Blog 334 | The Libertarian Institute

The Presidential Candidates On Russian Aggression Against Ukraine

by Steven Woskow | Oct 7, 2019 | Blog

They are all horrible. Note that Joe Biden answered this before all the Ukraine impeachment scandal hit.

CFR invited the presidential candidates challenging President Trump in the 2020 election to articulate their positions on twelve critical foreign policy issues.

Joe Biden:

Economically, I would work to increase Western direct investment and support for Ukraine’s energy independence from Russia, particularly if the Nordstream II pipeline is built in the coming year, because this project would severely jeopardize Ukraine’s access to Russian gas.

I would also ensure that all U.S. assistance to Ukraine is strictly conditioned on anti-corruption reforms, including the appointment of genuinely independent anti-corruption prosecutors and courts.

Former CIA Officer Robert Baer: Whistleblower Represents ‘Palace Coup’

by Scott Horton | Oct 7, 2019 | Blog

Via Matt Taibbi:

From CNN:

BAER: That’s what I find remarkable, is that this whistleblower knew about [the placing of the record of the call in the classified system], this attempt to cover up. This is a couple people. It just isn’t one.

BALDWIN: And on the couple people point, if the allegation is true, Bob, what does it say that White House officials, lawyers, wanted to cover it up?

BAER: You know, my guess, it’s a palace coup against Trump. And who knows what else they know at this point.

But, you know, this is not an ordinary whistleblower complaint. It is, like I said, well put together, well thought out, and handled exactly right within the limits of the law. And this is what has the president scared. These people know what they’re doing.

(Disclosure: Baer is a friend of my wife’s. I never liked him.) He is quotable on some things. Lies alot for money too. In this case what’s important is that he hates Trump and was a cheerleader for Russiagate and such, so he’d be just as likely to play along with a CIA plot against the president as characterize one as such on TV. But there you go. And thing is though too that “palace” in this case would seem to imply people closer to Trump, but we’ve already been told this was a CIA officer attached to the NSC, so there’s that.

Speaking of Matt Taibbi, please go read his great new essay about the “whistleblower” for the real context of this latest impeachment scandal.

The Fake Whistleblower

by Steven Woskow | Oct 7, 2019 | Blog

Matt Tiabbi sets the record straight. Who are the real whistleblowers? They are people sitting in prison. People that have had their lives destroyed. What they are not is people that are protected by the so-called intelligence community.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Tom Nicholson/LNP/REX/Shutterstock (9907709c)
American whistleblower Chelsea Manning poses for photos ahead of a public talk as guest of honour at the Institute of Contemporary Arts annual dinner.
Chelsea Manning at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, UK – 01 Oct 2018

The unnamed person at the center of this story sure didn’t sound like a whistleblower. Our intelligence community wouldn’t wipe its ass with a real whistleblower.

Americans who’ve blown the whistle over serious offenses by the federal government either spend the rest of their lives overseas, like Edward Snowden, end up in jail, like Chelsea Manning, get arrested and ruined financially, like former NSA official Thomas Drake, have their homes raided by FBI like disabled NSA vet William Binney, or get charged with espionage like ex-CIA exposer-of-torture John Kiriakou. It’s an insult to all of these people, and the suffering they’ve weathered, to frame the ballcarrier in the Beltway’s latest partisan power contest as a whistleblower.

Read the rest here.

Chinese Innovation is the Envy of the West

by Zooey Greif | Oct 6, 2019 | Blog

Haitians Rise Against The Empire

by Steven Woskow | Oct 5, 2019 | Blog

Thousands of Haitians have taken to the streets in protest against the US puppet government in Haiti and the constant meddling in Haitian affairs by the Core Group (US, Canada, France, Brazil, Spain, UN, Eu and OAS). Years of interfering in Haiti starting with the CIA backed coup against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in the 1990’s and continuing through every US administration since then may have finally reached a nadir and Haitians appear to have had enough.

At a recent Haitian roundtable in Miami attended by Rep. Fredrica Wilson and Nancy Pelosi, Haitian activists confronted the history of western imperialism against the people of Haiti.

Haitian-American activist Karen Andre gave a very powerful testimony to the panel:

“I am very much on the side of the people, the masses. I am very much on the side of the beleaguered, long suffering masses. Not for the last year but for the last decade, the last century dealing with intervention, imperialism, meddling, all manner of corruption and lack of respect for rule of law.”

She continued with a list of grievances perpetrated against the people of Haiti. All I am going to do is repeat what the people have been saying for the last year. Since 1804 they have had one message, respect our sovereignty! Where is the Petrocaribe money? End the extrajudicial killing of activists. Where are all these arms coming from? There are people on the ground with weapons that are US made entering the country by mysterious means and killing activists that are raising their voices and demanding change.

Listen to her entire testimony starting at 15:40 and watch Nancy Pelosi squirm knowing that the democrats and republicans are both guilty. Also, watch activist Carline Paul confront Pelosi on the US forcing the Haitian government to vote for sanctions on Venezuela. Venezuala was providing up to 70% of it’s fuel to Haiti under very favorable economic conditions. Since the US sanctions on Venezuala ended the Petrocaribe program, Haiti has been unable to purchase enough fuel on the international market because they do not have enough dollars to pay for it. This has lead to an energy crisis in Haiti.