A shot across the bow?
Do you think Trump knows what he is doing by closing up USAID and dispersing its workforce?
Is USAID something of a Trojan Horse designed to insert operatives into sovereign countries to effect regime change or color revolutions?
Are the infrastructure projects they fund designed to benefit American construction, agricultural, and mining industries?
Is this taxpayer money primarily used to make work for American industries?
You don't have to squint your eyes to see that most of the billions going to Ukraine comes back to the U.S. to buy overpriced outdated war machinery and bombs and missiles past their best by date.
And much of that gets resold on the black market worldwide. Or is it smuggled into USAID operations to be dispersed to rebel groups?
For every toppled nation touched by USAID, Corporate America seems to be the first there picking at the carcass.
There is nothing new in this as the former British Empire was built on this playbook and maintained supremacy for over 200 years.
What is different now is there are no more little helpless countries to regime change, plunder, and pillage.
Regime changing Russia has proven a failure. Regime changing China is a pipe dream.
USAID as lost its usefulness. Maybe it's time to sink it for good.
A shot into the bow should do it.
Now, how about NED?
Thread is open. Sorry I'm late.
Comments
I posted this yesterday,
in a discussion of the chicken-or-egg situation regarding USAID and regime change conflict.
Conflicts to support regime change are primarily started using black, off-the-books funds.
However, they are then extended by the use of the lily-white, yay-for-us, we’re-the-good-guys, charitably-unauditable largess of the kindly people of USAID. Oooh-raw!
Right in front of Gawd and everybody. Starting a war is cheap. Given that, why have the expense of eternal war-continuation appear on the CIA’s books when you can simply describe it as “charitable works”?
I also have some direct knowledge of USAID's tactics even when it is doing actual good works, such as in aiding island nations in the Caribbean with post-hurricane recovery. The aid that does actually get to the people in need comes with very definite strings attached. And care is taken to make sure that the politically-correct local politicians are allowed to associate themselves with it, whereas the non-politically-correct local politicians are carefully shut out. It is a cross between outright bribery and the iron fist in the velvet glove. It is used as a tool for shaping the local political environment, even when actually accomplishing its publicly-advertised goal.
Add to that the fact that very little of USAID's funds actually get to the recipients, with the majority being absorbed in the bloated overhead charged by the many contractors who shave off their share on the way, and it becomes fairly clear that at the very least a formal detailed audit is well overdue.
Is this the way to do it? Well, nothing else has worked before, if it was attempted at all. So we shall see...
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Yeah
Read your piece yesterday. Good points all.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Good afternoon!
Moon of Alabama makes a couple of interesting points, This may mean the US is accepting a multi-polar world. On the other hand, the re-organizing may make it impossible to follow the money in the future.
NED needs to disappear asap.
https://www.moonofalabama.org/
While I approve the audits, and approve of closing down the CIA front "charity", I am uncomfortable with the task being done by the richest man in the world. Who has oversight over DOGE?
Thanks for the OT, friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I too
have misgivings about letting a multi-billionaire have access to sensitive personal information of the American people. Especially one steeped in digital technology.
And why do we need 17 intelligence agencies?
Furthermore, there is something wrong when the State Department has its "freedom fighters" battling CIA "freedom fighters" on the same battlefield, as happened in the ME.
Thanks for the post.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
It was a Dodge Viper, not supposed to be a
DOGE Viper.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Awww, man!
n/t
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Kennedy confirmed by the committee
.
The vote was 14-13. All republicans voted for him all democrats voted against him.
https://www.ksl.com/article/51244780/senate-panel-backs-trump-health-sec...
I think he will be confirmed by the Senate, but it’ll be close.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
And now, we will see
if the Senate's role of "advise and consent" works or not. The grandstanding has now been done: the full approval should be pro forma, despite the howls of indignation from the dems. Once the candidates are approved by and passed out of committee, the rest should be relatively quick and easy. And then, perhaps some real work can be accomplished.
However, we are talking about the dems here. I suspect that both Gabbard and Kennedy will be approved by the full Senate, and then immediately sued/impeached/lawfared/screwed with interminably by the dems. Once again, time will tell.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
There's something queer
about Republicans voting for two former Democrat presidential candidates and Democrats voting against them.
Thanks for stopping by.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
There was something so twisted about the way the
democrats 'interview' nominees. It was like a hazing or some other mild form of inquisition. Not anything about policy or organization. I can't put my finger on the right word to define the spectacle we have seen in the last two weeks.
Can the candidate withstand hours of haranguing? Can the candidate stay consistent in responses? Can the candidate agree to (non) binding commitments on several points?
The foaming at the mouth, over the top performances were too much.
Thanks for your Open Thread today and every Tuesday. Prompts thought and discussion.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
Grandstanding,
otherwise known as "attempted virtue signaling". Unfortunately, the "virtues" being extolled by a number of the dems are no longer selling to the public at large.
Other than that, it was simply character assassination for sport. This is especially true in the case of those nominees who had been rejected by the dems prior to their nominations, and had decided to take their talents and abilities elsewhere.
It wasn't a good look, and it had "sore loser" written all over it. And this was not lost on a large number of voters, in particular those who also believe that they have been wronged by the dems.
Expect more, and worse. The lawsuits to come, after their confirmations, will be Biblical in heft- and will probably accomplish nothing other than to disgust ex-dem voters even more. The dems are good at that, if nothing else.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Spectacle is the word for it
Who can outdo who in the quest for that "gotcha" moment.
They embarrass the American people in front of the whole world.
Thanks for the kind words.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Kabuki works for me
I think most senators met with the candidates in their offices before the hearings so they already asked their questions and knew where candidates stood.
So them being angry shrills for the cameras was just theatre. Why would they be that angry? And since they didn’t let them answer their questions what did they learn? Nada.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
There appears to be substantial push-back
.
.
by the ROW to the empire dream of global control.
Unipolarity has become a forgotten ploy. Some of
these new tricks are a consequence of this realization.
If plan A is not working, try plan B. In the case of US
headgemon, perhaps plan CDEF could suffice?
Losers seem to play from the same playbook.
Watch while the Wall Street / banking cartel is
unable to prop-up the failing dollar. Could get ugly.
Thanks for the OT e1.
question everything
I'm beginning to suspect
2025 to be a pivotal year for Ukraine, Israel, BRICS+, and the dollar.
I expect the market to reflect sharply.
Hold on to your hat.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
FFS! Trump and Bibi have a meeting and now we get this.
Some might think that this gives Mossad a green light to do what it does best.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5126429-trump-iran-assassinate/
Iran has a couple
of big brothers now.
MAO....Mutual assured obliteration.
Hope it doesn't come to that.
I think the assassination plot is projection, SOP.
Thanks for your post.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
lol into eternity
Why would Iran hire Shakeri instead of sending its own hit team to kill someone here? And tell him he’s doing it for Iran?
But I’m seeing lots of people believing it.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
Good afternoon e1. Call me a pessemist, but I suspect
that when the dust settles all of the CIA functions will remain intact in some organization somewhere, and only the little dribs of actual chrity will vanish.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Yeah, spooks never die
They just get a new identity. A sometimes go to work for the other side.
Thanks for stopping by.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
A mere coincidence? LOL
Ha ha ha
The dogs aren't getting fed. Soon they will be turning on each other.
I wonder how many Politico employees believe that memo?
Good catch.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Tulsi also advanced out of committee
.
Same thing. All republicans voted for and all democrats voted against her.
I think Patel will also be confirmed. It will be interesting to see if any of them will still do the things they said they would. I’m betting no.
Big power is just too powerful.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
Just saw a headline
that Trump backs displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. Biden preferred bombing them to smithereens in place.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981