- Plea Deal in Offing
- In an interesting turn of events, Judge Andrew Napolitano reveals the State Department and Department of Justice are blocking access to the emails
- Conservative watchdog group, Judicial Watch announced that on August 8, 2017, D.C. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta ordered the State Department “to search the state.gov e-mail accounts of Huma Abedin, Cheryl Mills, and Jacob Sullivan” for emails relating to the Benghazi scandal
The Same Hillary Clinton That called for "Resistance"
Clinton and the Left got their "Resistance" in Charlottesville
The Warm Up Act - Here the "Resistors" Pepper Spray the Trump Supporters - Where are the cops?
The chickens came home to roost in Charlottesville.
HILLARY CHANGES THE SUBJECT
ReplyDeleteAs violence escalated at a white supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on leaders to speak out, take action and prove that “this is not who we are as Americans.”
Hillary Clinton ✔ @HillaryClinton
ReplyDeleteMy heart is in Charlottesville today, and with everyone made to feel unsafe in their country.
HILLARY VALUES
ReplyDeleteHillary Clinton ✔ @HillaryClinton
Replying to @HillaryClinton
Every minute we allow this to persist through tacit encouragement or inaction is a disgrace, & corrosive to our values.
4:09 PM - Aug 12, 2017
FROM:
ReplyDeleteJOHN CRUDELE
Dear John: You recently criticized the FBI for its investigation of Hillary Clinton’s e-mails.
I am a retired FBI agent and extremely proud of my career and service. I feel compelled to write. Former FBI Director James Comey’s statements, testimony and behavior are truly abhorrent.
Comey admitted under oath before Congress that the bureau did not utilize a federal grand jury in the Hillary e-mail investigation.
Furthermore, he testified that in his experience, when dealing with attorneys, you can obtain information easier and faster than via a federal grand jury.
Never, I repeat never, in my 25-year career have I or any FBI agent known to me investigated a criminal case without the use of a federal grand jury, federal grand jury subpoenas, search warrants, etc.
Search warrants and/or subpoenas should have been executed at Clinton’s residences in Chappaqua and Washington and at Platte River Networks.
In fact, Comey frequently cites his vast experience. Well, I am certain that in every case with which he was involved (except this one, conveniently) he employed the use of a federal grand jury and all of the authority that encompasses.
Comey’s parsing of words to justify his cowardly decision was awkward and juvenile. These circumstances are indicia of Hillary’s intent (which, as we both are aware, is not a necessary element to satisfy the federal espionage statute) on which Comey placed so much emphasis.
Comey’s cowardice and lack of integrity is further exemplified in his surreptitious disclosure of confidential information through an intermediary to the New York Times.
Comey has created a disgraceful legacy. P.B.
REPLY
Dear P.B.: I changed your initials and some other details because I’d like to speak with you and don’t want anyone to guess your identity.
My sources say Comey and three others made the decision on Hillary. The rest of the investigating agents weren’t consulted, and many were shocked by the decision not to pursue charges.
http://nypost.com/2017/08/12/comey-botched-the-hillary-clinton-email-investigation/
PRAISING JESUS
ReplyDeleteIf anyone knows how to reimagine herself, it’s Hillary Rodham Clinton. She went from first lady, to senator, to secretary of state. She took a run at POTUS, twice. But preacher?
When she first mentioned to the Rev. Dr. Bill Shillady, a friend of 15 years, that she would like to be in the pulpit, he recalled thinking she was kidding. Throughout the 2016 campaign, he had sent her daily devotionals, knowing that she leaned heavily on the faith lessons of her United Methodist traditions to withstand the grueling race. Still, he didn’t picture her preaching — even though she insisted to him, “I’m serious.”
That brief exchange happened during a photo shoot in the spring for Shillady’s new book, a compilation of 365 of the dispatches, for which Clinton wrote the foreword. The subject of sermonizing got lost in the commotion that day, only to resurface late last week in an email back-and-forth that changed his mind. Clinton, he said afterward, will be looking to “guest preach” in the future.
“She can share a remarkable story,” he said, “about a deep-seated faith that helped her get through the defeat of the election.” And, he added, she has an expansive knowledge of the Bible.
Clinton, who could not be reached for comment, recounted in the book’s foreword how “Rev. Bill wrote to me the day after Election Day – one of the hardest days of my life. His words were a lifeline to me then – something to hold onto while I recaptured my footing.”
http://www.philly.com/archive/kristin_holmes/hillary-clinton-shillady-from-politician-to-preacher-devotional-20170812.html
HOW ABOUT THE PIMP TERRY McAULIFE?
ReplyDeleteGovernor Terry McAuliffe was whisked into a downtown building under massively armed police protection in the middle of the afternoon, via a small alleyway off Main Street. One female witness to the scene shouted, “Thank you for showing up!”
Identity politics, mindless violence, and hate are why Democrats have been trashed at the election booth
Rioting, murdering, pillaging, raping, and burning down cities by the Left is OK
McAuliffe, Clinton and just about everyone else failed to condemn the Antifa.
ReplyDeleteWatching the video in the previous post, it is obvious to me that the white goof-ball nationalists were as wrong as any multiculturalist group that buys into group identity but they they would not have been violent except for the violence of Antifa .
ReplyDeleteOpen your eyes and ears.
ReplyDeleteThe cops looked like they were not going to do anything until the White firsters started kicking Antifa's ass.
ReplyDelete:):):):):)
ReplyDeleteWhere has Dick the Toe Sucker been hanging out ?
This is the first I've heard of him in a long while.
I certainly hope this:
DOJ Opens an Aggressive Investigation on Hillary & Bill Clinton
is correct.
Dick Morris - Washington Post
Deletewww.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/morris020399.htm
Dick Morris, High on the Critical List .... Star, which had carried the Gennifer Flowers story, was about to reveal Morris's toe-sucking relationship with Rowlands.
Is Toe-Sucking Fox Newser Dick Morris In D.C. Madam's Phone List ...
www.pensitoreview.com/2007/.../is-toe-sucking-dick-morris-in-dc-madams-phone-list...
May 1, 2007 - Dick Morris' paid mistress said he had a fetish for toe sucking (info that goes into the TMI hall of fame) — and that he believed paying for her ...
The Horrific Dick Morris and his hooker. - Ron Paul Forums
www.ronpaulforums.com › Forums › News & Current Events › U.S. Political News
Mar 8, 2011 - 30 posts - 16 authors
"The only person in the world I knew politically was Dick Morris," she told .... Dick Morris' paid mistress said he had a fetish for toe sucking (info ...
Having Found Own Level, Dick Morris Now Sucking Toes At National ...
https://wonkette.com/.../having-found-own-level-dick-morris-now-sucking-toes-at-nat...
Jun 3, 2016 - Amoral prostitute-toe-sucker (allegedly) Dick Morris has finally found a home that's appropriate for the special, uh, “talents” that are his forte, ...
How Dick Morris is Toe Sucking the Economy... - YouTube
Video for Dick Morris - toe sucker▶ 8:44
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYpy4FZv2gU
Jun 25, 2012 - Uploaded by The Big Picture RT
Dick Morris was a campaign strategist for Bill Clinton back in 1996 before resigning after news broke that he ...
There are worse things than sucking toes with a willing foot.
DeleteBill Clinton comes to mind.
With Putin taking the Cross, Hillary preaching, and The Donald being guided by The Lord in all things, all things shall be well.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteHillary Clinton, failed presidential candidate, figures she has nothing left to live for so she’s tossing aside dignity and jumping deep off the political end.
How else to sum up her own words?
“I’m now back to being an activist citizen and part of the resistance,” she said, during a particularly rocking-and-rolling ‘I am woman, hear me roar’ moment on CNN, with Christiane Amanpour.
Is this what a former secretary of state — former first lady of the United States — has to look forward to? Becoming a member of the “resistance?”
What does "resistance" mean if not taking to the streets, protesting, antagonizing, provoking and getting into the face of those you disagree with?
The Resistance chickens came home to roost in Charlottesville.
I detest Christiane Amanpour.
ReplyDeleteReport: WH aides expect Kelly to push Bannon out in coming weeks
ReplyDeleteALLAHPUNDIT Aug 12, 2017 5:31 PM
http://hotair.com/archives/2017/08/12/report-wh-aides-expect-kelly-push-bannon-coming-weeks/
Byzantine: 6.
(sometimes lowercase) characterized by elaborate scheming and intrigue, especially for the gaining of political power or favor:
Byzantine methods for holding on to his chairmanship.
Bannon's the guy that doesn't want to get too involved in foreign adventures.
Delete.
ReplyDeleteWatching the video in the previous post, it is obvious to me that the white goof-ball nationalists were as wrong as any multiculturalist group that buys into group identity but they they would not have been violent except for the violence of Antifa .
Please. Making up excuses on any level for either side here is absurd.
The poor, innocent, peace loving alt-right pricks were being picked on by the nasty alt-left antagonistas? Boo hoo.
These were the same white nationalist morons who held the torch light march (eerily reminiscent of scenes from the 1930's) through the streets of Charlotte the night before, the same guys who carried shields and weapons, who wore armor and headgear and masks, who carried white nationalist flags and symbols, who purposely went to the wrong park for their demonstration and refused police orders to disband. Luckily David Duke was their to offer moral support when they were picked on.
Poor babies. Just a bunch of silly 'goof-balls' out to peacefully show their resistance...oops, sorry...pique at having the statue of one of their heroes moved.
As noted above...
Open your eyes and ears.
.
You need to study up on the not so subtle difference between "Making up excuses " and putting events into context.
DeleteThat is how conflict analysis works.
Let's give this a try with the basics:
In general, left misunderstood and being mishandled, conflicts and fighting end in disaster. They are predictable as human behavior is predictable. Conflicts have 5 events or phases:
Prelude
Triggering event
Conflict initiation event
Differentiation (you need some work here)
Resolution
Snide self-satisfied supercilious remarks may be your tools in trade but in general they are not helpful. Management 101 may be a good starting point. Forget the "Open your eyes and ears" part, back up and open your mind.
.
DeleteNonsense.
What you just laid out is a smoke screen.
There is no management technique or pseudo-intellectual theories that can be used to justify violence in the streets of America over a friggin statue. The white nationalists who showed up in Charlotte came to present a show of force. The brought weapons and shields and weren't wearing flowers in their hair. They could have met in the larger park where they were granted a permit but they didn't. When they went to an alternate park and were asked by police to move they refused.
They weren't looking for a peaceful demonstration. They were looking for confrontation. And they got it from a group of equally ignorant assholes from the other side.
You would instruct me on conflict analysis. I ask you to open your eyes and 'your mind'.
To make excuses for either of these groups is pitiful.
.
If Trump thinks China is going to help with the North Korea problem I think he is delusional.
ReplyDeleteMaybe his best bet is to urge Japan and S. Korea to nuke up.
That might get China's attention.
Everything looks grim this morning.
Damned fallen human race.
Delete.
DeleteIMO, using the threat of having SK and Japan nuke up would be a more productive route long-term than having them actually do it.
.
Japan could nuke up in weeks, if they don't already have some hidden back in the shelf there somewhere.
Delete.
ReplyDeleteWhat I saw from Trump...
It took Melania stepping up and tweeting out a message asking for restraint before Trump ever got around to saying anything about it proving once again she is the best thing about this presidency.
Later, Trump put out a tweet that carried a statesmanlike message carrying just the right tone that was probably the best I've heard from him since he became president.
Later still, he put out another that was obviously a more politically one.
.
She's certainly worlds ahead of Jacque Kennedy.
DeleteI'm ecstatic that the DOJ may open up the Hillary stuff again, the witch.
ReplyDeleteBREAKING NEWS ON FOX
ReplyDeleteOne of the talking heads says:
"There are no moderate Neo-Nazis"
This said in distinction to moderate moslems.
I've never met a farmer that was a Neo-Nazi.
DeleteIt must be an urban phenomenon.
Greatly over rated I'd guess.
American tourist beaten in Germany after giving Nazi salute....DRUDGE
Delete.
DeleteIt must be an urban phenomenon.
Right, in rural areas they're called militias.
.
No ! The MSM has a double standard ?
ReplyDeleteWhy Is This Not a Story?
Debra J. Saunders Debra J. Saunders |Posted: Aug 13, 2017 12:01 AM
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., the former Democratic National Committee chairwoman known in political circles as DWS, is knee-deep in a scandal that involves a laptop, money and possible foreign entanglements.
Unlike the Trump Russian scandal, however, The Washington Post and New York Times have barely reported on the story, which has conservatives observing -- with President Donald Trump's Twitter account concurring -- that the mainstream media have a double standard.....
https://townhall.com/columnists/debrajsaunders/2017/08/13/why-is-this-not-a-story-n2367602
On another matter involving conflict resolution. Did the regime changes by Bush, Oram and Clinton in Iraq and Libya and the attempt in Syria incentivize North Korea to acquire a nuclear deterrent?
ReplyDeleteIt would me.
DeleteI find the whole Charlottesville thing dispicable. Both sides for the most part are youths who are living off their parents, connected by Antifa websites, who don't pay taxes much less, at least at the present, are not contributing to society in any way. And please don't point out the older lady or guy holding a sign. They are just a select few that have been protesting something their whole lives. People who work, who are busy, have no time for such foolishness. This ain't about a statue, y'all.
ReplyDeleteNow the reptiles come out of the woodwork and out from under rocks giving their two cents and blaming who ever they currently are in disagreement with. Nothing to see here, folks.
If they have so much free time on their hands they ought to all be at the Library, the morons.
DeleteIf they can't do anything else they ought to go sit and comfort the folks at the Rest Home.
DeleteBoth Berkeley and Charlottesville have Democrat Mayors that held off the Police against all reason.
ReplyDelete...except their reason, which was to give free reign to leftist violence.
BAMN: By any means necessary.
paevo • 3 hours ago
DeleteActually it appears the mayor neglected to station enough riot police to keep the protesters apart.
But hey, it's easier to blame Trump than to suggest that you, as mayor, are incompetent...
Steve Loeb paevo • 2 hours ago
I think the Mayor was deliberately kept out to allow McCaullif to call the shots with the VA State Police where only he commands.
So it would be the Governor who tells them to stand down while the two sides are beating the crap out of each other and rioting.
Why did McCauliff do this?
Why are they deliberately stirring the pot?
McAuliffe is a Clintonite. He owes you NO explanation.
DeleteVideo shows Tom Cruise smashing into the side of a building.
ReplyDeleteOne would think the Hollywood geniuses would have taken care to carefully determine the length of the cable...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-4786632/Tom-Cruise-showcases-stuntman-skills-London-rooftop.html
Just to be clear:
ReplyDeleteWhite racists are called white supremists, bigots,etc.
Black racists are called activists.
DeleteWhite nationalist rally linked to 3 deaths; driver IDd
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A car plowed into a crowd of people peacefully protesting a white nationalist rally Saturday in a Virginia college town, killing one person, hurting more than a dozen others and ratcheting up tension in a day full of violent confrontations.
Shortly after, a Virginia State Police helicopter that officials said was assisting with the rally crashed outside Charlottesville, killing the pilot and a trooper.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Hundreds-face-off-ahead-of-white-nationalist-rally-11778046.php
Antifa and BAMN are peaceful.
The White nationalists made the helicopter crash.
Delete.
peacefully protesting a white nationalist rally
There is no media bias.
.
Delete"Nationalists" is best, because the Fascists Trump, Bannon, and Milo come to mind.
Milo is a Fascist, Nationalist, Homophobic Homosexual.
DeleteMy teacher tells me so:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfLrK1210VY
Venezuelan lawmaker may have ordered assassination of Sen. Marco Rubio
ReplyDeleteJOHN SEXTON Aug 13, 2017 5:01 PM
http://hotair.com/archives/2017/08/13/venezuelan-lawmaker-may-ordered-assassination-sen-marco-rubio/
This pisses me off.
I like Lil' Marco.
Things are becoming too interconnected. Everybody' business is everybody else's business.
Politics is all.
A recipe for continuing disaster.
Scientists discover 91 volcanoes below Antarctic ice sheet
ReplyDeleteThis is in addition to 47 already known about and eruption would melt more ice in region affected by climate change
Unnamed peaks on the west coast of the Antarctic peninsula tower over the harsh Antarctic coast.
Unnamed peaks on the west coast of the Antarctic peninsula tower over the harsh Antarctic coast. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo
Robin McKie
Saturday 12 August 2017 18.11 EDT Last modified on Saturday 12 August 2017 20.08 EDT
Scientists have uncovered the largest volcanic region on Earth – two kilometres below the surface of the vast ice sheet that covers west Antarctica.
The project, by Edinburgh University researchers, has revealed almost 100 volcanoes – with the highest as tall as the Eiger, which stands at almost 4,000 metres in Switzerland.
Geologists say this huge region is likely to dwarf that of east Africa’s volcanic ridge, currently rated the densest concentration of volcanoes in the world.
And the activity of this range could have worrying consequences, they have warned. “If one of these volcanoes were to erupt it could further destabilise west Antarctica’s ice sheets,” said glacier expert Robert Bingham, one of the paper’s authors. “Anything that causes the melting of ice – which an eruption certainly would – is likely to speed up the flow of ice into the sea.
Advertisement
“The big question is: how active are these volcanoes? That is something we need to determine as quickly as possible.”....
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/12/scientists-discover-91-volcanos-antarctica
For sure.
DeleteThen we need to hire BP to cap them as soon as possible.
Right after we take out lil Kim.
Intermuscular hypodermic needles tumble in price.
ReplyDeleteLast month was $1.09 needle. This week 25 cents/needle.
I know. I'm taking B-12 shots once a week for three months.
Don't know what caused the price collapse.
Next month I go to once a month.
If you are feeling a little sluggish when you are getting older, check your B-12 supply out. Common malady in those over 60.
B-12 is vital. Did you know you have a membrane system in your colon right before you a-hole that has the job of catching every last B-12 molecule possible before excretion ?
No, you did not, but you do now.
I didn't need to know:
DeleteMine's always impacted, resulting in molecular perfection.
Do your feel less sluggish?
DeleteI asked for testosterone, but Doc declined.
No problem for Arnold.
Life's not fair.
DougSun Aug 13, 07:20:00 PM EDT
Delete:):):):)
DougSun Aug 13, 07:22:00 PM EDT
Yes. I was running on about 25% the usual B-12 for a guy my age -70 -and it has helped. I am going to ask the Doc if I can go to once every two weeks instead of once a month.
If you are feeling a little low, slow, and dim, and you're over 60, definitely have your B-12 level checked.
It's a common condition in old farts, nothing to worry about, and easily corrected.
Also he said B-12 pills are basically worthless. If you are low do the shots.
Delete
ReplyDeleteWell organized set up job indeed.
Outdid the Berkeley City Government.
ReplyDeleteSoros should reward them also.
The brilliance of Twitter:
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/896820888930332672
The Left got what they wanted, a martyr.
ReplyDeleteWent down doing that the left does best, standing around chanting nonsense to the moon, and demanding the moon too.
DeleteQuirk once said 'There are no good guys in Syria'.
ReplyDelete'Everyone in Syria is bad now', says UN war crimes prosecutor as she quits post
Josie Ensor, beirut
7 AUGUST 2017 • 9:05AM
A senior war crimes prosecutor has announced she is resigning from a United Nations panel on Syria, saying she has lost faith it will ever bring criminals to account and that “everyone is bad” now in the war-torn country.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/07/everyone-syria-bad-now-says-un-war-crimes-prosecutor-quits-post/
Quirk, as always, a year ahead of everyone else.
That last should read:
DeleteA year ahead of everyone else, and a few steps ahead of the law.
The US State Department says it is "saddened and horrified" by the news of the killing of seven Syrian first responders in their base in the country's rebel-held Idlib Province.
ReplyDelete...
The Syrian first-responders have been known to risk their lives to save people from the civil war, now in its sixth year. The White Helmets group was widely considered likely to win last year's Nobel Peace Prize.
Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner: "Mr. President - we must call evil by its name. These were white supremacists and this was domestic terrorism."
ReplyDeleteHillary Clinton: "The incitement of hatred that got us here is as real and condemnable as the white supremacists in our streets. ... Now is the time for leaders to be strong in their words & deliberate in their actions."
Sen. Orrin Hatch: "We should call evil by its name. My brother didn't give his life fighting Hitler for Nazi ideas to go unchallenged here at home. -OGH"
Ivanka Trump: "There should be no place in society for racism, white supremacy and neo-nazis."
Sen. John McCain: "White supremacists and neo-Nazis are, by definition, opposed to American patriotism and the ideals that define us as a people and make our nation special. As we mourn the tragedy that has occurred in Charlottesville, American patriots of all colors and creeds must come together to defy those who raise the flag of hatred and bigotry."
===
Leftist violence is just fine.
https://www.axios.com/understanding-the-charlottesville-chaos-2472562839.html
When I told my Europe-bound friends that I was visiting South Korea this month, their reactions were mixed. Understandably, most of them questioned my sanity, while others joked about me having just secured a front-row seat to a potential nuclear holocaust.
ReplyDelete...
Potential nuclear holocausts and ICBMs aside, I was never going to pass up a visit to the DMZ -- a truly unique place with such an ironic name considering it's one of the most heavily militarised borders on earth.
...
Asking a South Korean if they worry about an attack from the North is almost like asking an Australian if they're worried about the Kiwis invading -- except, in that absurd hypothetical, Australia isn't at war with New Zealand -- whereas the two Koreas technically still are.
World Nervous
I'd feel safer in Korea than Europe.
Deletehttps://www.osac.gov/pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=19449
Delete
ReplyDeleteGotta Love Lawyers:
MERCED, Calif. (AP) — The defense attorney for a teenage driver accused of driving drunk while livestreaming the crash that killed her younger sister says a mechanical problem may have caused the accident in California.
"We have reason to believe the accident was caused by wear and tear on the tire, causing it to blow out," said Ramnik Samrao, the court-appointed lawyer for Obdulia Sanchez. "That's where we are focusing our investigation."
===
Prosecutors said Sanchez was live-streaming on Instagram while driving (drunk) and that the video, which includes images of the 18-year-old taking her hands from the steering wheel, will be a key piece of evidence in the case.
http://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/lawyer-livestreamed-deadly-crash-caused-by-blown-tire
Your never safe in Florida:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article167036132.html
FLORIDA
DeleteHe caused $100,000 in damages. He said a hookah-smoking caterpillar told him to do it, police say
Florida couple zapped child with stun gun and force-fed dog feces, cops say
His car was burning, so he kicked it, drove it and shot at it, police say
State highway boss pulls FHP over in emphatic memo: ‘No ticket quotas’
He said he was retrieving stolen watches. Then detectives showed him his Snapchat post
Pam Geller's Wrap Up For This Day
ReplyDeleteSunday Night Cinema: The War Lord -
https://p.feedblitz.com/r3.asp?l=141173011&f=26412&c=5725657&u=49293618
An interesting attempt to break away from stereotype epic. Heston plays the war lord
in 11th century Normandy who finds that the land he controls is steeped in primitive
tradition. The rituals of pagan mythology are well observed - cabalistic idols,
sacrifices - as is Heston's disintegration in the face of a mental force that he
can't understand.
Videos and Photos: Real Patriots vs “Resist A Fascist America” Fascist Protesters
- https://p.feedblitz.com/r3.asp?l=141171929&f=26412&c=5725657&u=49293618
"The Resist a Fascist America" FASCISTS gathered the day before the anniversary of
Nagasaki, in front of Fox News, to defend the TOTALITARIAN hellhole called North
Korea. The enemy (for them) is the United States (it's not just the Trump/Pence
"REGIME"). They never met a totalitarian government they wouldn't DEFEND.
VIDEO: Here's what happens between prayers in the mosque -
https://p.feedblitz.com/r3.asp?l=141159583&f=26412&c=5725657&u=49293618
Muslim societies under sharia are sick. And unless we start talking straight about
this poison, we will be subsumed.
Aaaahhh--SO !
ReplyDeleteAugust 14, 2017
The Tao of Crisis Diplomacy
By Dexter Wright
In the written Chinese language, the ideogram character for “crisis” is made up of two Chinese words which are “danger” and “opportunity.” When dealing with Asian counties it is wise to remember that small but important detail to gain insight into the thought processes of the leadership.
The current escalating crisis surrounding Kim Jong Un and his attempt to extort from the international community a carte blanche to build a stockpile of nuclear warheads and develop the missile technology to deliver them, actually provides for a good opportunity to re-examine our own nuclear policy.
Many years ago during the Cold War we developed a nuclear policy of Mutual Assured Destruction or MAD. This policy was essentially the same policy that two scorpions in a bottle will agree to in order to survive. The USA and the USSR were exactly that, two deadly adversaries facing off with no avenue of escape, and so an arms race ensued and ultimately the USA outspent the Soviets and they collapsed under the weight of the guns vs. butter equation.
We were magnanimous in our victory and signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) Treaty. In that treaty, we agreed to do away with the neutron warhead and Advanced Cruise Missile technology along with the Peacekeeper missile which could carry ten warheads; the list goes on.
We did not agree to stop developing the Strategic Defense Imitative (SDI) or as the media called it “Star Wars.” The SDI plan involved multiple facets of anti-missile technology from space-based and airborne directed energy weapons to anti-missile missiles like the Patriot missile and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. The criticisms against SDI were that it was destabilizing or that it could be overwhelmed by a massive missile launch. But it turns out that it is not destabilizing and this technology is perfect for preventing small rough nations from threatening the interests of the USA.
Now we find ourselves in a scenario that has been “war-gamed” numerous times by our strategic planners. Although these scenarios have multiple and flexible options, war game scenarios always involve war.
In these war game scenarios, either our adversaries back down, as in the Cuban Missile Crisis, or things escalate to bloody conflict. But this is not a binary equation; there is, as the teachers of Taoist Philosophy would say, a third way.
There are two other players that do indeed have a stake in this very dangerous game. China and Russia have vested interests in the stability of the Korean Peninsula. Both China and Russia share a border with North Korea and neither wants to deal with a refugee problem of millions of people should armed conflict begin. So what is the third way?
The third way is that if China and Russia continue their policies of tacit encouragement of the little fat man in North Korea then the USA should pull out of the START Treaty and begin strongly advocating for a nuclear-armed Japan and provide technical assistance to that end. Russia does not want another arms race, they simply cannot afford it. China does not want a nuclear armed Japan.
The lessons from the Cold War are that an arms race can deliver peace without conflict. If the Russians and the Chinese agree to become involved to deescalate the crisis then we win and stability returns to the world stage. If they do not pressure North Korea to end this madness, then we will win via an arms race.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/08/the_tao_of_crisis_diplomacy_.html
August 14, 2017
ReplyDeleteHow The U.S. Trained Kim Jong-un into His Current Boldness
By Daren Jonescu
Is Kim Jong-un's level of rhetoric indicative of madness or a death wish? Though it is impossible to know the mind of such a protected figure, I would argue that his behavior is merely the reasonable result of lessons he has learned from past responses to his and his father's aggression, which makes the current situation far more complicated than it needed to be.
Part of the problem is that the world is still treating Kim as a man who is pushing his luck on bluffing and provocation. The truth is, the North Korean regime, including Jong-un's iteration of it, has been far beyond the bluffing and provocation stage for many years, but has breached that line so many times with impunity that they now feel almost impervious to retaliation.
Over the years, they have fired missiles directly over Japan. They have shelled an inhabited South Korean island, killing several people. They have torpedoed a South Korean navy ship, killing 46 seamen. In each case, apart from a brief exchange of fire when Yeonpyeong Island was attacked in 2010, the response from South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. has been little more than stern rhetoric and dire warnings, rather than serious military retaliation to demonstrate that under no circumstances will lethal attacks and overt violations of sovereign territory be treated as mere "provocations" or "escalations of tension." These allies have never taken decisive action to show the Dear Leaders Kim that an attack is an attack, and will be dealt with as such.
The result is what we see now. Kim Jong-un has been conditioned by past leniency -- by always getting away with it -- to regard his current behavior as safely within the bounds of flexing his muscles for his indoctrinated people, or of begging for attention from the North's stoic older brother, China.
He's acting like those idiots who get out of their cars at safari parks and dance around to tease the lions, imagining that those lions are so lazy and drugged up they could never really spring into action.
Or like a kid who shoots his mouth off in the schoolyard because he always assumes his older brother is nearby, ready to defend him against anyone who might try to shut him up.
However, he feels so sure of himself partly because these particular lions have never shown any serious signs of life before, and also because his older brother always has been standing nearby up to now.
DeleteWhat about this time? President Trump has somewhat carelessly moved his own "red line," now claiming that even an uttered threat from Kim will be met with military action. But such utterances are Kim's whole game, and everyone knows it. This either paints Trump into a corner in which he must now pull the trigger merely to avoid handing Kim yet another psychological and optics victory -- "Once again, they backed down in fear of our dear leader" -- or else it tips Trump's hand unnecessarily by revealing that a first strike is already planned. In either case, it was a sloppy move, it seems to me, and unhelpful, as it actually complicates the situation by effectively sweeping a lot of useful uncertainty and strategic options off the table.
If you want to interrupt Kim's breakfast, then do it -- don't suggestively ask, "Hey, Jong-un, what are you planning for breakfast tomorrow?"
And if you intend to do it, then take a long, hard look in the mirror and make sure your soul is prepared, and that your allies are prepared, for South Korean and possibly Japanese civilians to pay a terrible price -- and for Older Brother to get involved. You didn't expect him to get involved back in 1950. To belittle that possibility this time would be the heights of folly.
Whatever the Chinese say now, they will intervene at some point, as the DPRK is a geographical buffer against South Korean democracy that they will not willingly relinquish. They don't care about the Kim dynasty itself, but they do care about the territory and ideology. And they should be expected to defend these as they deem necessary. Anyone wishing to take action against North Korea must be prepared to deal with that eventuality, given the tendency of military engagements to spray off in unanticipated directions.
So Kim Jong-un may be somewhat delusional, but his delusions are born of historical precedent.
His enemies have shown absurd levels of forbearance in the face of outright aggression from his nation before, in effect responding to artillery fire as though it were only fiery rhetoric. They have emboldened him like adults whose response to a child's repeated violent outbursts is merely to say, "Now cut that out!" The lions have been consistently sleepy up to now.
DeleteAnd China really has played phoney arbiter in the DPRK's defense for ages, claiming, for example, that they would join the world in condemning their satellite state if evidence were to prove them responsible for sinking the ROK navy ship in 2010 -- but then conveniently rejecting the rest of the world's evidence as inconclusive.
The Chinese now claim they will not intervene in North Korea's defense if the latter initiates a war with the U.S. But, given their history, one would be wise to assume they would simply deny the North's culpability in almost any case -- a denial that would necessarily imply that the U.S. was the instigator, a condition in which the Chinese have suggested they would intervene in Kim's defense. In other words, barring an extreme act of carelessness by the Kim regime, it is almost certain that China will intervene on their behalf. The Older Brother is nearby, as usual.
Thus, there are no neat and clean military options here, and anyone who fantasizes that there are is still playing Cowboys and Indians in his imagination. This does not mean a military solution may not be required at some point. But the men who would choose and undertake that solution would have to be men of great moral gravity, nerves of steel, and principled statesmanship, à la Churchill or Reagan, who understand the full significance of what they may be leading the world into, are prepared in their souls to accept full responsibility for it, and are able to make the principled case to their citizens and allies for taking such an enormous risk.
Pray 'em if you got 'em.
Daren Jonescu lives in Korea and writes about politics, philosophy, education, and the decline of civilization at http://darenjonescu.com/.
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/08/how_the_us_trained_kim_jongun_into_his_current_boldness.html
Got Skunks out there on the farm, Bob?
DeleteSome smell just reminded me.
...at a distance, not all that bad at all.
A very full-bodied, full-spectrum smell.
Every day since my wife's passing I get more and more homesick for the farm.