Facebook & Social Media are Banning the Images of US War Victims, Violates Community Standards!

Images of US wars or wars that the US supports like Saudi Arabia's war on Yemen and the Houthi are increasingly being censored on social media.  I'm currently in Facebook jail for posting this image of a starving and skeletal Yemeni child.  The photo violates Fascistbook community standards. 

Photos are POWERFUL and they definitely affect public opinion.  Americans didn't notice much about what was happening in Vietnam until these photos appear, the burning Napalm Girl and the My Lai Massacre horror.  Many other horrifying images of the Vietnam War jolted Americans.  Before that horror was finally over, millions of Southeast Asians were slaughtered and they were no threat to the US or US national security.  In truth, they were slaughtered for defense contractor profits.

The media and entire US foreign policy establishment are stroking out because Trump has announced that he's pulling out of Syria and downsizing in Afghanistan. These were not Trump's wars.  Bush started the war in Afghanistan that has been raging for 18 years at a cost of $2 trillion, here.  Also, soon to be gone Secretary of Defense Mattis was planning on spending $45 billion in Afghanistan in 2018.

Pentagon: War in Afghanistan will cost $45 billion in 2018

It's also been documented by the Brown University Cost of War Project that the US has spent a staggering $5.9 trillion wars since 911, here.

President Obama and Hillary Clinton are directly responsible for the carnage in Libya and Syria; their goal was to destroy 2 functioning nations that were no threat to the US and overrun them with Sunni Salafist Wahhabists, depose Assad and churn these nations into Saudi styled Wahhabist states.

Syria:

Libya: 

Before Hillary Clinton and President Obama destroyed Libya it was prosperous and no threat to anybody.

Libya: From Africa’s Richest State Under Gaddafi, to Failed State After NATO Intervention

This sad image was found on Brown University's Cost of War Project and I don't know where it was taken...could have been anywhere, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Yemen or a number of places but it horrifyingly depicts the true face of US wars and foreign policy.  Mothers burying their children is routine and so are images of mangled human beings who survived horrific injuries..missing limbs and permanent injuries are just more faces of our inhumane foreign policy. 

This photo fittingly describes US foreign policy - the Kiss of Death.  Folks burying their dead loved ones and fellow countrymen are definitely not celebrating as they endure endless bombings that murder and destroy their towns and villages. 

Trump vs. Mattis - Mattis Blew An Awesome Opportunity

This bromance bites the dust.  Well, it should NOT shock anybody who understands Trump or Mattis, two obstinate men from radically different backgrounds who possess radically different world views.  Mattis abruptly resigned when Trump announced that he was pulling out of Syria and Afghanistan, although his departure as Secretary of Defense has been speculated for months because of policy differences.

Donald J. Trump tweeted: ‏ "When President Obama ingloriously fired Jim Mattis, I gave him a second chance. Some thought I shouldn’t, I thought I should. Interesting relationship-but I also gave all of the resources that he never really had. Allies are very important-but not when they take advantage of U.S."

Although the effective date of the resignation of Mattis was the end of February, Trump was so infuriated with his blistering resignation letter that Trump moved it up and appointed an Acting Secretary of Defense effective January 1, 2019.

What went so wrong with a relationship that started off so good?  It starts with understanding Trump. Trump is an entrepreneur and marketing genius who loves accomplishing great things and usually by taking big risks.   His presidential campaign was unlike anything any of us have ever witnessed.  Trump's uncanny ability to read and understand people and their mood was the driving force behind his populist campaign that hit the raw and angry nerves of average Americans.  He profoundly understood that American workers were being royally screwed by nasty trade deals and open borders, a theme he reinforced day after day on the campaign trail.  It's what helped Trump crush Hillary Clinton in the general election.

Trump even went so far as to invoke his 'Drain the Swamp' theme.  Make no mistake, Trump fully intended to march into DC to profoundly shake it up and create a New Deal for the American people and America, both economically and on the foreign policy front.

If ever there was was a swamp creature who was the personification of the establishment, the Deep State, the military industrial complex, the US empire and America's deeply flawed foreign policy, it's Mattis who devoted his entire life to clawing his way up to the top. The warrior-scholar who was also known as the warrior monk and Mad Dog enjoyed a reputation as a tough and crusty Marine.  He was fired by Obama for supposedly clashing with Obama's civilian officials over policy, specifically the Iran Deal.  Mattis is a study in duopoly.  He's played the role of a salty Pattonesque commander who was revered by his subordinates as a tough no nonsense leader.  On the other hand, Mattis was also respected as deeply intellectual, well read and sophisticated enough to be welcomed into the highest echelons of power.

Henry Kissinger is viewed as the daddy of the US Empire, endless wars and interventionism. He's on the board of Center for the National Interest, an organization founded by neocon Irving Kristol (father of Trump hating Bill Kristol) that also publishes The National Interest. In July 2018, Mattis was honored by The Center for the National Interests and his speech spewed gobs of love for Kissinger, here.  Mattis adores Kissinger and said "I am enormously grateful for Dr. Kissinger’s strategic mentorship over many years.."

At heart Mattis was a well entrenched Deep State player, an advocate for globalist organizations and institutions like the UN and NATO.  Mattis is only viewed as a populist patriot because of his highly cultivated tough guy image and in the context of his military service and raunchy military statements that drive the meme world of blind adoration. While the outrageously crusty memes attributable to Mattis are true, documented and dazzle the average American voter, the simple soldier persona is fraudulent although I don't doubt Mattis actually believes what he says.

“Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.” 

“There are some people who think you have to hate them in order to shoot them. I don’t think you do. It’s just business.”

“There is nothing better than getting shot at and missed. It’s really great.”

“You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn’t wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain’t got no manhood left anyway. So it’s a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. Actually it’s quite fun to fight them, you know. It’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people.”

“The first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event. That said, there are some a**holes in the world that just need to be shot.”

“I come in peace. I didn’t bring artillery. But I’m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you f*** with me, I’ll kill you all.”

Mattis has devoted decades of his life to organizing and methodically killing a ton of folks and it certainly isn't something that plagues his conscience.  His golden opportunity was born on September 11, 2001 with the 911 attack and the ensuing War on Terror.  For a man who believed he was destined to command battlefields, he was ready, tough as nails and pursued his duties valiantly and with vigor.  It's how he earned his 4 stars.  The combative combat man rose in the ranks but managed to get fired by 2 presidents - Obama fired him outright, and his relationship with Trump had deteriorated to the point where many believed he would be fired so he resigned.

It's ironic that Obama fired him for opposing the Iran Deal and that Trump was unhappy with Mattis for defending the Iran Deal.  For the record, I'm with Mattis on the Iran Deal because Iran isn't building nuclear bombs or enriching uranium, and Iran is in compliance.  That automatically makes the world a safer place so why nullify something that works?

Let's get back to Donald Trump, the draft dodging real estate developer turned TV reality star.  I don't doubt that Trump was impressed with the tough guy image of Mattis.  Few would question that both Trump and Mattis are tough guys but that's where the similarities end.

In April, 2018 Trump told a crowd at one of his rallies "We have spent $7 trillion — trillion with a T — $7 trillion in the Middle East, You know what we have for it? Nothing. Nothing."

Mattis could care less how many trillion we spend on wars - he's in the business of waging them so the more the better.  Trump even gave Secretary of Defense Mattis and the DOD a blank check just to appease a man who said he couldn't defend America without more money.

When Trump marched into DC and was inaugurated as the 45th president in January 2017, I doubt that Trump knew much of anything about how DC and Congress really operate. This is a guy who spent his life building condos, resorts and golf clubs.  But as a business man settling into DC, Trump does understand value and he started question US foreign policy and the enormous amount of money spent on it.

Even more alarming to the establishment and the DC Swamp, Trump was a quick study who unlike Mattis had little use for think tanks, the UN, NATO and all the globalist organizations and alliances that drive US empire and militarism.  Folks who don't especially like or value opaque, unelected and unaccountable yet extremely powerful organizations oppose the idea of hiding behind them, something Mattis is a master at doing.  Trump as a corporate CEO loves taking responsibility for his decisions, something the politicians, MIC, bureaucrats and elites abhor.

While President Trump believed that he had a tough guy Secretary of Defense to help implement his vision of evolving foreign policy views, that view was quickly shattered.  Trump the highly energized entrepreneurial creator was bound to clash with the stodgy institutional guy who viewed change as a threat the the existing world order. 

America has $22 trillion in debt and it was recently reported that the Pentagon failed an audit and couldn't account for $21 trillion.

The Pentagon Fails Audit – $21 Trillion in Transactions Could Not Be Traced, Documented, or Explained

Again, this leads back to Trump questioning spending $7 trillion in the Middle East.  Trump's antiwar instincts kicked in, as they have over the years as he asked what is the value to the US of spending so much money on wars?  Trump managed to offend our notoriously cheap allies by asking them to cough up some money for defense, defense dollars that are largely born by American taxpayers.  GASP!  Mattis was appalled as Trump ordered him to visit our allies and shake them down to pay their fair share of the big fat defense bill.

For a guy like Mattis, I'm sure that his POTUS preference is closer to Hillary Clinton than Donald Trump when ideology is factored into the equation.

1. Mattis is on recording opposing Trump getting out of the Paris Climate Accord, a nasty socialist policy that is nothing more than a wealth transfer from rich countries to poor countries.
2. Mattis opposed Trump moving the US Israel embassy to Jerusalem, something that turned out to be a non event.  Yawn!
3. Mattis opposed Trump's views on transgenders in the military.  Mattis supported the policy of allowing transgenders in the military while Trump sought to change it. I'm anything but convinced that transgenders even want to be soldiers and fight in wars.  However, since health insurance generally does not pay for transition surgeries and a lifetime of very expensive care, the military option is appealing to transgenders because taxpayers become saddled with their huge medical expenses.
4. Mattis opposed reducing the US military presence anywhere because control of turf is an obsession of empire builders, bureaucrats and military men because it's the mothers milk of their power and ability to grow it exponentially.

The Trump-Mattis marriage was doomed from the outset because one wanted change while the other demanded obedience to the status quo.

However, the world is rapidly changing and it's changing in way more ways than Mattis was willing to grasp; in many ways Mattis is a holdover relic from an era that no longer exists or at least is dying.  Specifically, the US Empire is gasping it last breath as the $22 trillion in debt to support never ending wars and the 800 military bases strung around the world under an MIC octopus is unsustainable.  America, peace and prosperity were sacrificed on the altar of empire and militarism. 

Trump is beginning to question the MIC and its vast network of globalist institutions that feed and sustain policies that are NOT in the best interest of America.

Trump the creative thinker who thinks out loud on Twitter butted heads with Mattis, an immovable object accustomed to stealth and is too dense to recognize that the world is changing beyond his ability to even understand it or where it's going.  Mattis follows the standard same old Kissinger script: sanction and destroy the economy and if whoever is targeted for whatever fake propaganda reason doesn't capitulate to the US empire then bomb them into oblivion and destroy entire nations and cities.  The murder of innocent people according to Mattis is just collateral damage.  After the US military does it's job, the DOD chiefs then turn the big pile of rubble over to the State Department and US Aid, supposedly to rebuild in the image of America.  It's frequently dubbed mop up operations.  US foreign policy is a disaster that spends a ton of money and accomplishes NOTHING except enriching defense and other crony contractors involved in wars, destruction and reconstruction - a cycle that never ever ends.

The whole game of US foreign policy, sanctions, bombings, destruction and rebuilding is a BIG FAIL.  This is something that Trump is beginning to see clearly. Mattis can't eject himself from the 'same old, same old' mold and freaks out as if his world is collapsing.

It's really tragic that Mattis, who is not stupid and is in fact well anchored in history and geopolitics, simply refused to be Trump's partner in forging a new and less interventionist foreign policy to position America for a better future.  Mattis views himself as a conquerer of turf that must be permanently occupied by the military which is in fact colonialism and empire.

Mattis is also revered in neocon and globalist circles while Trump is despised because he's a direct threat to them and their draconian powers.

If Mattis wasn't such a hardheaded ego driven man who tenaciously clings to the past and its failed policies and values, he would have been a valuable player in the Trump Administration. He could have been part of making history.  He should have played a critical role in building a safer, more peaceful and more prosperous future for America and the entire world.

Instead Mattis opted to do what is instinctively repugnant to any military man - cut and run.

Frankly, I doubt that the next Secretary of Defense will be any better than Mattis and is in fact likely to be far worse given that that the US Senate that confirms such nominees is largely comprised of Republican and Democrat neocon empire builders who are bought and paid for by the military industrial complex (MIC).

The real problem isn't Mattis who is just a product of an era with a long history of deeply flawed foreign policy and ideology.  The real problem is that the MIC of which Mattis is an integral player has such control over our government, foreign policy and elected Congress Critters.

Trump was ELECTED while Mattis was SELECTED.  Big difference!  Trump was elected because he campaigned on forging a more peaceful and less interventionist foreign policy.  As Secretary of Defense Mattis' only duty was to implement orders from his boss, the Commander in Chief, President Trump and give advice when asked.  Mattis is guilty of dereliction of duty.  For a military man to be insubordinate is a serious offense but Mattis the knucklehead reneged on his duties because he was convinced that he was right and Trump was wrong.

Going forward, Mattis will have lots of time to seriously engage in soul searching as he ponders his failures, his obstinate temperament, his tenure as Secretary Defense and his experience with Trump.  Mattis blew one whopper of an opportunity to be a part of something that America and the world desperately needs.  PEACE.

Mattis simply failed to be the visionary that Trump is and I'm in no way implying that Trump always gets it right but at least he's trying and fighting the good fight.  Mattis the legendary fighter simply refused to fight for America, his Commander and Chief and a saner foreign policy vision.

Of course it's sad and tragic, for America and a man who devoted his entire life to serving his country.

12/22/2018, Back in Facebook Jail for Posting Image of Starving Yemen Child

After having been in Facebook jail for most of July and all of August and September for antiwar activism, I was finally allowed to post again on Oct. 1.  However, I'm back in FB jail as of December 22, 2018.  For how long I don't know.  Maybe 7 days.  I've been sentenced to 7 days before and despite NOT being on FB because during my numerous suspensions, FB always manages to extend my jail sentences by 30 and 60 days.

Let me be clear.  Antiwar activism is verboten on Fascistbook because according to FB, war is good, slaughter is good, starving skeletal children is good, bombs are good, destruction of humanity and their habitats are good and anybody who opposes such horror is not welcome on FB because you are automatically labeled the Great Satan.

This time, the offending post aka Facebook crime was a link that included this photo.

The article and photo that got me banned was:

Facebook Censoring Images Of Starving Children In Yemen

Social media giant Facebook has been censoring images of starving children in Yemen, claiming that pictures of malnourished girls constitute “sexual content”.  

The social network has repeatedly blocked images attached to a New York Times article about the on-going conflict, which has seen more than 100,000 people killed and over three million displaced.

The article, published earlier this month, featured a picture of Abrar Ibrahim, a 12-year-old emaciated girl in Yemen who weighs just 12.7 kilograms. She is dressed only in a diaper as her ribcage protrudes clearly through her skin.

However, several reporters and activists who attempted to share the piece on Facebook have found their posts repeatedly blocked, with the message “Your post goes against our Community Standards on nudity or sexual activity”.

You gotta be kidding?  What kind of a psychopath would label a photo of a starving little girl as 'sexual content'?

Facebook has been accused of protecting pedophiles by allowing the posting of child pornography and sexual images of children.

Pedophiles are reportedly using Facebook to share images of children

An investigation by the BBC has found that secret groups on Facebook are being used by pedophiles to share images -- and Facebook doesn't seem to be doing much to control such activity.

The BBC reportedly unearthed numerous private groups which were both run by and for men with a sexual interest in children. One group was found to have a convicted pedophile as its administrator. Despite many of the groups and images being reported to Facebook, not all of them were removed, raising the question as to whether Facebook is doing enough to combat pedophilia.

While pedophilia is indeed a repulsive crime that should indeed be criminally prosecuted, war is equally horrifying.  To say that an image of a child starved by war is 'sexual' is pretty damn sick, especially for a company that is notorious for not doing much to stop child pornography or its sick images.

My FB ban isn't about sexual content and clearly it's all about finding a pathetic excuse to censor antiwar activism.

Since I document all my ridiculous and unjustified FB bans and blog about them, I consider it important for others to do the same.

Here's a September 5, 2018 blog post on a series of previous FB bans over literally NOTHING except antiwar activism.

My Personal Story of Facebook Censorship, Abuse and Getting Banned 

Finally, I would like to add that most of my FB bans are the direct result of opposing Saudi Arabia's war on Yemen.  This of course tells me that FB is loaded with Wahhabi lobby censors.   Criticizing US wars has definitely resulted in censorship for many but criticism of Saudi Arabia seems to result in even more severe censorship.

Meanwhile, I will continue to REFUSE to stop antiwar activism even if it results in more social media bans, temporary or permanent.  The tide is turning on the issue of war and antiwar activism is strengthening, especially opposition to US foreign policy.  This is something that even President Trump seems to somewhat grasp as he announced this week that he's pulling the US military out of Syria and Afghanistan.

A person with a conscience and moral compass must continue to oppose wars, whoever starts them.  Yes, war images are indeed graphic, nasty, unpleasant, bloody and horrifying but how else do we bring the message of war to people?  The purpose of war images is to jolt and shock a person's sense of morality and values with the goal of forcing them into antiwar activism.  We the People must reject war because feeding the military industrial complex and its murderous evil is always the right thing to do.

Iconic photos like this helped to end the Vietnam War, a horror that resulted in the deaths of millions of innocent Southeast Asians.

I don't doubt that the perverts who run FB's censorship department would ban this photo as SEXUAL, something only a deranged ass wipe of a human being would do.

War is brutal, war is cruel, war is inhumane and above all, people need to sees its horrifying images. images that need to be ingrained in every human psyche if we are to ever end the never ending wars.

Michael Flynn (Victim), Hillary Clinton (Criminal) and the FBI - One was Set-up, the Other Protected

The smoking hot news this week is that the FBI told Michael Flynn that the easiest way to wrap up the January 2017 FBI interview was to NOT have a lawyer present.  This has caught the attention of the judge who is to sentence Flynn and the judge is upset enough demand FBI tapes and transcripts on the issue.  Also, Flynn was told that he wasn't under criminal investigation.

FBI to Michael Flynn: “Trust us. You don’t need a lawyer”

Also, it's been widely speculated that the FBI framed Flynn.  Flynn was financially destroyed by the FBI-Mueller war on him and it's clear that the Deep State not only did not want him to be Trump's National Security Advisor but that it also sought to destroy Flynn as well as Trump's presidency.

DID THE FBI FRAME FLYNN?

Most legal analyst never believed that Flynn ever committed a crime.  In fact, some believe that Flynn only plead guilty because he didn't have the financial resources to defend himself and that the government also threatened to criminally prosecute his innocent son.  Furthermore, the FBI agents who interviewed Flynn never believed that he was lying but that didn't stop Mueller and his Clintonista Trump hating loyalists pitbulls from threatening to lock up Flynn for many years.

Comey told Congress FBI agents didn't think Michael Flynn lied

In March 2017, then-FBI Director James Comey briefed a number of Capitol Hill lawmakers on the Trump-Russia investigation. One topic of intense interest was the case of Michael Flynn, the Trump White House national security adviser who resigned under pressure on Feb. 13 after just 24 days in the job....

According to two sources familiar with the meetings, Comey told lawmakers that the FBI agents who interviewed Flynn did not believe that Flynn had lied to them, or that any inaccuracies in his answers were intentional. As a result, some of those in attendance came away with the impression that Flynn would not be charged with a crime pertaining to the Jan. 24 interview. 

Although Flynn innocently fell into the FBI trap and didn't initially believe that he was being set-up because he was only clarifying issues that were not crimes, this didn't stop Mueller from subsequently criminally prosecuting him.

The Michael Flynn story should go down in history as one of the most corrupt and egregious abuses of power in US history.  It was clearly a Deep State war on Trump and Flynn was merely a victim or collateral damage.

Flashback: How did the FBI treat Hillary Clinton in her interview regarding the private server, missing emails and other issues relating to one of the biggest pay to play schemes in US political history and doing it all while she was Secretary of State?  Clinton actually created the private server to conduct pay to play schemes or shaking down nations and rich folks for huge contributions to the Clinton Foundation in anticipation that she would win the general election and have the power to reward the CF donors.

Anyway, Hillary Clinton showed up at her FBI interview with an army of 9 lawyers.

FBI: 'Unusual' for Clinton to bring nine lawyers to FBI interview

How Hillary’s lawyers ran roughshod over the FBI

Last August, FBI officials paid a visit to Hillary Clinton’s lawyers’ office in Washington and begged to see six laptop computers containing the former secretary of state’s classified e-mails. They were told to take a hike, and they did. 

Clinton’s lawyers “declined to provide consent” for the bureau to even search the laptops, let alone seize them, claiming they may contain “privileged communications.”

Instead of seeking to subpoena the evidence, the FBI meekly “wished to arrange for secure storage of them in a manner agreeable to both the FBI and the attorneys” — even though the attorneys lacked authorization to handle the material, which included Top Secret information.

While arrogantly stiff-arming the FBI, Clinton’s lawyers “admitted that the e-mails contained on these laptops had been viewed by attorneys who did not have a security clearance at the time,” a newly released FBI report of the incident reveals.

The embarrassing scene, which played out at the law offices of Williams & Connolly, is just one of many examples of how lawyers loyal to Clinton ran roughshod over the FBI investigation.

In the end, investigators were able to see only e-mails from certain dates on laptops owned by top Clinton aides Heather Samuelson and Cheryl Mills, who conducted the e-mail seek-and-destroy mission for Clinton. After the restricted viewing, they had to agree to destroy the evidence as part of outrageous side deals FBI Director James Comey agreed to honor, even after these key witnesses were immunized against prosecution. 

What is 100% clear is that Hillary Clinton and her associates including the Podesta brothers were treated far differently than Flynn, Manafort, Papadopoulos, Jerone Corsi and others players in Trump's orbit.  All of this points to the very real fact that the Clintons are still FEARED and that nobody is seriously investigating the Clinton Family Crime Syndicate that has existed for decades.

Financially destroying Trump associates is indeed a cruel Deep State strategy and the goal is pound them into submission and make their lives so miserable that they will say whatever Mueller wants them to say.

Bill and Hillary Clinton have a huge advantage. Not only are Bill and Hillary Clinton very rich with a net worth of $125 million according to Celebrity NetWorth, they are both crooked lawyers who have a long history of lawyering up.  Moreover, they have friends in high places, especially the DOJ, FBI, State Department and Intel Agencies.  The crimes of Bill and Hill have been covered-up and protected for decades and to the point that they are so powerful that they are literally ABOVE THE LAW. 

As loyal Deep State operatives who know how to appease Wall Street, the military industrial complex, globalists and other special interests, Bill and Hill are masters at their game. Sucking up to power and money is not only their specialty, it's what drives every law and transaction in the District of Crime or DC.

Trump rides into town as an outsider who was never expected to even win the general election.  From the moment he shocked the world by winning the 2016 election, he was a marked man and so was everybody in his orbit including friends, family, campaign officials, business associates and Trump supporters.  The Deep State, DOJ, FBI, State Department and Intel Agencies all flew into high gear to destroy a man whose vision threatened to destroy their raw and absolute power. 

The message couldn't be clearer:  defy us and we will come after you and everybody who ever supported you or knows you.   Many innocent lives have already been destroyed by Mueller and many more are slated to be destroyed until the day arrives when capitulation is total and all opposition is ruthlessly crushed.

Welcome to America folks.  This is your future, a future of being a silent and compliant slave.  Don't expect JUSTICE because it will never happen until the real criminals are tried and convicted and these folks have protection at the highest level.

Ukraine and Crimea - A US Foreign Policy Disaster That Could Trigger a World War

To understand Ukraine, you start with its modern history. Although the geographic area has a long and complicated history, here, it was part of the Soviet Union. The official name of the Soviet Union was: Russian Soviet Federation of Socialist Republics (RSFSR). The Ukraine has a separate official identity: Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (UkrSSR)   The Crimea had been part of the Russian Empire since 1783 when Russia defeated Ottoman forces and it became part of the Russian Empire and eventually the RSFSR.  However, in 1954 Nikita Khrushchev decided to give the Crimea to Ukraine and for reasons that aren't exactly clear, here. Most probably, the Soviets believed that giving the Crimea to Ukraine would strengthen its loyalty to Moscow.

The people of the Crimea are nearly 80% Russian speaking and mostly ethnically, culturally and religiously Russian. At one point the Crimea has a substantial Tatar (Muslim) population but Stalin relocated them by force after WW II. The Russians and Ottomans have engaged in numerous wars - Orthodox Christian vs. Islamic conquest but that's another story.  Presently, the Russian identity of the people of Crimea is clear.

Source: Map: Russian language dominant in Crimea

The Ukraine itself has a long history of divided loyalties because of its Russian speaking population as well as religious rifts, Western Christianity vs. Eastern Orthodox Christianity.  Russian speaking Ukrainians identify with Russia culturally, politically and religiously.

It's a complicated situation and the US has made things far worse because of its never ending cold war against Russia.  The Ukrainian people are in the middle of the US-Russia tug of war for influence and control.  Still, the folks managed to peacefully co-exist to various degrees. 

UNTIL President Obama made a stupid, horrid and deadly decision to engineer the overthrow of a government legitimately elected by the Ukrainian people and install US puppets in Kiev, and most of the US puppets were so ruthless that Kiev became known as Nazi Kiev.  The US supported and funded the Nazi regime in Kiev and Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland, a raging neocon and dangerous psychopath, admitted to giving the Kiev regime $5 billion.

Victoria Nuland Admits: US Has Invested $5 Billion In The Development of Ukrainian, "Democratic Institutions"

That's what US neocons and the US foreign policy establishment do - they overthrow democratically elected governments and then fund phony baloney democratic institutions thru NGO's and with CIA help. It's all one giant farce that almost always results in blood flowing in the streets somewhere.

The US engineered Ukrainian regime change resulted in outright war on Russian speaking Ukrainians as their cities were bombed with US help. Death and destruction followed.

OBAMA ADMITS U.S. OVERTHREW DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT 

Obama’s candid admission should not come as a surprise following the release of a surreptitiously recorded conversation between Victoria Nuland, the US-Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, and Geoffrey R. Pyatt, the US Ambassador to Ukraine.

The conversation centered on ousting Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych and replacing him with one of several hand-picked State Department choices.

Nuland instructed Pyatt to “have the UN glue this thing” and then dismissively added “fuck the EU” for its role negotiating the crisis.

The U.S. orchestrated “transition,” as Obama characterized it, resulted in the appointment of fascists to key positions in the Kiev government and led to the current war in eastern Ukraine launched by Petro Poroshenko, the former confectionary magnate turned Ukrainian president.

Poroshenko’s war on those who do not accept the nationalist government in Kiev has thus far killed more than 5,000 people, although unofficial tallies are far higher.

In the not too distant past, the U.S. government attempted to hide its involvement in coups and the removal of democratically elected leaders. It relied primarily on the CIA to foment coups and counter-revolutions.

However, since the advent of NGO and foundation spawned “color revolutions” attributed to the people of target countries, while in actuality orchestrated by USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy, the U.S. government has admitted its role in overturning governments.

Quite naturally, Russia moved to help protect Russian speaking Ukrainians, something the idiot US never anticipated but should have.  The Russians in Crimea were terrified that Kiev would start bombing and killing them.  Putin organized a referendum that gave the Crimeans a vote on whether to join with Russia or say with the Ukraine. Over 95% of Crimeans voted to join Russia which of course was a slap in the face to Obama, homicidal-genocidal maniac Victoria Nuland and the Obama installed Nazi regime in Kiev.  Crimea officially came under the protection of Russia.

Hilariously, Obama and his brain dead foreign policy establishment accused Russia of illegally annexing Crimea while failing to acknowledge that Ukraine had an elected government that Obama overthrew or that the Crimean people actually VOTED to secede from Ukraine and its Nazi regime in Kiev.

Crimea isn't just another piece of land to Russia.  It's strategically critical to Russia because it houses Sevastopol which houses the Russian naval fleet, something the US is well aware of.  Throughout its history, Russia has always been plagued by its lack of access to a warn weather port as its northern ports were frozen tundras during the winter, which made trade extremely difficult.

Anyway, Obama got plenty of blowback for his foreign policy disasters including Ukraine.

The Ukraine Mess Is the Worst of Obama's Many Foreign Policy Disasters TruthDig 

But history’s judgment of Obama’s foreign policy will likely hang on the outcome of the American-backed coup in Kiev in February 2014. It was intended to bring about Ukraine’s eventual adhesion to the European Union and ultimately to NATO (despite earlier U.S. assurances to the contrary).

The cease-fire between Ukrainian forces and Russian insurgents that precariously prevails today was brought about by Franco-German diplomatic intervention to pre-empt declared American intentions to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons to expand the war against the insurgents.

The circumstances surrounding the instigation of this crisis have yet to be seriously investigated by the American press, and Russian claims that it was a hostile American act have been dismissed without solid evidence by American and NATO spokesmen and officials.

European opinion and most of the European press, accustomed to follow the American lead in major foreign policy matters, have expressed notable doubt about the origin and purpose of the current American and NATO roles in Ukraine, which seem to have been to provoke an unwelcome war with Russia.

The National Interest is a nasty neocon website that mostly advocates for US wars and empire.  It was highly critical of Obama over his Ukraine intervention.

Ukraine: Part of America's "Vital Interests"?

"If, in the worst case, all Ukraine were to "fall" to Russia, it would have little impact on the security of the United States."....

The United States does have one security interest in Ukraine. Though it is not a vital interest, the preservation of an independent neutral zone between NATO and Russian military forces has been a stabilizing factor in east-west relations....   

The crisis in Ukraine, however, is a direct consequence of the fact that Ukrainians do not agree on the extent to which they should be associated with the West or with Russia. This disagreement threatens to tear the country apart. If Ukraine falls into civil war, with Russia and the West aiding their respective favorites, the risk of a direct NATO-Russia clash also rises. To ensure peace between Russia and the West, the question of foreign alignment should be taken out of Ukrainian politics.

Other foreign policy analysts who lean antiwar and anti-intervention let it rip and called Obama's Ukraine venture precisely what it is - putting Nazis in power.

The Coup in Ukraine: Obama’s Dumbest Plan Yet

The United States helped defeat Nazism in World War 2. Obama helped bring it back.

As you probably know by now, Obama and Co. have ousted Ukraine’s democratically-elected president, Viktor Yanukovych, with the help of ultra-right, paramilitary, neo-Nazi gangs who seized and burned government offices, killed riot police, and spread mayhem and terror across the country. These are America’s new allies in the Great Game, the grand plan to “pivot to Asia” by pushing further eastward, toppling peaceful governments, securing vital pipeline corridors, accessing scarce oil and natural gas reserves and dismantling the Russian Federation consistent with the strategy proposed by geopolitical mastermind, Zbigniew Brzezinski. Brzezinski’s magnum opus–”The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and it’s Geostrategic Imperatives” has become the Mein Kampf for aspiring western imperialists.

Ukraine is gradually succumbing to the loving embrace of the New World Order where it will serve as another profit-generating cog in Wall Street’s wheel. That’s the theory, at least. It hasn’t occurred to the boneheads at the New York Times or Washington Post that Ukraine is rapidly descending into Mad Max-type anarchy which could spill over its borders into neighboring countries triggering violent conflagrations, social upheaval, regional instability or–god-help-us– WW3. The MSM sees nothing but silver linings as if everything was going according to plan...

Of all the dumb plans Washington has come up with in the couple years, this is the dumbest.

One of the biggest supporters of the Ukraine intervention was Joe Biden, reported to be a contender for securing the 2020 Democrat nomination for president. Foreign Policy, one of the most vile advocates for endless wars and US empire, wrote an interesting piece on Biden and Ukraine that pretty much validated that Biden was indeed the force behind Obama's disastrous folly in Ukraine.

What Will Ukraine Do Without Uncle Joe?

Vice President Joe Biden led the administration’s support of Ukraine. But Kiev worries whether the next White House will have its back as Putin looks to ramp up pressure.

No one in the U.S. government has wielded more influence over Ukraine than Vice President Joe Biden.

It’s widely believed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is better prepared to take on Russia on behalf of Ukraine and walk a more hawkish line on foreign policy than the Obama administration. But Ukrainian officials are extremely apprehensive about her Republican counterpart, Donald Trump, who has spoken warmly of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The neocons that dominate the US foreign policy establishment are always accusing Trump of being soft on Russia because they want a freaking war with Russia. These raging psychos don't care if the world explodes into mushroom clouds. 

While it's clear that US foreign policy is crafted by dangerous psychopaths who heap wars and misery upon a suffering humanity for no sane purpose except to pacify their own colossal egos and assert their evil powers, blood continues to flow in nations and towns everywhere.

What about Trump's foreign policy?  It's shaping up to mirror the deadly and disastrous foreign policy of his predecessors. Trump and his neocon regime that includes John Bolton (National Security Advisor), Mike Pompeo (former head of CIA to Secretary of State) to Warvangelical Pence  are not folks who advocate for peace and peaceful co-existence.  They are all lunatics just itching for any excuse to bomb somebody.  They all subscribe to the view that US global power requires bombs, death and destruction.

While things had been fairly calm in Ukraine, yesterday 2 events happened that are potentially explosive.

The Ukraine Navy infringed on Russia's territorial waters in the Kerch Straight of Crimea, Russia fired upon them and seized 3 ships.

Tense standoff around Kerch Strait between Russia & Ukraine: How it developed

The waters near the Crimean peninsula were the site of a tense standoff between Russian and Ukrainian ships that involved a chase, some gunfire, and fighter jets, followed by strong statements from Moscow and Kiev.

The Ukranian vessels were sailing between two Ukrainian ports: from Odessa in the Black Sea to Mariupol in the Azov Sea. The only waterway that connects these is the Kerch Strait between Crimea and mainland Russia. Kiev says it notified Moscow in advance that its navy ships would be sailing through the area. Moscow denies that it was given warning.

While both Russia and Ukraine have freedom of navigation in the Kerch Strait under a 2003 treaty, there are detailed technical rules on how vessels should pass through the narrow, complex waterway. All traffic in the area is controlled by the Crimean sea port of Kerch, and every ship should contact the facility, report her route and destination, and receive permission to sail through the Strait.

Then, Kiev resumed bomb of the Russian speaking Donbass region of Ukraine.

Ukrainian Forces Pound Donbass Residential Area with Heavy Artillery

The Ukrainian army on Sunday opened up with massive artillery fire, shelling residential areas of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), an RIA Novosti correspondent has reported.

In 2015, a ceasefire deal was signed between conflicting sides in Minsk after talks brokered by the leaders of the so-called Normandy group — Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine. Despite the ceasefire agreement, sporadic fighting has continued in Donbass. The situation remains tense, with both parties accusing the other of violating the ceasefire. According to the United Nations, over 10,000 people have died in the conflict.

Both Russia and Europe, especially France and Germany, have been instrumental in brokering ceasefires in Ukraine and for obvious reason.  Neither wants the volatile situation to escalate into a full fledged war in their backyard.

Belligerent as Trump is when he's talking about Iran, his position on Ukraine and Russia is far more conciliatory despite the hostile neocons in his administration.  His summit with Putin was bashed by Republican and Democrat necons, as well as the media and Deep State operatives.  Alarmingly, the DOD (Mattis) made a unilateral decision to arm the Nazi regime in Kiev.

Pentagon’s $200m Aid To Ukraine Is Slap To Trump

Only days after President Donald Trump’s successful summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, the Pentagon this week announced that it was sending $200 million in military aid to the Kiev regime. 

Arming Kiev should NOT be the decision of Mattis or the DOD but absolutely should be the decision of Congress.   To what extent the Nazi regime in Kiev is getting US arms is not known but arming Kiev will only empower them to wage war and genocide on Russian speaking Ukrainians and maybe even Crimea.

It's not likely that Ukraine unilaterally made the decision to 'test Russia' in the Straights of Kerch nor is it likely that Kiev made the decision to resume bombing in Donbass WITHOUT US permission.

Regardless of who made the decision, it's a dangerous provocation but it's also highly likely that Russia and Europe will once again diplomatically intervene to keep the situation from escalating.

Meanwhile, the US media continues to attack Trump for working with Putin to avoid more damn wars.  The Deep State controlled media is actually advocating for war with Russia because the media is a gang of war whores.

How The Republican Swamp Delivered Victory to Democrats in Arizona by Crushing Kelli Ward

The retirement of globalist, open border Republican Senator Jeff Flake created an open Arizona senate seat. Conservative Kelli Ward was enormously popular with the conservative base and she was endorsed by REAL conservative Rand Paul who also vigorously vouched for Ward's solid conservative credentials.

Rand Paul Defies McConnell, Endorses Kelli Ward for Senate 11/2/2017

Sen. Rand Paul endorsed Dr. Kelli Ward on Wednesday in the Arizona U.S. Senate race.

Appearing on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” on Wednesday morning, the Kentucky Republican noted that the former state senator was active in his 2016 presidential campaign and is a physician like himself.

“I think she’s a thoughtful leader, somebody who is an outsider, not a career politician. And I think she would make a great senator from Arizona,” Paul said.

In a call with reporters on Wednesday afternoon, Paul predicted the Washington establishment will find a candidate to oppose Ward in the primary...

And that is precisely what happened.  Ward, who had previously challenged John McCain in a 2016 primary, was hated by McCain and the Swamp Establishment Republicans.  The McCain money machine and the RNC-GOP money machines literally declared war on Ward.

The Swamp was wildly behind Martha McSally, a individual who is NOT a conservative and never was a conservative.   Tons of special interest money was poured into crushing Ward in the primary and guaranteeing that McSally was the nominee.

Well, the Swamp succeeded, McSally won the Swamp Primary but McSally was defeated in the general election by flaky Democrat Kyrsten Sinema.

What do we know about McSally?  A lot.

Is the establishment conspiring against Kelli Ward?   8/19/2018

McSally is the candidate who undermined Trump's agenda and refused to say whether or not she voted for Hillary. McSally is the one who voted for amnesty. She maintains an F rating at the Conservative Review – a score even worse than "Fake" Jeff Flake and John McCain! FreedomWorks gave McSally an "F" rating.

If McSally refused to say whether or not she voted for Hillary Clinton, that's a sign that she probably did or, minimally, may not have voted for Trump.

Not only is establishment swamp creature McSally not a conservative, she's also probably a Never Trumper.  However, it gets worse.  McSally was touted as not just a female military hero but also an Air Force pilot.  Her military colleagues have questioned her abilities.

Conservatives Dreading a Martha McSally Senate Win in Arizona

McSally’s record as a pilot in the Air Force has been called into question by former colleagues. The James T. Harris Show interviewed Lt. Col. retired Tom-Chuck Norris about McSally’s experience with the A-10 aircraft. Norris doesn’t think she’s much of a pilot. He said, “she doesn’t even know how many bullets the airplane she flew carries, going into combat carries.” He said she once told him, “It doesn’t matter how good a pilot I am, it doesn’t matter how good I execute close air support. What matters is getting me promoted.”

Norris said McSally showed her lack of knowledge during an interview with Greta Van Susteren, when she spoke about threats while flying. He said her answer was “Madness, pure madness. I mean she was, there was a reason why she was under the highest level of supervision starting back in 1995, because she had severe lack of knowledge and credibility and it hasn’t changed.” He warned, “a fraud is being perpetrated on, on, the nation.”

The James T. Harris Show also interviewed Colonel (ret.) “Pappy” Russell about McSally. He said McSally exploited the tragic deaths of two other pilots in order to promote her campaign. He said she made up details about her role in their deaths that weren’t true. “There’s very little there that truly happened, because I was intimately involved with both of those events.”

Not only was McSally a fake conservative and establishment Republican swamp creature supported by the McCain machine, a Democrat leaning blog in AZ nailed it on McSally.

Left and Right agree: Martha McSally is a fraudulent candidate

I have said for some time “it is painfully obvious that Martha McSally is a vacuous candidate who does not know enough about any subject to offer a thoughtful and detailed explanation of her positions. So she continues to hide in the bunker and refuses to offer any detailed explanations of her positions.” McSally knows little about the job which she seeks, and is too intellectually incurious and lazy to learn anything about it.

There is no “there” there. McSally is unfit to be a candidate for Congress.

It turns out that I am not the only one who feels this way. In fact, the political Right feels the same way.

Conservatives are sick to death of Republican swamp creatures which is one reason why Trump successfully romanced the GOP base.   The defeat of McSally was probably attributable to the fact that real conservatives couldn't even hold their noses and vote for her.  She's kind of like a Republican version of Hillary Clinton - nobody liked her.  Voters are far from the the brightest stars in the voting universe of democracy but they seem to intuitively know a fraud when they see one.

Let's not mourn the defeat of McSally because her defeat was a defeat for the Republican Swamp and the McCain machine.  That's something to celebrate.  McSally was a lousy candidate, a lousy conservative and even a lousy Air Force pilot.  She summed up her opinion of herself when she told an Air Force colleague “It doesn’t matter how good a pilot I am, it doesn’t matter how good I execute close air support. What matters is getting me promoted.”

For a fraud like McSally, it was always about McSally and her raw ambitions, and never about America or the American people.  While good people may not win elections, it's warms the heart when bad people go down in flames.

Birthright Citizenship and the Intent of the 14th Amendment

Before the American Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865, the issue of human slavery was a smoking hot issue.  When slave Dred Scott was relocated by his master to a state where slavery was prohibited, Scott filed a federal lawsuit claiming that he was free by virtue of the fact that he was now living in a state that prohibited human slavery.  The Supreme Court ruled that blacks, slaves or free, did not have the same rights as white men.  The infamous decision, here, was hailed as a victory for slavery and slave owners. It's important to understand that slaves are NOT considered human beings with a bundle of human rights but merely as property of their owners.

Post Civil War years experienced many schemes to deny former slaves and their descendants their  rights and some of these schemes even called for outright deportations of blacks. Hence, the 13th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution were ratified.

The 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865, simply abolishes the legal institution of human slavery in America:

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.  

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, is much longer, here, and is a whole lot more complicated.  Moreover, it addresses the issue of Birthright Citizenship.

In the context of history, Birthright Citizenship is a holdover from the British Empire.  When the Brits used its military to conquer for its corporatist clients a geographic area that became British Colonies, all the people were viewed as British citizens who owned allegiance to Britain. However, many of these conquered folks did NOT acquire full citizenship rights and were just expected to be loyal to their conquerers.  They were subjects and not fully vested citizens - big difference.

In the context of US history and the 14th Amendment, birthright citizenship translates to protecting African American citizens, former slaves and their descendants from schemes to deny them their rights.  Specifically this clause is currently on the table for debate:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

While birthright citizenship has been interpreted by open borders folks to literally confer citizenship upon any individual who was born on US soil, this was clearly NOT the intention of those who wrote the 14th Amendment.  The only intent of the birthright citizenship clause was to protect African Americans from deportations and denial of their rights as US citizens.

A 2015 National Review article explains it splendidly and it also explains not only the historic context in which the 14th Amendment was written but the history of British subjectship.   I highly recommend reading the entire article.

Trump’s Critics Are Wrong about the 14th Amendment and Birthright Citizenship

Trump Says He Wants to End Birthright Citizenship By Executive Order Birthright citizenship is the policy whereby the children of illegal aliens born within the geographical limits of the U.S. are entitled to American citizenship — and, as Trump says, it is a great magnet for illegal immigration. Many of Trump’s critics believe that this policy is an explicit command of the Constitution, consistent with the British common-law system. This is simply not true.

Although the Constitution of 1787 mentioned citizens, it did not define citizenship. It was in 1868 that a definition of citizenship entered the Constitution with the ratification of the 14th Amendment. Here is the familiar language: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” Thus there are two components to American citizenship: birth or naturalization in the U.S. and being subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Today, we somehow have come to believe that anyone born within the geographical limits of the U.S. is automatically subject to its jurisdiction; but this renders the jurisdiction clause utterly superfluous. If this had been the intention of the framers of the 14th Amendment, presumably they would have said simply that all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. are thereby citizens.

Indeed, during debate over the amendment, Senator Jacob Howard, the author of the citizenship clause, attempted to assure skeptical colleagues that the language was not intended to make Indians citizens of the United States. Indians, Howard conceded, were born within the nation’s geographical limits, but he steadfastly maintained that they were not subject to its jurisdiction because they owed allegiance to their tribes and not to the U.S. Senator Lyman Trumbull, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, supported this view, arguing that “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” meant “not owing allegiance to anybody else and being subject to the complete jurisdiction of the United States.”

Jurisdiction understood as allegiance, Senator Howard explained, excludes not only Indians but “persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers.” Thus, “subject to the jurisdiction” does not simply mean, as is commonly thought today, subject to American laws or courts. It means owing exclusive political allegiance to the U.S....

The framers of the Constitution were, of course, well-versed in the British common law, having learned its essential principles from William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England. As such, they knew that the very concept of citizenship was unknown in British common law. Blackstone speaks only of “birthright subjectship” or “birthright allegiance,” never using the terms “citizen” or “citizenship.” The idea of birthright subjectship, as Blackstone admitted, was derived from feudal law. It is the relation of master and servant: All who are born within the protection of the king owed perpetual allegiance as a “debt of gratitude.” According to Blackstone, this debt is “intrinsic” and “cannot be forfeited, cancelled, or altered.” Birthright subjectship under common law is the doctrine of perpetual allegiance.

America’s Founders rejected this doctrine. The Declaration of Independence, after all, solemnly proclaims that “the good People of these Colonies . . . are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved.” So, the common law — the feudal doctrine of perpetual allegiance — could not possibly serve as the ground of American citizenship. Indeed, the idea is too preposterous to entertain.

It's abundantly clear that those who wrote the 14th Amendment NEVER intended for it to be used as an open border mechanism. The 14th Amendment was exclusively written and ratified to protect African Americans.  Anybody who has researched the origins and intent of the 14th Amendment's clause on birthright citizenship understands its originalist intent.

Since we are obviously far removed from its orginalist intent and the birthright citizenship clause has been applied haphazardly and politically, it will indeed required a judicial intervention to once again clarify its originalist intent.

Who is Mad Dog James Mattis? Patriot, Neocon, Deep State or ????

Nothing quite invokes the adoration of the Republican base than a military hero and a military man named Mad Dog is red meat for the GOP base.  Secretary of Defense James 'Mad Dog' Mattis, a retired 4 Star Marine general, is worshiped by the GOP base as a tough guy.  The Republican social media world is driven by memes and definitely not history or geo-political knowledge.  I had never heard of Mattis until after Trump won the election and his name was tossed out as a candidate for Secretary of Defense.  His colorful if not creepy quotes are indeed legendary.

Gen. James "Mad Dog" Mattis: 7 memorable quotes

Mattis memes were flying fast and furious on social media after Trump defeated Clinton and the GOP base couldn't get enough of memes like this that indeed promoted the cult of Mattis lovers.

Mattis the Marine clearly has devoted his decades of military service to cultivating  a Patton-esque tough guy image.

In reality, Mattis is more of an enigma who effortlessly promotes his public persona depending on his goals and audience.  On one hand there is the tough guy, simple soldier persona but on the other hand there is erudite and ambitious student of history who reportedly hauled his 6,000 books to his various military deployments.

Mattis however is far more than a reader of history, he's a player in a playpen that is generally disdained by GOP base that worships the 'simple soldier' side of Mattis. Mattis has indeed devoted his life to clawing his way to the top by associating with individuals and institutions that promote globalism, global governance, global institutions, the US Empire and a world ruthlessly controlled by US imperialism and hegemony.

Populists, nationalists and sovereignty lovers are always dissing the secretive Bilderberg meetings but as a high ranking member of the global elites, Mattis earned himself an invite, here.

Henry Kissinger is viewed as the daddy of the US Empire, endless wars and interventionism.  He's on the board of Center for the National Interest, an organization founded by neocon Irving Kristol (father of Trump hating Bill Kristol) that also publishes The National Interest.  In July 2018, Mattis was honored by The Center for the National Interests and his speech spewed gobs of love for Kissinger, here.  Mattis said:

I cannot come before you without expressing my admiration for the two chairmen of the Center for the National Interest: Dr. Kissinger and General Boyd.

I read a recent article calling Dr. Kissinger the “grand consigliere” of strategy for our nation’s leaders. From his service as a U.S. Army sergeant in World War II, where he and the greatest generation laid the bricks of America’s post-war foreign policy, to his legendary tenure as architect of much of that policy, ushering in détente during the Cold War as national security adviser and secretary of state, few can claim greater insight or influence on world history in the last century.

In a “strategy-free” time, in a city where advisors with delusions of adequacy are numerous, I am enormously grateful for Dr. Kissinger’s strategic mentorship over many years, and it builds our confidence that CFTNI counts him in their ranks. I have felled entire forests taking notes on our many conversations.

Henry Kissinger is an evil war criminal who is responsible for the deaths of millions.  Yet, this psychopath with a long history of documented murder and destruction is viewed as an American icon and is applauded for engineering a foreign policy that murders innocent folks for defense contractor profits and the US empire.  Much has been written by responsible journalists about the crimes of Henry Kissinger and an engine search will provide more documentation.

The Ivy League’s favorite war criminal: Why the atrocities of Henry Kissinger should be mandatory reading

While most Americans who advocate for constitutional limited governance absolutely do recognize that organizations like the Bilderbergs and Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) are evil globalist initiatives that promote global governance, industrial feudalism, corporatism and rule by a handful of the elites, few understand that there are many organization that are similar, such as The National Interest.

The Atlantic Council is another organization that is coming under fire since it was disclosed that Facebook is taking orders from this evil organization on who and what to censor.

Facebook Censorship And The Atlantic Council

Facebook Censorship, Mad Ben Nimmo and the Atlantic Council

Facebook Partners with The Atlantic Council on Censorship

Mattis received an award from The Atlantic Council in 2010 and he's all gussied up in his finest and formal military attire.

Understand this:  Mattis has never been anything but a globalist, a neocon, a warmonger, an elite and a defender of unspeakable evil. He's got the awards from nasty organizations to validate it.  Believe me, defending the Constitution and America has never been on his agenda. As with most men without a conscience, power and climbing the ladders of power is and always has been a burning ambition. 

Mattis didn't earn those 4 Stars by defending America and the Constitution or upholding his oath of office.  He earned them by serving the Deep State and its interests.

As much as I detest Mattis and his faux patriotism along with cultivating the image of a simple and loyal soldier that serves his country, Mattis is not nearly as dangerous as other nutjobs in Trump's administration.  In fact, he's turning into a voice of sanity when compared to John Bolton.

While Mattis is an ambitious dude who has obviously played his cards well in getting what he wants out of life and career, he's not a flaming psychopath like Bolton who is lusting to bomb, bomb and bomb Iran and maybe even Russia and North Korea, as well as anybody else his demented imagination perceives as an enemy.

As Secretary of Defense, Mattis has nowhere else to go except to hang out with his defense contractor pals who control the MIC funded think tanks in America.  He's not going to be president and is at the apex of his long career.  At this juncture, legacy is all that is left.

To be sure, Mattis is no dummy and in fact is very smart, something his long and upward moving career prove beyond a reasonable doubt.  He understands the world far more deeply than Trump because of his military and NATO experience but this no way implies that Mattis is right.  While Trump obviously respects Mattis for his achievements, these men are opposites.  Mattis the deep thinker is likely to think an issue to death while our shoot from the hip president and his notorious outbursts are likely to drive a man like Mattis nuts.  What Trump has that Mattis lacks are incredible instincts and a 'talk outloud' attitude.  Trump may be a bit crazy but in a crazy world sometimes crazy is all that is left that will work, as in the case of North Korea where 2 supposedly crazies managed to lay the groundwork for a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.

I'm sure that Mattis was duly horrified by Trump's Tweet war with Kim Jung-un. Mattis operates under the cover of stealth, organizations, bureaucracies and the chain of command, all things that Trump really has no use for.  As a speaker it would be hard to find anybody more scripted than Mattis as he methodically and boringly reads prepared speeches; he's not an extemporaneous speaker so getting into his head isn't easy; he discloses little. Of course, being severely scripted is probably how Mattis survived decades in DC and walking away with 4 stars. 

The world is rapidly changing from a US unipolar world where the US and its bombs rule the planet to a multipolar world where other nations do indeed have the power to challenge the US Empire and fight back.

On some level, Mattis understands this and he is extremely reluctant agitate Russia into a war, least of all in Syria.  While Mattis was reportedly fired by the Obama regime over his opposition to the Iran deal (JCPOA), he defended it as Trump's Secretary of Defense which of course royally pissed off the neocons in Trump's administration. I blogged about the JCPOA, here, and believe that Trump made a huge mistake by withdrawing from it.

Everybody with half a brain cell understands that Assad did NOT gas his own people.  Yet, Trump ordered that Syria be bombed twice.  In April 2017 Trump ordered Mattis to bomb Syria and Mattis hurled 59 Tomahawk missiles (at a cost of roughly $2 million each) into Syria.  An airbase was damaged and there were a few death; it was also reported that Russian and other important aircraft had been removed.  In April 2018, Trump again ordered Mattis to bomb Syria. There were no deaths and not much damage.  It's clear that the DOD heavily coordinated with Russia to avoid engaging the Russian military.  The neocons were FURIOUS at Trump and Mattis and wanted substantial devastation in Syria. They didn't care if Damascus, a city of 1.75 million, was leveled.

The NYT penned a piece titled 'Trump Talked Tough. But His Strike on Syria Was Restrained'.  Restrained it was.  The neocon WSJ wrote a blistering piece attacking Trump for giving in to the Pentagon.

Trump Bowed to Pentagon Restraint on Syria StrikesPresident was dissuaded from more robust action, in first test of new national-security team

President Donald Trump deferred to his Pentagon chief’s caution and tempered his preference for a more robust attack on Syria over allegations it used deadly gas on civilians, the first hints at the direction of his revamped national-security team.

The neocons and Deep State are not happy with Mattis or Trump.  As for Trump and his clearly undefined foreign policy, there are reasons for concern that Trump will take a neocon turn.

Making Bolton his National Security Advisor sickened antiwar activists such as myself.  Trump recently hinted that Mattis may leave and said he was 'sort of a Democrat'.

Trump says Mattis is 'sort of a Democrat' and that the defense secretary 'may leave' the administration

It's my view that a Mattis departure would constitute a huge victory for the neocons and not because Mattis isn't himself a well documented neocon but because Mattis is sufficiently sane to NOT explode the world into bigger and more destructive wars.  The neocons do not share the restrained views of Mattis and would without the slightest hesitation envelop the world under mushroom clouds.  Raining death and destruction upon humanity is done by the neocons without any concern for human death and suffering.

Also, Mattis is not a Democrat, he's just a man who understands history, military capabilities and he's served Republican and Democrat masters.  He's as non-political as anybody in the beltway can be. Who got America into WW I, WW II, Korean War, Vietnam War and the Balkan Wars?  All liberal, progressive Democrats: Wilson, Roosevelt, Truman, Johnson and Clinton. The cumulative death tolls of those Democrat wars is over 100 million folks.

While I'm no fan of Mattis, what Trump needs right now is MORE Mattis and not less because Mattis as Secretary of Defense is proving himself to be the least lethal option.  God forbid that Bolton and gang should ever takeover the US military and/or control Trump foreign policy decisions.  Yes, Trump could definitely do a whole lot worse than Mattis who presently is the lone voice of sanity in his neocon heavy administration.

Finally, Trump ran as an antiwar candidate which earned him the votes of Libertarians, antiwar activists, Paulites, Constitutionalists and independents.  Trump didn't intend to be a neocon president and frequently tweeted as much.  However, the foreign policy that he campaigned on could very well turn out to be a lie.

"These 'Freedom Fighters' Fly Planes Into Our Buildings" - A List Of All The Times Trump Warned Against Attacking Syria

As the neocons concentrate power in the Trump Administration, Mattis is definitely slated for the chopping block and this is very bad for peace and a more peaceful foreign policy.  I'm hoping that Mattis will continue to fight the insanity even if it results in a forced resignation (resign or be fired), something I believe could happen after midterms.  At least I would acquire a whole new level of respect for Mattis for doing the right thing at the right time by refusing to join the neocon mob.  Despite a long history of serving nefarious folks and their grand schemes, Mattis has one whopper of an opportunity to seal his legacy.

If Trump turns neocon, ditches Mattis and Bolton-izes his brain, I'm through with him.  He will just be added to my column of evil rat bastards.

And just maybe Mattis does indeed have a conscience after all......