August 9, 2017


News and Views


SILENCE OVER SCIENCE

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/joel-clement-scientist-claims-retaliation-speaking-out-about-climate-change/
CBS NEWS August 8, 2017, 7:40 PM
Government scientist claims retaliation for speaking out about climate change

WASHINGTON -- On the remote western coast of Alaska, three small Native Alaskans villages are literally melting into the Arctic Ocean. Scientists blame warmer temperatures due to climate change.

"So the land is just being chewed away, houses are dropping in and frankly they are one big storm away from being completely wiped out," said Joel Clement, a scientist at the U.S. Department of the Interior. "So it is not just a health and safety issue, it is a matter of American lives."

Report: Federal climate findings counter Trump's stance on climate change

For the past seven years, Clement has been working to relocate the villages to safer ground.

a24n-reid-climate-whistlblower-transfer.jpg
Joel Clement CBS NEWS

Part of his job is to raise awareness about the issue. Last month, he did so at the United Nations. Six days later, he was one of about 50 department employees who were assigned to new jobs.

Clement responded with a whistleblower complaint, demanding an investigation and reassignment to his old job, CBS News correspondent Chip Reid reports.

"I believe that the Trump administration is retaliating against me for disclosing these risks to these Alaska Native villages," Clement said. And, he says, he's facing retaliation for speaking out about climate change; President Trump has repeatedly questioned its existence.

Clement says his new job is a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Al Gore on why climate change is a national security threat
Play VIDEO
Al Gore on why climate change is a national security threat

"They are paying you to do virtually nothing," Reid said.

"That's right," Clement said.

"Because they're hoping you will quit?" Reid asked.

"That's right," Clement said.

He recently published an opinion piece in The Washington Post. "I'm blowing the whistle on the Trump administration," he wrote, that "chooses silence over science."

He says he's received a groundswell of support from other civil servants.

"There is a big appetite to, quote, resist what's happening," Clement said.

CBS News asked the Interior Department for an interview but it said it can't comment on pending whistleblower complaints. In a written statement, the department said personnel moves "are being conducted to better serve the taxpayer and the Department's operations."


HERE IS HOW AND WHERE TO FILE A WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINT, AND YOU ARE PROTECTED AGAINST RETALIATION, SO IF TRUMP’S PEOPLE ARE HARASSING THIS MAN, HE HAS LEGAL RECOURSE OF SOME KIND. THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT THERE IS NO DANGER. JUST READ ANY TOM CLANCY NOVEL AND YOU’LL KNOW BETTER. ALWAYS REMEMBER THE OLD 1970S MAXIM: JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE PARANOID DOESN’T MEAN THEY AREN’T OUT TO GET YOU!! DASTARDS ABOUND, THESE DAYS. THAT’S TRUMPLAND FOR YOU.

https://www.osha.gov/whistleblower/WBComplaint.html
OSHA ONLINE WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINT FORM
EMERGENCY NOTICE: Do Not Report an Emergency Using this Form or Email!
To report an emergency, fatality, or imminent life threatening situation please contact our toll free number immediately:
1-800-321-OSHA (6742)
TTY 1-877-889-5627

Introduction & Instructions

OSHA administers more than twenty whistleblower protection laws, including Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act, which prohibits retaliation against employees who complain about unsafe or unhealthful conditions or exercise other rights under the Act. Each law has a filing deadline, varying from 30 days to 180 days, which starts when the retaliatory action occurs.

A whistleblower complaint must allege four key elements:

The employee engaged in activity protected by the whistleblower protection law(s) (such as reporting a violation of law);
The employer knew about, or suspected, that the employee engaged in the protected activity;
The employer took an adverse action against the employee;
The employee's protected activity motivated or contributed to the adverse action.

Filing with this form is not required, as OSHA accepts whistleblower complaints made orally (telephone or walk-in at any OSHA office) or in writing, and in any language. If you choose to use this form, you must complete the screens and fields that are marked as "required"; all other screens and fields are optional.

If you file a complaint, OSHA will contact you to determine whether to conduct an investigation. You must respond to OSHA's follow-up contact or your complaint will be dismissed.

A whistleblower complaint filed with OSHA cannot be filed anonymously. If OSHA proceeds with an investigation, OSHA will notify your employer of your complaint and provide the employer with an opportunity to respond. Because your complaint may be shared with the employer, do not include witness names or their contact information on this form; you will have the opportunity to offer evidence in support of your complaint during the investigation.

If you have any questions about the complaint filing or investigative processes, please do not hesitate to call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).

If you think your job is unsafe and you want to ask for an inspection, you can call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742), or file a "Notice of Alleged Safety or Health Hazards" by clicking here.



https://www.yahoo.com/news/fbi-agents-searched-former-trump-143943426.html?soc_trk=gcm&soc_src=dbb2094c-7d9a-37c0-96b9-7f844af62e78&.tsrc=notification-brknews
FBI agents searched former Trump campaign chair's home
Associated Press
Chad Day, Associated Press
August 9, 2017

Video – FBI Raided Manafort Residence Last Month

WASHINGTON (AP) -- FBI agents have searched one of the homes of Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Manafort's spokesman said Wednesday.

Spokesman Jason Maloni said in a statement that FBI agents had obtained a warrant and searched one of Manafort's homes, but he would not say when the search occurred. The Washington Post, which first reported the raid, said it occurred the morning of July 26 at Manafort's home in Alexandria, Va.

"Mr. Manafort has consistently cooperated with law enforcement and other serious inquiries and did so on this occasion as well," Maloni said.

Manafort has been a subject of a longstanding FBI investigation into his dealings in Ukraine and work for the country's former president, Viktor Yanukovych. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is also investigating Manafort as part of his probe into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election and any possible collusion with Trump associates.
0:00 / 1:00

FBI agents raided Manafort residence last month

Manafort has denied any wrongdoing. He has also cooperated with congressional committees investigating the election interference. Manafort recently spoke with staff of the Senate Intelligence committee about a June 2016 meeting he attended with Donald Trump Jr. That meeting was described to Trump Jr. in emails as part of a Russian government effort to help the Trump campaign.

Manafort has also turned over documents to the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary committees.

Law enforcement authorities seeking to obtain a search warrant must generally establish to a judge that there is probable cause to believe that a crime may have been committed. Applications for such warrants tend to be detailed about the evidence that agents are looking for and the nature of the criminal activity they are investigating.

Manafort led the Trump campaign for several months.

__

Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed reporting.



SO, DID THE PRESIDENT TELL HIS LAWYER MR. DOWD TO SHARE THIS TINY TIDBIT OF INFORMATION WITH THE WORLD OF FAKE NEWS? IF SO, IS HE TRYING TO CAUSE THE PUBLIC TO LOSE TRUST IN MUELLER BY TAINTING HIM WITH A JUDAS KISS, OR JUST CREATE A LITTLE MORE TRUST FOR HIMSELF BY AN APPEARANCE OF FRIENDLINESS AND COOPERATION? “HE’S NOT SO BAD, REALLY ...” THE USE OF THE TERM “BACK AND FORTH” IN THIS ARTICLE SEEMS TO IMPLY A SERIES OF SUCH TRUMP/MUELLER EXCHANGES, RATHER THAN MERELY THIS ONE. I DO HOPE MUELLER AND HIS TEAM WILL PURSUE THE ANSWERS IN THIS INVESTIGATION STAUNCHLY AND WITHOUT ALLOWING THEMSELVES TO BECOME INTIMIDATED OR DISTRACTED BY CHAOS OR PERSONAL ATTACKS.


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-trump-has-exchanged-private-messages-with-special-counsel-robert-mueller/
By REBECCA SHABAD CBS NEWS August 8, 2017, 5:16 PM
Report: Trump has exchanged private messages with Special Counsel Robert Mueller

President Trump has exchanged private messages with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, according to Mr. Trump's chief counsel John Dowd.

Dowd told USA TODAY that the president has expressed that he appreciates what Mueller is doing. He oversees the federal investigation into Russia's influence on the 2016 election.

"He appreciates what Bob Mueller is doing,'' Dowd said Tuesday, according to the report. "He asked me to share that with him and that's what I've done.''

"The president has sent messages back and forth,'' Dowd added.

Dowd declined to elaborate further, the report said.

"We get along well with Bob Mueller; our communications have been constructive,'' he said. "But it is important that our communications remain confidential. It's important that there not be any breakdown in that trust.''

The president himself and one of his lawyers have not ruled out firing Mueller, who Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed in May after Mr. Trump abruptly fired James Comey as FBI director.

The report on Tuesday comes just a few days after it became known that Mueller is using a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. as part of his probe into Russia.

Meanwhile, two senators introduced a bipartisan measure last week that would protect Mueller's job in that it would allow any Department of Justice special counsel to challenge his or her removal in court.


MADDOW BLOG AND MORE

THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/8/17
Trump camp gives thousands of documents to Senate Russia probe
Rachel Maddow reports breaking news from Bloomberg News that among thousands of documents turned over to the Senate Judiciary Committee investigating Trump-Russia, roughly 20,000 of them are from the Trump campaign. Duration: 2:08


MORE REPUBLICAN INTERFERENCE – NUNES – TWO STORIES

NUNES AGAIN? BLOGGER COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS -- WHO IS THE AIDE? CAN’T NUNES BE OFFICIALLY SANCTIONED AT LEAST? IS HE WORKING DIRECTLY FOR TRUMP OR JUST FOR “THE REPUBLICANS?” HE IS WORKING AGAINST THE RUSSIA INQUIRY AT LEAST, WHICH IS ILLEGAL. I THINK THAT WHEN THE TEA PARTY INFILTRATED AND TOOK OVER THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, THEY BROUGHT STRONGLY RIGHTIST INDIVIDUALS IN WITH THEM, AND UNFORTUNATELY, THEY ARE SITTING IN CONGRESS NOW. THEY’RE DANGEROUS AND UNPRINCIPLED. ANY WHO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH THIS ATTEMPTED COUP ARE TREASONOUS AND SHOULD BE CHARGED CRIMINALLY. HOW MANY OTHER REPUBLICANS HAVE FINANCIAL OR POLITICALLY RIGHTIST RUSSIA OR DIRECT TRUMP ASSOCIATION? HOW MANY OF THEM ARE CLOSELY OR TANGENTIALLY LINKED FINANCIALLY TO TRUMP, EITHER HIS CAMPAIGN OR PERSONALLY? ARE ANY BEING BLACKMAILED BY HIM? KEEP DIGGING, SPECIAL COUNSEL MUELLER.

GUARDIAN’S COVERAGE OF USA ISSUES IS INTERESTING. I USED TO GO TO BBC FOR STORIES, BUT THIS NEW OUTLET HAS MY SLANT ALSO, HAS SHORTER ARTICLES AND ALSO DIGS FOR POTENTIALLY HIDDEN NEWS ITEMS OF NEWS. SEE THE SECTIONS ON THE SHOCKING ACTIONS OF TRUMP’S USDA HEAD, AND THE RECURRENT “BELFAST UNREST.” BILL CLINTON GOT THEM TO STOP THEIR EXCEEDINGLY HOSTILE ACTIVITIES, AND NOW THEY’RE AT IT AGAIN. THAT’S TOO SAD. THEIR MEMORIAL BONFIRES ARE APPARENTLY IMPORTANT OVER THERE. WHY BAN THE BONFIRES IF THEY ARE CONDUCTED SAFELY? AS FAR AS I KNOW THOSE MARCHES THROUGH THE CATHOLIC SECTIONS STILL GO ON ALSO AND THAT’S BLATANT PROVOCATION. HATE BREEDS HATE.


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/8/17
Nunes aide behind secretive UK trip to find Trump dossier author
Julian Borger, world affairs editor for The Guardian, talks with Rachel Maddow about why a staffer to Rep. Devin Nunes sent people to London to find Christopher Steele, the author of the Trump dossier, and why he didn't tell investigators what he was doing. Duration: 8:33


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/08/tuesday-briefing-london-spy-twist-to-trump-russia-affair
Guardian morning briefing
Tuesday briefing: London spy twist to Trump-Russia affair
Republicans accused over secretive bid to contact dossier author … Britain has some of Europe’s lowest broadband speeds … and another snake in the grass
by Warren Murray

Top story: House aides sought out ex-MI6 agent
Hello, it’s Warren Murray bringing you the news this morning.

Republicans have been accused of trying to meddle in the Trump-Russia investigation following a secretive bid to contact Christopher Steele, the ex-MI6 spy behind an explosive dossier on the president.

Two congressional staff were told to seek out Steele on a visit to London. They were sent by an aide linked to Trump ally Devin Nunes – chairman of the House intelligence committee. Nunes quit the Russia investigation over alleged bias and unethical conduct, but has been accused of continuing to interfere.

Two staff turned up at Steele’s lawyers’ office while the now-private intelligence expert was inside. It is seen as highly unusual that the investigation’s senior congressional leadership apparently did not know about the London visit. The committee’s leading Democrat, Adam Schiff, said he was unaware of it. A Democrat formerly involved with the intelligence committee said it did not “pass the smell test” that two staffers were dispatched without the knowledge of the chairman.

Steele’s dossier – containing allegations of extensive secret collusion between Trump and the Kremlin – was compiled in 2016, initially for use by Trump’s Republican election opponents in the primaries before finding its way to the Democrats. Republican Senator John McCain handed it over to the FBI in December.

. . . .


Belfast unrest – Nationalists have set fire to a credit union building in the Northern Ireland capital amid rioting over the banning of an annual bonfire tradition. Trouble started on Monday in the city’s Market district after authorities took away materials gathered for bonfires to mark the introduction of internment without trial in 1971. Sinn Féin long ago phased out the bonfires but dissident republicans have revived the 9 August tradition in some areas of Northern Ireland. The old credit union building in the Divis area of the city was torched on Monday evening after police were pelted with petrol bombs and cars were set on fire earlier in the day in the Market district.

Don’t mention the warming – Staff at the US Department of Agriculture have been told to stop using the term “climate change” and instead say “weather extremes”. In a worrying manifestation of the Trump administration’s climate censorship, employees in the USDA unit responsible for land conservation in farming were told in emails obtained by the Guardian that addressing climate change was “not consistent” with the Trump administration’s priorities and they should change their language accordingly. Farming accounts for 15% of US greenhouse gas emissions. Trump has suggested climate change research is an elaborate Chinese hoax. He has also picked a non-scientist and climate sceptic to be the USDA’s chief scientist.

. . . .

I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT THE SECRET LATE-NIGHT VISIT TO THE WHITE HOUSE. THIS WHOLE SITUATION HAS BEEN FULL OF MYSTIFYING BEHAVIOR AND SECRECY. IT’S AS GOOD AS ANY SPY NOVEL. I DO WISH IT WERE FICTION, HOWEVER. WE SHOULD PUT “THE WHOLE BUNCH OF THEM” IN PRISON. ALL TOGETHER, IT DOES RESEMBLE A COUP ATTEMPT, AND IN THOSE SITUATIONS, THE KNOWN ACTIVITIES ARE LIKELY TO BE MERELY THE SURFACE OF THE PROBLEM, RATHER THAN THE WHOLE STORY. I’M SO GLAD THAT MUELLER, JOHN MCCAIN, COMEY, AND OTHERS ARE COURAGEOUSLY STANDING UP FOR WHAT IS GOOD. THERE HAS BEEN AN OVERALL REFLEX REACTION IN BOTH HOUSES AND IN THE PUBLIC AT LARGE AGAINST THE BRAZEN ATTEMPTS TO MANIPULATE THE SITUATION OF THE 2016 ELECTION IN ORDER TO PUT THE ALT-RIGHT INTO POWER.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/07/donald-trump-russia-dossier-christopher-steele-devin-nunes
Secretive search for man behind Trump dossier reveals tension in Russia inquiry
Attempt by two congressional staffers to contact former MI6 officer highlights fight for control over House intelligence committee’s investigation
Julian Borger in Washington
Monday 7 August 2017 20.48 EDT

Photograph -- Former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele in London. The dossier contained explosive allegations about Trump and the Kremlin. Photograph: Victoria Jones/PA

Two US congressional staffers who travelled to London in July and tried to contact former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele were sent by a longstanding aide to Devin Nunes, the chairman of the House intelligence committee and a close ally of the White House.

The trip has brought back to the surface a continuing struggle for control of the committee’s investigation into Moscow’s role in the 2016 US election. The reliability of a dossier compiled by Steele, containing explosive allegations of extensive secret collusion between Trump and the Kremlin, is a key part of that investigation.

The two staffers turned up unannounced at Steele’s lawyers’ offices while the former MI6 officer was in the building, according to a report by Politico on Friday. But the committee’s leading Democrat, Adam Schiff, said on Sunday neither he nor his Republican counterpart had been informed about the staffers’ London trip.

A congressional official insisted, however, that the staffers were in London on official committee business. He said they had been told to make contact with Steele’s lawyers, rather than Steele himself.

RELATED -- Analysis White House as crime scene: how Robert Mueller is closing in on Trump -- There is a grand jury in Washington DC. The special counsel’s team is full of experts in financial crime. On Russia, the president can feel the net closing

“It was an intelligence committee trip although going to meet with the lawyer was not the sole purpose of the trip. They were also there on other committee business,” the official said, but he added he could not describe what else the committee staffers were doing in London.

“Them [sic] being sent to meet with the lawyers was [sic] at the behest of the committee staff director,” the official added, speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the subject.

The House intelligence committee’s staff director is Damon Nelson, who worked as deputy chief of staff for Devin Nunes from 2003 until 2014 and then as a senior adviser before moving in 2015 to the staff of the committee which Nunes chairs. Nunes was a member of Trump’s transition team on security and enraged Democrats by maintaining close contact with the president and making a secret visit late at night to the White House in March to view supposedly secret information without telling other committee members.

Nunes stepped aside from the committee’s Russia investigation in April, months before the London trip, after becoming the subject of an inquiry by the House ethics panel into whether he disclosed classified information in a bid to discredit the Obama administration. The Republican congressman Mike Conaway took over Nunes’s duties directing the Russia inquiry. Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the committee, has since praised Conaway’s cooperation into investigating the links between the Trump campaign and Moscow, but has also complained that Nunes has continued to intervene in the investigation, despite his understanding to stay out of it pending the ethics inquiry.

The staffers were sent by an aide to Devin Nunes, chairman of the House intelligence committee and a close Trump ally.
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Photograph -- The staffers were sent by an aide to Devin Nunes, chairman of the House intelligence committee and a close Trump ally. Photograph: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Schiff’s office declined to comment, and Conaway’s office did not reply to a request for comment. But Schiff said on Sunday that neither of them had been told about the London visit aimed at establishing contacts with a key witness.

“I wasn’t aware of it, and I don’t think Mr Conaway was either,” Schiff told CNN. “But the reality is we do want to meet with Mr Steele, would like him to come before the committee. If he’s not willing to do that, we’d be happy – Mr Conaway and myself – to go to London to sit down with him. He does have, certainly, very relevant information that would assist our investigation.”

Steele’s dossier on Trump’s alleged collusion with the Russian government was compiled in 2016 for a Washington research company, Fusion GPS, and commissioned by Trump’s election opponents, first Republicans in the primaries, and then Democrats.

It was presented by Republican senator John McCain to the then FBI director, James Comey, in December, and has since been part of a wide-ranging inquiry into possible collusion, now under the control of special counsel Robert Mueller.

A congressional official insisted it would not be unusual for a committee staff director to organise a foreign fact-finding trip on his own authority.


RELATED: Jon Huntsman: is Trump’s new ambassador to Russia a selfless public servant or opportunistic people-pleaser?

However, Adam Blickstein, a former Democrat spokesman on the House intelligence committee, said he found that unlikely in such a sensitive investigation.

“In this specific scenario, I can’t imagine a staff director sending two staffers on this trip without the chairman knowing about it,” Blickstein said. “That wouldn’t pass the smell test.”

“I find the fact that they presumably spent taxpayer money to undertake such a hyper-partisan and unprofessional effort extremely troubling,” John Sipher, a former senior CIA officer said in an emailed comment. “There are normal ways to do this through our existing institutions, and their relationships with our British partners. This is bad on many levels.

“Republicans that are part of the House investigation should not be undertaking efforts without informing their Democratic colleagues,” Sipher added. “Not only is it unprofessional but it is impolite. Mr Steele was a professional who worked on important and compatible issues with the US. He deserves better than being ambushed by a bunch of hacks.”



ARSENIC IN THEIR TEA ?? POLONIUM? NICOTINE EXTRACT DARTS? BROWN RECLUSE OR AUSTRALIAN FUNNEL-WEB SPIDER BITES? IF YOU COLLECT NEWS ARTICLES DAILY AS I HAVE FOR TWO YEARS AND A LITTLE MORE, IT IS SIMPLY IMPOSSIBLE TO GET BORED! WHO WANTS FICTION WHEN YOU CAN HAVE REAL LIFE?

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-government-personnel-in-havana-report-incidents-causing-physical-symptoms/
By ANDRES TRIAY, STEVE DORSEY CBS NEWS August 9, 2017, 3:38 PM
U.S. government personnel in Havana report "incidents" causing physical symptoms

The U.S. State Department confirms that "some" U.S. government personnel in Havana on official duty have reported "incidents which have caused a variety of physical symptoms."

A spokesperson for the State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs says the department does not have "definitive answers on the source or cause of the incidents."

"What this requires is providing medical examinations to these people, initially when they started reporting what I will just call 'symptoms,' it took time to figure out what it was," State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said on Wednesday. "We're monitoring it."

Nauert told reporters that while the "incident" appears to have only affected State Department employees and not private U.S. citizens in Cuba, "we don't have any definitive answers about the source or the cause of what we consider to be incidents."

On May 23, the State Department took punitive action and asked two officials accredited to the Embassy of Cuba to depart the United States. Those officials have left the country.

The Associated Press reports that about five diplomats -- several with spouses -- were affected and that no children were involved.

Late Wednesday night, the Cuban government released a statement saying that "Cuba has never permitted, nor will permit, that Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic officials or their families, with no exception."

The statement also added that the Cuban Foreign Ministry was informed of the incidents on February 17 and launched an "exhaustive, high-priority, urgent investigation at the behest of the highest level of the Cuban government."

The State Department says it has reminded the Cuban government of its obligations under the Vienna Convention to protect U.S. diplomats and says it's taking these incidents "very seriously" and is "working to determine the cause and impact of the incidents."

"We requested their departure as a reciprocal measure since some U.S. personnel's assignments in Havana had to be curtailed due to these incidents," Nauert said, according to the AP.

There were no additional details about the symptoms.

The State Department referred CBS News to the FBI, which has offered no comment.



MSNBC AUGUST 8, 2017


http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/things-just-got-a-lot-worse-for-paul-manafort-1021257795938
ALL IN WITH CHRIS HAYES 8/9/17
Things just got a lot worse for Paul Manafort
It's not a great sign when a dozen FBI agents wielding a search warrant execute a pre-dawn raid at your house. Duration: 6:05


TRUMP BLUSTER, NORTH KOREA – TWO VIDEOS AND ONE ARTICLE

THE WORST THING ABOUT NORTH KOREA’S INCREASED AGGRESSIVENESS IS THE FACT THAT THE US AND UNDOUBTEDLY OTHER WESTERN INTELLIGENCE GROUPS, WERE UNAWARE OF THE LEVEL OF ATTAINMENT IN SKILL AND TECHNOLOGY THAT THE NATION – WHICH WE HAVE TENDED TO THINK OF AS BEING “BACKWARD,” AND WITH A LEADER WHO LOOKS TO BE A KIND OF FOOL – WAS ACTUALLY ALMOST READY TO MOUNT NUCLEAR ATTACKS.

TO ME, THE WORST OF IT IS THAT KIM IS LIKE TRUMP – IMPULSIVE. THAT ISN’T GOOD IN A PRESIDENT. GEORGE W. BUSH WHILE IN OFFICE USED ONE OF HIS PRICELESS PHRASES, WHEN HE SAID “I’M THE DECIDER.” WELL, WE DON’T NEED FOR OUR DECIDER TO BE TOO QUICK ABOUT IT. SO IT’S THE BOMBS, THE INTERCONTINENTAL MISSILES, KIM AND TRUMP, MAKING A MIXTURE NOT UNLIKE DYNAMITE. ONE PROBLEM WITH DYNAMITE IS THAT IF IT SITS IN THE SUN TOO LONG OR IS OTHERWISE EXPOSED TO HEAT, IT CAN EXPLODE ALL ON IT’S OWN! SEE NORTH KOREA EXPERT BILL RICHARDSON ON THE SUBJECT.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/richardson-north-korea-catching-u-s-off-guard-a-massive-intelligence-failure/
CBS NEWS August 9, 2017, 7:11 PM
Richardson: North Korea catching U.S. off guard "a massive intelligence failure"

The war of words between North Korea and the U.S. is escalating. Last week, the United Nations Security Council approved new sanctions against the country, which responded with a vow of "thousand-fold revenge" against the U.S.

On Tuesday, an intelligence report that came to light concluded that North Korea has the ability to build a nuclear warhead small enough to fit on top of a ballistic missile. President Trump then warned North Korea, vowing "fire and fury like the world has never seen" if threats against the U.S. continue.

CBS News' Anthony Mason spoke with Bill Richardson, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and an expert on North Korea, about the increasing tensions -- and where we go from here.

What follows is a transcript of the interview, which aired August 9, 2017, on the "CBS Evening News."

ANTHONY MASON: Mr. Ambassador, where do we go after "fire and fury"? What's the best option for the U.S. now?

BILL RICHARDSON: The best option is diplomacy, the best option is continued sanctions, see if they work. Continue to pressure China, continue the military exercises, but find a way to talk to the North Koreans.

richardson-intvw-0809en.jpg
Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Bill Richardson CBS NEWS

MASON: But Kim Jong Un hasn't shown a lot of interest in diplomacy to this point.

RICHARDSON: We don't know what he wants. He's an unpredictable character. We don't know what his intentions are. He wants to stay in power. But I think in the end, once he knows that he can hit the United States with a missile, he can start negotiating. That's the way his father was. But I think keeping the talk about preemptive military strikes and the president's very incendiary statement, which was not helpful, is not the way to go.

MASON: What do you make of North Korea's threat towards Guam?

RICHARDSON: This is part of their foreign policy. However, the intensity of the attack, the specificity bothers me. The fact that the foreign minister himself -- who's a reasonable guy, I've dealt with him, Foreign Minister Re -- was so intense that I'm just a little worried that that intensity is a little too strong. What you don't want to have is a miscalculation.

MASON: What's the risk here that we could start a war by accident?

RICHARDSON: The risk is strong. A fishing boat is shot by the North Koreans, airspace is invaded and the North Koreans react, the South Koreans react -- everybody's trying to out-macho each other.

MASON: Lastly, Mr. Ambassador, U.S. intelligence seemed to be surprised by the technical advances in North Korea. Does that worry you?

RICHARDSON: That worries me because we should've been on this long ago. We should consider finding ways to put more intelligence, over-flights, more spies, because we were caught off guard. North Korea was way more advanced than our intelligence people told us. That's a massive intelligence failure that should never happen again.

MASON: Ambassador Bill Richardson, thank you so much for being with us.

RICHARDSON: Thank you.



THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/8/17
Trump bluster divorced from any real North Korea strategy
Courtney Kube, NBC News national security and military reporter, talks with Rachel Maddow about whether Donald Trump is seriously considering privatizing the war in Afghanistan, and whether Trump's bluster on North Korea has any basis in strategy. Duration: 4:55


http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-bellicosity-is-frightening-new-variable-in-n-korea-standoff-1020416067935?cid=eml_mra_20170809
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/8/17
Trump bellicosity is frightening new variable in N Korea standoff
Rachel Maddow reviews what is known about North Korean military capability and its history of overblown threats and notes that the Donald Trump administration's inconsistency on policy and equally overblown threats are the new, frightening variable in ... Duration: 20:56



OUR MOST WELL-RESPECTED REPUBLICAN SENATOR VOTED HIS CONSCIENCE, AND REPUBLICANS ARE SHOCKED. MCCAIN’S SPEECH BEFORE THE VOTE WAS ELOQUENT, AND FORCEFUL. HE DIDN’T THINK THE BILL WAS A GOOD ONE, OR HELPFUL TO MANKIND, AND HE CARES ABOUT THAT. NOT ALL REPUBLICANS ARE ALIKE. THAT’S WHY MCCAIN CAME FROM HOME A DAY OR TWO AFTER BRAIN SURGERY TO CAST HIS VOTE AGAINST THE BILL. SOME PEOPLE JUST MAKE UP THEIR OWN MIND AND EXERCISE THEIR FREEDOM TO SPEAK IT. JOHNSON DOESN’T UNDERSTAND OR APPRECIATE THAT CHARACTERISTIC. HE PROBABLY THINKS OF HIMSELF AS A TEAM PLAYER, BUT I THINK OF PEOPLE LIKE THAT AS GANG MEMBERS. WHAT MAKES A STREET GANG DIFFERENT FROM THE BOY SCOUTS? THEIR ATTITUDES AND THE DAMAGE THEY DO.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/republican-makes-provocative-comments-about-mccains-brain-cancer
Republican makes provocative comments about McCain’s brain cancer
08/09/17 02:18 PM—UPDATED 08/09/17 02:30 PM
By Steve Benen

Photograph -- Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, speaks during the Faith and Freedom Coalition's "Road to Majority" legislative luncheon in Washington, D.C., June 18, 2015. Photo by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg/Getty

It’s no secret that Republicans were disappointed when Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) joined Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and 48 Senate Democrats in derailing the GOP’s far-right health care plan two weeks ago. But just how far are some on the right prepared to go to express their dissatisfaction?

Politico notes one Senate Republican who broached a highly provocative subject.

Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican who voted in favor of the GOP plan to repeal parts of Obamacare last month, suggested Tuesday that Sen. John McCain’s deciding vote against the proposal may have been related to his brain cancer.

“I’m not going to speak for John McCain, you know, he has a brain tumor right now, that vote occurred at 1:30 in the morning, some of that might have factored in,” Johnson said on the radio program “Chicago’s Morning Answer.”

Note, even the host of the radio show seemed surprised that Johnson went there, responding to the senator, “Really?” This would’ve been a great time for the far-right Wisconsinite to quickly walk back his comments, but that’s not quite what happened.

“Again, I-I-I don’t know exactly what – we really thought – and again I don’t want speak for any senator,” Johnson responded. “I really thought John was going to vote yes to send that to conference at 10:30 at night. By about 1, 1:30, he voted no. So you have talk to John in terms what was on his mind.”

Of course, McCain and his office have already made it quite clear why the senator voted the way he did, and they didn’t seem especially pleased to hear Johnson argue that brain cancer “might have factored in.”

In a statement made available to NBC News, a McCain spokesperson called Johnson’s on-air comments “bizarre and deeply unfortunate.”

I’m going to assume that Johnson will issue a statement very soon, arguing that he was clumsy in his wording and didn’t mean to imply McCain’s vote was related to his illness. I’ll update this piece if/when that statement arrives.

Update: That was quick. “I’m disappointed I didn’t more eloquently express my sympathy for what Sen. McCain is going through,” Johnson said in a statement this afternoon. “I have nothing but respect for him and the vote came at the end of a long day for everyone.”

COMMENTS:

Sal Santamaura
2 HOURS AGO
"...I’m going to assume that Johnson will issue a statement very soon, arguing that he was clumsy in his wording and didn’t mean to imply McCain’s vote was related to his illness..."
Johnson's statement may have been issued quickly, but as worded it doesn't walk back his claim that McCain's vote resulted from his illness. Yet another Republican non-apology apology. Johnson's a true Barnumite.


“BARNUMITE?” REALLY?? THE CLOSEST THINGS TO ANY REAL ELUCIDATION OF ANY KIND ABOUT "BARNUMITES," THAT I DID FIND ON THAT WORD OR COGNATES ARE NOT “DEFINITIONS,” BUT SIMPLY EXAMPLES, WHICH I GATHER REFER TO BEING GULLIBLE AND SUGGESTIBLE, ESPECIALLY IF THERE IS LOTS OF PERSONAL ATTENTION INVOLVED, MAKING ONE SUSCEPTIBLE TO FORTUNE TELLERS, HARD SELL TECHNIQUES, ETC. WHO EMPLOY A PSYCHOLOGICAL MANIPULATION TECHNIQUE OF ENLISTING A DESIRE TO BELIEVE IN A PERSON, WITH THE GOAL OF INJURING OR DEPRIVING THE MARK OF SOMETHING USEFUL AND IMPORTANT, LIKE THEIR WALLET; USING SOMETHING SUCH AS FLATTERY TO GAIN THEIR TRUST, AND THEN PICKING THEIR POCKET; WHICH THE WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE ON “THE BARNUM EFFECT,” OR “THE FORER EFFECT” MENTIONS, AGAIN WITHOUT A GOOD DICTIONARY DEFINITION, HOWEVER. EVEN MY COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY FROM 1965 DOESN’T EVEN MENTION THE WORD. ONE THING THIS REMINDS ME OF IS A PHRASE I LEARNED IN HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA FOR SOMETHING THAT IS NECESSARY FOR DRAMA TO BE EFFECTIVE: “THE WILLING SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF.”

THE LINK IN WIKIPEDIA, THOUGH, IS WITH P T BARNUM, WHO MADE A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY ON THE PUBLIC IGNORANCE AND IS SAID TO HAVE SPOKEN DISPARAGINGLY, “THERE’S A FOOL BORN EVERY DAY.” ONE PHRASE I FOUND SEEMS TO INDICATE THAT DEFINITION: “NOBODY EVER WENT BROKE UNDERESTIMATING THE TASTE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.” [HTTP://WILLIAMAPERCY.COM/WIKI/IMAGES/THE_MIND_OF_THE_BEHOLDER_INTRO_AND_CHAPTER_1.PDF ] PROFESSOR AND GAY ACTIVIST. SEE: HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/WILLIAM_ARMSTRONG_PERCY_III.

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Forer+Effect -- Forer Effect
Also found in: Wikipedia.
“The observation that people give high accuracy ratings to descriptions of their personality that are said to have been tailored specifically for them, but which are in fact vague and general enough to apply to a wide range of people. The Forer effect partially explains the widespread acceptance of astrology, fortune telling, and some types of personality tests”

MAYBE IN THE FUTURE THE TERM “TRUMPITE” WILL BE USED TO MEAN THE SAME THING. HE SAID AT ONE OF HIS RALLIES NOT LONG BEFORE THE ELECTION, “I LOVE THE POORLY EDUCATED.” THINK ABOUT IT. THEY’RE THE PERFECT MARK. THEY’RE ALSO MUCH MORE LIKELY TO BE EMOTIONALLY ACCESSIBLE TO AN ESSENTIALLY LONELY AND UNDER-CONFIDENT PERSON. TRUMP BLUSTERS SO MUCH BECAUSE HIS UNDERLYING CONFIDENCE IS SO WEAK. HE ALSO OVERCOMPENSATES WITH MILLIONS OF STATUS SYMBOLS. ONE BIG TASTELESS DIAMOND ON HIS PINKIE IS NOT ENOUGH. ONE SKYSCRAPER WITH HIS NAME ON IT IS NOT ENOUGH.

WIKIPEDIA SAYS, “A 2016 ARTICLE EXPLAINED TO MARKETERS HOW TO USE THE FORER EFFECT TO WIN CUSTOMERS. THE MAIN PIECE OF ADVICE WAS TO EMPLOY FLATTERY.[22]” THE EFFUSIVENESS WITH WHICH HIS FOLLOWERS PRAISE HIM IS NECESSARY TO HIS EMOTIONAL BALANCE. I THINK THAT’S WHY HE HAS RECENTLY GONE BACK OUT TO CAMPAIGN, WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT, FOR THIS NEXT TERM IN OFFICE.... IS THAT LEGAL? SO, WHAT STARTED ALL THIS? OH, YES. THE OFTEN USED BUT NEVER FORMALLY DEFINED, “BARNUMITE.”