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Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Common Russian Media Themes, Has Western Liberal Capitalist Democracy Failed?, and More

After watching international media for a while (particularly those who aren't part of the standard 'Western Alliance') you'll realise that their are common themes:
- they are clearly against the current international order. Believe that things will be better if changed. Wants the rules changed (especially as they seemed to have favoured some countries who went through the World Wars relatively unscathed)
- they don't believe in the concept of US exceptionalism and rally against it. Believe that it can cloud US judgment at times
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/09/diplomacy-russia-vs-usa-and-more.html
No sign of liberty tree growing - 5 years of Gaddafi's killing, Libya is still soaked in blood
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVxxqX1hQMk
- they believe that if even if they are corrupt the US/West are just as corrupt? Moreover, they believe that democracy and freedom of speech as it's currently practised aren't real. Given some of the operations that have been uncovered over the years, it's hard to argue that democracy is not at least 'somewhat curtailed'
- believe that the West are troublemakers? Mutual defense treaties aren't necessarily two ways? I recall a comment by one South American leader which said that if the US has a base in their country why couldn't other countries have a base in the US? Didn't realise that there are quite a lot of people out there who might not really want foreign bases in their countries? Turns out the US pays for mostly for the bases overseas but country in question can sometimes pay as well?
who pays for us bases
US Spending Over $150 Billion Annually On Overseas Military Bases
- believes that the world is unfair. That they are on the side of the righteous? (whether this is right or wrong is for others to decide. After learning more about the world all I've learnt is that the world is 'complex' and there aren't too many genuinely 'good' or 'bad' people out there). What you think is right or wrong is simply what is more amenable to your current circumstances based on the information that is currently available to you (or not)
Debunking 'arm chair blogger' Bellingcat
Data shows no aerial objects approached MH17 from the east - Russian MoD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJhG21RG63Y
CrossTalk - Bullhorns - On Offense
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIoNT43Fz98
- they say they came across as 'overly strong' at times because they're trying to get a point across?
- high incidence of (Western) whistleblowers and political dissidents in their media
- higher coverage rate of protests then in other media?
- seems to be heavy focus on the US and UK in particular with regards to their foreign media coverage
- lot of UK, US citizens and relatives (or associates) of Russia political class hosting and running their media
- have a tendency to aggregate things so that people will go to the single website for all of their 'facts' (which reminds me Google News seem to default back to United States news after some time for me even though it's supposed to go based on locality?)
- if you honestly want to know the 'truth' watch multiple news sources from multiple parts of the world (never completely believe a single source. Sources can always end up becoming 'compromised'), learn to think while consuming media (this is really important), try to remember relevant things to the case, stick to what can be proven (most especially what is difficult to forge) and ignore the rest, think about personality profiles, get better background/education, etc... Be prepared to wait a long while before you figure things out (note that some people can't figure things out and end up tying themselves in knots). What you hear on the news regarding what happens in other parts of the world is sometimes nothing like what you hear from people on the ground (whether via the news, defense, civilians, etc...). If you only hear one perspective you'll never really understand it
Kremlin's Peskov on MH17 investigation 'contradictions'
- after watching politics for a while you'll realise that things can be pretty difficult unless you have some sort of backing. I looked back in history at the rise of Hitler and Japanese imperialism and it become pretty clear that a lot of actors played a role in their ascendence. The world is complex (a lot of individual actors. These people don't necessarily representative of the entire population of a country) and (much like now) what happened back then was very complex and there is a lot of stuff that is difficult to verify. I thought it was isolated but it seems like a battle between right and left wing politics again (with Hitler being on the side of the right) has been happening for a lot longer than I thought. The irony is that it feels like we're taking the same path that we once trod in the past. Version of history that you learn at school is sanitised?
foreign support rise of hitler
foreign support rise of mao zedong
foreign backing japanese imperialism
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2015/11/how-wasteful-is-us-dod-how.html
http://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-and-poland-point-soviet-culpability-wwii-512449
https://www.rt.com/politics/363885-communists-pledge-resistance-to-falsification/
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/363822-ukraines-pr-wizards-ww2/
- they're flipping things around and saying that they are now on the side of democracy and free speech?
CrossTalk - Bullhorns - On Offense
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIoNT43Fz98
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2016/1024/Julian-Assange-tests-total-transparency-thesis-on-Clinton-campaign
- constantly trying to paint US/West as the aggressor (though you could say the exact same regarding US media regarding Russia as well)
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-24/nato-continues-prepare-war-russia
- if you knew more about the background behind what is happening in Iraq and Syria you'll understand why the officials are being so awkward about it. There are holes in the stories (no matter what country's media you look at). Listen to troops involved (or who have come back) from the conflict and it's pretty obvious that why intervention in Iraq/Syria has been so awkward. There are a lot of different actors involved (not just 'jihadists' as seems to be the story that is being told from some media outlets)(note, that those on active duty may be forced to recount a particular account of what is happening?)
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2016/09/22/russian-bomb-remains-recovered-syrian-red-crescent-aid-convoy-attack/
Syria will never be another Libya or Iraq - envoy to UN Bashar Jaafari (EXCLUSIVE)
[Full speech] Samantha Power blames everything on Russia _ defends US actions in Syria
Bouthaina Shaaban talks to Cathy Newman about Syria - full interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OY-n9XKwjs
Explosive Evidence on the Syrian Conflict - Obama, Clinton and Erdogan's Involvement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_5MkYD7PZA
We fly - you don’t - US wants no-fly zone over Syria, but only for Russia & the Syrians
US admits not targeting Nusra, fails to separate ‘moderates’ from terrorists
Syria war: How Moscow’s bombing campaign has paid off for Putin
- other countries stay out of areas where there is no direct interest
http://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/world-economy/china-slams-new-zealand-japan-over-south-china-sea-involvement/news-story/38274394862f990e40f3a72806633bb8
- the US/West does not practice genuine free market capitalism?
- that the US/West lacks enough background knowledge on the Eurasian region in particular
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/russia-is-making-inroads-everywhere-the-us-europe-and-eurasia-2016-12-01
Top Trump Adviser Has Shifting Views on Russia, Eurasia
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/81511
- nothing is black and white especially during war. It's just a complete mess. Never understood why people in far off lands (particularly islands out in the middle of no where) seemed to speak in strange accents (Western) until discovered colonialism, countries had military bases off in far lands was because in spite of ending the World Wars countries never really gave back the land to the local people (else they didn't trust others), basis for mass surveillance was a continuation of policy from World Wars, etc...
- watch the media in opposing countries and they'll often blame one another and poke fun at one another
- strong feeling of paranoia present in both US and Russian media, politics. Siege mentality. Both have history on their side (look deep enough).
- given how problematic ISIS has been, it's hard to believe there is a comedic side to them
ISIS Attempts to Shoot Down Russian Jet - See What Happens!
ISIS idiots who shot himself
- can easily see this de-generating into proxy warfare over the entire Middle-East region
- look at some of the defectors and you wonder whether or not there is a common theme? Did they get sick of the 'Cold War' and just want to live according to their own ways? Did some of them defect just to get people in the West just to calm down? For instance, look at Bezmenov, Mitrokhin, Belenko, Golytsin, etc... (Mitrokhin and Belenko are particularly odd because of what they managed to get out and the ease with which they got out) A lot of them came over telling the West (partly) the same story. That things were bad (though they started off a lower base as I've stated previously, https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/mharrison/public/ww2overview1998.pdf, http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/09/inside-north-korea-russia-vs-usa-part-3.html), the threat of the USSR was partly overstated, that they they wanted 'peace' of sorts (or some sort of arrangement), etc... Given that the breakup of the USSR was entirely unexpected (economics seemed fine) I'm not entirely certain that the story of the 'collapse' of the USSR is entirely true? Moreover, look at their weapons platforms/systems. A lot of them are for very specific threats. For instance, Mig-31 Vs SR-71, Mig-25 Vs B-1, T-14 Vs M-1 Abrahms, etc... Less about controlling the world and projecting power and more about defending their own space (though it's often said that you need ground forces to be 'hold land/gain territory' and the USSR/Russia has/have them in plentiful supply)... Some historians could be right (Stephen Cohen)? They could have simply decided to choose another path? That said, as has been stated previously by some Russian officials if the interests of their country or citizens are at risk they are willing to engage in non-conventional means to protect them and their interests
- curious as to whether they are any better at counter-insurgency (as opposed to the West)? Aware that both Russia and China have deployed resources to the region
VIRAL - Putin jokes with overly 'serious' Kalashnikov employees
Syria will never be another Libya or Iraq - envoy to UN Bashar Jaafari (EXCLUSIVE)
[Full speech] Samantha Power blames everything on Russia _ defends US actions in Syria
Lavrov to BBC - US protecting Syrian Al-Qaeda _ Nusra for plan B to change regime in Syria
RUSSIA-US TENSIONS INTENSIFY AT UN MEETING FOLLOWING STRIKE
Russia in Syria - 1 year on
Syria war: How Moscow’s bombing campaign has paid off for Putin
Roman Bessmertnyi: Russia Prepares Conflicts In Belarus, Kazakhstan
- has been said that Putin is just an opportunist. I say different. Some of the way the Russian establishment works is similar to the way the US works. For instance, listen to some Pentagon staffers and it seems obvious that they have plans for invasion of various countries globally just in case of a problem. My guess is that the Russians are the exact same. After watching the Russian military for a while it seems clear that for everything that the US has they have an analogous product (or at least something that can minimise the harm). Notice, that in the case of both the USSR as well as the US they only really had problems when dealing with opponents who were 'borderline fanatical' such as Islamic Jihadists, Viet-Cong, etc...
60 Minutes | Sep 25, 2016 | The King | The New Cold War | The Picasso Portfolio
Fancy Bears doping data 'may have been changed' says Wada
- the battle between left and right has been going on for a long time (as indicated above, it was that battle which ultimately led to the rise of Hitler (who was on the side of the right)). There are actually heaps of countries who want no part of any power struggle. You have to wonder what the world would look like if there never was any 'Cold War'. Most people seem to have leftish tendencies no matter what country may be involved (almost everyone believes in a meritocracy but the distribution of wealth is the core problem based on what I'm seeing). Note that their seemed to be a lot more West to East (347) defections than East to West (142). You need to factor in that those who go Westwards tend to end up worse (often dead) than those going Eastwards (jobless)
cold war defectors
USA vs USSR Fight! The Cold War - Crash Course World History #39
- didn't realise that the USSR and Allied Powers were pretty close during the World Wars? Openly admitted by Americans that the Soviets did most of the groundwork while the Allies did the aerial bombing runs. Stalin was actually nominated for Nobel Peace Prize in the past? Was referred to as 'Uncle Joe' by Churchill and Roosevelt? Churchill admitted that that it was the Soviets who did most of the legwork. I think Russia is asking for a relationship along those lines but is realistic? A more neutral stance is all they might require? End the zero sum game and see them as partners? If not, they will continue to fight the current world order. Europe almost certainly wouldn't exist in it's current way if not for the USSR (as well as US help)?
Cold War Series 
The Secret History of Silicon Valley
- the irony is that if China and Russia are in play they can act help take on the burden of maintaining global security (if the world requires it). Spreads the load out a bit if as well because the way I see it the way we currently practice capitalism it's very much a zero sum game. Looking at background around US defense forces wonder whether or not they are over stretched?
- if you know a bit about Europe then you'll also realise that they could probably save quite a bit if they share defense equipment, facilities, and responsibilities? Turn Russia into a friend instead of an enemy and a lot would also change?
Nato jets scramble as Russian bombers fly south
- didn't realise that countries (but most of all the US) had so many enemies? Guessing this is due to global trade and wanting to act as 'global policeman'? Understand concept of neo-colonialism but heaps of people seem incredibly resistant to it creating further problems? US establishment thinks that if they continue to push hard against enemies they'll disappear eventually? Wishful thinking? All they need to do is watch international news and they'll realise that they have a big problem on their hands. Look back at history alone and you'd realise it can't be that simple. Reminds me of Kuhn's 'Philosophy of Science' at times which says that the only way to get change is effectively clean out people of a particular ideology on both sides of the equation. Curious as to breakdown of hawks, neutrals, and doves in average foreign policy departments around the world? Am guessing this is part of the reason why the US wants to maintain 'leadership'. Things will get 'really complicated' if they lose primacy?
US Navy Now Shooting At Yemen
- can't see any way where this plays out well unless the underlying economic system of the world changes? Russia has mentioned going back to an 'Autarkic' based socio-economic system. Think carefully, if they are entirely self-reliant for their own needs how does it change anything for the rest of the world? If they aren't competing for resources with others how does that change the anything (unless there are resources that are present in Russia that aren't available elsewhere and could cause trouble for the rest of the world?).
ASU GSV Summit - Keynote Interview with Dr. Condoleezza Rice
Crisis with Russia - Madeleine Albright, Robert Gates, Condoleezza Rice
Life and Career of Condoleezza Rice
- I once heard someone say that the only way to 'win' is to never get involved in the defense/intelligence/politics game. The more you look at it, the more you realise that this is true. If you're just interested but don't want to get in trouble looking back decades (into definitely de-classified stuff) often gets you an idea of what and how people think now
- there's no guarantee that if either Russia or the US backs off the other will back off
- I remember that Obama once said that his primary piece of foreign policy was, "don't do dumb stuff" which seems to include taking a less internationalist foreign policy?
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/course-correction-18062
- wonder what politics would look like without any scandals or overly personal affairs in the public spotlight? You read about the 'Cold War' amongst some people and it's like the entire world has pitted against one another. There were clearly heaps of countries who wanted no part of it
- current method of 'policing world' can not work into future. As long as everybody doesn't believe in future model then it will collapse. For genuine 'policing' to work we need to establish seperate force entirely (separate of national interests)? Can not see this one working as long as concept our interests keep on conflicting with one another and nations? Very obvious that for every single move that the Russians make they also have a set of plans to account for alternate reactions by others. If they want something a particular set of circumstances it's because they have already planned for a number of set of circumstances
CrossTalk on Russia-US relations - Increased Tensions
CrossTalk on Russia-US relations - Dangerous Escalation
US considers military strikes against Assad's troops - reports
- something very odd is that in spite of others sometime it feels strange that only the US can solve problems when it feels like there are others who are more than willing to pick up the slack?
- most of what I'm hearing says that with tactical nuclear weapons in play most large equipment and troop formations will be 'wiped out' in the opening stages of a 'proper war'
Russia-Baiting and Risks of Nuclear War
- one of the strange things about the former USSR is that they all seem to have corruption problems across the board. Most of what I'm hearing is that things are worse now with regards to corruption in particular in spite of living standards/GDP increasing?
Frustration in Moldova ahead of its first direct presidential election in 20 years
Hungary Referendum - 98% of voters reject EU refugee quotas, but low turnout makes it invalid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjAHSUikIQ0
The murky future of Hungary's private media - The Listening Post (Lead)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlfEEtw_d_4
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/10/26/490755/Montenegro-Milo-Djukanovic-Russia-NATO-EU
- seeks to portray the US/West as the aggressors (though same could be said of US/Western media regarding Russia as well)
https://sputniknews.com/politics/201612091048379430-nato-offensive-alliance-russia/
- better way for intervention is to just take all the people who want out (even if only temporary), sanction, which causes their economy to collapse, etc? No weapons involvement. Open to abuse though. Some countries may just want to get rid of people for economic purposes or to use them as part of hybrid/economic warfare? Understanding perspective of China with regards to North Korea. Potentially just creating trouble for themselves. Given history of support by US and USSR in many countries look at it as a game of geo-politics, not values. Stability was never really achieved in a lot of these places? Realistically, you need to stay there for decades to change the local culture?
Afghanistan - worse
Iraq - worse
Libya - worse
Syria - worse
Vietnam - worse
Korea - unresolved/worse
Afghanistan - unresolved/worse
USSR/Russia - unresolved
Germany - resolved but still armed presence
Japan - resolved but still armed presence
Central Asia (Afghanistan, Ukraine, Caucus region, etc...) - unresolved
Europe - mostly resolved (with limited clashes especially in parts of former USSR) but still armed presence
Middle East - unresolved
Africa - not really resolved
Latin America -  not really resolved
https://www.corbettreport.com/interview-1219-newsbud-roundtable-on-the-migrant-crisis/
http://www.dw.com/en/world-bank-warns-libya-faces-economic-collapse/a-36089864 
110K Syrian Refugees Set To Arrive On US Shores
War in Afghanistan - 15 years and counting
USA vs USSR Fight! The Cold War - Crash Course World History #39
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9HjvHZfCUI
No sign of liberty tree growing - 5 years of Gaddafi's killing, Libya is still soaked in blood
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVxxqX1hQMk
War and Nation Building in Latin America - Crash Course World History 225
Noam Chomsky on the economic war on Latin America
The Movement Against U.S. Imperialism in Panama & Latin America (1990)
- people know that the US is stretched. If the US gets attacked on multiple fronts in a World War in the near future there's not guarantee that they'll have enough in the pipeline to help others if they get into too much trouble? Under those circumstance, I believe that we would be desperate for another arbiter in world security affairs (remember, what happened in the last World Wars? It took a heap of countries to band together to achieve peace once more). A unipolar world works as long as the power at the centre/top is a fair arbiter in affairs (or is strong enough to overcome everyone and eventually turn everyone to their way of thinking. Economically, it's clear that the US/West is weakening relative to the world. If they want to continue this game of conversion the only other alternative is basically make the process of 'conversion' more efficient?). If it over stretches there will be problems
- if large war breaks out at least you can change alliances (particularly if they are decisive and they are generally non-aggressive) if there are other defensively strong states besides the US?
South China Sea problem?
- note the wording, it's not about defense (“Have no doubt, the US navy is prepared to go wherever it needs to go, at any time, and stay there for as long as necessary in response to our leadership’s call to project our strategic influence,” Richardson concluded.). Over time, when you read this stuff you wonder what the heck does national security/interest even mean anymore? I used to think it meant a direct threat to a country's interest? Now, it doesn't even make sense anymore especially given the notion of 'free speech'?
NATO - 'Playing Chicken' With Russia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McSS4RNNMjw
Train Load of a Tanks cross Ukraine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvXit0V2XtE
- sometimes you struggle to figure out what's really happening out there. If you understood what was happening (and didn't take it too seriously) it's actually more interesting than a lot of what is actually on 'normal television'
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/361300-russia-winning-information-war/
- as I've said previously if Russia gets it's act together it's one of more obvious choices with regards to headroom for economic growth
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2015/10/more-eurasianmiddle-east-geo-politics_74.html
- so obvious what the model of 'intervention' would be if Russia and China were to take a greater role on the world stage. State takes precedence in both of their cases and this would extend through to what would happen if outside intervention needed to occur (by Russia and China should their intervention take place). Obvious question has there ever been any real examples of smooth transition from any other system direct to Western democracy (or any other system for that matter)? Is working with the existing government in a slow transition the only genuine way?
Syria will never be another Libya or Iraq - envoy to UN Bashar Jaafari (EXCLUSIVE)
From criticism to direct threats in just 1 month - US-Russia tension growing over Syrian crisis
Moscow delivers S-300 missile system to Syria for defense of Russian naval base
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KuDneRtUyk
- believe that part of their problem is simply communication/marketing (a good example of this is that their definition of rebel is anyone who you support while a terrorist is anyone who you don't support)? Namely, their PSYOPS and propaganda isn't as good as that of the US/West. If the world is more uni-polar they can and will take up the slack
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladislav_Surkov
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/11/hidden-author-putinism-russia-vladislav-surkov/382489/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_democracy
https://www.opendemocracy.net/globalization-institutions_government/sovereign_democracy_4104.jsp
Inside Story - Building BRICS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZj2YpKTiD8
Syria will never be another Libya or Iraq - envoy to UN Bashar Jaafari (EXCLUSIVE)
[Full speech] Samantha Power blames everything on Russia _ defends US actions in Syria
Bouthaina Shaaban talks to Cathy Newman about Syria - full interview
https://sputniknews.com/agency_news/201610181046445948-sputnik-brics-information-exchange/
http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2016/10/02/googles-jigsaw-undermining-alternative-media/
https://www.rt.com/news/363221-asma-assad-syria-children/
http://www.globalresearch.ca/debunking-the-western-medias-coverage-of-the-war-on-syria/5551325
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibel_Edmonds 
http://www.defensenews.com/articles/dod-is-losing-online-fight-to-win-hearts-and-minds
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/02/a-new-cold-war-economic-crisis-and-more.html 
- one of the obvious things with civilian deaths is that I find it difficult to believe that any defence would go out of their way to deliberately target them (unless they're forced to make that choice or they have other problems that they must deal with. If you know enough about the Middle East you'll know that use of 'human shields' and other abnormal tactics aren't too much of an uncommon occurrence)?
War Clashes
https://www.rt.com/usa/361939-kerry-russia-war-crimes/
- always an implication in states around Russia (in both Russian media as well as surrounding states) that even if they are difficult to get along with they still need one another. They are better off with one another than without one another
https://www.rt.com/business/363655-ukraine-nuclear-waste-russia/
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/363769-uk-russia-fleet-warships/
https://www.rt.com/news/363726-polish-plane-crash-conspiracy-tusk/
Russia's naval task force: Power play or just theatre?
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37704028
http://www.dw.com/en/turkey-says-it-has-other-options-if-eu-closes-its-doors-to-membership/a-36119884
http://russia-insider.com/en/president-putin-caught-tape-trying-bribe-chinese-delegation-watch/ri16887
https://www.rt.com/politics/363623-no-plans-to-denounce-ukraine/
- always an implication in states around Russia (in both Russian media as well as surrounding states) that even if they are difficult to get along with they still need one another. They are better off with one another than without one another
https://www.rt.com/business/363655-ukraine-nuclear-waste-russia/
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/363769-uk-russia-fleet-warships/
https://www.rt.com/news/363726-polish-plane-crash-conspiracy-tusk/
Russia's naval task force: Power play or just theatre?
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37704028
http://www.dw.com/en/turkey-says-it-has-other-options-if-eu-closes-its-doors-to-membership/a-36119884
http://russia-insider.com/en/president-putin-caught-tape-trying-bribe-chinese-delegation-watch/ri16887
- common theme of denial of belief in 'pure democracy' (as practised in the US/West) running through foreign media. Becomes more obvious what the problem is though. Achieving education is still possible in a more unequal society just much more difficult which means that voters appear 'hopeless' to politicians and politicians look hopeless to voters because they don't see what's actually happening 'on the ground'. There's a big problem to my earlier parental analogy though (countries and politicians are like parents to the population). Basically most kids know that their parents don't always get things right all of the time. There's also the other thing. The kids aren't always wrong? They may even know a different option that's not so bad from time to time? Interesting exercise would be if some countries threw the doors wide open on some policies and see whether their population could come up with better solutions then the current politicians and public service? (aware that there have been some thoughts along these lines in a number of countries including the US ironically through greater utilisation of big data and mass data analysis of publicly posted material) I was only really introduced to think tanks and other parts of political establishment during University
The Vice-Presidential Debate - The Young Turks SUMMARY
- believes that Western economic model is flawed or needs 'alterations'. Not just for purely ideological reasons? Practical ones as well?
- long memories and say that West has become and done a lot of the things that the USSR and other countries were accused of. It's clear that there are a lot parallels between the end of the former USSR and aspects of US/Western society now
Soviet KGB defector & Communist propaganda expert, predicts Obama's gameplan almost 30 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3nXvScRazg
Whistleblower - NSA Is Backbone Of World Surveillance State
Youtube Recruits Armies Of Trolls To Enforce Media Suppression
Ameriphobia - Filmmaker Explains Hillary’s Fear Of America
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/362036-russias-line-syrian-sand-us/
Russian Gulag Prison Camp 'Perm 36' - Full Tour - See A Russian Gulag https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLAj-KpK33w
The Gulag - what we know now and why it matters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOHNjJtemCg
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/06/is-capitalism-collapsing-random.html
Freeway Rick Ross x Alex Jones Interview (CIA, Gary Webb, Cocaine and Moor)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7nlSKEtjWs
Kill The Messenger - Mike Levine & Gary Webb -  The Big White Lie + Dark Alliance= CIA drug cartel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG8XNFPBPUs
Keiser Report - J is for Junk Economics (E982)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69aBdrx_ePk
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-prison-industry-in-the-united-states-big-business-or-a-new-form-of-slavery/8289
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penal_labor_in_the_United_States
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/04/more-psyops-random-thoughts-and-more.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/07/are-we-now-ussr-brexit-and-more.html
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/722816/Italian-referendum-Mario-Monti-attacks-Matteo-Renzi-EU-vote
- tired of being blamed for everything (even without sufficient evidence)? Aware that this can be shenanigans/mis-information though
US blames Russia for election campaign hacks (but can’t provide any proof)
Wikileaks releases e-mails from Clinton campaign chief's account
Putin - We know who hit aid convoy in Aleppo, so do the Americans
- given the bias in a lot of modern media (whether conscious or not) don't understand why people believe a lot of things that they hear? All they have to do is spend a little time thinking about things and they will realise that a lot of makes no sense?
why do people believe things
- believes that NATO is useless and serves no purpose. War is more about money and politics than actual defense? Core belief that world is based around imperialism. Accuses others of using human rights as cover story? Believes that the West and Russia are much the same but due to conflicts of interest we're effectively doomed ourselves to be rivals? Worry is that both sides see each other as mortal threats and will therefore play this game out until either one of them collapses or is contained
Understanding the Russian mindset
Ray McGovern 'At NATO's Warsaw Summit They'll Agree To Increase Military Presence Near Russia!'.
The Vice-Presidential Debate - Biggest FAIL
The Vice-Presidential Debate - Media Reaction
- believes that somehow that the US is setup on a collision course with Russia? That this is somehow ingrained with the political class in particular? Doesn't help that that both sides run some pretty aggressive operations at times? They call it 'Russophobia' (a strange bias against them that isn't quite racist but is definitely biased. This seems to go for some other countries (China is definitely one of them) as well?). Have heard some leaks from time to time that Putin is difficult to work with though?
http://www.politico.eu/article/viktor-orban-putin-has-no-personality/
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/1/24/putin-personality-cult-russians-obsessed.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladislav_Surkov
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/11/hidden-author-putinism-russia-vladislav-surkov/382489/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_democracy
https://www.opendemocracy.net/globalization-institutions_government/sovereign_democracy_4104.jsp
‘No wonder US blaming Russians for cyber attacks’ – security expert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aReefMuscsU
- strange fascination with Nazi's? Subject seems to come up over and over again
- seems to have a higher prevalence of English or US citizens then you'd expect for a what is basically a voice for the Russian perspective
- sometimes I wonder whether we demonise one another so it will make it easier to take advantage of one another should we feel the need? It's at moments like this you wonder whether it is possible to chemically induce someone into having a conscious (do we sometimes mix up PTSD and conciousness?)? Maybe people are apathetic about what happens in politics and life in general because the stresses of life causes it to be so? Wonder whether it is a viable mechanism of dealing with terrorist groups? For instance, a buffered medical treatment which will make them re-consider their actions? That way, we can stop with the mass surveillance, mass deployments overseas, etc... We can re-focus our money on other ventures?
[119] Proof Big Banks Knew 2008 Crisis Was Coming, War Is For Corporate Gains & More
drugs increasing empathy
food increase empathy
- Soviets who started BVR combat concept? Heard that the Russians leave RADAR absorbent paint off of the Sukhoi PAK-FA/T-50 until ready to go into combat. Shaping similar to in a F-22 in a lot of ways (especially in latter variants/prototypes/models). In reality we don't really have a clue what the RCS actually is until we head into combat in which case they could have something which evens things up completely? People who don't know about some of their other industries will make the mistake of underestimating them. Think about the numbers game as well. People are saying that the US has about 10 time more F-22s than Russian PAK-FAs. It's not a fair comparison because Russia is less likely to deploy overseas and they have a much smaller economy. It wouldn't surprise me if 12 is all they want or need. Anything on top of that is a 'bonus'. Judging by their equipment development we know that there is often a substantial gap between native and export equipment. Moreover, look at their incremental development (exact opposite of the US/West which tends to push everything into major development upgrades/cycles although it still does engage in minor update programs as well). We probably have no idea what the capabilities of their absolute latest equipment actually is (reminds me of certain development aircraft that the US/West really very little idea about until very late in the game or until they finally went into flight, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-47). That said, aware that they will resort to asymmetric attack/defense options. Wouldn't be surprised if they were able to launch attacks deep inside enemy territory if we decided to attack them?
Wings of the Red Star _ The Foxbat Deception (MiG-25) [1_3]
- they still create decent/competitive defense equipment and export to a wide variety of customers? Have co-operation with others internationally but most particularly with those in their immediate region?
https://sputniknews.com/military/20161009/1046146420/bell-helicopter-hybrid-f35.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/20/world/europe/russia-missiles-inf-treaty.html
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-19/russia-deploying-largest-naval-force-cold-war-syria-nato-diplomat
Russia: Ready With Forceful, Asymmetrical Measures if U.S. Adds Sanctions
http://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/1.748173
http://www.jpost.com/International/Analysis-Russia-hits-US-at-heart-of-democracy-US-counterstrike-not-likely-to-deter-470431
http://in.rbth.com/news/2016/10/19/syria-campaign-raises-interest-in-russian-weapons-and-naval-hardware_640193
http://russia-insider.com/en/blow-weapons-look-russias-army-inflatable-decoys/ri17094
http://www.news.com.au/world/middle-east/president-putin-sends-carrier-battlegroup-to-syria-as-spy-ship-surveys-internet-cables/news-story/af09fca95dcf4216c80bd4341b7038a9
http://www.defensenews.com/articles/resurrection-of-indo-russia-ties-seen-in-10b-defense-agreement
- why do so many people want to ramp things up? According to them it's just self interest in maintaining the military industrial complex?
Flying in a Mig-31
Миг-31. Взлет, посадка
L370-5 (PRESIDENT-S) - Infrared Countermeasures System
С 300ВМ Антей – 2500 SA 23 Gladiator
- it becomes obvious after a while that the public service does most of the work while the politicians are just 'front men' at times? You often wonder what the heck people say behind closed doors during diplomatic meetings?
- there's been talk on and off in the last few years about Russia opening military bases in Libya, Syria, and elsewhere in the former USSR aligned countries? Believe if when I see it
- want us to see them in a more positive light? They're not barbarians as some people make them out to be? Reminds me of another myth. Look through the ages and you'll see that most societies had their own peak and were 'civilised' to a certain extent when they were able to be
McGovern & Kiriakou Out Morell On Blast
CrossTalk - Russia's Worldview (ft. Ray McGovern)
Keiser Report - Stealing is Legal in America (E975)
US suspends bilateral contact with Russia over Syria
- a lot of countries re-write history the way they want it to
- watch them long enough and you realise the mentality of some of those people playing in the intelligence game. Once you understand the mentality of some of the people out there you realise what's happening. They appear to be zero-sum because it's being led by people who view it as a zero sum game. Once you understand those who work in counter-intelligence you understand how rediculous their mentality is. They view people as threats or non-threats. There's not a lot in between? Difficult for them to relate to people normally? A lot is sometimes made of Putin's "disinterested style". I think it has to do with his background in counter-intelligence?
- feels like most intelligence services collect information on people even if they aren't of direct interest to them? The funniest thing about defectors is that you're attempting to trust someone who has a reputation for lying not only for his own country but against it as well
Moles, Defectors, and Deceptions - James Angleton and His Influence on US Counterintelligence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qj_yzD_nc8
Watch Former KGB Spy, Professor Oleg Kalugin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKI1hv7GTfk
KGB defector Sergei Tretyakov weighs in on US and Russian relations
KGB, torture and Soviet terror - why Latvia worries about today’s Russia (NATO Review)
Spies: Espionage & Politics
- anti-elite element running through it. Is it just targeted at political class or society in general? Doubt latter? Are against elitism or just current political Western elite? If you want to figure out who the real aggressor is you need to stick to confirmed data
What if the Cold War never ended _ CLASSIC
KGB defector and propaganda expert Yuri Bezmenov on the lie of 'equality'
- based on what I've read basically as long as you're not a threat to the Russian state then you should be fine as a journalist (you're normally also informed beforehand should there be a potential problem?)?
- always at the back of my mind is if everybody just let things naturally flow towards those who are most talented or hard working what would society look like? Is the notion of zero sum politics self defeating? This is particularly the case when you watch some proceedings from parliament or Congress and you're not quite certain what the point of some of the arguments are about?
- listening to defectors is slightly bemusing at times because you're effectively trying to vet a liar who has lied to those who he has taken an oath to. The other thing you always wonder about with former Soviet/Russian defectors is that they normally end up dead so they're is always a question mark? If you read enough into history you'll realise that they often knew about Western operations a lot of the time. It's almost as though they let us in to help us understand them?
Moles, Defectors, and Deceptions - James Angleton and His Influence on US Counterintelligence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qj_yzD_nc8
What if the Cold War never ended _ CLASSIC
KGB in America - Cold War Russian Spies, Agents and Operations - Documentary Film
Wada leak 2.0 - Hackers release second batch of documents, causing more doping allegations
Leaked WADA documents - US Olympic team players were allowed to take banned substances
- if you do certain things, don't expect us not to do those same things to you and vice versa
- revise history to keep morale up? Don't think people want to be that bad? Only problem is if you only think about the good stuff all of the time how do you figure out what's wrong and avoid repeating past mistakes?
- super complex bureaucracy in US?
Retired US intelligence officials call on Obama to de-escalate rhetoric with Russia
- given some of the news channels out there you wonder people believe some of the really weird stuff? One thing that is obvious is that with most country's media it is 'tainted/biased' in some form. Not saying that it's necessarily a bad thing. It's just a different perspective that can seem very odd if coming from a different culture
Cognition - How Your Mind Can Amaze and Betray You - Crash Course Psychology #15
Cognitive Biases 101, with Peter Baumann
How to Persuade Anyone - The 25 Cognitive Biases by Charlie Munger
CRITICAL THINKING - Cognitive Biases - Alief [HD]
Cognitive Biases - The self-serving bias
Cognitive Bias in Negotiations - The Anchor Bias
CRITICAL THINKING - Cognitive Biases - Alief [HD]
CRITICAL THINKING - Cognitive Biases - The GI Joe Fallacy [HD]
- if you look across some of the RT news channels you'll realise a lot of the programs is about calling a bubble if and when one occurs. You wonder how much of the world economy is 'bubbly'? After all, in reality in practical terms there isn't really much to separate people (and goods) when you think about it?
- lot of theatrics
- if other country's do something to take advantage of others don't expect them not to the exact same thing (whether in defense or offense). Theme of using human right's a cover for imperialism? Use of proxies and covert action and PSYOPS more extensive in the West than in modern Russia?
[119] Proof Big Banks Knew 2008 Crisis Was Coming, War Is For Corporate Gains & More
CrossTalk - White Helmets, Really
Toxic relations - US accuses Russia of war crimes in Syria
Struggling for peace ‘White Helmets’ Nobel Prize nomination sparks controversy
Pentagon paid UK PR firm $540mn to make fake terrorist videos during Iraq war
- don't expect Russia (or China) to give in easily. Look at the history of the United Nations and it's clear that was no single policeman mentioned during it's formation (a single policeman simplifies things a lot though). In fact, global security was supposed to be provided by multiple partners including the members of the UNSC. The US only holds this particular role because of various other reasons that you wouldn't necessarily expect (such as other countries mostly taking most of the hit during the World Wars). If anything a multi-polar world is the way it's supposed to be? Looking at things overall I think that it is naive that either side will just 'give in' on particular core interests. In Russia's case, if there is an attack on their homeland I expect an attack on the enemy homeland (whether direct or indirect). Not their mentality to just give up based on seeing more and more of what their political class thinks. Even if there is a plan to bring down either the US or Russia long term I look at the Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and others as examples of this probably not really being workeable in the long term? The world is simply too big
Watch President Obama deliver his final speech at United Nations
Russian politician Zhirinovsky made Putin laugh and everyone else. Speech in Duma (English subs)
Russian Bear Awakened Nuke-Capable Missiles Moved to Kaliningrad
A site for Russian propaganda in the centre of Paris
The Putin Factor - Russia's impact on the French and U.S. presidential races (part 1)
- this seems to sum up the Russian position on many in the US completely? The election has been incredibly negative but one thing is obvious a lot of the US population doesn't really respond to 'issues of substance'? They seem easily distracted?
Trump's Polls TANKING In Swing States
Alex Jones - Hillary Clinton Is An ACTUAL Demon (VIDEO)
Trump 'Inspected' Underage Girls In Miss Teen USA Dressing Room
Hillary Clinton WikiLeaks Buried By Corporate Media
Hillary Clinton's WikiLeaks Onslaught Continues
Donald Trump Threatens Republicans
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-s-campaign-pulling-out-virginia-n665541- there is a general lack of political discourse in the US and there is a type of 'Shadow Government' (donors, think tanks, corporate interests, etc...) operating in the US?
Trump win is no catastrophe, it's politics - Stephen Cohen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsm4slImzDU
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-12/beware-shadow-government-ron-paul-warns-president-elect-trump 
- I've heard a few times that Putin/Russia is difficult to deal with. Think this is overly simplistic. The US/West are simply used to getting their own way (and vice-versa with Putin inside Russia. I also recently found out that just like some other conflicts the difficulties between the US/West and Russia/USSR has gone back several hundred years. It's unlikely to be resolved any time soon). They think that if they take certain actions that the Russians (or others) will back down. It's not like that. If you think like that you are doomed to fail (especially if they continue to weaken relative to other power blocks and individual nations). They simply have core interests (like the West) that they are completely unwilling to back down on. The US/West has this inherent belief that the other side will back down or come to see things their way?
http://www.politico.eu/article/viktor-orban-putin-has-no-personality/
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/1/24/putin-personality-cult-russians-obsessed.html
https://www.yahoo.com/news/osce-members-urge-parties-ukraine-conflict-meet-commitments-153533198.html 
Understanding the Russian mindset
Inside Story - Is the conflict in Ukraine about to escalate
NATO wants to destroy Russia even at the cost of nuclear war - US Historian
The Kremlin Playbook: Understanding Russian Influence in Eastern and Central Europe
- absolutely refuses to be lectured by the West (especially if they make the same moves themselves)
- believes that fundamentally certain issues can only be dealt with (or is best dealt with) locally or regionally
China's pampering of N. Korea exacerbates nuclear issues
Lt. Gen. Evgeny Buzhinsky
- US has taken measures to avoid sudden collapse of empire but it's clear that it's fraying all over the place. Something I didn't quite realise is that Russia isn't quite as 'isolated' as seems to be depicted in Western media a lot of the time
http://www.dw.com/en/bulgarian-pm-resigns-after-presidential-candidates-defeat-to-rumen-radev/a-36378966
https://www.rt.com/news/366804-czech-prime-minister-us-radar/ 
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/04/hybrid-warfare-more-psyops-and-more.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-political-leaders-divided-on-approach-to-russia-a-1116979.html
https://www.rt.com/business/363856-opec-russia-saudi-arabia-oil/
Italian PM Renzi blocks new Russia sanctions over Aleppo at EU summit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR1K9O0bjYA
- create a divide and attempt to bring people more into line with the Russian perspective
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-political-leaders-divided-on-approach-to-russia-a-1116979.html
- a lot of innuendo (though the same could be said of other country's media as well)
- those who oppose the current world order aren't as weak or incompetent as others may believe
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/10/23/490401/yemen-saudi-missile-base
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/10/24/490439/Iran-Intelligence-Minister-Mahmoud-Alavi 
- clear that countries have mountains of information on everything. Ready to use at a moments notice. If you examine what has been said by some whistleblowers the problem isn't so much collection of intelligence as analysis of it. There's just so much of it now? Interesting perspective of Russia versus US in intelligence game. Russia views SIGINT of being less efficient and important than HUMINT. They also feel that US/West is overly reliant on TECHINT/SIGINT at cost of HUMINT
- the obvious thing with nationalism is would people still vote for you if you talked down about their country?
US is exceptional, needs to continue leading the world - Hillary Clinton
CrossTalk on Russia-US Relations - Inevitable Clash
- watching Russian TV is sometimes surreal. It's like the whole world is flipped around. The West is now corrupt while there lesser problems in Russia? As stated previously against corruption, democracy in it's current form. Believes that liberalism and democracy in West as practised isn't real? People constantly being put on the spot
Keiser Report - Hackers & Pirates - true GDP boosters (E260)
‘Russia will continue to send troops home [from Syria] in body bags’ – US State Dept
Data shows no aerial objects approached MH17 from the east - Russian MoD
- part of the reason why Western foreign policy is so complex is that their are so many different points of view that needs to be balanced. This is why question marks are raised all over the place. It's really difficult to know what's happening on the ground without actually being on the ground for an extended period of time. Am certain that other countries are thankful for the intelligence provided (where useful) by the Five Eyes (look at the geography of them and it sort of makes it easier to understand as well. For the most part they aren't really in "contested areas". They are either not land locked or else have come to a sort of peaceful arrangement of sorts) but I think the US in particular could disentangle themselves (and create less enemies) if they found a way to support only core interests
- of constant concern in diplomacy is not the small lies. It's the big fat ones that can make all the difference. Worried that they're just moving pieces on the chess board in anticipation of a much larger move that is much more consequential
Communist Imperialism_CIA Documentary on the History of Communism (1961)_Full Length Propaganda Film
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKS6a7jx8Pw
- one interesting thing in the former USSR is that in spite of things changing certain things they think about in exactly the same way
Poland and Hungary seek more control over companies
https://www.ft.com/content/417e4558-4525-11e6-9b66-0712b3873ae1
http://www.dw.com/en/czech-police-fbi-arrest-suspected-russian-hacker-in-prague/a-36090821
https://www.thelocal.de/20161007/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-gdr-east-germany-list
http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/11/07/8-things-that-were-better-in-east-germany/
https://www.quora.com/What-was-it-like-living-in-East-Germany-the-GDR-under-Stasi-rule
http://matadornetwork.com/life/growing-up-in-east-germany-reflections-20-years-later/ 
- if we look at the way the two World Wars unfolded it wouldn't be hard to imagine the same same thing happening again. It will break out in either Asia or Europe both of which Russia has access to. If we break them up it could cause enormous problems?
- at times, it feels like the USSR operated in a similar fashion to today's EU?
- forget about any nation being 'clean'. Forget about 'values'. Just think 'interests' and you'll understand modern statecraft, diplomacy, intelligence, etc... (the irony is that a lot of us depend on things that came from Nazi technology but we aren't aware from it. For instance, nuclear weapons, PSYOPS/propaganda/advertising/marketing, stealth aircraft (Russians got their first with regards to theory but Germans were amongst the first with regards to actual implementation), rockets (we got quite a lot of help from the Germans), guided weapons (another German 'innovation'), RADAR (they got their first not the British based on some accounts), etc...) Clear that if the powerful countries are in trouble they would abandon their partners and allies. Therefore leery of the pure defense argument regarding some country's relationships. They have other 'interests' (besides just defense) and will pursue them, defense plays another role, etc... Really common tactic (by many countries) is to paint someone as an attacker/enemy even if all they're doing is looking after their own interests in order to justify an attack
The CIA and the Nazis-Full Length Documentary
The Spies Which Came In From The Cold - CIA, Soviet Defectors, KGB and Spying during Cold War (1991)
USA vs USSR Fight! The Cold War - Crash Course World History #39
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9HjvHZfCUI
Nazi Uranium for the Manhattan Project - 1945 WWII - U-Boat U-234 with U-235 cargo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNLRmDFx8Xw
KGB defector Sergei Tretyakov weighs in on US and Russian relations
KGB in America - Cold War Russian Spies, Agents and Operations - Documentary Film 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGYfQCvLnq8
Goebbels, The Master of Lies (RT Documentary)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG2rWnBmqyg
NATO - 'Playing Chicken' With Russia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McSS4RNNMjw
Train Load of a Tanks cross Ukraine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvXit0V2XtE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_radar
http://century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/WW2/german_radar.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_neutrality
http://warontherocks.com/2015/12/the-great-paradox-of-swedish-neutrality-in-the-cold-war-and-today/
http://www.dw.com/en/german-authorities-tested-drugs-on-unwitting-children-in-state-run-homes/a-36091174
https://www.thelocal.de/20161019/how-germany-remembers-the-holocaust-world-war-two-nazis-jewish-history-germans 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Cyclone
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Whistleblowers_Coalition
- give them their buffer zone. No more expansion of NATO. Surrounding countries to them are to remain neutral. Anticipate that conflict mostly arises when others breach particular areas of concern
CrossTalk - Bullhorns - Into the Abyss
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Utjq965jrkc
- complete shenanigans out there. Extremely funny once you understand what might be happening. If the USSR partly 'dissolved' because they were sick of the Cold War and they are still sick of being treated in an 'unfriendly fashion' everything about their behaviour makes much more sense
https://www.rt.com/news/365341-france-poland-mistral-conspiracy/
https://www.rt.com/news/366800-nato-trump-stoltenberg-moscow/
https://theithacan.org/columns/egypt-backs-russia-and-sparks-unofficial-cold-war/
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/09/inside-north-korea-russia-vs-usa-part-3.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/09/diplomacy-part-2-russia-vs-usa-part-2.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/09/diplomacy-russia-vs-usa-and-more.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumb_insolence
- give them an area/region of influence. Let them have good relations with neighbours (in particular)? End 'coloured revolutions' policy (if real)?
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/02/a-new-cold-war-economic-crisis-and-more.html
http://russia-insider.com/en/champagne-racism-british-radio-presenter-exaplains-russia-filthy-degenerate-corrupt-kleptocracy
http://www.smh.com.au/world/while-the-world-watches-syria-russia-is-creeping-closer-to-georgia-20161023-gs8yql.html
https://www.rt.com/news/363861-orban-hungary-sovietization-europe/
- a lot of people are probably just as mystified as me all of a sudden by 'Duterte' (apparently, Chinese background). That said, what he's doing reminds me a bit of the Western 'Drone' program. With some of these countries that are having 'Human Rights' difficulties you wonder whether or not whether that is the only choice that they have? If you think of perspective of moral purists the world is just a horrible place with horrible people in charge. If you think in more practical terms people are just doing the best that they can? Think Duterte's move is simply just a gamble to see whether he can get a better 'arrangement' with regards to the South China Seas. Can't believe that he'll drop things entirely without considering new presidential candidate's policies?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodrigo_Duterte
- leave them alone and stop trying to convert them? They have their own way of life and the West has it's own way of life. If there is change it will come but not overnight
- clear that they have a fascination with the 'US Empire'. This is in part with the US's self-interest in this as well. Feels like a doom loop at times. What the West doesn't seem to realise is that they don't understand the flaws in their own system at times? What's worse is that they don't seem to making much of an effort to fix them up. They just seem to be covering things up? That's the reason why others can make headway into their 'narrative'
Russia and the West: Where did it all go wrong?
CrossTalk - Bullhorns - Into the Abyss
CrossTalk - Exceptionalism’s Wars
- saying that they're offering something real, not just mumbo jumbo?
- they don't really provide any real vision for the future? That said, I've heard it mentioned that they know that the one thing the US hates is not having an enemy they can target?
- one thing that I struggle to understand at all is that criticism of policy is somehow construed as criticism of the country?

As I mentioned in last post, I as well as others are very skeptical of the economic global plan that's being laid out. The very fact that the TPP/TTIP are being negotiated in secret, there are hundreds and thousands of protesters all over the place, etc... tells you that there is something inherently wrong? A lot of people know that they will be worse off with the future that many of the political class seem to be looking at?
- sure, people may be paying people to engage in protests but the fact of the matter is they're still participating
- a while back I tried to make the analogy of political class as the parents in a country but I'm thinking that this may be a bit askew. Part of the problem is that in spite of what we say capitalism has always broken down but we believe in the core idea behind it. The only reason why it has been able to survive is because the political class has wanted it to survive
- in leftist system capital buildup is in state so doing anything is impossible without their aide. Opposite in rightist system which means but the way it is currently practiced means that we have a loop back situation whereby the government does what the private sector does which means that they are almost one and the same in some countries. Some countries are lucky and have been able to maintain a balance between the two
- since capital buildup accrues in the private sector (and you are less likely to waste your own money than that of others) I wonder whether that's the reason why private sector growth is faster?
- social systems results in people getting what they want. In the past the primary problem came down to capital buildup which led to a revolution. Now we have 'democracy' which sort of gives us a choice. The problem is that the capital buildup problem still isn't dealt with
- have no idea whether this guys story is entirely true. He's reached roughly same conclusion that I have. Capitalism in it's current form will eventually collapse or gives rise to continual conflict. Didn't realise how many programs there were worldwide to reduce the chances of genuine left wing governments from rising? Operation Condor. Many leaders killed because they didn't want neo-liberalism, capitalism, corporatism? Large amount of resources taken/consumed by US in spite of relatively small population. TPP will make it very difficult for smaller companies to compete. With most economies being composed of SME's it's not hard to imagine the problems TPP and TTIP could cause. Water being privatised in Bangladesh. Media corporatised and controlled. Believes that end of 'Cold War' was a bad thing because people didn't really have a choice but follow the US lead/example whether they wanted to or not. Now they have a choice
An Economic Hit Man Comes Clean
An Economic Hit Man Confesses and Calls to Action _ John Perkins _ TEDxTraverseCity
John Perkins on Embracing Cuba, TPP Kiss of Death & Restoring the Life Economy
- I think most people know that space (and renewing the planet as stated by Perkins, http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/06/is-capitalism-collapsing-random.html) is the only real option that our current version of capitalism will stay relevant into the future (and stops us from going to war against one another). Space is difficult. We've been talking about Mars for decades and have made slow progress. Believe it when I see it. Long term I think we should be attempting to 'terraform' planets (where reasonable) prior to us landing. I can't imagine a future where pensioners are going bananas over collapsed economies globally?
LIVE - SpaceX CEO Elon Musk unveils plans to ‘colonize Mars’
'We’ll sell launches, not promises’ - Russian firm joins space race with Sea Launch platform purchase
Rock the bus - Pensioners take to the streets in Athens to protest benefits cutbacks
- one of the great ironies of the neo-liberal capitalism model is that it focuses on hard work in the belief that money can 'make things happen'. For those who forget how to balance out their life they miss out on a lot though. Think about the strong place of family amongst Eastern cultures?
- that the West dealt with Russia (and others within it's sphere) unfairly in the past
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/07/neuroscience-in-psyops-world-order.html
- the Russians/Chinese are more conservative by nature. Watch Keiser Report and Boom Bust RT episodes (and if you believe in the theory of the Russian government supporting things that they believe in) it becomes pretty obvious that they see the world in fundamentalist economic terms. That's not to say that they can't engage in 'innovative thinking', it's just that they tend to see things in a different light than those in the West
https://www.youtube.com/user/BoomBustRT/videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/RussiaToday/videos
- this is one of the more interesting things of democractic, liberalist, capitalism (as it's currently practised). Everyone realises that if there is capital buildup and a desire to influence outcomes those with more money have a greater chance of influencing society than those who don't. The problem is that without capital buildup we can't pursue more fanciful, adventurous projects. The obvious solution is to break things up before that happens but most people don't want to pursue that goal. Also, makes your national firms less able to compete on the global stage if other global players don't play to the same rules (even though it reduces the chances of systemic economic problems should they have financial difficulties)
Globalism is a demonic agenda and Hillary Clinton is a globalist. No good Christian can support an evil movement
- one of the interesting things in nature is that everything takes a bit from the overall pot and there are mechanisms to reduce the chances of certain particular events occurring. For instance, capital buildup only works to a limited extent. You can only consume so much but your body dumps it as waste and eventually you die early. It does lead to some interesting side effects though. For instance, you're forced to work at your maximum potential each day in order to get what you need in order to survive. As an individual it works and also as part of an overall collective. Wonder whether it would work in the context of capitalism?
- the most interesting thing for me is that most people who know enough know that there are major problems with capitalism as it currently stands. What's most interesting for me is that there may be solutions to our current problems. It also potentially solves the 'charity paradox' (you need to compromise yourself ethically in order to climb the social ladder sometimes in order to be able to take care of yourself and others). Look around the world the things most people want socialised are food, healthcare, medicine and possibly housing. The rest of it we basically want to be rewarded for work and/or talent (or that's what we say on the surface). If our energy and food needs can be handled then it's clear that if we all have the same access to the same opportunities/information most societies develop at roughly the same rate. Hence, it makes clearer the problems with socialist/communist societies. They require a different framework (other than free markets) in order to justify distribution of goods and services. If they can't they will suffer from chronic shortages of goods. They therefore need to piggyback off of a 'mercantilist' ideology in order to pay for the type of society that they want to have. The interesting thing is this, let's assume that food, healthcare, medicine, and housing are all socialised
- politics is diabolically corrupt now. If you look at the daily news you'll realise that their are holes everywhere but if you understand enough about the holes you'll realise that it's part of the job. There's no real choice to it no matter who is in place
- something that feels obvious is that there basically is enough to go around for everyone? It's our current model of capitalism which creates imbalances which make it difficult for everyone to get what they need though. The obvious question is the population growth problem though. The irony is that the developed countries seem to have this problem already dealt with? They would mostly have declining populations if it weren't for immigration from other countries
Keiser Report - Hillary Speeches (E979)
John Perkins 2015 “9_11 As Catalyst For 14 Years of US and Global Domination”
The Death Economy Simply Isnt Working Anymore-John Perkins
John Perkins Interview with YES! Magazine
- the world only makes sense if you believe in it's corruption (whether intended or not). It makes no sense otherwise that we would believe in this system without modification into the future. It's doomed to collapse
Keiser Report: Bubble economy sins (Episode 977)
Cenk Uygur - The Zeitgeist Movement Interview TYT
Zeitgeist’s Peter Joseph on Wealth Illusion, Structural Violence & The Fear of Truth
Obama - US may end up with leader waging perpetual wars worldwide
[119] Proof Big Banks Knew 2008 Crisis Was Coming, War Is For Corporate Gains & More
https://sputniknews.com/politics/201610101046198772-hillary-environment-fracking-russian-hoax/
- if free market capitalism and market allocation works so well why do we have such massive inefficiencies throughout the world? Most of our food ends up as waste (to the point that the 'waste' is being fed to the homeless in more and more developed cities), our environment is getting destroyed but due to our greed and inefficient/wasteful technology the cost of energy isn't priced correctly leading to another doom loop, people are changing jobs/careers more and more often which means that there are flaws in our methodology or socio-economic system, etc...
http://www.globalresearch.ca/venezuela-farmers-fight-monsanto-seed-imperialism-and-win/5551355
- one of the great ironies of many democracies is that populists have somehow become a bad thing? Isn't doing what's popular the point of a democracy?
Why are populists so popular?
DiEM25.official
- clear that heaps of people know that there is something wrong with our socio-economic model (including those in the political class). Feels like they're stalling for time while they come up with something at times? At other times, it feels like they won't change unless something drastic happens (like a massive economic global crash)? Else, the ultimate way out is another World War? Surely, people aren't consider that as an alternative (we never really saw how it would play out last time because that was partly what helped us get out of our problem. A massive bust before another boom)?
John Perkins Interview with YES! Magazine
- it's obvious that if confidence (or desire) in the US dollar collapses basically MMT theory collapses as well. Interesting that US government is disavowing all knowledge of John Perkins and his career with the US government/intelligence community? Apparently, they tried to litigate him but he had lots of backup data to corroborate his case?
John Perkins (Economic Hitman) on 9_11, Corporatocracy & Conscious Evolution
John Perkins 2015 “9_11 As Catalyst For 14 Years of US and Global Domination”
Confessions of an Economic Hitman - John Perkins _ Short Documentary
John Perkins _ New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
John Perkins on Greek Crisis
An Economic Hit Man Comes Clean
- there were clearly heaps of anti left-wing programs out there. The irony is that in spite of this there are heaps of people who believe in something more than what we currently have as a socio-economic system. I have no doubt that should such as plan/possibility arise though there will be countries who will attempt to take credit for it
- one thing that seems obvious about globalisation and neo-liberalism is that it's much easier to make nothing or heaps of money at the same time. For me the obvious big question is mark is that if national governments are already struggling with managing their local and regional affairs how are they going to manage global affairs? The only realistic way that this is possible is with mass surveillance (used in economic fashion) which seems to be in vogue amongst more and more governments
Belgium snag for EU-Canada trade deal Ceta
- if you look at the strict definition of democracy most of the ones in existence aren't really (though even at it's inception 'democracy' was still only pseudo-democratic. It was only later on that things became more inclusive)? The intention seemed to be equal representation across a broad spectrum (based on assets and income). The version of democracy now is very different from the idea that was originally espoused? Looking back at the work of Chomsky, Varoufakis, Wolff, etc... it makes you wonder whether they are correct? Namely, that capitalism (at least, in it's current form) is incompatible with democracy? Looking at it overall it's clear that a lot of countries have lost sight of what democracy is, how it came into being, etc...
Our flawed process: Many voters wonder if we’d be better off with a presidential do-over
- humans sometimes need something of enormous consequence to get them to change their ways. If you look over history it's clear that we decided that physical violence is best avoided so we've basically moved to low scale conflicts, fighting via proxies, in alternate domains, etc... If you think about the nature of hierarchical social systems it's easy to see how Marxists/Leninists made the jump to believe in non-hierarchal systems (oddly enough was replicated in the 'Occupy Movement'). Look at social systems over their entire history. There are always mechanisms to deal with the "capital buildup problem" (inequality). In Christianity there are 'Debt Jubilees', Islam formally tells you to give back from time to time, Cuban and North Korean socio-economic systems basically are hybrid capitalist/socialist/communist societies, etc... As I've stated previously, since the state takes precedence in more communist/socialist environments. This can have unintended consequences. It means corruption is shifted towards it but it also makes it easier to maintain control of things (if required). It's not that difficult to see why it's so hard to get through to people of different cultures sometimes. If they've graduated to become a leader in a country they've been indoctrinated into that system and rewarded for following a particular set of orders. It's like classic Pavlonian conditioning (and updating of their neural network). Look around at many political leaders around the world though and you'll realise that many had difficult lives but sometimes it feels like they lost touch with their roots? Where they came from? How lucky they've been? People who haven't been quite as lucky? If they haven't managed to understand how things came into being they would have been conditioned into believing that life can be just as easy for others?
[119] Proof Big Banks Knew 2008 Crisis Was Coming, War Is For Corporate Gains & More
- one area where both the US is definitely different than most other countries is confidence. They're willing to take massive risk to get what they want. Can definitely lead them into trouble but also allows them to win big
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-06/australia-hasnt-learned-us-car-industry-lessons/7898378
- the world is bigger than just the US and it's allies. Those on the other side (than the US/West) probably don't realise just how different their perspective of the world is
https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/32978494/venezuelas-maduro-calls-in-iran-for-oil-price-cooperation/
- it's clear that what is said in private in public is very different. The US see the world as their empire?
https://www.corbettreport.com/war-with-china-what-hillary-told-goldman/ 
- if you look back into the history of religion it's alleged that a lot of wars were fought over territory, goods, money, etc... The strange parallel in history for me is with the alleged 'work' of Perkins. If he was doing what he said he was doing then it's basically a continuation of colonialism but under a more subtle guise. Note the history of the US relationship with current allies and other countries (often forceful at the start but became better over time)? It's difficult to believe that it's all about "freedom and democracy". This feels more about self-interest?
- the obvious big, fat question with all of the above is if we basically have all the resources we need to look after ourselves and the only problem is fair distribution why aren't we looking at a different socio-economic system more and more? It feels like our current form of capitalism is leading to places most people don't want? Increased inequality, democratic deficit, not enough time to see your own family, unfair distribution of wealth (correlation between pay and talent/work can be very strange at times), a possibly neo-feudalistic future (feels like there are not enough safeguards now in society to protect the needs of the many? People who understand how this work understand why it's proceeding the way it is. We'll work for Megacorp A, Megacorp B, etc... This future will actually be more difficult for entrepreneurs looking to start a business to make it?), etc... At times, it feels like we can actually have world peace and prosperity but people don't actually want it? That said, watch enough US media (everywhere now) and it's obvious that right from the moment you start understanding conversation you're indoctrinated into the world of capitalism and that life is 'zero sum'. You either win or lose? There's little in between?
The True Cost of the U.S. Wars in the Middle East
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qHxM6FGCfY
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/australians-are-ignoring-a-crisis-thats-bigger-than-brexit-chinese-debt-20161018-gs4ymj.html
http://www.smh.com.au/world/european-council-president-donald-tusk-gloomy-on-new-free-trade-agreements-20161020-gs79ma.html 
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/08/neo-colonialism-and-neo-liberalism.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/06/is-capitalism-collapsing-random.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/06/religious-conspiracies-is-capitalism.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-occupy-movement-veterans-for-peace.html
https://www.rt.com/business/361917-world-bank-free-trade-cons/
- politics is actually really funny if you understand all of the intricate relationships and grand plans
Libya's $1.2bn claim against Goldman Sachs thrown out
- it seems as though our choices for conflict are more towards less kinetic forms. Makes me wonder whether we should look for options in regards to increasing empathy and searching a new socio-economic system if we are to achieve genuine world peace? If there is a drug that you could give to terrorists to stop them wanting to kill people ('Mr Potential Terrorist' still wants to kill others but no longer acts on it?), for financial fraudsters to want to stop taking advantage of others, etc... would it not be better? I guess it's akin to biological mechanisms we already have to stop us from overeating? Sometimes I wonder whether we demonise one another so it will make it easier to take advantage of one another should we feel the need? It's at moments like this you wonder whether it is possible to chemically induce someone into having a conscious (do we sometimes mix up PTSD and consciousness?)? Maybe people are apathetic about what happens in politics and life in general because the stresses of life causes it to be so? Wonder whether it is a viable mechanism of dealing with terrorist groups? For instance, a buffered (for a delayed and pro-longed release) medical treatment which will make them re-consider their actions (give them a sense of empathy. If introduced as a form of gene therapy the chance can potentially be made permanent)? That way, we can stop with the mass surveillance, enhanced interrogation, drone operations, mass deployments overseas, etc... We can re-focus our money on other affairs?
Tylenol Proven To Decrease EMPATHY! (Seriously)
[119] Proof Big Banks Knew 2008 Crisis Was Coming, War Is For Corporate Gains & More
drugs increasing empathy
food increase empathy
Keiser Report - Too Broke To Go Broke (E275)

Random Stuff:
- watch the media around it and it feels like Clinton won. Watch the actual debate itself and it seems not so clear
Presidential Debate 9_26_16 Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton  (   Full & HD )
- pretty mundane debate despite what some media outlets have been trying to make of it
The Vice-Presidential Debate - The Young Turks SUMMARY
Full Vice Presidential Debate
Interruptions Characterize Vice Presidential Debate _ Rachel Maddow _ MSNBC
- even others have noticed that the media just doesn't seem quite right anymore?
The Vice-Presidential Debate - The Young Turks SUMMARY
The Vice-Presidential Debate - Biggest FAIL
The Vice-Presidential Debate - Media Reaction
The Vice-Presidential Debate - The WORST Line
- things definitely heated up in the second round. Trump seemed to be more level headed in this round. Clinton's performance seems more fluid (probably because she's spent a lot of time a politician). Watch the body language of both of them over time. Trump seems more 'natural'. Clinton is more of a 'career politician' which means she can often end up supplying canned responses. She also coughs, freezes, etc... at convenient times. Feigned reactions from time to time when she was to answer awkward questions (watch sound intonation in particular). Makes it easy to understand why the public sees her as dis-engenuous at times? Honestly, I'd think she'd be better off if she didn't try to cover things up so much (especially in areas where things are of no consequence)? Be less of a politician, be more of her natural self? The public may actually prefer it?
RT LIVE STREAM -  Hillary Clinton _ Donald Trump 2nd Presidential Debate
- people think that the scandals will be more minor if Clinton goes into office. I think it's clear that the scandals will just continue (whether she directly causes them or not)? Here's the other thing, even though people are blaming things on Russia she (like Trump) seems to have a lot of people against her (for right or wrong)?
Voters feel Hillary fatigue after years of scandals – frmr Clinton Secret Service agent
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhFAyx8260M
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-10-19/trump-tries-another-wild-card-play-in-final-debate-with-clinton
- this looks like fun (a bot to deal with SPAM)
- feels like he runs out of material at times but funny stuff from time to time
Keiser Report - Fecal Alchemy (E201)
- if the 'false runner' theory is correct this will be hysterically funny having Trump as POTUS. I can just imagine the comedians out there. I will build a wall between the US and ISIS and I'll make ISIS pay for it! LOL
- if you're a fan of Jose Murinho's humour you'll be interested in the following
- an interesting piece of musical hardware. It's a bit klunky interface wise though
Trigger Finger Pro
Trigger Finger Pro Overview
- alternative to Trigger Finger Pro is Akai MPC range (and of course Native Instrument's Maschine and Ableton's Push)
- simple remixes with this apparently
- crazy animals and their owners
High rise feline rescue drama
Skydiving dogs
- find some of the supposedly completed counter-stealth work hard to believe because the basic hard science doesn't seem to match up (or else details are still under wraps. I've fiddled around with some of the concepts mentioned)
Teleportation of light particles across cities in China and Canada a 'technological breakthrough'
- wonder why this is the reason why their budget is so big?
- wonder how parliament would change if member of the public were the one who were in charge of maintaining the peace and to keep things on topic?
‘Charm offensive’ - Boris Johnson praises his ‘Turkish washing machine’ on Ankara trip
- the national interest/security argument makes no sense at times? Watch 'Burn Notice', 'Covert Affairs' or enough Hollywood spy movies and you see heaps of stuff about procedures and methods. It's a complete mystery how the notion of classification works to me sometimes?
- didn't realise that attempts on naval ships was quite so regular? Clear that there have been casualities (equipment and people). Media doesn't really cover it though?
- it was only a matter of time before this happened. Has happened for a while in the Middle East based on some rumors. That said, if the story is to deploy AWACS as a direct result of a few drones seems like overkill (especially since ISIS is generally acknowledged to have no air force?)
- wonder whether this is accurate. Interesting change in media consumption habits
- VST management tools
- some free VST effects plugins
- Iranian rap music isn't that bad. Like European/French hop hop it has a more smooth, melodic nature to it owing to the nature of the language itself
Iran - Discover Alireza JJ, a rapper and music producer making music... with an Iranian twist!
- some free sources of sound packs and samples
free sound packs
free sample pack

Random Quotes:
“Microsoft's thrilled that our productivity apps will be pre-installed on Lenovo's premium devices," said Nick Parker, corporate vice president OEM Division, Microsoft. "The marriage of Microsoft's apps and Lenovo's Android-based devices will enable customers around the world to be more productive, more connected and achieve even more."

"Our collaboration with Microsoft will create new opportunities for our customers to take advantage of some of Microsoft's most popular apps," said Christian Eigen, Leader of Corporate Alliances, Lenovo. "Installing Microsoft apps and services on our devices will bring additional value to consumers around the globe."

It is a strategic move that counters the dominance of Google apps on Android. But more than that it firmly cements what were once Windows only programs back into the real world of mobile devices or as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says, “Mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.”

The logic is that if you use Microsoft products on your handset, you will use them at home or work. It also opens the way for Microsoft to expand its search engine Bing via Cortana and its tight integration with Office. It also could expand more Windows features like Windows Hello, and Ink into this market.

This comes on top of Microsoft’s extensive patents covering strategic parts of the Android operating system where it earns about US$5 for each handset sold. It has more than 1200 licensing deals covering the use of its IP.

Analysts almost universally agree that it is better for the consumer, now that Microsoft has become far more open, legitimately believes in open platforms, contributes accordingly, and allow the user to remove products from the device – something Google does not always allow. It is understood the apps are only pre-installed, and it is up to the user to use or discard them.
http://www.itwire.com/deals/74452-lenovo-and-microsoft-ink-android-apps-deal.html
For years, I’ve been warning that all claims of economic “recovery” in the US are complete fiction.

We now have definitive proof in the form of tax receipts.

Receipts from the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) have been falling steadily since 2012, according to the Office of Management and Budget, moving counter to the growing number of people employed. The FUTA tax is levied at 6 percent on the first $7,000 of an employee's wage…

Source: CNBC

There you have it. Since 2012, unemployment tax receipts have been FALLING. If the US economy was indeed creating jobs, this number should be rising.

Why is this number falling… particularly when the unemployment number is supposedly below 5% and job growth is great?

There are a couple of answers to that question and neither is favorable. The BLS numbers are either wrong or the quality of new jobs created must be very poor. The latter response seems the most credible; a combination of an increase in the proportion of part-time workers and full-time jobs that provide lower compensation.

Source: CNBC

As I’ve been saying for years… the recovery narrative is a myth.The unemployment number has become a political propaganda tool and has no reflection on the US' economic realities.

In simple terms, job growth has NOT come back in the US. Those jobs that are being created are low paying.

Meanwhile, the stock market is at al -time highs...

On that note, we firmly believe the markets are preparing to enter another Crisis. With over 30% of global bonds posting negative yields, the financial system is a powder keg ready to blow. And as usual, the Central Banks are clueless about the risks.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-08-22/proof-positive-recovery-myth
- Moreover, the plans have structural limitations. The Bank of Japan already owns 38 to 45 percent of Japanese government bonds with a maturity of less than 10 years, along with a quarter of government bonds with longer maturities. Those figures are well shy of 100 percent, but they are nearing their limit. Many investors that hold bonds with longer maturities, such as pension funds or insurance companies, are reluctant to part with their bonds since they value their stability and do not want to reinvest in a market with lower interest rates. This problem is not unique to the Bank of Japan. When it restarted its asset-buying program, the Bank of England fell short of acquiring its desired 1.17 billion pounds ($1.55 billion) in gilts with a maturity of over 15 years in a reverse auction. To make matters worse, since many of these central banks have been purchasing shorter-term bonds whose maturity dates are now swiftly approaching, they may have to buy even more bonds to hit their targeted rates for expanding their bond holdings.

For Japan's central bank, this may mean it is time to taper or otherwise adjust the program while looking for a more sustainable solution. The bank has several possibilities to choose from. Pushing interest rates even deeper into the negative territory is one option, albeit an unpopular one. Issuing helicopter money, which would entail the central bank underwriting the Japanese government's fiscal expansion, is another. But no developed country has tried helicopter money since World War II. Before the war, Japan did so and experienced hyperinflation as a result.

Given the uncertainty surrounding the Brexit negotiations, the ECB and Bank of England's cases are perhaps even more complicated. The United Kingdom's decision to withdraw from the European Union highlights the convoluted political decision that the ECB faces: As a patchwork of different economies with different challenges, the eurozone presents an unusual challenge for the ECB, which must try to prescribe policies that will suit them all.

Prior to the Brexit, the United States and United Kingdom had the fewest structural problems and risks. The United States does not face the same demographic crunch that the rest of the developed world is feeling, and fractious as it may be, the U.S. government is far more organized than the hodgepodge that exists in Europe. Keeping its own currency has shielded the United Kingdom from many of the eurozone's problems (though, of course, the Brexit could disrupt its stability). Japan and the eurozone, by contrast, have economies with so many structural challenges that they need a drastic political solution to fix them. The problem for these economies is that as their tools dull, central banks have to find new ones that are less effective or more politically controversial. In the next five years, they will probably have to change course yet again. And the impacts of the new strategies will not be confined to the countries adopting them. Since these economies form the basis of the global financial system, one country's problem is every country's problem.

No matter what kind of program the world's central banks resort to next, the reality is that monetary policy can do only so much to solve economic crisis. An economy's underlying structure is far more important, and no amount of quantitative easing can fix structural problems.
https://www.stratfor.com/geopolitical-diary/quantitative-easing-nears-its-limit
- “We realised that we were looking at something that no one had ever seen in the wild before,” he toldMotherboard.
“Literally a click on a link to jailbreak an iPhone in one step. [It is] one of the most sophisticated pieces of cyberespionage software we’ve ever seen.”
Mr Murray said the malware, codenamed Pegasus, gave attackers full control of the smartphone.
“It basically steals all the information on your phone, it intercepts every call, it intercepts every text message, it steals all the emails, the contacts, the FaceTime calls,” he said.
“It also basically backdoors every communications mechanism you have on the phone,”
“It steals all the information in the Gmail app, all the Facebook messages, all the Facebook information, your Facebook contacts, everything from Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, WeChat, Telegram — you name it.”
Since being established in 2010, NSO has become notorious for selling its sophisticated malware to governments.
However, the group largely works in stealth, operating without any web presence other than a LinkedIn profile, which says the company has been 201 and 500 employees.
Citizen Lab researcher Bill Marczak said breaking down the malicious program was compared to “defusing a bomb”.
“It is amazing the level they’ve gone through to avoid detection,” he said. “They have a hair-trigger self-destruct.”
http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/hacking/apple-forced-to-issue-a-global-update-of-ios-after-the-discovery-of-sophisticated-malware/news-story/b2674db4a506650c5df26610e1458a23
- I have a message for our Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and everyone who wants to condemn him in this month that we celebrated Homelessness Prevention Week in NSW. That is: guard against the constant drip of the media that would cheat you out of your humanity.

Sometimes I've been involved with something that has included a politician and I've been astonished by the venom which is poured upon them by social media in the aftermath. You may hold them in contempt sometimes, but politicians are often, I believe wrongly, on the receiving end of undue criticism.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/stingy-is-not-a-word-id-ever-use-to-describe-malcolm-turnbull-20160825-gr0ya0.html
- “Based on our agreement with the U.S. and Australian defense departments, China, the US and Australia are holding the joint ‘Exercise Kowari 2016′ that includes field survival training in Darwin, Australia from Aug. 24 to Sept. 11.”

On top of this, the Chinese Defense Ministry says Chinese and Australian ground forces will also conduct their own, separate exercies – dubbed “Panda-Kangaroo 2016″ from September 14th to the 23rd.

Those exercies, which will take place near Sydney, Australia, will include canoeing and downhill climbing drills.

The Chinese side says both sessions in Australia will be a good opportunity for Chinese ground forces to interact with their counterparts from Australia and the United States, and will also improve their overall training.

Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry’s Wu Qian says preparation work is also underway for a planned joint naval exercise with Russia.

“China and Russia have held their third round of negotiation over the ‘Joint Sea 2016′ maritime exercise in Zhanjiang City from Aug. 16 to 21, exchanging views on the exercise plan and arrangements for communication and logistic supports. They have reached wide consensus and have also inspected the relevant sites and facilities to be involved in the exercises. “

An exact date as to when the joint naval exercises with the Russian navy have not been laid out.
http://www.mb.com.ph/china-conducts-joint-military-exercises-with-russia-us-australia-defense-ministry/
- The Brave browser, developed by a company of the same name set up by former Mozilla chief Brendan Eich, is hoping to make its 1.0 release later this year.

Brave is unusual in that, by default, it blocks all advertisements and also code that could be potentially harmful. The plan is apparently to reinsert ads that are not intrusive and rely on a keyword system that does not track individual users.

More than half of the ad income (55%) would go to the publisher, 15% would go to the ad network, 15% would be taken by Brave, and the user would be paid the remaining 15% in Bitcoins.

The browser, which is available for a number of platforms including iOS and Android, also directs browsers to secure sites where they exist.

Malware is blocked by default as are tracking pixels and tracking cookies. Page load times are thus much faster.

Brave is based on the engine that drives Google's open source browser Chromium.

The company's mission statement reads: "We have a mission to save the Web by increasing browsing speed and safety for users, while growing ad revenue share for content creators."
http://www.itwire.com/open-source/74501-brave-browser-aims-for-1-0-release-this-year.html
- They're the baby robots that ruined the social lives of high school students in every teen TV show for the past two decades.

Just last week, in The Bachelor Australia, Richie Strahan deployed the screaming dolls to test the parenting prowess of his bevy of beauties.

But a baby simulator program aimed at preventing teenage pregnancies may in fact do just the opposite, an Australian study shows.

The gurgling dolls may have inadvertently made teen motherhood too appealing, with many students doting on their electronic progeny and enjoying the attention that came with it, the researchers said.
http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/they-really-liked-it-failed-baby-robot-program-increased-teen-pregnancies-20160825-gr0pzn.html
- Khazin explains how for the first several years in power, Putin strove to participate in a global system dominated by the US, to be accepted as an equal in this system.  However it was increasingly made clear to that he would not be accepted.

The Crimean events of 2014 represented a full break with the western elites.  But Putin's economic team, liberals like Kudrin, Naibullina, and Siluanov are throwbacks to the era of attempted cooperation, and have become obsolete, and are even sabotaging Russia's invitable course away from US hegemony.

Khazin argues that it is pointless to continue to operate in this system, with this team.  He calls for abandoning the Washington consensus, abandoning the dollar, and the IMF - in favor of a Eurasian economic community.

Khazin's views represent a group of economic nationalists who are ascendant in Russia.  We covered it last week in this article:  Putin Greenlights Economic Nationalists Who Oppose Current Liberal Globalist Policies.

He argues that there is nothing anyone can do to stop Russia doing this, and that it will be successful because of global economic growth in Eurasia.

He argues that Russia should seize the initiative and do this, or else instead of having a voice in one of the emerging economic zones, which will replace American hegemony, Russia will again be dependent on someone else.
http://russia-insider.com/en/must-watch-russian-analyst-mikhail-khazin-explains-how-putin-has-broken-away-international-elite-and
- One of the US pilots, a 38-year-old major, told the media that he had tailed a Syrian fighter jet “for all three of his loops”.

“He didn’t appear to have any idea I was there,” the serviceman said.

The tense situation could have ended with the Syrian jets being attacked if there had been any reported casualties among US ground forces, according to Major General Jay Silveria from the US air command center overseeing operations in the Middle East.

“All I needed at that point to shoot them down was a report from the ground that they were being attacked,” Silveria is quoted by the outlet as saying.
https://www.rt.com/usa/357402-pilots-shadow-syria-jets/
- The S&P 500's largest corporate pension funds are stealing a staggering $376 billion from their workers by underfunding their pension funds, new figures from Citibank reveal.

The top 25 of these plans accounted for $225bn of that underfunding.

Citigroup’s Chief US Equity Strategist Tobias Levkovich warned, “Pension under-funding continues to be a major issue for S&P 500 constituents as very respectable equity market gains over the last seven years have not substantially alleviated pension pressures.”

“Major issue” is something of an understatement as the S&P 500 corporate pensions have been underfunded since before the start of the Great Recession, hitting $376bn last year, a 22% increase from the 2008 level of $308bn.
https://www.rt.com/usa/357407-corporations-stealing-worker-pensions/
- Mr Huang has become a frequent commentator on Australian politics, and his columns, which have included musings on the recent federal election and Kevin Rudd's United Nations push, have appeared in popular Chinese-language online media outlet Sydney Today as well as the Global Times.

Mr Huang said the Chinese community was under-represented in Australian politics and that the media focus on "China-related" donations had overtones of "racial discrimination", given no other ethnicities were singled out for scrutiny. "They still keep the bias of White Australia and hope Chinese community continue to be silent instead of having power of speech in politics."
http://www.smh.com.au/world/chineseaustralian-community-should-get-more-action-for-political-donations-warns-huang-xiangmo-20160830-gr4d14.html
- Now before the false dilemma fallacy is invoked, let me make it crystal clear: this is no defense of Apple Inc., its police state control grid indoctrination gadgets (and patents), its cozy relationship with law enforcement agencies, its easily hackable (and backdoorable) products, or its pretense of standing up to the FBI while secretly opening giant back doors for the Chinese government (and who knows who else). Apple is a vile state-collaborating monstrosity that is more interested in preserving its walled gardens than contributing to the open source revolution that will (hopefully) destroy it. No, Corbett’s Law pertains here: in this contest between Apple and the EU there is no “good guy” to root for.
https://www.corbettreport.com/taxation-is-theft-eu-edition/
- FairWare was first reported on Bleeping Computer's forum on 27 August with readers looking for information on this potential ransomware. Reports indicated that Linux systems had been penetrated with the website folder being removed and replaced with a ransom note demanding two bitcoins.

“At this time it is unknown if the attacker actually retains the victim's files and will return them after a ransom payment. Though all ransomware victims should avoid paying a ransom if you do plan on paying, it is suggested you verify they have your files first,” wrote Bleeping Computer's Lawrence Abrams.

The ransom note requests that the victim pays two bitcoins within two weeks to get their files back. They are also very helpfully told that they could email fairware@sigaint.org with any questions.

Ransomware/malware for Linux is not common. This attack is aimed fairly and squarely at the Web hosting community as the majority of Web pages are hosted on Linux servers.

This is the first ransomware that “permanently” deletes files and is understood to look for backup files on the server too. It presumably uploads them to the C&C server. On payment, the files are simply copied back.

It is not yet known how the breach occurs. All reports have stated they use well-patched systems, and one even used a 13 mixed alpha/numeric/symbol password. It is possible that it gets in via a content management system (CMS) vulnerability and Wordpress has been mentioned. Vulnerabilities in CMS systems are a whole other issue.
http://www.itwire.com/security/74569-fairware-ransomware-for-linux-web-servers.html
- Russia will defend the interests of its citizens in any part of the world, the leader of the parliamentary majority party United Russia, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, said at a major international political forum in Moscow on Monday.

“The protection of the rights and interests of Russian citizens in foreign nations remains among our most important tasks,” Medvedev told the participants of the “In Unity with Russia” Forum on Monday. “This is a major objective for government agencies. Currently, the Foreign Ministry is working on it with the State Agency on International Cooperation and a special commission that deals with the problems of ethnic Russians in foreign countries. Of course, there are non-government organizations as well,” he added.

“I want you all, as well as the rest of our country’s citizens, to feel every minute that you are backed by the Russian Federation – the country that never leaves its people ‘behind the red line,’” Medvedev told the forum participants.

He emphasized that it was extremely important that all of these organizations act as one when Russian citizens abroad need help.

“This could be providing defense for a mother who cannot take her child out of another country, or forcing Russian kids to study in a foreign language. I emphasize, I am talking about forced transition to a different school program. It could also be providing legal aid to our citizens who have received unjust sentences from foreign courts,” he said.

“We will protect your rights and interests in any place in the world. We will protect you from discrimination, from oppression by local authorities or groups and, if it is deemed necessary, we will help you solve social problems, including problems with pensions or medical insurance,” Medvedev stated.

In late 2015, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov wrote an article in the daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta promising that Russia would continue to develop the “Russian World” concept and support compatriots around the globe, despite resistance from the US and the EU.
Lavrov wrote that the populations of Russian communities abroad total about 30 million people, making up the world’s four largest diaspora. He also notes that Russian government programs also support the cultures and traditions of other peoples, in particular those of Tatars and Jews.

Back in 2011, a special foundation was created and tasked with rendering legal and organizational assistance to Russian citizens whose rights have been violated abroad. In a statement dedicated to the launch of the project, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the new organization would work in accordance with the principles of international law in order to protect human rights.

The idea of creating the foundation was first voiced in 2009 by then-president Dmitry Medvedev, who stressed that protecting the rights and interests of Russians living abroad would remain a priority for Moscow. Medvedev also promised to develop a network of Russian scientific and cultural foundations, while pledging state support for NGOs dealing with the human rights problems of Russian citizens and ethnic Russians abroad.
https://www.rt.com/politics/357540-united-russia-leader-medvedev-pledges/
- Mr Morrison declined to spell out the security concerns behind the Ausgrid decision, which left some observers scratching their heads - not least because the two Chinese companies already own parts of the power grid in other states. As the news website Crikey observed, in relation to State Grid: "If it's a national security risk, as Morrison claims it is, then we're already screwed."
Toxic mindset

China's official Xinhua news agency warned in an English-language editorial that the Ausgrid knockback could lead to "a toxic mindset of China-phobia", adding: "To suggest that China would try to kidnap the country's electricity network for ulterior motives is absurd and almost comical."

Australian-Chinese relations have not yet plumbed the depths to which they fell in 2009, when Australian businessman Stern Hu was arrested in China on spying charges. But Mr Cai believes they could deteriorate further if, for instance, Australia joins the US in freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea.

Professor Richard Rigby, a veteran China-watcher at the Australian National University, notes that Australia has two China narratives: the economic one, which saw two-way trade increase ten-fold to A$100bn (£58bn) between 2002 and 2012, and the national security narrative.

"But we've not been good at all at bridging them," he said.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37211357
- According to official figures, bilateral trade stood at about $1.3 billion before US-led sanctions on Iran in 2012 brought it down to $432 million.

A multibillion-dollar gas pipeline to transfer Iranian gas to Pakistan is their biggest bilateral project which has yet to see the light of day.

The joint project was launched in 2010 and includes construction of 1,900 kilometers (over 1,100 miles) of pipeline from Iran to Pakistan.  

Iran has completed its part of the gas pipeline with a total investment of above $2 billion, but Pakistan has yet to do its own, having already fallen behind the schedule to take delivery of gas in 2014.

Islamabad has dragged its feet under pressure from the US which is supporting a rival project to pump gas from Turkmenistan and urging Pakistan to consider other options. 

The Iranian pipeline route is about 700 kilometers shorter, while the gas pipeline from Turkmenistan has to pass through Afghanistan in the areas ridden with militancy.
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/08/31/482534/Iran-Pakistan-banking-dollar-gas-pipeline

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Saving Money (without Sacrificing), Random Stuff, and More

- use price matching when you can to get an extra discount. Note, a lot of companies advertise low prices just to get you through the door. ...