fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
I refused to Bribe (2013)
By: Amit Kumar Gupta
Tags: Perseverance, Politics, Office Culture, Fiction, Corruption

Jitesh, a senior bank clerk, rejects a business loan to an influential industrialist, Satish. The latter seeks intervention from a senior bank officer named Arora who conspires to get Jitesh removed. A few days later at the bank, Jitesh helps an unknown customer, who claims to be illiterate, to fill his withdrawal form. The customer is later identified as a conman who fraudulently withdraws money from someone else’s account. Arora manipulates the situation and on charges of abetting a crime, Jitesh is named in the chargsheet.

Jitesh is suspended and faces a judicial inquiry which lasts for 14 long and painful years. At every step he gets the opportunity to pay a bribe and get reprieve, but he adamantly refuses to give a bribe. His plea for innocence falls on deaf ears of vigilance officers, bank officials, CID officers, court clerks and even the judge. Does Jitesh succeed to overcome adversity and his adversaries or does he succumb to all kinds of pressures?

Author makes a brave effort in portraying corruption across generations starting from 1950. Sharma nicely builds up the characters including Jitesh’s parents, his wife and children. He provides a back up human story to even the wrong ones — namely Arora and Satish. Even though it fails to portray bribery in today’s world as the story ends in early 90s, it does ring a bell how tough it can be for an honest man to survive the clutches of dishonest men all around him?

The biggest problem of the book is its daunting length of 300 odd pages which is way too much for paper thin material like this. The narrative is ultimately saved by author’s attention to detail. From the banks hierarchy to the changing social norms across decades to the changing economic preferences of children, author makes a valiant effort to showcase the pain of the central protagonist.

It has sincere intentions and a competent writing style. I wish it was much shorter to make a better impact on the readers. In its current form, it’s a one time read for any one who feels strongly about bribery and corruption in India.
‘I Want My F*cking Money’
By: Sean Backstrand
Tags: 2016 Election, Donald Trump, Psychology, Language, Corruption

Does Criminal Language Beget Criminal Behavior?

Reuters

Obstruction of Justice. Witness tampering. Contravention of the constitution.

These are bad allegations, to be sure.

The President has been accused of many such things but — until Robert Mueller’s report is out — it all remains hearsay.

Guesswork.

If you had to guess (please answer honestly) whether or not Trump was guilty of even bigger things — treason, conspiracy, collaboration with a foreign power — would lesser infractions factor into your decision? Would they make intentional malfeasance on a grand scale more likely?

Or is that too speculative to be relevant?

We know he is, shall we say, loose with the truth. But so are many politicians.

When we decide if someone is up-to-no-good, do we rely on the authorities?

Public records? Eyewitnesses?

Or do we boil everything down to a gut feeling? A hunch? An intuition?

Researchers have a name for it — predictive processing framework.

To reach a verdict, we — as does any jurist — process the sum total of evidence presented, filtered through past experience. And, (one would hope) we generally get it right.

Here is where I am going with this:

Putting all politics aside — do you trust our president?
What is the reason for all this?
Tags: Reflections, Corruption, Covid 19

Honestly, it is not easy to deal with this complicated moment all over the world. In Brazil, even worse! In everyday life, an affliction persists in our heart, no matter how much we want to keep fighting.

Exceedingly hard times! I believe they have never been experienced in recent history.

Uncertainties, fear, ignorance, rivalry, hatred, persecution, and instability are being dumped in tons all over the Country… and hope tries to cling to some part of us that still resists and believes that everything will be all right. But when?

What I see is a broken homeland, bruised, bleeding, and verbal gladiators performing daily shows, nurturing disunity, disrespect, and fear, creating a dangerous and poisonous web.

There is a demonstration of affection and empathy, there is help for those in need, but these are just moments that fade away, it seems that everything that was done is quickly forgotten. It would be wonderful if this feeling could take root in everyone and remain, strengthening us, and citizenship acts spread around the world — thinking about the other. For example: what is best for everyone, not what is best for me.

The impression that remains is that there is no space for them to spread out and remain firm. A mist continues to hide and smother courage, plant discouragement and nurture neglect.

There are so many deaths around the world!

What is the reason for all this?

In Brazil, it is worse, in addition to having to deal with the virus, corruption is entrenched and hinders the dissemination of the truth and effective actions for the population. Adults and children have lost their chance to live, entrepreneurs have lost their businesses, many from older generations, thousands of unemployed workers, hunger is everywhere.

And the doctors, nurses and professionals who are on the front lines?! Many died trying to save lives. If it is not easy for us, imagine for them!

It seems that we are not learning an important lesson that this moment in life is trying to show us. As much as there is help, it is not enough… The problem, instead of decreasing, increases. Everything is upside down; the path ahead is still uncertain.

After all, what is the reason for all this?

Copyright © 2021 — All Rights Reserved to Marcela Re Ribeiro.
Make facts matter (again)
By: Transparency Int L
Tags: Newsletter, Fake News, Civil Society, Journalism, Corruption

Make facts matter (again)

This week, we saw a worrying backlash against independent civil society groups in Georgia, including Transparency International Georgia, for standing with thousands of citizens demanding a progressive electoral reform.

Smear campaigns and accusations of bias are some of the widespread intimidation tactics independent and critical voices face in response to their evidence-based analysis, as we also saw recently in Brazil.

Those who denounce corruption and human rights abuses are often the target of disinformation campaigns, while their reports and findings are dismissed as ‘fake news’ or slander.

Anti-corruption activism relies strongly on trust in independent media. The use of social media and the impact of fake news is a real threat for our work.

But fake news is not always easy to detect and spreads rapidly. What can be done?

In Georgia, for example, coordinated accusations against our chapter through anonymous Facebook posts were recently detected, labelled and debunked by another civil society group.

Solidarity is important. Several civil society organisations based in Germany, including Transparency Germany, recently expressed deep concern over the rise of attacks against civil society in Europe and called on the German government to support activists in its neighbourhood through the political levers available to them.

No matter where you live, you too can support independent actors in the age of fake news. Identifying fact-based reporting over misinformation and reporting fake news on social media platforms are some of the first steps.

Tell us what you think @anticorruption.

This blog is part of our weekly series of updates on everything corruption-related. You can get them straight to your inbox every Friday.
IOPC uphold a review forcing an investigation into the Chief Constable of Lancashire police
Tags: Policecorruption, Corruption

IOPC uphold a review forcing an investigation into the Chief Constable of Lancashire police Paul May 7·2 min read

The IOPC have today, UPHELD two parts of a review which confirmed that the PCC, Clive Grunshaw was wrong to take No further Action into an investigation of corruption made against the Chief Constable.



After making a promise on Live BBC radio, Clive Grunshaw, the Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), promised to investigate allegations of corruption against the Chief Constable.



After making this promise on live radio, a substantive complaint was made to the PCC against the Chief Constable, however, the PCC quickly brushed it under the carpet saying he will take, No Further Action (NFA)



This refusal to investigate a serious allegation or corruption, in that the Chief Constable Perverted the Course of Justice, was appealed to the IOPC.



The IOPC stated;

“In relation to allegation 2 and 3, your review is upheld and the Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner is directed to conduct an investigation into your complaint”

Allegation 2

In March 2020, the Chief Constable, brought a claim against you for your criticisms of some Lancashire police officers. You allege that the Chief Constable knowingly allowed perjured evidence to be used as ‘statements of truth’ by numerous officers, namely DC Hxxx, Sgt Oxxx, and Inspector Jxxx and has therefore conspired to pervert the course of justice.

Allegation 3

You allege that the civil claim brought against you by the Chief Constable, was unlawful and therefore an abuse or fraudulent use of public money.

The Chief Constable of Lancashire police is under investigation for allegations of corruption.



Supporting evidence in the matter is that the ‘recorder’ (the part time judge) in the civil hearing, QC David Knifton, is a full time barrister one who acts for the police in his private paying capacity.



His Chambers is notorious as the go to chambers for ‘police legal defence’.



QC David Knifton has brought shame on Exchange Chambers where he works, the majority of barristers there would be enraged to know he acted unethical bringing their Chambers into disrepute. (assuming they are ethical)



This raises suspicions that the Chief Constable / Judge knew, or ought to know that this was a serious conflict of interest and the civil hearing was flawed.

QC David Knifton, police defence barrister.
Minister of Finance in Qatar arrested for Funding terrorism
Tags: Terrorism, Qatar, Corruption, Finance Minister

Minister of Finance in Qatar arrested for Funding terrorism Martizaabdel May 7·1 min read

Qatar’s Attorney General has ordered the arrest of Finance Minister Ali Shareef al Emadi as part of an investigation in which Emadi is accused of misuse of public funds and abuse of power. Al Emadi was the Qatari Finance Minister since 2013. Al Emadi is also a member of the powerful sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority, which manages the revenues from the sales of liquefied natural gas, of which the country is the world’s largest exporter.

The arrest was unusual as allegations of criminal conduct by senior state officials or members of ruling families in the Gulf are typically addressed behind closed doors

An unnamed source in Doha, that the charges against him involve corruption and commissions related to government contracts. Observers believe the minister was arrested after the disclosure of money transfers from banks and charities affiliated with Qatar to terrorist groups and organizations in Syria and Iraq in the form of charitable aid, proselytizing activities of the Brotherhood through the Qatar Charity.
The Audition
By: Your Badgrrl
Tags: Yourbadgrrl, Erotica, Submission, Stories, Corruption

She looked at their smirking faces, wondering if she had won the part. She couldn’t believe that she had just sucked off three sexy men old enough to be her father! But it was super exciting to be used like that…and she really wanted this role.

And that’s when three naked women entered the room. They were smiling as they looked her up and down, devouring her with lust-filled eyes. She gasped aloud as her clit began to twitch. What was going on?!

“You made it to the second round, cumslut!” they told her. “Congrats! Now you know what to do, right, kitten? You do want the part? It’s perfect for you. But show us how badly you want it. What you’ll do to get it. Impress us. Show us you’re better than all the other little girls we heard today…”

YBG loved a challenge. She smiled and licked her lips, the quickly got down on all fours as the first woman approached her and grabbed a fistful of her hair.

“Make me cum, slut!” the woman growled, pushing YBG’s face into her freshly waxed cunt. YBG didn’t need to be asked twice. The strong musky scent made her knees tremble, and the taste made her see red, made her own pussy clench so hard. She licked the woman’s fat clit gently until she groaned, then began fucking her cunt with her greedy tongue, eager for a taste of her girlcum. She slipped one then two fingers inside her, sucking her clit, YBG’s own fingers touching her streaming cunt. This was crazy and it was making her sooo hot…

“Oh fuck!” the woman sighed, holding YBG tightly to her with her strong thighs. “These convent girls always know what to do…I’m cumming!”

All YBG could do was struggle to breathe as she sucked and fingered that tasty cunt. She felt the woman squirting on her face just as she felt a thick cock pushing into her needy cunt. YBG screamed into the quivering slick folds as her pussy grabbed that maurading cock tightly. Being used like this made her insane with need, and her cunt took over her brain. She knew she was going to cum in front of all these people. And she didn’t care.

The show’s producer was moaning, “Jesus Christ! You’re so wet and so tight!” as he railed her furiously, and YBG gave into it, cumming and cumming as he stroked her pulsing clit, the next sweet pussy glazing her face as she lapped and pleased the new woman.

Hours later YBG made it home, her jaw and ass aching, and her cunt still streaming. She told her parents the audition went pretty well and she made it to the callbacks, but that she was really tired now, and had to go to bed.

YBG stayed up late touching herself, reliving the audition in her mind. The video they sent her of the same day only aided her addiction, and she fucked herself with tree fingers watching it on a loop.

It was so so hard not to cum, but they made her promise.

She was eager to show her new friends how compliant and eager she could be.

She was grateful her callback was less than 24 hours away…
The Binding of Grace Chapel: How Steve Berger Sacrificed His Church On The Altar Of…
By: Saint Dymphna
Tags: Politics, Extremism, Religion, Christianity, Corruption

The Binding of Grace Chapel: How Steve Berger Sacrificed His Church On The Altar Of Authoritarianism Saint Dymphna Aug 31·10 min read

Where outsiders could only see cracks in the foundation before, the public implosion of Grace Chapel’s congregation on Sunday morning has exposed the deep rifts in its leadership.

Sarah Berger chastising the Grace Chapel church family. Seen behind her to the right is a visibly shaken Misty Rogers.

The widest of these divides is between founding pastor Steve Berger, a bullish-looking man with a smug smile and a double-wide goatee, who some describe as a “cult leader” and his successor, Rob Rogers, who despite their differences called Berger his “spiritual father” yesterday. While he is by no means perfect, Rogers, a burly, blonde man who looks somehow perpetually bemused, comes across as more compassionate, more emotional, more human. During his speech on Sunday morning, he made little effort to hide his cracking voice or the occasional tears he wiped from the corner of his eye, owning up to the emotional gravity of the situation. Pastor Berger, while sources confirmed his presence at the event, remained silent during the live stream.

In response to leaked video of the debacle, a number of his supporters took to flooding Berger’s social media posts, claiming that he was “amazing”, “of high integrity”, “kind” and “humble”. But former members of the pastor’s inner circle describe being threatened, humiliated, and lied to by the founding pastor and his wife Sarah.

One source spoke of Berger specifically targeting wealthy, successful, and well-connected newcomers and demanding their loyalty — not to God or the church, but Berger himself. Perhaps this explains why a disproportionate segment of the congregation consists of politicians, business moguls, and lawyers.

Another former member told of the pastor showing off his extensive firearms collection, seemingly in an attempt to intimidate select church members. Multiple inside sources have confirmed that neither threatening nor exacting physical violence was uncommon for Berger. According to one source, who spent time in Berger’s inner circle, constructive criticism seems to have been near-impossible in the authoritarian regime he created, as he would regularly portray even mild-mannered disagreements as satanic attacks on himself and Grace Chapel.

Still image from “Exposing the Enemy — Securing our Victory, Day 5”

Vaguely biblical rants seem to be among his favorite tools to berate and publicly humiliate people. One former church member explains, “He didn’t have to even mention your name, he would make it known through the grapevine who was being talked about beforehand.” This is particularly ironic considering how much Berger supposedly despises gossip. Perhaps the most poignant example of this is the devotional series “Exposing The Enemy — Securing Our Victory”. Our, here meaning: Berger’s.
“The Bets have Corrupted the Soccer”
Tags: Sports, News, Soccer, Football, Corruption

Carlos Aranda, supposed ringleader of the plot of match-fixing, declared before the Judge of Huesca that the bets are the ones that have corrupted the world of football. He explains to the instructor what happened with his bets in the Huesca-Nàstic.

“You have to be realistic, the world of football bets have burst, they have corrupted, “ he explains to the judge when he asks about the bets of that Second Division match, and tries to justify himself. “ What happens is that I bet, it’s not that I say to those around me : ‘this is going to happen’, but I bet and people see it, and that word gets out in Malaga, which is a small city , that’s what happens. “

The former soccer player tries to clarify also his relationship with the president of Huesca, Agustín Lasaosa , who, according to the summary of Operation Oikos , claims a debt of 100,000 euros . “I do not know that man, I contact him for a commission issue , which I was promised not this year, years ago, and some message I put to Iñigo [López, current juagdor del Deportivo] but with no intention of hurt . it has nothing to do with gambling. “

“I have not talked to anyone in my life to buy a game, what happens is that I go with a ticket to make a bet and everybody sees it, and since I was a player, people think about it. I know more than others, but I do not have any economic power to buy a match. “ Finally, he explains his relationship with Raúl Bravo. “ I have friendship with a boy with whom I have lived all my life playing in Madrid “.
Justice Department fails to seek DE U.S. Attorney, David Weiss — resignation
By: Laser Haas
Tags: Us Attorneys Office, Justice, Delaware, Biden Admini, Corruption

Reasons why David Weiss must be removed as Delaware United States Attorney

As detailed by the picture above, there’s much bad faith going on in the eToys/ Toys R Us related cases; which has been a 20 year RICO case permitted to expand nationwide.

Delaware United States Attorney, David Weiss, is a Colm Felix Connolly allegiant hold-over (Connolly pictures is bottom center of above detailed graph).

Colm Connolly has been a 20 year blocker of any investigations & prosecutions of Colm’s partners — the Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell law firm (“MNAT").

MNAT confessed deceit, in 2005, of having multiple conflicts of interests in the eToys.com bankruptcy case.

Unfortunately, DE United States Attorney Colm Connolly also concealed his conflict of interest facts— that Colm was a partner of MNAT — when Connolly staunchly refused to prosecute MNAT for 8 years!

Resultant, of Delaware United States Attorney Colm Connolly’s deceits, MNAT has continued to Obstruct Justice, for 20 years, in order to protect Goldman Sachs & Bain Capital organized crimes.
The Bangladesh government strategy: noise and distraction
By: Netra News
Tags: Al Jazeera, Corruption, Bangladesh, General Aziz Ahmed

Screenshot taken from the Al Jazeera film, “All the Prime Minister's Men”

Take note of the response of the Bangladesh government, and its supporters, to the Al Jazeera film, "All the Prime Minister's Men" . It has much thunder and lightening involved, a great deal of false accusations and vilification of all those involved in the film, and talk of 1971, Jamaat, money, conspiracy, and Tarique Rahman.

However, at the same time the government, army and their spokesmen are completely silent about the most critical allegations against General Aziz Ahmed, the Chief of Army Staff. These are as follows:

• that Haris Ahmed and Anis Ahmed, both brothers of the current army chief General Aziz Ahmed, are fugitives from justice, convicted of murder;

• that Haris has forged education, marriage and birth certificates under a fake name, obtained a new national identity card and passport with this fake identity, traveled to Europe and elsewhere on it, and in the process committed a wide range of offences;

• that whilst he was head of the BGB, his brother Aziz Ahmed, the man who was to become the head of the whole army, was fully aware of this fabrication, and assisted his brother, Haris, in traveling on this fake passport to Hungary as well as to set up businesses using fake ID documents including bank statements;

• that in doing so Aziz also obtained the assistance of a number of BGB officers who signed fake documents verifying to their genuineness.

• that Aziz subsequently met Haris in Hungary and inspected his brothers' businesses;

• and that Aziz Ahmed also met his other fugitive brother, Anis Ahmed, also convicted of murder, in Malaysia.

The reason for the noise is to try and hide the silence. Because the government, the army, Aziz and his brothers have no answers to the allegations, the government has embarked on a strategy that involves it in making a torrent of distractions and false allegations.

// DB
TRUE: Treasury CS Henry Rotich and PS Kamau Thugge have been released
Tags: Fact Checking, Verification, Corruption, Kenya

TRUE: Treasury CS Henry Rotich and PS Kamau Thugge have been released

Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti released the two after they posted a cash bail of Sh15 million on July 23 PesaCheck Follow Jul 24, 2019 · 4 min read

An article published by Viusasa News claiming that National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich and Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge have been released after posting a Sh15 million cash bail is TRUE.

The article adds that Rotich and Thugge were directed to deposit their passports in court.

Rotich and Thugge were released on the evening of July 23 after they posted a cash bail of Sh15 million each. The two had appeared at the Milimani Law Courts to answer to corruption charges on the Arror and Kimwarer dams scandal.The court also directed them to deposit their passports and travel documents in court within 48 hours.

On Tuesday July 23, Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti released both CS Rotich and PS Thugge on a Sh50 million bond or a surety of the same amount with an option of Sh15 million cash bail at the Milimani Law Courts.

On July 22, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Noordin Haji, ordered the arrest of CS Rotich, PS Thugge and 26 others in connection to the multi-billion Arror and Kimwarer dams scandal.

Rotich and his co-accused were charged with conspiracy to defraud the state, failure to comply with applicable procurement laws, engaging in a project without prior planning, committing an offence of financial misconduct and abuse of office among other crimes.

PesaCheck has looked into the claim that Treasury CS Henry Rotich and PS Kamau Thugge were released after posting a Sh15 million cash bail and finds it to be TRUE.
Microsoft pays $25 million to settle corruption charges
By: Cio Bulletin
Tags: Startup, Exchange Commission, Microsoft, Us Securities, Corruption

According to reports, Microsoft agreed to pay $25 million to settle the federal corruption charges involving a bribery scheme in its Hungary office and three other foreign subsidiaries.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission said that Microsoft will pay about $16.6 million to settle charges for the violation of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act involving its operations in Arabia, Thailand, and Turkey, Hungary, Saudi.

Some reports said that from 2013 to 2015, a senior executive and other employees at the Hungary office took part in a bribery scheme to inflate margins in the Microsoft sales channel in connection with Microsoft software licenses sold to Hungarian government agencies.

According to the Justice Department, Microsoft will also pay $8.75 million criminal fine in the Hungarian bribery and bid-rigging scheme. Justice Department says that this bribery involved Microsoft licenses which sold to government agencies and falsely recorded as discounts and used for corrupt practices.

In response, Microsoft President Brad Smith said to employees that the conduct was completely unacceptable and involved a small number of employees.

Brad Smith also promised to make certain to company plans in order to prevent discounts being used for improper purposes.
Why Is It So Hard?
By: Alan Shearer
Tags: Putin, Democracy, Russia, Trump Administration, Corruption

I spend a lot of time reading reliable news outlets, about our current, weird, chaotic political situation and the many ancillary social effects that seem to run alongside our politics. I spend a fair amount of time watching cable news and reading opinions on Twitter. In both cases, probably too much time. I gave up on Facebook. Sorting out the fake news is too much work.

The single most disturbing aspect of the swirling mass of investigations, charges and arguments surrounding the Trump Administration is the lack of imagination most pundits, and news people seem to display. Perhaps, rather than vision, it’s a lack of guts?

Why is it so hard for these people to say it. These are mainly professionals, who have spent their lives in politics or government or covering it. They now spend their time outlining their theories in print or on cable news. Why is it so difficult to imagine and declare, that our President is compromised and under the control of Russian autocrats?

I have no trouble imagining the connection between Trump, his associates, the NRA and even other members of Congress and Putin’s Russia. I think when the evidence comes, we will find out it is much larger than we understand. I have no trouble believing Trump and those in his circle conspired with Russian Intelligence to win the election and gain control over our government. I believe the NRA funneled Russian money to multiple politicians in the Republican Party. The Russians compromised Trump and various associates in his business and in the campaign in a quid pro to lift sanctions. The Trump Organization wanted to build in Russia for years and needed Putin’s help to do it. The Russians laundered money through the Trump Organization in various ways for several years before the election. The Trump Organization could not finance anything with US banks or private equity groups in the states. Their money has come from Russian banks and oligarchs.

The agenda supporting Putin’s Russia has been obvious since the first days of the Trump presidency if not before and during the campaign. They tried to lift sanctions, and it looks like, at least one Russian has had sanctions lifted and perhaps, more importantly, our Senate did not block the lifting of those sanctions. Trump has tripped over himself to avoid criticizing Putin. Our President has openly agreed with Putin’s denials over our Intelligence community’s assessment of the Russian threat to our election integrity. The examples are so numerous and voluminous; this forum doesn’t allow for complete coverage of all the infractions.

I am convinced this is what is happening in our country right now. It is hard to swallow. It is hard to internalize, but it is happening. If we don’t start admitting to ourselves that this can only get worse, it will be over before we can do anything about it.
This easy fact escapes those caught up in the roar of corporate media attention to the ‘vileness’…
By: John Allen
Tags: Media Criticism, Politics, Propaganda, News, Jullian Assange

This easy fact escapes those caught up in the roar of corporate media attention to the ‘vileness’ of Assange and what he stands for. His publications interrupt the ‘grand narrative’ of corporate propaganda outlets. That’s why ol’ Pompeo Maximus buddy was so pissed. It disrupted the CIA’s narrative, fed to all the MSM outlets that act as stenographers to the ‘official’ govt stance. Real journalism isn’t allowed.

No more will one see an inquisitive journalist probe with deep questions on pertinent matters. Those that do try, especially in on-air interviews, will have their mikes cut if they stray too far away from the grand narrative. To the credit of the industry occasionally we see truth erupt at the most inconvenient times. After a few ahems order is restored. I find it now almost impossible to watch network news to view the grand narrative of the week. Never of any consequence. They do do a good job reporting on the terrifying storms or fires of late. Mention of global poisoning/warming? Rarely a mention as the cure will disrupt their cozy petite bourgeois lives. Can’t wait for the final grand article! Peace, Thee Ol’ Hippy
Day 892: Trump proves again to be terrible negotiator, gives Kim incredible propaganda for no reason other than ego
Tags: Propaganda, Donald Trump, Nuclear Weapons, North Korea, Kim Jong Un

Day 892: Trump proves again to be terrible negotiator, gives Kim incredible propaganda for no reason other than ego TrumpTimer Jul 1, 2019·2 min read

Despite his promises to the contrary, North Korea has not agreed to denuclearize under Donald Trump. They continue to develop and test weapons and build launch sites according to U.S. intelligence agencies. After two failed summits with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, perhaps Trump and his advisers would have realized he had been played for the fool and North Korea has no intention of suspending their nuclear program.

Or not.

Trump’s ego handed Kim Jong-un a massive victory Sunday all so he could claim to be the first American president to step foot on North Korean soil. With Pyongyang cameras rolling and snapping thousands of photos, Trump crossed the demilitarized zone and shook hands with a grinning Kim.

North Korea has been begging for this type of propaganda for decades. While Trump falsely claimed Barack Obama wanted to meet Kim in North Korea, American president after American president — in addition to virtually every other world leader — has refused photo-ops with North Korean leaders that would solely benefit Pyongyang. This is due in large part to the human rights atrocities that are committed by North Korea and their refusal to curb their nuclear program. Trump has now given Kim not one (in Singapore), not two (in Hanoi) but three such moments, with the last being a greater gift than Kim ever could have dreamed.

Trump used the visit as a bargaining chip to re-open denuclearization talks, as opposed to using the chip of a potential visit as a way to spur actual denuclearization. It is a perfect example of what Trump has done for two and a half years: negotiating himself into a position of weakness by giving away all leverage.

892 days in, 570 to go
Cognitive Dissonance: Weaponized
By: Desmond Donovan
Tags: Social Psychology, Propaganda, Influence, Abortion, Manipulation

Do you ever disagree with yourself?

I mean, really disagree with something that you actually believe.

It seems difficult, doesn’t it?

For example: are employees who hate their boss likely to believe that their boss did a great job running the last meeting?

Are politicians who want to take measures against climate change likely to support the struggles of coal miners?

What about a dogmatic Christian believing that the bible contains lies?

You probably won’t find people like this. They’re a rare breed.

The reason? Consistency.

People, if they are still sane, generally do not want to contradict themselves. If they believe in something strongly, they want to continue that belief to all its logical conclusions. They seek intellectual consistency.

An inconsistency in one’s beliefs means that a person is wrong — and this is something everyone wants to avoid. Back down the evolutionary line, wrongness meant death; inability to understand one’s situation meant he couldn’t function in it. This fear of wrongness then became wired into our genetic code over time.

Therefore, in our efforts to be right, we seek to be logical — which means making sure that our beliefs do not contradict each other.

Logic allows for accurate problem solving and predictions of the future based on known facts. Without logic, dark clouds wouldn’t mean rain, sharp teeth wouldn’t mean danger, and bright colored berries wouldn’t mean food. Every sense experience would just be a series of random data, unconnected from every other experience. Logic is what ties data together, and allows us to be able to make sense of the world.

Failing to embrace the logical conclusions of your own beliefs produces the infamous “cognitive dissonance” — the mental anguish that one experiences due to holding two conflicting beliefs at the same time. It’s a warning sign from your brain that something has gone wrong, and you need to reevaluate your circumstances.
HELP!! No Facts, No Truth
By: Donald Karanovich
Tags: Truth, Propaganda, Fear, Facts, Lies

For the first time in my life, I fear for the future of my country.

Though lies and propaganda are intrinsic to humanity, until recently there always seemed to be a thread of truth to anchor ideas. Now, there is no Truth. There are legions of people always ready to dispute every word on any topic. Many words have no agreed definition; a single spoken word may mean something completely different to every listener. A sentence spoken today has a different meaning than the same sentence spoken a year ago.

Everyone is an authority on every topic. A person unable to recite even the days of the week claims a total comprehension of economic and foreign policy. He “understands” every detail of a science or disease that is unclear even to geniuses who spend every minute of their lives correlating minute details and looking for a thread of causation. (Coincidentally, those geniuses are just brainwashed pawns, a part of some larger scheme.) There are no Facts.

History is the collection of the lies of oppression. Science, the search for truth through evidence, is a fictional social construct. Only politics, the art of lying, claims truth for the 50% who favor their set of lies over the other 50% who are so stupid that every word they speak is, by definition, wrong.

The Dunning-Kruger Effect applies to everyone, myself included, on every topic.

Problem descriptions lack nuance and complexity. Solutions are soundbites of the solver’s Ideology and dogma; yet the same person is willing to die defending this ideology against a deceitful enemies’ idiocy.

Without Words, Facts, and Truth it is impossible to solve any problem, because every solution is a fallacy. Inside this instability, it is impossible to Trust anyone or anything. All Wisdom is meaningless blather. Human civilization will not exist for long on a planet where these are the rules.

Whether you agree or disagree, perhaps you can help lead me to a Rational Place. How did we get here and how do we escape this Hell? No trivial sound bites please.

You just said to yourself, “That doesn’t describe me; I’m right!” On what do you base this opinion, since words are meaningless and neither Facts nor Truth exists?
The Bill of Rights has consistently been trampled on by those in power.
By: John Allen
Tags: Media, Propaganda, Prison, Constitution, Journalism

The Bill of Rights has consistently been trampled on by those in power. Especially this century since the attacks of September 11,’01, when privacy vanished(courtesy of the NSA) and being held indefinably without a “speedy trial”. i.e. In “black” sites or Guantanamo. Now that publishers and journalists are being arrested or ‘detained’ where’s the corporate(MSM) media’s reporting? Oh, I forgot, they are corporate run state apparatuses in bed with the govt. Great disseminators of state propaganda meant as part of the narratives to keep us lowly citizens from knowing anything important. I’ll have a good laugh when the govt takes over the media and operates it in the fashion of the Soviet state run news as in the Cold War days. Then those feckless pundits will wonder what the fuck just happened. They will join the other dissident “investigative” journalists in holes no one knows where they are. I’ll probably be in there too, in a state of ill health and brain-dead nothingness. Everyday seems to worsen. Sigh…Peace, The Ol’ Hippy
Information is no longer a weapon
By: Verdict Platform
Tags: Médiá, Fake News, Propaganda, Media Criticism

Now more than ever is the time for a media free of propaganda. We as journalists know how the media works in the world now and how it should work. We know how officials can distort information in the media regardless of country. And we know how to start making the media more transparent and honest for society.

Even the best journalist or his editor has their own point of view. Even the smartest man is managed by his prejudices, no matter what color has his skin, and it happens subconsciously. Society needs a tool with which it could communicate its problems directly to the media all over the world.

Verdict Platform is an online platform for monitoring propaganda in media, for public influence on the media, and for public funding media which are ready to serve social goods in a primary.

Corporations can change their decisions and politic because of negative comments and statements on social services like Metacritic, Steam, or ResetEra. It works because even for big companies the main value, in the end, is their social image. This applies to media too, but we still haven’t service such type to conduct social feedback to them.

We also need an absolutely transparent private hub for funding independent media or individual journalists. We can’t affect without taking financial responsibility for affecting the media. If you didn’t pay for TV or magazine it means only one thing — someone already did it and this someone took control of the media. It’s not our invention, it’s our experience and knowledge of propaganda theory. Well known American scientist and philosopher Noam Chomsky did a great job with his colleague Edward S. Herman, they researched basic reasons of propaganda on examples in Soviet and US media. These reasons are still actual.

To be short we talk about the principle “from many to one”. We like to call it “the real media democracy”.
Q: Why is Tulsi Gabbard Still In The Race? A: To Bring The Ruckus
By: Pam Ho
Tags: Bernie Sanders, Media, Tulsi Gabbard, Propaganda, Virus

As I was checking the news earlier today I noticed that the coronavirus had killed another top government official in Iran, bringing the total to 3. Or at least the 3 they have released info on. There’s a chance it’s worse among the Iranian leadership but they don’t want to cause a panic. I checked the Twitterverse after that for my daily dose of madness and surprisingly kept seeing people ask rhetorically:

Why is Tulsi Gabbard still in the primary race?

Turns out that Amy “She-Hulk” Klobuchar had dropped out of the primary race apparently to suck up to Joe Biden for a VP slot. And so had Pete “Honestly I’m Not Annoying” Buttigieg. This, of course, should surprise no one. The criminal financial syndicates greasing the palms of practically all politicians and media to do their bidding have seen the writing on the wall. They realize they need candidates to drop out to coalesce centrist votes around one to stop what they perceive to be a huge problem for them in Bernie Sanders.

And it isn’t just your typical establishment tool on Twitter who is asking why Tulsi is still in the race. I’ve seen a lot of progressives asking the same thing. It’s as if they don’t realize that there is a massive threat to elderly people in the world right now from the out of control coronavirus.

Do you not see a potential danger for the elderly candidates in the race — which is all of them — except Tulsi? They are in closed spaces with large diverse crowds all across the country. That is the perfect environment for spreading the airborne virus. What if they get infected? What if Bernie Sanders gets infected and has to drop out? Are progressives comfortable with the other candidates?

Biden and Warren are both enthusiastic supporters of neocon foreign policy which is in line with their phony support for the working class. What happened to Warren’s glittering M4A plan? It turned back into a pumpkin, didn’t it? It was all smoke and mirrors. No surprise if you know her history. Did you see her on Pod Save America regaling us with how much she believes in crippling countries by sanctions if they dare to resist the racist Imperial Borg Assimilation Machine aka The Foreign Policy Establishment? That doesn’t sound woke to me, Miss Thang.

Warren is an establishment social climber. She took off the mask and her true colors shone through when she viciously attacked Bernie Sanders as a misogynist. Yet still many people surrounding the Bernie Sanders campaign support Warren. Why is that? Big money on the left supports her, that’s why. That big money also pays a lot of salaries in the liberal political job market and funds a lot of political campaigns. Have you heard of The Democracy Alliance?
I believe “pretends” is the key word here, or, as if, maybe, but the US constantly and blatantly…
By: John Allen
Tags: Politics, Propaganda, News, Russia, America

I believe “pretends” is the key word here, or, as if, maybe, but the US constantly and blatantly doesn't play the ‘pretends’ game at all; it simply does at it pleases. Or as Bush I said during the Gulf War, “what we say, goes”. They scream and holler about foreign this or that, but when the lens is turned around, the US is moral and squeaky clean. John, ‘the butcher’ Bolton is the perfect example of US morality at work. He’d kill his mother to justify another war or economic sanction to strangle a nation state into US submission and smile about it. Gadds he makes me ill.

So now the “new” narrative is that rascal Putin is paying mercenaries to kill our soldiers. It was on the news show this AM. I’m going, “who’s buying this horse hooey”? The morning news shows these days is like having a bad trip while watching the Disney network. It’s nuts. A few tidbits about the pandemic are factual, like deaths, but to state that the US govt totally fucked the whole response is heresy. And, of course, they did, and now we’re dying by the truckloads. So much for helping a failing economy. I’ll laugh when it totally and completely collapses because it’s now destiny. I hope to be dead by then because it will be very ugly. Peace, The Ol’ Hippy
Scale of coronavirus spread concealment revealed in Russia’s Sakha
By: Злой Одессит
Tags: Propaganda, Russia, Coronavirus, Covid 19

Today in Russia, another record peak of new coronavirus cases was recorded at 9,623 across 83 regions, including 57 deaths. In total, 124,054 cases and 1,222 fatalities was recorded in 85 regions (COVID-19 mortality rate in Russia remains below 1%, which raises serious doubts about the veracity of these data).

But let’s focus on just one region, which, perhaps, could be seen as a litmus test for the real scale of the epidemic in the Russian Federation. I’m talking about the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), where 34 new cases of coronavirus infection were reported a day, bringing the total number to 263 over the entire period since the start of outbreak.

The fact is that Deputy Prime Minister of Yakutia Olga Balabakina published a post on her Telegram channel stating that 3,500 employees of Gazprom’s Chayandinskoye field were infected with the coronavirus.

She deleted the post in a short while, but it was too late … The statement was shared by mass media, including federal ones like RIA Novosti.

RIA Novosti said “a third of all employees” got infected, which actually equals the mentioned number of 3,500 (a total of 10,500 workers are employed there).

Earlier this week, workers went on strike at the said field and even blocked a local highway in protest against poor labor conditions amid the unfolding epidemic.

Then the head of Yakutia, Aisen Nikolaev, hastened to report that tests were carried out on 10,500 employees, but the results were still unknown. Well, now they have been made public…

So the question arises: what is the real situation about the coronavirus, not just on the scale of a separate Gazprom facility but across the Republic of Sakha given the massive efforts to conceal the actual situation? And, of course, how are things really going throughout Russia in general?
Modern Psychological Warfare
By: Hamilton Hume
Tags: Social Media, Propaganda, Disinformation, Psychology, Fascism

Sherlock Holmes fan fiction. WWE. Grand Theft Auto. Napoleon. Werner Herzog. Monoliths. The Loch Ness Monster. Jim Caveiezel. Mel Gibson. MothMan. Skinwalker Ranch. Tomorrow War. Michael Avenatti. And fucking Signs.

After that many episodes, there is bound to be some filler. And we all need some light relief every now and then. But what’s notable is that there has been no substantial discussion of:

All of that is important for understanding how Qanon has been so effective. But QAA’s longtime listeners who have consumed all of their content would almost never have heard of any of it. They appear completely committed to giving their audience the impression that it was simply a dumb prank that got out of control.

Rather than deal with how dangerous Mike Flynn is, and his work with what he openly called an insurgency of Digital Soldiers, they open literally every episode with a soundbite mocking him as a bumbling boomer who “found a way to connect to the internet”, and was just lucky enough to happen to stumble upon this phenomenon which inexplicably worships him.

Perhaps most conspicuous in their coverage, however, is the way they deal with the one character who is so close to the centre of it all: Thomas Schoenberger. Rather than ignore him altogether, they actively tell people NOT to look at him, based largely on this segment on one of their Twitch streams with Atlantic reporter Dale Beran:

The transcript is remarkable:

“In group chats, Fred was like “Dale investigated this”, and I was like “it’s bullshit, don’t bother”… Ignore it, don’t give it oxygen, just never report on it… I just listened to Fred… If I had an episode where I claimed that Thomas was Q, I would delete that episode…The people who investigate the origins are delusional.. How about we exclude the foot pic guy who lied about being cicada or whatever… It’s actually dangerous in some ways… To focus on who Q is seems like to do it a disservice”

There is a lot to unpack here. Firstly, recounting the story in a confused and sarcastic voice while laughing at it doesn’t make it untrue. Like how they mock the idea of Thomas “hobnobbing with the guy who wrote the KitKat jingle”. His name is Michael Levine. He’s a commercial composer. And together with Thomas, they were indeed trying to trademark Cicada to make a film out of it. This is all easily verifiable to anyone who makes the slightest effort to have a look. But they didn’t. They just ~laughed~ at it instead.