https://youtu.be/Ff7aMFlxUlE Alexander Acosta, the former U.S. attorney in Miami who’d infamously cut Epstein a non-prosecution plea deal back in 2007, was being interviewed for the job of labor secretary...“Is the Epstein case going to cause a problem [for confirmation hearings]?” Acosta had been asked. Acosta had explained, breezily, apparently, that back in the day he’d had just one meeting on the Epstein case. He’d cut the non-prosecution deal with one of Epstein’s attorneys because he had “been told” to back off, that Epstein was above his pay grade. “I was told Epstein ‘belonged to...
intelligence
Russia Controls 20% of Ukraine While Kiev Loses 60 – 100 Soldiers Per Day: Zelensky
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has painted a grim picture of his country’s war effort in recent interviews. Zelensky said his forces are suffering hundreds of casualties every day, and Russia now controls 20% of Ukraine.
COI #207: Is Biden Turning to Diplomacy with Russia and Iran?
On COI #207, Kyle Anzalone and Connor Freeman update the JCPOA talks’ recent developments and the Russians’ security proposals presented to Washington. Kyle discusses the Russians pulling 10,000 troops off the border with Ukraine and sending them back to their bases. This is potentially a show of goodwill before the upcoming talks with the U.S. next month. Kyle and Connor then cover some recent escalations that do not necessarily bode well for substantive diplomacy like the Americans flying spy planes over Ukraine not far from the separatist Donbas region. There is also talk of a...
Salafis Throwing Bombs: How American and British Planners Partnered With Al-Qaeda Affiliated Groups At the Start of the Syrian Civil War
Introduction In the mainstream view, al-Qaeda did not play a role in the Syria conflict until Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi dispatched his deputy, Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, to Syria in August 2011 to establish a wing of the group there, called Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front. Additionally, al-Qaeda allegedly did not carry out any military operations until December 2011 and did not announce its establishment until January 2012. However, there is evidence that al-Qaeda affiliated militants were involved in the Syrian conflict much earlier. Saudi intelligence...
News Roundup 12/27/21
Covid Massachusetts halts all elective procedures. [Link] The USS Milwaukee will remain in Cuba after several sailors tested positive for Covid. [Link] USAID is running out of money to distribute covid vaccinations. [Link] The US donates 1.5 million vaccine doses to Egypt through Covax. [Link] Biden will lift the travel restriction from eight African countries on January 1st. [Link] US News LAPD officers killed a 14-year-old girl. [Link] The Pentagon cuts the cost of living stipend it gives to tens of thousands of soldiers living in high-cost areas in the US. [Link] Stu Scheller - who...
Is Virtue Signaling Vicious?
Virtue signaling—the practice of highlighting what one takes to be one’s own moral superiority, often by loudly denouncing the character and comportment, including the speech, of other people—has become a dominant mode of rhetoric throughout social media and network television. Virtue theory, in contrast, is a teleological approach to normative morality concerned with how actions affect one’s soul or character. Historians of philosophy usually trace virtue theory to Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, the first extant articulation of ideas such as that habits build character, and virtues...
Congratulations, You Have Been Selected
It starts like an offer of admission from a prestigious university. “We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected…” it says. But the four-page letter from the Pasco Sheriff’s Office goes on to tell recipients they will be facing enhanced police scrutiny under the agency’s controversial intelligence program. “You may wonder why you were enrolled in this program,” the letter continues. “You were selected as a result of an evaluation of your recent criminal behavior using an unbiased, evidence-based risk assessment designed to identify prolific offenders in our community. As a...
Who Was Elie Cohen? – Intelligence, Sexpionage, and Jeffrey Epstein
https://youtu.be/YTzRi58kbpk The gravest crimes in the State’s lexicon are almost invariably not invasions of private person or property, but dangers to its own contentment, for example, treason, desertion of a soldier to the enemy, failure to register for the draft , subversion and subversive con- spiracy, assassination of rulers and such economic crimes against the State as counterfeiting its money or evasion of its income tax. Or compare the degree of zeal devoted to pursuing the man who assaults a policeman, with the attention that the State pays to the assault of an ordinary citizen....
News Roundup 12/16/20
US news Massachusetts hospitals report a four-fold increase in child ER visits for psychiatric reasons. [Link] Chicago police went to a woman’s home with bad information. The police kicked down her door and handcuffed her while she was naked. They forced her to remain naked in the presence of police officers while they searched her home. [Link] US intelligence claims Russia was behind a hack of the US government without evidence. [Link] Biden Sources close to Biden say he is expected to keep Trump’s massive use of sanctions in place. Biden is expected to lift some sanctions but add...
Conflicts of Interest #46 – Biden’s Morrell Hazard guest Joanne Leon
On COI #46, Joanne Leon - Host of Around the Empire - returns to the show to talk about Biden's likely pick for CIA Director, Mike Morrell. Morrell was involved in lying the US into the Iraq War. While he admits he made mistakes in the lead-up to the war, he deflects responsibility for his role in forming the intelligence for Colin Powell's infamous UN speech. Kyle and Joanne discuss the Electoral College vote and how we got to this point. YouTube – Conflicts of Interest Facebook – Conflicts of Interest Twitter – Conflicts of Interest Apple Podcast – Conflicts of Interest Support Our...