5 January 2018. Whosoever Drinks of This Water

__________________________

Advertisement

5 January 2018. Animal Funnies… A Catty Response…

________________________

Do Russians Consider Putin a Dictator?

_________________________

By any definition, Putin isn’t a dictator. He’s won the popular vote of the people, who had a choice between more candidates than can run in the USA, and won approval because he performed better than any current Western leader. He inherited a country controlled by the West, which forced privatisation of state assets, creating a tiny criminal oligarch class that destroyed the economy for everyone else. Corruption was the norm; violence and crime exploded, and the average family had a much more dramatic drop in quality of life than Americans did during the Great Depression… in fact, it was twice as deep as the Great Depression was. He took office and turned things around very quickly; his education in law and economics helped, along with his experience as a rising star in the Leningrad administration.

After two years, the growth rate of Russia for eight more years was second only to China during the same period. Wages increased, taxes fell from a high of 97 percent to a flat 13 percent, and foreign investment recovered. He built up the military to counter an increasing threat from NATO (the USA alone has 153 bases near Russia’s border) and formed many new alliances. Putin was a primary advocate for peace and negotiations between countries, being involved in most of the peace treaties around the world in the near past, including being behind the Iran deal that many claim is Obama’s only foreign policy success… Putin had much more input than the USA did. His help in saving Syria from foreign invasion increased his stature all over the world… except in areas controlled by the USA.

Putin is the most honest of current leaders, with a policy of government transparency; the apparat posts every speech, meeting, or press conference on the government website. During and after the Wall Street corruption crisis in 2008, his sound economic policies let Russia ride it out without harm, with home prices not dropping or unemployment increasing. Overall, opportunities, business climate, privacy, rule of law, the courts, healthcare, children’s services, pensions, and more all greatly improved. All this happened in an era when the average American family saw a dramatic decline in quality of life and economic security. On the contrary, the situation for Russians went the other way, to improvements. It’s easier to start a small business in Russia now than where I’m from, the USA. I started several and each became easier with reductions in documents and ease of complying with regulations. Cost of living remains very low, yet opportunities keep increasing. These factors account for the 82 percent who support him.

He’s certainly more effective and honest than any US President was during my lifetime. We’re used to politicians using weasel-words to avoid anyone pinning them down on anything, talking without saying anything that’s factually correct. On the other hand, Putin answers questions from anyone and replies directly, showing much knowledge of the issues involved. He’ll win in 2018 for the same reason that Roosevelt kept winning, except Putin has done more for Russia than Roosevelt did for the USA, even though FDR was surely the best president the USA ever had. Some also called him a dictator, but he never had the popularity that Putin has.

27 December 2017

Stan Jacox

Quora

https://www.quora.com/Do-Russians-consider-Putin-a-dictator/answer/Stan-Jacox?share=fcfcabb0&srid=lFSH

Jill Stein in the Crosshairs: The Russiagate Investigation Shifts to Clinton’s Political Rivals

________________________

Jill Stein had dinner with Putin, so… GET THE GUILLOTINE! That’s how we roll in this country now. Didn’t she know it’s illegal to eat with Russians?

Richard Baris

Twitter

The Russiagate investigation zeroed-in on Green Party candidate Jill Stein. That proves that the probe isn’t an attempt to determine whether Russia meddled in the 2016 elections, but a crude weapon to bully the political rivals of Hillary Clinton and her dissolute allies in the bureaucracy. On Monday, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) (chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee) said that the committee was “just starting to look at Ms Stein’s campaign as it continues its investigation of the Trump campaign”. According to the New York Times:

Democrats seethed for more than a year at Ms Stein, whose tens of thousands of votes in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania either exceeded or nearly matched Donald Trump’s margins of victory in those states, which delivered him the White House. At least in certain quarters, they greeted news of the queries enthusiastically.

Jesse Ferguson, a former Clinton campaign spokesman, said Americans ought to know if a presidential nominee, no matter how minor, was a Russian asset or that they simply boosted her in an effort to chip away Democratic votes from Clinton. He said:

Russian operatives weren’t promoting Jill Stein because they thought she’d win. They were promoting her because they thought it’d hurt Hillary Clinton and help Donald Trump.

A “Russian asset?” Jill Stein is a “Russian asset?” How long are American liberals going to put up with this bullshit? How long before they wash the mud from their eyes and acknowledge what should be as plain as the nose on their face… their precious investigation of Donald Trump is nothing more than a witch-hunt to intimidate or destroy political rivals. Jill Stein’s persecution strips away the façade… exposing Russiagate as a complete fraud used to exact revenge on the adversaries of Hillary Clinton and her reprobate friends. Even the New York Times admits as much. Why is there no evidence of wrongdoing after more than a year of relentless non-stop investigations? Why are there just accusations, allegations, and baseless claims?

Take a hard look at the Stein case and you’ll understand why. The meat-puppet senators conducting these wretched show-trials don’t give a damn about the truth. They know the case against Stein is a complete fabrication. They also know they can carry on with complete impunity because the big money powerbrokers that pull their strings and order them about are beyond the reach of any legal accountability. That’s what’s really going on; the fatcat behind-the-scenes honchos are just settling scores for Hillary’s lost election. It’s payback time for the Clinton Mafia. Here’s more baloney from the Times:

Senate investigators are interested in unravelling what was behind the apparent closeness between Ms Stein, a Harvard-educated doctor and perennial Green Party candidate, and Russia.

Give me a break. Does anyone on the Senate Intelligence Committee honestly believe that Jill Stein is a Russian agent? Of course not. They’re just harassing her to send a message to the rest of us:

You’d better watch your step or we’ll trump up charges against you and make your life a living hell.

Isn’t that the message? You’re damn right it is! You call this “America?” Here’s a clip from an article by Danielle Ryan at “blacklisted” RT… you probably shouldn’t read it because it undoubtedly will transform you into a Russian agent or a Kremlin apologist:

This is a witch hunt. It’s neo-McCarthyism, plain and simple. The people who are outright calling Stein a Russian agent are making a complete mockery of themselves and of the American political process. Dragging Stein into this mess shows Clinton Democrats up for what they really are. It proves that the “Resist” crowd’s crusade isn’t just about Trump and “collusion”… it’s also about discrediting all dissenting American voices and establishing their own definition of what political opposition is supposed to look like. For the Clinton cult, it’s not supposed to look like Jill Stein. Anyone who disagrees with the Democrats is a Putin puppet… if you’ve ever been to Moscow, forget it… don’t even bother trying to defend yourself. Off with your head.

Bravo, Ryan! You nailed it, girl. It’s too bad America’s liberals don’t see things so clearly. The World Socialist Web Site also issued a statement condemning the attacks on Stein. As always, the WSWS is on the forefront of the issue while the other phoney liberal sites and pundits continue to support these thoroughly-corrupted and reactionary investigations. Here’s an excerpt from their statement:

The Socialist Equality Party condemns the targeting of Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential candidate in the 2016 election, by the neo-McCarthyite witch-hunters on the Senate Intelligence Committee. The attack on Stein, spearheaded by the Democratic Party, is an unconstitutional attempt to delegitimise and suppress political opposition to the monopoly of the capitalist two-party system. In addition to the dinner hosted by RT, Stein, according to ranking committee Democrat Mark Warner, had “very complimentary things to say about Julian Assange”. For having spoken out publicly in support of a political prisoner and dissident, Stein is threatened with being hauled before a congressional committee as if she were involved in a treasonous activity. This is the Orwellian reality of America in 2017, ruled by two rightwing oligarchic parties that can and will tolerate no political opposition.

Imagine that… Stein actually spoke up for Assange, the highly-principled whistleblower who sacrificed his own freedom to expose the truth about Washington’s homicidal activities around the world? That has to be worth 30 years of hard labour at least! What a farce! Here’s more from the Times:

Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), the committee’s top Democrat, wouldn’t comment directly on the committee’s interest in Ms Stein, but pointed out that several of the interactions appeared to be consequential, saying, “I’ll point out though that Ms Stein was at the infamous dinner that included General Flynn and Vladimir Putin, and we do know that she has very complimentary things to say about Julian Assange, who certainly was being used by the Russians to take some of the hacked information and release it into our political system”. The disclosure that the committee is looking closely at Stein’s campaign is the latest indication that the Senate committee is still expanding its investigation as it nears the one-year mark.

Do you hear that, liberals? Do you hear what Warner is saying? Do you like the idea that the investigation is expanding and that the hectoring, harassing, and intimidating is going to continue for the foreseeable future and that it’s going to include anyone who admires men like Assange or Snowden or Manning or anyone who opposes the corrupt and murderous oligarchy that rules this stinking country? Do you like that idea? If you’re a liberal and you hate Donald Trump, then, you probably see the Russiagate investigation as your best chance to achieve the Golden Grail of “impeachment”. However, are you willing to compromise your principles, join forces with the sinister and unscrupulous Clinton cabal, and throw allies like Jill Stein under the bus to achieve your goal?

How high a price are you willing to pay to get rid of Trump?

That’s the question that every liberal in America should ask themselves. They’d better answer it fast before it’s too late.

28 December 2017

Mike Whitney

Counterpunch

https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/12/28/jill-stein-in-the-crosshairs-the-russia-investigation-shifts-to-clintons-political-rivals/