Chit Chat

By Ted Belman

From now on comments on every post must relate to the content of the post.

Comments that don’t relate to the post must go here.

Any person who contravenes this demand will be put on moderation. Also their offending comment will be trashed.

The reason for this demand is so that people who want to read comments which pertain to the post, don’t have to wade through the chatter.

Everyone will be happier.

April 16, 2020 | 7,783 Comments »

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  1. The Washington Pundit:

    As predicted by TWP in our most recent update, the DOJ is refusing to drop the case against Bijan Kian and the Flynn Intel Group originally brought by the Mueller Investigation. U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga had set aside the jury verdicts and granted Kian a new trial stating,

    “The great weight of the evidence that it would be unjust to convict him on either Count and a new trial is warranted in the interests of justice … ORDERED that Defendant [Kian’s] convictions … hereby are, VACATED, and his renewed motion for a new trial …. hereby is, GRANTED”

    The DOJ appealed Trenga’s decision and “all prior rulings and orders of the Court in this case” to the 4th Circuit and once again hopes to get the jury verdicts reinstated. They just won’t let it go.

  2. @Honeybee

    How can you honestly compare t 6 Day War to the invasion of the Ukraine

    I can honestly compare the Six Day War to the invasion of Ukraine because Israel is not the only country which is entitled to act preemptively when faced with a true threat to its existence and, unlike you, I apply the same logic to the same situations.

    To you, however, Israel is good, therefore, it has the right to defend itself but Russia is bad and, therefore, it has no such right.

    The enemies of Israel apply the same logic to Israel such as you are applying to Russia.

  3. Sabastian, Darlin, too many questions. I am a busy woman But what about the depredation on the Texas border at this time. If the Nation of Texas was as foolish as Russia, we would be bombing La Ciudad de Mexico.

  4. Sabastian: I agree that stupid woman Harris cannot be trusted to say hello. I am not proud of the USA action in Hawaii

  5. @Honey. Gosh, I’d forgotten this, so big at the tme.

    The United States invades Panama in an attempt to overthrow military dictator Manuel Noriega, who had been indicted in the United States on drug trafficking charges and was accused of suppressing democracy in Panama and endangering U.S. nationals.
    https://www.history.com › the-u-s-in…
    The U.S. invades Panama – HISTORY
    The United States Invasion of Panama, codenamed Operation Just Cause, lasted over a month between mid-December 1989 and late January 1990. Wikipedia-

  6. @ Honey

    On January 17, in the year 1893, the Kingdom of Hawaii was illegally overthrown. The following remembrance recorded by Johanna Wilcox speaks of the overwhelming sadness felt by the population after the overthrow and annexation of Hawaii to the United States of America.
    https://www.ksbe.edu › article › the-…
    The truth behind the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom | Kamehameha Schools

    https://www.ksbe.edu/article/the-truth-behind-the-illegal-overthrow-of-the-hawaiian-kingdom/

    https://www.ksbe.edu/assets/pdfs/The_Overthrow_of_the_Hawaiian_Monarchy_PDF.pdf

  7. You Anglo-Saxons

    @Ketzel @Dinastar I am reminded of this hilarious Monty Python skit from the movie, “The Meaning of Life” in which Death comes for American and British tourists in the French countryside who have died. Death is French and hates them.
    https://youtu.be/YoBTsMJ4jNk

    By the way, I love this stilted, anachronistic language of political outrage. I thought we just had Felix for that.

    Greetings and felicitations.

  8. @Honey

    People also ask
    Why did the US invade Mexico in 1914?

    People also ask
    Why did US invade Haiti in 1994?
    In his September 1994 address to the nation, four days prior to the intervention, Clinton explained to the American people that he had decided to invade Haiti because he was concerned by the vast number of human rights abuses following the September 1991 coup that had sent democratically-elected Aristide into exile.
    https://journals.lib.unb.ca › article
    View of Peacekeeping, Politics, and the 1994 US Intervention in Haiti


    and

    Following the assassination of the Haitian President in July of 1915, President Woodrow Wilson sent the United States Marines into Haiti to restore order and maintain political and economic stability in the Caribbean.
    https://history.state.gov › milestones
    U.S. Invasion and Occupation of Haiti, 1915–34 – Milestones: 1914–1920 – Office of the Historian

    The first landing took place on 5 May 1916, when “two companies of marines landed from the USS Prairie at Santo Domingo.” Their goal was to offer protection to the U.S. Legation and the U.S. Consulate and to occupy the Fort San Geronimo.
    https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Uni…
    United States occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916–1924) – Wikipedia

    and

    United States occupation of Cuba
    Article Talk
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    The United States occupation of Cuba may refer to:

    the United States Military Government in Cuba (1898–1902)
    the Second Occupation of Cuba (1906–1909)
    the Sugar Intervention (1917–1922), a third occupation of Cuba
    the continuing American presence at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base

    Wikipedia

    Americans who advocated annexation evinced a variety of motivations: desire for commercial opportunities in Asia, concern that the Filipinos were incapable of self-rule, and fear that if the United States did not take control of the islands, another power (such as Germany or Japan) might do so.
    https://history.state.gov › milestones
    The Philippine-American War, 1899–1902 – Office of the Historian

    and

    United States occupation of Nicaragua
    Article Talk
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    The United States occupation of Nicaragua from 1912 to 1933 was part of the Banana Wars, when the US military invaded various Latin American countries from 1898 to 1934. The formal occupation began in 1912, even though there were various other assaults by the U.S. in Nicaragua throughout this period. American military interventions in Nicaragua were designed to stop any other nation except the United States of America from building a Nicaraguan Canal.

    United States occupation of Nicaragua
    Part of the Banana Wars

    Wikipedia

    and etc.

  9. @Honey

    People also ask
    Why did the US invade Mexico in 1914?

    The immediate trigger for the invasion of Veracruz came twelve days earlier when nine unarmed U.S. sailors went ashore at the Mexican port of Tampico to purchase gasoline. They unintentionally wandered into an area that was off limits to foreigners and were arrested.
    https://www.cfr.org › blog › twe-re…
    TWE Remembers: The U.S. Invasion of Veracruz, Mexico | Council on Foreign Relations

  10. @Honey

    …In response to the presence of American Jupiter ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey, and the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961, Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev agreed to Cuba’s request to place nuclear missiles on the island to deter a future invasion. ..After several days of tense negotiations, an agreement was reached between Kennedy and Khrushchev. Publicly, the Soviets would dismantle their offensive weapons in Cuba and return them to the Soviet Union, subject to United Nations verification, in exchange for a US public declaration and agreement to not invade Cuba again. Secretly, the United States agreed that it would dismantle all of the Jupiter MRBMs, which had been deployed in Turkey against the Soviet Union. There has been debate on whether or not Italy was included in the agreement as well. While the Soviets dismantled their missiles, some Soviet bombers remained in Cuba, and the United States kept the naval quarantine in place until November 20 of that year.[4]…

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis

  11. @Honeybee

    Honeybee: Israel is not the victim !!!!! The Arab world is !!!!!!! [1967 The Six Day War – by your logic]

  12. @Honey

    Grenada–Soviet Union relations
    Article Talk
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    Grenada-Soviet Union relations refers to the relations between Grenada, and the Soviet Union. Diplomatic relations between Grenada and the Soviet Union were severed in November 1983 by the Governor General of Grenada. Eventually in 2002, Grenada re-established diplomatic relations with the newly formed Russian Federation.[1]

    Grenada–Soviet relations

    Grenada

    Soviet Union
    History of relations Edit

    During the New Jewel Movement, the Soviet Union tried to make the island of Grenada to function as a Soviet base, and also by getting supplies from Cuba. In October 1983, during the U.S. invasion of Grenada, U.S. President Ronald Reagan maintained that US Marines arrived on the island of Grenada, which was considered a Soviet-Cuban ally that would export communist revolution throughout the Caribbean. In November, at a joint hearing of Congressional Subcommittee, it was told that Grenada could be used as a staging area for subversion of the nearby countries, for intersection of shipping lanes, and for the transit of troops and supplies from Cuba to Africa, and from Eastern Europe and Libya to Central America. In December, the State Department published a preliminary report on Grenada, in which was claimed as an “Island of Soviet Internationalism”. When the US Marines landed on the island, they discovered a large amount of documents, which included agreements between the Soviet Government, and the New Jewel Movement, recorded minutes of the Committee meetings, and reports from the Grenadian embassy in Moscow…

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenada%E2%80%93Soviet_Union_relations

    Russia has a Monroe Doctrine of its own.

  13. @Honeybee

    How do you imagine a military operation without destruction?

    Would the US sit quietly if it were surrounded by foreign military bases capable of striking it with nuclear missiles?

    If your answer is “No”, why would you demand the same from Russia?

    For Russia, a nuclear NATO-aligned Ukraine is the same as a nuclear Russian-aligned Alaska would be for the US.

    Why is it so hard to accept?

    Is it because of the conviction that the US is entitled to rule the whole world including “Eurasia” and have the whole world forget their own languages and culture and switch to THE language (English) – it will be better for the Untermenschen anyway, they are just too stupid to understand it?

  14. Honeybee

    Russia made it clear that if Georgia and Ukraine became NATO powers that would be an existentialist issue just as Cuba was for JF Kennedy (Oct 16, 1962 – Oct 28, 1962) I recommend any video by John Meirsheimer who is recognised as an authority.

  15. Ted: How can you support the destruction that Russia has visited on Ukraine. I can think of a cause that would require such an overaction.

  16. @Felix

    the American alliance does not want a settlement

    No, they don’t. The post Soviet era has been a chaotic road of regime change, from Europe to the Middle East and back again to Europe. There is no reason to suspect this is not still the agenda of the day.

  17. Ted: I read your comments carefully. I don’t agree with your assessment I regard the Russians as aggressors.

  18. Peloni

    The Russians are serious in using their term and since I so much respect them I respect them in this too. So I will stick by them.

    What is far more important is that the American alliance does not want a settlement…as I said

    They are being very much pushing risk and that worries greatly

  19. @Honeybee.
    You have bought into all the propaganda put out by the west. At a minimum you should know that there are two sides to every story. From what I have read I side with the Russians. The West has accused Russia of every known war crimes; genocide, rape, use of chemical weapons, intentionally killing of civilians.
    I for one don’t believe it. The West has yet to offer enough evidence to substantiate their claims.

    The last time you came to the side of the Ukrainians I and others offered you proof and facts to convince you that you were wrong. You obviously didn’t read our comments.

  20. @Felix

    Felix, it is ridiculous to suggest Russia’s “special operation” is not a war. Regardless of all other commentary, this rose by any other name is still a war. His tanks are in Ukraine, his army is in Ukraine, he is bombing Ukraine and he is demanding a political settlement. This is silly posturing that defies all reason and any reasonable explanation. But if you earnestly disagree, please explain…perhaps without ad hominem, if you find it possible.

  21. It’s not a war. I think Russia called it a military action for s reason. They have zero interest in conquering Ukraine. They would like to be both on friendly terms. Above all for the Russian loving people in the East Ukraine not to be killed by the Fascist Azov (who link back to Stepan Bandera in the Holocaust) Putin is essentially a moderniser but he has run into deadly Russia hatred at the centre of Washington and the EU too it seems. Russia will not have nukes placed on its border. Looks like the West thinks that has to be done. Out of that situation which Russia definitely did not seek…we risk all life through nuclear war.

    This rape issue what’s the source and what’s the evidence?

  22. @ Felix: Don’t be lumping the IDF in with the Russians. The IDF defends the Jewish people against Islamic aggression. The Russians are thugs who bomb and kill defenseless Ukrainians.

  23. Netanyahu’s prime minister’s office was bugged for a decade – report
    The recording device, found in 2019, is reportedly connected to similar devices uncovered during the Harpaz Affair.

    The device, reportedly installed back in 2008 when Ehud Olmert was prime minister, was left unnoticed by Netanyahu until three years ago, meaning it recorded 11-years’-worth of the opposition head’s conversations during his 12-year reign as prime minister.

    The recording device found in 2019 is reportedly connected to similar devices installed in the offices of former IDF chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi and defense ministers Amir Peretz and Ehud Barak during their tenures in their respective roles, as part of the Harpaz Affair.

    It is unknown if the device, which potentially includes recordings of every phone call and every meeting held by Netanyahu from 2009-2019, was destroyed after it was found.

    https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-704326

  24. @Edgar @Edgar I’ll have to look up “The Maggie.” Paul Douglas is one of my favoriite actors. Unfortunately, he died shortly after making this film in his late 50s. Billly Wilder had just offered him the role that went to Fred McMurray in “The Apartment” starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley Maclaine.

    “Holliday was born Judith Tuvim (she took her stage name from yom tovim, which is Hebrew for “holidays”) in New York City, the only child of Abe and Helen (née Gollomb) Tuvim. Her father was executive director of the foundation for the Jewish National Fund of America (1951–1958),[2][3] and a socialist activist who ran unsuccessfully six times between 1919 and 1938 as the Socialist Party candidate for the New York state Legislature.[4] Her mother taught piano. Both were of Russian-Jewish descent.[5][6] Judith grew up in Sunnyside, Queens, New York, and graduated from Julia Richman High School in Manhattan. Her first job was as an assistant switchboard operator at the Mercury Theatre, which was administered by Orson Welles and John Houseman.[7][8]” – Wikipedia

    I subbed in an orchestra that rehearsed and performed at Julie Richmond High School. It’s on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

  25. I believe that the Holocaust is at the centre of the war. About 80 years ago and that is just one lifetime. But it is greatly significant that there is total blackout silence. Why? It puzzles me a little.

  26. People also ask
    Why did the US go to war with Grenada?

    It was triggered by the strife within the People’s Revolutionary Government which resulted in the house arrest and execution of the previous leader and second Prime Minister of Grenada Maurice Bishop, and the establishment of the Revolutionary Military Council with Hudson Austin as Chairman.
    https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Uni…
    United States invasion of Grenada – Wikipedia

    Hmmm. I am reminded of: ”

    “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day. — ‘Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.’ — Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.”

    Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

  27. @SEBASTIEN-

    Posting on here has become something like “The Phantom Of The Opera”, or even “Trilby” both books that I actually have. The Du Maurier book is a 1st Edition.

    I’m saying this, because the post in which I asked why Jews would be wearing turbans etc (answering your actually interesting post, even if you now say you exaggerated-it was a very good read)…

    Well that post of mine is MISSING, has vanished, disappeared, vamoosed, scarpered, scrammed.. It’s gone….! It may be there but I couldn’t find it.

    As Florian Slappy would say. “It has suddenlyb become “went”….!!

  28. @Edgar I was exaggerating. I went to an ashram in Brooklyn once filled with jews wearing turbans like the actual Indian, Sikh, really, yogis. I guess because they don’t cut their hair. Lot of turbaned Sikh cab drivers who recognized my mantras, ha ha.. Anyway, most of us didn’t do anything special clothing wise other than wearing loose fitting clothing when doing yoga, like now. They have yoga and meditation at many Jewish Community Centers, though I didn’t and don’t belong to one. One of the classes I took was in the basement of a local Methodist Church. I did cub scouts there, too. Never set foot in their chapel. Very ecumenical. They hosted a synagogue that was under construction and now they are hosting an art movie house that was torn down elsewhere. That being said, I don’t know if I’ve made this observation here, but I have noticed that so many of the world’s religions have men cover their heads in such a way as to conveniently cover a bald spot. I could use such an excuse, myself, ha ha. I did take singing lessons from a cantor in a Conservative synagogue here that has since closed and been replaced with a Young Israel, which is Modern Orthodox.

  29. @SEBASTIEN-

    The fist time I’ve heard this. VERY humourous, and, could at times be accurate. Sounds like something Jackie Mason would say. And this is a great compliment.

  30. @Edgar “The Orthodox say, “Hashem,” The Conservative say, “Adonai,” The Reform say, “Our lord who art in heaven,” and the Reconstructionists say, “To Whom it May Concern.” ‘


    “At an Orthodox wedding, the bride’s mother is pregnant. At a Conservative wedding, the bride is pregnant. At a Reform wedding, the rabbi is pregnant. At a Reconstructionist wedding, the rabbi and her wife are both pregnant.”

  31. @SEBASTIEN-

    I’v e just read your link, and to me it’s all twaddle. Lots of ifs, thens. and maybes. .Personally Bennett has shown that he is thoroughly untrustworthy. a schemer and plotter.,

    In my opinion, although nothing in politics is permanent, which shows what a stinking fish it is, this article reminded me most forcibly of the political career of Shaul Mofaz, whom you may recall. He swore that he was a permanent LIKUD supporter, and THE VERY NEXT DAY, jumped to Kadima, which was wiped out in the next election, whereupon he retired from politics.

    In my references to him during that period I used to refer to him as the grasshopper.