Russiagate is so weird. I went weeks without writing anything about it so I’d forgotten how breathtakingly bizarre it is. A new “BOMBSHELL” Russia story comes out every few hours (all coincidentally right before or right after the Helsinki summit, which is perfectly normal and not at all suspicious), never containing anything other than unsubstantiated assertions by the known liars and manipulators of the US intelligence community. And every time without fail my social media mentions light up with another wave of people screaming “Okay, now you definitely have to admit this is real, Caitlin Johnstone!”
If you point out that no, those are still just unsubstantiated assertions from the same secretive, shady cast of characters who’ve recently organized the decimation of Iraq, Libya and Syria based on lies, you get called a “bot” and accused of conducting psyops for the Kremlin.
“But read the indictment!” they say. “These assertions are really, really detailed!”
“Okay, but they’re still just assertions though, and they’re still completely unsubstantiated by any actual, tangible evidence,” you might say. “Detailed assertions are still just assertions. Assertions are not evidence. You don’t think two years is enough time to make up some detailed assertions?”
“Bot,” they say.
“Gahhh” you say.
Two huge "Russia! Russia!" stories dropped right before the summit, putting immense pressure on Trump, and afterward there's another deluge of completely different "Russia! Russia!" stories. Pure spontaneous, unscheduled coincidence that this is all coming out now, I'm sure. https://t.co/8s31n59hd5
— Caitlin Johnstone (@caitoz) July 19, 2018
I mean, I get it. The mass media is bashing people in the face with this thing over and over and over again day after day with unprecedented shrillness and hyperbole; it’s hard to imagine that not taking a toll on the American psyche. There’s immense pressure to conform to the establishment narrative, which is reinforced not just by one’s social media feeds and the talking heads on TV, but more importantly by their own peers. It’s difficult being the odd man out still demanding the kind of proof everyone should demand in a post-Iraq invasion world, especially after the hysterical McCarthyite feeding frenzy environment gets people eyeing you suspiciously for it. It can be very tempting to say a quiet “Eh, screw it” and join the herd.
A New York Times story was published that got my social media notifications lighting up with another wave of people screaming “Proof! Here is your proof, Caitlin! Now you must join us!” The story alleges that in a briefing before taking office, Donald Trump was shown documents proving that Russians had launched a campaign of cyberattacks under the personal direction of Vladimir Putin. As we have all come to expect of New York Times stories pertaining to Trump and Russia, it is anonymously sourced, contains none of the documents it refers to, and was probably leaked by the Obama administration intelligence community insiders who gave the briefing.
So of course I was dismissive. Anonymous assertions aren’t evidence either, which should really go without saying. But then those notifications lit up again as people stated saying “Look! It’s not anonymous anymore! James Clapper has personally verified it on CNN! #TrumpKnew!”
Oh. Right. Clapper. Yeah, that’s much better.
James Clapper, who was almost certainly one of the sources for the New York Times story, was the single most essential architect of the establishment Russia narrative. He personally hand-picked the two dozen intelligence agents who made the report upon which the entire Russian cyber attack narrative has been built, which, as the late, great Robert Parry pointed out last year, is actually hand-picking the findings of the report.
“Yet, as any intelligence expert will tell you, if you ‘hand-pick’ the analysts, you are really hand-picking the conclusion,” Parry wrote. “For instance, if the analysts were known to be hard-liners on Russia or supporters of Hillary Clinton, they could be expected to deliver the one-sided report that they did.”
Clapper is also a known liar of the very most egregious sort. In 2013 as National Director of Intelligence he was asked point-blank on the Senate floor about the NSA surveillance practices which would soon be exposed by Edward Snowden, and he lied about it under oath.
“Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?” Clapper was asked by Senator Ron Wyden in March of 2013.
“No, sir,” Clapper brazenly lied. “There are cases where they could inadvertently, perhaps, collect, but not wittingly.”
This known liar, who was absolutely fundamental in constructing the establishment Russia narrative that is now being used to manufacture support for dangerous new cold war escalations including sanctions, arming Ukraine, NATO expansionism, and a Nuclear Posture Review which takes a much more aggressive posture toward Russia, also happens to be a disgusting Russophobic eugenicist pig.
“And just the historical practices of the Russians, who typically, are almost genetically driven to co-opt, penetrate, gain favor, whatever, which is a typical Russian technique,” Clapper casually told NBC’s Chuck Todd last year while explaining why Russians are so dangerous. “So, we were concerned.”
“Genetically driven.” He actually said that. Can you imagine anyone getting away with saying any other ethnic group is “genetically driven” to nefarious behavior on national television without it being a huge, career-ruining scandal? Try to think of literally any other ethnic group for whom that would have been remotely acceptable. But it was such a non-story for the mass media machine that you probably never even heard about it.
In case you’re tempted to give him the benefit of the doubt and wonder if this was perhaps an Ambien-induced fluke or something, he said almost the same thing again a few days later during a speech in Australia.
“But as far as our being intimate allies, trusting buds with the Russians that is just not going to happen,” Clapper said. “It is in their genes to be opposed, diametrically opposed to the United States and to Western democracies.”
In their genes. This vile ghoul of a man now works for CNN. They trot him out whenever there’s something people need to know about Russians.
These are the kinds of people who have built and continue to build the establishment Russia narrative. And people wonder why I’m skeptical. I’ll leave it at that.
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46 responses to “Lying Bigot James Clapper Assures World The Russia Narrative He Built Is Legit”
Don’t worry about Clapper’s narrative we can now bomb Iran.
WMD! WMD!! “Have You No Sense of Decency?”
“If you point out that no, those are still just unsubstantiated assertions”
Are all the assertions unsubstantiated? For example, a grand jury indictment is based on the jury’s conclusion in view of actual evidence presented to them. While we have not seen the evidence, they have, and the indictments themselves are evidence of the fact that the assertions contained therein have been substantiated to some degree by a neutral third party.
Another way of thinking about it. I don’t have to go outside and feel the wind on my skin and in my hair to know it is windy. I can look out my window and see the affect of the wind on the trees.
“Are all the assertions unsubstantiated?” Are you actually blind, or, as a troll/saboteur, just pretending/playing a role? “This is actual, real-life ‘Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia’ Orwellian revisionist doublethink.” https://consortiumnews.com/2018/05/02/russian-talking-points-look-an-awful-lot-like-well-documented-facts/ “I have said it before, and I will say it again, and I will keep saying it and saying it until it becomes mainstream conventional wisdom: it is the US intelligence community’s job to Lie to you.” [Remember Donald Rumsfeld on the public/world stage stating bluntly “We will Lie to you”? Since then, it has been virtually erased from the Internet.] “The indictment contains No Evidence and will likely never be defended in any court of law.” https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2018/07/14/two-big-russia-russia-stories-released-days-before-trump-putin-summit/ “Clapper is also a known Liar of the very most egregious sort. In 2013 as National Director of Intelligence he was asked point-blank on the Senate floor about the NSA surveillance practices which would soon be exposed by Edward Snowden, and he lied about it under oath.” “The complete Absence of Evidence has of course failed to deter establishment propagandists and Capitol Hill war whores from loudly and aggressively advancing the galaxy-brained Narrative.” Reconsider this quote from 2016 (within a Common Dreams article, before they totally succumbed), for it should remind you of worldwide WMD hoaxes, world stage Lies, and the extent that some will go to in order to advance a predetermined agenda (after the directed Coup/Regime Change in Ukraine, which was a premeditated precursor to a goal of Regime Change in Russia): “I have watched incredulous as the CIA’s blatant Lie has grown and grown as a media story – blatant because the CIA has made no attempt whatsoever to substantiate it. There is no Russian involvement in the leaks [not hacks] of emails showing Clinton’s corruption.” “Craig Murray, the former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan . . . called the CIA claims ‘bullshit,’ adding: ‘They are absolutely making it up.’” https://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/12/cias-absence-conviction Again, there is a “complete Absence of Evidence,” and “the CIA has made no attempt whatsoever to Substantiate it.” The “grand jury indictment is [Not] based on the jury’s conclusion in view of actual evidence,” because there is none – “just [WMD-style] unsubstantiated assertions.” “They have” Not “seen” “evidence,” “and . . . indictments themselves are [Not Always] evidence.” Especially since 9/11, one can be indicted based purely on political or militaristic goals, all within many other subversive means – without Actual Proof of Guilt. Remember Thomas Drake? “He refused to ‘plea bargain with the Truth.’” And again, but further, are you actually blind, or just pretending not to be able to put together what you read? Since you “can look out [your] window and see the affect of the wind on the trees,” how would you respond if it became a worldwide controlled Narrative Assertion that this “affect” was no longer just a result from “wind,” but also from secret Russian microwaves – where the supposed Evidence was hidden and only our preparation for WWIII could possibly stop them? If the Congress, MSM Establishment, Progressives, and virtually everyone else went along with this Deep State “Assessment” after it was concurred by a Grand Jury, would you even begin to question?
Two words suffice: ham sandwiches.
It’s amusing and horrifying to be reading Killing Hope by William Blum while all this is going on. The billions of dollars U.S. taxpayers have spent peddling propaganda written by the CIA! Radio, newspapers, television, books, endless leaflets and pamphlets. If you read Blum’s book you’ll never believe any of this cheesy drivel again, but in my experience few people are willing to read and comprehend what their country has been up to.
Thanks for the recommendation. I just ordered the book; it looks like a good reference, since it gets updated now and then.
Clapper was Director of National Intelligence (DNI), which used to be called Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), and that person was always, until recently, head of the CIA. Now think of all the CIA heads since1947. There is only one who might make any claim to integrity: Stansfield Turner. He fired most of the operations functionaries, and they promptly got together in their private capacities to give us Iran-Contra. Once started, the thing became a hydra.
Clapper is a “spymaster”. Like the original Allen Dulles. He’s the one that wroth the book on covert opps. I satand by my words even if I can;t find the citations immediately.
“satan”? No need to invoke him. Clapper reports a few rungs lower on the hierarchy…
I hate sound conspiratorial, but this is the very kind of man who, when world events do not turn out the way they had secretly hoped to benefit their nefarious aims, can suddenly be boosted back into legitimacy by manufactured events such as attacks etc. In the very least his type ardently hopes for such events to take place, and has no problem whatsoever benefiting from them.
Does anyone remember the story from the early ’90’s when a woman said she got epileptic seizures whenever she heard the voice of Mary Hart, the host of the syndicated television show Entertainment Tonight ? Well i experience something similar when i watch any of the MSM ” news” programs. I get sooooo angry that i’m fit to be tied and have to immediately turn the tv off. It’s gotten so bad that last night Chris Matthews ,of MSNBC, actually said that Vladimir Putin was ” not a human being ” !!!! Unfortunately, this insanity shows no sign of subsiding. If anything, it’s getting worse.
How did you like Blumenthal saying we have been LITERALLY attacked? Caitlin Johnstone really calls it like it is: shrill hysteria by morons and assholes. I simply change the channel or turn off the television when the crazies start ranting. But all of this makes sense when you realize very few people seem to be in touch with objective reality. And, yes, Virginia, there is an objective reality despite all the pomo bullshit.
I have to literally turn the channel or the set entirely, lest I damage a fine Sony bigscreen.
I’m gonna get a refund on this piece of junk. He just won’t shut up , no matter how many times I try :
https://cdn.neweasy.com/pimg/FC728191B4A4418AAFC78A09223B3474.jpg
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Clap off , dammit ! Clap OFF !!
Hmmm.. Turns out I went to high school with Clapper – he was a year ahead of me, Annandale HS, Fairfax VA 1959. I flunked a “civics” test administered by my teacher, of the DAR, because I did not regurgitate the correct answer the the query, “Why is, has been, and will be, American foreign policy formulated for the good of the other countries.” I cited the Spanish-American war as an example. “F”. I imagine Clapper answered “correctly.”
Nevertheless, skipping all the sturm and drang of the Deep State recoiling from their rogue president, who somehow snuck into office despite their best efforts, there’s still something going on. I am sure, not because the CIAFBINSA etc brainwashed me, that there was “collusion” between Russia and Trump. It doubtless has its roots in Trump’s financial entanglement with Russian mobsters and oligarchs, many of whom live in or have offices in Trump Tower. Or Trump himself tipped his hand, as he seems to do often, when he said (I saw it when it happened) he hoped the Russians would find those 30K emails on TV. It is just too clear that Trump is enmeshed in dirty money and dirty connections to dear Mother Russia. I don’t need the Deep State to show me, he and his family have shown me enough already.
And then the trip to Europe and Helsinki. Never mind to psyop war of the Deep State, they did not produce Trump’s body language as he traipsed, post-private meeting, for his mutual press conference. His whipped dog demeanor says far more than the Deep State’s blah blah, or his own blah blah. Russia/Putin have something on him and he was told in no uncertain terms what it was and what they could/would do if he didn’t behave like a well trained dog. He obeyed.
I trust not one word from Clapper, Brennan, Comey, Clinton et al – they are the very embodiment of the actual Deep State, which indeed exists, and about that Trump is correct as can be. And they are indeed after him. That said, though, despite all those parties being professional liars, all of them can also utter things that are true. Trump can say there is a Deep State and they are after him. They can say he colluded with Russia and is in some deep shit with them. Both are true.
Parsing what an indictment and what an allegation is vs “proof” etc is interesting and you are right about America’s “liberal/left” getting hysterical and doing themselves what the Right once did re Commies etc.; you are right about the Deep State needing a Russia scapegoat to justify the MIC, etc. But …
I’ll have in a bit a blog post on the Deep State & the Don coming up on http://www.jonjost.wordpress.com
Dude the email thing was a joke, probably among the funniest 10% of all jokes that Trump has told. (That may not be saying a great deal, but I laughed.) Jokes don’t mean anything so when you fixate on them it undermines the appearance of intelligence you’ve attempted to cultivate on this site.
Clapper should be shot and exacuted. Heis garage
Mr Clapper deserves to be strangled for his subversion of the govt. We don’t need foreign enemies, we have them here in our mists.
Tough crowd. I latch on to specific little details and don’t let all the noise distract me from the initial conclusion. If there is peace the MIC will go out of business.
Do you know, love and respect anyone who wants a war with Russia? No I am sorry you don’t KNOW anyone who earns money giving their expert opinion on the evening news. If you think you do give yourself a slap, because sooner or later their narrative will deliver a mortal wound to your body. Better to come to with a nice slap.
Hi Caitlin, Yes, and I’m still waiting for some astute journo’s to describe the hysterical Trump treason promoters as 1st order foil-cap shrouded conspiracy theorists. No one outraged about the faith-based official 911 explanation was half as looney as the purveyors of the Trump summit treason or as insulting as the media employed paranoid theorists of compromised Trump-Putin Bromance. michael major\\
Lying bigot! Take a deep breath, Cait! This stuff i getting to you. You need to look at what the hell is going on here. It goes way beyond partisan politics. what’s at stake? They are willing to overthrow the government, throw out the constitution . . . because of a crude boorish bully. So what else is new? Think of Bill Clinton, W Bush. One has to look at what’s beyond their fulminations.
I do not expect to be popular. I am confident in my system of morality, my version of history, and not dependent (mostly) on other people’s approval. I expect we are a small minority, perhaps 20 percent of the population, but it is the independents who swing elections between the rival gangster parties. But the evil one’s control the news, and our borrowing is on a war time footing, and they think there are too many people – 500 million would be environmentally sustainable (Georgia Guide Stones). People buy it all because they think the liars are the experts. They are sheep and want to fit in, thinking they are part of something bigger, something better than any one else, even on the ramp to the slaughter house. I am not optimistic. “As you sow, so shall you reap” – karma is a bitch. I think we are headed for nuclear war – actually I think we are in one as tactical nuclear weapons have been used already in the Ukraine, Syria, and China (Veterans Today). But as no one cares what I think, I say the Serenity prayer. People listen to you – Congrats. Perhaps we will be smart enough to prepare and survive, or allow our children to survive. You have a certain advantage living in Australia.
Caitlin, I’m a 61-year-old linguist, translator and semiotician. I was studying Chomsky in the 80s. Linguists seem to be hyper-tuned-in to smell propaganda. But the other thing I smell is the CIA getting desperate, from losing control of the narrative.
What the Democrats are really unhinged about is that Trump actually pulled off a diplomatic meeting with minimal bloopers and reasoned discussion. And Pre-emptive Peace Prize Obama never did anything for de-escalation. Put all the same words in Obama’s mouth, and they’d love it. They’d go all dovish.
Some of my FB friends had gone pretty lukewarm on Russiagate, especially since the switch from Narrative 1 (hacking the DNC) to Narrative 2 (troll farm). But last week it became clear which of them could be roped back in.
They’re being gaslighted and haven’t realized it. They’re not morons; they’re more like cult members who are addicted to their cult’s echo chamber. Courtesy of the CIA and neuro-linguistic programming.
People I read for a dose of sanity whilst the propaganda blizzard rages:
Seymour Hersh, Michel Chossudovsky, Craig Roberts, Craig Murray, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, Bernhard at moonofalabama, Norman Solomon, Chris Hedges, and of course, you, Caitlin! You’re the ONE PERSON who can make me laugh these days. Thanks! Take a break and watch a comedy.
“Trump actually pulled off a diplomatic meeting with minimal bloopers and reasoned discussion.”
Were you a fly on the wall, in that room with no one butTrump, Putin, and two translators who are not allowed to talk about what was said? And after Republicans refused to let the American translator testify about what was said in this “diplomatic meeting” Trump “pulled off”? Something got pulled off, all right, but what? The MSM is speculating, they have time to fill, and a news formula they follow. They talk about what they have seen happening and what people have said. It’s what they do, and no one thinks they know if what the hell they are talking about is true. You, on the other hand, are spinning.
I have to bail from this site–ya’ll think you are sane.
You mean you don’t buy all this spinning either?
nope. you can’t tie the mess that has been going on for decades in a neat little agenda-sized bow. Peace, Jim, and adios.
Nope, I’m referring to the news conference that provoked all the rage about supposed “treason”, which very few partisans have bothered to look up in the dictionary or in the US Constitution.
Interpreters are sworn to confidentiality. The only way they could possibly talk about that “private” meeting and not get banned from their profession would be under subpoena.
Republicans are under the effect of gaslighting, too. They would have been smarter not to block testimony.
And no, I don’t think the Neo-cons will let the President get away with de-escalation. He doesn’t set policy. They do.
I may be spinning, but you’re the one who’s dizzy.
Somehow I do not think this is about escalation or de-escalation. It’s about something Putin wants, and he seems to be willing to go to a lot of trouble to get it. But if that’s not your brand of tea, so be it.
Republicans “are under the effect of gaslighting” ???
the poor wee innocent bairns…
LOLOLOL toodle pip!
Zero Hedge has a Gallup poll showing that 1% or less of Americans attach any significance to the Russian situation. I intend to be in that category–it is good for the blood pressure.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/2018-07-18_17-17-09.jpg?itok=_bhcqtc-
It’s kind of a vague poll. Not much information.
Thanks for your integrity. I don’t kid myself that we get the unvarnished truth from our ruling oligarchs, but the volume and coercive force of the anti-Russian, anti-Trump hysteria is surprising. The Vichy Democrats have become a howling mob. Honestly, by now I can’t think of anyone who could be in charge who would not hasten our doom.
Putin seems pretty rational compared to the idiots and shills on this side of the Straits.
Without you I’d be a lot more lonely.
Me too, I look forward to Caitlin’s posts. Keeps me fightin’ the fight against fascism. I usually use Medium, this came in first today. I’m at Medium @jrallen1200 check it out!
I wouldn’t trust James Clapper with my toenail fungus infected clippings. The nightly ‘news’ over the air network news is still on the Russian bullshit. If anyone can prove the actual powers that influence elections doesn’t come from the home front I’ll quit writing and turn my liver into a vodka pickled death sentence. Andrea Mitchell just was spouting off about Russian interference in the corrupt election process. I’d like to meet the jailed Russian agent. I like guns too! LOL! And sex! Anyway the former IC idiots are adding to the current IC(intelligence communities) assholes contention that Russia influenced the elections. Start with the corporations allowed to funnel unlimited capital to campaigns. Then add AIPAC to the mix. Then add oligarchs as the Kochs or Sheldon Adleson and tell me whose fucking with the goddamn elections. Get real folks. The beast is amongst us. Peace, The Ol’ Hippy
You don’t like Clapper. Neither do I. I don’t like Trump or Putin either. Or the ghouls who work for them. I’m not enamored of Mueller or Comey either. But I’m not betting on Trump and Putin.
So how about we, I don’t know, tear down the BS system that allows these people to build their BS narratives? https://www.minds.com/blog/view/858930556422402048
Why do you even care? It’s not even your country…
1. You didn’t design the flag
2. You didn’t write it’s Constitution
3. You’ve never made a single law.
4. You don’t have the keys to even one of it’s jails or prisons.
5. You’re not allowed to enter any of it’s tanks, fighter jets, or bombers.
6. You don’t get to print any of its money.
7. You never signed any contract to be it’s citizen. Social contracts made with babies are not binding.
8. You are not part of it’s inner party
9. You are not part of its outer party.
10. They have no moral problem with accusing you of a crime, imprisoning you, torturing you, or executing you.
There over two million Americans are in US prisons today, every day, every year, year after year. That is far, far less than the number of Americans in Russian, Chinese, or North Korean prisons. By, oh, I don’t know, a factor of… 2 million.
Verdict: It’s not your country. It is a danger and a threat to you.
I say it again. Let it sink in. You are not a member of it.
It is not your country. It is not your flag.
It’s a free world as I understand it, so far. Why should an Australian journalist be allowed to give her take on today’s events? I’m am a US citizen and absolutely abhor the US government’s running the economy on the murder of civilian children, women and men. Only when you can face the facts of a thoroughly corrupt US govt may you denigrate a citizen of a foreign state. I pity your type. Sad.
you entirely missed Choppergirl’s point JA–
“7. You never signed any contract to be it’s citizen. Social contracts made with babies are not binding.”
think about what she is communicating here.
I’m just sayin’ that she,(Caitlin) can say what she wants about the USA, just as you or me(a US citizen) can. I didn’t sign a contract either to buy the govt’s lies and bullshit.
Choppergirl–thank you. beautifully done
Dear Dr. Strangelove,
Please send Caitlin a batch of your nifty kool-aid – so she can learn to stop worrying – and love the BOMB, – so she can imagine the coming glory when Australia joins the ”coalition of the willing” to launch the Big One against those pesky Russians. Never forget, it was the Russians who started the anti-capitalist movement over a 100-years ago – with that god-awful slogan: ”Peace, Bread, Land.” We all know that once a red, always a red – so we dare not trust those pinko-commies because they are only pretending to be greed-is-good, christian for the love of money capitalists. The ”top secret” agencies of the ”intelligence” community have full confidence that the U.S. War Machine can out-nuke the Russians before they know what hit them. And if we can’t trust the War Machine, who can we trust–??
Yes, Caitlin, there is a Santa Clause, and he too hates eastern orthodox Russians.
“Verdict: It’s not your country. It is a danger and a threat to you.
I say it again. Let it sink in. You are not a member of it.
It is not your country. It is not your flag.”
Yet my Australian father served in your little fiasco in Vietnam and lost friends there. My Australian son served in your other little fiasco in Afghanistan. If we’re good enough to serve, be maimed or die in your country’s endless wars, we’re good enough to criticise your country. If your country’s wars or threats of war occur in our backyard, thousands of miles from your own backyard, we have every right to speak up. What your country does affects EVERYBODY.
I’m all for American Exceptionalism providing the US manages to remove itself from the rest of the world. Failing that, we will criticise it because the standard you walk past is the standard you accept.
“There over two million Americans are in US prisons today, every day, every year, year after year. That is far, far less than the number of Americans in Russian, Chinese, or North Korean prisons. By, oh, I don’t know, a factor of… 2 million.”
Citation needed.
Bravo, Kathy. How can anyone fail to understand that US & CIA wars affect everyone on the planet? CIA has interfered in elections worldwide. The last count I saw was 83 countries’ elections.
This is why, as Chomsky said, the world is laughing at us right now.