@Lookout

You're dead on, as usual - heroes indeed!

Hope you don't mind if I add one of the other articles there to which I went after reading yours?

https://www.mintpressnews.com/intelligence-veterans-warn-risk-u-s-iran-c...

February 26th, 2018
Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)

MEMORANDUM FOR: The President

FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)

SUBJECT: War With Iran
INTRODUCTION

In our December 21st Memorandum to you, we cautioned that the claim that Iran is currently the world’s top sponsor of terrorism is unsupported by hard evidence. Meanwhile, other false accusations against Iran have intensified. Thus, we feel obliged to alert you to the virtually inevitable consequences of war with Iran, just as we warned President George W. Bush six weeks before the U.S. attack on Iraq 15 years ago.

In our first Memorandum in this genre we told then-President Bush that we saw “no compelling reason” to attack Iraq, and warned “the unintended consequences are likely to be catastrophic.” The consequences will be far worse, should the U.S. become drawn into war with Iran. We fear that you are not getting the straight story on this from your intelligence and national security officials.

After choosing “War With Iran” for the subject line of this Memo, we were reminded that we had used it before, namely, for a Memorandum to President Obama on August 3, 2010 in similar circumstances. You may wish to ask your staff to give you that one to read and ponder. It included a startling quote from then-Chairman of President Bush Jr.’s Intelligence Advisory Board (and former national security adviser to Bush Sr.) Gen. Brent Scowcroft, who told the Financial Times on October 14, 2004 that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had George W. Bush “mesmerized;” that “Sharon just has him wrapped around his little finger.” We wanted to remind you of that history, as you prepare to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week.

Rhetoric vs. Reality ...

#1.1

Enjoyed the back story on France. The Kevin Ship link at the bottom is really interesting. I watched it recently.

The VIPS are heroes. https://www.mintpressnews.com/author/veteran-intelligence-professionals-...

@Wink

we need a better response than cringing - and it's damned hard to come up with any when all of the checks and balances have been incrementally infiltrated and corrupted...

On the plus side, now, we begin to 'know thine enemy' better, enough to realize that they are within a ruthless group mentally crippled in essential human areas and in ways readily identifiable by displays of the notable lack of both empathy and ethics defining the incapacitating condition, as well as by brain activity scans, and are therefore not, by nature of this, ethically or otherwise fit to hold any public office or position where they can use power to abuse others. We are, of course, fighting a destructive and invasive pathology in human form, not just political and other labels they may gather under.

But once it's reached a point where facts proving criminality in electoral candidates are to be withheld, by self-interests within government/agencies, from the public under an ???accepted??? publicly made excuse that this 'might affect the election' - since sane people might prefer not to elect pre-selected psychopathic criminals to public office - and propaganda and censorship are being unleashed upon the public to manipulate them into consenting to whatever is done to them, it makes things... difficult.

Psychopaths are now better able than ever before to pathologize societies, this, as we know, due in great part to media and other monopolies and technology used against the general public and as the US industrialists who essentially invented fascism by funding Hitler for a global corporate/military takeover-by-proxy which failed, learnt from their mistakes, as did others carrying on the fascist global agenda in multiple groups and areas.

They essentially invented (seemingly pointless) terrorism by creating secret terrorist groups controlled only by spy groups (such as the CIA and MI6) attacking powerless civilians in NATO and other countries - under the excuse of maintaining defenses against a Soviet invasion which never came, (since it was predominately Russia's survival and win over their Nazi-proxy invasion which enabled humanity to win that time, The Powers That (shouldn't) Be have a long-running grudge against the people of that country) presumably keeping in shape by randomly attacking and killing citizens? - to terrify and 'right-wing' them into accepting abuses and the loss of basic rights in exchange for promised 'security' through Project Gladios*, using this also to weaken independent countries and as an excuse to set up US military bases everywhere, in preparation for the long-planned fascist global take-over.

And they've spent the intervening decades weakening, infiltrating and taking over governments/policy around the world, by hook, crook and invasion, draining power and wealth from the world toward a global totalitarian nightmare now approaching completion, unless either a probably more merciful extinction of planetary life or the people of the world rising up for life and democracy occurs first.

Look at what's happening now.

Below, there are 7 demands listed out of the 12; I wonder what the others are?

Note that the threatening of any individual Iranians who can potentially be labelled 'operatives' (like civilians killed by drones being counted as terrorists?) and any Iranians claimed to be '...Hezbollah proxies operating around the world...' by a group which routinely wars against civilians around the world seems to have not been commented on within the article...

https://www.rt.com/usa/427312-us-iran-financial-pressure/

‘Strongest sanctions in history’: Pompeo issues 12 demands to Iran, vows ‘unprecedented pressure’
Published time: 21 May, 2018 13:13
Edited time: 21 May, 2018 15:14

Tehran will struggle to “keep its economy alive” if it does not comply with a list of 12 US demands, including Iranian withdrawal from Syria, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed on Monday.

Speaking at the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing Washington think tank, Pompeo laid out a list of 12 “basic requirements” for Iran. The demands call on Iran to withdraw from Syria, "release all US citizens," end support for Houthi rebels in Yemen, stop “enrichment" of uranium, and promise never to process plutonium. Iran must also allow "unqualified access to all nuclear sites throughout the country," Pompeo said.

He promised that the US would impose the "strongest sanctions in history" if Iran failed to comply with these demands.

Joyce Karam
✔
@Joyce_Karam
Replying to @Joyce_Karam

Demands from #Iran , Pompeo:
•Close heavy water reactors
•Allow IAEA inspectors everywhere
•End ballistic missile
•Release US citizens
•End support to Hezbollah, Hamas, IJ, Houthis, Taliban
•Iran must withdraw from Syria
•Iran must support Iraq Gov, disarm Shia militias
8:17 AM - May 21, 2018
...

....The secretary of state also pledged that the US "will track down Iranian operatives and their Hezbollah proxies operating around the world, and we will crush them. Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East."

Speaking directly to the Iranian people, Pompeo claimed that “President [Hassan] Rouhani and Foreign Minister [Javad] Zarif… are your elected leaders. Are they not the most responsible for your economic struggles?" He added: “The United States believes you deserve better.”

Pompeo also said he's sure that over time, Washington's allies will warm to the Trump administration's now unpopular stance on Iran.

Washington’s strategy is to weaken Iran economically, rather than engage in an actual war, Dr. Said Sadik, Professor of political sociology at the American university of Cairo, told RT in response to Pompeo’s address. “What the [US] is doing now is increase sanctions trying to undermine the power of Iran regionally, economically with the hope that that would lead to unrest and disturbances in Iran, that it would make the Iranian government stop trying to help its allies or extend its influence in the area. This is basically what they want.”

Sadik added: “I don’t think they want a war because war is very expensive and dangerous in this strategic area…What they want is to weaken Iran financially, economically, with the hope that the Iranian government will not be that powerful in the area as it is now.”

The speech comes after Trump announced earlier this month that he was pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal. Europeans allies had pleaded with Trump not to withdraw from the historic accord, which put tight restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Iranian president Hassan Rouhani described the US pull-out from the deal as a "historic experience for Iran," adding that "by exiting the deal, America has officially undermined its commitment to an international treaty."

Iran says it expects the EU to continue to honor the agreement, despite Washington’s withdrawal from the accord. Inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have repeatedly confirmed that Iran is in full compliance with its obligations under the deal.

Somebody has to say and stand by this now - hell, everybody does! And make it clear that it's not the US but The Psychopaths That Be who are responsible for all of this!

https://www.rt.com/news/427351-rouhani-responds-us-demands-iran/

‘US can’t decide for the world:’ Rouhani rejects Pompeo’s Iran demands
Published time: 21 May, 2018 17:45

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has rejected demands made of Tehran by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, vowing to continue “our path,” insisting that the era when the US could “decide for the world” is over.

The US government has regressed 15 years, back to “Bush Jr.’s era” and is once again trying to dictate its will on the entire world, Rouhani said as he rejected Washington's Monday ultimatum.

“Who are you to decide for Iran and the world? The world today does not accept America to decide for the world, as countries are independent ... that era is over ... We will continue our path with the support of our nation,” Rouhani said, as quoted by ILNA news agency.

The definition of a psychopath in unkillable form, from below, although the 'can't' and 'won't' might need reversal for those in human form:

'...The tech can't be reasoned with and won’t feel pity, remorse or fear. ...'

Mechanical psychopaths now to be fully unleashed upon the world, because humans can't kill humans fast enough to suit The Psychopaths That (shouldn't) Be, who see these independent killer machines as their ideal.

https://www.rt.com/news/427313-india-develops-lethal-robots/?ref=hvper.com/

India eyes developing autonomous killer robots for military
Published time: 21 May, 2018 13:16

India is assessing whether it needs to develop AI-based weapon systems for the military, capable of identifying and attacking targets without human input. The tech can't be reasoned with and won’t feel pity, remorse or fear.

The 17-member AI task force, which includes officials from the Indian military, defense ministry, arms contractors and research organizations, was formed in February. New Delhi sees AI technologies as potentially reshaping national security and defense and wants to keep up with leaders in the field.

Among the goals which the group works on is “developing intelligent, autonomous robotic systems,” Ajay Kumar, the secretary of the Defense Production Department in the Indian Defense Ministry, told The Times of India.

“The world is moving towards AI-driven warfare. India is also taking necessary steps to prepare our armed forces because AI has the potential to have a transformative impact on national security. The government has set up the AI task force to prepare the roadmap for it,” he said.

The government is expected to start placing initial tenders for AI capabilities with defense application within two years, Kumar added.

AI technologies, or more precisely algorithms using machine learning for better performance, have seen rapid development in the past few years. If adopted by the military, they can be used for automatic target acquisition, automated analysis of intelligence data, improvement of logistics and other tasks.

The same technologies may potentially become superior to humans in some combat roles, beating the organic operators of remotely-controlled weapons in their reaction times and accuracy. But developing fully autonomous weapon systems poses yet-to-be answered questions about moral and legal ramifications of entrusting life-and-death decisions to computer algorithms.

We have to get psychopaths out of politics/policy/agencies now. If you think human US/Israeli cops kill a lot of civilians now, don't wait until these replace also civil forces so that no public money has to be 'wasted' on paying The Poors for such jobs at all.

https://www.rt.com/news/427360-russia-downs-drone-syria-airbase/

Russian air defenses down drone in Syria’s Khmeimim in suspected air attack
Published time: 21 May, 2018 20:16
Edited time: 21 May, 2018 20:17
DETAILS TO FOLLOW

Repeating these quotes following, regarding Gladios. Never to forgive, never to forget - and no longer to freaking accept.

* https://wikispooks.com/wiki/Operation_Gladio

Operation Gladio
Operation Gladio is a NATO-backed paramilitary network established after WW2, originally inspired by fear of the USSR. It was also called the "Stay behind network", since if the Red Army invaded Europe, its members would 'stay behind' enemy lines and disrupt Soviet control. Officially non-existant, secrecy was such that these networks were hard for NATO/MI6/Deep state officials to control. Gladio was responsible for bombings, kidnappings and assassinations to such an extent that the network was publicly exposed in Italy in the 1980s and was the subject of a BBC documentary by Alan Francovich some years later.[1] The project was adapted in the mid 1990s as "Gladio B", using "Moslem terrorists" as a substitute enemy image for communists.

Official narrative

What has come to be called Operation Gladio was never intended to be publicly acknowledged. It was a multi-national military plan to arm and train clandestine groups in many (perhaps all) of its member countries and elsewhere in Europe. The official narrative on these networks is confused, contradictory and definitely incomplete, with many basic questions unanswered. The stated reasons for establishing undercover armed groups has tended to focus on use of the secret armies as a fifth column to provide armed resistance in the case of a Soviet invasion.
Problems

The power hierarchy of Gladio remains unclear to this day, and is unknown to elected national leaders. When the European Union learned of the existence of Gladio, it passed a resolution mandating national investigations to reveal what was going on, but as of 2016, only 5 countries have done so (including Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Switzerland). A large question mark therefore remains over the role that Operation Gladio has played, and continues to play in influencing events. It seems very likely that the deep state controls these forces whether through the national intelligence services or in more informal fashion. The connection, in particular, with false flag terrorist attacks is particularly concerning.
Operation Gladio B

Full article: Rated 5/5 Operation Gladio B

Sibel Edmonds has exposed an international development of the original Gladio program referred to as "Operation Gladio B", which can be understood as a response in the min 1990s to the subsidence of the Soviet threat after the end of the cold war. As a way of kickstarting the "war on terror", instead of nationalist extremists in European countries, radical Muslims are armed, trained and assisted to carry out terrorist attacks while law enforcement is prevented from intervening.
Introduction

Dr. Daniele Ganser Interview: Nato's Secret Armies - Operation Gladio

Operation Gladio first came to light in Italy in 1990, after over 40 years of clandestine operations. Members of the project revealed that similar projects existed in most if not all countries of Western Europe.[2] These stay-behind networks were, in essence, super secret armies in at least 14 European countries, which were kept secret from the official governmental structures of the host countries – being controlled by other forces such as the CIA and MI6. They remained mostly dormant but were also involved in anti-communist activities including anti-democratic agitation and false flag "terrorism".

The name Gladio, (or ‘Sword’ in Italian) was technically the name given to their operations in Italy, but has since come by extension to stand for the phenomenon as a whole. Evidence of such arrangements, which had been kept secret from both public and politicians democratically elected governments in the host countries for a quarter of a century was revealed through a series of scandalous revelations in Italy and other NATO countries during the 90s, and meticulously documented by Swiss historian Daniele Ganser in his 2004 book NATO’s Secret Armies,[3] arguably the most shocking book ever to be ignored by the corporate media. The evidence contained in Ganser’s book, of terrorism directed against the people by secret armies funded and organised by NATO and answerable to deep state elements within NATO, MI6 and the CIA rather than the respective governments is so shocking that the initial reaction of most people would be to reject it. And yet the claims have been substantiated by juridical inquiries in Italy, Switzerland and Belgium and have been debated (and condemned) in the European Parliament. ...

... The Strategy of Tension

Full article: Strategy of Tension

During his trial, Vincenzo Vinciguerra revealed that, in addition to discrediting left wing political groups, there had been a second aim behind the bombings - to inculcate a climate of fear among the general populace. This was known as the 'strategy of tension' which was intended to generate a pervasive sense of fear which would encourage the population to appeal to the state for protection. As Vincenzo Vinciguerra summarized during his trial:

‘You had to attack civilians, the people, women, children, innocent people, unknown people far removed from any political game. The reason was quite simple. They were supposed to force these people, the Italian public to turn to the State to ask for greater security.’

In Francovich's documentary on Gladio, he described the aim as to ‘destabilise in order to stabilise’… ‘To create tension within the country to promote conservative, reactionary social and political tendencies.’ ...

Bush, projecting while speaking for himself and his ilk, was sorta right; they - the US and other Powers That (shouldn't) Be around the world really do hate humanity, with our despised and and exploitable empathy and ethics, for still having our freedoms...

these words, of course,
#1.2
mean just the opposite to Repubs and their owners, the Oligarchy.
I cringe every time I hear them say "reform." A not so subtle hint to grab ankles.

@QMS

but it seems that it's a thing, and even more appropriate that I'd thought. (Thanks for triggering me to look this up for an example!)

http://geekdays.com/01/25/opposite-day/

Opposite Day

Post in 01-January

Don’t celebrate this holiday today. Opposite Day is never celebrated on days other than this.

Opposite Day, also known as Opposites Day, is a word game where speech is modified so that meaning is inverted. Once Opposite Day is declared, statements mean the opposite of what they usually mean.

Usually, a person would say, “After this phrase is over, it will be officially opposite day,” and then Opposite Day will be officially started. Opposite Day can also be declared retroactively to indicate that the opposite meaning of what was said should be inferred. Opposite day games are usually played by schoolchildren.

In the sense that opposite day “excuses” untrue statements, it is similar to the notion that crossed fingers automatically nullify promises. Play has been compared to a children’s “philosophy course”, and the game has been used as an educational aid and suggested as preparation for “standardized testing”.
Opposite Day in popular culture

In Bill Watterson’s comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, Opposite Day was the gag of one Sunday strip.
An episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, called “Opposite Day”, featured Squidward’s attempted use of Opposite Day to make sure he gets SpongeBob out of the way
A Whitest Kids U’ Know sketch called “Opposite Day Lawyer” features the lawyer of a hopelessly guilty murder suspect declaring Opposite Day just before the jury goes to deliberate.
In the 2007 American Dad! episode I Can’t Stan You, Steve’s letter to Roger references Opposite Day when Steve tricks Roger leaving him stranded in Mexico.
Homer makes a reference to Opposite Day in the episode The Wife Aquatic of The Simpsons.
In an episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy titled “Opposite Day”, Billy and Mandy trick Grim into doing all their chores declaring that it’s opposite day, in the end Mandy reveals that she used the Opposite Day.
In an episode of “Robot Chicken” titled “Dear Consumer” (2009), a character asks if it’s Christmas Day or Opposite Day, and then cuts to a calendar with Monday, December 21 circled as Opposite Day, and Friday, December 25 circled as Christmas Day.
In an episode of “Jake and Amir” titled Ground Rule, Jake uses Opposite Day to make Amir do Jake’s bidding.

[Wikipedia Entry]

#1.2 what is opposite day? Assume a show of some sort.

@Pluto's Republic

but the accuracy is appreciated and desperately needs to be more widely recognized.

Thank FSM for you and others speaking out! We need more of you...

#1.2

...and have been for a very long time. Daily Kos is a funded controlled-opposition site and likely has been since 2006. (David Brooks runs direct opposition sites.) VIPS is a target for controlled opposition programs. Scientists of that caliber often are, especially physicists. You see it most publicly in climate science, natural healthcare and pharmaceuticals, the fossil fuels industry, and in questionable science and corporate exploits that are regulated by the EPA and the FDA. Net Neutrality was felled by controlled opposition, and the essential core of the War on Terror is actually "controlled opposition" to Human Rights — largely due to resource scarcity and the rampant greed of the Ruling Class.

We discuss ordinary, mutating propaganda here every day, and fight it as best we can. But it's not surprising to find "opposition research" at the foundation of the monstrous evil that is attacking US democracy, for it is the "One Ring that Controls them All." That's hard to miss when we look at the array of international spooks, Presidential level operatives, Party elites, CFR "family members," think tank consultants, and useful idiots from the Five Eyes and the Pentagon who are financially connected to the Steele Dossier, alone.

That's the Big Game we are not addressing, but it is already active and mighty on the battlefield of populist politics that are spontaneous gleams in our eyes, at this point. There is too much money pumped into them. All the money in the world. When the world stops supporting the US Dollar — only then will we be good to go.

We should be lobbying interested nations the UN, not each other.