All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[worstblogever]

The SPLC just published over 900 e-mails leaked to them that are Stephen Miller whining to Breitbart News in 2015 and 2016, and helping shape their white nationalist news coverage.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/steph...b00927b23a1f95

He's as awful as we knew he is.

[Gray Lensman]

The SPLC just published over 900 e-mails leaked to them that are Stephen Miller whining to Breitbart News in 2015 and 2016, and helping shape their white nationalist news coverage.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/steph...b00927b23a1f95

He's as awful as we knew he is.

So much for the claim that he can't be these things because he is Jewish.

[Tami]

The Roger Stone trial is wrapping up, and it's not looking for for him or for Trump

Buschel rattles off a long list of exhibits, by number. (Checking the list, most are Stone/Credico comms.) Not going to display them, but will be available for the jury's review.

Now, playing the Stone audio of the HPSCI testimony. (Full transcript here)

Twitter Link

Excerpt:

[Robotman]

It’s starting to seem more likely that Trump could replace Pence with Nikki Haley.

[Gray Lensman]

It’s starting to seem more likely that Trump could replace Pence with Nikki Haley.

And here I thought it was going to be Ivanka so Donnie could see his name on the ticket twice...

[Theleviathan]

We've seen this story play out so many times in Latin America already though. Left wing governments in the third world are rarely paragons of efficiency by Western standards, they tend to be overly bureaucratic, corrupt, and dictatorial, and they usually manage to piss off the United States which reduces opportunities for trade and investment. However, they do by and large manage to improve the living standards of their people, particularly for poor and marginalized communities, often through dramatic and controversial redistributive policies which of course clash with American business interests. Compare that with the track record of right wing governments, which are often blatantly murderous, racist, and fascist, yet often enjoy the full backing of the US just because we hate anything even vaguely socialist. That kind of liberal democratic center that we love to hold up as the ideal just doesn't really exist in countries where prosperity and stability aren't something to be taken for granted, and the history of regime change in Latin America plainly shows that once the populist leader is ousted, some military junta is sure to follow.

Just look at Brazil for the latest example, there were certainly legitimate concerns with Dilma and the PT and I'm sure the protesters genuinely wanted more transparency and accountability and all that nice sounding stuff, but after they impeached her the country was basically stuck in a quagmire of uncertainty and instability where it was basically impossible for anyone to govern at all, which was the perfect climate for someone like Bolsonaro to step in and take power. This is Bolivia's inevitable fate now, and once the new government wrecks their economy then the country will devolve into real chaos.

I appreciate your post. It is complicated and you do a good job laying that out. I'm by no means celebrating his ouster nor am I regretful that a future dictator was taken down, more just lamenting the shitty nature of the situation that Bolivia is in the ol' Dictator or Coup range of choices.

The people of Bolivia deserve better than this vicious cycle.

[SquirrelMan]

And here I thought it was going to be Ivanka so Donnie could see his name on the ticket twice...

Ah, but have you ever seen Nikki and Ivanka together?
They are the same person!

[zinderel]

WRT the Bolivia situation...:

Christian Fascist Luis Fernando Camacho Leads ‘Racist Coup’ In Bolivia

Considering that the Trump administration caters almost exclusively to authoritarians, corporate overlords, and white racists who call themselves ‘Christians’, and the US is the primary exporter of religiously-motivated hatred and promotion of theocracy masquerading as Christianity, and considering that the CIA are and have long been the enforcement arm on international policy for right wing coups...

Is it so terribly hard to think that Trump and/or the CIA under him took advantage of the situation to install someone ‘sympathetic’ to the whims of the authoritarian, colonialist, religious extremist haven that the USA has become (and kinda always has been, deep down...)? It wouldn’t be the first, second, fifth or twentieth time our government catered to the interests of their corporate and religious paymasters in South American political upheavals..?

No ‘proof’, other than the mountain of historical and circumstantial evidence, though...

[Gray Lensman]

WRT the Bolivia situation...:

Christian Fascist Luis Fernando Camacho Leads ‘Racist Coup’ In Bolivia

Considering that the Trump administration caters almost exclusively to authoritarians, corporate overlords, and white racists who call themselves ‘Christians’, and the US is the primary exporter of religiously-motivated hatred and promotion of theocracy masquerading as Christianity, and considering that the CIA are and have long been the enforcement arm on international policy for right wing coups...

Is it so terribly hard to think that Trump and/or the CIA under him took advantage of the situation to install someone ‘sympathetic’ to the whims of the authoritarian, colonialist, religious extremist haven that the USA has become (and kinda always has been, deep down...)? It wouldn’t be the first, second, fifth or twentieth time our government catered to the interests of their corporate and religious paymasters in South American political upheavals..?

No ‘proof’, other than the mountain of historical and circumstantial evidence, though...

Much more plausible now, but US corporations have been willing to launch their own coups in the past and have been growing in power for the last few decades. Plus, ambitious ideologues have turned traitor before without US backing, so the possibility, even when a likely possibility, doesn't make it a fact just yet.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

The SPLC just published over 900 e-mails leaked to them that are Stephen Miller whining to Breitbart News in 2015 and 2016, and helping shape their white nationalist news coverage.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/steph...b00927b23a1f95

He's as awful as we knew he is.

Kid Jackboot isn’t just awful, he’s dangerous because he has Trump’s ear, whispering sweet nothings about racism and white nationalism, utterly vile **** Caramel Caligula has turned into policy.

[Gray Lensman]

Much more plausible now, but US corporations have been willing to launch their own coups in the past and have been growing in power for the last few decades. Plus, ambitious ideologues have turned traitor before without US backing, so the possibility, even when a likely possibility, doesn't make it a fact just yet.

One addition, there are also a few eager for Armageddon Christian groups with international reach as well. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them has some involvement either, even though this shouldn't be taken as...pun intended...gospel.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

https://twitter.com/redfishstream/st...41731811794952

Bolivian security forces and racist right-wing mobs are going door-to-door, rounding up and beating Indigenous people and leftists in impoverished neighbourhoods in La Paz as they try to literally smoke supporters of @evoespueblo out.

A Crisis in Bolivia

When he assumed power, the U.S. embassy in La Paz called Mr. Morales an “illegal coca agitator”. Plans to destabilise the government began immediately. The U.S. said it would delay all loans and discussions on debt relief until Mr. Morales displayed “good behaviour”. If he tried to nationalise any of the key sectors, or if he rolled back the anti-coca policies, he would be penalised. Mr. Morales showed no such fealty to the U.S.

Bolivia has seen many coups. The armed forces, influenced by the U.S., were always on standby for a scenario when they could eject Mr. Morales. But the popularity of the President and the MAS prevented any such armed action. Mr. Morales’s socialist agenda improved the everyday lives of the people, even as commodity prices declined. The ‘coup’ had to be delayed given his appeal.

In Statement That 'Reads Like a Chilling Warning of More Coups to Come,' Trump Celebrates Military Coup in Bolivia

The Trump administration has not been quiet about its desire for the removal of Bolivia's socialist President Evo Morales, who resigned Sunday under threat from the nation's military, police forces, and violent right-wing protesters.

Hours before Morales resigned in a televised address, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted his support for the findings of the U.S.-dominated Organization of American States (OAS), which alleged Morales' victory in the October presidential election was riddled with fraud. Pompeo also echoed OAS' call for new elections, a demand Morales accepted shortly before he was forced aside.

Guillaume Long, senior policy analyst Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) and co-author of recent analysis of the October election, disputed the OAS findings in a statement last week, arguing "there is simply no statistical or evidentiary basis to dispute the vote count results showing that Evo Morales won in the first round."

Why the Corporate Media Won’t Call It a Coup

In contrast, there was no coverage at all in US corporate media of the detailed new report from the Washington-based think tank CEPR, which claimed that the election results were “consistent” with the win totals announced. There was also scant mention of the kidnapping and torture of elected officials, the ransacking of Morales’s house, the burning of public buildings and of the indigenous Wiphala flag, all of which were widely shared on social media and would have suggested a very different interpretation of events.

Words have power. And framing an event is a powerful method of conveying legitimacy and suggesting action. “Coups,” almost by definition, cannot be supported, while “protests” generally should be. Chilean president Sebastian Piñera, a conservative, US-backed billionaire, has literally declared war on over a million people demonstrating against his rule. Corporate media, however, has framed that uprising not as a protest, but rather a “riot” (for example, NBC News; Reuters; Toronto Sun). In fact, Reuters described the events as Piñera responding to “vandals” and “looters.” Who would possibly oppose that?

Bolivian Coup Comes Less Than a Week After Morales Stopped Multinational Firm's Lithium Deal

The Morales move on Nov. 4 to cancel the December 2018 agreement with Germany's ACI Systems Alemania (ACISA) came after weeks of protests from residents of the Potosí area. The region has 50% to 70% of the world's lithium reserves in the Salar de Uyuni salt flats.

Among other clients, ACISA provides batteries to Tesla; Tesla's stock rose Monday after the weekend.

As Bloomberg News noted in 2018, that has set the country up to be incredibly important in the next decade:

Demand for lithium is expected to more than double by 2025. The soft, light mineral is mined mainly in Australia, Chile, and Argentina. Bolivia has plenty—9 million tons that have never been mined commercially, the second-largest amount in the world—but until now there's been no practical way to mine and sell it.

Morales' cancellation of the ACISA deal opened the door to either a renegotiation of the agreement with terms delivering more of the profits to the area's population or the outright nationalization of the Bolivian lithium extraction industry.

[Mister Mets]

The SPLC just published over 900 e-mails leaked to them that are Stephen Miller whining to Breitbart News in 2015 and 2016, and helping shape their white nationalist news coverage.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/steph...b00927b23a1f95

He's as awful as we knew he is.

As a clarification, the Southern Poverty Law Center hasn't published 900 emails.

They have reviewed 900 emails, and have written the first article about the emails.

For more fun for Miller and the Trump administration, there will be several future articles to follow.

[PwrdOn]

Much more plausible now, but US corporations have been willing to launch their own coups in the past and have been growing in power for the last few decades. Plus, ambitious ideologues have turned traitor before without US backing, so the possibility, even when a likely possibility, doesn't make it a fact just yet.

This is still a developing story, so there isn't going to be any obvious smoking gun just yet. However, by the time the evidence is uncovered this whole incident will have long since disappeared from the news and passed from the collective memories of the American public. There are plenty of stories of CIA shenanigans overseas that you might think would cause a major scandal if more people knew about them, but a lot of this stuff has been common knowledge for decades and people just don't really care enough to go look it up. Of course, the people living in the countries that we disrupted certainly won't forget.

[Gray Lensman]

This is still a developing story, so there isn't going to be any obvious smoking gun just yet. However, by the time the evidence is uncovered this whole incident will have long since disappeared from the news and passed from the collective memories of the American public. There are plenty of stories of CIA shenanigans overseas that you might think would cause a major scandal if more people knew about them, but a lot of this stuff has been common knowledge for decades and people just don't really care enough to go look it up. Of course, the people living in the countries that we disrupted certainly won't forget.

There is a bitter joke in Latin America that the reason there has never been a coup in the US is that we lack the American embassy needed to start one.

Funny enough, my cousin is a history professor specialising in the post Civil War US history.- basically our Imperial period (the obvious one, anyways. The Hegemonic period is later).

I know it could easily be the CIA behind the mess in Bolovia, but I refuse to go down the rabbit hole of insisting that is the only possibility. The dark side of America isn't the only bad actor in the world, after all.