Former President Obama called out Trump on his Chinese bank accounts.

October 21, 2020

By Ted Johnson

President Barack Obama speaks at Citizens Bank Park as he campaigns for Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden.

Barack Obama (click here) mocked what he said was Donald Trump’s “secret Chinese bank account,” telling a rally crowd that the circumstances would be far different if the same revelation was made about him.

“How is that possible? A secret Chinese bank account. Listen, can you imagine if I had had a secret Chinese bank account when I was running for re-election?” Obama said in a campaign appearance for Joe Biden in Philadelphia. “You think Fox News might have been a little concerned about that? They would have called me Beijing Barry.”

Obama was making his first appearance on the campaign trail for Biden, after also headlining fundraisers and speaking at the Democratic National Convention....

One of Trump's many attorneys said he keeps the bank account to pay taxes.

Taxes?

Oh, Chinese taxes. Of, course. Every American can understand that. No taxes to the USA so he can pay it to China. Amazing.

..."What we do these next 13 days will matter for decades to come," he stressed.... (click here)

If anyone wants to keep up with Ghislaine Maxwell, this is a group of folks that are going in number covering the sexual exploits of Ghislaine, Jeffery Epstein, and all their cohorts. This is more real than anything Radcliffe says.

I don't believe a word Radcliffe states. 

This is a "Trump told me to rattle the voters" moment.

The emails may be real, but, Radcliffe isn't.

It is probably the RNC.

It is pure propaganda. How do I think that way? Because it is the "Proud Boys." The very group of wackos Trump considers important enough to BOND WITH THEM at a debate. It is OBVIOUS propaganda from a source that only took information from Trump's words. 

Come on now. Don't tell me this stuff is actually considered real. Americans are smarter than this.

The F-35 again or should I say, STILL.

They can't get off the ground in a storm? There have been significant storms in Europe lately, but, the F-35 is grounded because of a storm. Basically. 

September 22, 2020
By David Cenciotti

The Dutch air force (click here) said its F-35s would take part in a one-day exercise with US bombers last month, but the risk of a thunderstorm forced it to cancel the participation.

The risk is related to an issue with the F-35's fuel system, a design fault that could cause the jet to explode if struck by lightning, that was first discovered during tests in 2009.

On August 28, 2020, six B-52H Stratofortress bombers took part in Allied Sky, a single-day mission that saw the strategic bombers overfly all 30 NATO nations.

Allied Sky was conducted by two teams: four B-52s with the 5th Bomb Wing, from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, deployed to RAF Fairford, UK, were tasked to cover European portion of the mission flying single-ship sorties; two B-52s, also belonging to the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, flew as a two-ship formation over Canada and the United States.

As reported in detail in this previous article, the one-day mission provided an opportunity for the B-52 to integrate with several NATO nations' air force fighter aircraft and aerial refueling aircraft: RAF Typhoons and FAF Mirage 2000 over the Baltic off Lithuania; BAF F-16s over Belgium; RDAF F-16s and RNoAF F-35s over Scandinavia; Polish Air Force F-16s and MiG-29s over Poland; Czech Air Force JAS 39 Gripen over Czech Republic; Romanian Air Force F-16s and MiG-21 Lancers over Romania; Bulgarian MiG-29s over Bulgaria; Croatian MiG-21s over Croatia; Hellenic Air Force F-16s over Greece; Italian Air Force Typhoons and F-35s over Italy; Portuguese F-16s over Portugal; Ukrainian Su-27s and MiG-29s over Ukraine.

According to the initial plans, also the F-35A Lightning IIs of the Royal Netherlands Air Force would have had to take part in Allied Sky escorting one of the B-52s. The KLu had announced the participation of the Dutch Lightning II jets on social networks but the mission was cancelled due to bad weather:...

None of this is good news. The B-52 had to send an emergency call to be sure a routine landing can be conducted in the UK? These jets are huge. Evidently, there is some sort of concern about the landing accommodations of the jet.

25 September 2020

By Tariq Tahir

A US Air Force B-52 bomber (click here) sent a distress signal after a mid-air emergency over Gloucestershire.

According to tracking website Flightradar 24, the aircraft transmitted a “squawk code 770, indicating general emergency, near Tewkesbury, UK”.

Two of the giant planes were spotted in the skies above the county on Friday, Gloucestershire Live reports.

The aircraft had call signs BALOO51 and BALOO52 and both were flying at an altitude of over 9,000 feet.

According to Flightradar 24 the aircraft that issued the warning had the call sign BALOO52 and was built in January 1961, though it will have gone through several upgrades and refurbishments.

The US Air Force later said the plane was on a training mission when it experienced a "general in flight emergency" ....

...Its crew issued the warning to ensure full access to RAF Fairford, where it is currently operating from, and it landed safely.

The US Air Force said in statement: "On Sept. 25 2020, a U.S. B-52H Stratofortress from the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota was returning to RAF Fairford from a routine training mission.

"While enroute to RAF Fairford, the B-52 experienced a general in flight emergency, which our experienced crews are able to identify and respond to due to their routine training and preparation.

"The squawk was a precaution to ensure they had proper access to the airfield to complete a safe and clear landing which they successfully accomplished."

COVID-19 has damaged Iran in ways the USA never could.

With Europe upholding the Iran Nuclear Deal there is a chance Iran can handle the virus in time. Quite frankly, with the tight reins Iran holds over the people, controlling SARS-CoV-2 should be easier than other countries.

I don't see the USA acting responsibly toward the Iranian people. If there is hunger then we need to feed them. If there is any potential to helping with the virus it should be extended. HOWEVER, Trump couldn't hold off the virus to the American people so other than sending some kind of humanitarian aid I don't see the USA involved with Iran's response to COVID-19.

The reason to feed the Iranian people if we are welcome to do so is to bring a better relationship now and in the future. I remember the early days of the virus in Iran caused illness and death to the inner circle to the Ayatollah. There is no need to annihilate the Iranian leadership if compassion is well received.

October 19, 2020
By Ali Arouzi, Amin Hossein Khodadadi and Adela Suliman

On Monday, Iran reported 337 deaths from the coronavirus in the previous 24 hours — the highest since February.

Tehran - Finding it harder and harder to feed his family of four (click here) on a salary equivalent to around $100 a month, earlier this year cleaner Javad Mamashty got another job as a caretaker at an apartment block in the south of Tehran. But along with extra cash — about $30 every four weeks — Mamashty picked up Covid-19.

The coronavirus forced Mamashty, 48, to isolate in his house for weeks, which meant losing the second job. Since August, he said, he has burned through his savings, which “weren’t much to begin with.” Now he’s stuck with one income that doesn’t allow him to cover the basics.


“Life is very, very hard. Rents have gone through the roof. The cost of basic goods, medicines, are extraordinary,” Mamashty told NBC News over the weekend, referencing runaway inflation, which hit 30.5 percent in October.

“The future for me looks dark,” he said....

It sounds as though Trump is carrying out an unofficial war with Iran if there are daily attacks on Shi'ite militias and harassment of Iranian PASSENGER jets by the USA air force. Are the B-52 bombers still sitting on the tarmac in Qatar? (click here)

Are the B-52s making a global tour? On the way home?

The Russians have now registered its 14th incursion into air space near the USA.

October 20, 2020

By Corey Dickenstein

Washington - F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets (click here) scrambled late Monday to intercept Russian long-range bombers and fighters flying off Alaska’s coast, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said Tuesday.

The fighters intercepted a formation of two Tu-95 Bear bombers, two Su-35 Flanker fighter jets and an A-50 airborne early warning aircraft, according to a NORAD statement. The Russian aircraft never entered U.S. airspace, which extends 12 nautical miles from American shores.

NORAD said the aircraft flew within about 30 nautical miles of Alaskan shores and “loitered within” the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone for about 90 minutes. The zone is a stretch of mostly international airspace some 200 nautical miles off the Alaskan coast where American officials expect aircraft to identify themselves in the interest of national security....

I want to know what Iran says.

Very serious. I don't see any hostilities going forward without addressing the issues at hand at the UN Security Council. What Brandeis is saying is that the USA has no real policy with Iran. Trump continues to write sanctions as Europe is attempting to uphold the Iran Nuclear Deal.

By David Siddhartha Patel
Oct. 21, 2020

In the run-up to the presidential election, (click here) BrandeisNOW asked faculty to provide analysis and insight into some of the most pressing issues facing the country. This article is part of the series.

Among the many questions surrounding the 2020 U.S. election for the Middle East, one looms largest: How will the result of the U.S. elections affect the standoff with Iran?

This impasse affects U.S. policy throughout the region, including American support for the disastrous Saudi-led war in Yemen; demands placed on the weak Iraqi government to confront militias; and willingness to engage in reconstruction in Syria and Lebanon.

Uncertainty about the willingness and ability of the U.S. to check growing Iranian regional influence is bringing together countries threatened by Iran, such as Israel and the UAE, and possibly paving the way for a long-term partnership between China and Iran.

A military confrontation between the U.S. and Iran remains possible, and it is far from clear what direction the U.S.-Iranian relationship will go under either Trump or Biden.

President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the three-year-old Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and unilaterally imposed a variety of sanctions on Iran. This so-called “maximum pressure campaign” is meant to increase leverage and force Iran to return to the bargaining table, where a “better deal” that both constrains Iran’s nuclear program and addresses its other “malign activities” can be reached. These other activities include Iran’s ballistic missile program, threats against Israel and other U.S. allies, and its support for militias in Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria....

Iran and Russia continue to be dedicated allies. This entry looks unofficial. The USA is kidding itself if it believes it has good standing at the UN Security Council after assassinating Iranian generals.

I think the site is more or less an enthusiast of the US Navy. (click here) The information should be validated.

October 21, 2020

By H. I. Sutton

Last week, (click here) the Iranian-flagged oil tanker Samah entered the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal. After a few miles, the 900-foot-long ship stopped reporting its position and destination. Evidence suggests the ship sailed to Syria, escorted by two Russian Navy ships, including a destroyer.

Russia’s role in protecting the shipment may change the dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean. In the past, Iranian tankers sailing to Syria have been intercepted by the U.K. Royal Navy. The Russian Navy escort could be viewed as a precautionary step, raising the political and military risks of any intervention by the Royal Navy or others.

Last July, an Iranian tanker destined for Syria, Adrian Darya-1, was seized by U.K. Royal Marines off Gibraltar. The British accused Iran of supplying Syria with oil in contravention of European Union sanctions. Iran quickly seized a British-flagged tanker in a likely retaliatory move. Eventually, in September, Adrian Darya-1 was released by a local court with the assurance that it would not deliver its oil to Syria – but days later, it transshipped its oil in Syrian waters....

Hate is alive and well in the Michigan Republican Party.

If the Michigan House and Senate cannot completely guarantee the safety of Governor Whitmer, then everything has to be done virtually until this level of hatred ends.

October 19, 2020
By Craig Mauger

Lansing — Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, (click here) says the decision on whether to allow guns in the state Capitol should be left up to state lawmakers.

Chatfield, the leader of the GOP-controlled House, made the comments in a Saturday interview as the Michigan Capitol Commission, a six-member panel in charge of maintaining the building's grounds, continues to weigh whether to enact a policy on firearms.

"Historically, this has been something that the Legislature has decided," Chatfield told The Detroit News. "That's what our Constitution delineates, as well, that we have control over our chamber. And I think it should be a decision left up to the Legislature."

The debate over continuing to allow both concealed and openly carried guns in the Capitol has raged in Michigan for years. But it's gained new attention in recent months as protesters against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's COVID-19 restrictions have openly carried firearms in the building. Photos surfaced of two men charged in an alleged kidnapping plot of Whitmer carrying weapons around the Capitol during one demonstration....

Here comes another doping scandal from Russia.

Putin is having a love affair with a young gymnast. He had a child with her. That is the third Russian woman to give birth to Putin's children.

The second woman was also a young gymnast when he took her as a lover while he was still married to his first wife. His lover went on to be a member of the Duma with a nice back account and condo. She was estimated to be worth about $2 million at the time she was with the Duma. I believe she had six or seven children with him, the last one born a few years ago in Switzerland. 

Indeed, Putin has a "thing" for women that can bend over backward for him.

October 19, 2020

by Kevin Johnson

Six Russian intelligence officers (click here) have been charged in a global computer hacking operation that targeted at least three countries and the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

The seven-count indictment unsealed Monday outlined what federal authorities described as the most "disruptive and destructive" effort attributed to a single operation, said Assistant Attorney General John Demers, chief of the Justice Department's National Security Division.

Federal authorities said the Russian operatives were associated with the same group, known as the "Sandworm" team of military unit 74455, that was linked to Russia's campaign to interfere with the 2016 U.S. election....

Leslie Stahl interview with Trump was probably an attempt of equal time after Dr. Fauci made his plea.

 Who walks out on Leslie Stahl? No one does that. (click here)

Non-traditional endorsements are lining up with Joe Biden.

October 20, 2020

By USA Editorial Board

Four years ago, the Editorial Board (click here) — an ideologically and demographically diverse group of journalists that is separate from the news staff and operates by consensus — broke with tradition and took sides in the presidential race for the first time since USA TODAY was founded in 1982. We urged readers not to vote for Donald Trump, calling the Republican nominee unfit for office because he lacked the “temperament, knowledge, steadiness and honesty that America needs from its presidents.” We stopped short, however, of an outright endorsement of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee. This year, the Editorial Board unanimously supports the election of Joe Biden, who offers a shaken nation a harbor of calm and competence.

Recent polls show that more than 90% of voters have decided between Biden and Trump, and nothing at this point will change their minds. This editorial is for those of you who are still uncertain about which candidate to vote for, or whether to vote at all. It’s also for those who settled on Trump but might be having last-minute doubts....

It is an election year like no other in the history of the USA. Our democracy is under threat and everyone who wanted to see it for themselves saw exactly that in full view of an astounding reality. Over and over, this country has watched Trump insult and lie about the USA government. He took the idea of small government and turned it into a national security issue. 

USA Today did the right thing to let their readers know this is a seriously important election. They stepped forward bravely to stand up for our democracy. Thank you.

Scientists in India are ending the use of convalescent plasma.

October 21, 2020
By Kaylan Ray

Armed with scientific evidence (click here) proving its futility, the Centre is set to drop the convalescent plasma therapy as a Covid-19 treatment option from the national treatment guidelines.

This comes in the wake of the world's largest study on such therapy by Indian researchers who demonstrated that treating a Covid-19 patient with the plasma of another infected-and-cured patient's plasma neither reduces the mortality nor prevents the disease...

The elections under Citizens United.

I listened to Micheal Moore’s “Rumble” this morning. I think it is rumbling now, actually. He was speaking about voting with US Rep. Dan Kildee. While I was listening it occurred to me they did not speak to Citizens United and the impact on the electorate.

Here is my take on the influence that action by the Supreme Court had on our elections with unlimited monies, including Dark Money. It drives people to vote to the point where many elections are concluded with a very small margin of voters. I think Americans have witnessed this vast change and are concerned to address the idea money is a citizen. But, that is a side story.

Some Americans may not realize those small margins ARE THE REASON TO VOTE regardless of any confidence they may FEEL they have. I think Michael Bloomberg picked up on this new and wayward dynamic years ago. I believe it is what resolved him to save our democracy and invest in Democrats. I think the Former Mayor Bloomberg is a great American especially in reflecting on Giuliani and his treasonist methods. 

Former Mayor Bloomberg knows that spending high amounts of money moved the electorate and contributes to the stability of our democracy for the times we live in. One thing Americans have to realize is that EVERY VOTE COUNTS after Citizen United.

Go vote. 

Be a Great American knowing the vote is protecting our Democracy in the era of Citizens United.

One other thing. Speaker Pelosi needs to end negotiations with Trump regarding a stimulus. It is giving Trump a platform to shame the Speaker in her demands and it gives McConnell a platform to refuse to bring any measure to the floor of the Senate because of concern for the national deficit. The reality is that McConnell should have worried about the national deficit when he passed the Trump tax plan that gave away trillions to the wealthy.

There are many serious reasons to vote, so get out of our comfort zone and plan your vote this year, the winning margins are far to small.

VOTE!