…on Russia?
After Donald Trump was briefed by his intelligence agencies about their claims that the Russians had influenced the US elections through hacking and other nefarious methods, the President-elect was underwhelmed. As you’d be too if you were to read the report that was made available to the public and is circulating on the web. It reminded many US commentators, they confessed ruefully, about the same agencies providing “intel” to justify President Bush’s claim there were “Weapons of Mass Destruction” in Iraq – and that the country should be invaded as General Colin Powell argued to the world.
But Trump then, perhaps like the kid who pointed out the Emperor had no clothes, asked a very interesting question – as usual on Twitter! – “Why is having a good relationship with Russia a bad thing? Only ‘stupid’ people, or fools, would think it is bad! We have enough problems around the world without yet another one.” Now mull over that a while, will you Dear Reader? “Why is having a good relationship a bad thing?”
Well, the US intelligence agencies, for one, may say, they have intelligence the dastardly Russians are up to no good as far as the US is concerned and you can’t trust them. But if the US intelligence community’s reports are any guide of the kind of proof they collect, Trump is bang on to refuse retaliatory strikes. They’re in the same category as the “forensic audits” conducted in Guyana that are yet to lead to a single indictment, much less any conviction!
Imagine a huge chunk of the report has to do with the broadcasts of the Russian Show “Russia Today”, which showed a huge preference for Trump, rather than Clinton being the next President! The question Trump must’ve answered was “How in the world can a show broadcast inside of Russia influence the US elections??”
In the end, the agencies said, “Putin publicly indicated a preference for President-elect Trump’s stated policy to work with Russia, and pro-Kremlin figures spoke highly about what they saw as his Russia-friendly positions on Syria and Ukraine. Putin publicly contrasted the President-elect’s approach to Russia with Secretary Clinton’s ‘aggressive rhetoric’.”
So, what’s wrong with this? But the question must be asked is why are these intelligence agencies making these claims? Some cynics insist that they are simply trying to justify their mega secret budgets. Is it because the Russians are the successors of the big, bad USSR? But the US relationship with China show that countries can change their stripes, doesn’t it?
This Eyewitness may have some deep issues with Trump’s stance on race, but to tell the truth, he gets full marks for pushing peace with Russia.
…on GECOM nominees
Yesterday, your Eyewitness expanded on one gambit the PNC’s making to ensure BharratJagdeo doesn’t get back into the Office of the Presidency. That ploy had to do with loading the judicial dice to prevent him from running for a third term. Your Eyewitness predicted the effort would be a sustained one – but even his jaded mind didn’t figure the next move would come so fast. Prezzie rejected ALL SIX nominees submitted by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo for him to pick the next Chairman of GECOM. Imagine that! Your Eyewitness kinda figured Prezzie was headed in that direction when he requested “résumés” – an unprecedented request! But he went out on a limb when he offered his rationale: “none of the candidates was a former judge or someone eligible to be appointed as a judge.”
Now this is but one criteria for making the choice; the other being they just should be “fit and proper”.
Shouldn’t Prezzie also say why the six were “unfit and improper???
…on underground economy
For the longest while Clive Thomas has been preaching about an “underground economy” here. But it’s only yesterday he decided to take an inventory of “tall buildings” as proof. So he was guessing up to now?