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Pentagon war game includes scenario for military response to domestic Generation Z rebellion

Nick Turse
The Intercept
Fri, 05 Jun 2020 15:01 UTC
National Guard troops are posted outside the district attorney's office
© Mario Tama/Getty Images
National Guard troops are posted outside the district attorney's office during a peaceful demonstration over George Floyd’s death on June 3, 2020 in Los Angeles.
In the face of protests composed largely of young people, the presence of America's military on the streets of major cities has been a controversial development. But this isn't the first time that Generation Z — those born after 1996 — has popped up on the Pentagon's radar.

Documents obtained by The Intercept via the Freedom of Information Act reveal that a Pentagon war game, called the 2018 Joint Land, Air and Sea Strategic Special Program, or JLASS, offered a scenario in which members of Generation Z, driven by malaise and discontent, launch a "Zbellion" in America in the mid-2020s.

The Zbellion plot was a small part of JLASS 2018, which also featured scenarios involving Islamist militants in Africa, anti-capitalist extremists, and ISIS successors. The war game was conducted by students and faculty from the U.S. military's war colleges, the training grounds for prospective generals and admirals. While it is explicitly not a national intelligence estimate, the war game, which covers the future through early 2028, is "intended to reflect a plausible depiction of major trends and influences in the world regions," according to the more than 200 pages of documents.

Comment: Well not everyone out there is demonstrating peacefully of course, and then there are probably a number of individuals who are not demonstrating in the conventional sense at all. Or who may choose to address the issues raised in the paper above in very different ways. There are all different types of activists out there; some are headless chickens and unwitting tools of powerful political interests, and others want the the Truth exposed about criminal machinations for the sheer value of it. And then there's everything in between!

In the end, if a war game is coming from the Pentaglob, you can be sure that it will target and seek to squelch a whole host of "undesirables" who may in some way be seen as a threat to its power.

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Newspaper

US envoy and Taliban discuss Afghan peace process in Qatar


RFE/RL
Mon, 08 Jun 2020 10:02 UTC
Taliban

U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad (left) and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's top political leader, shake hands after signing a peace agreement in Doha on February 29.
The U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has held a new round of talks in Qatar with the Taliban's political chief.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a spokesman for the militants, said on Twitter late on June 7 that Khalilzad and Baradar discussed the release of prisoners and the start of intra-Afghan talks.

In February, the United States and the Taliban signed an agreement aimed at ending the 18-year war -- the longest military conflict in U.S. history. The deal lays out a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in return for security commitments from the Taliban.

It also stipulates that Kabul must free 5,000 Taliban prisoners, while the militants are to release 1,000 captives -- a move expected to lead to intra-Afghan negotiations.

Comment: See also:

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Briefcase

Undercover Investigation - Minneapolis Riot Was Preplanned

Millennial Millie
millennialmillie.com
Mon, 08 Jun 2020 20:55 UTC
minneapolis riot
What you are about to see is part of a two year undercover investigation into the leftist radicalization imbedded within the climate justice movement that contributed to the riots in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In this first video, we are going to show how the Sunrise Movement played a preemptive role in carrying out the mayhem to further push their Green New Deal agenda and promoting the abolition of the police.

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Che Guevara

Justin Trudeau 'took the knee' 3 times, but he's still not woke enough for Canada's SJW moderate rebels

Sinéad Baker
Insider.com
Sat, 06 Jun 2020 07:07 UTC
Trudeau
© Reuters/Blair Gable
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on bent knee, Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada, June 5, 2020.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kneeled during an anti-racism protest in Canada as the protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in the US. But there are growing calls for him to do more to address racism in Canada.

Trudeau kneeled three times alongside anti-racism protesters near Canada's parliament in Ottawa on Friday, as part of protests that have taken place in cities across the country over the previous week. One of those times was during a nine-minute silence to represent the almost nine minutes that a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on Floyd's neck for before he died. Floyd pleaded that he could not breathe before his death. Trudeau did not speak at the protests, and wore a black mask as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

While Trudeau appears to have been the first world leader to kneel during such protests, other world leaders have come out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and say they condemn racism. The protests spread across the US after Floyd's death, with major demonstrations taking place in every state. They have been replicated in countries around the world.

Comment: 'Go home, Blackface' crowds chanted:




He also could not give a coherent reply when asked if Canada would pay reparations and apologize for slavery.
See also:

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USA

America, the deluded superpower

Patrick Armstrong
Strategic Culture Foundation
Sat, 30 May 2020 00:00 UTC
Billingslea
© Valsts kanceleja/State Chancellery
Marshall Billingslea, US Arms Control Envoy
"The president has made clear that we have a tried and true practice here. We know how to win these races and we know how to spend the adversary into oblivion. If we have to, we will, but we sure would like to avoid it." -Marshall Billingslea, May 2020
Billingslea is President Trump's Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control and will presumably be in charge of Washington's team in negotiating a new START treaty.

An outstanding example of American arrogance and ignorance, to say nothing of the implication that the only actual negotiation expected will be over how loudly the negotiatees say "Yes Master" [is] hardly likely to entice anyone to the table, let alone China.

The Soviet Union went down for many reasons which can be pretty well summed up under the rubric that it had exhausted its potential. Its economy was staggering, nobody believed any more, it had no real allies, it was bogged down in an endless war. Buried in there somewhere was the expense of the arms race with the USA. Billingslea evidently believes that it was that last that was the decisive blow. Believing that, he thinks that the USA can do it again.

A snappy comeback immediately pops into mind: staggering economy, loss of self confidence, allies edging away, endless wars - who's that sound like?

Comment: All nations represent 'moving parts' in the configuration of a global society. Deescalation is cost-effective. War and arms races are not.

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Arrow Up

Return of Ahmadinejad: Former Iranian president may may run for office in 2021


Sputnik
Sat, 06 Jun 2020 19:20 UTC
Ahmadinejad
© AP
Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The former Tehran mayor served as president between 2005 and 2013, famously waging a war of words with the Bush administration while attempting to improve Iran's relations with emerging powers. Last year, he blasted President Trump over his tough-guy approach, saying the US couldn't simultaneously 'choke' Iran's throat while saying 'come and talk'.

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans to make another run for the presidency in 2021, Iran's Young Journalists Club news agency has reported.

To take part, Ahmadinejad's candidacy will first need to be approved by the Guardian Council of the Constitution, a 12-member constitutionally mandated body determining who can run for national office. The body rejected his candidacy in 2017, but YJC noted that his supporters plan to make every effort to ensure approval this time around.

Iranians will go to the polls in May or June 2021. Current President Hassan Rouhani cannot take part, since he is serving his second and final consecutive term.

Comment: See also:

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Dollar

Walmart pledges $100M to fight 'systemic racism'

John Carney
Breitbart
Fri, 05 Jun 2020 00:00 UTC
ZuckerbergMcMillonPichai
© Getty Images/John David Pittman/Fortune/ Twitter
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg • Walmart CEO Doug McMillon • Google CEO Sundar Pichai
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon on Friday condemned "racial violence" and pledged $100 million to "address systematic racism in society head-on and accelerate change."

In an email sent to employees, McMillon embraced the worldview of the radical left and pledge to fund its goals.

"The global health crisis has tested all of us in recent months, and the racial violence in the U.S. — in particular, the murder of George Floyd — is tragic, painful and unacceptable," McMillon wrote in the email.

Like many companies that have recently adopted the view that America is plagued by systemic racism, Walmart is not aiming only to change itself. It has moved on to the second stage of woke corporatism, which involves attempting to reform the world according to the leftwing agenda.

Comment: In other words, to work at Walmart you must be willing to blindly support their external policies by handing over your free will, align your beliefs with theirs and validate the company's aims in order to get your paycheck. But hold on...Walmart is not the only self-appointed change agent:

Facebook pledges $10M to racial justice campaigns:
Zuckerberg announced the money would go towards supporting the work of
"groups working on racial justice. The pain of the last week reminds us how far our country has to go to give every person the freedom to live with dignity and peace. It reminds us yet again that the violence Black people in America live with today is part of a long history of racism and injustice. We all have the responsibility to create change." Facebook stands with the black community "and all those working towards justice in honor of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and far too many others whose names will not be forgotten."
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative he founded with his wife, Priscilla Chan, invests around $40 million annually in organizations "working to overcome racial injustice."

Design manager Jason Stirman tweeted on Monday:
"I'm an FB employee that completely disagrees with Mark's decision to do nothing about Trump's recent posts, which clearly incite violence. I'm not alone inside of FB. There isn't a neutral position on racism."
According to Axios, Zuckerberg expressed concerns over Trump's "tone and rhetoric" in a phone call with Trump on Friday. "It's clear Facebook also has more work to do to keep people safe and ensure our systems don't amplify bias," Zuckerberg wrote.

Companies including Netflix, Twitter, Glossier, Nike and Peloton have lined up in recent days to condemn the death of George Floyd, voice their support for the black community and commit to support anti-racism efforts.

And - Don't forget Google's 'selfless' donation to anti-racism groups:
Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced this week that the company will donate $37 million to various anti-racism organizations in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd. The donations will include $12 million in funding and $25 million in advertising credits.

Google will give $12 million in funding to organizations that address racial injustice around the United States. Google will additionally provide those organizations with $25 million in advertisement credits to promote anti-racist causes on its platforms such as Google search and YouTube. Two of the organizations identified are the Center for Policing Equity and the Equal Justice Initiative.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced the initiative in an email to employees on Wednesday. Pichai noted that Google has already donated $32 million to anti-racism organizations over the past five years.
"Our first grants of USD 1 million each will go to our long-term partners at the Center for Policing Equity and the Equal Justice Initiative. And we'll be providing technical support through our Google.org Fellows program. This builds on the USD 32 million we have donated to racial justice over the past five years.

"Yesterday, I met with a group of our Black leaders to talk about where we go from here and how we can contribute as Google. We discussed many ideas, and we are working through where to put our energy and resources in the weeks and months ahead."
Why are they self-proclaimed change agents? Because they can. It is an investment with payoffs in publicity, voter influence, unlimited power and camouflage for policing public freedom of expression. They are not doing this for you.

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Footprints

'What a guy!' Trump mocks Romney's march with protesters to the White House

Brooke Singman
Fox News
Mon, 08 Jun 2020 00:00 UTC
Romney
© Getty Images/George Frey
Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT)
President Trump on Monday mocked Mitt Romney for marching with protesters to the White House over the weekend, sarcastically praising the Utah senator's "sincerity" and political acumen.

"Tremendous sincerity, what a guy," Trump tweeted Monday morning. "Hard to believe, with this kind of political talent, his numbers would 'tank' so badly in Utah!"


Comment: Other Twitter commenters had this to say:






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Footprints

German DM: We have no official word on US troop withdrawal


VOA News
Mon, 08 Jun 2020 10:28 UTC
Kramp-Karrenbauer
© AP
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, CDU party chair and German Minister of Defense
Germany's Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said Monday she has received no official confirmation on the reported U.S. decision to withdraw more than a quarter of American troops stationed in Germany.

The Wall Street Journal reported last Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump had ordered the Pentagon to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Germany by 9,500 to 25,000. The New York Times reported Saturday that U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper had approved the move.

During the news conference in Berlin, Kramp-Karrenbauer said the German government had only seen the news reports and could not speculate further on what might happen. She did add the "the presence of United States soldiers in Germany serves the overall security of the NATO alliance".

Comment: See also:

Trump orders 9,500 US troops to leave Germany, some will go to Poland - 25,000 remain - Updates

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Sherlock

Secret Wars, Forgotten Betrayals, Global Tyranny. Who is Really in Charge of the U.S. Military?

Cynthia Chung
Sott.net
Sun, 19 Jan 2020 18:18 UTC
nsa building
"There is a kind of character in thy life, That to the observer doth thy history, fully unfold."

- William Shakespeare
Once again we find ourselves in a situation of crisis, where the entire world holds its breath all at once and can only wait to see whether this volatile black cloud floating amongst us will breakout into a thunderstorm of nuclear war or harmlessly pass us by. The majority in the world seem to have the impression that this destructive fate totters back and forth at the whim of one man. It is only normal then, that during such times of crisis, we find ourselves trying to analyze and predict the thoughts and motives of just this one person. The assassination of Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, a true hero for his fellow countrymen and undeniably an essential key figure in combating terrorism in Southwest Asia, was a terrible crime, an abhorrently repugnant provocation. It was meant to cause an apoplectic fervour, it was meant to make us who desire peace, lose our minds in indignation. And therefore, that is exactly what we should not do.

In order to assess such situations, we cannot lose sight of the whole picture, and righteous indignation unfortunately causes the opposite to occur. Our focus becomes narrower and narrower to the point where we can only see or react moment to moment with what is right in front of our face. We are reduced to an obsession of twitter feeds, news blips and the doublespeak of 'official government statements'.

Thus, before we may find firm ground to stand on regarding the situation of today, we must first have an understanding as to what caused the United States to enter into an endless campaign of regime-change warfare after WWII, or as former Chief of Special Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff Col. Prouty stated, three decades of the Indochina war.
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