I need to stop using dextromethorphan immediately which is what my "advanced nurse practicioner" told me, and go through the withdrawals which will include but are not limited to severe night sweats for several weeks, dysphoria, brain zaps, loss of coordination and focus, etc..so I am going to try and find a dose that will keep me borderline level at least, the only issue is being able to afford it, because I am very paranoid that I am being watched by the local police or even the Ocean County prosecutors office so I don't need any of that shit. I have 2 theft charges on my record and I believe it may have been contributing to me not getting hired and having such a difficult time right now getting employed. I have some prospects and usually do, but for some reason my luck has completely done a 180 and I no longer have the ease of just showing up for an interview and getting hired on the spot like I used to when I was a teenager and in my 20's Feb 20 2020
I am stressed out lately because of this corona virus pandemic, which was labled a pandemic today and a global crisis, it apparently has roughly a 10% higher mortality rate than the seasonal flu, although the seasonal flu has an extremely low mortality rate so the percentage for corona virus is around 2-3% of cases resulting in deaths. However, this disease has been spreading extremely rapidly and cases are expected to keep rising as more people are tested and the disease continues to spread. Tonight, the NBA announced it will suspend all games until further notice and the NHL said it will announce whether or not it will do the same tomorrow. Already the NHL and NBA have scheduled games to be played with no fans in attendance before tonight. Also actor Tom Hanks and his wife have been confirmed to have contracted the virus, all of these news events were reported withini 35 minutes around 11 PM-Midnight March 12-13 2020.
Aside from this I have also been very stressed about a new job at McDonalds and I am having irrational pre emptive, anticapitory anxiety even though my first few days will only be training and I won't be working a full shift. I have agreed to work overnights 2 nights a week on the weekend which I think I can do and adjust to, and 2 six hour shifts during the day during the week. So it's part time. I feel comforted being able to write/type my thoughts down in free flow form. I have to take a big step forward and I am going to do it tomorrow.
Midnight March 23 2020
This Corona Virus outbreak, or COVID-19, has been declared a pandemic by the entire planet and extreme measures ahave been taken to prevent and slow the spread of the virus. It's supposed to be about 10x more lethal than the seasonal flu. It allegedly originated and came out of a town called Wu Han in China a few months ago. Now it has gotten to the point that all sporting events have been cancelled and large gatherings of people are prohibited, it's very suspicious because its coming during an election year right before the debates are about to begin and it has crashed the stock market. There has been so much going on during this Trump presidency, it's been an amazing time to be alive and I appreciate as much as I can. Nobody I know personally or anyone they know personally has this virus, it is not that rampant in New Jersey yet. A lot of people are self quarantining, a lot of people are over reacting while others think its no big deal. One thing is for sure, it will either lead to a very dismal future, or we will prevail and come out of this stronger and much more appreciative of life and hopefully it will bring people together that we all went through something like this and survived (the ones who DO survive). My music has been doing well, I got my first check for royalties and I am already halfway there to recieving another check. I have been promoting as usual on social media and also paid Sam Roberts $10 to plug my music on his show Sam Roberts Now which resulted in a big spike in my streams. I have also been learning how essential it is, and how to get on spotify playlists that are followed by thousands or millions of people, that seems to be the way a lot of upcoming artists are getting their music heard and building up their communities. I have found a way to contact and search for Playlist Curators on a website called Chartmetric.com and it has been very useful, though I have been lazy and not utilizing it to its fullest potential, which I need to do. My mothers boss died and the company now belongs to the boss's daughter and they are still deciding what will happen, so I need to get a job and be able to support myself if I am going to keep this apartment. I have filled out applications and I have some prospects and tomorrow is monday so I will follow up on them.
March 25 11:32 AM 2020
The corona virus, or now more widely and officially known as COVID-19, has been sweeping the globe and causing massive crisis in several countries. Unfortunately for me, I am in New Jersey right below the state that has the most cases and deaths in the United States, which is New York State, mainly New York City. I am remaining inside as often as possible and stocking up on cheap food. I have a water container with a good filter and replacement filters so my water is much better quality than it is straight from the tap into the cup, which I was drinking for the last 3 years before I got these filters. I have been getting a decent amount of physical activity and exercise everyday out of my own willpower and discipline, but also smoking and awful lot of marijuana. TR owe me $30 worth which I digitally wired to him exactly one week ago and haven't heard from him since, and Bobby also gave him money months ago and hasn't gotten anything. I really need to quit marijuana but it is so difficult now that it is even more prevelant than its ever been since it's being legalized all over the country. I am finding this writing very therapeutic and I enjoy it, I wish I would od more of it. It seems to clear the mind and relieve stress, slow down my constant barrage of racing thoughts. I am going to try and make this a daily or at least very frequent habit as the benefits will be major. I have been developing a good personal friendship with former StarCraft II profressional RootCatZ and he went out of his way to say he enjoyed my music and has played it on stream often. It has likely boosted my analytics in reference to my music streams, downloads and sales because they have all increased and continued to increase. I keep marketing myself also, as I always have done on social media, and am on a few playlists that get a good amount of action. I really want to write a fictional story/book and get very passionate and immersed in it and create an excellent product but I am far from anything other than coming up with basic characters and a plot and conflict yet. s
April 1st 4:40 AM
The Corona Virus or COVID-19 has spread across the world and the United States, and a lot of the cases are in NYC and spreading into NJ. It's mainly a threat to older people and people with underlying health conditions, similar to the flu. I don't want to talk about it hough. The Final Fantasy 7 remake was released early in Australia as a result of this pandemic, and not released yet in the USA, or at least only to a very select few people. Last night and this morning have been very cool and fun to experience online with everyone watching the new game being played for the first time. It is a time I will never forget. I have an interview at Acme tomorrow morning at 11 Am and will be there and hopefully get hired. I have been enjoying my car, my Acura, which is a luxury car and it's been quite a treat and a delight to have and drive and I appreciate my mother putting up money to get it. I need to sleep so I can get up for the interview later this morning. ::
4/13/2020
Things are getting real and stressful, car issues, which I mam just using a credit card to patc h up temporaroly, and the dxm issues and sleep issues and the benzos. Also haven't had a job, and still waiting for my background check at Acme to come through. I am really banking on that job but I will find a way if it doesn't work out. THe Corona Virus has just been the main focus of all media including sports and its just getting old already, so far I know no one who actually contaracted the virus or even knows anyone who did. I have hung out at Bobbys a few times picking up bud, which I am trying to ration and make sure I have enough at all times. that is anothe thing I want to fix, I want to not be reliant on weed and have an OCD thing where I must know that I have weed to be calm. Theere is something they put in the weed that must make it like this.
4/21/2020
The virus is still making lufe difficult for everyone around the world, or at least effected countries, and a new rule in NY and NJ and a few other states is that masks or something to cover the mouth lkike a scarf is required inside all businesses and buildings and social distances has become mandatory, a minimum of 6 feet. It's unlike anything even the aftermath of 9/11. Many people are still unemployed or aid off, but Trump has made it clear he wants to start reopening the country for business and going back to "normal" as early as June 1st, but small steps towards that are being taken now, such as the main news coverage has started to talk about other things besides Corona Virus which was taking up about 99% of the airtime on all programs. People have done a good job following directions towards making this pandemic dissipate as quickly as possible. In the US the deaths and infection rates are much lower than originally predicted, incinuating that thie media was just using scare tactics for ratins and to create hype and hysteria and a sttae of disorder in the country very likely. The good news is that most conspiracy theorsts are being taken more seriously as the story that the virus came out iof a Chinese lab and all the lying CHina has been doing about the severity of this virus have become popular theories as to its origin.
4/23/2020
I had a good day eysterday, it is past midnight now on the 23rd, I am on a good role cutting down DXM, I just need to keep going. I have done it I believe 2 of the last 5 or 6 days which is god because i was out of control for a while adding antihistamines to help sleep and benzos. I have to wait until the 26th to get my clonazepam but I got my mother to aquire some xanax although its probably a very small amount but its better hthan nothing. its terrible ive gotten myself into this kind of situation with benzos ontop of the dxm and marijuana usage. i am making sure i do less of everything ebcause my mental clarity if suffering greatly with all of these chemicals being involved in my life. I have been playing a lot of guitar and playing well, playing cchallenging things. Would love to be able to play the Randy Rhodes solo on Mr Crowley sometime, I am in the process of working on it along with a few otheres. I have to get back on the job hunt very hard and secure a job even during this Corona Virus time, I must be aggressive. As I have probably wiritten prior, I failed a background check for a good job at Acme supermarket which was not as devastating as I thought,k, I handled it well mentally and emotionally, I have no ohter choice, I am in survival mode right now and have been for a while. I need to find stability and comfort. s
4/29/2020
People in the government and in the media are starting to talk about "reopening the country" as in getting businesses open again and getting people back to work since we've been in a quarantine for the last almost 50 days. This is basically socialism, the government is telling us when we can go out and when we can't, and where we can go and where we cant and what we can do and what we cant. This is supposedly supposed to go somehwat back to normal by July, but that may or may not happen. THere is also talk that this will come back in the fall or winter when the cold weather comes back. I have been playing a lot of guitar and weening off dxm and failed a background check for a job but am consulting a legal aid lawyer and will see what happens with that, but in the meantime i will contineu to try applying to other places. i have been spending a lot of oney on this credit card that is on my mothers credit and i need to have cash to give her soonl
5/4/2020
Corona quarantine still in effect, althogh I've been seeing a lot more peope outsifde and not looking tooo concerned. Still have to wear masks in side every business and store. al restaraunts and plaves that would get crowedded are closed still. I am not sure if the cops are following or surveilling me becuase of my shoplifting but it is stressful to think about. I made comments to stsve about his gf calling her aspoled brat because shse compleined that her cleaning lady scratched the handle of her microwave, which i shold not have, it was very ride and impulsive.
5/5/2020
I've been doing dxm as usual and feeling really weak and shitty lately which makes sense. i am thinking more and more, spending more time thinking about quitting and about how bad this is for me. so that is a good thing. i am going to try and dedicate the next few days or weeks to rest and recovery. i know ive said that before and didn't do it but this time i dont thinki have a choice because my health is not good based on how i feel.
5/19/2020
Corona is still going on and the quarantine and shut down of non essesntial businesses is still in efect. THe public and several politiciasns and states have been fighting against these regulations an d going against them by opening up their states and towns tto normals standars and rules . ie no masks and no social distancing. New York and NJ will ikely be the last to be full y re open unfortunately. I acquired dexedrine (dextroamphetamine) a few days ago and stayed up all night working on new music and I like the direction I'm going by adding guitar and heavy metal with electonic 8 and 16 bit video-game like sounds and electronic drums mixed with rock and metal drums. I still have a lot of work to do to get to ahaving enough tracks for a new album but it's a start. The revenue from the new album and the continued revenue from the first album has increased a lot and I'm gaining more money faster. with barely any marketing or promiotion. Still a lot of work to do and I need to get my mind and body in the right condition to go full force being motivated and feeling good everyday.
8/1/2020
It looks as if we will never go back to the "normal" that we once knew in this world with COVID and the countrywide Black Lives Matter protests that are going on. Ontop of that NYC has turned into the east coast version of San Francisco with people defecating and uriniating everywhere in public and heroin addicts and drug addicts and homeless people all over the city, sleeping on sidewalks and in bus terminals and bus stops. So many things have happened at the same time, right when the economy and unemployment and stock market were all doing extremely well and some in record breaking fashion, it just seems too convinient for it to be a coinsidence. Many people feel this is a conspiracy by the Democratic Party or "Deep State" or whatever you want to call it, id "Those who are in power and run the world" for lack of a better term. Russiagate failed, all these sex allegations failed, and now since Jeffery Epsteins co conspirator Gishlayne Maxwell has been arrested and many "Epstein" FBI files have been released, we are learning that Trump is not involved in these files but Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew and lawyer Alan Derchowitz are, and it also reveals that the FBI turned a blind eye to many of these things including accusations from victims in which they should have intervened. Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate, is continiuing his mental decline into early onset dementia infront of the entire country, and the only theing the media is talking about are nit-picky negative factoids and also out of context accusations about Donald Trump, they are doing everything they can to prevent him from getting re-elected. It is quite astonishing and surreal to be alive during this time and watch this all happen in real time, very anxiety-enducing. But there is hope, there are a lot of people in this country who see through the bullshit and are getting very patriotic and starting to rise up and speak up (The Silent Majority) and it looks like there will be a massive clash in the very near future, as the Presidential election is only 3 months away. The media is ignoring so many things to make Trump and capitalism and patriotism look like a bad thing. Trump has sent in federal agents to use brute force against violent protestors, while the media twists the narrative to say they are peaceful protestors being attacked by the Feds, when all the video that is available of these so called "peaceful protests" which include the protestors throwing homemade bombs at police and federal buildings, lighting cop cars on fire, beating up old white men and women in the streets for no reason other than they know they can get away with it or belive they do and have a right to do so, to clean up the streets and get these maniacal rioters in jail so they cannot continue damaging property and vandalizing cities and towns. This all stems from the death of black man George Floyd who was killed by a police officer who used his knee to hold him down after Floyd struggled with police and resisted arrest and eventually succumbed to asphyxia due to pressure put on his neck from the officers knee and also the fentanyl in his system which is a very powerful respiratory depressant. It is a very stressful time to even turn on the news and follow current events. The MLB has come back and began play but the FLorida Marlins have had several players test positive for COVID and have had to have their games postponed while players quarantine and the season is in jeapardy, some saying it will be cancelled on Monday. But so far the games have been very exciting and very refreshing. The Mets are off to a 3-5 start with typical gut wrenching losses, they could easily be 5-3 or 6-2. The Yankees are 5-1. The NHL playoff tournament starts tomorrow, the Rangers will be playing a best of 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes, I am very much looking forward to this and the Rangers are favored to win. We will see, it will just be nice to have hockey back. The NHL has done a great job using "hub cities" to keep players quarantined and tested daily and have had zero positive covid tests the last several days and weeks, so it looks like things are going good so far, fingers crossed.
THe upcoming election is going to be very impactful on this country, the United States of America. The polls show that Trump is losing in most states to Joe Biden but that was also the case in 2016 when Hillary CLinton was ahead in all of the polls and ended up losing. I fear that in this election, if Trump loses, his supporters, which is made up of millions of Americans that are very patriotic and passionate about their beliefs, will start a Civil War against the US Gov't and the US Gov't will win, and just like we've been seeing the protestors for BLM and rioters being taken down and captured by the Federal Gov't Troops, it will be the same way in reverse. If Trump wins, we will have to worry about possible assasination and more Democratic nefarious tactics that will just bring devestation to the country to make Trump's presidency look bad, even though he has done everything he promised and has made the economy and stock market thrive and unemployment to its lowest in history. The country is extremely divided at this time and the COVID19 outbreak has not gone away, it has spread into other states and is very damaging in Florida and California. New York and New Jersey so far seem to have been much better in late July and early August as opposed to previous months going back to March/April 2020.
Wednesday, August 19, 2020
RANDOM RANTS, FREE FLOW WRITING
Friday, September 6, 2019
ESPN Doing A Better Job Covering Boxing
ESPN has always been associated with the sport of boxing, from showing episodes of ESPN Classic- full of legendary boxing matches- to the HBO engineered "Legendary Nights" which covered a some of the most unpredictable and historic nights in boxing history.
The recent 7-year deal with Top Rank Boxing has enabled viewers to access big named, championship fights on a regular basis for free. The deal includes 54 live boxing events annually in addition to related programming, previous fights from Top Ranks archives, and upcoming shows.
Also the cancellation of HBO's coverage of boxing has now left ESPN as the new epicenter of mainstream boxing on cable television. Throughout American American history, boxing has had it's ups and downs in popularity and infamy, but it has always been there, and remains one of the most exciting events when there is a big fight with massive, world renowned personalities,/public figures/athletes.
Only enhancing to the growing community of boxing fans of the sport are the vast number of online YouTube channels dedicated to boxing, as well as some of the most talented hosts (Max Kellerman, Stephan A Smith, Teddy Atlas, Jim Lampley, just to name a few) who know what they are talking about and have been doing it for decades. It is great to see ESPN utlizing what they have in terms of boxing passion and knowledge among their staff, with Stephen A and Max leading the way.
The fascination of man to man combat remains to be the essential element to all sports, and nothing shows it better than combat sports.
The recent 7-year deal with Top Rank Boxing has enabled viewers to access big named, championship fights on a regular basis for free. The deal includes 54 live boxing events annually in addition to related programming, previous fights from Top Ranks archives, and upcoming shows.
Also the cancellation of HBO's coverage of boxing has now left ESPN as the new epicenter of mainstream boxing on cable television. Throughout American American history, boxing has had it's ups and downs in popularity and infamy, but it has always been there, and remains one of the most exciting events when there is a big fight with massive, world renowned personalities,/public figures/athletes.
Only enhancing to the growing community of boxing fans of the sport are the vast number of online YouTube channels dedicated to boxing, as well as some of the most talented hosts (Max Kellerman, Stephan A Smith, Teddy Atlas, Jim Lampley, just to name a few) who know what they are talking about and have been doing it for decades. It is great to see ESPN utlizing what they have in terms of boxing passion and knowledge among their staff, with Stephen A and Max leading the way.
The fascination of man to man combat remains to be the essential element to all sports, and nothing shows it better than combat sports.
Friday, August 30, 2019
Trump Has Been Taking on the Federal Reserve...Just like John F. Kennedy But Tougher
There has been a new trending topic on social media, called #EndTheFed which has gotten many people to think back to when former President John F. Kennedy wanted to abolish the Federal Reserve Bank and have the United States print it's own currency in America without having to take out loans from the Federal Reserve and pay them back and be indebted to them. This obviously did not please the Federal Reserve and although it was proposed and could have happened if not for the assassination of JFK, it showed that when you try to take on the Federal Reserve, they very convincingly end up on the winning end of things financially and in terms of maintaining their muscle as part of the Military Industrial Complex.
Donald Trump needs to be careful while taking on the Federal Reserve, as he will be making enemies that are extremely powerful and have no regard for the life of a sitting US President. As former Chairmen of the Federal Reserve Allan Greenspan pointed out several years ago in 2007, the US President and the Federal Reserve have relatively no relationship, and the President has no control or power over what the Fed does and what they can do. Here are some clips and references below.
SOURCES
JFK Executive Order To Abolish Federal Reserve:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_11110
"Jim Marrs, in his book Crossfire, presented the theory that Kennedy was trying to rein in the power of the Federal Reserve, and that forces opposed to such action might have played at least some part in the assassination.[16][17][18] Marrs alleges that the issuance of Executive Order 11110 was an effort by Kennedy to transfer power from the Federal Reserve to the United States Department of the Treasury by replacing Federal Reserve Notes with silver certificates.[17] Author Richard Belzer named the responsible parties in this theory as American "billionaires, power brokers, and bankers ... working in tandem with the CIA and other sympathetic agents of the government."[19]"
___________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/19/trumps-fed-criticism-is-nearly-without-precedent-in-us-history.html
Donald Trump needs to be careful while taking on the Federal Reserve, as he will be making enemies that are extremely powerful and have no regard for the life of a sitting US President. As former Chairmen of the Federal Reserve Allan Greenspan pointed out several years ago in 2007, the US President and the Federal Reserve have relatively no relationship, and the President has no control or power over what the Fed does and what they can do. Here are some clips and references below.
SOURCES
JFK Executive Order To Abolish Federal Reserve:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_11110
"Jim Marrs, in his book Crossfire, presented the theory that Kennedy was trying to rein in the power of the Federal Reserve, and that forces opposed to such action might have played at least some part in the assassination.[16][17][18] Marrs alleges that the issuance of Executive Order 11110 was an effort by Kennedy to transfer power from the Federal Reserve to the United States Department of the Treasury by replacing Federal Reserve Notes with silver certificates.[17] Author Richard Belzer named the responsible parties in this theory as American "billionaires, power brokers, and bankers ... working in tandem with the CIA and other sympathetic agents of the government."[19]"
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- The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (18 September 2007), "Alan Greenspan Interview with Jim Lehrer".
_______________________________________________________________________
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/19/trumps-fed-criticism-is-nearly-without-precedent-in-us-history.html
Dave Chappelle New Special "Sticks and Stones" Infuriates Netflix, Democrats, Antifa, SJW's, and the Liberal Left.
Wow, this was a brutal, shocking, scolding by comedian Dave Chappelle, who became famous after his hit series on Comedy Central, "The Chappelle Show" which ran for 2 seasons before he quit and left the country to move to Africa after being intimidated by the Deep State Left to "tone it down and cooperate" with their standards and agenda.
Now he comes out guns a'blazin, and doesn't seem to care at all who he insults, as he goes hard after Trump haters, the #MeToo movement, the #LGBT Community, and throws in a lot of clever misogynistic and homophobic humor just to get under their skin even more (all in good fun of course, remember people, this is a COMEDY SPECIAL). He baits the audience while he does an impression of someone who clearly sounds like an ignorant fool saying things like "Durr...I'm going to watch you and go back into your passed and find things that offend me and then I'm going to try and take everything away from you and ruin your career," (a clear shot heard around the country aimed directly at the #MeToo movement, Social Justice Warriors, Antifa, and the LBGT community.) Then he asks the audience to guess who the impression he just made was.... When the front row yells out "That's Trump!" Dave hits them with an atomic bomb and says "No, that is YOU PEOPLE. And you people are the reason I hate coming out and doing these shows."
Classic, see the special for yourself on Netflix, it's called "Sticks and Stones." Or if you don't want to support Netflix, just google "Dave Chappelle Sticks and Stones Putlockers" and stream if FOR FREE!
Now he comes out guns a'blazin, and doesn't seem to care at all who he insults, as he goes hard after Trump haters, the #MeToo movement, the #LGBT Community, and throws in a lot of clever misogynistic and homophobic humor just to get under their skin even more (all in good fun of course, remember people, this is a COMEDY SPECIAL). He baits the audience while he does an impression of someone who clearly sounds like an ignorant fool saying things like "Durr...I'm going to watch you and go back into your passed and find things that offend me and then I'm going to try and take everything away from you and ruin your career," (a clear shot heard around the country aimed directly at the #MeToo movement, Social Justice Warriors, Antifa, and the LBGT community.) Then he asks the audience to guess who the impression he just made was.... When the front row yells out "That's Trump!" Dave hits them with an atomic bomb and says "No, that is YOU PEOPLE. And you people are the reason I hate coming out and doing these shows."
Classic, see the special for yourself on Netflix, it's called "Sticks and Stones." Or if you don't want to support Netflix, just google "Dave Chappelle Sticks and Stones Putlockers" and stream if FOR FREE!
So that means 2/3 believe he didn't commit suicide... that should be the headline, shouldn't it? What the hell is this backwards statistic doing in the headlines? 46% of republicans believe he was murdered, only 26% believe it wa s suicide. And impressively a solid 26% of the Left believe he was murdered. Nothing more should be said after the medical examiner and autopsy showed he had broken bones in his neck that were more inductive to STRANGULATION than by hanging and his cause of death did not look like a hanging. Also reports say it was physically impossible for him to have hung himself in his cell given his weight and size and the dimensions and contours of the space he was in.
https://nypost.com/2019/08/29/only-one-third-of-americans-believe-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/?fbclid=IwAR2TneLcOXUGOeA90u4XGHvrBIwMHVpSIl8s6SU40wllpzqiGBePnBNpONo
Only one-third of Americans believe Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide behind bars, according to a new poll by Emerson College.
Voters were asked to weigh in on the convicted pedophile’s Aug. 10 death at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center — and they were split in even thirds.
Thirty-four percent believe Epstein was murdered, 33 percent believe the city medical examiner’s ruling that he hanged himself and 32 percent are unsure.
Across political affiliations, 46 percent of Republicans believe the financier was murdered versus 26 percent who say it was suicide. Thirty-eight percent of Democrats, meanwhile, say it was suicide, compared to 26 percent who think he was killed.
Epstein, 66, used a bed sheet tied to the top of a bunk bed in his cell to commit suicide a day after thousands of pages of court documents were unsealed detailing his years of alleged abuse. He was facing prison time on federal sex-trafficking charges.
He was not on suicide watch at the time. The feds are investigating his death.
Only one-third of Americans believe Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide
https://nypost.com/2019/08/29/only-one-third-of-americans-believe-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/?fbclid=IwAR2TneLcOXUGOeA90u4XGHvrBIwMHVpSIl8s6SU40wllpzqiGBePnBNpONo
Only one-third of Americans believe Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide behind bars, according to a new poll by Emerson College.
Voters were asked to weigh in on the convicted pedophile’s Aug. 10 death at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center — and they were split in even thirds.
Thirty-four percent believe Epstein was murdered, 33 percent believe the city medical examiner’s ruling that he hanged himself and 32 percent are unsure.
Across political affiliations, 46 percent of Republicans believe the financier was murdered versus 26 percent who say it was suicide. Thirty-eight percent of Democrats, meanwhile, say it was suicide, compared to 26 percent who think he was killed.
Epstein, 66, used a bed sheet tied to the top of a bunk bed in his cell to commit suicide a day after thousands of pages of court documents were unsealed detailing his years of alleged abuse. He was facing prison time on federal sex-trafficking charges.
He was not on suicide watch at the time. The feds are investigating his death.
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Bombs Being Sent to George Soros and Trump Critics
Someone sent a bomb to George Soros, allegedly, unfortunately it didn't kill him. I think he is an evil person and should be killed, just my opinion. He funds Antifa and is funding a lot of pro Globalist movements and disinformation/misdirection campaigns. He is a slug that needs to be buried in salt.
Notice how almost all of the headlines read "Trump Critics Receive Bomb Threats" and not a word about George Soros because the left is embarrassed to be associated with him lol. He is a pariah but he is one of the only people with enough money and power to help keep funding the Leftist anti-Trump movement. Hopefully someone snipes his ass.
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Khashoggi Murder Made to Force Saudis to “Buy American”, Not Russian S-400 - REPLY
This article fails to point out that the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) is also trying to push the idea that the Washington Post is a credible source of news and information, which it is not. This orchestrated event had multiple agendas, and one of them, although not at the top of the list, is the fact that they are trying to make the Washington Post seem like this outlet that has journalists who really really go deep and get the inside information that nobody else is getting, the real deal Holyfield information. But they aren't, they are a propaganda apparatus of the establishment elite, along with numerous other very popular information outlets such as Huffington Post, NY Daily News, CNN, MSNBC, all now widely known as the "Fake News Media."
https://geopolitics.co/2018/10/24/khashoggi-murder-made-to-force-saudis-to-buy-american-not-russian-s-400/
Here is the text from the original article, from the link above:
The response of the Trump administration and many U.S. politicians to Khashoggi’s disappearance is largely being guided by the military-industrial complex — in this case Lockheed Martin — but masquerading as a response motivated by “human rights.”
The disappearance and alleged murder of Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi continues to strain relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia. On Saturday, President Donald Trump warned the Saudis of “severe punishment” if the Saudi government was found to have been responsible for the journalist’s alleged murder.
The Saudi government has vocally denied any involvement even though Khashoggi disappeared within the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul and responded to Trump’s threats by vowing an even “stronger” response if the Gulf monarchy is ultimately targeted by the United States. The exchange of threats caused Saudi stocks to sustain their biggest one-day loss since 2016 when trading opened and has brought the upcoming three-day Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Saudi Arabia much unwanted negative publicity.
However, there is considerable evidence pointing to the fact that the U.S.’ response to the Khashoggi affair is likely to be determined, not by any Saudi government responsibility for Khashoggi’s fate, but instead whether or not the Saudis choose to follow through with their promise to purchase the $15 billion U.S.-made THAAD missile system or its cheaper, Russia-made equivalent, the S-400. According to reports, the Saudis failed to meet the deadline for their planned THAAD purchase and had hinted in late September that they were planning to buy the S-400 from Russia instead.
While the U.S.’ response to the alleged murder of the Saudi journalist is being cast as a U.S. government effort to defend press freedom and finally hold the Saudi government to account for its long litany of human-rights abuses, there is every indication that the U.S. is not in fact seeking to punish the Saudis for their alleged role in Khashoggi’s apparent murder but instead to punish them for reneging on this $15 billion deal to U.S. weapons giant Lockheed Martin, which manufactures the THAAD system.
Khashoggi’s disappearance merely provided a convenient pretext for the U.S. to pressure the Saudis over abandoning the weapons deal by allowing the U.S. to frame its retaliation as a “human rights” issue. As a result, it seems likely that, if the Saudis move forward with the latter, the U.S. and the Trump administration the Saudi government guilty of involvement in Khashoggi’s disappearance while, if they move forward with the former, the media frenzy and controversy surrounding the Saudi national will likely fizzle out and, with it, Trump’s threats of “severe punishment.”
Ultimately, the response of the U.S. political class to the Khashoggi affair is just the latest example of a U.S. government policy being motivated by the military-industrial complex but masquerading as a policy motivated by concern for “human rights.”
Why the sudden concern over the Saudi government’s atrocious human rights record?
As the Khashoggi saga has drawn on since the Saudi journalist disappeared earlier this month, some observers have noted that the corporate media and the U.S. government’s sudden preoccupation with Saudi Arabia’s human-rights record, particularly in regards to journalists. Indeed, just last Wednesday, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) announced that 15 Saudi journalists and bloggers had been arrested over the past year and noted that “in most cases, their arrests have never been officially confirmed and no official has ever said where they are being held or what they are charged with.”
In addition, Saudi Arabia has helped kill tens of thousands of Yemeni civilians in the war it is leading against that country, with most of those civilian casualties resulting from the Saudi-led coalition’s bombing campaign that routinely targets civilians. The Saudi-led coalition’s blockade of food and medicine into Yemen has also brought the country to the brink of famine, with nearly 18 million now at risk of starving to death — including over 5 million children, while thousands more are dying from preventable diseases in the country.
While murdering a journalist by “hit squad” in a diplomatic compound on foreign soil — as is alleged to have Khashoggi’s fate — would certainly set a dangerous precedent, Saudi Arabia leading the genocide against the Yemeni people is arguably a much worse precedent. However, little concern over the Saudis’ role in this atrocity in Yemen has been raised by those pushing for action to be taken against Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi’s “inhumane” fate. So, why the sudden concern?
Despite it being a well-known fact that the Saudi government routinely imprisons journalists and activists and is leading a genocidal war against its southern neighbor, the Trump administration has now adopted a harsh tone towards the Saudis, with concerns over Khashoggi’s disappearance serving as the “official” excuse.
Indeed, Trump told CBS’ 60 Minutes during an interview broadcast on Sunday that
“there’s something really terrible and disgusting about that if that were the case [that Saudi Arabia had been involved in Khashoggi’s murder], so we’re going to have to see. We’re going to get to the bottom of it and there will be severe punishment.”
Other powerful figures in the U.S. political establishment have called for dramatic action to be taken against the Saudi government, particularly the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). For instance, John Brennan, former CIA Director under Obama and current cable news pundit, lobbied in a recent Washington Post op-ed to dethrone MBS for his alleged role in Khashoggi’s fate.
Brennan also notably called upon the U.S. to impose “immediate sanctions on all Saudis involved; a freeze on U.S. military sales to Saudi Arabia; suspension of all routine intelligence cooperation with Saudi security services; and a U.S.-sponsored U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the murder.”
Another prominent figure in Washington pushing for action to be taken against the Saudis over Khashoggi’s disappearance is Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Graham recently stated that there would be “hell to pay” if the Saudi government was found to be responsible for Khashoggi’s disappearance and alleged murder. Notably, the top contributor to Graham’s 2020 re-election campaign is U.S. weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
Given that human-rights concerns among the U.S. power establishment have only emerged after the disappearance of this one journalist and such concerns regarding the Saudis other grave human-rights abuses continue to go unvoiced by these same individuals, something else is likely driving Washington’s sudden concern over alleged Saudi state-sanctioned murder.
So what has protected the Saudi government from U.S. retribution over its repeated human-rights abuses in the past? Though Saudi Arabia’s vast oil wealth is an obvious answer, a recently leaked State Department memo revealed that U.S. weapon sales to the Gulf Kingdom were the main and only factor in the Trump administration ’s continued support for the Saudi-led coalition’s disastrous war in Yemen. Those lucrative weapon sales, according to the memo, led Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to “rubber stamp” the Saudi-led coalition’s bombing campaign in Yemen despite the fact that the coalition has continued to bomb civilian buses, homes and infrastructure in recent months.
If the Saudis were to back away from a major, lucrative deal with U.S. weapon manufacturers, such an act would likely result in retribution from Washington, given that weapons sales to the Gulf Kingdom are currently the driving factor behind Washington’s “concern” with the Saudi government’s poor human-rights record.
This is exactly what happened and it took place just two days before Khashoggi disappeared inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The Saudis back out of a US deal and eye the rival’s wares
Last year, President Trump visited Saudi Arabia and praised its crown prince for finalizing a massive weapons deal with the United States at a value of over $110 billion. However, it emerged soon after that this “deal” was not contract-based but instead involved many “letters of interest or intent.” Over a year later, the Washington Post recently noted that many of the planned weapons deals have yet to be finalized.
One of those agreements was the planned $15 billion purchase of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD), which is manufactured by U.S. weapons giant Lockheed Martin. The deadline for the Saudis to finalize that deal passed on September 30, just two days before Khashoggi’s disappearance on October 2. However, a Saudi official told the Post that the Saudi government is still “highly interested” in the deal but “like any military purchase, there are negotiations happening which we hope will conclude in the quickest means possible.”
Yet, not only has Saudi Arabia apparently backed out of the $15 billion deal to buy Lockheed’s THAAD, it is also actively considering buying the Russian-made S-400 missile defense system instead and has also refused U.S. government requests to disavow its interest in the Russian-made system.
Indeed, on September 21, Saudi ambassador to Russia Raid bin Khalid Krimli stated:
Our cooperation with Russia continues and grows. And during King Salman’s historic visit [to Russia] we have signed 14 agreements that began to be implemented. There were four agreements in the military field; three of them began to be implemented. As for the fourth … there is discussion of the technical issues. Because the system itself is modern and complex.”
The fourth deal to which he alludes appears to be the S-400. The Saudi ambassador also stated the he hoped “nobody will impose any sanctions on us” for making the purchases with Russia — further suggesting that the system he was discussing was the S-400, given that the U.S. sanctioned China for purchasing the system soon before the Saudi ambassador’s comments.
Interestingly, soon after the Saudis’ failure to stick to the planned deal with Lockheed, Trump began to publicly criticize the Saudis for “not paying” their fair share. Speaking at a campaign rally in Mississippi on October 3 – one day after Khashoggi’s disappearance in Istanbul and three days after Saudi Arabia “missed” the Lockheed Martin deadline, Trump stated:
“I love the king [of Saudi Arabia], King Salman, but I said: ‘King, we’re protecting you. You might not be there for two weeks without us. You have to pay for your military, you have to pay.”‘
More recently, this past Saturday, Trump told reporters that he did not want to risk the bottom line of the U.S.’ top weapons manufacturers in determining the Saudis’ “punishment:”
I tell you what I don’t want to do. Boeing, Lockheed, Raytheon, all these companies. I don’t want to hurt jobs. I don’t want to lose an order like that [emphasis added]. And you know there are other ways of punishing, to use a word that’s a pretty harsh word, but it’s true.”
However, if the Saudis do follow through with the purchase of the S-400, Lockheed Martin will lose $15 billion as a result. It will also endanger some of other potential contracts contained within the $110 billion weapons contract that Trump has often publicly promoted. With Trump not wanting to “lose an order like that,” some analysts like Scott Creighton of the Nomadic Everyman blog have asserted that the Khashoggi scandal is being used as a “shakedown” aimed at pressuring the Saudis into “buying American” and to force them to disavow a future purchase of the Russian-made S-400.
Would the U.S. use such tactics against a close ally like the Saudis over their potential purchase of the Russian-made S-400? It would certainly fit with the U.S.’ recent efforts to threaten countries around the world with sanctions for purchasing that very missile defense system. For instance, in June, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell threatened Turkey with sanctions if Turkey purchased the S-400. Those threats were followed by the September decision made by the Trump administration to sanction China for its purchase of the S-400 system.
Notably, it was right after China was sanctioned for purchasing the S-400 that the Saudi ambassador to Russia told Russian media that “I hope nobody will impose any sanctions on us” for purchasing the S-400.
However, U.S. sanctions against the Saudis may now be in the works after all, with Khashoggi’s disappearance as the pretext. Indeed, as previously mentioned, former CIA director John Brennan, among other powerful figures in Washington, is calling for sanctions against the Saudi government and Trump himself stated on Saturday that “severe punishment” could soon be in the Saudis’ future.
Yet another piece of this puzzle that cannot be ignored is the fact that Khashoggi himself has ties to the CIA, as well as to Lockheed Martin through his uncle Adnan Khashoggi, one of Saudi Arabia’s most powerful weapons dealers.
Khashoggi’s deep connections to CIA, Saudi Intelligence suggest his “disappearance” may be something more
Following his disappearance, Khashoggi has been praised by establishment and non-establishment figures alike, from Jake Tapper to Chris Hedges, for being a “dissident” and a “courageous journalist.” However, prior to his scandalous disappearance and alleged murder, Khashoggi did not receive such accolades and was a very controversial figure.
As Federico Pieraccini recently wrote at Strategic Culture:
[Khashoggi is a] representative of the shadowy world of collaboration that sometimes exists between journalism and the intelligence agencies, in this case involving the intelligence agencies of Saudi Arabia and the United States. It has been virtually confirmed by official circles within the Al Saud family that Khashoggi was an agent in the employ of Riyadh and the CIA during the Soviet presence in Afghanistan.”
Indeed, Khashoggi doubled as a journalist and an asset for the Saudi and U.S. intelligence services and was also an early recruit of the Muslim Brotherhood. He was also the protégé of Turki Faisal Al-Saud, the head of Saudi intelligence for 24 years, who also served as the Saudi ambassador to Washington and to the United Kingdom. Khashoggi was “media advisor” to Faisal Al-Saud during his two ambassadorships. Notably, Khashoggi became a regime “critic” only after internal power struggles broke out between former Saudi King Abdullah and Turki Faisal al-Saud.
Supporters of King Abdullah accused Khashoggi at the time of having recruited and paid several journalists on behalf of the CIA while he was editor of the leading English-language magazine in Saudi Arabia, Arab News, a post he held from 1999 to 2003.
More recently, Khashoggi strongly supported the Muslim Brotherhood during the “Arab Spring” and backed the Barack Obama/Hillary Clinton regime-change efforts that spread throughout the Middle East, including the regime-change effort targeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
However, under King Salman, the Muslim Brotherhood’s presence in Saudi Arabia came under threat and was suppressed. This led Khashoggi to leave and seek refuge in Turkey.
Perhaps most significantly, prior to his disappearance, Khashoggi was “working quietly with intellectuals, reformists and Islamists to launch a group called Democracy for the Arab World Now.” As Moon of Alabama notes, these projects that Khashoggi was involved in prior to his disappearance “reek of preparations for a CIA-controlled color revolution in Saudi Arabia.”
Not only does Khashoggi share ties to the CIA and the Saudi intelligence services (services that often collaborate), but his family is well-connected to global power structures, including Lockheed Martin.
Indeed, as previously mentioned, Khashoggi’s uncle is none other than Adnan Khashoggi, the notorious Saudi arms dealer who was an important player in the Iran-contra affair and was once Saudi Arabia’s richest man. Adnan Khashoggi was deeply connected to Lockheed Martin, as demonstrated by the fact that, between 1970 and 1975, he received $106 million in commissions from the U.S. weapons giant with his commission rate on Lockheed sales eventually rising to 15 percent. According to Lockheed’s former Vice President for International Marketing, Max Helzel, Adnan Khashoggi “became for all practical purposes a marketing arm of Lockheed. Adnan would provide not only an entry but strategy, constant advice and analysis.”
Adnan Khashoggi also had close ties to the Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan White Houses, with the latter likely explaining why he was acquitted for his role in the Iran-contra scandal. Also notable is the fact that Adnan Khashoggi sold his famed yacht to none other than Donald Trump for $30 million. Trump later called Adnan Khashoggi “a great broker and a lousy businessman.”
Given Jamal Khashoggi’s past and present connections to the CIA and his family’s connections to Lockheed Martin and powerful players in the U.S. political establishment, the possibility emerges that Khashoggi’s disappearance may have in fact been a set-up in order to place pressure on the Saudi government following its decision to renege on its plan to purchase Lockheed’s THAAD system. This theory is also somewhat supported by the fact that the U.S. intelligence community had known in advance of an alleged Saudi plot to capture Khashoggi but ignored its duty (via ICD 191) to warn Khashoggi of the apparent threat against him. Furthermore, the claims that Khashoggi was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul have — so far — been entirely based on claims from U.S. and Turkish intelligence and no evidence to support the now prevailing narrative of murder has been made public.
If a “set-up” were the case, Khashoggi’s CIA links and his apparent efforts at pushing a CIA-controlled “color revolution” in Saudi Arabia suggest that his disappearance could also have been intended for use as a pretext, not necessarily to punish the Saudis over the S-400, but to remove MBS from his position as crown prince and replace him with former crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who was ousted by MBS last year and also holds close ties to the CIA. Such a possibility cannot be ignored.
However, the Trump administration’s willingness to cooperate with the faux outrage regarding Khashoggi is much more likely to be motivated by the weapons-deal drama given the administration’s close ties to MBS.
Of course, it is equally likely that this was not a set-up given that MBS is undeniably authoritarian and relentlessly pursues his critics and perhaps thought that his close relationship with Trump would allow him to act with impunity in targeting Khashoggi. However, MBS’ pursuits of his critics in the past were more readily accepted by the West — like the so-called “corruption crackdown” last December. Either way, the Saudi government’s role in the alleged murder of Khashoggi is being capitalized on by the CIA and other elements of the U.S. political scene and military-industrial complex for its own purposes, as these groups normally turn a blind eye to Saudi government atrocities.
Tracking the political typhoon
Though the U.S. tactic to strong-arm Saudi Arabia seems clear, it is a situation that could dangerously escalate as both MBS and Trump have proven over the course of their short tenure that they are stubborn and unpredictable.
Furthermore, the timing of this situation is also troubling. In early November, the Trump administration’s efforts to punish countries importing Iranian crude oil will take effect and Trump is set to lean heavily on the Saudis to prevent a dramatic oil price increase due to the supply shock the removal of Iranian oil from the market will cause. Notably, the Saudis are working closely with Russia to keep oil prices from spiking.
Is the U.S. willing to risk the dramatic jump in oil prices, which themselves could have major domestic economic consequences, in order to keep the Saudis from buying the S-400? It’s hard to say but the coming battle of wills between Trump and MBS could well have truly global consequences.
Acknowledgment: The author of this article would like to thank Scott Creighton of the Nomadic Everyman blog for his assistance in researching aspects of this investigation.
Whitney Webb is a staff writer for MintPress News and a contributor to Ben Swann’s Truth in Media. Her work has appeared on Global Research, the Ron Paul Institute and 21st Century Wire, among others. She has also made radio and TV appearances on RT and Sputnik. She currently lives with her family in southern Chile.
https://geopolitics.co/2018/10/24/khashoggi-murder-made-to-force-saudis-to-buy-american-not-russian-s-400/
Here is the text from the original article, from the link above:
The response of the Trump administration and many U.S. politicians to Khashoggi’s disappearance is largely being guided by the military-industrial complex — in this case Lockheed Martin — but masquerading as a response motivated by “human rights.”
The disappearance and alleged murder of Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi continues to strain relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia. On Saturday, President Donald Trump warned the Saudis of “severe punishment” if the Saudi government was found to have been responsible for the journalist’s alleged murder.
The Saudi government has vocally denied any involvement even though Khashoggi disappeared within the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul and responded to Trump’s threats by vowing an even “stronger” response if the Gulf monarchy is ultimately targeted by the United States. The exchange of threats caused Saudi stocks to sustain their biggest one-day loss since 2016 when trading opened and has brought the upcoming three-day Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Saudi Arabia much unwanted negative publicity.
However, there is considerable evidence pointing to the fact that the U.S.’ response to the Khashoggi affair is likely to be determined, not by any Saudi government responsibility for Khashoggi’s fate, but instead whether or not the Saudis choose to follow through with their promise to purchase the $15 billion U.S.-made THAAD missile system or its cheaper, Russia-made equivalent, the S-400. According to reports, the Saudis failed to meet the deadline for their planned THAAD purchase and had hinted in late September that they were planning to buy the S-400 from Russia instead.
While the U.S.’ response to the alleged murder of the Saudi journalist is being cast as a U.S. government effort to defend press freedom and finally hold the Saudi government to account for its long litany of human-rights abuses, there is every indication that the U.S. is not in fact seeking to punish the Saudis for their alleged role in Khashoggi’s apparent murder but instead to punish them for reneging on this $15 billion deal to U.S. weapons giant Lockheed Martin, which manufactures the THAAD system.
Khashoggi’s disappearance merely provided a convenient pretext for the U.S. to pressure the Saudis over abandoning the weapons deal by allowing the U.S. to frame its retaliation as a “human rights” issue. As a result, it seems likely that, if the Saudis move forward with the latter, the U.S. and the Trump administration the Saudi government guilty of involvement in Khashoggi’s disappearance while, if they move forward with the former, the media frenzy and controversy surrounding the Saudi national will likely fizzle out and, with it, Trump’s threats of “severe punishment.”
Ultimately, the response of the U.S. political class to the Khashoggi affair is just the latest example of a U.S. government policy being motivated by the military-industrial complex but masquerading as a policy motivated by concern for “human rights.”
Why the sudden concern over the Saudi government’s atrocious human rights record?
As the Khashoggi saga has drawn on since the Saudi journalist disappeared earlier this month, some observers have noted that the corporate media and the U.S. government’s sudden preoccupation with Saudi Arabia’s human-rights record, particularly in regards to journalists. Indeed, just last Wednesday, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) announced that 15 Saudi journalists and bloggers had been arrested over the past year and noted that “in most cases, their arrests have never been officially confirmed and no official has ever said where they are being held or what they are charged with.”
In addition, Saudi Arabia has helped kill tens of thousands of Yemeni civilians in the war it is leading against that country, with most of those civilian casualties resulting from the Saudi-led coalition’s bombing campaign that routinely targets civilians. The Saudi-led coalition’s blockade of food and medicine into Yemen has also brought the country to the brink of famine, with nearly 18 million now at risk of starving to death — including over 5 million children, while thousands more are dying from preventable diseases in the country.
While murdering a journalist by “hit squad” in a diplomatic compound on foreign soil — as is alleged to have Khashoggi’s fate — would certainly set a dangerous precedent, Saudi Arabia leading the genocide against the Yemeni people is arguably a much worse precedent. However, little concern over the Saudis’ role in this atrocity in Yemen has been raised by those pushing for action to be taken against Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi’s “inhumane” fate. So, why the sudden concern?
Despite it being a well-known fact that the Saudi government routinely imprisons journalists and activists and is leading a genocidal war against its southern neighbor, the Trump administration has now adopted a harsh tone towards the Saudis, with concerns over Khashoggi’s disappearance serving as the “official” excuse.
Indeed, Trump told CBS’ 60 Minutes during an interview broadcast on Sunday that
“there’s something really terrible and disgusting about that if that were the case [that Saudi Arabia had been involved in Khashoggi’s murder], so we’re going to have to see. We’re going to get to the bottom of it and there will be severe punishment.”
Other powerful figures in the U.S. political establishment have called for dramatic action to be taken against the Saudi government, particularly the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). For instance, John Brennan, former CIA Director under Obama and current cable news pundit, lobbied in a recent Washington Post op-ed to dethrone MBS for his alleged role in Khashoggi’s fate.
Brennan also notably called upon the U.S. to impose “immediate sanctions on all Saudis involved; a freeze on U.S. military sales to Saudi Arabia; suspension of all routine intelligence cooperation with Saudi security services; and a U.S.-sponsored U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the murder.”
Another prominent figure in Washington pushing for action to be taken against the Saudis over Khashoggi’s disappearance is Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Graham recently stated that there would be “hell to pay” if the Saudi government was found to be responsible for Khashoggi’s disappearance and alleged murder. Notably, the top contributor to Graham’s 2020 re-election campaign is U.S. weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
Given that human-rights concerns among the U.S. power establishment have only emerged after the disappearance of this one journalist and such concerns regarding the Saudis other grave human-rights abuses continue to go unvoiced by these same individuals, something else is likely driving Washington’s sudden concern over alleged Saudi state-sanctioned murder.
So what has protected the Saudi government from U.S. retribution over its repeated human-rights abuses in the past? Though Saudi Arabia’s vast oil wealth is an obvious answer, a recently leaked State Department memo revealed that U.S. weapon sales to the Gulf Kingdom were the main and only factor in the Trump administration ’s continued support for the Saudi-led coalition’s disastrous war in Yemen. Those lucrative weapon sales, according to the memo, led Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to “rubber stamp” the Saudi-led coalition’s bombing campaign in Yemen despite the fact that the coalition has continued to bomb civilian buses, homes and infrastructure in recent months.
If the Saudis were to back away from a major, lucrative deal with U.S. weapon manufacturers, such an act would likely result in retribution from Washington, given that weapons sales to the Gulf Kingdom are currently the driving factor behind Washington’s “concern” with the Saudi government’s poor human-rights record.
This is exactly what happened and it took place just two days before Khashoggi disappeared inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The Saudis back out of a US deal and eye the rival’s wares
Last year, President Trump visited Saudi Arabia and praised its crown prince for finalizing a massive weapons deal with the United States at a value of over $110 billion. However, it emerged soon after that this “deal” was not contract-based but instead involved many “letters of interest or intent.” Over a year later, the Washington Post recently noted that many of the planned weapons deals have yet to be finalized.
One of those agreements was the planned $15 billion purchase of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD), which is manufactured by U.S. weapons giant Lockheed Martin. The deadline for the Saudis to finalize that deal passed on September 30, just two days before Khashoggi’s disappearance on October 2. However, a Saudi official told the Post that the Saudi government is still “highly interested” in the deal but “like any military purchase, there are negotiations happening which we hope will conclude in the quickest means possible.”
Yet, not only has Saudi Arabia apparently backed out of the $15 billion deal to buy Lockheed’s THAAD, it is also actively considering buying the Russian-made S-400 missile defense system instead and has also refused U.S. government requests to disavow its interest in the Russian-made system.
Indeed, on September 21, Saudi ambassador to Russia Raid bin Khalid Krimli stated:
Our cooperation with Russia continues and grows. And during King Salman’s historic visit [to Russia] we have signed 14 agreements that began to be implemented. There were four agreements in the military field; three of them began to be implemented. As for the fourth … there is discussion of the technical issues. Because the system itself is modern and complex.”
The fourth deal to which he alludes appears to be the S-400. The Saudi ambassador also stated the he hoped “nobody will impose any sanctions on us” for making the purchases with Russia — further suggesting that the system he was discussing was the S-400, given that the U.S. sanctioned China for purchasing the system soon before the Saudi ambassador’s comments.
Interestingly, soon after the Saudis’ failure to stick to the planned deal with Lockheed, Trump began to publicly criticize the Saudis for “not paying” their fair share. Speaking at a campaign rally in Mississippi on October 3 – one day after Khashoggi’s disappearance in Istanbul and three days after Saudi Arabia “missed” the Lockheed Martin deadline, Trump stated:
“I love the king [of Saudi Arabia], King Salman, but I said: ‘King, we’re protecting you. You might not be there for two weeks without us. You have to pay for your military, you have to pay.”‘
More recently, this past Saturday, Trump told reporters that he did not want to risk the bottom line of the U.S.’ top weapons manufacturers in determining the Saudis’ “punishment:”
I tell you what I don’t want to do. Boeing, Lockheed, Raytheon, all these companies. I don’t want to hurt jobs. I don’t want to lose an order like that [emphasis added]. And you know there are other ways of punishing, to use a word that’s a pretty harsh word, but it’s true.”
However, if the Saudis do follow through with the purchase of the S-400, Lockheed Martin will lose $15 billion as a result. It will also endanger some of other potential contracts contained within the $110 billion weapons contract that Trump has often publicly promoted. With Trump not wanting to “lose an order like that,” some analysts like Scott Creighton of the Nomadic Everyman blog have asserted that the Khashoggi scandal is being used as a “shakedown” aimed at pressuring the Saudis into “buying American” and to force them to disavow a future purchase of the Russian-made S-400.
Would the U.S. use such tactics against a close ally like the Saudis over their potential purchase of the Russian-made S-400? It would certainly fit with the U.S.’ recent efforts to threaten countries around the world with sanctions for purchasing that very missile defense system. For instance, in June, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell threatened Turkey with sanctions if Turkey purchased the S-400. Those threats were followed by the September decision made by the Trump administration to sanction China for its purchase of the S-400 system.
Notably, it was right after China was sanctioned for purchasing the S-400 that the Saudi ambassador to Russia told Russian media that “I hope nobody will impose any sanctions on us” for purchasing the S-400.
However, U.S. sanctions against the Saudis may now be in the works after all, with Khashoggi’s disappearance as the pretext. Indeed, as previously mentioned, former CIA director John Brennan, among other powerful figures in Washington, is calling for sanctions against the Saudi government and Trump himself stated on Saturday that “severe punishment” could soon be in the Saudis’ future.
Yet another piece of this puzzle that cannot be ignored is the fact that Khashoggi himself has ties to the CIA, as well as to Lockheed Martin through his uncle Adnan Khashoggi, one of Saudi Arabia’s most powerful weapons dealers.
Khashoggi’s deep connections to CIA, Saudi Intelligence suggest his “disappearance” may be something more
Following his disappearance, Khashoggi has been praised by establishment and non-establishment figures alike, from Jake Tapper to Chris Hedges, for being a “dissident” and a “courageous journalist.” However, prior to his scandalous disappearance and alleged murder, Khashoggi did not receive such accolades and was a very controversial figure.
As Federico Pieraccini recently wrote at Strategic Culture:
[Khashoggi is a] representative of the shadowy world of collaboration that sometimes exists between journalism and the intelligence agencies, in this case involving the intelligence agencies of Saudi Arabia and the United States. It has been virtually confirmed by official circles within the Al Saud family that Khashoggi was an agent in the employ of Riyadh and the CIA during the Soviet presence in Afghanistan.”
Indeed, Khashoggi doubled as a journalist and an asset for the Saudi and U.S. intelligence services and was also an early recruit of the Muslim Brotherhood. He was also the protégé of Turki Faisal Al-Saud, the head of Saudi intelligence for 24 years, who also served as the Saudi ambassador to Washington and to the United Kingdom. Khashoggi was “media advisor” to Faisal Al-Saud during his two ambassadorships. Notably, Khashoggi became a regime “critic” only after internal power struggles broke out between former Saudi King Abdullah and Turki Faisal al-Saud.
Supporters of King Abdullah accused Khashoggi at the time of having recruited and paid several journalists on behalf of the CIA while he was editor of the leading English-language magazine in Saudi Arabia, Arab News, a post he held from 1999 to 2003.
More recently, Khashoggi strongly supported the Muslim Brotherhood during the “Arab Spring” and backed the Barack Obama/Hillary Clinton regime-change efforts that spread throughout the Middle East, including the regime-change effort targeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
However, under King Salman, the Muslim Brotherhood’s presence in Saudi Arabia came under threat and was suppressed. This led Khashoggi to leave and seek refuge in Turkey.
Perhaps most significantly, prior to his disappearance, Khashoggi was “working quietly with intellectuals, reformists and Islamists to launch a group called Democracy for the Arab World Now.” As Moon of Alabama notes, these projects that Khashoggi was involved in prior to his disappearance “reek of preparations for a CIA-controlled color revolution in Saudi Arabia.”
Not only does Khashoggi share ties to the CIA and the Saudi intelligence services (services that often collaborate), but his family is well-connected to global power structures, including Lockheed Martin.
Indeed, as previously mentioned, Khashoggi’s uncle is none other than Adnan Khashoggi, the notorious Saudi arms dealer who was an important player in the Iran-contra affair and was once Saudi Arabia’s richest man. Adnan Khashoggi was deeply connected to Lockheed Martin, as demonstrated by the fact that, between 1970 and 1975, he received $106 million in commissions from the U.S. weapons giant with his commission rate on Lockheed sales eventually rising to 15 percent. According to Lockheed’s former Vice President for International Marketing, Max Helzel, Adnan Khashoggi “became for all practical purposes a marketing arm of Lockheed. Adnan would provide not only an entry but strategy, constant advice and analysis.”
Adnan Khashoggi also had close ties to the Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan White Houses, with the latter likely explaining why he was acquitted for his role in the Iran-contra scandal. Also notable is the fact that Adnan Khashoggi sold his famed yacht to none other than Donald Trump for $30 million. Trump later called Adnan Khashoggi “a great broker and a lousy businessman.”
Given Jamal Khashoggi’s past and present connections to the CIA and his family’s connections to Lockheed Martin and powerful players in the U.S. political establishment, the possibility emerges that Khashoggi’s disappearance may have in fact been a set-up in order to place pressure on the Saudi government following its decision to renege on its plan to purchase Lockheed’s THAAD system. This theory is also somewhat supported by the fact that the U.S. intelligence community had known in advance of an alleged Saudi plot to capture Khashoggi but ignored its duty (via ICD 191) to warn Khashoggi of the apparent threat against him. Furthermore, the claims that Khashoggi was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul have — so far — been entirely based on claims from U.S. and Turkish intelligence and no evidence to support the now prevailing narrative of murder has been made public.
If a “set-up” were the case, Khashoggi’s CIA links and his apparent efforts at pushing a CIA-controlled “color revolution” in Saudi Arabia suggest that his disappearance could also have been intended for use as a pretext, not necessarily to punish the Saudis over the S-400, but to remove MBS from his position as crown prince and replace him with former crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who was ousted by MBS last year and also holds close ties to the CIA. Such a possibility cannot be ignored.
However, the Trump administration’s willingness to cooperate with the faux outrage regarding Khashoggi is much more likely to be motivated by the weapons-deal drama given the administration’s close ties to MBS.
Of course, it is equally likely that this was not a set-up given that MBS is undeniably authoritarian and relentlessly pursues his critics and perhaps thought that his close relationship with Trump would allow him to act with impunity in targeting Khashoggi. However, MBS’ pursuits of his critics in the past were more readily accepted by the West — like the so-called “corruption crackdown” last December. Either way, the Saudi government’s role in the alleged murder of Khashoggi is being capitalized on by the CIA and other elements of the U.S. political scene and military-industrial complex for its own purposes, as these groups normally turn a blind eye to Saudi government atrocities.
Tracking the political typhoon
Though the U.S. tactic to strong-arm Saudi Arabia seems clear, it is a situation that could dangerously escalate as both MBS and Trump have proven over the course of their short tenure that they are stubborn and unpredictable.
Furthermore, the timing of this situation is also troubling. In early November, the Trump administration’s efforts to punish countries importing Iranian crude oil will take effect and Trump is set to lean heavily on the Saudis to prevent a dramatic oil price increase due to the supply shock the removal of Iranian oil from the market will cause. Notably, the Saudis are working closely with Russia to keep oil prices from spiking.
Is the U.S. willing to risk the dramatic jump in oil prices, which themselves could have major domestic economic consequences, in order to keep the Saudis from buying the S-400? It’s hard to say but the coming battle of wills between Trump and MBS could well have truly global consequences.
Acknowledgment: The author of this article would like to thank Scott Creighton of the Nomadic Everyman blog for his assistance in researching aspects of this investigation.
Whitney Webb is a staff writer for MintPress News and a contributor to Ben Swann’s Truth in Media. Her work has appeared on Global Research, the Ron Paul Institute and 21st Century Wire, among others. She has also made radio and TV appearances on RT and Sputnik. She currently lives with her family in southern Chile.
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