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Midterms 2018: Battle Of The NPCs

Caitlin Johnstone
caitlinjohnstone.com
Wed, 24 Oct 2018 00:01 UTC
NPC vs NPC
The NPC meme has gone mainstream. Reports by major mass media outlets like the New York Times and the BBC have turned it into a viral sensation, and now everyone and their grandma knows about the meme used to spoof mindless followers of liberal media herd mentality programming. Any venture into the fray of the political Twittersphere now comes with a twist of alternate accounts with gray-faced profile pictures bleating things like "Orange man bad" and "#IMPEACH" in cartoonish mockery of the repetitive lines used by the rank-and-file opposition to Donald Trump.

And it's great. The foam-brained mainliners of MSNBC and Washington Post propaganda deserve to have their unquestioning faith in establishment narratives mocked at every turn, and the propagandists who promulgate those lies day after day deserve to be lampooned. One of the most fundamentally profane things a human being can do is turn over their mental sovereignty to the institutions and agendas of the powerful, and by allowing themselves to be indoctrinated into establishment narratives that is exactly what is happening. They abdicate their rightful position as a creative participant in this world and allow their mental processes to be transformed into a looping churn of ideas manufactured in some DC think tank for the benefit of a few billionaires and their lackeys.

Comment: Johnstone is absolutely right (as is often the case). The NPC meme is hilarious in its bashing of the Lefties and their ludicrous repeated talking points, but the Right really aren't any better. As the meme is really a criticism of unthinking repetition and manufactured outrage, it really transcends partisanism.

See also:

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Eye 2

Ecuador foreign minister: No help to be given to Assange


RT
Wed, 24 Oct 2018 13:54 UTC
Assange
© Unknown
Julian Assange
Ecuador will not help Julian Assange leave the UK, the country's foreign minister said, claiming its only duty was to look after the WikiLeaks founder's "well-being" after Assange sued them for restricting his rights and freedoms.

Ecuadorian FM Jose Valencia told Reuters that Ecuador is not responsible for helping Assange leave the London embassy safely, even though the Inter-American Court on Human Rights recently found them to be responsible for protecting him from US extradition. The UK authorities are poised to apprehend Assange should he step outside the building.

Assange accused the Ecuadorian government of violating his rights after they drew up a "Special Protocol" barring him from speaking about politics or involving himself in the political affairs of other countries. The list of restrictions runs to nine pages and permits authorities to confiscate the property of visitors, who must be approved in advance, submit their social media profiles, and turn over the make, model, serial and IMEI numbers of their mobile devices.

Comment: Sputnik adds:
Ecuador's Foreign Minister José Valencia told media on Tuesday that his country has no responsibility to assist Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in his legal negotiations with the United Kingdom. Assange has taken asylum inside Ecuador's embassy in London since 2012.

The foreign minister also expressed Ecuador's 'frustration' with Assange's lawsuit against Ecuador over conditions of his asylum. He has been unable to leave to embassy since taking refuge there and was barred from the internet since March and his right to receive visitors and phone calls was later rescinded.

"For him to take legal action against them risks creating an extremely hostile relationship, which could, of course, provoke the Ecuadorian authorities to take further measures against him," Wikileaks commentator and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell told Sputnik News.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday, accuses Ecuador of "violating his fundamental rights and freedoms."

"We know that in recent weeks there've been several requests for Assange to have a visit from his lawyers, which have been turned down by the Ecuadorian authorities. They've also blocked a visit by a representative from Human Rights Watch," he added.

Valencia said that Ecuador's only responsibility was to ensure the well-being of Assange, who ceded the position of Wikileaks editor over to Kristinn Hrafnsson in September following the months-long internet blackout.

In July, the BBC reported that Ecuador and the United Kingdom were holding ongoing talks over the fate of Assange, who is in the asylum under the impression that he risks being extradited to Sweden. US Senators have also called for Assange to testify in connection the special counsel investigation into whether there was collusion between President Trump and the Russian Federation.
In other words Ecuador's President Moreno is washing hishands of Assange, who is an Ecuadorian citizen, at the behest of the US.

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Black Magic

Galloway: First Cut Won't be The Deepest - Deeper Wounds Are Yet to Come in The Killing of Khashoggi

George Galloway
RT.com
Wed, 24 Oct 2018 10:27 UTC
Saudis at National history museum
As Khashoggi's "disfigured face and body parts" are reportedly found in the garden of the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, the party is over for the Western collaborators with Arabian tyranny.

After Khashoggi himself, the main loser from the murder most foul in Istanbul is US President Donald Trump - as I predicted here weeks ago. His declaration that the Saudi cover story was "credible" as the rest of the world laughed at the 'Lady MacBeth' of it all, merely made him ridiculous. The behavior of his own 'crown prince' - his son-in-law Jared Kushner - has been more venal than comic-opera.

As I predicted, despite the Clinton family's own exposure to Saudi largesse, the Democrats and their vast media hinterland have adopted the killing of Khashoggi as their new casus belli displacing their running-out-of-steam 'Russiagate' narrative (in fact the people who filled the American airwaves with Russophobic hatred for the last two years are now throwing their hands up in horror at Trump - Putin's puppet, remember - declaring a new nuclear arms race, against Russia).
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Bizarro Earth

'Are the arrows all the Eagle has left?' Putin quips with Bolton about US belligerence


RT
Wed, 24 Oct 2018 09:44 UTC
us coat arms
Meeting with US national security adviser John Bolton in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a comment about Washington's hostility that went right over the hawkish diplomat's head.

"As far as I remember, the US coat of arms features a bald eagle that holds 13 arrows in one talon and an olive branch in another, which is a symbol of a peace-loving policy," Putin said in a meeting with Bolton in Moscow on Tuesday.

"I have a question," the Russian president added. "Looks like your eagle has already eaten all the olives; are the arrows all that is left?"

Bolton, who reportedly persuaded to US President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, responded:

"But I didn't bring any more olives."

Comment: As the US slips into mania threatening tenuous world stability, Russia, as always, is able to find the gallows humour in the situation: And check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Putin The World To Rights: Russia's New Nuclear Weapons And The End of 'Unipolarity'

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Broom

Former US Ambassador McFaul tries to whitewash Obama's support for Saudi Arabia


RT
Tue, 23 Oct 2018 03:56 UTC
Michael McFaul
© Reuters / Vladimir Pirogov
Out-of-work ex-ambassador Michael McFaul grasps for relevance in WaPo op-ed
With Donald Trump under fire for defending Saudi arms sales despite the Khashoggi murder, former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said the Obama administration was less lenient with Riyadh - and was issued a stern rebuke.

While the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Turkey, and the lack of a definitive US response to it, have consumed national headlines, Obama-era ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul was among those who used it to accuse Trump of cozying up to dictators.


It wasn't long until McFaul was reminded of Obama's own history of abetting the Saudis.

Comment: It can be hard to keep track of all the slippery politicians these days, but outlets like RT and platforms like Twitter make it much easier to call them out on their hypocrisy: Hypocrite David Miliband reminded of his Saudi dealings as he decries Saudi-led genocide in Yemen

See also: And check out SOTT radio's:

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Quenelle - Golden

Trump's latest media bait: Declares he's a 'nationalist' at Texas rally for Ted Cruz reelection - CNN et al freak out about 'Nazis'


Source
Tue, 23 Oct 2018 16:24 UTC
President Trump
© Reuters / Leah Millis
President Trump addresses a rally in Texas
US President Donald Trump declared himself a "nationalist" at a Texas rally, prompting CNN and the usual suspects to scream "racist." But driving commentators crazy with wild speeches is nothing new to Trump.

Stumping for Republican Senator Ted Cruz in Houston on Monday, Trump warned supporters that Democrats serve "corrupt, power-hungry globalists," not the American people.

As the crowd booed, Trump set out his own political beliefs.

Comment: See also:

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Oil Well

Saudi Arabia to invest $5bn in Russia's future LNG project in Arctic


RT
Tue, 23 Oct 2018 20:25 UTC
arctic liquefied natural gas
© AFP
Riyadh is ready to invest $5 billion in the LNG 2 (liquefied natural gas) project in the Russian Arctic, the head of Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Kirill Dmitriev, said at the Saudi Arabian investment forum on Tuesday.

Earlier, Saudi Minister of Energy Khalid al-Falih said the kingdom was considering the possibility of becoming the second biggest investor in the project led by Novatek, Russia's biggest independent gas producer. The minister didn't provide details on Saudi Arabia's potential share in the project.
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Eye 2

Ex-UK Defence Secretary slammed after taking £75,000-a-year role with Saudi investing firm


RT
Tue, 23 Oct 2018 20:47 UTC
Michael Fallon
© Reuters / Phil Noble
Michael Fallon
Disgraced former UK Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has decided to take a £75,000-a-year job advising a firm with large investments Saudi Arabia, despite the alleged brutal killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Tory MP declared in the new register of MPs' interests that he will work eight hours a month, BuzzFeed News reported. MP for Sevenoaks, Fallon has taken on the role despite widespread international condemnation for the Kingdom following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Comment: Money talks louder than conscience.

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Evil Rays

US government accidentally releases documents on 'Psycho-Electric' Mind Control weapons

Curtis Waltman
Muck Rock
Fri, 20 Apr 2018 13:59 UTC
mind control tower weapon
As part of a request for records on Antifa and white supremacist groups, WSFC inadvertently bundles in "EM effects on human body.zip"

When you send thousands of FOIA requests, you are bound to get some very weird responses from time to time. Recently, we here at MuckRock had one of our most bizarre gets yet - Washington State Fusion Center's accidental release of records on the effects of remote mind control.

As part of my ongoing project looking at fusion centers' investigations into Antifa and various white supremacist groups, I filed a request with the WSFC. I got back many standard documents in response, including emails, intelligence briefings and bulletins, reposts from other fusion centers - and then there was one file titled "EM effects on human body.zip."

Hmmm. What could that be? What does EM stand for and what is it doing to the human body? So I opened it up and took a look:

Comment: One wonders who produced these documents and whether this release really was an accident, and also, is there any evidence of them being used?

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TV

Russians did it! Media finds culprit behind NFL national anthem brouhaha


RT
Tue, 23 Oct 2018 20:14 UTC
NFL players kneeling
© Reuters / Thomas J. Russo
In an ideal world free of pesky Russian bots, the debate over NFL players kneeling during the national anthem would have likely never taken place, the Wall Street Journal has reported, veering remarkably close to self-parody.

Citing a study conducted by researchers from Clemson University, the paper describes how more than 12,000 nefarious Russian tweets - "with some reaching only tens of people and others tens of thousands" - miraculously managed to "fuel" the controversy started by then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, which received around-the-clock coverage in the media and even inspired a profanity-laced outburst from Donald Trump.

Even more impressive is that these presumably extremely persuasive tweets began back in 2014, according to the Clemson study, meaning that the clairvoyant Russians were quietly preparing to upend America's famously civil and level-headed political discourse two years before Kaepernick decided (or was instructed by the Kremlin?) not to stand for the national anthem - in August 2016.
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