lewrockwell--2020-01-27--The Impeachment Charade and Monty Python

Most of us…at least most of us of a certain age…will remember Monty Python and their series of televised sketches and then films ( e.g.
, Monty Python and the Holy Grail , 1975 ; Life of Brian , 1979 ; The Meaning of Life , 1983 ) .
I will admit that when they were in vogue their brand of surreal , over-the-top comedy , did not for the most part attract me .
My preferences were for , say , a Peter Sellars/Inspector Clouseau movie , or , even better , some good ole ’ bare-bones humor , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ classic and long-running “ country ” television series , Hee Haw ( e.g.
, Archie Campbell , Junior Sample , Roy Clark ) or maybe the Carol Burnett Show ( or its spin-off , Mama ’ s Family ) , and earlier with Abbott & Costello or Laurel & Hardy : true classics of the genre .
But watching snippets—that is all I could stomach without retching—of Representatives Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler lecturing the United States Senate this past week , reminded me of Monty Python at its most mad… incredibly ridiculous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time , severely and eerily serious .
Serious , in the sense that those House impeachment managers take themselves so very one-dimensionally , so solemnly .
They do not or can not see or understand what others see and understand about them and their supposed “ case against the president.
” For them even a funny jibe or joke proffered by Donald Trump at a public rally before tens of thousands of people ( e.g.
, “ Russia , if you hear me , can you help us find the thousands of emails @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” or , “ I could walk down 5th Avenue and shoot somebody , and I ’ d still have support ” ) is terribly ominous .
The resemblance to Monty Python comes specifically because they take such eminently silly , throwaway lines meant to be funny , and hold them up in the utmost seriousness and solemnity , in what are monumental deliberations about the very future of the American nation .
Against the Left : A Ro ... Llewellyn H Rockwell Jr Best Price : $ 13.57 Buy New $ 8.00 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ set , with a bored cocker spaniel beside me , and imagined Schiff intoning : “ if it floats , it must be a witch , ” or some such line from Monty Python and the Search for Holy Grail .
CNN and MSNBC literally oozed with praise and encomia for Schiff ’ s “ incredibly brilliant ” and “ boffo ” “ performance.
” Was this real ?
Were these men and ladies people that citizens of our country actually elected to be our representatives ?
Were we that stupid , were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was Adam Schiff telling us all that “ the Russians are getting ready to invade America , ” that if we don ’ t defend poor little Ukraine , well , then not only is our “ democracy ” down the tubes , but we will have lost the “ new ” war with those vile and vicious Russkies !
Oh , my !
It sent shivers down my spine , and I clasped my defenseless spaniel close to me : need I prepare for bloodthirsty Cossacks at my door ?
Would my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wake County resist those sword-wielding hordes when they came , as Schiff predicted if Donald Trump is not impeached ?
But that stalwart champion of madness from Burbank , California , then added : elections are not the answer .
You see , you can ’ t trust ’ em .
Any election where a Donald Trump is elected is bound to be bogus and—the word he and others like him use— “ illegitimate.
” Ah , now we know !
Schiff ’ s understanding of that much-abused term “ democracy ” has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ result .
For him and the vast masses of “ woke ” progressivists , Millennials , Black-Lives-Matter types , Hollywood flakes , Never- and anti-Trumpers , and indoctrinated , brain dead Zombiefied students churned out by our educational establishments each year—for these folks 2016 was illegitimate , somehow a “ rigged ” election .
The lumpen proletariat—we deplorables—did not follow orders , did not listen to our “ betters , ” rejected the instructions of those who fancy themselves the managerial and administrative class enthroned by God ( whom they mostly don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not follow their implicit directions .
And since President Trump ’ s inauguration they have mused , dreamed , conspired , and feverishly worked to rid themselves of him .
Nineteen minutes after the president was sworn in , the infamous “ whistle-blower ” Eric Ciaramela ( a hold-over CIA analyst from Obama ) “ was overheard in the White House discussing with another staffer how to remove the newly elected president from office , according to former colleagues.
” Sources told RealClearInvestigations the staffer with whom Ciaramella was speaking was Sean Misko @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Trump White House on foreign policy and national security issues .
And both expressed anger over Trump ’ s new “ America First ” foreign policy , a sea change from President Obama ’ s approach to international affairs .
Ciaramela later went to “ work ” for Adam Schiff and House Democrats .
The faked FISA applications enabling surveillance of the Trump campaign , the rogue FBI attempts to entrap low level Trump staffers , the spate of manufactured indictments , the totally unsupported charges of Russian interference in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hoax , ” an utter fabrication which even Robert Mueller with a battery of Hillary Clinton-supporting attorneys could not affirm .
Then came the Michael Avenatti affair ; the Kavanaugh caper ; Michael Cohen and his “ revelations ” ; accusations aired on both MSNBC and CNN that the president was “ mentally unfit ” and should be removed ( replete with titled psychologists speculating on his mental state ) ; and now the present charade .
And the progressivists have now “ produced ” perjured witness Lev Parnas .
No doubt , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continue on until November…and probably afterwards if Trump is re-elected .
Of course , the more unleashed of those “ woke ” progressivists have descended into vicious character assassination , fraudulent “ news ” creation , censorship and harassment of those with opposing views ( especially on college campuses ) , and physical violence and threats against anyone who would dare dissent from their narrative .
It is a campaign of intimidation and shaming , insults and defamation abetted by the zealous friends of Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler in most of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Tragically , fifty plus years of media indoctrination , ideological educational abuse , and the collaboration , active or implicit , of the dominant Neoconservatives—the supposed opposition to what has happened and is happening to our society—have had results .
The explicit rebellion against what is natural—against the laws of nature—against what is and has always been considered “ normal , ” has had its deleterious effects .
As late as 1972 a large majority of American voters would have rejected out of hand , scornfully and with disdain , Adam Schiff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ indeed , laughed him off his decorous stage .
Not so in 2020 .
And that says a lot about the country we inhabit today , about our academic establishments , our media and entertainment , and our politics .
And most infuriatingly about those so-called Neocon “ defenders ” of our culture and our way of life .
Where have they been as our colleges and schools were infiltrated progressively by Marxist revolutionaries ?
Where have they been , what have they done , to thwart the infiltration of our entertainment industry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in everything from our speech to what we are supposed to think ?
A few conservative pundits—given the idiocy and ridiculousness of the Impeachment “ insaniacs ” —believe the president will win a landslide come November .
If we were dealing with “ normal ” people and not a nation filled with “ insaniacs , ” I would concur .
It might happen .
But consider : those insaniacs have had fifty-plus years to put their template in place and to establish their narrative as dominant .
Thus , the extreme necessity that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forcefully and resolutely , starting with the ballot box and by extreme vigilance regarding voting and who has the right to vote ( already a recent report declares that two of North Carolina ’ s most liberal counties have more registered voters than voting aged citizens ) .
The elections this November will be perhaps the most important in our history .
“ Normals ” may still outnumber the insaniacs , but this year may see the last real opportunity to deter the contagion .
Or , to quote Monty Python once again @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people in the country today , who through no fault of their own , are sane .
”

Most of us…at least most of us of a certain age…will remember Monty Python and their series of televised sketches and then films (e.g., Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 1975; Life of Brian, 1979; The Meaning of Life, 1983). I will admit that when they were in vogue their brand of surreal, over-the-top comedy, did not for the most part attract me. My preferences were for, say, a Peter Sellars/Inspector Clouseau movie, or, even better, some good ole’ bare-bones humor, the type you could find on that classic and long-running “country” television series, Hee Haw (e.g., Archie Campbell, Junior Sample, Roy Clark) or maybe the Carol Burnett Show (or its spin-off, Mama’s Family), and earlier with Abbott & Costello or Laurel & Hardy: true classics of the genre.
But watching snippets—that is all I could stomach without retching—of Representatives Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler lecturing the United States Senate this past week, reminded me of Monty Python at its most mad… incredibly ridiculous, almost insanely wild…but at the same time, severely and eerily serious. Serious, in the sense that those House impeachment managers take themselves so very one-dimensionally, so solemnly. They do not or cannot see or understand what others see and understand about them and their supposed “case against the president.”
For them even a funny jibe or joke proffered by Donald Trump at a public rally before tens of thousands of people (e.g., “Russia, if you hear me, can you help us find the thousands of emails that Hillary Clinton ‘lost’,” or, “I could walk down 5th Avenue and shoot somebody, and I’d still have support”) is terribly ominous. The resemblance to Monty Python comes specifically because they take such eminently silly, throwaway lines meant to be funny, and hold them up in the utmost seriousness and solemnity, in what are monumental deliberations about the very future of the American nation. Against the Left: A Ro... Rockwell Jr, Llewellyn H Best Price: $2.85 Buy New $8.00 (as of 07:59 UTC - Details)
I sat in front of my television set, with a bored cocker spaniel beside me, and imagined Schiff intoning: “if it floats, it must be a witch,” or some such line from Monty Python and the Search for Holy Grail.
CNN and MSNBC literally oozed with praise and encomia for Schiff’s “incredibly brilliant” and “boffo” “performance.”
Was this real? Were these men and ladies people that citizens of our country actually elected to be our representatives? Were we that stupid, were we that mesmerized by insanity? Here was Adam Schiff telling us all that “the Russians are getting ready to invade America,” that if we don’t defend poor little Ukraine, well, then not only is our “democracy” down the tubes, but we will have lost the “new” war with those vile and vicious Russkies! Oh, my! It sent shivers down my spine, and I clasped my defenseless spaniel close to me: need I prepare for bloodthirsty Cossacks at my door? Would my little community out here in rural eastern Wake County resist those sword-wielding hordes when they came, as Schiff predicted if Donald Trump is not impeached?
But that stalwart champion of madness from Burbank, California, then added: elections are not the answer. You see, you can’t trust’em. Any election where a Donald Trump is elected is bound to be bogus and—the word he and others like him use—“illegitimate.” Ah, now we know! Schiff’s understanding of that much-abused term “democracy” has room for only his desired ballot box result. For him and the vast masses of “woke” progressivists, Millennials, Black-Lives-Matter types, Hollywood flakes, Never- and anti-Trumpers, and indoctrinated, brain dead Zombiefied students churned out by our educational establishments each year—for these folks 2016 was illegitimate, somehow a “rigged” election. The lumpen proletariat—we deplorables—did not follow orders, did not listen to our “betters,” rejected the instructions of those who fancy themselves the managerial and administrative class enthroned by God (whom they mostly don’t believe exists). We did not follow their implicit directions.
And since President Trump’s inauguration they have mused, dreamed, conspired, and feverishly worked to rid themselves of him. Nineteen minutes after the president was sworn in, the infamous “whistle-blower” Eric Ciaramela (a hold-over CIA analyst from Obama) “was overheard in the White House discussing with another staffer how to remove the newly elected president from office, according to former colleagues.”
Sources told RealClearInvestigations the staffer with whom Ciaramella was speaking was Sean Misko. Both were Obama administration holdovers working in the Trump White House on foreign policy and national security issues. And both expressed anger over Trump’s new “America First” foreign policy, a sea change from President Obama’s approach to international affairs.
Ciaramela later went to “work” for Adam Schiff and House Democrats.
The faked FISA applications enabling surveillance of the Trump campaign, the rogue FBI attempts to entrap low level Trump staffers, the spate of manufactured indictments, the totally unsupported charges of Russian interference in the 2016 elections—thus was born the “Russia Hoax,” an utter fabrication which even Robert Mueller with a battery of Hillary Clinton-supporting attorneys could not affirm.
Then came the Michael Avenatti affair; the Kavanaugh caper; Michael Cohen and his “revelations”; accusations aired on both MSNBC and CNN that the president was “mentally unfit” and should be removed (replete with titled psychologists speculating on his mental state); and now the present charade. And the progressivists have now “produced” perjured witness Lev Parnas. No doubt, this succession of revelations and accusations will continue on until November…and probably afterwards if Trump is re-elected.
Of course, the more unleashed of those “woke” progressivists have descended into vicious character assassination, fraudulent “news” creation, censorship and harassment of those with opposing views (especially on college campuses), and physical violence and threats against anyone who would dare dissent from their narrative. It is a campaign of intimidation and shaming, insults and defamation abetted by the zealous friends of Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler in most of the media, aimed at silencing our voices.
Tragically, fifty plus years of media indoctrination, ideological educational abuse, and the collaboration, active or implicit, of the dominant Neoconservatives—the supposed opposition to what has happened and is happening to our society—have had results. The explicit rebellion against what is natural—against the laws of nature—against what is and has always been considered “normal,” has had its deleterious effects. As late as 1972 a large majority of American voters would have rejected out of hand, scornfully and with disdain, Adam Schiff’s foul and inane rhetoric, indeed, laughed him off his decorous stage.
Not so in 2020. And that says a lot about the country we inhabit today, about our academic establishments, our media and entertainment, and our politics. And most infuriatingly about those so-called Neocon “defenders” of our culture and our way of life. Where have they been as our colleges and schools were infiltrated progressively by Marxist revolutionaries? Where have they been, what have they done, to thwart the infiltration of our entertainment industry, or the domination of political correctness in everything from our speech to what we are supposed to think?
A few conservative pundits—given the idiocy and ridiculousness of the Impeachment “insaniacs”—believe the president will win a landslide come November. If we were dealing with “normal” people and not a nation filled with “insaniacs,” I would concur. It might happen. But consider: those insaniacs have had fifty-plus years to put their template in place and to establish their narrative as dominant.
Thus, the extreme necessity that those not touched by this madness act forcefully and resolutely, starting with the ballot box and by extreme vigilance regarding voting and who has the right to vote (already a recent report declares that two of North Carolina’s most liberal counties have more registered voters than voting aged citizens). The elections this November will be perhaps the most important in our history. “Normals” may still outnumber the insaniacs, but this year may see the last real opportunity to deter the contagion.
Or, to quote Monty Python once again: “There are a great many people in the country today, who through no fault of their own, are sane.”


lewrockwell--2020-01-27--The Windsors’ Unexpected Avenger Out in Burger-Land

If a novelist were to come up with the idea of a prince marrying a commoner of very common stock , and then the commoner taking the prince of some high-born house down some low road and away from all he knew , it wouldn ’ t be…utterly far-fetched .
There is , after all , an old Irish folk ballad called “ Raggle Taggle Gypsy ” that I recall singing in elementary school , about some high-born lady being paid a visit by “ the raggle taggle gypsy ” ( or gypsies ) , who , according to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , puts on leather-o , and runs off with the gypsy for reasons unknown , as her heartbroken lord of the manor tries to stop her and then rides east and west and more to seek her out and find out why she ’ d cast aside her privileged life of luxury for the hideous rigors of the impoverished gypsy camp .
The lord of the manor eventually finds the woman and asks why she would do this , only to be rebuffed , and then leaves heartbroken at his loss .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I found this Irish folk band that did a pretty credible rendition of it : Against the Left : A Ro ... Llewellyn H Rockwell Jr Best Price : $ 13.57 Buy New $ 8.00 So far , it rather does sound like the ballad of Harry and Meghan , ditching their life of royalty , in a sad bid to pursue Meghan ’ s wish to go back to the glitzy no-holds barred hogwallow of Hollywood , the life of red carpets and popping flash bulbs .
More money , of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by even American standards .
Harry and Meghan are , after all , following the Kardashian model as they seek their “ more independent life , ” not joining the world of respectable burghers with 9 to 5 jobs , but selling themselves as a ‘ lifestyle brand ’ on the Internet , putting themselves out there , and selling swag with their famous names on it as well , all famous for being famous .
The Sussex Royal line , if it goes online , has among other things a selection of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And like the lord of the manor in the ballad , the whole thing leaves a brokenhearted and disappointed royal family in Britain behind .
What throws the ballad impressively off , though , is the appearance of someone unexpected into the mix .
Imagine if family members of the raggle-taggle gypsy came out of the woodwork and in a coda to the story blasted the silk-trimmed-dress lady of the manor as a homewrecker and denounced what she ’ d done to the lord of the manor .
Imagine the expression on @ @ @ @ @ @

If a novelist were to come up with the idea of a prince marrying a commoner of very common stock, and then the commoner taking the prince of some high-born house down some low road and away from all he knew, it wouldn’t be…utterly far-fetched.
There is, after all, an old Irish folk ballad called “Raggle Taggle Gypsy” that I recall singing in elementary school, about some high-born lady being paid a visit by “the raggle taggle gypsy” (or gypsies), who, according to the lyrics, pulls off her silk-trimmed dress, puts on leather-o, and runs off with the gypsy for reasons unknown, as her heartbroken lord of the manor tries to stop her and then rides east and west and more to seek her out and find out why she’d cast aside her privileged life of luxury for the hideous rigors of the impoverished gypsy camp. The lord of the manor eventually finds the woman and asks why she would do this, only to be rebuffed, and then leaves heartbroken at his loss. It’s a ballad, after all. I found this Irish folk band that did a pretty credible rendition of it:

Against the Left: A Ro... Rockwell Jr, Llewellyn H Best Price: $2.85 Buy New $8.00 (as of 07:59 UTC - Details) So far, it rather does sound like the ballad of Harry and Meghan, ditching their life of royalty, in a sad bid to pursue Meghan’s wish to go back to the glitzy no-holds barred hogwallow of Hollywood, the life of red carpets and popping flash bulbs. More money, of course, too, but textbook vulgarity by even American standards. Harry and Meghan are, after all, following the Kardashian model as they seek their “more independent life,” not joining the world of respectable burghers with 9 to 5 jobs, but selling themselves as a ‘lifestyle brand’ on the Internet, putting themselves out there, and selling swag with their famous names on it as well, all famous for being famous. The Sussex Royal line, if it goes online, has among other things a selection of hoodies with the royal seal. Gack.
And like the lord of the manor in the ballad, the whole thing leaves a brokenhearted and disappointed royal family in Britain behind.
What throws the ballad impressively off, though, is the appearance of someone unexpected into the mix. Imagine if family members of the raggle-taggle gypsy came out of the woodwork and in a coda to the story blasted the silk-trimmed-dress lady of the manor as a homewrecker and denounced what she’d done to the lord of the manor. Imagine the expression on the lord’s face!
Read the Whole Article


lewrockwell--2020-01-27--Seriously – How Deluded and Gullible Are People Who Subscribe to This Nonsense?

“ 32 years and billions of wasted dollars later they best they can come up with is fake data , fake graphs , a child advocate who dropped out of school… ” Rosco Mac ____________ Seriously – how deluded and gullible are people who subscribe to this nonsense ?
1 .
I have a million molecules of ordinary air – how many do you think are CO2 ?
( We should all know there are less than 400 . )
Not by Fire but by Ice ... Robert W. Felix Best Price : $ 15.49 Buy New $ 19.95 2 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ordinary air how many do you think are methane ?
( We should all know there are less than 2 . )
3 .
Why do you think that such insignificant amounts of stable gases can cause the temperature of the remaining 999,958 molecules of air to rise by any significant amount ?
The alarmists are seriously deluded .
The IPCC , established in 1988 was charged with establishing that mankind was causing global warming by emitting tiny amounts of a stable non flammable gas .
32 years and billions of wasted dollars @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with is fake data , fake graphs , a child advocate who dropped out of school and the ridiculous claim that today ’ s children from wealthy countries suffer climate degradation worse than child sex slavery or the equivalent of forced labour in the “ salt mines ” and the hyping of the misery of those who have lost possessions or , worse , their lives due to completely natural disasters .

“32 years and billions of wasted dollars later they best they can come up with is fake data, fake graphs, a child advocate who dropped out of school…”
Rosco Mac
____________
Seriously – how deluded and gullible are people who subscribe to this nonsense ?
Rosco Mac
1. I have a million molecules of ordinary air – how many do you think are CO2 ? (We should all know there are less than 400.) Not by Fire but by Ice... Felix, Robert W. Best Price: $18.37 Buy New $19.95 (as of 01:30 UTC - Details)
2. I have a million molecules of ordinary air how many do you think are methane ? (We should all know there are less than 2.)
3. Why do you think that such insignificant amounts of stable gases can cause the temperature of the remaining 999,958 molecules of air to rise by any significant amount?
The alarmists are seriously deluded. The IPCC, established in 1988 was charged with establishing that mankind was causing global warming by emitting tiny amounts of a stable non flammable gas.
32 years and billions of wasted dollars later they best they can come up with is fake data, fake graphs, a child advocate who dropped out of school and the ridiculous claim that today’s children from wealthy countries suffer climate degradation worse than child sex slavery or the equivalent of forced labour in the “salt mines” and the hyping of the misery of those who have lost possessions or, worse, their lives due to completely natural disasters.
Read the Whole Article


lewrockwell--2020-01-27--Association of American Physicians & Surgeons Sues Rep. Adam Schiff For Censoring the Vaccine Debate

Vaccines are a hot topic right now , and vaccine hesitancy is growing and quickly gaining momentum .
The reality of vaccine hesitancy is no longer a secret , as many studies on the matter have been published .
And it is no longer simply among concerned parents .
This study published in the journal EbioMedicine discusses how practitioners in France are becoming increasingly hesitant to prescribe some controversial vaccines to their patients .
The World Health Organization believes vaccine hesitancy is one of the biggest threats to global health security .
Professor Heidi Larson , a Professor of Anthropology @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the Vaccine Confidence Project , was one of many academics to speak at the World Health Organization ’ s recent Global Vaccine Safety Summit , where she explained why this is being considered a major problem : This type of hesitancy among health professionals has begun to spawn organizations looking for answers to their questions .
‘ The Physicians for Informed Consent ’ is one of multiple examples .
It ’ s promising that doctors , scientists and health safety advocates that have come together to share resources about vaccines , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about certain vaccines and their safety .
Dissolving Illusions : ... Suzanne Humphries MD , ... Best Price : $ 19.24 Buy New $ 17.17 At the summit , Dr. Martin Howell Friede , Coordinator of Initiative For Vaccine Research at the World Health Organization , brought up the issue of adjuvants , noting some of the problems with using adjuvants that do not have a proven track record of safety .
Many people at the conference also emphasized the need for more safety testing and studies to address the concerns that are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Personally , I think this is encouraging .
Science should never cease to question , and who wouldn ’ t want more safety studies and testing on medications that are being administered worldwide ?
As this issue becomes more scrutinized by an awakening public as well as emboldened health care professionals , more and more conflicting statements made by high-ranking health authorities are being uncovered , which in themselves may lead to a breakdown of confidence in vaccines .
For example , Soumya Swaminathan , MD and Chief Scientist at the World Health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I don ’ t think we can overemphasize the fact that we really don ’ t have very good safety monitoring systems in many countries and this adds to the miscommunication and the misapprehensions , because we ’ re not able to give clear cut answers when people ask questions about deaths that have occurred due to particular vaccines… One should be able to give a very factual account of what exactly is happening , what the cause of deaths are , but in most cases there ’ s some obfuscation at that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and less trust then in the system .
Prior to this statement , the WHO released a promotional video just days before the conference began , where Dr. Swaminathan contradicted her statement above , saying “ we have vaccine safety systems , robust vaccine safety systems.
” It would be nice to have answers as to why the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act has paid close to 4 billion dollars to families of vaccine injured children , and what that says about these ‘ safety systems ’ she is talking about .
Clearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to make our vaccines safer and more effective .
Personally , I believe forced vaccination to be quite unethical given the fact that so many questions remain unanswered .
Read more about the conference here : Scientists Share Facts About Vaccines At World Health Organization Conference For Vaccine Safety The growing vaccine hesitancy has led the pharmaceutical industry and its supporters to a dangerous strategy : mass censorship .
For those of you who haven ’ t heard , politicians and social media outlets are taking action steps to censor information about vaccines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and its regulatory ‘ arm , ’ the CDC .
In other words , just about anyone who is even questioning vaccine safety , let alone providing evidence that vaccines are not safe , is liable to be discredited , de-monitized , or de-platformed from social media .
Leading the charge is Congressman Adam Schiff , an advocate of vaccine safety and friend of the pharmaceutical industry , who has used his power and influence to immediately strengthen censorship efforts .
His moves have been seen as unfair , unethical , and even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 15 , 2020 , the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons , along with Katarina Verrelli , on behalf of herself and others who seek access to vaccine information , filed suit against Adam Schiff in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia .
Plaintiffs allege that Defendant Schiff has abused government power and infringed on their free-speech rights .
Here ’ s how the association characterizes the situation : Who appointed Congressman Adam Schiff as Censor-in-Chief ?
” asks AAPS General Counsel .
“ No one did , and he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ censor speech on the internet.
” In February and March 2019 , Rep. Schiff contacted Google , Facebook , and Amazon , to encourage them to de-platform or discredit what Schiff asserted to be inaccurate information on vaccines .
He then posted the letters and press release on the House.gov website .
Within 24 hours of Schiff ’ s letter to Amazon dated Mar 1 , 2019 , Amazon removed the popular videos Vaxxed and Shoot ’ Em Up : the Truth About Vaccines from its platform for streaming videos , depriving members @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Under a policy announced in May 2019 , Twitter includes a pro-government disclaimer placed above search results for an AAPS article on vaccine mandates : “ Know the Facts .
To make sure you get the best information on vaccination , resources are available from the US Department of Health and Human Services.
” The implication of this disclaimer is that if information is not on a government website , then it is somehow less credible .
On Facebook , a search for an AAPS article on vaccines , which previously would lead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ produces search results containing links to the World Health Organization ( WHO ) , the National Institutes of Health , and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) .
Visits to the AAPS website have declined significantly since March 2019 , both in absolute terms and relative to the decline that would result from a story ’ s losing its recency .
“ The internet is supposed to provide free access to information to people of different opinions , ” stated AAPS Executive Director , Jane Orient , M.D .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wilcox Best Price : $ 18.49 Buy New $ 19.16 Dr. Orient continues , “ AAPS is not ‘ anti-vaccine , ’ but rather supports informed consent , based on an understanding of the full range of medical , legal , and economic considerations relevant to vaccination and any other medical intervention , which inevitably involves risks as well as benefits.
” AAPS argues in the complaint against Rep. Schiff : “ The First Amendment protects the rights of free speech and association .
Included within the right of free speech is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Under the First Amendment , Americans have the right to hear all sides of every issue and to make their own judgments about those issues without government interference or limitations .
Content-based restrictions on speech are presumptively unconstitutional , and courts analyze such restrictions under strict scrutiny.
” The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons ( AAPS ) is a national organization representing physicians in all specialties since 1943 .
The terms “ anti vax ” and “ pro vax ” are really not serving in the best interest of the collective @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when in reality , all of us want the same thing , healthy children , and effective and safe medications if we are going to use them .
With all of the concerns that are still being made about vaccines , questioning vaccine safety should not be a problem and in fact , should be welcomed by everybody .
Forcing mandatory vaccination policy and censoring information on vaccines , in my opinion , seems to be quite tyrannical and immoral at this stage .
I may have a different opinion if vaccines were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but they ’ re not .

Vaccines are a hot topic right now, and vaccine hesitancy is growing and quickly gaining momentum. The reality of vaccine hesitancy is no longer a secret, as many studies on the matter have been published. And it is no longer simply among concerned parents. This study published in the journal EbioMedicine discusses how practitioners in France are becoming increasingly hesitant to prescribe some controversial vaccines to their patients.
The World Health Organization believes vaccine hesitancy is one of the biggest threats to global health security. Professor Heidi Larson, a Professor of Anthropology and the Risk and Decision Scientist Director at the Vaccine Confidence Project, was one of many academics to speak at the World Health Organization’s recent Global Vaccine Safety Summit, where she explained why this is being considered a major problem:
The other thing that’s a trend, and an issue, is not just confidence in providers but confidence of health care providers. We have a very wobbly health professional frontline that is starting to question vaccines and the safety of vaccines. That’s a huge problem, because to this day any study I’ve seen–and we’re constantly looking on any studies in this space–still, the most trusted person on any study I’ve seen globally is the health care provider. And if we lose that, we’re in trouble.
Dissenting Professionals, Conflicting Statements
This type of hesitancy among health professionals has begun to spawn organizations looking for answers to their questions. ‘The Physicians for Informed Consent’ is one of multiple examples. It’s promising that doctors, scientists and health safety advocates that have come together to share resources about vaccines, and more importantly voice concerns that they have about certain vaccines and their safety. Dissolving Illusions: ... Bystrianyk, Roman Best Price: $38.50 Buy New $21.60 (as of 11:00 UTC - Details)
At the summit, Dr. Martin Howell Friede, Coordinator of Initiative For Vaccine Research at the World Health Organization, brought up the issue of adjuvants, noting some of the problems with using adjuvants that do not have a proven track record of safety. Many people at the conference also emphasized the need for more safety testing and studies to address the concerns that are being made by vaccine safety advocates. Personally, I think this is encouraging. Science should never cease to question, and who wouldn’t want more safety studies and testing on medications that are being administered worldwide?
As this issue becomes more scrutinized by an awakening public as well as emboldened health care professionals, more and more conflicting statements made by high-ranking health authorities are being uncovered, which in themselves may lead to a breakdown of confidence in vaccines. For example, Soumya Swaminathan, MD and Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization, stated at the conference,
I don’t think we can overemphasize the fact that we really don’t have very good safety monitoring systems in many countries and this adds to the miscommunication and the misapprehensions, because we’re not able to give clear cut answers when people ask questions about deaths that have occurred due to particular vaccines… One should be able to give a very factual account of what exactly is happening, what the cause of deaths are, but in most cases there’s some obfuscation at that level and therefore there’s less and less trust then in the system.
Prior to this statement, the WHO released a promotional video just days before the conference began, where Dr. Swaminathan contradicted her statement above, saying “we have vaccine safety systems, robust vaccine safety systems.”
It would be nice to have answers as to why the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act has paid close to 4 billion dollars to families of vaccine injured children, and what that says about these ‘safety systems’ she is talking about. Clearly, there seems to be a need to make our vaccines safer and more effective. Personally, I believe forced vaccination to be quite unethical given the fact that so many questions remain unanswered.
Read more about the conference here: Scientists Share Facts About Vaccines At World Health Organization Conference For Vaccine Safety
Association of American Physicians & Surgeons Sue Rep. Adam Schiff
The growing vaccine hesitancy has led the pharmaceutical industry and its supporters to a dangerous strategy: mass censorship. For those of you who haven’t heard, politicians and social media outlets are taking action steps to censor information about vaccines that is not aligned with the industry and its regulatory ‘arm,’ the CDC. In other words, just about anyone who is even questioning vaccine safety, let alone providing evidence that vaccines are not safe, is liable to be discredited, de-monitized, or de-platformed from social media.
Leading the charge is Congressman Adam Schiff, an advocate of vaccine safety and friend of the pharmaceutical industry, who has used his power and influence to immediately strengthen censorship efforts. His moves have been seen as unfair, unethical, and even illegal. In fact, on Jan 15, 2020, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, along with Katarina Verrelli, on behalf of herself and others who seek access to vaccine information, filed suit against Adam Schiff in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Plaintiffs allege that Defendant Schiff has abused government power and infringed on their free-speech rights.
Here’s how the association characterizes the situation:
Who appointed Congressman Adam Schiff as Censor-in-Chief?” asks AAPS General Counsel. “No one did, and he should not be misusing his position to censor speech on the internet.” In February and March 2019, Rep. Schiff contacted Google, Facebook, and Amazon, to encourage them to de-platform or discredit what Schiff asserted to be inaccurate information on vaccines. He then posted the letters and press release on the House.gov website. Within 24 hours of Schiff’s letter to Amazon dated Mar 1, 2019, Amazon removed the popular videos Vaxxed and Shoot ’Em Up: the Truth About Vaccines from its platform for streaming videos, depriving members of the public of convenient access. Under a policy announced in May 2019, Twitter includes a pro-government disclaimer placed above search results for an AAPS article on vaccine mandates: “Know the Facts. To make sure you get the best information on vaccination, resources are available from the US Department of Health and Human Services.” The implication of this disclaimer is that if information is not on a government website, then it is somehow less credible. On Facebook, a search for an AAPS article on vaccines, which previously would lead directly to the AAPS article, now produces search results containing links to the World Health Organization (WHO), the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Visits to the AAPS website have declined significantly since March 2019, both in absolute terms and relative to the decline that would result from a story’s losing its recency. “The internet is supposed to provide free access to information to people of different opinions,” stated AAPS Executive Director, Jane Orient, M.D. Jabbed: How the Vaccin... Wilcox, Brett Best Price: $18.85 Buy New $19.03 (as of 12:00 UTC - Details) Dr. Orient continues, “AAPS is not ‘anti-vaccine,’ but rather supports informed consent, based on an understanding of the full range of medical, legal, and economic considerations relevant to vaccination and any other medical intervention, which inevitably involves risks as well as benefits.” AAPS argues in the complaint against Rep. Schiff: “The First Amendment protects the rights of free speech and association. Included within the right of free speech is a right to receive information from willing speakers. Under the First Amendment, Americans have the right to hear all sides of every issue and to make their own judgments about those issues without government interference or limitations. Content-based restrictions on speech are presumptively unconstitutional, and courts analyze such restrictions under strict scrutiny.” The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) is a national organization representing physicians in all specialties since 1943.
The Takeaway
The terms “anti vax” and “pro vax” are really not serving in the best interest of the collective. All they do is divide people when in reality, all of us want the same thing, healthy children, and effective and safe medications if we are going to use them. With all of the concerns that are still being made about vaccines, questioning vaccine safety should not be a problem and in fact, should be welcomed by everybody. Forcing mandatory vaccination policy and censoring information on vaccines, in my opinion, seems to be quite tyrannical and immoral at this stage. I may have a different opinion if vaccines were 100 percent safe and effective for everybody, but they’re not.
Reprinted with permission from Collective Evolution.


lewrockwell--2020-01-27--Warden Who Was in Charge When Jeffrey Epstein Died Behind Bars Is Quietly Given a Top Job At ‘Club F

Warden Who Was in Charge When Jeffrey Epstein Died Behind Bars Is Quietly Given a Top Job At ‘Club Fed’ Prison

The warden in charge when Jeffrey Epstein died in his jail cell is getting a cushy new supervisor ’ s job at ‘ Club Fed ’ despite Attorney General Bill Barr ’ s demand that he be reassigned to a desk job .
Lamine N ’ Diaye is being reassigned to a leadership role at FCI Fort Dix , a low-security prison in Burlington County , New Jersey , two people familiar with the matter said .
The move comes months after Barr ordered N ’ Diaye be reassigned to a desk post at the Bureau of Prisons ’ regional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the FBI and the Justice Department´s inspector general investigated .
One of the people said the agency planned to move N´Diaye into the new role on February 2 .
The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss an internal personnel matter .
Amazon.com Gift Card i ... Buy New $ 10.00 It was unclear why the agency was planning to return N ’ Diaye to a position supervising inmates and staff members , even though multiple investigations into Epstein´s death remain active .
The inspector general ’ s investigation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is still probing the circumstances that led to Epstein´s death , including why he wasn´t given a cellmate .
Epstein died in August while awaiting trial on charges he sexually abused dozens of girls as young as 14 and young women in New York and Florida in the early 2000s .
Epstein ’ s death cast a spotlight on the Bureau of Prisons and highlighted a series of safety lapses inside a high-security unit of one of the most secure jails in America .
His death was ruled a suicide by hanging by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but his attorneys have contested that finding and argued he may have been killed .
Barr said even Epstein ’ s ability to take his own life in federal custody had raised ‘ serious questions that must be answered.
’ He said in an interview with the AP in November that the investigation revealed a ‘ series ’ of mistakes made that gave Epstein the chance to take his own life and that his death was the result of ‘ a perfect storm of screw-ups .
’

Epstein was found dead in his cell in August 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges
The warden in charge when Jeffrey Epstein died in his jail cell is getting a cushy new supervisor's job at 'Club Fed' despite Attorney General Bill Barr's demand that he be reassigned to a desk job.
Lamine N'Diaye is being reassigned to a leadership role at FCI Fort Dix, a low-security prison in Burlington County, New Jersey, two people familiar with the matter said.
The move comes months after Barr ordered N'Diaye be reassigned to a desk post at the Bureau of Prisons' regional office in Pennsylvania after Epstein´s death as the FBI and the Justice Department´s inspector general investigated.
One of the people said the agency planned to move N´Diaye into the new role on February 2. The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss an internal personnel matter.
Lamine N'Diaye is being reassigned to a leadership role at FCI Fort Dix (above), a low-security prison in Burlington County, New Jersey
It was unclear why the agency was planning to return N'Diaye to a position supervising inmates and staff members, even though multiple investigations into Epstein´s death remain active.
The inspector general's investigation is continuing, and the Justice Department is still probing the circumstances that led to Epstein´s death, including why he wasn´t given a cellmate.
Epstein died in August while awaiting trial on charges he sexually abused dozens of girls as young as 14 and young women in New York and Florida in the early 2000s.
Epstein's death cast a spotlight on the Bureau of Prisons and highlighted a series of safety lapses inside a high-security unit of one of the most secure jails in America.
His death was ruled a suicide by hanging by the New York City medical examiner, but his attorneys have contested that finding and argued he may have been killed.
Barr said even Epstein's ability to take his own life in federal custody had raised 'serious questions that must be answered.'
He said in an interview with the AP in November that the investigation revealed a 'series' of mistakes made that gave Epstein the chance to take his own life and that his death was the result of 'a perfect storm of screw-ups.'
Epstein died in August at MCC Manhattan (above) while awaiting trial on charges he sexually abused dozens of girls as young as 14 and young women in New York and Florida
His cell is seen above after his death. His death was ruled a suicide by hanging by the New York City medical examiner, but his attorneys have contested that finding
Two correctional officers responsible for watching Epstein have pleaded not guilty to charges alleging they lied on prison records to make it seem as though they had checked on Epstein, as required, before his death.
Instead, investigators say they appeared to sleep for two hours and had been browsing the internet - shopping for furniture and motorcycles - instead of watching Epstein, who was supposed to be checked on every 30 minutes.
The attorney general also removed the agency´s acting director in the wake of Epstein's death and named Kathleen Hawk Sawyer, the prison agency´s director from 1992 until 2003, to replace him.
Since Epstein´s death and N'Diaye´s removal as warden, the Manhattan jail has had two interim leaders.
The newest warden, M. Licon-Vitale, used to oversee a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut. Her first big order of business has been to deal with jailed lawyer Michael Avenatti's complaints about his treatment at the lockup.
The Bureau of Prisons has been plagued for years by chronic violence, extensive staffing shortages and serious misconduct.


Poe of Virginia

The opinion has been often stated that Edgar Allan Poe was bizarre and amoral ; that he was a lover of morbid beauty only ; that he was unrelated to worldly circumstances-aloof from the affairs of the world ; that his epitaph might well be : “ Out of space-out of time.
” But it is dangerous to attempt to separate any historical figure from his setting .
No individual can ever be understood fully until the subtle influences of his formal education , his reading , his associates , and his time and country ( with his heredity ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been said , perhaps , about Poe ’ s “ detachment ” from his environment and too little about his background—his heritage from Europe and the influences of his early life in Virginia .
Elizabeth Arnold , Poe ’ s mother , was born in England in 1787 and was brought to this country when she was a girl of nine .
“ In speaking of my mother , ” Poe wrote years later to Beverley Tucker of Virginia , “ you have touched a string to which my heart fully responds.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Elizabeth Poe , it appears that Poe never became unmindful of his immediate English origins on the maternal side .
Poe ’ s ancestry on his father ’ s side was Scotch-Irish and has been traced through County Cavon to Ayrshire , Scotland .
The fact that Poe ’ s Presbyterian Scottish ancestors dwelled for a time in the north of Ireland has caused even so good a scholar as Arthur Hobson Quinn to engage in surprising speculation about an “ Irish strain ” in Poe and about a “ Celtic ” trait @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” in the Poe family .
The South Was Right !
James Ronald Kennedy , ... Best Price : $ 21.38 Buy New $ 36.15 There are questions as to how much of the pre-Teutonic Celtic stock survives in the Scottish lowlands , questions about the extent of Anglo-Saxon and Danish incursions there .
And so Professor Quinn ’ s theory about an “ Irish ” perverseness is truly an idea fetched from afar .
In evaluating Poe ’ s ethnic heritage it is enough to say that his forbears were English and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Anglo-Saxon , the strain which , as Poe himself wrote , animated the American heart .
Poe , unlike other great American writers of his time , spent a considerable portion of his childhood in Britain .
In 1815 , John Allan set out for England , accompanied by his wife , Frances Allan ; his sister-in-law , “ Aunt Nancy ” Valentine ; and his six-year-old foster son , Edgar Poe .
For a time Edgar attended the small London school of Miss Dubourg ( a name which subsequently was to appear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Morgue ” ) and later , for a period of three years from 1817 to 1820 , was sent to a better school , the Manor House at Stoke Newington near London .
Here Poe , in addition to being affected profoundly by the atmosphere of England , studied French , Latin , history and literature .
The Manor House School , with its “ Dr. ” Bransby , Poe later was to transplant bodily to the semi-autobiographical tale “ William Wilson ” ( 1840 ) .
Poe saw a good deal of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Britain and may have attended school in Irvine for a time .
It would be difficult to estimate the impact of these formative years in Britain upon the youthful Poe .
Poe ’ s foster father , John Allan , was himself born and bred in Irvine , Ayrshire , and was a member of the class of English and Scottish merchants of Richmond , Virginia-to which city he had emigrated as a youth around 1795 .
Scottish merchants represented a very considerable element in the commercial life of Richmond in those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a considerable extent , maintained themselves aloof from the life of the city .
The Scottish influences of Allan and his associates and friends could not have been lost upon Poe .
The Richmond which Poe knew was ( more than Philadelphia or New York ) aristocratic and English .
Virginia society , Poe himself noted , had been as “ absolutely aristocratical as any in Europe.
” This is not to imply the existence of any chasmal gulf separating the American and British minds , respectively , in the first half @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was in Virginia , probably , that the least divergence was to be discerned .

The opinion has been often stated that Edgar Allan Poe was bizarre and amoral; that he was a lover of morbid beauty only; that he was unrelated to worldly circumstances-aloof from the affairs of the world; that his epitaph might well be: “Out of space-out of time.”
But it is dangerous to attempt to separate any historical figure from his setting. No individual can ever be understood fully until the subtle influences of his formal education, his reading, his associates, and his time and country (with his heredity) are traced and synthesized. Too much has been said, perhaps, about Poe’s “detachment” from his environment and too little about his background—his heritage from Europe and the influences of his early life in Virginia. Elizabeth Arnold, Poe’s mother, was born in England in 1787 and was brought to this country when she was a girl of nine. “In speaking of my mother,” Poe wrote years later to Beverley Tucker of Virginia, “you have touched a string to which my heart fully responds.” Judging from his spirited defense of Elizabeth Poe, it appears that Poe never became unmindful of his immediate English origins on the maternal side.
Poe’s ancestry on his father’s side was Scotch-Irish and has been traced through County Cavon to Ayrshire, Scotland. The fact that Poe’s Presbyterian Scottish ancestors dwelled for a time in the north of Ireland has caused even so good a scholar as Arthur Hobson Quinn to engage in surprising speculation about an “Irish strain” in Poe and about a “Celtic” trait of perverseness which he had “discovered” in the Poe family.
The South Was Right! James Ronald Kennedy, ... Best Price: $21.38 Buy New $36.15 (as of 10:45 UTC - Details) There are questions as to how much of the pre-Teutonic Celtic stock survives in the Scottish lowlands, questions about the extent of Anglo-Saxon and Danish incursions there. And so Professor Quinn’s theory about an “Irish” perverseness is truly an idea fetched from afar. In evaluating Poe’s ethnic heritage it is enough to say that his forbears were English and Scottish and, quite likely, predominantly Anglo-Saxon, the strain which, as Poe himself wrote, animated the American heart.
Poe, unlike other great American writers of his time, spent a considerable portion of his childhood in Britain. In 1815, John Allan set out for England, accompanied by his wife, Frances Allan; his sister-in-law, “Aunt Nancy” Valentine; and his six-year-old foster son, Edgar Poe. For a time Edgar attended the small London school of Miss Dubourg (a name which subsequently was to appear in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”) and later, for a period of three years from 1817 to 1820, was sent to a better school, the Manor House at Stoke Newington near London. Here Poe, in addition to being affected profoundly by the atmosphere of England, studied French, Latin, history and literature. The Manor House School, with its “Dr.” Bransby, Poe later was to transplant bodily to the semi-autobiographical tale “William Wilson” (1840).
Poe saw a good deal of Scotland, too, on first arriving in Britain and may have attended school in Irvine for a time. It would be difficult to estimate the impact of these formative years in Britain upon the youthful Poe.
Poe’s foster father, John Allan, was himself born and bred in Irvine, Ayrshire, and was a member of the class of English and Scottish merchants of Richmond, Virginia-to which city he had emigrated as a youth around 1795. Scottish merchants represented a very considerable element in the commercial life of Richmond in those years, and many of them, to a considerable extent, maintained themselves aloof from the life of the city. The Scottish influences of Allan and his associates and friends could not have been lost upon Poe.
The Richmond which Poe knew was (more than Philadelphia or New York) aristocratic and English. Virginia society, Poe himself noted, had been as “absolutely aristocratical as any in Europe.” This is not to imply the existence of any chasmal gulf separating the American and British minds, respectively, in the first half of the nineteenth century; but it was in Virginia, probably, that the least divergence was to be discerned.
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lewrockwell--2020-01-27--The American Chaos Machine

The American Chaos Machine

In March 1906 , on the heels of the U.S. Army ’ s massacre of some 1,000 men , women , and children in the crater of a volcano in the American-occupied Philippines , humorist Mark Twain took his criticism public .
A long-time anti-imperialist , he flippantly suggested that Old Glory should be redesigned “ with the white stripes painted black and the stars replaced by the skull and cross-bones.
” I got to thinking about that recently , five years after I became an antiwar dissenter ( while still a major in the U.S. Army ) , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this time with Iran .
I was struck yet again by the way every single U.S. military intervention in the Greater Middle East since 9/11 has backfired in wildly counterproductive ways , destabilizing a vast expanse of the planet stretching from West Africa to South Asia .
Chaos , it seems , is now Washington ’ s stock-in-trade .
Perhaps , then , it ’ s time to resurrect Twain ’ s comment — only today maybe those stars on our flag should be replaced with the universal symbol for chaos .
After @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unhinged , hardly launched this madness .
President Trump ’ s rash , risky , and repugnant decision to assassinate Iranian Major General Qassem Suleimani on the sovereign soil of Iraq was only the latest version of what has proven to be a pervasive state of affairs .
Still , that and Trump ’ s other recent escalations in the region do illustrate an American chaos machine that ’ s gone off the rails .
And the very manner — I ’ m loathe to call it a “ process ” — by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the way this president has taken American chaos to its dark but logical conclusion .
Any military officer worth his salt knows full well the importance of understanding the basic psychology of your commander .
President George W. Bush liked to call himself “ the decider , ” an apt term for any commander .
Senior leaders don ’ t , as a rule , actually do that much work in the traditional sense .
Rather , they hobnob with superiors , buck up unit morale , evaluate and mentor subordinates , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s the operations staff officers who analyze problems , present options , and do the detailed planning once the boss blesses or signs off on a particular course of action .
Though they may toil thanklessly in the shadows , however , those staffers possess immense power to potentially circumscribe the range of available options and so influence the future mission .
In other words , to be a deft operations officer , you need to know your commander ’ s mind , be able translate his sparse guidance , and frame @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the boss leaves a “ decision briefing ” convinced the plan was his own .
Believe me , this is the actual language military lifers use to describe the tortured process of decision-making .
In 2009 , as a young captain , fresh out of Baghdad , Iraq , I spent two unfulfilling , if instructive , years enmeshed in exactly this sort of planning system .
As a battalion-level planner , then assistant , and finally a primary operations officer , I observed this cycle countless times .
So allow me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” for some inside baseball .
I — and just about every new staff officer — was taught to always provide the boss with three plans , but to suss out ahead of time which one he ’ d choose ( and , above all , which one you wanted him to choose ) .
Confident in your ability to frame his choices persuasively , you ’ d often even direct your staffers to begin writing up the full operations order beforethe boss ’ s briefing took place .
The key to success @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
You ’ d always present your commander with a too-cautious option , a too-risky option , and a “ just-right ” course of action .
It nearly always worked .
I did this under the command of two very different lieutenant colonels .
The first was rational , ethical , empathetic , and tactically competent .
He made mission planning easy on his staff .
He knew the game as well as we did and only pretended to be fooled .
He built relationships with his senior operations officers over the course @ @ @ @ @ @ @ methods , tactical predilections , and even personal learning style .
Then he ’ d give just enough initial guidance — far more than most commanders — to set his staff going in a reasonably focused fashion .
Unfortunately , that consummate professional moved on to bigger things and his replacement was a sociopath who gave vague , often conflicting guidance , oozed insecurity in briefings , and had a disturbing penchant for choosing the most radical ( read : foolhardy ) option around .
Sound familiar ?
It should !
Still , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ improvise and so we did .
As a staff we worked to limit his range of options by reverse–ordering the choices we presented him or even lying about nonexistent logistical limitations to stop him from doing the truly horrific .
And as recent events remind us , such exercises play out remarkably similarly , no matter whether you ’ re dealing at a battalion level ( perhaps 400 to 700 troops ) or that of this country ’ s commander-in-chief ( more than two million uniformed service personnel ) .
The behind-the-scenes war-gaming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , remains the same , whether the options are ultimately presented by a captain ( me , then ) or — as in the recent decision to assassinate Iranian Major General Suleimani — Mark Milley , the four-star general at the helm of the Joint Chiefs of Staff .
Soon after President Trump ’ s egregious , a-strategic , dubiously legal , unilateral execution of a uniformed leader of a sovereign country , reports surfaced describing his convoluted decision-making process .
Perhaps predictably , it appears that The Donald took his military staff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measure they presented him with — assassinating a foreign military figure .
Honestly , that this president did so should have surprised no one .
That , according toa report in the New York Times , his generals were indeed surprised strikes me as basic dereliction of duty ( especially given that , seven months earlier , Trump had essentially given the green light to such a future assassination — the deepest desire , by the way , of both his secretary of state and his then-national security advisor , John Bolton ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , having played out such processes at every possible level for at least 30 years , his generals ought to have known their boss better , toiled valiantly to temper his worst instincts , assumed he might choose the most extreme measure offered and , when he did so , publicly resigned before potentially relegating their soldiers to a hopeless new conflict .
That they didn ’ t , particularly that the lead briefer Milley didn ’ t , is just further proof that , 18-plus years after our latest round of wars @ @ @ @ @ @ @ competence and integrity .
The current commander-in-chief could never have expanded America ’ s wars in the Greater Middle East ( contra his campaign promises ) or unilaterally drone-assassinated a foreign leader , without the militaristic foundations laid down for him by George W. Bush and Barack Obama .
So it ’ s vital to review , however briefly , the chaotic precedents to the rule of Donald Trump .
Guided by a coterie of neoconservative zealots , Bush the Younger committed the nation to the “ original sin ” of expansive , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the 9/11 attacks .
It was his team that would write the playbook on selling an ill-advised , illegal invasion of Iraq based on bad intelligence and false pretenses .
He also escalated tensions with Iran to the brink of war by including the Islamic Republic in an imaginary “ axis of evil ” ( with Iraq and North Korea ) after invading first one of its neighbors , Afghanistan , and then the other , Iraq , while imposing sanctions , which froze the assets of Iranians allegedly connected to that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ushered in the use of torture , indefinite detention , extraordinary rendition , illegal domestic mass surveillance , and drone attacks over the sovereign airspace of other countries — then lied about it all .
That neither Congress , nor the courts , nor his successor held him ( or anyone else ) accountable for such decisions set a dangerous new standard for foreign policy .
Barack Obama promised “ hope and change , ” a refreshing ( if vague ) alternative to the sins of the Bush years .
The very abstraction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his supporters to project their own wants , needs , and preferred policies onto the future Obama experiment .
So perhaps none of us ought to have been as surprised as many of us were when , despite slowly pulling troops out of Iraq , he only escalated the Afghan War , continued the forever wars in general ( even returning to Iraq in 2014 ) , and set his own perilous precedents along the way .
It was , after all , Obama who , as an alternative to large-scale military occupations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and ran with it .
He would be the first president to truly earn the sobriquet “ assassin-in-chief.
” He made selecting individuals for assassination in “ Terror Tuesday ” meetings at the White House banal and put his stamp of approval on the drone campaigns across significant parts of the planet that followed — even killing American citizens without due process .
Encouraged by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , he also launched a new regime-change war in Libya , turning that land into a failed state filled with terror groups , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , added up to a “ shit show.
” After vacillating for a couple years , he also mired the U.S. , however indirectly , in the Syrian civil war , empowering Islamist factions there and worsening that already staggering humanitarian catastrophe .
In response to the sudden explosion of the Islamic State — an al-Qaeda offshoot first catalyzed by the Bush invasion of Iraq and actually formed in an American prison in that country — its taking of key Iraqi cities and smashing of the American-trained Iraqi army , Obama loosed U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ troops back into that country .
He also greatly expanded his predecessor ’ s nascent military interventions across the African continent .
There , too , the results were largely tragic and counterproductive as ethnic militias and Islamic terror groups have spread widely and civil warfare has exploded .
Finally , it was Obama who first sanctioned , supported , and enabled the Saudi terror bombing of Yemen , which , even now , remains perhaps the world ’ s worst humanitarian disaster .
So it is that , from Mali to Libya @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Bush ’ s and Obama ’ s military forays has sowed further chaos , startling body counts , and increased rates of terrorism .
It ’ s those policies , those results , and the military toolbox that went with them that Donald J. Trump inherited in January 2017 .
During the climax to the American phase of a 30-year war in Vietnam , newly elected President Richard Nixon , a well-established Republican cold warrior , developed what he dubbed the “ madman theory ” for bringing the intractable U.S. intervention there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s chief of staff , H.R .
Haldeman , recalled Nixon telling him : “ I call it the Madman Theory , Bob .
I want the North Vietnamese to believe I ’ ve reached the point where I might do anything to stop the war .
We ’ ll just slip the word to them that , ‘ for God ’ s sake , you know Nixon is obsessed about communism .
We can ’ t restrain him when he ’ s angry—and he has his hand on the nuclear button @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ho Chi Minh himself will be in Paris in two days begging for peace.
” It didn ’ t work , of course .
Nixon escalated and expanded the war .
He briefly invaded neighboring Cambodia and Laos , secretly ( and illegally ) bombed both countries , and ramped up air strikes on North Vietnam .
Apart from slaughtering hundreds of thousands of innocents , however , none of this had a notable effect on the ultimate outcome .
The North Vietnamese called his bluff , extending the war long enough to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ four years later .
Washington lost in Southeast Asia , just as today it ’ s losing in the Greater Middle East .
So it was , with the necessary foundations of militarism and hyper-interventionism in place , that Donald Trump entered the White House , at times seemingly intent on testing out his own personal “ fire and fury ” version of the madman theory .
Indeed , his more irrational and provocative foreign policy incitements , including pulling out of the Paris climate accords , spiking a working nuclear deal with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seizing Syrian oil fields , sending yet more military personnel into the Persian Gulf region , and most recently assassinating a foreign leader seem right out of some madman instruction manual .
And just like Nixon ’ s stillborn escalations , Trump ’ s most absurd moves also seem bound to fail .
Take the Suleimani execution as a case in point .
An outright regional war has ( so far ) been avoided , thanks not to the “ deal-making ” skills of that self-styled “ stable genius ” in the White @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history of restraint .
As retired Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson , a former top aide to Secretary of State Colin Powell , recently put it : “ The leadership in Tehran is far more rational than the leadership in Washington.
” In fact , Trump ’ s unprecedented assassination order backfired at every level .
He even managed briefly to unite a divided Iranian nation , caused the Iraqi government to demand a full U.S. troop withdrawal from that country , convinced Iran to end its commitment to restrain its enrichment of uranium , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not to commit to , or abide by , any future nuclear deals with Washington .
If George W. Bush and Barack Obama sowed the seeds of the American chaos machine , Donald Trump represents the first true madman at the wheel of state , thanks to his volatile temperament , profound ignorance , and crippling insecurity .
All of which raises another disturbing question : What if this administration ’ s chaos-sowing proves an end in itself , one that coheres with the millenarian fantasies of sections of the Republican Christian Right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the Trump team — notably Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence — explicitly view the Middle East as evangelical Christians .
Like a disturbing 73 % of evangelicals ( or 20 % of the U.S. population ) , Pompeo and Pence believe that the Rapture ( that is , the prophesied Christian end of the world ) is likely to unfold in this generation and that a contemporary conflict in Israel and an impending war with Iran might actually be trigger events ushering in just such an apocalypse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ indications , far too self-serving , self-absorbed , and cynical to adhere to the eschatological blind-faith of the two Mikes .
He clearly believes only in Donald Trump .
And yet what a terrible irony it would be if , due to his perfect-storm disposition , he unwittingly ends up playing the role of the very Antichrist those evangelicals believe necessary to usher in end-times .
Given the foundations set in place for Trump by George W. Bush and Barack Obama and his capacity to throw caution to the wind , it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to play that role .

In March 1906, on the heels of the U.S. Army’s massacre of some 1,000 men, women, and children in the crater of a volcano in the American-occupied Philippines, humorist Mark Twain took his criticism public. A long-time anti-imperialist, he flippantly suggested that Old Glory should be redesigned “with the white stripes painted black and the stars replaced by the skull and cross-bones.”
I got to thinking about that recently, five years after I became an antiwar dissenter (while still a major in the U.S. Army), and in the wake of another near-war, this time with Iran. I was struck yet again by the way every single U.S. military intervention in the Greater Middle East since 9/11 has backfired in wildly counterproductive ways, destabilizing a vast expanse of the planet stretching from West Africa to South Asia.
Chaos, it seems, is now Washington’s stock-in-trade. Perhaps, then, it’s time to resurrect Twain’s comment — only today maybe those stars on our flag should be replaced with the universal symbol for chaos.
After all, our present administration, however unhinged, hardly launched this madness. President Trump’s rash, risky, and repugnant decision to assassinate Iranian Major General Qassem Suleimani on the sovereign soil of Iraq was only the latest version of what has proven to be a pervasive state of affairs. Still, that and Trump’s other recent escalations in the region do illustrate an American chaos machine that’s gone off the rails. And the very manner — I’m loathe to call it a “process” — by which it’s happened just demonstrates the way this president has taken American chaos to its dark but logical conclusion.
The Goldilocks Method
Any military officer worth his salt knows full well the importance of understanding the basic psychology of your commander. President George W. Bush liked to call himself “the decider,” an apt term for any commander. Senior leaders don’t, as a rule, actually do that much work in the traditional sense. Rather, they hobnob with superiors, buck up unit morale, evaluate and mentor subordinates, and above all make key decisions. It’s the operations staff officers who analyze problems, present options, and do the detailed planning once the boss blesses or signs off on a particular course of action.
Though they may toil thanklessly in the shadows, however, those staffers possess immense power to potentially circumscribe the range of available options and so influence the future mission. In other words, to be a deft operations officer, you need to know your commander’s mind, be able translate his sparse guidance, and frame his eventual choice in such a manner that the boss leaves a “decision briefing” convinced the plan was his own. Believe me, this is the actual language military lifers use to describe the tortured process of decision-making.
In 2009, as a young captain, fresh out of Baghdad, Iraq, I spent two unfulfilling, if instructive, years enmeshed in exactly this sort of planning system. As a battalion-level planner, then assistant, and finally a primary operations officer, I observed this cycle countless times. So allow me to take you “under the hood” for some inside baseball. I — and just about every new staff officer — was taught to always provide the boss with three plans, but to suss out ahead of time which one he’d choose (and, above all, which one you wanted him to choose).
Confident in your ability to frame his choices persuasively, you’d often even direct your staffers to begin writing up the full operations order beforethe boss’s briefing took place. The key to success was what some labeled the Goldilocks method. You’d always present your commander with a too-cautious option, a too-risky option, and a “just-right” course of action. It nearly always worked.
I did this under the command of two very different lieutenant colonels. The first was rational, ethical, empathetic, and tactically competent. He made mission planning easy on his staff. He knew the game as well as we did and only pretended to be fooled. He built relationships with his senior operations officers over the course of months, thereby revealing his preferred methods, tactical predilections, and even personal learning style. Then he’d give just enough initial guidance — far more than most commanders — to set his staff going in a reasonably focused fashion.
Unfortunately, that consummate professional moved on to bigger things and his replacement was a sociopath who gave vague, often conflicting guidance, oozed insecurity in briefings, and had a disturbing penchant for choosing the most radical (read: foolhardy) option around. Sound familiar? It should!
Still, military professionals are coached to adapt and improvise and so we did. As a staff we worked to limit his range of options by reverse–ordering the choices we presented him or even lying about nonexistent logistical limitations to stop him from doing the truly horrific.
And as recent events remind us, such exercises play out remarkably similarly, no matter whether you’re dealing at a battalion level (perhaps 400 to 700 troops) or that of this country’s commander-in-chief (more than two million uniformed service personnel). The behind-the-scenes war-gaming of the boss, the entire calculus, remains the same, whether the options are ultimately presented by a captain (me, then) or — as in the recent decision to assassinate Iranian Major General Suleimani — Mark Milley, the four-star general at the helm of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Soon after President Trump’s egregious, a-strategic, dubiously legal, unilateral execution of a uniformed leader of a sovereign country, reports surfaced describing his convoluted decision-making process. Perhaps predictably, it appears that The Donald took his military staff by surprise and chose the most extreme measure they presented him with — assassinating a foreign military figure. Honestly, that this president did so should have surprised no one. That, according toa report in the New York Times, his generals were indeed surprised strikes me as basic dereliction of duty (especially given that, seven months earlier, Trump had essentially given the green light to such a future assassination — the deepest desire, by the way, of both his secretary of state and his then-national security advisor, John Bolton).
At this point in their careers, having played out such processes at every possible level for at least 30 years, his generals ought to have known their boss better, toiled valiantly to temper his worst instincts, assumed he might choose the most extreme measure offered and, when he did so, publicly resigned before potentially relegating their soldiers to a hopeless new conflict. That they didn’t, particularly that the lead briefer Milley didn’t, is just further proof that, 18-plus years after our latest round of wars began, such senior leaders lack both competence and integrity.
Bush, Obama, and the Chaos Machine’s Tragic Foundations
The current commander-in-chief could never have expanded America’s wars in the Greater Middle East (contra his campaign promises) or unilaterally drone-assassinated a foreign leader, without the militaristic foundations laid down for him by George W. Bush and Barack Obama. So it’s vital to review, however briefly, the chaotic precedents to the rule of Donald Trump.
Guided by a coterie of neoconservative zealots, Bush the Younger committed the nation to the “original sin” of expansive, largely unsanctioned wars as his chosen response to the 9/11 attacks. It was his team that would write the playbook on selling an ill-advised, illegal invasion of Iraq based on bad intelligence and false pretenses. He also escalated tensions with Iran to the brink of war by including the Islamic Republic in an imaginary “axis of evil” (with Iraq and North Korea) after invading first one of its neighbors, Afghanistan, and then the other, Iraq, while imposing sanctions, which froze the assets of Iranians allegedly connected to that country’s nuclear program. He ushered in the use of torture, indefinite detention, extraordinary rendition, illegal domestic mass surveillance, and drone attacks over the sovereign airspace of other countries — then lied about it all. That neither Congress, nor the courts, nor his successor held him (or anyone else) accountable for such decisions set a dangerous new standard for foreign policy.
Barack Obama promised “hope and change,” a refreshing (if vague) alternative to the sins of the Bush years. The very abstraction of that slogan, however, allowed his supporters to project their own wants, needs, and preferred policies onto the future Obama experiment. So perhaps none of us ought to have been as surprised as many of us were when, despite slowly pulling troops out of Iraq, he only escalated the Afghan War, continued the forever wars in general (even returning to Iraq in 2014), and set his own perilous precedents along the way.
It was, after all, Obama who, as an alternative to large-scale military occupations, took Bush’s drone program and ran with it. He would be the first president to truly earn the sobriquet “assassin-in-chief.” He made selecting individuals for assassination in “Terror Tuesday” meetings at the White House banal and put his stamp of approval on the drone campaigns across significant parts of the planet that followed — even killing American citizens without due process. Encouraged by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he also launched a new regime-change war in Libya, turning that land into a failed state filled with terror groups, a decision which, he later admitted, added up to a “shit show.” After vacillating for a couple years, he also mired the U.S., however indirectly, in the Syrian civil war, empowering Islamist factions there and worsening that already staggering humanitarian catastrophe.
In response to the sudden explosion of the Islamic State — an al-Qaeda offshoot first catalyzed by the Bush invasion of Iraq and actually formed in an American prison in that country — its taking of key Iraqi cities and smashing of the American-trained Iraqi army, Obama loosed U.S. air power on them and sent American troops back into that country. He also greatly expanded his predecessor’s nascent military interventions across the African continent. There, too, the results were largely tragic and counterproductive as ethnic militias and Islamic terror groups have spread widely and civil warfare has exploded.
Finally, it was Obama who first sanctioned, supported, and enabled the Saudi terror bombing of Yemen, which, even now, remains perhaps the world’s worst humanitarian disaster. So it is that, from Mali to Libya, Syria to Afghanistan, every one of Bush’s and Obama’s military forays has sowed further chaos, startling body counts, and increased rates of terrorism. It’s those policies, those results, and the military toolbox that went with them that Donald J. Trump inherited in January 2017.
The Trumpian Perfect Storm
During the climax to the American phase of a 30-year war in Vietnam, newly elected President Richard Nixon, a well-established Republican cold warrior, developed what he dubbed the “madman theory” for bringing the intractable U.S. intervention there to a face-saving conclusion. The president’s chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, recalled Nixon telling him:
“I call it the Madman Theory, Bob. I want the North Vietnamese to believe I’ve reached the point where I might do anything to stop the war. We’ll just slip the word to them that, ‘for God’s sake, you know Nixon is obsessed about communism. We can’t restrain him when he’s angry—and he has his hand on the nuclear button’ and [North Vietnamese leader] Ho Chi Minh himself will be in Paris in two days begging for peace.”
It didn’t work, of course. Nixon escalated and expanded the war. He briefly invaded neighboring Cambodia and Laos, secretly (and illegally) bombed both countries, and ramped up air strikes on North Vietnam. Apart from slaughtering hundreds of thousands of innocents, however, none of this had a notable effect on the ultimate outcome. The North Vietnamese called his bluff, extending the war long enough to force an outright American withdrawal less than four years later. Washington lost in Southeast Asia, just as today it’s losing in the Greater Middle East.
So it was, with the necessary foundations of militarism and hyper-interventionism in place, that Donald Trump entered the White House, at times seemingly intent on testing out his own personal “fire and fury” version of the madman theory. Indeed, his more irrational and provocative foreign policy incitements, including pulling out of the Paris climate accords, spiking a working nuclear deal with Iran, existentially threatening North Korea, seizing Syrian oil fields, sending yet more military personnel into the Persian Gulf region, and most recently assassinating a foreign leader seem right out of some madman instruction manual. And just like Nixon’s stillborn escalations, Trump’s most absurd moves also seem bound to fail.
Take the Suleimani execution as a case in point. An outright regional war has (so far) been avoided, thanks not to the “deal-making” skills of that self-styled “stable genius” in the White House but to Iran’s long history of restraint. As retired Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, a former top aide to Secretary of State Colin Powell, recently put it: “The leadership in Tehran is far more rational than the leadership in Washington.”
In fact, Trump’s unprecedented assassination order backfired at every level. He even managed briefly to unite a divided Iranian nation, caused the Iraqi government to demand a full U.S. troop withdrawal from that country, convinced Iran to end its commitment to restrain its enrichment of uranium, and undoubtedly incentivized both Tehran and Pyongyang not to commit to, or abide by, any future nuclear deals with Washington.
If George W. Bush and Barack Obama sowed the seeds of the American chaos machine, Donald Trump represents the first true madman at the wheel of state, thanks to his volatile temperament, profound ignorance, and crippling insecurity.
The Rapture as Foreign Policy
All of which raises another disturbing question: What if this administration’s chaos-sowing proves an end in itself, one that coheres with the millenarian fantasies of sections of the Republican Christian Right? After all, several key figures on the Trump team — notably Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence — explicitly view the Middle East as evangelical Christians. Like a disturbing 73% of evangelicals (or 20% of the U.S. population), Pompeo and Pence believe that the Rapture (that is, the prophesied Christian end of the world) is likely to unfold in this generation and that a contemporary conflict in Israel and an impending war with Iran might actually be trigger events ushering in just such an apocalypse.
Donald Trump is, by all indications, far too self-serving, self-absorbed, and cynical to adhere to the eschatological blind-faith of the two Mikes. He clearly believes only in Donald Trump. And yet what a terrible irony it would be if, due to his perfect-storm disposition, he unwittingly ends up playing the role of the very Antichrist those evangelicals believe necessary to usher in end-times.
Given the foundations set in place for Trump by George W. Bush and Barack Obama and his capacity to throw caution to the wind, it’s hard to imagine a better candidate to play that role.
Reprinted with permission from TomDispatch.com.


lewrockwell--2020-01-27--US Officer Who Shot Down Iranian Plane Received a Medal, While the Man Guilty for Downing Ukraine’s

US Officer Who Shot Down Iranian Plane Received a Medal, While the Man Guilty for Downing Ukraine’s Jet is IN JAIL – FM Zarif

Iran has imprisoned the army officer who fired a missile that killed 176 on board a Ukrainian jet , Mohammad Javad Zarif has said , comparing Tehran ’ s actions to that of the US when it downed an Iranian airliner 32 years ago .
The downing of a Ukraine International Airlines ’ Boeing 737 in early January was “ a complicated situation in a complicated time , ” Zarif revealed in an interview with Germany ’ s Spiegel magazine , when pressed into explaining why it took three days for Tehran to admit their guilt .
“ Others needed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ago , the US shot down an Iranian passenger plane .
As of today , they still haven ’ t issued an official apology , ” the chief diplomat said , referring to Iran Air ’ s Dubai-bound Flight 655 which was shot down by the USS Vincennes cruiser in July 1988 .
Amazon.com Gift Card i ... Buy New $ 10.00 And unlike the US , Iran didn ’ t promote those involved in firing missiles against a civilian target , Zarif reminded .
Hit by a surface-to-air missile , the Airbus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gulf , killing all 290 on board .
Washington had never brought official apologies for the fatal incident , but had awarded William C. Rogers III , the ship ’ s captain , the Legion of Merit “ for exceptionally meritorious conduct … from April 1987 to May 1989 .
”

Iran has imprisoned the army officer who fired a missile that killed 176 on board a Ukrainian jet, Mohammad Javad Zarif has said, comparing Tehran’s actions to that of the US when it downed an Iranian airliner 32 years ago.
The downing of a Ukraine International Airlines’ Boeing 737 in early January was “a complicated situation in a complicated time,” Zarif revealed in an interview with Germany’s Spiegel magazine, when pressed into explaining why it took three days for Tehran to admit their guilt.
“Others needed much more time. Almost 32 years ago, the US shot down an Iranian passenger plane. As of today, they still haven’t issued an official apology,” the chief diplomat said, referring to Iran Air’s Dubai-bound Flight 655 which was shot down by the USS Vincennes cruiser in July 1988. Amazon.com Gift Card i... Buy New $10.00 (as of 08:25 UTC - Details)
And unlike the US, Iran didn’t promote those involved in firing missiles against a civilian target, Zarif reminded.
The American officer who was responsible for shooting it down even received a medal. Meanwhile, the Iranian man who shot down the Ukrainian plane is now in prison.
Hit by a surface-to-air missile, the Airbus A300 broke in pieces over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 on board. Washington had never brought official apologies for the fatal incident, but had awarded William C. Rogers III, the ship’s captain, the Legion of Merit “for exceptionally meritorious conduct … from April 1987 to May 1989.”
Reprinted with permission from RT News.


lewrockwell--2020-01-27--A Desperate Search for Uniqueness

A Desperate Search for Uniqueness

The contrast between Prince Harry and his grandmother is not only that between one generation and another , but between one conception of life , one culture , and another .
I know which I prefer , but others may think , indeed do think , different .
On the one side is an iron sense of duty at whatever personal cost , self-restraint , and a kind of existential modesty despite exalted position , and on the other is personal whim , self-expression as an imperative , and ego as the object of almost religious devotion .
There isn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of these attitudes to life is in the ascendant , both sociologically and philosophically .
As William Blake put it , ahead of his time , “ Sooner strangle an infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires.
” To swallow down our emotions is now regarded as a kind of treason to the self , where it is not merely comical or a subject for derision ; for not to express oneself is to risk later psychological disaster .
And while the Queen is fully aware that she owes her importance to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ believes , or gives the impression of believing , that he owes an accident of birth to his importance .
The first results in a sense of duty , the second to a sense of entitlement .
Amazon.com Gift Card i ... Buy New $ 10.00 This difference is not , of course , confined to the generations of the British royal family .
On the contrary , it proves that such is the power , though not necessarily the virtue , of modern culture that a cosseted and highly unusual family is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ naming of Harry ’ s baby was emblematic of a cultural shift , good or bad depending on your point of view , but by no means limited to the royal family .
There has long been a tendency for people of rather weak sense of self to give their children unusual or even wholly unprecedented and made-up names , as if by doing so they are becoming more individual themselves .
Perhaps the phenomenon is best studied in France , where until comparatively recently parents were obliged by the state to give @ @ @ @ @ @ @ approved list—a long enough list , names derived from the names of saints or biblical and classical figures , but a list nonetheless .
No doubt the prohibition of outlandish names was felt to improve the integration of society as a whole .
Even before the law was repealed in 1993 , people began to give their children names that were not on the approved list .
( I do not speak here , of course , of the fact that Muslim names were not on the original list . )
After the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of parents giving their children unusual names rose exponentially , and now 15 percent of children born in a year receive names that three or fewer children are given in France that year , many of those names being completely original in the sense that bad modern architects are original .
The Best of Theodore Dalrymple

O Hamlet, what a falling off was there!
The contrast between Prince Harry and his grandmother is not only that between one generation and another, but between one conception of life, one culture, and another. I know which I prefer, but others may think, indeed do think, different.
On the one side is an iron sense of duty at whatever personal cost, self-restraint, and a kind of existential modesty despite exalted position, and on the other is personal whim, self-expression as an imperative, and ego as the object of almost religious devotion. There isn’t much doubt as to which of these attitudes to life is in the ascendant, both sociologically and philosophically. As William Blake put it, ahead of his time, “Sooner strangle an infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires.”
To swallow down our emotions is now regarded as a kind of treason to the self, where it is not merely comical or a subject for derision; for not to express oneself is to risk later psychological disaster. And while the Queen is fully aware that she owes her importance to an accident of birth, Prince Harry believes, or gives the impression of believing, that he owes an accident of birth to his importance. The first results in a sense of duty, the second to a sense of entitlement. Amazon.com Gift Card i... Buy New $10.00 (as of 08:25 UTC - Details)
This difference is not, of course, confined to the generations of the British royal family. On the contrary, it proves that such is the power, though not necessarily the virtue, of modern culture that a cosseted and highly unusual family is not immune from its influence.
The naming of Harry’s baby was emblematic of a cultural shift, good or bad depending on your point of view, but by no means limited to the royal family. There has long been a tendency for people of rather weak sense of self to give their children unusual or even wholly unprecedented and made-up names, as if by doing so they are becoming more individual themselves.
Perhaps the phenomenon is best studied in France, where until comparatively recently parents were obliged by the state to give their children a name selected from an approved list—a long enough list, names derived from the names of saints or biblical and classical figures, but a list nonetheless. No doubt the prohibition of outlandish names was felt to improve the integration of society as a whole.
Even before the law was repealed in 1993, people began to give their children names that were not on the approved list. (I do not speak here, of course, of the fact that Muslim names were not on the original list.) After the repeal of the law, the number of parents giving their children unusual names rose exponentially, and now 15 percent of children born in a year receive names that three or fewer children are given in France that year, many of those names being completely original in the sense that bad modern architects are original.
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The Best of Theodore Dalrymple