Twelfth Bough

"A gentleman is one who puts more into the world than he takes out." George Bernard Shaw "Courtesy is as much as mark of gentleman as courage." Theodore Roosevelt "If the gentleman has ability, he is magnanimous, generous, tolerant, and straightforward, through which he opens the way to instruct others." Xun Zi We were blessed to be part of the sideshow. He will be missed. Kenneth Ray Kirkham Departed September 18, 2014.

The pirate writes: "I would describe it as a primer that functions as an all-purpose tool for sites-yet-to-be-determined, ie. disinfo qua disinfo, rather than a topic-specific thing listing established strawmen, weakpoints, buzz phrases etc. Which is a shame since it's the latter I'd really like to see. "The last couple of frames featured seem to take the topic a step further and in doing so defy comprehension at a quick glance. Clearly more study needed but keep your eye out for the phrase 'magic techniques and experiment'. Um... okay, didn't expect that. It's almost enough to make to make you think Aleister Crowley still treads the halls of GCHQ. Or his students at least. "Then again this is Glenn Greenwald fronting for the Snowden archives. Perhaps it's what they want us to know about? Either way one can't fail to be impressed by Greenwald. He didn't so much as bat an eyelid at the thought of GCHQ training its staff in the use of

Obama remarks on the May 2 massacre in Odessa: “We are united in our determination to impose costs on Russia for its actions, including through coordinated sanctions….And as Ukrainian forces move to restore order in eastern Ukraine, it is obvious to the world that these Russian-backed groups are not peaceful protesters. They are heavily armed militants who are receiving significant support from Russia. The Ukrainian government has the right and responsibility to uphold law and order within its territory, and Russia needs to use its influence over these paramilitary groups so they disarm and stop provoking violence… if the Russian leadership does not change course, it will face increasing costs as well as growing isolation, diplomatic and economic.” (Wall Street Journal) Aha. Really? WHO supports the heavily armed paramilitary groups? Russia? Let's go to the tapes. The pro-Russian supporters are inside the building, unarmed. They are the ones being chased down beaten and murder

I highly recommend James' latest string of posts up over at WPC that lay out brilliantly the geopolitical forces at work and the role of Russia, and of Vladimir Putin. http://a.abcnews.go.com/images/International/ht_vladimir_putin_dog_koni_ss_thg_120228_ssh.jpg Here at TB the post Putin and Berlusconi hangs around at the top of the most popular list. After watching the videos that James posted, we understand much more clearly that Putin rescued Russia against tremendous odds after Yeltsin and the oligarchs plundered the country's industry and infrastructure. If he were truly woven into the dialectic and meant to succeed in reviving Russia, it seems to us the odds would not have been stacked so high against him. Watch him holding people accountable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flC---s2moA Putin has the ability and the will to hold people accountable. He doesn't pretend to lead; he leads. It shouldn't be so stunning, but it is, because over here

So I had to stop blogging and step back for a variety of reasons. I used the time gained to investigate some other corners of the internet, and some other issues, including 9/11. I had never devoted enough time to 9/11. There is an opportunity cost to everything we do and pay attention to. Understanding is a process, a journey. We make mistakes, take detours, add data, then modify or firm up opinion as needed. One has to take risks to add value and move the personal and collective understanding closer to the TRUTH, which is the goal. When a person who is honestly mistaken is confronted by the truth, that person either stops being mistaken or stops being honest. 911 University - College of Disinformation Recognition The perpetrators of 9/11 have a different goal: to prevent discovery of the truth. They employ an army of minions to this end. They have many ways to encumber people. Sometimes it is obvious, and sometimes it is not. One can suspect but not be sure. It really come