Will Xi Give Biden a Rude Awakening?

Photo via nova.news

By Ray McGovern, November 12, 2022

While Chinese President Xi Jinping may couch his words politely, he is not likely to be “inscrutable” in warning the President of the possibility of a two-front war, if the situations in Ukraine and/or Taiwan continue to escalate.

Whether such a warning can get through Biden’s elderly skull or the equally thick skulls of his adolescent advisers is, alas, a different matter. Those amateur advisers would have to give up their benighted view that they can drive a wedge between China and Russia.

Best Friends “Stick Up” for Each Other

President Xi has called Putin his “best friend”. Elite, Ivy-mantled bureaucrats in Washington pooh-pooh that as rhetoric. One can only hope they avoid steps that make them learn the hard way to take the “rhetoric” seriously.

When the planned Biden-Xi meeting was announced Wednesday, Biden was asked whether the Chinese and the Russians are “putting together a real alliance”, Biden said:

I don’t think there’s a lot of respect that China has for Russia or for Putin.  I don’t think they’re looking at it as a particular alliance.  Matter of fact, they’ve been sort of keeping their distance a little bit.

Keeping Their Distance

I threw water on the “keeping their distance” claim a couple of days ago. Yesterday, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman was asked about China and Russia “keeping their distance”. This was his reply:

I can tell you that China’s relations with Russia are rock-solid. As each other’s largest neighbors and comprehensive strategic partners of coordination for a new era, the two sides have always … advanced bilateral relations and cooperation in various areas on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. The long-term sound and steady advancement of China-Russia relations is primarily built on a high degree of mutual trust and strong internal dynamics. China will continue to work with Russia to move forward bilateral relations on a right and steady track. [Emphasis added.]

An American specialist on China suggested to me that perhaps Xi will also suggest that Biden learn the Serenity Prayer.

I had almost a half hour yesterday to set the stage for Monday’s summit in Bali.

What About “Those 12 Russian Intel Agents Indicted for Hacking”?

By Ray McGovern, November 8, 2022

One respondent to my article yesterday wrote: “Ok, some simple facts:

– 12 Russian intelligence agents were indicted for hacking into the DNC and the DCCC.”

Those 12 indictments may linger in the minds of others, as well, so I am grateful for the opportunity to clarify.

What I remember is the following: (Btw, Friday the 13th is just a coincidence):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, July 13, 2018

The Department of Justice today announced that a grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment presented by the Special Counsel’s Office. The indictment charges twelve Russian nationals for committing federal crimes that were intended to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election. All twelve defendants are members of the GRU … They also were able to hack into the computer networks of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) … to steal emails and documents.

(I have been told that, later that day, the same grand jury indicted a ham sandwich, but I have not been able to confirm that.)

Were Robert Mueller, and the official who appointed him Special Counsel, Acting Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, unaware on July 13, 2018 of CrowdStrike guru Shawn Henry’s unclassified, sworn testimony of Dec. 5, 2017 that there was no technical evidence that Russia (or anyone else) hacked the DNC emails published by WikiLeaks?

In my article I included a subhead “All in the (FBI) Family”. That incestuous, revolving-door relationship, of course, includes the Department of Justice.

Mueller begat Shawn Henry; Rod Rosenstein begat Mueller as Special Counsel; Mueller/Rosenstein begat twelve (count them, 12!) very safe indictments of GRU officers.

Safe? There was/is zero expectation that anyone would have to produce any “evidence” – the real evidence (Shawn Henry’s sworn testimony) remaining deep-sixed by Adam Schiff (and longer later by the NYT). And co-conspirator James Comey was able to remain above it all, so to speak, because (1) of his physical and NY Times-enhanced stature; and (2) because of his sudden onset of amnesia at crucial junctures.

Summing up the dramatis personae (alphabetically): Comey, Henry, Mueller, New York Times, Rosenstein, Schiff.

I do not normally quote Oliver North, but “Is this a great country or what?”

Russia-gate: Still Can’t Handle the Truth

Russia-gate: Can You Handle the Truth? This is the title I gave to a talk to a large progressive group in Seattle on August 4, 2018.

On Youtube it got a lot of views. As for the “progressives” in the Seattle audience, well, it became quickly clear that the majority could not handle the truth – at least as I saw it, based on evidence. And this was after only two years of brainwashing by the media. Now we have to add four more years of Russia, Russia, Russia.

Old pro, serious journalists could see through the Russia-gate charade at once. Patrick Lawrence was quickest to put fingers to keyboard. His brief but piercing cri de coeur is well worth a minute of your time. (See also: https://raymcgovern.com/2019/04/18/dnc-gate-patrick-lawrence-saw-through-it-from-the-start/ )

Lawrence published a follow-on of sorts yesterday, commenting in disbelief on what has happened to the Gray Lady over the last six years in particular, and asking Why Is The New York Times Still Hyping ‘Russiagate’? (See: https://scheerpost.com/2022/11/06/patrick-lawrence-why-is-the-new-york-times-still-hyping-russiagate/)

… and from Jack Matlock

My article today, New York Times Still Burying the Truth on ‘Russian Hack’
Anniversary of Infamy on RussiaGate https://original.antiwar.com/mcgovern/2022/11/06/new-york-times-still-burying-on-russian-hack/ has engendered a rather acerbic email exchange this morning. Ambassador Matlock weighed in to remind us of what he wrote at the time:

MUSINGS … “RUSSIAGATE” HYSTERIA | Jack F. Matlock, Jr (jackmatlock.com)

CONCLUSION

Sadly, for most folks educated by the NY Times on Russian “hacking”, well, I guess IT CANNOT BE OVER UNTIL THE GRAY LADY SINGS. (And I wish that were funny.)

On hating the Russians, well, you’ve got to be taught. I used this song from the 1949 musical “South Pacific” to sing a teaching point, during an interview on Democracy Now last week. See:
https://www.democracynow.org/2022/11/2/matt_duss_ray_mcgovern_debate_us

You’ve got to be carefully taught

You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear
You’ve got to be taught from year to year
It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear
You’ve got to be carefully taught

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made
And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade
You’ve got to be carefully taught

You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late
Before you are six or seven or eight
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

[ … and I added two rhyming lines about Russia-gate.]