Mueller Report Brings Into Focus Obama's Attempted Coup Against Trump

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

4 hours ago, Okie said:

You missed my point.  If the customers had more money to spend, they could better products.  Which means they need to make more money, which means wages need to go up.  You are only seeing it from one side.  I am arguing precisely that wages need to be forced up (increase minimum wages and probably the need to institute a basic income).

That is very noble of you, Okie.   I am not missing your point at all.  The reality of poorer customers is not that "they could buy better products," it is that they buy the sorts of consumables that the Dollar stores selectively sell.  It is more of a lifestyle choice.  Are these consumers going to switch from potato chips to say dried squash slices?  I don't think so.  

If you want to force wages up, then motivate the politicians to stop these trade pacts with third-world countries, specifically including China, India, and Vietnam.  You can likely toss Indonesia in there as well. Those are the locales where ultra-low-wage workers displace American manufacturing (and even service) workers. There are more than 50 iron and steel plants in India, with Mittal Steel being the biggie.  Mittal then buys Arcelor Steel for $34 billion and becomes the low-price monster of the planet. When you let those guys gobble up the US market for basic steel, you put the workers in Allentown and Youngstown and Gary out of work - permanently.  What do you propose to do with an unemployed steelworker - train him to read computer printouts?  I don't think so. 

The net result of past (Democratic Administrations and the proposed administration of Hillary Clinton) was to make those workers, and those producers, redundant.  The big pusher of those policies was Bill Clinton - the man who, more than anyone else, dismantled US industry.  Those workers, in everything from auto parts to heavy steel to auto assembly to workers making washing machines  (which went to Mexico, by the way) end up in despair, and on opioids, creating yet another huge US problem, the costs of which are not accounted for in the ledger books. Say what you want about The Donald, at least he intuitively grasped that this was wrecking America, and he scrapped all that, starts closing the door on the dumping of steel, and voila, you see those old steel plants getting re-started and those unemployed going back to work.

Now you don't have to force up some minimum wage when that happens; the draw of those new jobs bootstraps all wages upwards. Yet if you want to create more disposable income, then the way to do that is to remove govt bites on that income, made today by taxes and fees, especially in the truly destructive and awful property-tax system.  And to expand on that last point, I intend to do a trial in rural Vermont setting up a new manufacturing plant, so that when sales reach $66 million, the plant will pick up the entire municipal budget and property taxes there will be abolished.  That puts real dollers directly into the pockets of real people.  Think about it. 

Edited May 4, 2019 by Jan van Eck

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

4 minutes ago, Okie said:

You are referring to "forum shopping."  It is a known problem on both side of lawsuits.  I don't have time to go over it right now.  Defendants could object under "forum non conveniens" though, if they felt there was a better place to have the trial.

Mr. Assange cannot forum-shop, as he will be brought into the USA in chains.  He will be literally dragged into the Eastern District of Virginia.  The prosecutors have already blithely announced that that is where he will be imported.  He might as well be a load of lumber chained to the deck of a freighter, for all the choice he has about it. 

6 minutes ago, Okie said:

I am sure this will all be litigated.  Again, I don't have time right now to discuss this.  And, honestly, I don't think he is worth my time, anyway.  He made his bed, now he will sleep in it, as we say in English.

Although he (Assange) was not in, and never was in, the USA, did nothing inside the USA, but talked to an apparent US citizen via text message who was in turn sitting in Afghanistan.  The counter-party was an American, therefore he is treated as under US Law same as if he was sitting in St. Louis, Missouri.  

It is a truly unique interpretation of "law."  The closest parallel I can think of is Augustus Caesar, dragging prisoners from the conquests of Gaul back to Rome, in chains behind his chariot,in some triumphal procession through the street, for public execution.  

I appreciate that as a prosecutor you don't see it that way, but for us ordinary folks, it sure looks like astounding over-reach.  Meanwhile, in the courts of the Eastern District of Virginia, Assange is already dead.  Bye-bye Mr. Julian Assange, you are already convicted. 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

On 4/22/2019 at 8:03 PM, 6ACFC0 said:

Tom Kirkman is a joke.  He wants no real discussion and simply responds to posts he does not like with pictures he gets from Infowars or wherever.  He should be removed as "moderator" as he has an agenda and is by no means a "moderator".  I assume "Oil Price" is OK with this since they allow it.  And this thread should not be on this site as it has nothing to do with oil.  "Oil Price" is losing credibility with idiots like Kirkman as a supposed "Moderator".  

Please get rid of Kirkman.

 

On 4/23/2019 at 2:28 AM, shadowkin said:

This post is hilarious to the point I almost think he's trolling leftists. It could be the definition of what a snowflake is. 

This thread destroyed his preconceived thoughts fed to him by the state media. He can't accept the overwhelming amount of evidence that points to this being a coup attempt involving the CIA, FBI, senior officials in the Obama admin, as well as Obama himself, against Trump.

He's become so flustered by this that he doesn't even understand this is a Geopolitics forum. Or maybe he does but since he doesn't like what he's reading, because it destroyed his reality, ban it. And ban the moderators who allow it.

I have no secret sources or knowledge. It's all public info easily found on the internet but not if all you do is plug into state media like CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Wapo, Nytimes, etc.

Even then some of this info has bled into the state media. It's so bad they can't entirely ignore it.

If you don't think this has geopolitical implications with Russia, Europe, UK you are wrong.

You would be very comfortable in North Korea or Cuba or the former USSR.

 

On 4/23/2019 at 12:50 AM, Tom Kirkman said:

Duly noted; your complaint is hilarious.

So let's just highlight your complaint to Oil Price staff...  @Rodent

 

I'm guessing that as an anonymous newcomer here with an apparent agenda, you have never seen my 5 year old tag line that I have used as a moderator both on the old Oilpro forum and here on the Oil Price forum :

"Just my opinion; as always, you are free to disagree." 

i am very much pro - Oil & Gas, and dang proud of the Oil & Gas industry.  I refuse to apologize for being strongly pro - Oil & Gas.

i did not start this thread, and had previously noted that as a moderator, I was inititially going to advise that this thread was off-topic for this Oil Price forum, but since this thread was posted in the Geopolitics sub-forum, I had noted that it seems suitable here:

"The Geopolitics Forum focuses on all global politics. If it's related to oil please create a thread within the Oil General forum."

 

As a side note, I also happen to be very much pro Trump, and will not apologize for being pro-Trump. 

Clearly, you disagree wirh my opinions.  I have no problem with others disagreeing.  Heck, I encourage dissent.

But you are apparently demanding that I apologize for being pro - Trump and for being pro - Oil & Gas.  That's not going to happen.

As an anonymous newcomer to this forum with no real history, you apparently feel that you have the right to simply show up anonymously and shut down discussions which you disagree with.  As a moderator, I will not allow that, and I'm calling you out on your lack of freedom of speech.

Which is why I alerted Oil Price staff to your complaint.  I have no plans to go away here on Oil Price forum.

==================================

/ Edit, my earlier note about this thread:

as a moderator here, I was going to mention that this thread was off-topic for this forum, but then I saw it was posted in the "Geopolitics" sub-forum, so it appears to be fine:

"The Geopolitics Forum focuses on all global politics. If it's related to oil please create a thread within the Oil General forum."

 

===============================

===============================

The moderators on this forum encourage healthy dissent.  

Just follow the forum guidelines so everyone can play nicely together, and it's all good.

 

Squashing and banning dissent is the wrong path to go down.

 

Related, the concept of mega corporations banning speech they don't like:

Tucker Carlson Outlines Big Tech’s Moves To Control Political Speech

This is a discussion point Conservative Tree House has outlined for quite a while; the new aspect is the scale and scope of Big Tech’s latest effort to silence voices they define as against their interests.

President Trump has taken notice of the issue and over the past 48 hours he has been drawing additional attention to the problem.  Things are going to get a lot worse, a lot worse, in the days and months ahead.

In the final analysis, the big picture is about authoritarian control. Currently the largest tech companies are leveraging their power and influence to remove dissenting voices from commonly used social media platforms. Back in 2015 there was a prescient discussion between Matt Drudge and Alex Jones where this exact scenario was outlined.

 

Unfortunately, federal political leadership is aligned with Big Tech’s goals and opinions. This is one of the issues where the UniParty becomes most visible. There is a history of similar common cause that might provide reference.

In 2010 when the Tea Party was targeted by President Obama’s Attorney General, Eric Holder, the DOJ and IRS worked together to create the target list of voices they deemed adverse to their political interests. Because the establishment republican party was also a target of the Tea Party, the GOP and DNC viewed the Tea Party political rebellion as a common enemy. In 2019 and 2020 the same dynamic exists.

Populists, ordinary freedom loving Americans, are considered an enemy of the statists; adverse to the interests of the institutionalists. As a result DC politicians have no motive to confront Big Tech and their goals to silence voices based on inherent political views.

...

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

2 hours ago, Tom Kirkman said:

Populists, ordinary freedom loving Americans, are considered an enemy of the statists; adverse to the interests of the institutionalists. As a result DC politicians have no motive to confront Big Tech and their goals to silence voices based on inherent political views.

All very true  (and remains true even if those Populists are not "freedom loving" or even Americans).  

The real undercurrent problem is that Big Tech is loose on the range. It gets hard to dissent if you are pre-emptively squashed. 

[Okie + 83]

4 hours ago, Jan van Eck said:

Although he (Assange) was not in, and never was in, the USA, did nothing inside the USA, but talked to an apparent US citizen via text message who was in turn sitting in Afghanistan.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_jurisdiction_over_international_defendants_in_the_United_States

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

3 hours ago, Jan van Eck said:

The real undercurrent problem is that Big Tech is loose on the range. It gets hard to dissent if you are pre-emptively squashed. 

 

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

4 hours ago, Okie said:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_jurisdiction_over_international_defendants_in_the_United_States

Wow.  After reading your Link, Okie, it is perfectly clear that America has really become the First Galactic Empire. 

Time to lower Assange into that fire pit, to be encased in Carbonite and hung on the wall.  Ah, he'll make a nice ornament.  Who will play Jabba the Hutt? 

I do hope you realize just how self-justifying that arrogantly-written link article is.  By those standards, anybody on the planet is now under the jurisdiction of some ambitious U.S. Attorney.  Hey, you could even flee to Christmas Island and be out of luck.  Just unreal.

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

Here is some pushback against the MSM screeching disinformation campaign.

POTUS Hillary R Clinton : America's Last President

If Hillary Clinton had won her rigged 2016 Presidential election and was then inaugurated as POTUS 45, America would have entered a very dark period. It's unlikely The Republic would have survived it. As Rex explains, Obama had already started building a totalitarian system. Clinton would have turned it into a dictatorship.

[TXPower + 643]

18 hours ago, Okie said:

Actually, no.  Believe it or not, spying by non-police actors (assuming they are not directed by the police) is admissible evidence.  It has to do with the issue of "standing."  (You cannot complain about the violation of a third-parties rights.)  I don't have the case law to show you (and don't have the time to research it right now).  But there are cases that involve burglars (non-government actors) finding evidence of illegal activity, which is then used at trial and it was upheld upon appeal.

 

Are you suggesting that people should lie to the FBI?  Or are you saying that lying to law enforcement should be permissible?  Really?  Why?

I don't think that you are thinking this through.  The lying was likely covering up worse crimes.  What I fear has taken place is espionage.  Which, by the way, is a crime.  This is why Martina Butina was sentenced more harshly.  Part of the harshness of her sentence was tied to the belief that she was acting as a "spotter" for other Russian spies.  I cannot find the article right now.

The spying was wrongly authorized by and carried out by government officials, i.e. intercepting Communications etc. In the current context of discussion, the government is the police/FBI.  It doesn’t matter that they also used some non-police “assets”, like say Halprin (directed by the government/police)in their poorly planned and executed sham.  This was not a plot hatched and carried out by private citizens.  It was a government, police, operation.  

No, I’m suggesting that the investigation brought forth not one legitimate conviction for why we were told the investigation was necessary, conspiracy or coordination with a foreign power to influence an election.  I’m pointing out the little BS convictions(process crimes) it brought forth because the investigation had no merit.  

If, as you assert the real crime was espionage then all the folks who participated in the governments investigation should be fired because after more than 2 years of investigating not one shred of evidence leading to a conviction for espionage, conspiracy or coordination with a foreign power on the part of Trump or his team was uncovered.  No crime is ever covered up that completely.  So it either didn’t happen or the investigators weren’t up to the task.  Truth is that’s why now the narrative has spun to obstruction and parroting by the MSM that Barr misrepresented Mueller’s findings.  Truth is, it was a Big, Fat, Nothing Burger.

[Passthekoolaid + 5]

On 5/4/2019 at 2:28 PM, Okie said:

Actually, no.  Believe it or not, spying by non-police actors (assuming they are not directed by the police) is admissible evidence.  It has to do with the issue of "standing."  (You cannot complain about the violation of a third-parties rights.)  I don't have the case law to show you (and don't have the time to research it right now).  But there are cases that involve burglars (non-government actors) finding evidence of illegal activity, which is then used at trial and it was upheld upon appeal.

 

Are you suggesting that people should lie to the FBI?  Or are you saying that lying to law enforcement should be permissible?  Really?  Why?

I don't think that you are thinking this through.  The lying was likely covering up worse crimes.  What I fear has taken place is espionage.  Which, by the way, is a crime.  This is why Martina Butina was sentenced more harshly.  Part of the harshness of her sentence was tied to the belief that she was acting as a "spotter" for other Russian spies.  I cannot find the article right now.

Leftie sympathisers Brennan and Comey have lied repeatedly to Congress. Soon all those lefties will be donning orange jump suits and justice will be served at long last. And yes, Trump will easily win in 2020.

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

20 hours ago, Tom Kirkman said:

 

I liked the old search engines - sure you got a lot of useless crap but at least they weren't trying to guess what you want to see.  Now, if what you see looks biased it's because they know what you want to see and selectively show you things that agree with your preconceived notions.

I bet if I googled "US conspiracies" I would get different results from you. 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

2 hours ago, Enthalpic said:

I liked the old search engines - sure you got a lot of useless crap but at least they weren't trying to guess what you want to see.  Now, if what you see looks biased it's because they know what you want to see and selectively show you things that agree with your preconceived notions.

I bet if I googled "US conspiracies" I would get different results from you. 

I have 2 browsers and 2 search engines on my smartphone.

My default browser + search engine is Brave browser + DuckDuckGo search engine.

My backup browser + backup search engine is Chrome browser + Google search engine.

Brave has built-in ad blocker.  DuckDuckGo does not track your searches or history.

Chrome + Google are personal data tracking devices - you are the product. Your personal data are tracked, stored, and sold to advertisers, which is how Google makes money.

 

[BigJets + 87]

https://youtu.be/rb6em1zCg2A

Papadopoulos interview

Edited May 6, 2019 by BigJets

[shadowkin + 584]

On 4/21/2019 at 10:50 PM, Tim Turley said:

3) How did Sessions not know about the shenanigans going on or at least seek to find out before recusing himself?  It was very weak of him to recuse himself without investigating what was going on in light of the potential disaster it created.

We are getting a hint as to what motivated Sessions behavior while AG. He recently gave a speech at Amherst college. When asked about the Mueller report he stated he had full confidence in the 'system'. But how can you have confidence in a system that allows such abuses of governmental power and responsibility (on the part of government officials) against a presidential candidate and president, and then allowed a witch hunt to commence (Mueller investigation) to justify such abuses that can only be described as 3rd world chicanery?

The ruling class, irrespective of political party, is terrified their exploitation of the system, and concomitant perks and privileges, will be taken away if enough of the general public wakes up enough to the abuses and holds the government to account.

[shadowkin + 584]

On 4/23/2019 at 9:16 AM, Vic Edwards said:

Let's say I come to this site with a skeptical eye, noticing the Russian author here, for instance. 

I'm not Russian. With all due respect it's become a form of psychosis to blame any and all inconvenient truths on "Russians".

[shadowkin + 584]

20 hours ago, Enthalpic said:

I liked the old search engines - sure you got a lot of useless crap but at least they weren't trying to guess what you want to see.  Now, if what you see looks biased it's because they know what you want to see and selectively show you things that agree with your preconceived notions.

I bet if I googled "US conspiracies" I would get different results from you. 

Guaranteed. Google, Facebook and so on use machine learning to guess at what you like, and therefore, will engage with = more money for them. You are, in effect, programming the search engine every time you enter search terms. You can safely ignore their PR about truth. They are doing what is best for their bottom line. No surprise to me but surprisingly many people lose sight of this.

[Richardo + 6]

Wow, it's clear now that there not only was no Russian interference or meddling in the 2016 election but whatever the Mueller investigation uncovered in his report it was all an attempted coup by Barack Obama and the "Deep State" aided by the free press "enemy of the people."

After reading the comments here it seems there is a major infiltration by RT in America, Internet Research Agency, Info Wars acolytes, Unite The Right and other "fine people."

For the sake of argument though, Trump believes that the U.S. Constitution is worthless. “I’ve seen a lot of bad deals in my life, but this Constitution is a total mess,” he said. “We need to tear it up and start over.” He added, “The branches thing is maybe the worst part of this deal,” he said. “The first thing we do when we pull out of the Constitution is get rid of two of those branches.”

Uh huh, it's so bad, "the branches thing."

Who needs that once-revered document penned by the Founding Fathers when we now have America's first openly boastful Dictator who has decreed himself above such banal concepts? That should settle it. Vladimir Putin must be smiling broadly.

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

^ suggested term limits should be removed.

[Passthekoolaid + 5]

Trump Derangement Syndrom is running deep on the left and has become chronic. When Clapper, Comey, Brennan, Strozk, Hillary and Barry are carried off in handcuffs the Republic will have been restored. Until such time, we are no more than a Banana Republic.

Edited May 7, 2019 by Passthekoolaid

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

On 5/5/2019 at 6:11 PM, Passthekoolaid said:

Or are you saying that lying to law enforcement should be permissible?  Really?  Why?

The above is a quote from Okie, who has authority in these matters. 

My response is:  "law enforcement" is a govt euphemism for the federal cops.  My suggestion is to, when they show up and say "We would like to talk to you about Harry" is to respond: "Well, guess what, your desires are totally one-way.  I have no interest in what you might like to do. Good-bye, now."  And then you close the door - and throw the deadbolt with a loud thunk.

[shadowkin + 584]

19 hours ago, Richardo said:

For the sake of argument though, Trump believes that the U.S. Constitution is worthless. “I’ve seen a lot of bad deals in my life, but this Constitution is a total mess,” he said. “We need to tear it up and start over.” He added, “The branches thing is maybe the worst part of this deal,” he said. “The first thing we do when we pull out of the Constitution is get rid of two of those branches.”

We've been trampling on the constitution, legally and quasi-legally, for a very long time. Direct election of senators and war powers act immediately come to mind.

Edited May 7, 2019 by shadowkin

[SERWIN + 749]

On 5/3/2019 at 1:27 AM, Bhimsen Pachawry said:

China has managed to develop technology which is quite competitive to USA so rapidly. USA tried to sanction China on semiconductor but found out that Chinese will make things on their own if sanctioned. Also, Chinese manufacture lot of items using their own natural resource which they sell at throw away price. So, USA does need China as USA is unwilling to work as hard as China, not have rare earth minerals of China or simply because USA is unwilling to extract its resources at low cost.

China developed itself till 2000 without much of USA support or USA manufacturing. USA help was never needed. It was USA that needs China now and China obliges by accepting to give loans to USA> Even now, the $3 trillion US dollar reserve with China is a waste and has no utility. Yet, China continues to give loans to USA. If China dumps US dollars, then USA economy will crash. China will hardly feel anydamage as they already cater to large market globally and have good footing for their goods

China steals technology, they don't develop it, and if I remember correctly, GB Jr GAVE China a financial aid package of what? About 6 Billion dollars to jump start everything around that time, but as usual, everyone forgets about those things when backstabbing begins. And how would China collect that loan if they wanted it back? Come and get it......The only reason China has become the power it is today is BECAUSE of US involvement.....

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

On 5/5/2019 at 6:26 AM, Jan van Eck said:

The real undercurrent problem is that Big Tech is loose on the range. It gets hard to dissent if you are pre-emptively squashed. 

This censorship just keeps getting more and more scary.  Mainstream can't control the wild and untamed and uncensored Chan forums, so they are going after the Chan's memes.

Please watch the 5 minute video embedded below; it explains a lot why mainstream totally hates memes.

Instagram to "Fact Check" & Remove Memes

Instagram has announced that it will begin “fact checking” and removing memes.

The social media giant, which is owned by Facebook, will use its 52 global “fact checking partners” to censor “false photos and memes on its platform,” according to Poynter.

“Instagram is taking those fact checks and applying them to the same false photos and memes on its platform,” according to the report.

Memes deemed factually incorrect will no longer appear under tabs where they can be discovered by random users.

The Poynter Institute, which partners with Facebook, recently had to shut down its own database highlighting unreliable news sites “after discovering inconsistencies between sources used to build the database and its final report.”

So you can trust them.

Quite why memes have to be “fact checked” given that are almost always satirical and are not intended to be statements of fact may be a mystery to some.

It’s actually not a mystery at all.

Studies have repeatedly shown that the political right is far better at spreading memes.

A study undertaken by researchers at University College London found that the most effective memes largely originated in two places – the subreddit r/the_donald – a forum devoted to boosting President Donald Trump, and 4chan’s politically incorrect /pol forum.

A VICE write-up of the study acknowledges that the most “effectively spread” memes originated on r/the_donald and /pol.

Earlier this year, BuzzFeed lobbied Twitter to ban a meme which made fun of Democrats and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Last year, “Facebook announced the deployment of a large-scale machine learning system named Rosetta, which it’s using to automatically and proactively identify “inappropriate or harmful content” in images on the social network,” reported Fox News. “In other words, Facebook developed an AI that can tell if a meme is offensive.”

It’s a scientific fact that the left can’t meme, so far easier just to ban memes!

 

[Okie + 83]

 

4 hours ago, Jan van Eck said:

My response is:  "law enforcement" is a govt euphemism for the federal cops.  My suggestion is to, when they show up and say "We would like to talk to you about Harry" is to respond: "Well, guess what, your desires are totally one-way.  I have no interest in what you might like to do. Good-bye, now."  And then you close the door - and throw the deadbolt with a loud thunk. 

Again I ask, why wouldn't you want to help the federal law enforcement solve or investigate a crime?

[Okie + 83]

4 hours ago, shadowkin said:

Direct election of senators and war powers act immediately come to mind.

You are complaining about the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, passed over a century ago?  You do know that an Amendment to the Constitution is part of the Constitution, right?  I cannot believe that you would complain about that.

c