Jump to content
The Education Forum

W. Niederhut

Members
  • Posts

    5,584
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by W. Niederhut

  1. But, Matt, to reiterate, I believe that Oliver Stone's efforts to inform the public about the crimes of the CIA and U.S. military-- at home and abroad-- are extremely important and worthy of praise. JFK and JFK Revisited are probably the best examples, but Salvador and The Untold History of the United States are also important. It pained me to watch that final Putin interview by Oliver Stone, precisely because I really respect the man. Surely, he must have some awareness that Putin is nefarious-- a mass murderer of civilians. I'm also pained by Stone's claim that, "the charges against Trump are ridiculous"-- at least in the cases of the J6 seditious conspiracy and classified records theft. Trump's J6 conspiracy was an extremely serious Presidential crime-- an attempt to remain in power and subvert American democracy.
  2. Geez... How many times has this bogus Trump propaganda trope been debunked here on the Education Forum-- by Cliff Varnell, myself, and others? Do we have to re-post the 2017 Harvard Brennan Center and Columbia Journalism Review analyses of the corporate media sabotage of Hillary Clinton's 2016 Presidential campaign, for Benjamin Cole? Do we have to re-post the facts about Dean Baquet and the NYT censoring any 2016 pre-election coverage of the Trump campaign's numerous contacts with Kremlin officials-- while simultaneously running non-stop headline articles about Hillary's Email-gate nothing burger? Where was the Deep State when we really needed them? How about James Comey and the "Deep State" FBI officials in New York associated with Rudy Giuliani and Comey's 2016 "October Surprise" involving Anthony Weiner's Laptop nothing burger? The truth is that Ben Cole and his MAGA media pundits only discovered the "Deep State" in 2017, after Trump falsely, and repeatedly, tried to blame his 2016 campaign involvement with the Kremlin on the U.S. "Deep State." First, it was "Spygate," then "Obamagate," then the bogus "Nunes Memo," then Bill Barr's abortion and misrepresentation of the redacted Mueller Report. And let's not forget that Reality Winner was promptly sent to prison for five years, for releasing a single classified memo to The Intercept, which debunked Trump and Putin's lie that Russia did not interfere in the 2016 election on Trump's behalf. The GOP-controlled U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee later released their belated report confirming widespread Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, to benefit Trump and the GOP. Addendum: I do agree with Kevin Hofeling's (above) comments about Syria. It's a subject I have been studying for years. Trump deserves credit for ending Operation Timber Sycamore in 2017. But, in general, Trump was hardly a Deep State adversary. He caved on releasing the JFK Records, and he never fulfilled his 2016 campaign promise to tell the American people "who really destroyed the World Trade Center on 9/11." Trump's first trip abroad as POTUS was to Riyadh, to kiss the Royal ring and do the Sword Dance with the Saudis, who were always the main financiers of the CIA/MI6/Saudi/Israeli proxy war against Assad's Alawite regime. Trump also launched Tomahawk cruise missiles at Syrian Army positions in response to some false flag provocations.
  3. Kirk, I only know about Oliver Stone from watching his films and documentaries. My impression is that he began his invaluable career as a "political" filmmaker by exploring and trying to educate the public about the dark "untold" story of the American military industrial complex and the CIA-- JFK, Born on the 4th of July, Salvador, Nixon, W., The Untold History, etc. God bless him for that terrific work! But, in the process of exposing the truly horrific post-WWII sins of the CIA and the MIC, it seems like Stone (and Kuznick) have tended to turn a blind eye to the dark side of Soviet (and Putin's neo-Soviet) history. Kuznick and Stone never talked about the horrors if Stalinism, (in their Untold History series) nor has Stone talked about the horrors of Putinism, as you pointed out. It's the same criticism I have directed at Paul Rigby, while agreeing with many of Rigby's criticisms of the CIA and the U.S. MIC.
  4. Ben, Jesse Ventura, obviously, didn't make the cut as RFK, Jr.'s running mate this year, but he could still garner an appointment in an RFK, Jr. administration. Ventura would be a formidable Director of Homeland Security, and he would be the first high-level Presidential appointee in history who has his own action doll!
  5. Jen Psaki did a good job today of putting Trump's "bloodbath" comment in the context of his entire Dayton speech, which I had not heard. Trump began the rant by celebrating his J6 attack on Congress. Jen Psaki Destroys The Trump Campaign’s Bloodbath Spin www.politicususa.com/2024/03/17/jen-psaki-destroys-the-trump-campaigns-bloodbath-spin.html/amp
  6. I watched the video twice last night, to try to understand the MAGA/Newsmax spin that Trump wasn't actually threatening a violent MAGA "bloodbath" against the libs. But, if anything, the "bloodbath" comment comes across as another bizarre Trump-style word salad-- a non-sequitur. It bore no obvious relation to his preceding comments about Mexican auto tariffs. And, incidentally, I don't know anyone who owns a Mexican-made automobile. Trump was talking out of his a--, as usual. Anyway, I created a meme.
  7. Sandy, The other obvious problem with this comment (above) is that this forum member has always struggled to understand the important differences between facts and mere opinions-- i.e. "views." The latest example is his specious attempt to dismiss the facts posted about the platform and historic policies of a particular party (including historic SCOTUS rulings) as mere "views and accusations." This is simply inaccurate. It erroneously frames facts about important policy issues as matters of opinion. And, needless to say, this is an American history forum. Historical facts should be welcome. As Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously said, "People are entitled to their own opinions, but not their own 'facts.'"
  8. Kirk, This is quite a detailed critique of Paul's concepts. I also agree with Paul's general point about the corruption of American government by the military industrial complex, and plutocracy, during the past 60+ years. It's a Leviathan. But, on a practical level, which party destroyed a century of campaign finance reforms with the Citizens United SCOTUS ruling? Which party crippled the Voting Rights Act with the Shelby v. Holder SCOTUS ruling? Which party has been passing laws on a state level to restrict voting? Which party attacked the U.S. Congress to overturn a U.S. election? I don't want to be too explicit, in violation of forum policies, but people who are truly concerned about the "withering of democracy," like Paul, should be especially concerned about one party, in particular.
  9. Yo, fellas, St. Patrick's Day is tomorrow! It's time to think about partying-- or, at least, listening to some great Irish music! Here's the great Irish fiddler, Kevin Burke, with his Portland, Oregon-based band, Open House. By sheer luck, I saw these guys live at a pub in Vancouver, called the W.I.S.E. Club, (Welsh, Irish, Scottish, English) the year they came out with this first, eponymous album. Burke is my favorite, along with the Irish folk band, Altan.
  10. Cliff, I know you're mainly a punk rock afficionado but, if you like good cigars, you might appreciate this 16th century English madrigal extolling the virtues of tobacco. Not wild about the YouTube format here, but the King's Singers recorded the best version of this terrific song, Come, Sirrah Jack, Ho!
  11. You have my sympathy. I bought some fake Cohibas in Mexico several years ago (before it was legal to buy Cuban cigars in the U.S.) Now Cuban cigars are too expensive for me, and my favorite Dominicans (Monte Christo Media Noches) have increased to $12! They used to cost $4. I recently bought some $17 Man O' War Ruination cigars (Nicaraguan) on sale for $3, and they're terrific. When I light up a Ruination cigar on my patio, the whole neighborhood goes up in thick, black smoke, as if I had just sunk a Man O' War in close combat.
  12. Sandy, The distinction, IMO, is between explicit and implicitly perjorative comments. Paul posted an implicitly perjorative comment about the current POTUS (and the Democratic Party) by suggesting that our "withering democracy" is incapable of solving our "enormous problems." I merely requested clarification about which "problems" Paul was referring to, in relation to competing policy platforms. And, incidentally, who has been "withering" our democracy-- rolling back voting rights, enabling dark money in campaigns, etc.?
  13. Which "enormous problems" are you referring to, Paul? Climate change? Pollution? Our Reaganomic national debt? The survival of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid? If you are concerned about our "withering semblance of democracy" solving these problems in 2025, and beyond, please read my initial (penalized) post on this thread (above.) It appears that, contrary to Cory's argument, (above) political commentary is being permitted here, with the exception of evidenced-based critiques of Trumpism. Addendum: Oops, Paul. I just noticed that my initial post on this thread was deleted. It was a brief summary of Trump's putative 2025 platform, (on the above-mentioned issues) along with reference links about some Republican RFK, Jr. donors.
  14. This is more about weather than climate. We got hit by a major snow storm here in Colorado this week. Fortunately, these ladies stranded on the Vail ski bus didn't have to resort to cannibalism. In other good news, none of my trees were damaged, and I didn't break my back shoveling more than a foot of heavy wet snow here in Denver yesterday. 50 women trapped on ski bus after major Colorado snowstorm (coloradosun.com)
  15. Cory, With all due respect your comment is entirely specious. Let me explain why without violating the forum rules, if possible. (I'm already in the penalty box for speaking up about the latest RFK, Jr. fanboy thread here.) During the past year, we have seen dozens of RFK, Jr. promotional threads here on the JFKA board-- all carefully couched in reference to releasing the JFKA Records. So, while it's true that these redundant RFK, Jr. threads are superficially relevant to the JFKA, it is also true that they are mainly about contemporary politics-- i.e., about RFK, Jr.'s 2024 third party campaign against Joe Biden. BUT, is promoting RFK, Jr.'s 2024 candidacy necessarily partisan-- i.e., is a 2024 vote for RFK, Jr. necessarily a vote for Donald Trump? I don't know the precise answer to that question, but I do know that RFK, Jr.'s third party campaign is being funded by right wing billionaires, like Timothy Mellon, who are major supporters of Donald Trump.* These guys want low tax rates, and they want to "starve the beast"-- i.e. to de-fund Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. These Republican plutocrats are, evidently, financing RFK, Jr.'s third party campaign in order to put Trump back in the White House, IMO. So, if promotional JFKA threads about RFK, Jr.'s third party candidacy are inherently anti-Biden, (and pro-Trump) is it "fair" to penalize forum members for calling a spade a spade and talking about the implications for contemporary politics? You Republicans can't have it both ways-- calling RFK, Jr. fluffing threads "appropriate," while condemning those who put those threads in political context. * New York Times: “R.F.K.-Aligned Super PAC Draws Heavily From a Republican Megadonor.” Financial Times: “Donald Trump donor pours cash into Robert Kennedy Jr’s White House run.” Rolling Stone: “Half of that staggering cash haul [for RFK Jr. and American Values 2024] has come from two people. Timothy Mellon, a Republican megadonor who backed Donald Trump’s failed 2020 reelection campaign, has donated another $10 million to the pro-Kennedy super PAC, American Values 2024. Mellon, an heir to the Mellon banking fortune, has now given $15 million to the group so far.”
  16. No, Cory. You missed the mark. In fact, you're off by 180 degrees. A better question is why these RFK, Jr. fanboy threads are typically removed from the JFKA board only after one of us responds to the inherent anti-Biden/RFK. Jr. sales pitch with a reality check-- or, God forbid, a little humor. And, if anything, I went out of my way yesterday to avoid engaging in any ad hominem slurs about the guy who started this thread. (BTW, if it makes you and your Republican colleagues feel any better, Sandy Larsen has given me a stern warning and a 5 point penalty today.)
  17. Kinzer's book, The Brothers, is a great read. Well written and well researched. So is his book on Sidney Gottlieb, Poisoner-in-Chief.
  18. Speaking of Roscoe White and "Badgeman," I was recently re-reading the chapter on Lee Bowers in Hit List. Bowers claimed--prior to his untimely death--that he was afraid to tell people everything he had witnessed in the parking lot behind the Grassy Knoll on 11/22/63. If true, what, on earth, would have frightened him? Is it possible that Bowers saw a man in a police uniform shooting at JFK?
  19. Geez...creepy stuff, Doug. Perhaps an attempted character assassination? Meanwhile, our good friend, Chuck Schumer-- a strong advocate of Israel-- is now calling for Netanyahu and his right wing Likud Party militants to step down. Professor Jeffrey Sachs said the same thing several weeks ago. The Likud Party charter expressly opposes a two-state solution. Incidentally, Sandy, did you ever read up on the Talmudic teachings-- and the writings of Israel Shahak-- about ethnic cleansing on behalf of Israel? You have unique, firsthand knowledge of Iranian culture, but my sense is that you have never accurately understood the tribal and Talmudic origins of Netayahu's brutal ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Albert Einstein, Israel Shahak, and others, were always concerned about the dark side of militant Zionism.
  20. I greatly admire Oliver Stone's films, but... Putin embarrassed Stone by seizing Crimea shortly before Stone's final Putin interview. That final interview was painful to watch. Vlad played Oliver for a fool. And now this! Did Oliver Stone not watch the shocking 2022 Congressional J6 hearings? How can any rational, intelligent, informed person not know that Trump actively conspired to illegally overturn the 2020 U.S. election? When Trump was informed, on the morning of January 6th, that his MAGA mob was armed with guns, he said, "Take down the magnetometers! They aren't here to harm me!" Oliver Stone: Charges against Trump are 'ridiculous' - Raw Story Oliver Stone: Charges against Trump are 'ridiculous' Agence France-Presse March 13, 2024 2:13PM ET Director Oliver Stone (AFP Photo/Geoff Robins) Maverick American director Oliver Stone told AFP that the legal proceedings against Donald Trump are "all political" and that the ex-president was a victim of "lawfare" -- when prosecutions are used to silence political figures. "Almost 100 indictments against the guy... it's ridiculous," said Stone. "This is all political. They want to put him behind bars, but they're not going to be able to," he added. However, the 77-year-old director of "JFK", "Platoon" and "Snowden" said that he would not vote for Trump in this November's US presidential election. "Everyone's corrupt. Russia runs on corruption, so does Turkey. So does the United States. Corruption is a way of life, but they make it into a political issue now," Stone insisted. But he said he would not be voting for incumbent President Joe Biden either. ADVERTISEMENT"Never for Biden, because Biden is a warmonger," said the Vietnam veteran. Stone spoke to AFP Tuesday during a trip to Paris to promote his documentary about nuclear energy, "Nuclear Now". He said he has been thinking a lot about "lawfare" as he has recently completed a film about Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. 'Freethinker' Lula, as he is widely known, was imprisoned in 2018 on corruption and money-laundering charges after several years in power. The charges were overthrown after an investigation found the judge was biased, and Lula was re-elected president last year. "The concept of lawfare is all over the world, and it's been used for political reasons, weaponised," said Stone. "And so that's what they did with Lula. They put him in jail and he got out and he won the election. It was a hell of a story... but people don't know it, except in Brazil." Stone has often focused on Latin American leftist leaders, with no less than three documentaries about the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and one about his friend the Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, who died in 2013. Lula, Castro and Chavez were all "humanists", he said. "They're all great. They're all original, doing the best they can for their country. I think Chavez was motivated by love of country. So it was Castro." There is not yet a release date for his Lula film, though he has launched previous films at the Cannes Film Festival, which takes place in May. Stone has often been denounced as a conspiracy theorist for his views on U.S. foreign policy and the assassination of John F. Kennedy, laid out in "JFK" and a follow-up documentary. He has a simple response for his detractors. "I'm a freethinker."
  21. I'd be interested in legal opinions on this case, Doug. McAfee dropping charges doesn't seem to pass the sniff test. For one thing, isn't it the prerogative of the DA to press or drop charges?
  22. "Bombing" Bibi Netanyahu has, evidently, crossed Biden's red line in Rafah. Several reported killed, injured in Israeli strike on UNRWA warehouse in Rafah City Palestinian journalists have shared footage documenting people bringing in victims of an Israeli bombing on central Rafah to the Kuwaiti Hospital. The journalists say an UNRWA aid distribution centre was shelled in Rafah City. The footage, which has been verified by Al Jazeera, shows people being evacuated in vehicles bearing the UNRWA logo. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/13/israels-war-on-gaza-live-netanyahu-vows-to-finish-the-job-in-rafah
×
×
  • Create New...