Puppet Masters
Why is this happening? Is it simply because older adults are very vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 and therefore it's not unexpected that many would succumb?
Or do care homes deserve the lion's share of the blame, such as by paying so poorly that many workers have to split their time between several facilities, spreading the virus in the process?
Alternatively, could medical experts and government bureaucrats, with the full knowledge of at least the top tier of government officials, have created conditions shortly after the pandemic struck that contribute to the high death tolls while engendering virtually no public backlash against themselves?
This article shows that the third hypothesis is highly plausible. The people who created the conditions may be unaware of, or oblivious to, their implications. But it's also possible that at least some of them know exactly what they're doing.
After all - seeing it from an amoral government's point of view - the growing numbers of elderly are a big burden on today's fiscally strained governments, because in aggregate they're paying much less into the tax base than younger people while causing the costs of healthcare and retirement programs to skyrocket.
The one-page filing by Gabbard's lawyers in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York stresses the "legal merit" of their case but notes current circumstances amid the coronavirus pandemic require Gabbard and her former presidential campaign organization "to focus their time and attention on other priorities, including defeating Donald Trump in 2020, rather than righting the wrongs here."
"Mueller's scheme was the same one captured in the (newly released) FBI set-up notes pertaining to Flynn. They knew they had nothing, but using their official power they created and perpetuated the facade of an investigation," said Dowd.
In an extensive interview on Tuesday, Dowd explained to me how his commitment of cooperation and transparency in dealing with Mueller was eventually turned against the president, as the special counsel "misled" Trump's legal team in order to manufacture a crime where none existed.
The State Department was required to issue a determination on Hong Kong's autonomy under pro-democracy legislation passed late last year. The law also requires the president to impose sanctions on foreigners who undermine "fundamental freedoms and autonomy in Hong Kong."
Pompeo's move comes amid a controversy in Hong Kong over a proposed national security law from Beijing that has spurred protests in the streets of the former British colony.
The proposed law from China's National People's Congress would effectively bypass Hong Kong's own legislature and targets acts of sedition against the central government in Beijing. Fears over China's encroachment on the business center's independence have roiled the region for months and contributed to sending Hong Kong's economy into recession last year.

Bill Clinton and Ghislaine Maxwell
The ex-president — who denies cheating on wife Hillary Clinton with Maxwell — reportedly engaged in the romps during overseas trips on Epstein's private plane, a customized Boeing 727 that's since become known as the "Lolita Express."
The nation's 42nd head of state also repeatedly sneaked out to visit Maxwell at her Upper East Side townhouse, as detailed in this exclusive excerpt.
Excerpt from "A Convenient Death: The Mysterious Demise of Jeffrey Epstein," by Alana Goodman and Daniel Halper, out June 2
Clinton was allegedly carrying on an affair with at least one woman in Epstein's orbit, but she was well over the age of consent.
Ghislaine Maxwell, a constant presence at the ex- president's side during these trips, was the primary reason Clinton let Epstein ferry him around the world.
Comment: Possible, but unlikely to be the whole story of Clinton's involvement with Epstein and Maxwell:
- Jeffrey Epstein 'recruited a young sex trafficking victim' on trip to Africa with Bill Clinton, court papers allege
- Bill Clinton's connections to billionaire Jeffrey Epstein: Was the former president visiting the convicted child rapist's private island to have sex with underage girls?
- Klein: Six major problems with Bill Clinton's statement on Jeffrey Epstein
- Epstein: Autopsy shows possible strangulation, shocking comments from former bodyguard, a revealing 2003 interview, plus Bill Clinton in a blue dress
- Bill Clinton's 27 flights on Epstein's jet, Google and Wikipedia whitewashing their crimes
Fine, who was the principal deputy inspector general, announced his resignation in a statement Tuesday extolling the importance of independent watchdogs.
"The role of Inspectors General is a strength of our system of government," Fine said. "They provide independent oversight to help improve government operations in a transparent way. They are a vital component of our system of checks and balances, and I am grateful to have been part of that system.
"After many years in the DoJ and DoD OIGs, I believe the time has come for me to step down and allow others to perform this vital role," he added. "I wish the men and women of the DoD OIG and the Inspector General Community continued success in these important responsibilities."
Comment: It appears Trump is continuing to clean house as the opportunity arises. Breitbart reports:
The removal of Fine last month from the accountability committee and the acting inspector general role has been seen as part of larger set of removals of inspectors general in a short time.Trump removes Obama-era IG from Covid-19 relief watchdog panel as Dems cry corruption
On Friday, House Democrats introduced legislation to protect inspectors general from retaliation after Trump fired five watchdogs within a few months.
Earlier this month, Trump fired State Department Inspector General Steve Linick upon Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's request after he began an investigation into allegations that Pompeo had an aide run personal errands for him. Pompeo told The Washington Post that he had asked Trump to fire him, but said that it was not a retaliatory move because he did not know about the probe beforehand.
Critics said the move was also to shield Pompeo from other potential political harm. The issue involving Pompeo included efforts to fast-track a Saudi arms deal along with using the staffer for personal errands, CNN, NBC News and USA Today reported.
After firing Linick, the Trump administration also ousted Mitchell Behm as acting Transportation Department inspector general the next day, prompting an investigation by House Democrats.
Also, this month, Trump moved to replace another watchdog in the Department of Health and Human Services. Trump removed Christi Grimm as principal inspector after her office issued a report in April, finding "severe shortages" of COVID-19 testing kits, frequent testing delays of seven days or longer, along with "widespread shortages" of proper protective equipment in hospitals.
Last month, Trump fired intelligence community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, who told lawmakers about the whistleblower complaint that led to his impeachment inquiry. The House voted to impeach Trump on Dec. 18, but the majority of the Senate voted to acquit him in February.
Justice Minister Judit Varga said on Tuesday she would bring legislation to parliament on June 20 to end the state of emergency which has allowed Orban to rule by decree during the Covid-19 crisis.
Varga slammed those who "attacked us with unjust political accusations" and called on them to apologize for leading a "slander campaign" against the country.
Orban himself demanded apologies earlier this month, saying there was "no basis for the criticisms." Varga also slammed the opposition, which refused to support what they viewed as a power grab as there was no sunset clause embedded in the emergency legislation.
A Taliban-declared three-day lull in fighting, which ended on May 26, provided a rare break from the violence, prompting the government to call on the militants to extend the cease-fire so long-delayed peace talks could begin.
Amid the cease-fire, Afghan authorities released some 1,000 Taliban prisoners -- part of a pledge by the government to free up to 2,000 militants in response to the Taliban's cease-fire move.
A senior member of the Taliban on May 27 told the AFP news agency that the militants were planning to free about 50 to 100 Afghan security force members as early as May 28.
The sheer length of the conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and Washington's inability to achieve its desired goals all point to the true motives behind the US 'War on Terror'. At first, the United States and its allies decided to use al-Qaeda (terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation) to destabilize the situation in the region and overthrow legitimate governments there. Then, after the plan failed, the US helped establish the Islamic State (also known as IS, ISIS, ISIL and Daesh, a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation), which was to be used as a direct means of intervening in the region.
It's perplexing how a supposedly media-savvy politician such as the Irish caretaker prime minister, or taoiseach, Leo Varadkar has such an unfortunate propensity of putting his proverbial foot in it.
In his short tenure as leader, Varadkar has suffered more hiccups than a drunken sailor on shore leave. And that's despite setting up a new government strategic communications unit and spending "more than 126 times the amount" on advertising and marketing than his predecessor during his first year in office alone.
Just one example of how he's nothing short of an international embarrassment: in the fall of 2018, the world's media reported how he wrote a gushing letter on official state notepaper to gay icon Kylie Minogue in a desperate effort to meet her when she was visiting Dublin.














Comment: Now that it is well established that collusion was a fraud, one might think to look at the validity of 'Russian interference' since this narrative was created by the same movers and shakers. We won't be holding our breath.