Puppet Masters

Biden's belief that Putin is conspiring with China to take down democracy betrays his complete ignorance of Russia's own politics

Paul Robinson
RT
Fri, 23 Jul 2021 09:12 UTC

© Evelyn Hockstein/Sergey Guneev/Reuters/tibetanreview.net/KJN
US President Joe Biden • Russian President Vladimir Putin • Chinese President Xi Jinping

Russia and China are betting that autocracy will beat democracy. That's according to US President Joe Biden. But apart from generating headlines, his explosive claim seems to have little to do with the reality in either country.

Not only is lumping the two states together a mistake, so too is the act of contrasting the two ideologies. The language of political philosophy is, sadly, unsuited to the task of describing political realities. We bandy about words such as "liberalism," "socialism," and "fascism," as if we know what they mean. In fact, they are horribly loose categories that even the brightest political philosopher struggles to define, and confuse more often than they help.

Biden fits neatly within an American tradition that regards the United States as the natural leader of the "free" world, splitting countries neatly into two - democracies on the one hand, and everybody else on the other.

Regardless of the huge variety of differences between the nations in the "other" category, they tend to be lumped in together under a single heading: autocracy. There is no room for shades of gray. Thus, in the president's rhetoric, the world consists of two parts: democracies and autocracies.

Comment: Biden need not be accurate, relevant, nor account for his hubris - he is useful.

US, EU call on Taliban to end offensive, engage in peace process, a joint communiqué states

Sputnik
Fri, 23 Jul 2021 22:45 UTC

© Reuters/Omar Sobhani
Armed men against the Taliban stand at their checkpost
Ghorband District, Parwan Province • June 29, 2021

The United States, the European Union, individual European states and NATO are urging the Taliban to stop its military offensive in Afghanistan and engage in peace talks, the US-Europe Communiqué on Afghanistan and Peace Efforts said on Friday.

"We call on the Taliban to end their military offensive, and on both the Islamic Republic and the Taliban to engage meaningfully in the peace process," said the joint communiqué, issued by the United States, European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom and NATO.

Moreover, the US, European Union, NATO and several European states said in a joint statement that they welcome the group's commitments and openness to negotiating with Kabul as a mechanism for a representative government in Afghanistan.

"We welcome in particular the commitments made by the Taliban yesterday to inclusive governance, respecting human rights, including the rights of women and minorities, to abide by international law, including international humanitarian law, and to upholding counter-terrorism commitments."

Comment: US troops have almost all departed, but promises and obligations to Afghanistan are ramping up:

"President Biden and President Ghani agreed that the Taliban's current offensive is in direct contradiction to the movement's claim to support a negotiated settlement of the conflict in a telephone conversation.

"They deplored the loss of innocent Afghan lives, including through continued targeted killings, as well as displacement of the civilian population, looting and burning of buildings, destruction of vital infrastructure, and damage to communication networks."
The Biden administration also submitted a 2022 budget request of $3.3 billion to Congress for the Afghan Security Forces Fund, according to the readout. This comes as Biden on Friday announced that up to $100 million will be allocated for unexpected and urgent refugee needs among Afghan victims of the conflict, including Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants to reside in the United States.
On 25 June, Biden and Ghani met at the White House, where the US president urged a stop to what he called the senseless violence in Afghanistan, but acknowledged that achieving that goal would be difficult.

Joe Biden's desire to ban pistols is a very bad idea, because guess what? Plenty of Dems own guns, too

Micah Curtis
RT
Thu, 22 Jul 2021 15:29 UTC

Biden's suggestion that he would seek to "eliminate" 9mm pistols is likely to upset a lot of people, even among his own party's supporters. Could it end up costing the Democrats both the House and Senate in the upcoming midterms? Speaking on Wednesday on CNN, US President Biden once again seemed to make the serious political mistake of saying the quiet part out loud.

When asked how he would address gun violence from a federal point of view, so as to bring about 'change' and make cities safer, Biden gave an answer that showed the Democrats want to do more than just get rid of what they define as an assault weapon. He harped on about the sizes of magazines and fire rates, but also mentioned 9mm pistols as a type he'd like to remove from sale.

Comment: Guns are aimed to keep 'government round-ups' from our doors and those 'FEMA camps' empty.

Down to 50: Biden approval rating hits lowest point since taking office

Casey Harper
Just the News
Sat, 24 Jul 2021 10:31 UTC

As President Joe Biden faces concerns over the economy and the crisis at the southern border, his polling numbers have dipped to the lowest point since he took office.

Polling data released by Gallup found that Biden's approval rating has dropped to 50%, down six points from the previous month. Gallup explained:

"The new rating is from a July 6-21 Gallup poll, which also finds that 45% of U.S. adults disapprove of Biden's performance and 5% do not have an opinion. It comes at a time when U.S. progress in fighting the coronavirus has stalled, with vaccination rates slowing and case levels now rising. The economic recovery continues, with unemployment declining and stock market values near record highs. But consumers are paying higher prices for gas and other goods. Biden has also struggled to deliver on his promise of greater bipartisanship, although negotiations on an infrastructure bill continue in the Senate."

A drop in approval rating at this point in the presidency is not uncommon. Gallup qualified:

"It essentially matches the change for Trump and George W. Bush, and is slightly more than the one-point decline in Obama's average. Clinton's approval rating declined nearly 11 points between his first and second quarters."

Comment: Prices are up. Jobs are down. Hunter sold a painting (10% for 'The Big Guy'). Optimism!

Duck and weave: Psaki refuses to provide number of 'breakthrough' cases of COVID in the White House

James Anthony
The Post Millennial
Sat, 24 Jul 2021 18:21 UTC

"Why do you need to have that information?" .

A reporter asks Psaki, "This administration has long claimed the you're trying to be the most transparent in history. If that's the case, why won't you just release the number of breakthrough cases that you have of vaccinated staffers?"

"Well, I think, first we are in a very different place than we were six to seven months ago, as it relates to the virus."

"As many medical experts have said, inside and outside of the government, those who are vaccinated are protected from serious illness. Most are asymptomatic if they are individuals who are vaccinated to get the virus."

French parliament approves 'anti-separatism' bill that BANS homeschooling despite widespread opposition

Press TV
Sat, 24 Jul 2021 09:19 UTC

FILE PHOTO: The view of France's National Assembly ()

The French parliament has after a months-long debate passed a controversial anti-Muslim bill despite strong criticisms from lawmakers who assert that the legislation breaches religious freedom.

The French National Assembly -- France's lower house -- approved the so-called Anti-Separatism Bill after seven months of controversy on Friday, with the government saying the legislation was needed to bolster the country's secular system.

Passed by 49 votes to 19 and with five abstentions, the bill, which the French government claims is aimed at fighting "Islamist extremism," will go to the Constitutional Council before President Emmanuel Macron signs the legislation into law.

Comment: It's notable that this controversial bill has been pushed through as the country is in uproar over the even more draconian mandatory vaccination and vaccine ID bill:

Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Is This What Totalitarianism Looks Like?

Scandalous: Biden's DOJ dropping investigation into COVID nursing home deaths, Democrat governors now off the hook

Ashe Schow
The Daily Wire
Sat, 24 Jul 2021 17:36 UTC

In a disappointing yet unsurprising development, President Joe Biden's Justice Department has formally declined to investigate the nursing home policies in three states with Democrat governors that resulted in thousands of elderly citizens dying from COVID-19.

In a letter sent to House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), the DOJ informed the congressman that it would not open an investigation into New York, Pennsylvania, or Michigan's treatment of nursing home patients during the coronavirus pandemic. The DOJ has, however, opened an investigation into New Jersey's nursing home policies relating to two specific nursing homes in the state.

Comment: The masks are dropping everywhere.

And yet:

Democrats, Republicans agree: Politicians and corporations should be spared from prosecution over killer Covid-19 care homes

Then-Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine knew the score:

Pennsylvania health official moved mother from nursing home as deaths skyrocketed

Fox News responds to report that NSA illegally unmasked Tucker Carlson

The Daily Wire
Sat, 24 Jul 2021 17:19 UTC

The Biden administration allegedly unmasked Fox News host Tucker Carlson's identity, according to a new report published late on Friday, which prompted a strong response from the network.

"We told you that the National Security Agency has been monitoring this show and the content of Tucker's emails," Fox News fill-in host Mark Steyn said during Carlson's show. "According to a media outlet called The Record, the NSA has just completed its internal review of the matter. The NSA now admits that it unmasked Tucker's identity after an intelligence intercept."

"By law, the identities of American citizens are concealed when they're caught up during foreign intelligence gathering," Steyn added. "They can only be unmasked in extraordinary circumstances."

Comment: Carlson has been an effective gadfly in exposing and explaining American society's ills, from Antifa, BLM, the joke that is the Biden "administration", to the pervasive corruption of government. The flak is worst when you're over the target.

'Fascism rising in Israel': Israeli PM Bennett called out for labeling un-vaccinated a "health threat" & "danger to economy"

Mordechai Sones
America's Frontline Doctors
Thu, 22 Jul 2021 11:13 UTC

Israeli political leader Moshe Feiglin tonight responded to statements by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett calling Israelis who did not submit to the experimental COVID-19 shot "health threats" and a danger to the Israel economy, saying the Prime Minister's comments signaled "fascism rising in Israel."

In a televised address Thursday night, Bennett called on all unvaccinated Israelis over the age of 12 to get the COVID shot immediately, urging the vaccinated to pressure unvaccinated friends and relatives to submit to receiving the jab.

China says US slandering its efforts to pursue criminals overseas

Reuters
Fri, 23 Jul 2021 10:04 UTC

© REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
FILE PHOTO: Chinese and U.S. flags flutter outside the building of an American company in Beijing, China January 21, 2021.

China said on Friday the United State was slandering its efforts to pursue criminal suspects overseas, after a Chinese prosecutor was charged in an alleged plot to intimidate citizens to return to China.

Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian urged the United States to correct its mistakes.

The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday accused a prosecutor employed by the Chinese government of traveling to the United States to direct a harassment campaign aimed at bullying Chinese residents to return home to face criminal charges.

Comment: Considering US attempts to extradite Australian Whistleblower. Julian Assange, that has contributed to his unlawful imprisonment and subsequent torture in the UK, the US has predictable gall to accuse China of such behaviour: Assange may never recover from 'torture' at Belmarsh, suicide becoming more likely the longer he stays in prison - doctor

See also: China refuses diplomatic access to trial of Australian national citing national security concerns

Quote of the Day

State power has its own limits defined by the fact that it is authority that reaches people from outside. State power cannot oversee and dictate the creative states of the soul and mind, the inner states of love, freedom and goodwill. The state cannot demand from its citizens faith, prayer, love, goodness and conviction. It cannot regulate scientific, religious and artistic creation. It should not intervene in moral, family and daily private life, and only when extremely necessary should it impinge on people's economic initiative and creativity.

- Ivan Ilyin

Exactly the same Faustian Bargain is being offered by Comrade Ardern here in NZ. Trouble is, there is no further plan, no "what happens next", and...

Martin Harris

winters and summers come and go and the downfall of earth is constantly wrongly predicted. summer is here; [Link] +1

rakarb

He's bloody moron and West's stooge. He was kissing frau Merkel's ass only a few weeks ago.

sinip

No way. Have you noticed that conspiring is practically, the most common social activity in existence? So how could that be?

sir_isO

RT = CNN So this piece is likely agitprop. "The beatings will continue until morale improves." Please, just follow the $cience.

DeliciousTears

Puppet Masters

Biden's belief that Putin is conspiring with China to take down democracy betrays his complete ignorance of Russia's own politics

US, EU call on Taliban to end offensive, engage in peace process, a joint communiqué states

Joe Biden's desire to ban pistols is a very bad idea, because guess what? Plenty of Dems own guns, too

Down to 50: Biden approval rating hits lowest point since taking office

Duck and weave: Psaki refuses to provide number of 'breakthrough' cases of COVID in the White House

French parliament approves 'anti-separatism' bill that BANS homeschooling despite widespread opposition

Scandalous: Biden's DOJ dropping investigation into COVID nursing home deaths, Democrat governors now off the hook

Fox News responds to report that NSA illegally unmasked Tucker Carlson

'Fascism rising in Israel': Israeli PM Bennett called out for labeling un-vaccinated a "health threat" & "danger to economy"

China says US slandering its efforts to pursue criminals overseas

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