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Burying the Hunter Biden Laptop Story Was Journalistic Malpractice | Opinion

  
Via:  Just Jim NC TttH  •  2 years ago  •  53 comments

By:   Jonathan Tobin

Burying the Hunter Biden Laptop Story Was Journalistic Malpractice | Opinion
But even if apologies were forthcoming, the only reasonable conclusion to draw from the Hunter Biden saga is that the institutions which sought to tilt the election to his father are now so committed to political bias in their reporting and their management of internet platforms that there may well be no path to reforming them.

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But, but, but it was the NYPost


S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



I t was buried in the 24th paragraph of a story that was itself buried on page 20 of a newspaper published when the public's attention was focused on Ukraine. But for those whose memories extend back to 17 months ago, the admission published in The New York Times on March 17 was political dynamite—the information on the laptop that veterans of the national security establishment claimed was Russian disinformation was, in fact, exactly what reports published in the New York Post in October 2020 said they were: evidence of the Biden family's influence peddling abroad, that the senior Biden was aware of his son's activities and might well have profited from them.


Even worse, the Big Tech companies that control the information superhighway and social media platforms sought to prevent the dissemination of any information about the laptop and what   Hunter Biden   had been up to in Ukraine and China while his father was vice president. The   Post 's   Twitter   account was, for a time, shut down. Those who attempted to retweet the story were prevented from doing so. Anyone who raised the issue or complained about the refusal to cover the story were accused of spreading "disinformation."

Many of the same media outlets had spent years spreading accounts about   Donald Trump   colluding with Russia to steal the 2016 election, which turned out to be false. But journalists and Silicon Valley oligarchs were united in their determination to prevent Trump from winning again and openly boasted of their willingness to put their finger on the electoral scale to defeat him.

Now that the   Times   has admitted that the laptop was real, the question of whether Hunter will ultimately face prosecution is of secondary importance. The real question Americans should be asking is who is to be held accountable for one of the worst scandals in the recent history of American journalism.

Biden apologists may claim that the story about Hunter's trading on the Biden name to score big bucks in Ukraine and China would not have altered the outcome of the election. They may be right about that, since the coronavirus pandemic and accompanying economic downturn may have already doomed Trump's hopes. But even if you don't accept Trump's claims of massive voter fraud or think Biden's eight-million popular vote advantage wouldn't have been dented by anything reported about his family, the willingness of all but conservative outlets to silence such a story on the eve of an election is unprecedented.

On the other hand, full and open coverage of the laptop story may well have swung the election. A shift of only 43,000 votes toward Trump in three states Biden won by a whisker—Wisconsin, Georgia and Arizona—would have resulted in a 269-269 Electoral College tie that would have sent the election to the House of Representatives, where GOP majorities in state delegations would have flipped the election to the incumbent.

Last week's   Times   story vindicating the   Post 's reporting was about a federal investigation of possible wrongdoing by the younger Biden. It noted that Hunter had paid off a significant back federal income tax liability and that, in spite of his efforts to settle with the government, a grand jury convened by federal prosecutors was continuing to sift through evidence related to his business dealings.

The article described Biden as someone whose "professional life has intersected with his father's public service." While   Joe Biden   was a U.S. senator, his son was a registered lobbyist for domestic interests. When Joe was vice president, Hunter successfully pursued deals and clients in Asia and Europe. Emails on the controversial laptop helped fuel the investigation into whether he violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act and avoided paying taxes on the money he made abroad. As the   Times   put it, the emails "were authenticated by those familiar with them and with the investigation."

Whether or not Hunter is prosecuted, the point of the original reporting was that the Biden family's attempts to cash in on the vice president's influence was, by definition, corrupt. And in the 2020 election, while he was representing himself as the honest alternative to Trump, Biden was himself guilty of either being part of or acquiescing to sleazy schemes from which his son profited.

Yet even now, no one involved in this vast scheme to suppress the news is prepared to apologize—even if it is too late to make amends for what can only be described as journalistic corruption.

Not one of the intelligence experts who claimed—based on no information whatsoever—that the laptop story was a Russian plant has made a public   mea culpa . The same is true of the media outlets, including the   Times , which did everything in their power to cast doubt on the story and accuse those who reported it of spreading lies.

The Hunter Biden story isn't the only reason many Americans no longer trust the media or the intelligence establishment. But it is glaring proof that their skepticism is justified, and its result is a society even more bifurcated along political and cultural lines than it already was.

But even if apologies were forthcoming, the only reasonable conclusion to draw from the Hunter Biden saga is that the institutions which sought to tilt the election to his father are now so committed to political bias in their reporting and their management of internet platforms that there may well be no path to reforming them. Rather than wait in vain for them to change, the only reasonable response to this scandal may be to avoid them altogether in the future.


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Just Jim NC TttH
Professor Principal
1  seeder  Just Jim NC TttH    2 years ago

Trump and his supporters are off topic. Those who respond to themselves to avoid keyboard cooties by actually replying to the person they are quoting/mocking/refuting will have their comments removed at the moderator's discretion. Comments MUST be directed at whom you are responding Off Topic posts are subject to same.

 
 
 
Just Jim NC TttH
Professor Principal
2  seeder  Just Jim NC TttH    2 years ago

Good timing by the media to admit to this in the middle of the Ukraine crisis. Opportunistic as hell. Glad this guy has some integrity and will call out what are supposed to be his peers.

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
3  JohnRussell    2 years ago

[deleted]

 
 
 
JBB
Professor Principal
4  JBB    2 years ago

Can anyone articulate exactly what crimes Hunter Biden is accused of committing? We already have President Biden's tax returns for the last twenty years and according to recent credible news stories Hunter has paid all if his. So, please elucidate us...

 
 
 
Sean Treacy
Professor Principal
4.1  Sean Treacy  replied to  JBB @4    2 years ago
? We already have President Biden's tax returns for the last twenty years and according to recent credible news stories Hunter has paid all if his

You know he's being investigated for tax evasion among other crimes , right?  Paying them off years later  while being investigated isn't a get out jail free card. 

 
 
 
JBB
Professor Principal
4.1.1  JBB  replied to  Sean Treacy @4.1    2 years ago

Yet, He Whose Name May Not Be Spoken's taxes have been under investigation for decades now and that never deterred him...

 
 
 
Ronin2
Professor Quiet
4.2  Ronin2  replied to  JBB @4    2 years ago

Heard of play for play- Brandon and Hunter sure as hell have. It is illegal by the way.

The Times reported that although the probe initially was focused on a possible criminal violation of tax laws, it since has broadened to include questions of whether Hunter Biden violated laws related to foreign lobbying and money laundering.

The newspaper, citing a person familiar with the issue, reported that investigators questioned the 30-year-old Roberts a year ago in Arkansas about whether a corporate entity used by Biden to pay her when she lived in Washington, D.C., had received payments from Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company on whose board he once sat.

Burisma paid Biden about $50,000 per month from April 2014 until April 2019. He stepped down from the company’s board that year as his father’s presidential candidacy gained steam.

Hunter Biden introduced his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, to a top executive at a Ukrainian energy firm less than a year before the elder Biden pressured government officials in Ukraine into firing a prosecutor who was investigating the company, according to emails obtained by The Post.

The never-before-revealed meeting is mentioned in a message of appreciation that Vadym Pozharskyi, an adviser to the board of Burisma, allegedly sent Hunter Biden on April 17, 2015, about a year after Hunter joined the Burisma board at a reported salary of up to $50,000 a month.

“Dear Hunter, thank you for inviting me to DC and giving an opportunity to meet your father and spent [sic] some time together. It’s realty [sic] an honor and pleasure,” the email reads.

An earlier email from May 2014 also shows Pozharskyi, reportedly Burisma’s No. 3 exec, asking Hunter for “advice on how you could use your influence” on the company’s behalf.

The blockbuster correspondence — which flies in the face of Joe Biden’s claim that he’s “ never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings ” — is contained in a massive trove of data recovered from a laptop computer.

Hunter, now 51, wanted to  be an artist  or a writer, but he was assigned by his father the role of family breadwinner through lucrative  grace-and-favor  jobs and sweetheart deals facilitated by Joe’s network of connections in Delaware and, later, throughout the world. 

Resentful of the expectations placed on him, Hunter complained that he was forced to give half his salary to his father. 

“I hope you all can do what I did and pay for everything for this entire family for 30 years,” Hunter wrote in a 2019 text message to his daughter, Naomi, that was found on his   abandoned laptop

“It’s really hard. But don’t worry, unlike Pop [Joe], I won’t make you give me half your salary.” 

But what we do know is that, while Joe was vice president, Hunter routinely paid at least some of his father’s household expenses, including AT&T bills of around $190 a month. 

We know from an e-mail on June 5, 2010, with the subject “JRB bills” to Hunter from   Eric Schwerin , his business partner at Rosemont Seneca, that he was expected to foot hefty bills to Wilmington contractors for maintenance and upkeep of his father’s palatial lakefront property. Joe’s initials are JRB, for Joseph Robinette Biden. 

The bills that June included $2,600 to contractor Earle Downing for a “stone retaining wall” at   Joe’s Wilmington estate , $1,475 to painter Ronald Peacock to paint the “back wall and columns” of the house, and $1,239 to builder Mike Christopher for repairs to the air conditioning at the cottage of Joe’s late mother, Jean “Mom-Mom” Biden, which was on his property and which he would later rent to the Secret Service for $2,200 a month. 

“This is from last summer I think and needs to be paid pretty soon,” wrote Schwerin of Christopher’s bill. 

Another $475 “for shutters” was owed to RBI construction, of Bear, Del., about 15 minutes west of Wilmington. 

Schwerin’s e-mail to Hunter begins: “FYI, there are a few outstanding bills that need to be paid and I am not sure which ones are a priority and which should get paid out of ‘my’ account and which should be put on hold or paid out of the ‘Wilmington Trust Social Security Check Account.’ ” 

He goes on to explain “there is about $2,000 extra in ‘my’ account beyond what is used for monthly expenses.” It is unknown why Schwerin used quotation marks around “my.” But it appears the account is used, at least in part, to pay expenses for Joe. 

Three days later Schwerin writes Hunter again: “Mike Christopher [builder] is hassling me so I am paying a couple of the smaller things since I haven’t heard from your Dad. Know he’s busy — so it’s OK. But if you think he has a moment or two to review the e-mail I sent you let me know.” 

In another e-mail to Hunter on July 6, 2010, titled “JRB Future memo,” about a plan apparently devised for Joe’s future   wealth management,   Schwerin writes: “Does it make sense to see if your Dad has some time in the next couple of weeks while you are in DC to talk about it? Your Dad just called me about his mortgage . . . so it dawned on me to might be a good time [for] some positive news about his future earnings potential.” 

At this point, Joe had been vice president for barely 18 months of his first term. 

Other documents on the laptop suggest a mingling of Joe’s finances with Hunter’s. 

In an e-mail on April 12, 2018, to his assistant Katie Dodge, Hunter complains that he has been “shut out” of one his Wells Fargo bank accounts. 

“Too many cooks in the kitchen. Too many profile changes and such. Happened 10 days ago too . . . My dad has been using most lines on this account which I’ve through the gracious offerings of Eric have paid for past 11 years.” 

“Eric” is presumably Eric Schwerin. 

Further evidence that Joe expected to receive a slice of his son’s income was provided by   Tony Bobulinksi , Hunter’s former business partner in a firm called Oneida, which was set up to enter   a joint venture   with the Chinese energy conglomerate CEFC. Bobulinski says that Joe was   the “big guy”   referred to in a 2017 e-mail who was to be allocated 10 percent equity in the firm: “10 [percent] held by H [Hunter] for the big guy.” 

Schwerin had been a loyal factotum to Hunter since the days they worked together in the Department of Commerce during the Clinton administration. 

As president of Rosemont Seneca, Schwerin would do everything from answer Hunter’s e-mails to facilitate his alimony payments and organize   his trips to China

But nothing to see here, just Brandon taking money from Hunter in return for political favors; and using his position to get Hunter high paying jobs that he wasn't qualified for.

 
 
 
Hal A. Lujah
Professor Guide
5  Hal A. Lujah    2 years ago

Jim, did you vote for Joe Biden, and now feel aggrieved that you were intentionally uninformed and thus deprived Donald Trump of your support?  (rhetorical question, of course)

I don’t care if all of Joe Biden’s kids put needles in candy bars at Halloween, spit in my french fries, or flashed their genitals to an old folks home - their dad is not them, and more importantly he is not Donald Trump.

 
 
 
Just Jim NC TttH
Professor Principal
5.1  seeder  Just Jim NC TttH  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @5    2 years ago
more importantly he is not Donald Trump

And thus the reason for your vote for this shitshow clown and his sidekick. You cannot be happy at this point with your choice. But you can pretend.

 
 
 
Hal A. Lujah
Professor Guide
5.1.1  Hal A. Lujah  replied to  Just Jim NC TttH @5.1    2 years ago

You cannot be happy at this point with your choice. But you can pretend.

He wasn’t my first choice, but the relief over DT being denied another disasterous term is beyond measure.  It doesn’t really matter who my first choice was, [deleted]

 
 
 
Just Jim NC TttH
Professor Principal
5.1.2  seeder  Just Jim NC TttH  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @5.1.1    2 years ago

Not me. Maybe others.

 
 
 
Snuffy
Professor Participates
5.2  Snuffy  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @5    2 years ago

Were  you one of those who called out about a potential play-for-pay when China fast-tracked the trademarks for Ivanka Trump?  Were you not part of the crowd who was calling for President Trump to be investigated (at the least) because of that?   And now, your beliefs that the actions of the children are separate from their father who is also the President is evident.   Excuse me but your partisanship is showing...

 
 
 
Hal A. Lujah
Professor Guide
5.2.1  Hal A. Lujah  replied to  Snuffy @5.2    2 years ago

Were  you one of those who called out about a potential play-for-pay when China fast-tracked the trademarks for Ivanka Trump? 

Donald Trump made attacks on trade with China a major plank in his campaign, while he and his family openly had literally everything in their manufacturing empire being produced outside of the US, primarily in China.  His supporters refused to even see the obvious hypocritical lies he was using to lure in the most useful idiots this country has to offer.  Do you honestly see an apples to apples comparison there?

 
 
 
Snuffy
Professor Participates
5.2.2  Snuffy  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @5.2.1    2 years ago

What I honestly see is a side-step from what I said.  

 
 
 
Hal A. Lujah
Professor Guide
5.2.3  Hal A. Lujah  replied to  Snuffy @5.2.2    2 years ago

Being critical of blatant hypocrisy is not the same thing as being critical of accusations of pay-to-play.

 
 
 
JBB
Professor Principal
5.2.4  JBB  replied to  Snuffy @5.2    2 years ago

Joe Biden's audited tax returns for twenty years are public so accusing him of pay to play is scurrilous unproven accusation...

 
 
 
Ronin2
Professor Quiet
5.2.5  Ronin2  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @5.2.1    2 years ago
Donald Trump made attacks on trade with China a major plank in his campaign, while he and his family openly had literally everything in their manufacturing empire being produced outside of the US.  

Do you see the absolute stupidity of this statement? If Trump and his family were so heavily invested in getting their good manufactured in China- then sanctions against China would hurt their business. Better still Trump followed through on his promise and put severe sanctions in China; getting the US involved in a trade war. 

His supporters refused to even see the obvious hypocritical lies he was using to lure in the most useful idiots this country has to offer. 

TDS sufferers refuse to see simple logic; even when it is literally thrown in their faces.  Trump didn't lie- he put sanctions in place against China. Probably one of the few times he wasn't lying. 

Do you honestly see an apples to apples comparison there?

See post 4.2 and tell us all about it. 

 
 
 
Hal A. Lujah
Professor Guide
5.2.6  Hal A. Lujah  replied to  Ronin2 @5.2.5    2 years ago

Do you see the absolute stupidity of this statement?

Which part isn’t true?  Donald Trump blasted trade relations with the country that manufactured most of the failed products he tried to hawk, including the ridiculous tie he was wearing.  It’s not stupid that the Trumps had their products produced there - everyone is doing that - it’s stupid that he tried to hide something that was so plainly visible.

 
 
 
Ronin2
Professor Quiet
5.2.7  Ronin2  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @5.2.6    2 years ago

So Trump didn't impose sanctions on China; and start a trade war trying to get a more favorable trade agreement? He carried through on a campaign promise; and yet you are still bitching about it.

Even top Democrats backed Trump's sanctions on China.

Three top Democratic senators, in a rare show of bipartisanship, on Wednesday urged U.S. President Donald Trump to stand up to China as he prepares to launch an inquiry into Beijing’s intellectual property and trade practices in coming days.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer pressed the Republican president to skip the investigation and go straight to trade action against China.

“We should certainly go after them,” said Schumer in a statement. Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Sherrod Brown of Ohio also urged Trump to rein in China.

Even when Trump tells the truth and follows through on his promises TDS sufferers bash him.

 
 
 
Hal A. Lujah
Professor Guide
5.2.8  Hal A. Lujah  replied to  Ronin2 @5.2.7    2 years ago

Even when Trump tells the truth and follows through on his promises TDS sufferers bash him.

Ever heard of the story about the boy who cried wolf so often that nobody would believe him anymore?  Trump lied hundreds of times more than that boy, and only told a truth when it was politically expedient to do so.  Fuck Donald Trump.  My comment wasn’t about his negotiations with China when he was POTUS*, it’s about his greedy reliance on China to produce his and Ivanka’s worthless, failed product lines while campaigning as if he gives two shits about American jobs and American manufacturing.

 
 
 
Snuffy
Professor Participates
5.2.9  Snuffy  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @5.2.3    2 years ago

Except you're the one in 5.0 that started the conversation of 

I don’t care if all of Joe Biden’s kids put needles in candy bars at Halloween, spit in my french fries, or flashed their genitals to an old folks home - their dad is not them, and more importantly he is not Donald Trump.

And I responded directly to that.  So the hypocrisy being pointed out is that you are more than willing to "forgive" Biden's children as Joe is not them,  but you want to complain when the same consideration is made for Trump.

 
 
 
Snuffy
Professor Participates
5.2.10  Snuffy  replied to  JBB @5.2.4    2 years ago
Joe Biden's audited tax returns for twenty years are public so accusing him of pay to play is scurrilous unproven accusation...

Go back and read my comment that you responded to.  Nowhere in there will you see that I accused President Biden of any pay for play issues.  All I said was there were plenty of people who accused Trump of that based on Ivanka yet these same people want to ignore looking at what Hunter Biden may have done.  There's been no fucking investigation, it was all buried.  Except the issue is seeming to come to light now.

 
 
 
Sean Treacy
Professor Principal
6  Sean Treacy    2 years ago

Anyone operating in good faith would agree with the author.  Not only did they censor a story, the actively lied about it, blaming "Russian disinformation" to protect their chosen one. If you removed the names from the story and turned into a hypothetical, no one would defend the media.

But, as we've seen time and time again, many progressives have no principles other that what's good for the party.  So nothing is out of bounds, so long as it helps politically. Needless to say, if the roles were reversed, they'd be screaming their heads off about corruption, a stolen election etc..

 
 
 
mocowgirl
Professor Quiet
6.1  mocowgirl  replied to  Sean Treacy @6    2 years ago
Not only did they censor a story, the actively lied about it, blaming "Russian disinformation" to protect their chosen one.

Russia has been made the boogeyman in US media for many years, but particularly in 2016. 

I believe the playbook was when Clinton had won the 2016 election, then Russia would have been "sanctioned" for interfering in the US election at the very least.  I believe the reasons for this had been years in planning.  I have no reason to doubt the Biden and his son were peddling "influence", but most likely could have been setting up the current war (which would have taken place during Clinton's presidency.)   

Russia is/was an economic threat to the oil men.

The US has been trying for years to peddle propane to Europe and China with limited results because they were buying from Russia.

The Panama Canal was widened for the express purpose of accommodating larger propane tankers from the US to China/Pacific markets.

Anyone who refuses to explore the possibility that this current war has more to do with taking Russia out of the world's oil/propane competition is definitely not paying attention to the money trail and the history of the US waging war in and against countries that compete in the world's petroleum market.

From June 2016....

Panama Canal expansion unlikely to significantly change crude oil, petroleum product flows - Today in Energy - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

On June 26, the Panama Canal Authority, the body that operates the Panama Canal, will inaugurate a third set of locks, which will allow for the transit of larger ships. This is the first such expansion since the canal was completed in 1914. With the exception of U.S. propane exports, the expansion of the Panama Canal is not likely to drastically affect crude oil and petroleum product flows.

Previously, the size limitations of the canal created logistical bottlenecks for U.S. propane   exports to reach markets in Asia  , forcing shippers   to perform ship-to-ship transfers  . The new, larger Panama Canal locks will allow most Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGC), the type of ship that carries propane and other   hydrocarbon gas liquids   (HGL), to transit, likely reducing or even ending the practice of ship-to-ship transfers.

In today's news.  

Does this have anything to do with the current war in Ukraine or not?

Is this one of the reasons why the US does not push for peace in Ukraine instead of war?

Biden and EU announce new deal to get more natural gas to Europe | Daily Mail Online  

Biden And EU Announce New Deal To Get More Natural Gas To Europe In Move To Undercut Continent's Dependence On Russian Energy

  • President Joe Biden and European Union President Ursula von der Leyen announced a deal to secure additional liquefied natural gas supplies for Europe 
  • Move is help wean continent off Russian energy as Putin invades Ukraine
  • The U.S. and other nations will boost the supply of liquefied natural gas to European countries by the end of 2022 with at least 15 billion cubic meters
  • Russia supplies 40 percent of the EU's collective natural gas needs 
 
 
 
JBB
Professor Principal
7  JBB    2 years ago

Considering that the Hunter Biden laptop story was everywhere and everyone knew about it and it was discussed here adnausem, what is the problem?

Oh Yeah! Trump got beat fair and square anyway.

original

 
 
 
JBB
Professor Principal
7.1  JBB  replied to  JBB @7    2 years ago

If I am not allowed to speculate upon the answer to my own question then someone should answer me.

 
 
 
Just Jim NC TttH
Professor Principal
7.1.1  seeder  Just Jim NC TttH  replied to  JBB @7.1    2 years ago

Who said there was a problem? And abominable? You broke the rule at the start of the seed.

SMH

 
 
 
JBB
Professor Principal
7.1.2  JBB  replied to  Just Jim NC TttH @7.1.1    2 years ago

[DELETED]

 
 
 
Just Jim NC TttH
Professor Principal
7.1.3  seeder  Just Jim NC TttH  replied to  JBB @7.1.2    2 years ago

Again, who said there was a problem? Well the author of the opinion piece has a problem with his fellow journalists. That is pretty much the gist of the article. Did ya read it?

 
 
 
JBB
Professor Principal
7.1.4  JBB  replied to  Just Jim NC TttH @7.1.3    2 years ago

The author is full of shit because the Hunter  laptop story got more play than it merited...

You and I discussed it here on NT, for weeks!

 
 
 
Sean Treacy
Professor Principal
7.2  Sean Treacy  replied to  JBB @7    2 years ago
what is the problem?

Let's revel in that response.  It's astounding.  

So ignoring the censorship issue for a second, you can't figure out why its a problem the media lied and presented the a factual  story as Russian misinformation?

Are you really that far gone that blatant lying doesn't even register on your radar of issues?

 
 
 
JBB
Professor Principal
7.2.1  JBB  replied to  Sean Treacy @7.2    2 years ago

Two Words - Project Veritas

There was nothing to it except inferences!

Still isn't. Nobody can articulate one crime...

 
 
 
mocowgirl
Professor Quiet
8  mocowgirl    2 years ago

It was vital that Hunter Biden's laptop was buried considering just the little bit of what was on it has been leaked.   

This posted today. 

Hunter Biden helped secure millions in funding for military biotech research program in Ukraine | Daily Mail Online

EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden DID help secure millions in funding for US contractor in Ukraine specializing in deadly pathogen research, laptop emails reveal, raising more questions about the disgraced son of then vice president

  • The Russian government held a press conference Thursday claiming that Hunter Biden helped finance a US military 'bioweapons' research program in Ukraine
  • However the allegations were branded a brazen propaganda ploy to justify president Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine and sow discord in the US
  • But emails and correspondence obtained by DailyMail.com from Hunter's abandoned laptop show the claims may well be true
  • The emails show Hunter helped secure millions of dollars of funding for Metabiota, a Department of Defense contractor specializing in research on pandemic-causing diseases
  • He also introduced Metabiota to an allegedly corrupt Ukrainian gas firm, Burisma, for a 'science project' involving high biosecurity level labs in Ukraine 
  • The president's son and his colleagues invested $500,000 in Metabiota through their firm Rosemont Seneca Technology Partners 
  • They raised several million dollars of funding for the company from investment giants including Goldman Sachs 
 
 
 
pat wilson
Professor Participates
8.1  pat wilson  replied to  mocowgirl @8    2 years ago

Metabiota

Our mission is to make the world more resilient to epidemics. We support decision makers across government and industry to make data-driven decisions. We work to estimate, mitigate, and manage epidemic risk, supporting global health security and sustainable development. We provide data, analytics, advice, and training to prepare for global health threats and mitigate their impacts.

Metabiota has over a decade of experience partnering with industry and governments worldwide to build resilience to epidemics and protect global public health. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with additional offices in Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Metabiota’s team includes global leaders in epidemiology, veterinary medicine, laboratory science, data science, actuarial science, social science, and political economics, and serves some of the most respected customers in the corporate, insurance, government, and multilateral sectors.

 
 
 
mocowgirl
Professor Quiet
8.1.1  mocowgirl  replied to  pat wilson @8.1    2 years ago
Metabiota

I admit this is only the first article that I have read about Metabiota.  Maybe they are something special and maybe they are not.  In this instance, they are not.  It is a lengthy article.

Investigation: U.S. company Metabiota bungled Ebola response - CBS News

An American company that bills itself as a pioneer in tracking emerging epidemics made a series of costly   mistakes   during the 2014 Ebola outbreak that swept across West Africa - with employees feuding with fellow responders, contributing to misdiagnosed   Ebola   cases and repeatedly misreading the trajectory of the virus, an Associated Press investigation has found.

San Francisco-based Metabiota Inc. was tapped by the Sierra Leonean government and the World Health Organization to help monitor the spread of the virus and support the response after Ebola was discovered circulating in neighboring Guinea in March 2014. But emails obtained by AP and interviews with aid workers on the ground show that some of the company's actions made an already chaotic situation worse.

WHO outbreak expert Dr. Eric Bertherat wrote to colleagues in a July 17, 2014, email about misdiagnoses and "total confusion" at the Sierra Leone government lab Metabiota shared with Tulane University in the city of Kenema. He said there was "no tracking of the samples" and "absolutely no control on what is being done."

"This is a situation that WHO can no longer endorse," he wrote.

WHO said Metabiota was well-placed to help when Ebola broke out in West Africa because of its expertise with Lassa, a related disease. The agency declined to give any detail about how it dealt with the complaints from senior staff about the firm or the status of their current relationship.

In Sierra Leone, Sylvia Blyden, who served as special executive assistant to the country's president in the early days of the outbreak, said Metabiota's response was a disaster.

"They messed up the entire region," she said. She called Metabiota's attempt to claim credit for its Ebola work "an insult for the memories of thousands of Africans who have died."
 
 
 
pat wilson
Professor Participates
8.1.2  pat wilson  replied to  mocowgirl @8.1.1    2 years ago

I read through the Daily Mail article you linked. I looked for criminality but didn't see any. Maybe Hunter's actions were less than ethical but I didn't see a crime.

I then looked up Metabiota to see if there was evidence pointing to bioweapon development. Didn't see any. From your Sierra Leone article it's clear they have problems. How nefarious they are is questionable.

 
 
 
mocowgirl
Professor Quiet
8.1.3  mocowgirl  replied to  pat wilson @8.1.2    2 years ago
How nefarious they are is questionable.

I don't have any reason to believe that Metabiota is or is not nefarious.  Today is the first that I have heard of them.  

There could be a pay for play angle.  Don't know and won't waste my time looking for clear cut evidence because if there was pay for play I doubt that there is evidence to be found unless someone forgot to cover their tracks properly or a whistleblower comes forward.

How does anyone, who has never met him, know if any of Hunter's actions were ever ethical?   From the snippets that I have read from his book, he seems to want sympathy for being an alcoholic and drug addict from adolescence because of the injuries he sustained in the car wreck that killed his mother and sister.  He has my sympathy for his injuries and loss of family. 

However, that does not mean that he is exempt, or should be exempt, from scrutiny over if he used his father's political influence in unethical ways.

In fact, because of the book that Hunter has recently released, I am wondering how coherently he ever functioned in any job.

 
 
 
mocowgirl
Professor Quiet
8.1.4  mocowgirl  replied to  pat wilson @8.1.2    2 years ago
Maybe Hunter's actions were less than ethical but I didn't see a crime.

Another thing that I just thought of.  

Biden was not supposed to be POTUS in 2016.  Clinton was.  I remember reading comments in the summer of 2015 on Newsvine that Clinton would be the (D) nominee.  I asked shouldn't there be a primary before the nominee was decided?  I was met with a firestorm of responses that Clinton had to be the nominee because there was no other Democrat alive that was qualified to be POTUS.  I don't remember being any more ill-treated on the internet than when I supported Sanders over Clinton.  It was vicious and still is for reasons that I will never understand because I am not that capable of adoration for anyone and definitely not a politician.

Hunter was supposed to quietly collect his millions (wherever they came from) and stay out of the spotlight.  If Trump had not won, it is doubtful that Hunter would have ever been scrutinized on any level by the media.

 
 
 
Dismayed Patriot
Professor Quiet
8.2  Dismayed Patriot  replied to  mocowgirl @8    2 years ago
It was vital that Hunter Biden's laptop was buried considering just the little bit of what was on it has been leaked.

Really? You're going to just push more unproven Russian propaganda? Why some have absolutely no ability to see though the obvious horse shit they're being fed is a wonder to me sometimes.

Here's the first clue this is NOT a real story vetted by any actual trustworthy news source: "The Russian government held a press conference Thursday claiming that Hunter Biden helped finance a US military 'bioweapons' research program in Ukraine"

Of course they're going to claim any connection with the US and Biden and supposed "bioweapons". What evidence do they submit to back up their claim? Supposed emails that mention "Metabiota, a Department of Defense contractor specializing in research on pandemic-causing diseases" that the Russian Government is claiming "could be sued for chemical weapons". Any fucking biological research could technically be used in "chemical weapons", they have absolutely ZERO proof that's the case for this company and in fact ALL other evidence is to the contrary and support the fact that biological or chemical weapons were NOT being researched by them.

So what is this horse shit claim being posted here actually say?

Russia claims Hunter Biden "helped finance bioweapons research" even though they have ZERO evidence.

Then they say the Russian claims "may well be true". You don't fucking say that if you have any actual fucking evidence.

Then the other clear identifiers of a horse shit story such as "an allegedly corrupt Ukrainian gas firm".

And all their proof? Hunter Biden and unidentified "colleagues" invested in a perfectly legal San Jose Biotech company that researches diseases and pandemics and has ZERO to do with bioweapon research.

Linking this trash from the DailyMail is no different then regurgitating it from RT or any other Russian propaganda website. Those who believe this horse shit should be ashamed of themselves since they're clearly either desperate right wing fascists trying to defend right wing authoritarianism like the current Putin regime or are so fucking stupid they can't see through such obvious Russian propaganda.

 
 
 
mocowgirl
Professor Quiet
8.2.1  mocowgirl  replied to  Dismayed Patriot @8.2    2 years ago
What evidence do they submit to back up their claim?

Evidence? 

It would be a far better world if evidence was required that supported all of the headlines in today's media, wouldn't it?

It would also be a far better world if people could process information objectively instead of through a filter that is biased, wouldn't it?

However, until concrete evidence is required and people have the ability to set aside their biases, this is what our media offers up on a daily basis for people to fight about.

In a previous comment on this seed, I offered up what I consider to be evidence of reasons why the puppets of the US petroleum industry could have had a hand in engineering this current war, but it seems it is far easier for people to believe that our US oil robber barons don't have a hand in any of this.  

 
 
 
Dismayed Patriot
Professor Quiet
8.2.2  Dismayed Patriot  replied to  mocowgirl @8.2.1    2 years ago
It would be a far better world if evidence was required that supported all of the headlines in today's media, wouldn't it?

Absolutely, but if that occurred I think the headlines from the current most trusted new sources wouldn't change half as much as right wing media and RT/Sputnik propaganda which often gets parroted by right wing media. Those with more than half a brain know when it comes to facts and evidence, globally recognized news sources like Reuters, the AP, the BBC, NPR, even Forbes that exist to inform their readers/viewers about what is happening in the world vs the clearly biased right wing fan fiction media like Fox, Breitbart, RT and OAN that solely exist to push a right wing conservative narrative where all the news is viewed through a "the whole world is against we white, conservative Christians" shit colored kaleidoscope lens.

It would also be a far better world if people could process information objectively instead of through a filter that is biased, wouldn't it?

Again, totally agree, but as I pointed out those sources are rather sparse today. If you stick to the top 5 most unbiased news sources you'll likely have a fairly good grasp on what's going on in the world. That would be the AP, Reuters, NPR, BBC News and the PBS Newshour.

If you spend all your time watching/reading Fox, Breitbart, InfoWars or even MSNBC then you're going to have a pretty fucked up view of reality.

However, until concrete evidence is required and people have the ability to set aside their biases, this is what our media offers up on a daily basis for people to fight about.

There are ways to tell if the news you're watching is heavily biased or not. If in less than three minutes of watching the news you've already been ideologically outraged more than once, then you're watching biased news. Yes, unbiased news can still illicit outrage, but it's not designed for that purpose like it is on Fox and MSNBC.

I offered up what I consider to be evidence of reasons why the puppets of the US petroleum industry could have had a hand in engineering this current war

You offered up hilarious conspiracy theory conjecture and regurgitated some whacky right wing conservative bullshit about the Biden's planning this war. I mean, it was a pretty funny read but you really ought to tag those kinds of comment as 'satire'.

it seems it is far easier for people to believe that our US oil robber barons don't have a hand in any of this.

Only because you've got to be a fucking lunatic to believe that Joe Biden, known best for sticking his foot in his mouth on a regular basis, is some secret mastermind behind manipulating Putin into this war so that Biden and his supposed oil buddies can reap the profits.

It's even funnier when you consider that laughable conspiracy while reading all the right wing anti-Biden articles and seeds claiming Biden caused the gas price hike by canceling oil leases, pipeline construction and subsidizing EV's. Think about it, that would mean Biden's been playing some serious 3D chess moves to act completely contrary to oil interests while also furthering some supposed long con allegedly started, as you claim, " during Clinton's presidency" even though many right wing conservatives believe he has dementia.

 
 
 
mocowgirl
Professor Quiet
8.2.3  mocowgirl  replied to  Dismayed Patriot @8.2.2    2 years ago
You offered up hilarious conspiracy theory conjecture and regurgitated some whacky right wing conservative bullshit about the Biden's planning this war. I mean, it was a pretty funny read but you really ought to tag those kinds of comment as 'satire'.

I have absolutely no idea what you are referring to.  Not too many years ago, there were articles about lack of available propane storage in the US because of the difficulties of selling it on the world market because of restrictive laws dating back to the 1930s.  New legislation was passed.  The Panama Canal was widened to accommodate the ships loaded with propane.

Russia is a direct competitor on the sales of propane gas.

Like it or not, those are facts.

Could any limits on the US export of LNG violate the law? | Global Energy Institute

The battle over expanding US exports of liquefied natural gas has long centered on a debate over supply and demand fundamentals: whether exports would cause domestic prices to skyrocket; whether limits would quell US production; or whether the industry may face flat demand without new markets.

But the debate ventured into some new ground recently when the US Chamber of Commerce began ramping up its argument that limiting LNG exports may violate the trade law.

“Export restraints not only violate the letter of US trade law and international trade agreements but also their spirit,” Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy, wrote in a January 24 letter to the Department of Energy. “In fact, export restraints implemented by the United States would likely be emulated by other countries and could easily limit US access to key natural resources that are not readily available from domestic sources, undermining US competitiveness.”

The letter was one of hundreds the department received last month on a study that the DOE is expected to rely on in determining whether to approve large-scale exports to countries that doe not have free trade agreements with the US. The study by New York-based NERA Economic Consulting, found that expanded LNG exports would be a boon to the US economy despite moderately raising domestic gas prices.

The bulk of letters received focused on price or environmental impact, but the Chamber’s letter was apparently the only one that delved into the trade law ramifications.

The chamber argues that barring any LNG exports would violate the free-trade commitments that the US has made in both the US Constitution and as a member  of the Geneva-based World Trade Organization.

In a recent interview with Platts, Christopher Guith, a chamber vice president, said any LNG export restrictions would be hypocritical for an Obama administration that already has filed WTO complaints against China for limiting sales of rare earth metals and other raw materials that are used in energy applications.

“We’ve already brought an international trade complaint against China for doing precisely what is happening right now with LNG, which is picking one country over another,” said  Guith.

Guith said allowing DOE to exercise that kind of “discretion” between countries that have FTAs with the US, and those that don’t, constitutes “a violation of WTO obligations.”

The US can not limit exports of LNG — or anything — to countries with FTAs. Among the nations that have FTAs with the US, and LNG import facilities, are Chile, Singapore (LNG plant coming online soon), and South Korea.

“We can’t go around the world lecturing and encouraging other countries to open up their markets and then turn around and close ours on a raw material that we have boatloads of,” Bruce Josten, the chamber’s executive vice president for government affairs , said during a press conference last month.

Cheniere Energy, a Houston-based gas company that wants to export LNG from facilities in Cameron Parish, Louisiana and Corpus Christi, Texas, made this argument in the LNG-export application that it filed with DOE in 2010. To date, Cheniere’s Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana is the only US facility that DOE has cleared to export LNG to all countries, including those that do not have formal FTAs with the US, such as gas-hungry Japan.
 
 
 
mocowgirl
Professor Quiet
8.2.4  mocowgirl  replied to  mocowgirl @8.2.3    2 years ago
I have absolutely no idea what you are referring to. 

I try to verify my "news" from US government web sites.  If those are not trustworthy, then where you suggest is?  What news outlets are trustworthy and unbiased today?

more info....

U.S. LNG Trade Rising, But No Domestic Shipping (congress.gov)

U.S. LNG Trade Rising, But No Domestic Shipping


As U.S. natural gas production sets new records, trade in 
liquefied natural gas (LNG) has risen sharply. Since 2016, 
when the first plant in the lower 48 states to cool gas to 
minus 260ºF for export opened in Louisiana, the United 
States has exported LNG by ship to 27 countries. The 
inauguration of a second liquefaction facility in Lusby, MD, 
in April 2018, portends a further increase in LNG exports. 
Yet despite abundant gas supplies and a growing volume of 
LNG exports, the United States continues to import LNG as 
well. Imports, including the January arrival of a shipment 
containing Russian gas to Boston, persist in part because 
there is negligible domestic trade in LNG. The lack of U.S.-
built LNG tankers, a legal requirement in order to move 
LNG domestically by sea, may be encouraging the use of 
imported rather than domestic gas in some locations. 
LNG Export Expansion
In 2017, the United States became a net exporter of natural 
gas for the first time since 1957, according to the U.S. 
Energy Information Administration (EIA). Total exports, 
pipeline and LNG, were 8.7 billion cubic feet per day 
(BCF/D), or 12% of production. Most of these exports 
(78%) move to Mexico and Canada by pipeline. Exports by 
ship require that the gas be liquefied, which in turn 
necessitates construction of extremely expensive 
liquefaction plants. Most U.S. LNG exports, so far, have 
gone to Mexico, South Korea, and China.
Alongside the Louisiana facility and the new facility in 
Maryland, three other LNG export facilities may begin 
operations in 2018, with a combined capacity of 4.62 
(BCF/D (Table 1)). If these open on schedule, U.S. export
capacity could be more than 8 BCF/D of LNG. All told, 
exports are likely to absorb 11% of U.S. gas production by 
year end. Additional facilities under development could 
enable the United States to supplant Australia and Qatar as 
the top LNG exporter within a few years.
 
 
 
mocowgirl
Professor Quiet
8.2.5  mocowgirl  replied to  Dismayed Patriot @8.2.2    2 years ago
It's even funnier when you consider that laughable conspiracy while reading all the right wing anti-Biden articles and seeds claiming Biden caused the gas price hike by canceling oil leases, pipeline construction and subsidizing EV's. Think about it, that would mean Biden's been playing some serious 3D chess moves to act completely contrary to oil interests while also furthering some supposed long con allegedly started, as you claim, " during Clinton's presidency" even though many right wing conservatives believe he has dementia.

I consider Biden to be nothing more or less than an inept puppet.  Unfortunately, he is the absolute best person the Democrats has to offer as the most qualified person in their party to be President of the United States.  It is almost as if it has become the party of old white men, but I know that can't be right because we all know that is the Republican party, right?

The XL pipeline would not have necessarily lowered gas prices because oil prices must remain fairly high in order for it to be profitable to mine the Canadian tar sands.  The majority of the oil and gasoline from the Canadian tar sands would have been for export and not been used on the US domestic market.

I have always been against the XL pipeline because of the damage of mining the tar sands and refining the tar sands.  I was also against "clean" coal because it isn't.

Canada’s Tar Sands: Destruction So Vast and Deep It Challenges the Existence of Land and People - Inside Climate N ews

And on another note, unless oil prices are high and remain high, it is not profitable to mine the tar sands.

Furthermore, once the tar sands are refined into gasoline, the gasoline will primarily be exported.  I have read that the gasoline will be exported tax free from Port Arthur, TX.  If you care to verify from your trusted sources if that is true, who enacted such legislation in favor of the oil companies to the detriment of the taxpayers, then it would be interesting information to know.  

The Keystone XL Pipeline: Everything You Need To Know | NRDC

What Is Keystone XL?

The Keystone XL pipeline extension, proposed by TC Energy (then TransCanada) in 2008, was initially designed to transport the planet’s dirtiest fossil fuel, tar sands oil, to market—and fast. As an expansion of the company’s existing Keystone Pipeline System, which has been operating since 2010 (and continues to send Canadian tar sands crude oil from Alberta to various processing hubs in the middle of the United States), the pipeline promised to dramatically increase capacity to process the 168 billion barrels of crude oil locked up under Canada’s boreal forest. It was expected to transport 830,000 barrels of Alberta tar sands oil per day to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas. From the refineries, the oil would be sent chiefly overseas—not to gasoline pumps in the United States.

Some three million miles of oil and gas pipelines already run through our country, but KXL wasn’t your average pipeline, and tar sands oil isn’t your average crude. It's derived from a sludgy, sticky deposit found beneath the wilds of northern Alberta’s boreal forest. These sands contain bitumen, a gooey type of petroleum that can be converted into fuel. It’s no small feat extracting oil from tar sands, and doing so comes with  steep environmental and economic costs . Nevertheless, in the mid-2000s, with gas prices on the rise, oil companies ramped up production and sought additional ways to move their product from Canada’s remote tar sands fields to midwestern and Gulf Coast refineries.

Keystone Pipeline, Gas Prices, and Oil Exports

Dirty energy lobbyists claimed developing tar sands would protect our national energy security and bring U.S. fuel prices down. But environmental reviews by both the Obama and Trump administrations concluded that the Keystone XL pipeline would not have lowered gasoline prices.   NRDC and its partners also found   the majority of Keystone XL oil would have been sent to markets overseas—aided by a 2015   reversal of a ban on crude oil exports .

This lines up with an industry trend: Oil and gas companies are   exporting 8.4 million barrels   of crude oil and refined fuels every single day. That’s up nearly threefold from a decade ago, and an amount equal to 42 percent of our consumption. And these exports are more than 10 times the capacity of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

 
 
 
Dismayed Patriot
Professor Quiet
8.2.6  Dismayed Patriot  replied to  mocowgirl @8.2.3    2 years ago
I have absolutely no idea what you are referring to.  Not too many years ago, there were articles about lack of available propane storage in the US because of the difficulties of selling it on the world market because of restrictive laws dating back to the 1930s.  New legislation was passed.  The Panama Canal was widened to accommodate the ships loaded with propane.

Russia is a direct competitor on the sales of propane gas.

Like it or not, those are facts.

Those are supposed facts that do not in any way prove your wild conspiracy theories.

If those are not trustworthy, then where you suggest is?  What news outlets are trustworthy and unbiased today?

As I've already said, "That would be the AP, Reuters, NPR, BBC News and the PBS Newshour."

more info....

Nothing about LNG you posted would be considered evidence of any shadowy cabal manipulating governments into war with Russia for profit as you've claimed. It's like claiming that the facts and evidence showing man landed on the moon prove the US government was secretly working with Nazi's that escaped after WWII and set up a base on the dark side of the moon. It's pure lunacy.

I consider Biden to be nothing more or less than an inept puppet.

Really? But according to you just a few comments ago you said "I have no reason to doubt the Biden and his son were peddling "influence", but most likely could have been setting up the current war (which would have taken place during Clinton's presidency.)".

Do inept puppets set up elaborate and apparently undetectable manipulation of world governments, forcing them to go to war all while having kept the plan secret for several decades?

I find it interesting that right wing conservatives can come up with wild conspiracy theories based on nothing but their own fantasy imagination while at the same time call the over two dozen accusations of sexual assault against a known adulterer and serial liar all "fake news" simply because they don't want to believe it. It would be funny if it wasn't so damn sad as that means there are millions of truly clueless stupid idiotic gullible dumb shits in the US which anyone with more than half a brain already knew in the abstract, but still find unnerving when so clearly demonstrated.

Unfortunately, he is the absolute best person the Democrats has to offer as the most qualified person in their party to be President of the United States.

Well that's bullshit. He was simply the least offensive placeholder needed to get the fucking worthless piece of filth, aka the Tangerine Palpatine, out of the oval office so America could get back to some sense of normalcy and be respected again in the world after four years of total embarrassment to any patriotic rational American. Sure, there were the complete nut jobs who come up with unfounded bullshit conspiracy theories that absolutely loved having the Penis Pumpkinhead as President, but they're no doubt the same kind of worthless fascists we saw attack the capital on January 6th.

It is almost as if it has become the party of old white men, but I know that can't be right because we all know that is the Republican party, right?

The Democratic party is the most diverse political party in the history of the United States. The ratio of "old white men" among Republicans is FAR higher than it is among Democrats. Are both still bearing vestiges of an era in American politics where you couldn't even be considered for office if you weren't a white Christian male? Yes, but only the Republican party seems to have no desire to embrace diversity and in fact directly challenge any attempt to proactively work towards diversity.

The XL pipeline would not have necessarily lowered gas prices because oil prices must remain fairly high in order for it to be profitable to mine the Canadian tar sands.  The majority of the oil and gasoline from the Canadian tar sands would have been for export and not been used on the US domestic market.

Ah, finally! An actual fact! Yes, I agree and this is what liberals and progressives have been saying for years now.

I have always been against the XL pipeline because of the damage of mining the tar sands and refining the tar sands.  I was also against "clean" coal because it isn't.

Again, I agree as do almost every other liberal and progressives I've heard comment on the subject here on NT.

And on another note, unless oil prices are high and remain high, it is not profitable to mine the tar sands.

Agreed, that was one of the reasons most rational Americans with more than half a brain did not support the pipeline, it just wasn't worth the risk of the possible environmental damage and wouldn't create enough permanent US jobs or help our energy independence at all. However, that doesn't mean that there is some plan by Hunter Biden, Burisma, Joe Biden and some fantasy 'deep state' secretly cooperating with 'deep oil' to inflate global oil prices by staring a war in Russia.

The reality is that there is a common theme in nearly all these conspiracy theories the right come up with, and that's to shift blame away from Russia and Putin onto their own political opponents. It's sad, but I truly believe many right wing conservative Republicans would rather pick up a weapon and shoot liberal and progressive American citizens than they would pick up a weapon and shoot Russian soldiers who were illegally invading Ukraine and committing war crimes. I really never thought I would see this day. Back when the iron curtain fell I thought that even though liberals and conservatives have their differences, at least they were united in opposition to Americas enemies. Now there are millions of sniveling right wing fascists with treason in their hearts willing to attack their own nation to protect a fascist populist and his Russian dictator handler.

So to recap, imagining the Biden's and Democrats somehow got Putin to attack Ukraine in order to increase oil company profits is fucking insane. There is no 'deep state', there is no shadowy Bond villain oil & gas industry cabal behind Putin's invasion. If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. Anyone with any intelligence looking at Putin and his actions over the last two decades would know his primary goal has always been to punish the United States, to denigrate it and embarrass it just as he feels the US did to Russia, and to sew division, water the seeds of white nationalist fascism in our country and destroy western democracy from the inside which would lead to the second part of his plan, rebuilding Russia into the world power it once was which requires taking back all the parts of the old USSR that are now parts of eastern Europe.

This invasion has always been part of Putin's plans, the oil and gas industry are merely trying to take advantage of the situation and make a profit off it. So yes, they're not good people, they profit of the death and misery of millions, whether it's people dealing with flammable drinking water due to fracking near their well water or using a war as an excuse to raise gas prices, but there simply is no evidence that the tail is wagging the dog.

 
 
 
mocowgirl
Professor Quiet
8.2.7  mocowgirl  replied to  Dismayed Patriot @8.2.6    2 years ago
Do inept puppets set up elaborate and apparently undetectable manipulation of world governments, forcing them to go to war all while having kept the plan secret for several decades?

No, that would be the Masterminds.

 
 
 
mocowgirl
Professor Quiet
8.2.8  mocowgirl  replied to  Dismayed Patriot @8.2.6    2 years ago
He was simply the least offensive placeholder

Really?  Seriously?  

What makes all of the other Democrat candidates too offensive to US citizens to be elected POTUS?

If all of the other Democrat candidates are that offensive to US citizens, why should any of them be POTUS?  

 
 
 
mocowgirl
Professor Quiet
8.2.9  mocowgirl  replied to  Dismayed Patriot @8.2.6    2 years ago
but there simply is no evidence that the tail is wagging the dog.

Again, why would there be?  Who would be in a position to find it?  Who would have the power to report it?  Who owns the US media?  The oligarchs or the people?

Who and when was the last time anyone in the US government rewarded a whistleblower instead of punishing them?  

 
 
 
Dismayed Patriot
Professor Quiet
8.2.10  Dismayed Patriot  replied to  mocowgirl @8.2.7    2 years ago
No, that would be the Masterminds.

"I have no reason to doubt the Biden and his son were peddling "influence", but most likely could have been setting up the current war"

You clearly are claiming there that "Biden and his son" are the supposed "masterminds".

What makes all of the other Democrat candidates too offensive to US citizens to be elected POTUS?

I didn't say "all the other Democratic candidate" are too offensive to be elected POTUS, I said at the time Biden "was simply the least offensive" which allowed him to gain support from over 81 million Americans.

Of course, those with decent reading comprehension would understand that being the "least offensive" doesn't actually indicate that everyone else is "too offensive" for anyone to vote for. It simply means if there is a candidate that 81 million would vote for over another who got 7 million fewer votes, then the winner is likely "less offensive" than the one who lost by a lot. Donald Trump is the most offensive candidate that has ever run for the office, and that's saying a lot considering all the scum bags who've run for President and even those criminals who got elected like Richard Nixon. Tricky Dick looks like a choir boy when compared to the baby fingered Trumplethinskin.

Based on the results it was clear that the vast majority of Americans were 'less offended' by Biden than they were of Trump and the votes showed it. But it would have been entirely likely that other Democrats would have faired nearly as well as Biden, though they might have only garnered support from 79 million voters instead of over 81 million. They would have likely still won, but not by as large a margin and the gap would be even more narrow in the battleground States and electoral college votes.

The Presidential election showed that the majority of Americans were less offended by Democrats than by Republicans. Does that mean all other Republicans candidates are even more offensive to US citizens than Trump? I mean, Republicans chose Trump as their candidate and he lost by over 7 million votes, so if that's the best they could do, by your logic, then all the other Republican candidates must be "too offensive" so none of them should be POTUS either, right?

I do have to congratulate you on a solid deflection from my prior comments that you clearly can't refute considering you chose to cherry pick and twist one sentence about Biden being "least offensive" and tried to turn it into an attack on the Democratic party as a whole while ignoring the monumentally offensive fat orange accused rapist elephant sucking up all the oxygen in the current Republican party.

 
 
 
mocowgirl
Professor Quiet
8.2.12  mocowgirl  replied to  Dismayed Patriot @8.2.10    2 years ago
You clearly are claiming there that "Biden and his son" are the supposed "masterminds".

Let me clarify any misunderstanding on my position on "Biden and his son".  They are puppets.

Do you know who are the ten top masterminds in the world?  

 
 
 
mocowgirl
Professor Quiet
8.2.13  mocowgirl  replied to  Dismayed Patriot @8.2.10    2 years ago
Does that mean all other Republicans candidates are even more offensive to US citizens than Trump? I mean, Republicans chose Trump as their candidate and he lost by over 7 million votes, so if that's the best they could do, by your logic, then all the other Republican candidates must be "too offensive" so none of them should be POTUS either, right?

Right.

How long do you think the US is going to survive as a country when the citizens are this sharply divided?  Or as a nation, is the best that we can do?

The last POTUS that I supported and voted for was Barrack O'Bama.  I also voted for Kerry over W as a protest vote over W.  Other than those two, the Ds have not fielded a candidate that I would waste my time voting for.

The first, last and only Republican candidate for POTUS that I voted for was Ronald Reagan.  It was 1980.  I was in my early 20s.  The news media had trashed Carter's handling of  Iran overthrow of the Shah so thoroughly that he carried only two states.  So, maybe, I can be forgiven this one time for being thoroughly frightened enough by our trustworthy US media to support a Republican candidate for anything?

Maybe, trashing independent voters may prove to be a winning strategy for the Ds at some point.  

 
 
 
mocowgirl
Professor Quiet
10  mocowgirl    2 years ago

This is public information.  No laptop needed.  

Hunter Biden's Ukraine salary was cut — after Joe Biden left office (nypost.com) In 2016, Hunter’s total income from Burisma was $999,996. In 2017 it dropped to $665,000, and then $498,000 in 2018. Hunter resigned from the Burisma board in April 2019, according to his lawyer George Mesires, after his controversial business dealings dogged his father’s presidential campaign.

Does anyone know how Hunter Biden was worth over $2,000,000 to Burisma while he spent those years smoking crack according to his own book?

Hunter Biden memoir: He opens up about Hallie Biden, crack addiction (usatoday.com)

when his father joined Obama's campaign ticket in 2008, he had to upend his career because of his lobbying work (i.e., it would be a conflict of interest). He "had huge expenses and no savings, and now I had to bust my (expletive) to build another career from scratch." 

By Memorial Day 2016, however, someone offered Biden cocaine. He took it.

This led to his buying crack cocaine in Washington from Rhea – a homeless, middle-aged woman he met while he was at Georgetown. Rhea is a pseudonym, Biden writes.

"I spent a couple of thousand dollars on crack in those first two weeks, with Rhea serving as my conduit," he writes. She even moved into his apartment and stayed there for approximately five months.

By Memorial Day 2016, however, someone offered Biden cocaine. He took it.

This led to his buying crack cocaine in Washington from Rhea – a homeless, middle-aged woman he met while he was at Georgetown. Rhea is a pseudonym, Biden writes.

"I spent a couple of thousand dollars on crack in those first two weeks, with Rhea serving as my conduit," he writes. She even moved into his apartment and stayed there for approximately five months.

In the spring of 2018, he used his "superpower – finding crack anytime, anywhere" – in Los Angeles. At one point, a dealer pointed a gun at his head before he realized Biden was looking for drugs.

He later learned how to cook drugs and spent a lot of time with thieves, addicts and con artists. "I never slept. There was no clock. Day bled into night and night into day," he writes.

The situation grew out of control. "I was smoking crack every 15 minutes," he writes.

Biden returned to the East Coast in the fall of 2018, again wanting to get better, though that didn't happen.
 
 

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