an attempt at poorly deceiving the public is not uncommon, and therefore must be suspected as a real and indeed, also a strong possibility.
Likewise, there is no trust that one can put in “investigators,” because while Russians are smart people, the history of bluffing and then poor attempts at lying cannot be hidden. When the US lies, at least most often, the truth or most of the truth comes out, and is admitted eventually by the government. In Russia, this is not so, and “investigations” are even more politicized than those in the US. I have often used the example of “lysenkoism”, as this is a prime example of the mindset with what a sovietized Russia has approached the pursuit of things from politics and investigations to even basic scientific truths, which is that truth is merely an extension of what the current autocrat declares it to be, and it does not matter if it is objectively wrong, and to say it is wrong will result in potentially severe punishment or even death.
The question we have to answer is, did “Tesak” commit suicide or not? So far, based on the circumstances, statements, and history of the situation, while we cannot say ‘yes or no’, we can say that there are a lot of very highly suspicious circumstances that if not answered, will only fuel more doubts.
When public politics did not work out, Tesak, who was clearly a creatively gifted young man, created his first media project, Format-18. The one in this number is the first letter of Adolf Hitler’s name (A), and the eight is the first letter of the last name (H). It was finally formed only in 2005, when Tesak was 21 years old. Skins from “Format-18” filmed their workouts in the gym, paramilitary training camp in nature, but the most popular content was videos of attacks on people of non-Slavic appearance. It is still not known exactly how many videos were staged and how many were documentaries. In fact, Tesak’s studio was ahead of its time by several years. By the end of 2007, when Russian YouTube was launched, Martsinkevich was already known. He became one of the first in Russia to be made popular by the Internet. He had many offline imitators who attacked migrants, and not for the purpose of staging.
One cannot wonder if Tesak was being funded by the US, Germany, or another nation, noting the name similarity between Tesak’s group “Format-18” and the British national socialist group Combat-18 founded by the American Harold Covington. Likewise, his emergence onto YouTube as a major force in Russia beginning in 2007- a year that we at Shoebat.com have noted with interest in connection with the counter-jihad movement and other major nationalist entities that share direct ties to the governments of the Western World -and given the long-documented and even admitted overlap between concepts from to outright national socialist movements of the post-World War II world and the intelligence services in Western governments, it forces the above idea to be pondered. One cannot prove such from this article alone, but the overlap between this individual, events that have been known about for decades, and the events of the recent years as well as persons and affiliations are likely a study into themselves that would reveal much, and possibly this may have been the reason why he “committed suicide”, for it if really was a murder, than just as the entire purpose of Gladio was to establish “stay-behind” networks consisting of people who would delay a communist invasion until national troops could arrive, effectively making them proxy soldiers no different than ‘armed insurgents’, then was this the execution of a “proxy agent”?
We do not know for sure, save that there are a lot of interesting questions.
Thus, Tesak’s first ascent ended in prison. There is still debate about what goal he really pursued – to become a hero in news and cinema, or to really cleanse Russia of what he considered unacceptable. Andrei Kormukhin, the leader of the Forty Fortieth Orthodox movement, is inclined to regard him as a victim.
The Forty-of-Forty movement in Russia, noted above, that is associated with members of the Russian Orthodox Church is a movement also to watch, since given the overlap between the ROC and the Russian government I have noted, one may ask if the murder of Tesak was essentially eliminating one ‘agent’ to replace it with their own.
There are often many things that one cannot easily see taking place in the background. The case of Tesak, while it may be as simple as it appears and is being superficially presented as, may be a lot more complex in reality. One can never know, but there are more questions than answers, and in a case such as this, one cannot help but wonder what really happened.
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