@duckpin

is really not the issue. It's the curtain in front of the issue.

The author begin this piece with:

The New York Times is currently engaged in one of its most ambitious projects: Removing a sitting president from office.

I think people will be surprised when they see what the New York Times (and some other Deep State mouthpieces are baiting the trap with.

also normalize relations with Russia and allow Eurasia to chart its own course? I don't think so and I think Pence will be as bad or worse than the author finds objectionable with Trump in the other areas. Nuclear war for imperialism: I think Pence is more likely to be aggressive militarily in this area than Trump.

We should be talking about President Sanders right now but he was cheated and robbed of the nomination. I don't forget that Sanders carried all 55 counties of West Virginia showing that he would have done well in the deindustrialized areas of the midwest that gave Trump is Electoral College victory.

@Big Al No, it is new, at least in the sense that they've never come out openly in favor of trashing the results of an election and installing someone more to the CIA's liking. My background, politically, is in opposition to the CIA's and Reagan's wars in Latin America, and the only thing missing from this current effort is the wandering gangs of strongmen killing people. In keeping with the more 21st-century way of doing things, they're using character assassination rather than actual assassination to achieve these aims.

those that identify as democrats have long aligned themselves with the deep state by supporting the democratic party which is controlled by the deep state. So what they're doing now, effectively aligning with the CIA, the NSA, and the deep state that wants war with Russia isn't anything new, they've done the same thing with Libya, Syria and the war OF terror. That's not going to change, not with democrats or the democratic party.

So when Whitney says this:

"Leftists should avoid the temptation of aligning themselves with groups and agencies that might help them achieve their short-term goal of removing Trump, but ultimately move them closer to a de facto 1984 lock-down police state. Misplaced support for the deep state Russophobes will only strengthen the national security state’s stranglehold on power. That’s not a path to victory, it’s a path to annihilation."

the top group he has to be referring to is the democratic party. In other words, support for the dem party is not a path to victory, it's a path to "annihilation".

Perplexing though from Whitney and Greenwald are their statements about democracy:

"And so, to urge that the CIA and the intelligence community empower itself to undermine the elected branches of government is insanity. That is a prescription for destroying democracy overnight in the name of saving it.” (“Greenwald: Empowering the “Deep State” to Undermine Trump is Prescription for Destroying Democracy“, Democracy Now)"

OK, I get the point but come on man, what fucking democracy are they talking about?

@Big Al lol thanks I was reminded of a comic routine seen one night at SF Comedy Competition, the Santa Rosa stage. Laughed so hard the next day my face hurt. I have been listening to Pacifica Radio broadcasts since forever to hear DemocracyNow!

Now? No not yet. Okay.
Now? Nope, not yet. Okay.
How about now? Shit! we can't even hit it like a stopped clock. Oh well.
Now? Keep going Sisyphus. ;-D

those that identify as democrats have long aligned themselves with the deep state by supporting the democratic party which is controlled by the deep state. So what they're doing now, effectively aligning with the CIA, the NSA, and the deep state that wants war with Russia isn't anything new, they've done the same thing with Libya, Syria and the war OF terror. That's not going to change, not with democrats or the democratic party.

So when Whitney says this:

"Leftists should avoid the temptation of aligning themselves with groups and agencies that might help them achieve their short-term goal of removing Trump, but ultimately move them closer to a de facto 1984 lock-down police state. Misplaced support for the deep state Russophobes will only strengthen the national security state’s stranglehold on power. That’s not a path to victory, it’s a path to annihilation."

the top group he has to be referring to is the democratic party. In other words, support for the dem party is not a path to victory, it's a path to "annihilation".

Perplexing though from Whitney and Greenwald are their statements about democracy:

"And so, to urge that the CIA and the intelligence community empower itself to undermine the elected branches of government is insanity. That is a prescription for destroying democracy overnight in the name of saving it.” (“Greenwald: Empowering the “Deep State” to Undermine Trump is Prescription for Destroying Democracy“, Democracy Now)"

OK, I get the point but come on man, what fucking democracy are they talking about?

@CB bases in foreign countries.

Many are small and new and serve as a tripwire in case an incident happens, real or manufactured, and the US military can invade and "save the troops" while carrying out the real purpose of intervention.

He is a direct threat to US world hegemony because he refuses to heel or kowtow to American global military or economic interests. The sanctions imposed since the US putsch in Ukraine have failed to bring Russia to its knees. In fact, they have actually served to strengthen the country. In any event, most of the economic hit to Russia was from the drop in oil prices because they use profits from oil production to balance their federal budget, pay pensions, etc.

Russia now has one of the lowest debt to GDP ratings in the world at 17%. This year they will finish paying off the entire debt of the USSR. Putin had paid off the USSR World Bank debt back in 2006 which effectively broke the chains that had bound Russia to the US and put an end to the hundreds of billions that were being carted off by foreign interests in the 90's. World Bank and IMF loans backed by the massive US military with it's hundreds of bases in 63 countries are the powerful tools the US uses to control and pillage countries.

Putin and Lavrov's statesmanship puts America's to shame.

Published on Feb 13, 2017

The Munich Security Conference of 2007 is often pinpointed as the period in time, in which President Putin of Russia became the big, bad wolf in the eyes of Western elites and media. He delivered a bluntly unexpected speech on his perception of world affairs. Putin had predicted the unrestrained use of force in a unipolar world, where the hegemon remains unbalanced by other powers and acts entirely in their own self interest. Putin called for a multipolar word, based on principles of international law and mutual respect.

Moreover, he had warned of the divisions that America's imperialist foreign policy would create within its own society, precipitating a split of US national unity.

@CB

"Putin and Lavrov's statesmanship puts America's to shame."

On the other hand, we should be grateful that Putin and Lavrov, unlike Obama and Kerry, have been able to maintain a civil and intelligent sense of proportion.

He is a direct threat to US world hegemony because he refuses to heel or kowtow to American global military or economic interests. The sanctions imposed since the US putsch in Ukraine have failed to bring Russia to its knees. In fact, they have actually served to strengthen the country. In any event, most of the economic hit to Russia was from the drop in oil prices because they use profits from oil production to balance their federal budget, pay pensions, etc.

Russia now has one of the lowest debt to GDP ratings in the world at 17%. This year they will finish paying off the entire debt of the USSR. Putin had paid off the USSR World Bank debt back in 2006 which effectively broke the chains that had bound Russia to the US and put an end to the hundreds of billions that were being carted off by foreign interests in the 90's. World Bank and IMF loans backed by the massive US military with it's hundreds of bases in 63 countries are the powerful tools the US uses to control and pillage countries.

Putin and Lavrov's statesmanship puts America's to shame.

Published on Feb 13, 2017

The Munich Security Conference of 2007 is often pinpointed as the period in time, in which President Putin of Russia became the big, bad wolf in the eyes of Western elites and media. He delivered a bluntly unexpected speech on his perception of world affairs. Putin had predicted the unrestrained use of force in a unipolar world, where the hegemon remains unbalanced by other powers and acts entirely in their own self interest. Putin called for a multipolar word, based on principles of international law and mutual respect.

Moreover, he had warned of the divisions that America's imperialist foreign policy would create within its own society, precipitating a split of US national unity.

@Not Henry Kissinger

with a man who, military professionals seem to agree, is a far superior choice. HR McMaster is getting rave reviews from Pat Lang's "Committee of Correspondance".

I have long considered LTG McMaster to be the best officer of his generation in every way that matters. Therefore I am immensely pleased that President Trump has chosen him for this job. pl

Check out his bio -- it's pretty impressive.
http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2017/02/hr-mcmaster.html

So was it a trap set by Obama to trip-up Flynn?

Maybe “yes”, maybe “no”. It’s hard to say. But what we know is that 17 days before Obama left office, he issued an executive order expanding the powers of the NSA “to share globally intercepted personal communications with the government’s 16 other intelligence agencies before applying privacy protections.” (NYT)

Why does that matter?

It matters because Flynn had already had his conversation with the Russian ambassador, so if the Intel agency that illegally gathered the information wanted to escape prosecution, the best way to do that would be to spread the information around to other agencies making it impossible to hold any one agency accountable. Simply put: They were taking the precautionary step of removing their bloody fingerprints from the murder weapon.

And probably true.

Politicizing intelligence sharing to cover up epic Presidential transitional douchebaggery.

So much for the 'peaceful transition of power' pomposity he and Hillary spewed before election day.

@Not Henry Kissinger
Thanks for making that point for those of us to whom it might never have occurred. I have to make a spare room for the overflowing additional respect I've just gained for your perspicacity.

So was it a trap set by Obama to trip-up Flynn?

Maybe “yes”, maybe “no”. It’s hard to say. But what we know is that 17 days before Obama left office, he issued an executive order expanding the powers of the NSA “to share globally intercepted personal communications with the government’s 16 other intelligence agencies before applying privacy protections.” (NYT)

Why does that matter?

It matters because Flynn had already had his conversation with the Russian ambassador, so if the Intel agency that illegally gathered the information wanted to escape prosecution, the best way to do that would be to spread the information around to other agencies making it impossible to hold any one agency accountable. Simply put: They were taking the precautionary step of removing their bloody fingerprints from the murder weapon.

And probably true.

Politicizing intelligence sharing to cover up epic Presidential transitional douchebaggery.

So much for the 'peaceful transition of power' pomposity he and Hillary spewed before election day.

@snoopydawg @snoopydawg

No secret court that makes up secret rules doesn't over rule the constitution.

But of course they do. The constitution is regularly pre-empted by the domestic security agenda, long before a court becomes part of the process — if ever. The rogue state gained independent power many decades ago. You ever think about who is in charge of the nation's classified documents? None of the elected representatives who come and go in DC, have sufficient security clearances to inspect any part of it. Ed Snowden had far greater clearance to access and monitor the Federal government than anyone elected to office.

his first campaign when he promised to filibuster the FISA bill and roll back the Bush abuses of spying on us.

One month ago, the NYT reported that "In its final days, the Obama administration expanded the power of the National Security Agency to share globally intercepted personal communications with the government’s 16 other intelligence agencies before applying privacy protections."

He not only voted for the FISA bill but he has expanded the NSA's spying and now there are over 800 private contractors who are also illegally spying on us, congress and the world's leaders.
The spying on us is still illegal IMO because it goes against our 4th amendment right to be safe and secure in our homes. I believe that should expand to wherever we are whether in our homes, our cars and places of work.
No secret court that makes up secret rules doesn't over rule the constitution.
I keep seeing comments about how bad people are missing him and wish that he could have another term in office.
How can people be so blind to the damage he wrought?