It had been approximately 16 minutes since news broke that Iranian general Qasem Soleimani had been killed — and a full hour and 31 minutes before any nation or group claimed responsibility for the strike — when Aaron Maté, The Nation columnist and a leader of what Axios calls "the resistance to the resistance," started tweeting. Maté would spend the rest of the night, and the days following, sending out countless tweets (and hosting podcasts) hitting on his favorite themes: American imperialism, the use of false flags to justify foreign intervention, and his absolute favorite talking point: the complicity of Democrats in war, while only nominally opposing the interventionist wing of the Republican Party.
Maté and his colleagues at The Grayzone, a media project intended to provide "investigative journalism and analysis on politics and empire," were not alone in rushing to judgment and making sweeping predictions based on — particularly, at the time — a few bits of information in a very developing story. The difference for Maté and his colleagues, however, was how developed a narrative they were so sure of, mere minutes after the news broke that Soleimani had been killed.
Maté, along with Max Blumenthal, Glenn Greenwald, Ben Norton, Matt Taibii, and Michael Tracey, comprise this so-called "resistance to the resistance." By now their group has become increasingly formalized, often being invited as guests to the same television programs (interestingly enough, one is Tucker Carlson Tonight), citing each other in articles, and engaging in frequent Twitter exchanges. The members of the group support the progressive Left, Bernie Sanders, and non-interventionism. They are also well-known for not necessarily preferring the establishment wing of the Democratic Party (e.g., Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton) to President Trump.
Like the 12 percent of Bernie Sanders supporters who supported Donald Trump in the 2016 election, they align with the president on certain economic and foreign policy positions (such as opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership and skepticism about Russia-based narratives). It would, however, be inaccurate to claim that they "like" or "support" President Trump. All the while, this group is attracting an ever-broadening base of fans, with now a combined 2.28 million Twitter followers (among those six leaders), which, for comparison, is nearly double the number of followers of, say, Jeb Bush and nearly triple that of Amy Klobuchar's.
But now — with their knee-jerk reactions to the Soleimani killing — this club is bordering on having its own version of a "Russiagate" and championing one prepacked narrative that seeks to explain a priori nearly every foreign policy event.
They are a group, aren't they? A rather sad group. This is from the second part of Prince's article:
To conclude with the Maté club, a microcosm (and the most egregious offender) of the rush to judgment, it's curious how the group has declined to walk back any of their "World War III" hysteria. For a group that has been so critical of other media actors for failing to express regret for overplaying the Russia case, they just moved along to talking about Venezuela, Joe Biden's Iraq War vote, and their other favorite topics. That is, except for Michael Tracey, who instead of moving on, did something worse by doxxing a well-known Twitter user who did not share his foreign policy worldview. All of this suggests that January 2020 may prove to be a jumping-the-shark, downfall moment for this once interesting group of commentators.
Exactly. And, let's remember, C.I. called it out in real time.
I'll add that Margaret Kimberley was one of the worst offenders. And her conspiracy theories didn't prove to be true (such as the US shot down the plane -- remember that nutty fantasy). She promoted terrorist Soelimani as a hero and she trashed the Iranian's protesting about the plane being shot down, insisted this was some western action, CIA controlled action or something.
She is so nutty. You can't walk that crazy back. And she doesn't try. She just pretends like she didn't Tweet all the crap that she did.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Thursday, January 16, 2020. Joe Biden continues to run for the
Democratic Party's presidential nomination but can he outrun all of his
lies, Iraq gears up for protests and Iraqi forces and US forces resume
joint patrols.
Starting in the US where the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination continues.
At THIRD, Ava and I may have to address the division topic that we're avoiding here. We weren't planning to do that but when Norman Solomon plays at being fair but is actually stacking the deck? Oh, hell no. I thought Norman had learned from shading the truth in 2008 but clearly that is not the case. I'm not in the mood and I've been clear about this. The first eleven paragraphs are a distortion of actual events and the person who comes up short in Norman's narrative -- over and over -- is the candidate he doesn't favor. Just by chance, I'm sure, right? Trina lays out the timeline faster and better in "Climate change and other real issues."
Also being dishonest? Julian Brave NoiseCat at IN THESE TIMES who argues that if whomever comes in lower in the Iowa caucus -- Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren -- should send their delegates to the other in the second round. Iowa is a caucus, which Julian doesn't really explain. In Iowa, there is not a paper ballot. One area becomes the Andrew Yang section, another becomes the Tulsi Gabbard section, etc, etc. In various rounds, delegates can (they do not have to) move to another area, another section, to switch their initial support. Julian notes that handsy John Edwards and fake ass Denny The Kay had such an arrangement in 2008. He says that Elizabeth and Bernie should have one this go round too.
No.
When Dennis Kucinich released his delegates in Iowa to John Edwards, that was it. He was no longer a serious candidate. We noted it here. More to the point, the corporate press didn't cover him again -- even though he was still in the race. That deal was seen as proof that he was never a real candidate. A real candidate fights for every vote. A real candidate does not make backdoor deals.
If either Bernie or Elizabeth did what Julian's insisting they should do, whichever one sent their delegates over would then be out of the race.
If Bernie or Elizabeth does this in Iowa, they better understand that the one who sends their delegates to someone else is giving the press the reason not to cover their campaign or treat them as a serious candidate.
And let's clear something up here that a few e-mailing the public account don't seem to grasp. I'm not insisting Elizabeth win the nomination, I'm not even predicting she will. If you really read Tuesday's snapshot, as some of you drive-bys insist you did, I was very clear that Iowa really should be the end of it for her campaign. Polling from last weekend strongly indicated Bernie would win Iowa. That might change with all the nonsense going on. I'm not telling anyone who to vote for (it's not my place, you're an adult, support who you want). I was stating that prior to this nonsense, polling indicators suggested a strong turn out for Bernie. That could still be the case but if his supporters can't stop attacking or can't stop shading the truth, they will tap into something that could potentially carry Elizabeth all the way through the primaries even should she consistently underpoll Bernie. Those of you who think you're going to talk down to women -- Norman, that's what you've done -- are not helping. Play fair or ignore the whole matter and this will end fairly quick. Try to trick or lie and you're going to create a response that will not benefit Bernie at all.
Also trafficking in misinformation, Joe Biden who is always thinking he can fool the people. Ilana Novick (COMMON DREAMS) notes Joe's shady nonsense on Social Security:
In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper last week, Bernie Sanders attacked fellow candidate former Vice President Joe Biden for his record on Social Security, claiming Biden’s support for cutting the popular program makes him less electable. The Sanders campaign followed up the next day in an email newsletter to supporters that said, “In 2018, Biden lauded Paul Ryan for proposing cuts to Social Security and Medicare.”
Biden’s campaign pushed back against the newsletter’s attacks, contending the comments were taken out of context. According to The Intercept’s Ryan Grim, however, Biden’s record on Social Security is far worse than one potentially misinterpreted remark. Indeed, as Grim lays out, Biden has been advocating for cuts to Social Security for roughly 40 years. In 1984, in the midst of President Reagan’s frenzy to cut the federal safety net, Biden worked with Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley calling “for a freeze on federal spending and insisted on including Social Security in that freeze,” which even the Reagan administration was against.
That plan was rejected, but Biden continued to make similar pushes for cuts over the years. This included in 1994, after Republicans won both chambers of Congress, when Biden joined his GOP colleagues in calling for freezing federal spending.
Starting in the US where the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination continues.
At THIRD, Ava and I may have to address the division topic that we're avoiding here. We weren't planning to do that but when Norman Solomon plays at being fair but is actually stacking the deck? Oh, hell no. I thought Norman had learned from shading the truth in 2008 but clearly that is not the case. I'm not in the mood and I've been clear about this. The first eleven paragraphs are a distortion of actual events and the person who comes up short in Norman's narrative -- over and over -- is the candidate he doesn't favor. Just by chance, I'm sure, right? Trina lays out the timeline faster and better in "Climate change and other real issues."
Also being dishonest? Julian Brave NoiseCat at IN THESE TIMES who argues that if whomever comes in lower in the Iowa caucus -- Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren -- should send their delegates to the other in the second round. Iowa is a caucus, which Julian doesn't really explain. In Iowa, there is not a paper ballot. One area becomes the Andrew Yang section, another becomes the Tulsi Gabbard section, etc, etc. In various rounds, delegates can (they do not have to) move to another area, another section, to switch their initial support. Julian notes that handsy John Edwards and fake ass Denny The Kay had such an arrangement in 2008. He says that Elizabeth and Bernie should have one this go round too.
No.
When Dennis Kucinich released his delegates in Iowa to John Edwards, that was it. He was no longer a serious candidate. We noted it here. More to the point, the corporate press didn't cover him again -- even though he was still in the race. That deal was seen as proof that he was never a real candidate. A real candidate fights for every vote. A real candidate does not make backdoor deals.
If either Bernie or Elizabeth did what Julian's insisting they should do, whichever one sent their delegates over would then be out of the race.
If Bernie or Elizabeth does this in Iowa, they better understand that the one who sends their delegates to someone else is giving the press the reason not to cover their campaign or treat them as a serious candidate.
And let's clear something up here that a few e-mailing the public account don't seem to grasp. I'm not insisting Elizabeth win the nomination, I'm not even predicting she will. If you really read Tuesday's snapshot, as some of you drive-bys insist you did, I was very clear that Iowa really should be the end of it for her campaign. Polling from last weekend strongly indicated Bernie would win Iowa. That might change with all the nonsense going on. I'm not telling anyone who to vote for (it's not my place, you're an adult, support who you want). I was stating that prior to this nonsense, polling indicators suggested a strong turn out for Bernie. That could still be the case but if his supporters can't stop attacking or can't stop shading the truth, they will tap into something that could potentially carry Elizabeth all the way through the primaries even should she consistently underpoll Bernie. Those of you who think you're going to talk down to women -- Norman, that's what you've done -- are not helping. Play fair or ignore the whole matter and this will end fairly quick. Try to trick or lie and you're going to create a response that will not benefit Bernie at all.
Also trafficking in misinformation, Joe Biden who is always thinking he can fool the people. Ilana Novick (COMMON DREAMS) notes Joe's shady nonsense on Social Security:
In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper last week, Bernie Sanders attacked fellow candidate former Vice President Joe Biden for his record on Social Security, claiming Biden’s support for cutting the popular program makes him less electable. The Sanders campaign followed up the next day in an email newsletter to supporters that said, “In 2018, Biden lauded Paul Ryan for proposing cuts to Social Security and Medicare.”
Biden’s campaign pushed back against the newsletter’s attacks, contending the comments were taken out of context. According to The Intercept’s Ryan Grim, however, Biden’s record on Social Security is far worse than one potentially misinterpreted remark. Indeed, as Grim lays out, Biden has been advocating for cuts to Social Security for roughly 40 years. In 1984, in the midst of President Reagan’s frenzy to cut the federal safety net, Biden worked with Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley calling “for a freeze on federal spending and insisted on including Social Security in that freeze,” which even the Reagan administration was against.
That plan was rejected, but Biden continued to make similar pushes for cuts over the years. This included in 1994, after Republicans won both chambers of Congress, when Biden joined his GOP colleagues in calling for freezing federal spending.
Huge National News: A no-audio clip of 2 people seeming to disagree
Not News: A long clip of @JoeBiden on the Senate floor screaming about how proud he is that he has been trying to cut the Social Security benefits that millions of people survive on.
David Sirota
David Sirota Retweeted
Bernie should hit Biden relentlessly on this over the next three weeks. Biden’s support is soft (i.e. uncommitted), contains the highest quantity of 2nd-choice Bernie voters, and the demographic with whom Bernie most needs to improve (i.e. people of social security-earning age)
Here’s an incredible thing: you have CNN publishing corporate consultants like @JoeLockhart insisting that Bernie may be too risky a nominee...all while we absolutely know Trump will weaponize videos of @JoeBiden proudly congratulating himself for trying to cut Social Security 
David Sirota Retweeted
There's a dozen of these clips, and if Biden is the nominee Trump's gonna run 'em 24/7. "Biden and the Democrats want to cut your social security and Medicare. They've been trying to do it for decades. I've never touched social security, and I'll protect it from the Democrats."
Here’s Joe Biden praising Paul Ryan for cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
NEWS: Another clip emerges of @JoeBiden saying we must consider cuts to Social Security & Medicare. When asked if changes to eligibility age & COLAs should be considered, he said in 2007: "Absolutely...You’ve got to put all of it on the table"
Transcript: nbcnews.com/id/18381961/ns…
For those unfamiliar with Joe's vanity, especially stream the video. That's 2007. He's had hair plugs in the front to put back what was missing there by 2015. But when the camera shoots over Joe's shoulder to show Tim Russert, note Joe's huge bald spot in the back that was there in 2007 and vanished, just by magic and prayer, right? Back in 2008, noting his 'reappearing' 'hair,' Jessica Pressler (NEW YORK MAGAZINE) asked, "Does Joe Biden Have Butt Hair On His Head?" The answer then was: Yes! The answer still is: Yes! I regularly call out various vain women over 60 for some of the work they have done. I'm referring to actresses who can argue that media treatment forces them to be vain (or risk ridicule). So I will especially call out a politician for the work he keeps getting done. The vanity involved in a 77-year-old man's need to keep a full head of fake hair is something to see.
Meanwhile Eleanor Eagan (COUNTERPUNCH) looks into where Joe's financial support is coming from:
’Twas the Friday after Christmas, when all through the land, not a person was working, the computers unmanned. The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while Joe Biden released the names of the wealthy and well-connected volunteers who are fundraising for his campaign.
These fundraisers, otherwise known as bundlers, have all brought in at least $25,000 for the campaign, although many have likely brought in sums an order of magnitude larger, or at least plan to throughout the course of the campaign.
While it might be an exaggeration—or, if you like, a bit of poetic license—to say that no one was working at 11 p.m. on the Friday after America’s biggest holiday, it is hard to imagine another moment in the year when people are less hooked in to the steady drip of the 24-hour news cycle. The Biden campaign’s motivation for this stealth release is no mystery. With names from private equity, Big Tech, and many other disfavored industries scattered throughout the list, they surely wanted to tiptoe around negative press coverage. And they picked the perfect spot to ensure that.
The fact that the media, for the most part, fell for this evasive maneuver has higher stakes than the Biden campaign simply avoiding a bad news cycle. This list tells you more than perhaps any other campaign document about what a Biden presidency would look like—and, let’s just say, it does not paint a flattering picture. These names seem to suggest that the bold actions proposed in the Day One Agenda would not be borne out in reality under a President Joe Biden, instead remaining trapped on the Prospect’s pages.
Consider how exactly presidents are powerful. Although campaign-trail rhetoric tends to focus on candidates’ legislative agendas, in reality, presidents have limited influence over legislation. But they still have the power to enact major reforms. As the Day One Agenda illustrates, presidents can make bold changes in all policy realms using the tools of the executive branch, including regulation, enforcement, federal contracting, and yes, even executive orders. But the efficacy of these tools depends on the personnel a president taps to carry out their mandate.
Branko Marcetic (IN THESE TIMES) reviews Joe Biden's ever changing lies regarding his support of the Iraq War:
Tuesday’s debate saw yet another instance of Biden being confronted about his role in leading the country to war in Iraq, and choosing to lie about it.
“It was a mistake to trust that they weren’t going to go to war,” he said in relation to his October 2002 vote to authorize the war. “They said they were not going to war … The world, in fact, voted to send inspectors in and they still went to war. From that point on, I was in the position of making the case that it was a big, big mistake and from that point on, I moved to bring those troops home.”
As fact-checkers have pointed out repeatedly, and as I detailed multiple times for In These Times, almost every part of this statement is a lie. Biden knew George W. Bush’s ultimate goal was regime change because he himself spoke openly about the need to remove dictator Saddam Hussein from power as early as February 2002. By June of that year, when asked about a leaked White House directive for the CIA to help capture and kill Saddam, Biden gave it his nod of approval on CBS’s “Face the Nation” and said that “if the covert action doesn't work, we'd better be prepared to move forward with another action, an overt action,” which the Associated Press reported as an endorsement of an invasion. That month, Biden’s aides told Roll Call that the then-senator had told Bush he supported regime change in Iraq.
The next month, Biden said on “Fox News Sunday” that Bush would have the authority to pre-emptively invade Iraq if it was revealed that Saddam was in league in al-Qaeda—“justifiably given the case being made,” as he put it. And after voting to authorize the invasion, Biden embarked on a world tour to drum up support for the impending war, traveling to neighboring Jordan, Israel, Qatar and even to Kurdish-run northern Iraq, speaking to the Kurd parliament and assuring them the United States would stand with them.
Once the Iraq war began, far from “making the case that it was a big, big mistake,” Biden remained perhaps its most implacable cheerleader, even as the rest of the Democratic Party rapidly turned against it. Biden insisted in July 2003 that he would “vote to do it again,” referring to the invasion of Iraq, told the Brookings Institution that “Iraq was a problem that had to be dealt with sooner rather than later,” and flatly replied “No” when asked if Howard Dean’s steadfastly anti-war views should become the consensus of the Democratic Party. Instead of moving to bring the troops home, in August, Biden called for an infusion of 20,000-50,000 more U.S. soldiers into the country.
Indeed, Biden held his pro-war attitude all the way through 2004 and that year’s presidential election. At the Democratic convention, he told the Pennsylvania delegation that Bush’s only “mistakes” were sending too few troops into Iraq and the administration’s poor planning for reconstruction, warning the delegation not to focus too much on Bush’s blunders lest Democrats “begin sounding like we’re rooting for failure.” As Democratic candidate John Kerry’s foreign policy advisor, Biden vowed to both party members and those watching at home that Kerry would “not hesitate to unleash the unparalleled power of our military—on any nation or group that does us harm—without asking anyone’s permission.”
Iraq. I'm not rooting for anyone to die ever. But I nearly had a panic attack when I saw a headline about Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani having surgery. Fortunately, it was for a thigh bone and nothing cardio. But before I dived into the article, I was worried. He is a highly important voice in Iraq. Iraq is in crisis and they need him more now than ever. He has backed the protesters which has allowed them the little bits of safety that they do have.
Sistani is Iraq's most influential Shia cleric and has spoken out in support of the country's protest movement
The protesters will be gathering tomorrow after morning prayers and the turnout is predicted to be even bigger than last Friday.
Iraq #Rights2020: Security forces met protests in Baghdad and other cities in October and November with excessive force, killing hundreds. In response to the protests, Prime Minister Adil Abd Al-Mahdi resigned on November 29.
The US military has resumed joint operations with Iraqi Security Forces against.
—
Meanwhile, pro-Iran militia leaders have called for “one-million-strong” protest against US military presence on Friday.
#Iraq
Last Friday in Iraq, journalists Ahmed Abdul Samad and Safaa Ghali were assassinated for the 'crime' of covering the protests. Expect to see some protesters tomorrow carrying images of the two journalists.
How can we stand up and lecture other countries like #Iraq #Iran on #FreedomOfThePress when we restrict our own during #ImpeachmentTrial Journalist Ahmed Abdul Samad and the photographer Safaa El-Ghali killed in #Basra @senatemajldr @SpeakerPelosi #Daesh restricted Free Press too
We remember on our #Journalists_Altar #journalist Ahmed Abdul Samad & #videographer Safaa Ghali shot dead whilst reporting for @DijlahTv in Basra, Iraq.
May they rest in peace.
#Journalists_Church @pressfreedom
The following sites updated:
