This isn't what friendly folks want or don't want. It is about being smart during wartime. Joe's mouth was out of control. It wasn't the least bit smart. Do you see the administration running away from it to no avail?
Anyway. President Biden was flanked by members of NATO. They obviously chose him to speak for them. He has decades of foreign experience. He has knowledge of behind the scenes information we can't even begin to imagine the content.
I refuse to follow along with the petty press and call this a gaffe. Why pick it apart? I see no good in it except to further wobble support for this President and his mission of shoring up Democracy here and around the world.
He has been hailed by NATO allies. But back in America we continue to pick pick pick.
I very much dislike how the word тАЬgaffeтАЭ has now and forever been associated with BidenтАЩs speaking, driven by the mediaтАЩs characterization of him. If we disagree with what he said (which, to be fair, is what most like-minded people think), call it something else, but not a gaffe, or you cement thinking of him like this. Was it a mistake to say what he said? I donтАЩt know, probably. But maybe we could talk about it using a different word.
Indeed, Biden, the quintessential Deep State swamp creature,, has "knowledge behind the scenes"; he knows where a lot of bodies are buried. And regarding "information we can't even begin to imagine the content," please read on:
My assessment of the habitual mendacity of the mainstream news media, including its deplorable coverage of the situation in Ukraine, together with my inclinication to condemn the genocidal imperialism emanating from Washington, D.C., has been strongly influenced over the past three decades by my reading of Davison Budhoo's 100-page resignation letter from the International Monetary Fund, which I view as essentially honest, and which is a taboo subject, blacked out of the mainstream news media.
And now, for the first time, the first 29 pages are readily available online. I'll share a few quotes:
"To me resignation is a priceless liberation, for with it I have taken the first big step to that place where I may hope to wash my hands of what in my mindтАЩs eye is the blood of millions of poor and starving peoples. Mr. Camdessus, the blood is so much, you know, it runs in rivers."
"The charges that I make are not light charges - they are charges that touch at the very heart of western society and western morality and post-war inter-governmental institutionalism that have degenerated into fake and sham under the pretext of establishing and maintaining international economic order and global efficiency."
"Will the world be content merely to brand our institution as among the most insidious enemies of humankind? Will our fellowmen condemn us thus and let the matter rest? Or will the heirs of those whom we have dismembered in our own peculiar Holocaust clamor for another Nuremberg?
"I donтАЩt mind telling you that this matter has haunted me; it has haunted me particularly over the past five years. It has haunted me because I know that if I am tried I will be found guilty, very guilty, without extenuating circumstance."
"In guilt and self-realization of my own worthlessness as a human being, what I would like to do most of all is to so propel myself that I can get the man-in-the-street of North and South and East and West and First and Second and Third and Fourth and All Other Worlds to take an interest in what is happening to his single planet, his single habitat, because our institution was allowed to evolve in a particular way in late twentieth century international society, and allowed to become the supra-national authority that controls the day-to-day lives of hundreds of millions of people everywhere."
"We get away with our works of Dracula hiding behind the mask of Superior Technocracy and a Greater Wisdom striving for тАЬfinancial balanceтАЭ and тАЬstructural adjustmentтАЭ in the Third World."
"And so it goes on and on and on. And nothing changes in the developing world except more death and destitution for the people in the slums, and more power for the Fund. And with the passing of every meeting our staff becomes even more reinvigorated; they wield a sharper and more bloodied tool; an even more terrifying ExecutorтАЩs Axe stand poised for service everywhere in the South. And the children scream, Sir; my God, how they scream!"
(Budhoo is referring here to the incessant screaming of starving infants. When they stop screaming, you know that death is near.)
"The business of a New York journalist is to distort the truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to vilify, to fawn at the feet of Mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread, or for what is about the same -- his salary. You know this, and I know it; and what foolery to be toasting an 'Independent Press! We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are jumping-jacks. They pull the string and we dance. Our time, our talents, our lives, our possibilities, are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes." ~John Swinton (1829тАУ1901)
Barbara, in recent months you have attacked subscribers who differed with President Biden and or criticized our country. While in the past you were associated with causes that opposed actions by the U.S. government -- not now. You have written comments indicating that at this time you found such 'negativity' almost unpatriotic. I think your position is undemocratic. It is as though you are on a mission to quell dissent. We cannot all be fans as you have become. As much as I am grateful that Biden is our president and impressed by his efforts to improve the lives of many, he is not infallible. Joe Biden is not king. I shall break your rule to say at best, I think you have been overbearing in your zeal.
An old saying I've often heard: when you point your finger at someone in judgement, keep in mind that your other fingers are pointing back toward yourself. A country way of saying projection, and you might think about that, Fern.
While your posts are generally intelligently written, they are not necessarily insightful or deep, and too often get stuck on inconsequential details or simply arguing about who is right, keeping the focus on you and how intelligent you are compared to others. It's tiresome.
Annie, You make it your business to judge people and obviously have a high opinion of your talent or wouldn't feel up to doing it so often. Being on the forum affords you plenty of subjects. You're in the right place Annie, and not pleasant, while you're at it. Salud.
Jeez, Fern. Give it a rest. Many of us formerly in management or other business pursuits know that constant back and forth emails are not productive. Yet you seem to have a need to respond to everyone's comments that you disagree with, getting more and more argumentative. Please take a deep breath and reconsider stoking fires that do not need to be stoked.
Fern, I rarely disagree with you. But I believe Joe Biden said what needed to be said. Everything Biden does to oppose this genocide will anger Putin. Biden is showing leadership. Perhaps if Putin dares to show up at the G20, all the leaders from democracies will turn their backs on him or simply exit the room if he enters.
There is little hope for diplomacy now. There is only carefully applied strength. There are signs that it is working.
It wouldn't be a bad idea for the Russian people to see their leader dissed on the largest international stage. Putin is a pariah and his people should see that.
Good grief, Fern. What is this really all about? Making overmuch of something that isn't all that important. The scales simply do not balance on the amount of energy being put into it. For what? To come out on top? Can we stop this, please?
It's about piling on. One faction piles on another. You must be able to recognize that by now as its become quite a popular sport on this page. And we all play the game here, n'est pas?
I don't know how you came to believe I was referring at all to the Russians or suggesting the use of 'kid gloves'. My point is Putin was getting very negative marks and that it was not 'smart', of Biden calling negative attention to himself when the enemy is under klieg lights. The question and answer that I raised is how to speak strategically during wartime and not run your mouth
Rjs, You referred to Russians. What 'negative' remarks are you talking about? I found fault with Biden's unwise adlib, you disagree. That is fine with me. What are you complaining about?
Fern I talk in general associations. I'm sorry for the Russians under Putin .... Just as I was sorry for us Americans under the last administration... But do not tell me Biden's words could start a nuclear war. .... This situation is ALL ON PUTIN.... So Yes I did offer a REBUTTAL to your comments
JoeтАЩs ad lib tendencies are well known I believe they demonstrate his human capacities in a way a scripted speech cannot, in a way that rallies the underdog against the forces that hold them down
One can view this particular comment as the media portrays it, as a gaffe. I prefer to see it strategically as тАЬintentionalтАЭ ad libbying, letting everyone hear what he says loud and clear, under the cloak of тАЬOh, there goes Joe againтАЭ
So everyone is clamoring for President Biden to get tough and when he does everyone runs and hides under the covers. Which is it folks.
Exactly. And too many Democrats and the media play the Tone Card when Democrats bluntly speak truth.
This isn't what friendly folks want or don't want. It is about being smart during wartime. Joe's mouth was out of control. It wasn't the least bit smart. Do you see the administration running away from it to no avail?
Huh? What friendly folk?
Anyway. President Biden was flanked by members of NATO. They obviously chose him to speak for them. He has decades of foreign experience. He has knowledge of behind the scenes information we can't even begin to imagine the content.
I refuse to follow along with the petty press and call this a gaffe. Why pick it apart? I see no good in it except to further wobble support for this President and his mission of shoring up Democracy here and around the world.
He has been hailed by NATO allies. But back in America we continue to pick pick pick.
I very much dislike how the word тАЬgaffeтАЭ has now and forever been associated with BidenтАЩs speaking, driven by the mediaтАЩs characterization of him. If we disagree with what he said (which, to be fair, is what most like-minded people think), call it something else, but not a gaffe, or you cement thinking of him like this. Was it a mistake to say what he said? I donтАЩt know, probably. But maybe we could talk about it using a different word.
So agree, KR!! Stop with BidenтАЩs тАЬgaffesтАЭ already!
!!! Agree
Indeed, Biden, the quintessential Deep State swamp creature,, has "knowledge behind the scenes"; he knows where a lot of bodies are buried. And regarding "information we can't even begin to imagine the content," please read on:
My assessment of the habitual mendacity of the mainstream news media, including its deplorable coverage of the situation in Ukraine, together with my inclinication to condemn the genocidal imperialism emanating from Washington, D.C., has been strongly influenced over the past three decades by my reading of Davison Budhoo's 100-page resignation letter from the International Monetary Fund, which I view as essentially honest, and which is a taboo subject, blacked out of the mainstream news media.
And now, for the first time, the first 29 pages are readily available online. I'll share a few quotes:
"To me resignation is a priceless liberation, for with it I have taken the first big step to that place where I may hope to wash my hands of what in my mindтАЩs eye is the blood of millions of poor and starving peoples. Mr. Camdessus, the blood is so much, you know, it runs in rivers."
"The charges that I make are not light charges - they are charges that touch at the very heart of western society and western morality and post-war inter-governmental institutionalism that have degenerated into fake and sham under the pretext of establishing and maintaining international economic order and global efficiency."
"Will the world be content merely to brand our institution as among the most insidious enemies of humankind? Will our fellowmen condemn us thus and let the matter rest? Or will the heirs of those whom we have dismembered in our own peculiar Holocaust clamor for another Nuremberg?
"I donтАЩt mind telling you that this matter has haunted me; it has haunted me particularly over the past five years. It has haunted me because I know that if I am tried I will be found guilty, very guilty, without extenuating circumstance."
"In guilt and self-realization of my own worthlessness as a human being, what I would like to do most of all is to so propel myself that I can get the man-in-the-street of North and South and East and West and First and Second and Third and Fourth and All Other Worlds to take an interest in what is happening to his single planet, his single habitat, because our institution was allowed to evolve in a particular way in late twentieth century international society, and allowed to become the supra-national authority that controls the day-to-day lives of hundreds of millions of people everywhere."
"We get away with our works of Dracula hiding behind the mask of Superior Technocracy and a Greater Wisdom striving for тАЬfinancial balanceтАЭ and тАЬstructural adjustmentтАЭ in the Third World."
"And so it goes on and on and on. And nothing changes in the developing world except more death and destitution for the people in the slums, and more power for the Fund. And with the passing of every meeting our staff becomes even more reinvigorated; they wield a sharper and more bloodied tool; an even more terrifying ExecutorтАЩs Axe stand poised for service everywhere in the South. And the children scream, Sir; my God, how they scream!"
(Budhoo is referring here to the incessant screaming of starving infants. When they stop screaming, you know that death is near.)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oJzvpfFzIKu76oE1CkzZlarRiVpYIggFMFzSt6OgHx0/mobilebasic
----
"The business of a New York journalist is to distort the truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to vilify, to fawn at the feet of Mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread, or for what is about the same -- his salary. You know this, and I know it; and what foolery to be toasting an 'Independent Press! We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are jumping-jacks. They pull the string and we dance. Our time, our talents, our lives, our possibilities, are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes." ~John Swinton (1829тАУ1901)
copy, paste, repeat...
Barbara, in recent months you have attacked subscribers who differed with President Biden and or criticized our country. While in the past you were associated with causes that opposed actions by the U.S. government -- not now. You have written comments indicating that at this time you found such 'negativity' almost unpatriotic. I think your position is undemocratic. It is as though you are on a mission to quell dissent. We cannot all be fans as you have become. As much as I am grateful that Biden is our president and impressed by his efforts to improve the lives of many, he is not infallible. Joe Biden is not king. I shall break your rule to say at best, I think you have been overbearing in your zeal.
An old saying I've often heard: when you point your finger at someone in judgement, keep in mind that your other fingers are pointing back toward yourself. A country way of saying projection, and you might think about that, Fern.
While your posts are generally intelligently written, they are not necessarily insightful or deep, and too often get stuck on inconsequential details or simply arguing about who is right, keeping the focus on you and how intelligent you are compared to others. It's tiresome.
Annie, You make it your business to judge people and obviously have a high opinion of your talent or wouldn't feel up to doing it so often. Being on the forum affords you plenty of subjects. You're in the right place Annie, and not pleasant, while you're at it. Salud.
Jeez, Fern. Give it a rest. Many of us formerly in management or other business pursuits know that constant back and forth emails are not productive. Yet you seem to have a need to respond to everyone's comments that you disagree with, getting more and more argumentative. Please take a deep breath and reconsider stoking fires that do not need to be stoked.
Perhaps you might also need to take issue with all the folks who agree with my posts.
Barbara, Shall I decide that or will you?
Fern, I rarely disagree with you. But I believe Joe Biden said what needed to be said. Everything Biden does to oppose this genocide will anger Putin. Biden is showing leadership. Perhaps if Putin dares to show up at the G20, all the leaders from democracies will turn their backs on him or simply exit the room if he enters.
There is little hope for diplomacy now. There is only carefully applied strength. There are signs that it is working.
It wouldn't be a bad idea for the Russian people to see their leader dissed on the largest international stage. Putin is a pariah and his people should see that.
Actually, have any of us in America learned that you cannot reason with power narcissists? They are incapable of diplomacy, on most levels.
Some of us are learning this, slowly and painfully.
Hear hear!
Good grief, Fern. What is this really all about? Making overmuch of something that isn't all that important. The scales simply do not balance on the amount of energy being put into it. For what? To come out on top? Can we stop this, please?
It's about piling on. One faction piles on another. You must be able to recognize that by now as its become quite a popular sport on this page. And we all play the game here, n'est pas?
Sorry Fern Russians do not get kid gloves.. AND you are right Putin has been out of CONTROL for quite a FEW years......
I don't know how you came to believe I was referring at all to the Russians or suggesting the use of 'kid gloves'. My point is Putin was getting very negative marks and that it was not 'smart', of Biden calling negative attention to himself when the enemy is under klieg lights. The question and answer that I raised is how to speak strategically during wartime and not run your mouth
We are talking about PUTIN so get off the negative remarks.....
Rjs, You referred to Russians. What 'negative' remarks are you talking about? I found fault with Biden's unwise adlib, you disagree. That is fine with me. What are you complaining about?
Fern I talk in general associations. I'm sorry for the Russians under Putin .... Just as I was sorry for us Americans under the last administration... But do not tell me Biden's words could start a nuclear war. .... This situation is ALL ON PUTIN.... So Yes I did offer a REBUTTAL to your comments
JoeтАЩs ad lib tendencies are well known I believe they demonstrate his human capacities in a way a scripted speech cannot, in a way that rallies the underdog against the forces that hold them down
One can view this particular comment as the media portrays it, as a gaffe. I prefer to see it strategically as тАЬintentionalтАЭ ad libbying, letting everyone hear what he says loud and clear, under the cloak of тАЬOh, there goes Joe againтАЭ