Why are fake economists rooting for the Trump economy to fail?
AUGUST 19, 2019
‘We are moving into a new, controlled society worse than old totalitarianism’ – Zizek on Google leak
Modern censorship is more dangerous than open totalitarianism, it being concealed and incorporated in our daily routine, says Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, commenting on the insider leak detailing Google’s news blacklist.
The intellectual told RT he’s not advocating for online anarchy, comparing it to snuff movies in hardcore pornography – some regulation should be in place to block harmful content on the internet, he says. But hiding political motives for suppressing voices online is what worries Zizek the most.
“We all know we have to censor things at some level, but the main rule for me is that the process should be transparent. Not in the way – I’m talking about the developed West – it is done now, when all of a sudden somebody is prohibited and you are not even allowed to debate it,” Zizek explains. The “false choice” between politically correct censorship and radical liberalism is a trap, he believes.
This week, conservative transparency group Project Veritas published documents it received from an ex-Google employee. The documents appeared to confirm that Google can boost or de-rank news sources based on a seemingly biased set of internal rules. Calling the practices “dark and nefarious” the whistleblower, Zachary Vorhies, also leaked a doc detailing Google’s “blacklist” that lists nearly 500 websites, including both conservative and leftist media outlets.
Zizek believes the Big Tech’s practice of blacklists and shadow bans could prove an opportunity for right-wing activists to show themselves as a group fighting establishment politics and targeted for their opposition. The philosopher thinks this tactic will actually backfire against liberals by giving “the new populist right a position where they can say: you see, we’re the true alternative, we’re the true oppressed.”
Google is likely not the only tech megacorporation with a tight grip on their users’ digital menu, Zizek argues – but “the process isn’t some kind of a dark plot,” rather an inconspicuous slide “into a new, controlled society.”
What’s terrifying about it is that we don’t even experience it as something controlled. We just use social media, buy things, go to a doctor – and all the data about us is out there. But those are the things that we perceive as our freedom. So what we perceive as freedom becomes the very way we are controlled.
One doesn’t know anymore “if there is secret police following you or somebody reading your letters,” and this in Zizek’s mind is what differentiates it from the totalitarianism of the past. Modern control is hidden and undeclared, Zizek says.
EPSTEIN BODYGUARD CUTS INTERVIEW SHORT WHEN ASKED ABOUT TEENAGE GIRLS, SUICIDE, TELLS REPORTER TO ‘BE CAREFUL’
Previously claimed Epstein received tip-offs ahead of local police visits
AUGUST 16, 2019
Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime bodyguard, Igor Zinoviev, cut an interview short when he was asked about previous comments he’d given four years ago, describing the billionaire hedge fund manager hanging out with teenage girls and receiving special treatment from police.
In an interview Monday, Zinoviev, a former MMA fighter who also served as Epstein’s driver and personal trainer, told New York Magazine he didn’t recall responses he’d given in a previous interview four years ago, in which he discussed the billionaire pedophile’s attraction to teenage girls, local police corruption and being insulted and humiliated by him.
NY Intelligencer writer M.L. Nestel, who had previously interviewed Zinoviev in 2015 for The Daily Beast, says he noticed this time the bodyguard, whose native language is not English, seemed very nervous.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect that he’d try to back away from the assertions he made in our original interview — but he did,” Nestel wrote. “He also seemed, it is safe to say, quite nervous about saying anything at all.”
In one instance, Zinoviev backpedalled to say he didn’t recall mentioning Epstein hanging out with teenage girls.
Zinoviev: It’s not the teenage girls. I never see the teenage girls. I tell you I never see teenage girls.
Plenty of times when I work for him I never see anything unproper or teenage girls around him.
That’s what I say.
Nestel: So now you say you only saw him with women? Older than 18? 20?
Zinoviev: All what I say he has always been with girlfriends and there was a couple girls — I don’t remember their names. She was 25 and worked for him as assistant. Maybe 25 or 23 — whatever, I don’t know the age.
Nestel: Okay. But you definitely told me that last time we talked.
Zinoviev: No, no. It’s not that. He working like work-release on other stuff. And I just tell him, you know, he would order his girlfriends around, and I told him, “Calm down.” It’s not just teenage girls.
I never see teenage girls in my life at his house. That’s what it is. That’s a misunderstanding. Completely. That’s because — that’s what I’m saying. Most of the time with reporters they give me that kind of questions. “Who told you I see the teenage girls?” I never see the teenage girls in my life. And they said I was —
In another portion of the interview, Zinoviev says he believes Epstein had “help” committing suicide, but refuses to elaborate further, while adding he felt nothing after learning of his death.
Zinoviev: I’m not afraid. Beyond that just he is dead. I don’t want anything to be uncorrect. There’s too much shit in here, you know, already. He’s dead and just like, freaking people, just leave him alone.
Nestel: Hold on. When did you find out he died?
Zinoviev: Saturday or Sunday or whenever.
Nestel: What did you think when you found that out?
Zinoviev: What did I think?
Nestel: Yeah.
Zinoviev: Are you sure you want to hear what I am going to think?
Nestel: Yeah.
Zinoviev: Somebody helped him to do that.
Nestel: You think somebody helped him kill himself?
Zinoviev: Yeah.
Nestel: Okay. Why?
Zinoviev: Listen, you know, that’s going a little too deep.
Nestel: I mean, I’m just trying to understand that maybe you’d be happy he was dead or you would be upset. I don’t know. Are you even feeling anything?
Zinoviev: I’m not sad. I mean, I didn’t have anything against him, like a bad thing, you know? I don’t care about his life completely. I don’t give a, let’s say, like, crap about how he die, how he live, or how he’s managed.
Nestel next pressed the bodyguard on a previous statement in which he seemed to imply someone within the local police department would tip off Epstein prior to home visits, at which point Zinoviev grows incredibly uncomfortable, tells the reporter not to “put [himself] in trouble,” and abruptly ends the interview.
Zinoviev: Listen, what you say is between you and me —
Nestel: You told me he would get phone calls the night before and eight o’clock the police are going to come. He would get a heads up from local police.
Zinoviev: [Silence.]
Nestel: You told me that, Igor. Want me to read the quote?
Zinoviev: Well, you can read whatever you want right now. Don’t just — you can put yourself in big trouble.
Nestel: You said: “He always do something wrong. There was some nights in question. There was at home arrest and police, before they come to the house, they call him and tell him they coming in at eight o’clock in the morning. It’s all corruption you know. It’s all bullshit.”
Zinoviev: Listen, don’t put yourself in trouble. Seriously.
Nestel: We talked about this.
Zinoviev: I understand we got this.
Nestel: I’m telling you to give you a chance to remember because we talked about this stuff. I know it’s hard. I don’t know what you mean about “put myself in trouble.”
Zinoviev: Let that go. Seriously. Let that go.
Nestel: Why is it so important? Are you worried about the local cops?
Zinoviev: Listen, you’re really smart and I’m not going to offer that over the phone right now, okay? You’re really smart. You have no idea. Please!
Nestel: What do you mean by that?
Zinoviev: I can’t explain you. I can’t explain you over the phone any of this.
Nestel: You said that last time. And we didn’t talk for years. You can tell the world who this guy was. You were with him for a long time. You know what I mean?
Zinoviev: [Silence.]
Nestel: I totally understand that you think he could have had help committing suicide.
Zinoviev: First of all, I have to go right now. I have another client.
Nestel: Still training people?
Zinoviev: Yes. But just be careful. I’m not kidding.
Nestel: What’s your email so I can send you —
Zinoviev: Don’t do any kind of that stuff. Just don’t play it. Seriously.
Nestel: Can you tell me why?
Zinoviev: I can’t. I can’t.
Nestel: May I ask you one more question?
Zinoviev: Go ahead.
Nestel: Have you been talking to anyone in the government, the FBI? Have they come to you?
Zinoviev: [Long pause] Um. Great talking to you. Seriously. We talk later.
Nestel: Really?
Zinoviev: Bye.
Nestel: All right.
Zinoviev: Bye.
IS THERE A HIDDEN POLITICAL AGENDA? THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA IS SUDDENLY FULL OF STORIES ABOUT THE COMING RECESSION
For those on the left that would like to see Trump voted out in 2020, the timing of the next recession will be key
AUGUST 16, 2019
All of a sudden, it seems like the mainstream media just can’t stop talking about “the coming recession”.
If you go to Google News and type in the word “recession”, you will literally get dozens of articles from the last couple of days with “recession” in the headline. And of course it is true that there are signs of global economic trouble all around us, and I have been documenting them on my website all throughout 2019. So we don’t want to criticize the mainstream media when they actually decide to tell the truth, because a recession is definitely coming, but could it be possible that there is also a hidden political agenda at work? The economy is generally regarded to be one of the bright spots for President Trump, and political operatives on the left clearly understand that a major economic downturn now would spell almost certain doom for Trump’s chances of winning the 2020 election. And when mainstream reporters talk about the possibility of a recession as we approach the next election, many of them almost seem gleeful as they describe how it could hurt Trump politically. Ultimately, when things start to really get bad it is inevitable that the mainstream media will place the blame directly at the feet of Trump. It is easy to imagine a narrative along the lines of “Trump’s handling of the economy has plunged the nation into a recession” being relentlessly pounded into the heads of American voters over the next year. And if the end result is Trump being voted out of office, more than 90 percent of those that work for the big news companies will be just fine with that.
This week, we have seen an absolute explosion in the number of stories about the possibility of an imminent recession. The following are just a few of the stories I came across while doing research earlier today…
–A global recession may be coming a lot sooner than anyone thought
–Recession watch: 6 financial moves to make when the economy slows down
–Trump 2020 can’t afford a recession
–The recession question we should be asking isn’t ‘when’ but ‘how bad?’
–Recession fears explained in one simple sentence
–Recession ahead? Dow, stocks tank on fears that bond market signals a downturn
–Recession indicator with perfect track record flashing red
–Recession signs are flashing, but Americans are still shopping at Walmart
–Worried about a recession? Don’t panic, but be prepared
Of course many of these stories were sparked by a major event that we just witnessed on Wall Street. The following comes from Fox Business…
Yes, it is possible that the yield curve could be wrong this time, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
And the economic news that is coming in from all over the world just continues to confirm that conditions are deteriorating. On Thursday, we learned that U.S. manufacturing has slumped back into contraction territory, and earlier this week we got some really troubling news from Germany and China…
So it isn’t as if the mainstream media is being dishonest with us in this case. Global economic activity is most definitely slowing down, and many believe that things will get much worse during the second half of this year.
And a global economic slowdown would be terrible news for the Trump campaign, because their entire narrative depends on President Trump making the economy great again. A substantial percentage of American voters are convinced that since he is a billionaire, Trump must really understand the economy very well. And according to a CNN poll from earlier this year, the performance of the economy is one of the main reasons for his current level of support…
But if the U.S. economy plunges into a painful recession, the game completely changes.
For those on the left that would like to see Trump voted out in 2020, the timing of the next recession will be key. If the next recession doesn’t begin until the second half of 2020, there may not be enough economic pain before November to swing the election in the favor of the Democratic candidate. So what the left really needs is for a recession to begin during the second half of 2019 or the first half of 2020 so that Americans are really suffering by the time election day rolls around.
I know that is a very sick way to think, but these are the sorts of conversations that these people actually have. For example, on his own television show Bill Maher publicly stated that a recession would be “worth it” if Trump is voted out in 2020. As we approach the next election, many on the left will be so desperate to see Trump gone that they will be willing to pay just about any price to see that happen.
And to be honest, the U.S. economy is definitely way overdue for a major downturn, and so it is only prudent to get prepared for rough times ahead. At this point, even USA Today is providing us with “recession survival tips”…
That is actually really good advice.
Now is a time to cut costs, get out of debt and build up your emergency fund.
The coming year promises to be quite chaotic, and those that hate President Trump are likely to pull out all the stops in an all-out attempt to get him voted out in 2020.
FORMER FBI OFFICIAL: ‘TRUMP SUPPORTERS ARE LIKE TERRORISTS’
“If you call Trump followers racist en masse, they simply coalesce around each other.”
By Steve Watson – AUGUST 16, 2019
Former FBI official turned MSNBC analyst Frank Figliuzzi, who sees Hitler in everything Trump does, stated on a live broadcast this week that Trump supporters are a lot like terrorists rallying around a figurehead.
The former Assistant Director for Counterintelligence at the FBI, was discussing racism (shocker) with MSNBC host Chris Jansing, when the pair suggested that it would be a good idea for Democrats to keep accusing Trump supporters of being racist.
Jansing spewed:
And Figliuzzi responded:
That was enough to get the attention of Fox News analyst Dan Bongino, who said “I can’t believe this guy is still allowed on the air.”
“MSNBC is willing to put complete lunatics on the air who will say absolutely anything at any time, as long as it makes Trump look bad,” he added.
TWO ICE BUILDINGS HIT WITH GUNFIRE IN SAN ANTONIO
Bullets missed federal officers by two inches!
By Kelen McBreen – AUGUST 14, 2019
The FBI is investigating the shooting of two Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) buildings in San Antonio, Texas.
The agency is describing the incidents as “targeted attacks” of federal agents, with bullets missing an employee by only two inches.
Despite the shooting taking place at 3 a.m., multiple federal employees were working in the offices at the time.
Acting Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Ken Cuccinelli, tweeted out a photo of one of the bullet holes that went through a window.
A special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio division, Christopher Combs, said, “These shootings were cowardly, brazen, violent acts, absolutely without justification and a threat to our entire community.”
“An attempt to attack federal employees is a federal crime with serious consequences. The FBI will relentlessly pursue every lead in this case to find the individuals who are responsible,” he continued.
During a Tuesday press conference, Combs made it clear he thinks the shooter or shooters “did some research” before targeting the building.
“I don’t think there is a question that they knew which floor the ICE office is on,” he said.
Combs also stressed the fact that other ICE buildings across the country are in danger of being attacked as political hostility against the agency continues to be fomented by the left.
“Political rhetoric and misinformation that various politicians, media outlets and activist groups recklessly disseminate to the American people regarding the ICE mission only serve to further encourage these violent acts,” ICE spokesperson Nina Pruneda stated.
Last month, an ANTIFA member was shot and killed by police as he threw Molotov cocktails at an ICE facility while armed with a semi-automatic rifle.
‘Russians killed Epstein’: Go home everyone, Alec Baldwin is on the case
Alec Baldwin, you are a talented and likeable actor, but why do so many of your political pronouncements sound like you are trying to sabotage your own side?
I mean why in the world would you just tweet, “The Russians killed Epstein. They’re in charge of everything now.”
If so, perhaps you would like to elaborate. You’ve definitely got our attention.
Or is this satire?
I won’t list your numerous comedy credits, you give a funny interview, and do a mean Trump impression.
Maybe, you are inhabiting the role of a paranoid Democratic conspiracy theorist who blames even the most random of unfortunate coincidences on the dark hand of the Kremlin.
If so, this is very convincing.
However, if you wrote this in earnest, and you think that you know this stuff just because you KNOW IT, then I am not just bemused. I am a little disheartened.
By Igor Ogorodnev
THE MEMES “YOU CAN’T REFUSE” – INTERNET USERS MOCK CHRIS “FREDO” CUOMO
Anti-Trump CNN anchor compared to traitorous brother from The Godfather series
By Kelen McBreen
Internet users flooded Twitter with memes mocking a viral video of CNN’s Chris Cuomo threatening to assault a man who called him “Fredo,” a fictional character from The Godfather film trilogy who betrayed his own family.
In the footage, Cuomo claimed “Fredo” was “like the N-word” for Italians and threatened to throw the man down a flight of stairs.
Below are the best memes to come from the trending video:
Even President Trump chimed in, saying, “I thought Chris was Fredo also. The truth hurts. Totally lost it! Low ratings @CNN.”
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