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Re: Chris Hedges: Reign of Idiots - Chris Hedges - Truthdig

chindit13 — Mon, 01 May 2017 05:51:22 -0000

I cannot find Shangri-La on my Google Earth. Perhaps you'll give me the coordinates?

The faults you mention, while not universal, manifest themselves in every ideology. The empirical evidence, however, suggests benefits are more widely shared when there is an incentive-based system, which is to say Capitalism.

Re: Chris Hedges: Reign of Idiots - Chris Hedges - Truthdig

chindit13 — Mon, 01 May 2017 05:47:24 -0000

Perhaps you'll share with the audience the examples of Socialist or Communist Camelots?

Re: Chris Hedges: Reign of Idiots - Chris Hedges - Truthdig

chindit13 — Mon, 01 May 2017 04:15:16 -0000

The other ideologies fail, and fail faster, because 1) not everybody is equal in terms of ability and/or ambition, and 2) SOMEBODY is always in charge, and given that those somebodies are human, they will abuse their power eventually, if not initially.

Re: Chris Hedges: Reign of Idiots - Chris Hedges - Truthdig

chindit13 — Mon, 01 May 2017 03:55:44 -0000

What Hedges is criticizing is human nature, something unlikely to change.

The fruits of success have always held the seeds of their own destruction. This has been the path of 'progress' since Oldavai Gorge. Only the last 500 years have seen the West and the Caucasian races ascendant. The East, the Middle East, and even South America had their own rise and fall, victim of the same human frailties the West now faces.

Odd that Hedges implies a Western-origin solution to what ails us, seemingly in the form of Socialism or Communism. These ideologies are even more deleterious to life and the planet than capitalism, as they attempt to obviate human nature. In theory they might sound nice, but reality must account for that variable called human nature. In case Hedges hasn't noticed, all are not created equal. All might be (theoretically) equal under the law, but that is the law of man. One of mankind's peculiarities is that we hold ourselves to a higher standard than we do our gods, who clearly have no problem with inequality. Said another way, the Universe isn't fair, and nothing man can do will change that.

Civilizations always have been, and always will be, on a cycle of ascendancy then decline. Capitalism, which provides incentive and allows for the inequality of existence by allowing for 'each according to his abilities' may ultimately fail its practitioners, but at a slower rate and with more widely spread benefits while its cycle runs its course.

That being said, Trump really is an idiot.

Re: Trump Cheered, Applauded by CIA Employees; 'He Was Well-Received,' Intel Chair Said

chindit13 — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 17:51:37 -0000

The agencies were not politicized. Obama was political. He can use, or ignore the agency. Generally he ignored it, and took his counsel from Rice, Jarrett and Hillary.

Presidents come and go. Some use the agency, some do not. The same work is done, the same intel produced, the same suggestions and advice given not matter what. POTUS is within his right to ignore it, but it gets done apolitically.

Re: Trump Cheered, Applauded by CIA Employees; 'He Was Well-Received,' Intel Chair Said

chindit13 — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 17:48:36 -0000

I can use that word because you don't know John and don't know the agency. What I said re John and US persons in my original note is 100% correct. There is no room for debate on it.

I do know where the confusion regarding the silly internet meme of John's 'conversion' came from, but that is for another day.

John was born Irish Catholic and remains that to this day.

Re: Trump Cheered, Applauded by CIA Employees; 'He Was Well-Received,' Intel Chair Said

chindit13 — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 17:45:00 -0000

No, your comment is meaningless because it is not fact based. Yes, you are entitled to an opinion, even an incorrect one, but don't try to tell people who know better what is right.

The agency was not politicized by Brennan, Tenet, yes, and that got us into a war, when the actual analysts' estimate on the likelihood of WMD was 15%, and a paper ignored by Cheney, Wolfowitz, Perl, etc., EXACTLY predicted post-Saddam Iraq.

John Brennan served the agency and country for nearly three decades, always putting the country, and the men and women of the agency first.

As you might guess, my knowledge is not second hand. That is why I can say with full certainty that your comment is meaningless.

Re: Trump Cheered, Applauded by CIA Employees; 'He Was Well-Received,' Intel Chair Said

chindit13 — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 07:46:14 -0000

Believe you? Why? You don't know anything. People might as well believe their Uber driver of latte pourer, as they have access at least equal to yours.

Re: Trump Cheered, Applauded by CIA Employees; 'He Was Well-Received,' Intel Chair Said

chindit13 — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 07:45:03 -0000

Wrong. Trump, acting out of ignorance, started the feud. Trump is so stupid he did not know two key things:

1) The salacious dossier was a non-USG doc, therefore not classified, and in the hands of just about every major media organization before it ever came to the attention of the IC---and that was first the FBI, handed a copy by Sen John McCain.

2) Because Trump was still P-elect, it is a requirement that every meeting with him be reported to the West Wing, plus copies of all briefing papers must be forwarded to the WW. Often SSCI on Capitol Hill also gets a full heads up. That means there is a non-agency universe of hundreds of people who know everything---and that by protocol and law.

Ironically, the agency thought the dossier so bogus that Dir Brennan was against informing Trump, as was Clapper. Comey felt that it would be better to let Trump knew what all the media was always talking about, especially since one of them would eventually publish it. It was Comey's idea to brief Trump on it, which he did one-on-one after the original 6 January intel briefing given Trump on Russian hacking (which convinced Trump, by the way).

Re: Trump Cheered, Applauded by CIA Employees; 'He Was Well-Received,' Intel Chair Said

chindit13 — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 07:39:23 -0000

You can blame Hillary for that, and maybe Morell, but Brennan was in the West Wing, not DCI, when Benghazi took place.

Re: Trump Cheered, Applauded by CIA Employees; 'He Was Well-Received,' Intel Chair Said

chindit13 — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 07:38:10 -0000

No they do not. Goodness, you are easily fooled. People have hopes for Pompeo, but agency people are smart enough to see the incredible character flaws in the painfully insecure Trump. Also, NOBODY forgets Trumps Tweets and press conference comments, in addition to his bizarre speech on sacred ground in front of the Wall.

Re: Trump Cheered, Applauded by CIA Employees; 'He Was Well-Received,' Intel Chair Said

chindit13 — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 07:36:18 -0000

Dir Brennan served the agency for the better part of three decades. That was under Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II and Obama. John was definitely NOT political, but 100% dedicated to the nation and to the men and women of the agency.

Your comment, made out of abject ignorance, is offensive.

As Homeland Security should also say: If you know nothing, say nothing.

Re: Trump Cheered, Applauded by CIA Employees; 'He Was Well-Received,' Intel Chair Said

chindit13 — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 07:33:37 -0000

Wingnut alert!!!! John Brennan is an Irish Catholic, son of an immigrant from the old country.

You silly fools who do your 'research' on the internet! There's a real world out there that you are missing. Go upstairs, open the door, and tell your Mom you want to go outside and get some fresh air.

Re: Trump Cheered, Applauded by CIA Employees; 'He Was Well-Received,' Intel Chair Said

chindit13 — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 07:31:39 -0000

You know nothing, so best to say nothing. Read my other comments if you want to begin your education. Otherwise, stick to Alex Jones and David Icke for your 'world view'. Silly boy.

Re: Trump Cheered, Applauded by CIA Employees; 'He Was Well-Received,' Intel Chair Said

chindit13 — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 07:30:08 -0000

Sorry, but I have to call you a moron. There is an internet meme that Dir Brennan is Moslem. That is laughable. He is, was, and likely can never escape his personal reality, which is that he is Irish Catholic, son of a man who immigrated from the old country.

Your lack of knowledge extends to your comments on Boston: once someone is in the US, especially if they are US persons, the job is the bureau's and Homeland Security. The agency has no mandate to investigate US persons. Even if the agency comes across significant material on a US person, they must get an exemption from a FISA Court or else discard the material. That policy has been in effect roughly since the Church Commission in the late 1970s.

Re: Trump Cheered, Applauded by CIA Employees; 'He Was Well-Received,' Intel Chair Said

chindit13 — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 07:23:58 -0000

You got it exactly right. Three full rows were "RESERVED" for the people Team Trump brought in in buses. It was these shills who did the hooting and hollering. It was performance art, and apparently how Team Trump intends to control the narrative.

Among real agency folks, which included the senior management team (staff officers and Chiefs of Mission centers), there was shock---at both the bused-in shills and the bizarre comments given on sacred ground)---as well as concerns over Trump's sanity. Assessment is what ops officers do, and assessing Trump is pretty easy: incredible insecurity.

His comments in his Tweets and presser are not forgotten. Making his speech in front of the Wall all about himself or whining about the press will not be easily forgotten either.

Trump has spent his entire cartoonish life erecting monuments to his own fragile ego, yet he disparaged and disrespected people who have sacrificed for the nation, some with their lives.

Re: Trump Cheered, Applauded by CIA Employees; 'He Was Well-Received,' Intel Chair Said

chindit13 — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 07:16:10 -0000

And you know that how? Obviously not from personal experience, so your comment is meaningless.

Re: Trump Cheered, Applauded by CIA Employees; 'He Was Well-Received,' Intel Chair Said

chindit13 — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 07:15:25 -0000

Obviously you do not actually know anything. Obama and his cocoon were political (Rice, Jarrett, and previously Hillary), but the agency never was, and that includes Dir Brennan. Some agency people who felt their personal turf had been violated may have been opposed to the agency modernization plan, but that plan was correct, as it makes the agency more nimble in a world now timed in milliseconds.

As for leaks (I know you didn't mention this, but this is preemptive), there were none from the agency. Trump, impulsive person that he is, spoke before even understanding the govt he subsequently took over. Trump lashed out at the entire intel community, and such comments are not quickly forgotten. Trump had to bring a few dozen shills to the agency on 21 January to manufacture the appearance he was well-received. It was a sham, and Trump did himself no favors with his bizarre self-aggrandizing speech in front of the Wall agency people hold dear.

Re: Trump Cheered, Applauded by CIA Employees; 'He Was Well-Received,' Intel Chair Said

chindit13 — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 07:01:02 -0000

Here is what actually happened:

The actual agency crowd included the senior management team (~40 individuals) plus those who won a ticket lottery. Three rows of the audience was "RESERVED" for people who came with the Trump team on several buses.

Trump first toured the HQ building, spending most of his time (~45 minutes) in CTC (Counter Terrorism Center). He was okay there.

Trump gave a non-televised private speech to the management team, which was roughly the same speech he gave later in front of the wall.

When Trump arrived in front of the cameras at the Wall, after the brief intro by Ex-Dir (acting for a few days) Meroe, the gang from the buses, and for whom three rows were reserved, broke into wild applause. The real agency people, especially the management team, offered at best polite applause.

Trump then went about shocking real agency employees by spending the majority of his speech----on what is considered sacred ground---boasting about himself and whining about the press. Real agency people began joking among themselves that this is what a speech in Pyongyang must be like, with the trained seals.

Agency folks do not forget Trumps Tweets and press conference comments where he disparaged the agency and used the term "Nazis". Trump has made Mr. Pompeo's job infinitely harder than it had to be.

The silly comments I see about 'politicalization' of the agency always come from people who don't know anything. Dir Brennan served (something Trump has never done) 5 Presidents, both R and D. Agency folks are used to being used or ignored, as Administrations vary. Ops Officers in particular are good at judging character and individual weaknesses. Nobody missed Trump's incredible insecurity, which drives him to both boast incessantly, as well as ignore the sacrifices made by the living and those memorialized on the Wall. Just about every senior management team person has friends on that Wall, and viewed Trump's behavior as totally inappropriate.

Now you know. The visit was performance art, and tasteless.

Re: Former Director of National Intelligence: Trump’s relationship with intel community ‘dismaying’

chindit13 — Sun, 22 Jan 2017 13:07:03 -0000

When I use a certain term, it is not a disparagement, but rather the proper clinical use of the word. For example, a moron is defined as one with an IQ between 65 and 75. An imbecile covers the territory from 50-65. Below 50 is an idiot.

I think you must be an imbecile.

I believe you are trying to refer to John Brennan, former DCI. John was not yet DCI when Benghazi took place. Mike Morell was Acting DCI at that time, after the resignation of Gen David Petraeus.

Regarding the Russian hacking, it is not speculation, but fact. I'm sorry John did not remember to send you a copy of the relevant HUMINT and SIGINT material, but I guess he must have been a little busy. Of course it is classified, because it is always wise---and economical---to keep sources and methods private.

The 'politicalization' you speak of is a Fake News meme started by the Trump team. To give them the benefit of the doubt, their fault was due more to ignorance than malice aforethought. They apparently were the only people inside the Beltway who did not yet have copies of the salacious dossier---a document, by the way, that is not classified because its genesis is not the USG. All major media had it for months. Buzzfeed finally decided to run it.

Trump, being his usual impulsive, insecure, and childish self, immediately lashed out at John Brennan, perhaps because that is the only name Trump could associate with 'intelligence'. Trump compounded his idiocy (okay, I use it there in a disparaging manner, not clinical) by calling the agency "Nazis". He won no friends with that quip.

Re: Former Director of National Intelligence: Trump’s relationship with intel community ‘dismaying’

chindit13 — Sun, 22 Jan 2017 12:29:43 -0000

Silly. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that even in Guinea-Bisseau, you would only have an average IQ at best.

Re: Former Director of National Intelligence: Trump’s relationship with intel community ‘dismaying’

chindit13 — Sun, 22 Jan 2017 12:26:56 -0000

They work for the nation and take an oath to the Constitution. The NSC is a political animal, but not the agency, NSA or bureau. They regularly refuse commands and requests by the POTUS.

Re: Former Director of National Intelligence: Trump’s relationship with intel community ‘dismaying’

chindit13 — Sun, 22 Jan 2017 12:24:49 -0000

The cheering came from the couple of bus loads of new White House staffers Team Trump brought to the show. That is how they hope to control the narrative in their Administration. If it reminds you of the Soviet Bloc era or today's Pyongyang, it should.

Re: Former Director of National Intelligence: Trump’s relationship with intel community ‘dismaying’

chindit13 — Sun, 22 Jan 2017 12:22:56 -0000

Your comment is spurious. You know nothing. My other comments here will begin your much-needed education.

Re: Former Director of National Intelligence: Trump’s relationship with intel community ‘dismaying’

chindit13 — Sun, 22 Jan 2017 12:21:47 -0000

See my other response to your drivel. You are rather uneducated about what various US agencies are tasked with doing. Perhaps you'll put down your keyboard and take some time to learn.