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Black Magic

The Council on Foreign Relations' American empire and its media mouthpiece


Swiss Propaganda Research
Fri, 21 Jul 2017 18:51 UTC
CFR headquarters NYC
© Gryffindor/WikimediaCFR Headquarters, located in the former Harold Pratt House in New York City
Largely unbeknownst to the public, many media executives and top journalists of almost all major U.S. news outlets, political and business magazines, public broadcasters and press agencies have long been members of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

Established in 1921 as a private, bipartisan organization, the CFR and its close to 5000 elite members have for decades shaped U.S. foreign policy and public discourse about it. As one Council member famously explained, the goal has indeed been to establish an "empire", albeit a "benevolent" one.

Based on official membership rosters, the following illustration for the first time depicts the extensive media network of the CFR and its two main international affiliate organizations: the Bilderberg Group (covering the U.S. and Europe) and the Trilateral Commission (covering North America, Europe and East Asia), both established by Council leaders to foster elite cooperation at the international level.
american media propaganda
© Swiss Propaganda Research
Click here for large interactive image

Comment:

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Magnify

Trump business transactions, the new focus of Mueller probe

Greg Farrell, Cristian Berthelsen
Bloomberg
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 10:31 UTC
†rumpmueller
© media.salon.comDonald Trump and Robert Mueller
The U.S. special counsel investigating possible ties between the Donald Trump campaign and Russia in last year's election is examining a broad range of transactions involving Trump's businesses as well as those of his associates, according to a person familiar with the probe.

FBI investigators and others are looking at Russian purchases of apartments in Trump buildings, Trump's involvement in a controversial SoHo development in New York with Russian associates, the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow and Trump's sale of a Florida mansion to a Russian oligarch in 2008, the person said.

The investigation also has absorbed a money-laundering probe begun by federal prosecutors in New York into Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

John Dowd, one of Trump's lawyers, said on Thursday that he was unaware of the inquiry into Trump's businesses by the two-months-old investigation and considered it beyond the scope of what Special Counsel Robert Mueller should be examining.

"Those transactions are in my view well beyond the mandate of the Special counsel; are unrelated to the election of 2016 or any alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia and most importantly, are well beyond any Statute of Limitation imposed by the United States Code," he wrote in an email.


Comment: What happens when the US Special Counsel runs out of rocks to look under? Will it be this enterprising and thorough in its investigation of Hillary and Bill? It's close to 40 years coming. Scheduling error, perhaps?

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Arrow Up

Obama's plan in defending against election cyberattacks: 'Maintain public confidence'


RT
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 17:55 UTC
UncleSammy
© LeakSource/WordPress.com
The Obama administration quietly set up an interagency task force to deal with possible physical and cyber disruptions of the 2016 US presidential election, but believed most cyber incidents would be "unsubstantiated or inconsequential."

Time magazine, which obtained and published the 15-page Concept of Operations document on Thursday, wrote that the plan was put in place to counter "Russian hacking." The actual word "Russia" appears nowhere in the document, however.

The planning document, which Time dated to October 2016, shows that the Obama administration set up the Cyber Unified Coordination Group (UCG) to coordinate the response of various federal agencies to "reports of cyber incidents impacting election infrastructure."

In addition to a lot of training, advice and interagency communication, the first specific action the agencies were instructed to take was to "develop integrated public relations guidance that seeks to maintain public confidence in the electoral system" ‒ a task that fell on the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of Public Affairs. The Department of Justice, Director of National Intelligence, and the FBI were supposed to assist with that task.

Any public statements "should be developed to avoid inadvertently calling into doubt the integrity of the voting process and to avoid negative impacts to voter turnout," the document said.


Comment: This was useful if Clinton won the election and any tampering evidence against the DNC could be scrubbed. She didn't. It then became more useful in deflecting allegations of voter fraud alleged by the Trump administration and falsely implicating Russia. Neat trick...a 'twofer.'


Comment: It doesn't matter what the words on the page say, it is the actual application and the purity of the findings that count. If Obama's interagency task force was so qualified, competent and well-coordinated, where is the proof that the Russians hacked the election? If we are speculating, it is equally likely a covert cell in this task force would have been committed to Clinton cleanup -- the more likely reason to instigate the program a month before the election.

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Apple Red

Trump's nominee for USDA chief scientist defies protocol, advocacy group labels choice 'illegal'


RT
Fri, 21 Jul 2017 04:02 UTC
Sam Clovis
© LinkedinDr. Sam Clovis, USDA nominee
President Donald Trump's choice of Sam Clovis to head the USDA's top science post breaks with the US Code, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. Clovis is a well-known skeptic of climate change and has no natural science degree.

Pending Senate confirmation, Clovis will be the next undersecretary for research, education and economics at the US Department of Agriculture, following an announcement from USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue late Wednesday.

Dr. Clovis is a 25-year Air Force veteran and former college professor. He has degrees in business, political science and public administration, and, as a conservative radio talk show host in Iowa, was an early advisor to President Donald Trump on the campaign trail. His nomination had been expected, but that didn't make it any less controversial.

The Union of Concerned Scientists, a non-profit science advocacy group, called the nomination "illegal" Thursday, citing the US Code description of the position. US law states the appointed person shall be "from among distinguished scientists with specialized training or significant experience in agricultural research, education, and economics. Clovis has no such training or experience," the group said on their website, "and is therefore legally and scientifically unqualified to direct nearly $3 billion a year in research grants."

During a run for the US Senate in 2014, Clovis told Iowa Public Radio that he was "extremely skeptical" of conclusions that climate change is primarily driven by human activity. "I have looked at the science and I have enough of a science background to know when I'm being boofed," he said.

USDA Secretary Perdue said in a statement accompanying the announcement of Clovis's nomination that he "looks at every problem with a critical eye, relying on sound science and data, and will be the facilitator and integrator we need."

The Union of Concerned Scientists urged Trump to rescind the nomination, but there was no word on any impending legal action if he did not.
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Heart - Black

Saudi Arabia: Mohammed Bin Salman's coup is the model for his own ouster


Moon of Alabama
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 02:53 UTC
Mohammedx2
© News.com.auMBN and MBS: The King and I...whichever.
Someone wanted the public to know that the new Saudi clown prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MbS) took up his new position by unceremoniously disposing his predecessor Mohammed bin Nayef (MbN) by force. The juicy details, true or not, were briefed to Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times on the same day:
As next in line to be king of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Nayef was unaccustomed to being told what to do. Then, one night in June, he was summoned to a palace in Mecca, held against his will and pressured for hours to give up his claim to the throne.

By dawn, he had given in, and Saudi Arabia woke to the news that it had a new crown prince: the king's 31-year-old son, Mohammed bin Salman.
Bin Nayef was a darling of the CIA and his disposal was not welcome. It may well be that the author of the tale of his ouster has his office in Langley, Virginia.

Comment: Last line...is it a Hint? A Suggestion? A Prophesy? A Spoiler Alert? It surely would be an ending, one with which the West might feel more comfortable.

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X

Saudis to form a new security agency


Sputnik
Fri, 21 Jul 2017 01:20 UTC
Saudi security forces
© AP/Mosa'ab ElshamySaudi Security Forces
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ordered on Thursday to amend the organizational structure of the Interior Ministry and create a new department to deal with state security challenges, Saudi media reported.

According to Saudi Press Agency, the new body will be called the Presidency of State Security, and Gen. Abdulaziz bin Mohammed al-Howairini, the director general of General Investigation Directorate will head it.

In June, King Salman replaced Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, the king's nephew, with his 31-year-old son Mohammad bin Salman. Local media also reported that Muhammad bin Nayef has lost the post of the interior minister. The new crown prince will continue to serve as the nation's defense minister.

Comment: According to BBC News:
Previously, the interior ministry was in charge of counter-terrorism and domestic intelligence.

The new boss of the royal guard is Gen Suheil al-Mutiri, replacing Gen Hamad al-Awhaly.

As part of the overhaul, King Salman also named Mohammed el-Kuwaiz as head of the agency that regulates investments in the oil-rich country.


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Arrow Up

1000 proven cases of voter fraud in U.S. database point to much larger problem

Jason Snead
The Daily Signal
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 18:13 UTC
voting ballot box
As the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity convenes its first meeting on Wednesday, the issue of voter fraud in American elections has become even more contentious and hyperbolic.

One of the left's main arguments against reform is that voter fraud simply does not occur. How liberals arrive at this conclusion, we cannot say.

Time and again, studies and analyses point to one incontrovertible conclusion: that voter fraud is a real and pressing issue that deserves serious solutions, and The Heritage Foundation has the evidence to prove it.

On Thursday, The Heritage Foundation is releasing a new edition of its voter fraud database. Featuring well over 100 new cases, the database documents 1,071 instances of voter fraud spanning 47 states, including 938 criminal convictions.

This revamped edition of the database separates cases by type of disposition, allowing readers to easily distinguish not only what type of fraud occurred but the outcome of the case-criminal convictions, pre-trial diversion programs, and other types of adjudication used in various states and counties across the United States.

Comment: It really is rich. The Dems, primarily, are the ones harping on about Russia subverting the holiness and sanctity of American elections. In reality, American elections are a joke and fraud is rampant. What they really mean is, "We're the only ones that can mess with our elections!" And when things don't go their way, they simply blame Russia.

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Dig

Sauce for the goose: Trump team digging up dirt on Mueller's 15 activist attorneys

Cristina Laila
The Gateway Pundit
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 18:21 UTC
trump mueller
President Trump and Special Counsel Robert Mueller
Tensions between President Trump and Special Counsel Robert Mueller are heating up.

As TGP previously reported, The Washington Post claimed that President Trump's legal team are exploring ways to "scale back" Mueller's investigation. This is great news, considering many believe Mueller is not an independent arbiter of the investigation and is abusing his power by investigating trivial business transactions.

Not only is Trump asking his advisers about his power to pardon family members and even himself in connection with the probe, The New York Times is reporting that President Trump is also going on the offensive. FINALLY!

Trump's aides are seeking leverage as they investigate Mueller's investigators.
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USA

The Grand American Collapse Approacheth

James Howard Kunstler
Russia Insider
Fri, 21 Jul 2017 18:13 UTC
Drowning Statue of Liberty
The author is a prominent American social critic, blogger, and podcaster. He is known for, among other things, a series of science fiction novels describing life after the collapse of modern society, an event which he believes is quite possible, as you can tell from this article. He has a new novel out about the counter-culture movement in the late '60s. If you like this author's work, please consider supporting him on Patreon.

Thanks to the author for pointing out this important point - 18% of the US economy is complete BS, consisting basically of 'health care racketeering.'

For all his blunders and stumbles in his first half-year as President (cough cough), Donald Trump seems to have more lives than Schrödinger's Cat. Or maybe it just seems that way. Or maybe he isn't really there at all (like the news these days). Maybe Trump only represents one comic probability in an infinite number of universes of probability, both comic and tragic. I begin to understand why the folks in Hollywood are having a whack attack over the chief executive: you can't storyboard this bitch; it's like leaving The Three Stooges on their own in a sound stage to re-make Gone With the Wind.
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Attention

Joint Syrian-Hezbollah assault on terrorists begins on Lebanese border


The Duran
Fri, 21 Jul 2017 18:00 UTC
Syrian border mountains
Once the Syrian-Lebanese border is secure, it will leave only the borders with Turkey and Israel to seal up from further incursions.

The elite Republican Guard of the Syrian Arab Army along with Hezbollah and the volunteer militia National Defense Force have begun heavy operations along the Syria-Lebanon border against entrenched Salafist militants including al-Qaeda forces (known locally by the name Jabhat Fatah al-Sham formerly al-Nusra and Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham)

The operation is intended to rid the mountainous western Qalamoun region of terrorists who have taken advantage of the foreboding terrain.
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