Trumpwatch: Courage Calls to Courage Everywhere

[lionheart]

Let's hope he is done soon.

Cozie - his feet give him away. But I agree, it was an interesting interview. The comment about the emptiness at Trump’s core and the endless search for outside affirmation was interesting.

There was a story once about LLoyd George - I think from Strachey but it's many moons since I read him - that a room somehow felt emptier when Lloyd George came in to it - and not more congested. I wonder what he'd have made of 45?

(He became almost apoplectic at the thought of Lloyd George.)

NK has issued a formal ‘pissed off with the US’ statement that some of the media have picked up on. Here is the full statement from the horse’s mouth because, as you know, I don’t mind endangering my computer hardware by going there directly for everyone else’s benefit This one is actually fairly mild though.

DPRK FM Spokesman Flays U.S. Increased Pressure against DPRK

Pyongyang, May 6 (KCNA) -- A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea gave the following answer to a question put by KCNA on Sunday as regards the U.S. increased pressure against the DPRK:

Recently, the U.S. is misleading the public opinion, arguing as if the DPRK's clarification of its intention for denuclearization of the Korean peninsula made through the Panmunjom Declaration adopted at the historic north-south summit is the result of so-called sanctions and pressure.

At the same time, it is making open remarks that it would not ease the sanctions and pressure until the DPRK gives up its nuclear weapons completely and also moving to aggravate the situation on the Korean peninsula by deploying strategic assets on the peninsula and increasing its attempt of taking up "human rights" issue against the DPRK.

The U.S. is deliberately provoking the DPRK at the time when the situation on the Korean peninsula is moving toward peace and reconciliation thanks to the historic north-south summit and the Panmunjom Declaration. This act cannot be construed otherwise than a dangerous attempt to ruin the hardly-won atmosphere of dialogue and bring the situation back to square one.

It would not be conducive to addressing the issue if the U.S. miscalculates the peace-loving intention of the DPRK as a sign of "weakness" and continues to pursue its pressure and military threats against the latter. -0-

I'm going to be real surprised if KJU actually turns up to this meeting.

This one, from DPRK’s Minju Joson, is a little more inflammatory.

Minju Joson Ridicules U.S. for Smear Campaign against DPRK

Pyongyang, May 5 (KCNA) -- The U.S. in "country reports on human rights practices for 2017" hurled mud at the DPRK, talking about "serious human rights abuses" and "unstable forces abusing human rights in its country on a daily basis".

Minju Joson says in a commentary Saturday that it is open denial, unpardonable mockery and absurd slander to the dignified system of the DPRK.

The commentary goes on:

The "human rights issue" over which the U.S. is pulling up the DPRK has never existed in it. All the foreigners and overseas compatriots admit and praise it after visiting there.

It is none other than the U.S. that should be brought to the dock of human rights court.

However, the U.S., the kingpin of human rights abuses, is taking issue with other countries, styling itself the "human rights judge". It reminds one of the guilty party filing the suit first.

Now all Koreans and the international community unanimously urge the U.S. to roll back its hostile policy towards the DPRK at an early date and establish a lasting peace-keeping regime on the Korean Peninsula in response to the sincere and generous proactive measure of the DPRK.

The above-said action of the U.S. shows that it has no intention to roll back the hostile policy but tries to reverse the trend of the present situation provided with much effort to the past.

The U.S. is well advised to settle its own human rights problems, clearly mindful that such absurd smear campaign against the DPRK would result in the irrevocable consequences to mar the great thing. -0-

Me too, cozie!

This is the last NK article I’ll post today, but this one illustrates the direction they are taking as opposed to where the US/NATO may push them. They wish for independence and undisturbed sovereignty against ‘imperialists’.

Unity Based on Independence Guarantees Victory of Cause of Independence

The unity of the independent forces against the imperialists provides a sure guarantee for accomplishing the human cause of independence.
The popular masses' struggle for realizing the desire for independence is an arduous struggle against the imperialists and all sorts of reactionaries putting a brake on it.
The confrontation between the independent forces and the hegemonic forces inevitably accompanies the confrontation of strength.
The tremendous might pushing forward the struggle for independence against the imperialists lies in the unity of the independent forces.
Unity provides a fundamental way of strengthening the driving force for accomplishing the cause of global independence.
The respect for sovereignty is a fundamental principle to be maintained by the progressive people of all countries in their struggle against the imperialists.
Independence is the lifeline of a country and nation and also the lifeline of humankind.
The imperialists are dregs of history who have outlived their days but they are reluctant to come down from the stage of history of their own accord.
Today the imperialist reactionaries leave no stone unturned to stamp out the forces for independence against imperialism in collusion.
They are trying desperately to divide and disintegrate the forces for independence against imperialism including the non-aligned movement and establish their order of domination.
This has seriously violated and encroached upon the sovereignty of countries and nations and harassed the world peace and security.
The situation urgently demands that all the countries advocating independence strengthen unity and solidarity and strenuously wage the struggle against the imperialists by their concerted efforts.

Not exactly......placatory is it?

See, I'm hoping it's all a set up by KJU. He's going to lead Scrotus on with plans & negotiations for a meeting and at the last minute he'll find a reason to cancel the meeting in high dudgeon citing something Scrotus has said or done (and I'm sure there's plenty to choose from) that is 'insulting' to either him or the people of NK.

I think they just torpedoed Donny’s chance of a peace Nobel, because it makes clear any progress will be in spite of his sabre-rattling, not because he’s a skilled negotiator.

“Skilled negotiator” and “Donald Trump” are not phrases that share any similarity, except that they both have letters of the alphabet in them.

Israeli Operatives Who Aided Harvey Weinstein Collected Information on Former Obama Administration Officials
www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/israeli-operatives-that-aided-harvey-weinstein-collected-information-on-former-obama-administration-officials/amp

And

Israeli Spy Firm Black Cube Denies Trump Aides Hired It to Discredit ex-Obama Officials
The private intelligence company, however, does not deny or confirm that it was hired by Harvey Weinstein in a separate case
www.haaretz.com/amp/us-news/.premium-black-cube-denies-trump-aides-hired-it-to-discredit-obama-offficials-1.6060707

And

Carole Cadwalladr
@carolecadwalla
Ok, Twitter, riddle me this: black ops firm Trump used to scupper Iran deal rumoured to be Black Cube. As used by Harvey Weinstein. New fun fact: firm's major client - ex-major SCL (Cambridge Analytica) shareholder, Vincent Tchenguiz...

Black Cube helped Tchenguiz win his case against Serious Fraud Office..but this is but one of any number of colourful things that a brisk Google search will tell you about him...

amp.theguardian.com/business/2013/apr/12/vincent-tchenguiz-black-cube

[rest of thread mobile.twitter.com/carolecadwalla/status/993242112983433221 ]

House Democrats Plan to Release 3,000 Russian-Linked Facebook Ads

Lawmakers on House Intelligence Committee could release trove of ads as soon as this week

www.wsj.com/articles/house-democrats-plan-to-release-3-000-russian-linked-facebook-ads-1525650705

Social media

Barbara Malmet
@B52Malmet
“The symbolism of this is significant. It’s no surprise that the political propaganda machine upholding Donald Trump at its center used a beauty queen’s image to advance its agenda.”

How The Fake News Industry Weaponizes Women
www.refinery29.com/amp/2018/05/197259/misinformation-fake-news-misogyny-sexism-women-discrimination

And

Facebook's friend suggestions helped connect extremists
The online fight against terrorism involves more than just deleting posts.

www.engadget.com/amp/2018/05/06/facebook-friend-suggestions-helped-connect-extremists/

And

Wolfie Christl
@WolfieChristl
Cybersecurity firm found that 25,936 Facebook apps using login or other APIs might actually be data harvesting services, based on analyzing "80 pieces of information for each app, including permissions, libraries, risky API calls and network activity":

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MALICIOUS APPS USING FACEBOOK APIS
threatpost.com/tens-of-thousands-of-malicious-apps-using-facebook-apis/131566/

And

Scholars Have Data on Millions of Facebook Users. Who’s Guarding It?
mobile.nytimes.com/2018/05/06/technology/facebook-information-data-sets-academics.html

White supremacy

ProPublica
@ProPublica
The inquiry begins after a ProPublica and Frontline investigation and as a congressman calls on Department of Defense to better police its ranks.

www.propublica.org/article/marines-open-investigation-into-active-duty-white-supremacist

And

ProPublica
@ProPublica
Sean Spence, the Sanitation Salvage driver who authorities say ran over Diallo and lied about it, struck and killed another man, 72–year-old Leo Clarke.

Treated Like Trash
A death. A cover-up. An immigrant meets a terrible end in the Bronx

www.propublica.org/article/treated-like-trash

And

Abigail Spencer
@abigailspencer
Medical experts know that the trauma of family separation is incalculable. Urge Congress to hold ICE accountable for the cruel and unnecessary suffering it is inflicting. #ProtectFamilies

www.aclu.org/StopSeparatingFamilies

And

Jamil Smith
@JamilSmith
In Alabama, there are now 805 large, iron receipts for white supremacy. We need them. I wrote for @RollingStone about why the new @LegacyMuseum and @MemPeaceJustice, both of which honor lynching victims and shame their murderers, are patriotism in action.

www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/national-lynching-memorial-w519526

Melissa McEwan
@Shakestweetz
"It's a direct challenge to the new Jim Crow mindset. It is a patriotic act. If love remains the primary weapon against racial hatred, as Stevenson would argue, what shows more love for this country than holding it accountable?"

And

HHS official who shared conspiracy theories and said 'forefathers would have hung' Obama is back at work
amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/05/02/politics/kfile-ximena-barreto-update/index.html

And

Shaun King
@ShaunKing
Latino man goes to ATM,
Gets $60,
Buys Mentos from Convenience Store,
Gives cashier a $20,
Waits for Change,
Puts Mentos in Pocket,
THEN

A COP PULLS HIS GUN OUT...claiming the man stole the Mentos.

He should be fired.

Full story via @OCRegister @:

(link: www.ocregister.com/2018/05/04/video-shows-off-duty-officer-pulling-gun-on-man-mistakenly-suspected-of-stealing-mentos/ )

And

Keith Boykin
@keithboykin
This is infuriating, and it's not just this one cop. It's systemic bias combined with unchecked power that enables law enforcement officers to treat people of color like criminals instead of as citizens they are sworn to protect.

And

Don Blankenship won't rule out third party bid in West Virginia senate race
www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/don-blankenship-wont-rule-out-third-party-bid-west-virginia-senate-race-2018-05-06/

Josh Dawsey
@jdawsey1
NEWS: Gina Haspel sought to withdraw as CIA nominee Friday after a White House meeting on her nomination & torture. It led to an extraordinary scene: Top Trump aides rushed to CIA HQ later Friday to convince her to stay. w/@CarolLeonnig & @shaneharris:

www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/politics/gina-haspel-nominee-to-head-cia-sought-to-withdraw-over-questions-about-her-role-in-agency-interrogation-program/2018/05/06/eaa9b990-50dc-11e8-af46-b1d6dc0d9bfe_story.html

slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/05/trumps-usd400-million-cash-spending-david-fahrenthold-on-where-the-story-goes-next.html

'A big story in Sunday’s Washington Post lays out in detail how Donald Trump’s business, in the years before Trump became president, went on what the newspaper describes as a “buying binge,” purchasing property and extending the reach of the brand. What’s most surprising, however, is that much of this—at least $400 million worth—was done in cash. Not only was it a surprising strategy for someone who famously—and infamously—used to go into debt to make purchases; it also raises the question of exactly where the cash came from. And, indeed, this question may be of interest to federal investigators.'

Don't know about the provenance of this

Charles Jaco
@charlesjaco1
Today's @washingtonpost details how Trump went on 9 yr, $400M CASH property buying binge starting just as econ began to crash in '07. Where'd the money come from? This hteat 13-month old piece from @whowhatwhy gives a clue: Trump's Russ Mob/Kremlin...

whowhatwhy.org/2017/03/27/fbi-cant-tell-trump-russia/

Ronan Farrow on Black Cube.

www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/israeli-operatives-that-aided-harvey-weinstein-collected-information-on-former-obama-administration-officials

A refresher on all this series' characters:

The 315 people connected to the Russia probes
www.politico.com/interactives/2018/trump-russia-investigation-ties/

www.newsweek.com/mueller-has-all-trump-campaigns-texts-michael-caputo-says-910777

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/07/don-blankenship-senate-west-virginia-republican

'After the Upper Big Branch mining disaster of April 2010, in which 29 people died, the former Massey Energy chief executive Don Blankenship was found guilty of wilfully violating mine safety and health standards. Sentenced to 12 months in prison, he was released in May last year.'

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/us-midterms-republican-donald-trump-hilary-clinton-john-kasich-a8339551.html

I see Trump is twitteranting again

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@UnfollowTrump
39m39 minutes ago
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My highly respected nominee for CIA Director, Gina Haspel, has come under fire because she was too tough on Terrorists. Think of that, in these very dangerous times, we have the most qualified person, a woman, who Democrats want OUT because she is too tough on terror. Win Gina!

Unfollow Trump
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@UnfollowTrump
19m19 minutes ago
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The Russia Witch Hunt is rapidly losing credibility. House Intelligence Committee found No Collusion, Coordination or anything else with Russia. So now the Probe says OK, what else is there? How about Obstruction for a made up, phony crime.There is no O, it’s called Fighting Back

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@UnfollowTrump
4m4 minutes ago
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The 13 Angry Democrats in charge of the Russian Witch Hunt are starting to find out that there is a Court System in place that actually protects people from injustice...and just wait ‘till the Courts get to see your unrevealed Conflicts of Interest!

Unhinged.