Biden warns that an oligarchy is forming that threatens US democracy

(The ultra-rich oligarchs gained an additional 1.5 trillion dollars in wealth during the Biden administration.)

from Reuters

President Joe Biden said an oligarchy is forming in the U.S. that threatens democracy, issuing the bleak warning on Wednesday in his final Oval Office speech as he prepares to hand over power to Donald Trump next week.

Biden opened his speech with a familiar message - asking Americans to join together - but quickly warned about a dangerous concentration of wealth in the United States.

 

"Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that really threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedom, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead," Biden said.

 

He warned of a "tech industrial complex" that is bringing an "avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, enabling the abuse of power." The free press, he added, "is crumbling."

 

Biden's farewell address, capping half a century in politics, sought to bolster a legacy that has been overshadowed by Democrats' failure to stop the Republican Trump from returning to the White House.

 

Trump, who takes office at noon (1700 GMT) on Monday, has enlisted billionaire Elon Musk, who helped his election efforts, as a special adviser charged with cutting costs from the federal government.

 

Trump has nominated a slate of cabinet members who have pledged to upend traditional American alliances and governing norms. The November 2024 election left the Democratic Party with little leverage in national politics...

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Leaked Chats Reveal a U.S.-Linked Prosecutor Is Behind the Assault on Ecuador’s Social Democratic Movement

(Imagine that. The Biden administration and the so-called left in this country attacking left-leaning elements in other countries in order to make sure they never rise to power again. 'But Scott they are socialists and commies!'... are they? Are they really?)

from Drop Site by Ryan Grim and Jose Olivares

The messages show how Ecuador’s attorney general is using her office to attack the left—in alliance with the U.S.

You may remember a few months ago when Ecuador briefly stumbled onto the global stage, first when narco gangs broke out of prison and took over a TV crew live on air and then when President Daniel Noboa’s government launched a genuinely shocking raid of the Mexican embassy, dragging out Jorge Glas, the leftist former vice president of Rafael Correa, who was being given asylum by Mexico. You may also remember it took the U.S. a disturbing amount of time to issue a statement even mildly skeptical of the extraordinary breach of diplomatic norms.

How did Ecuador go from one of the safest countries in the Americas, a rising and stable social democracy, to a rogue, flailing narco-state with a surging crime wave? U.S. hostility to any social democratic government that attempts to chart an independent path, it turns out, is a central part of the answer.

Drawing on more than a thousand text messages sent by Ecuador’s top prosecutor, Diana Salazar—a rising star recently fêted in Time magazine by USAID’s Samantha Power—my colleague José Olivares and I have produced a new investigation mapping out the way the social democratic movement of Correa has been systematically undermined—hollowing out Ecuadorian state capacity and making way for an alliance of right-wing oligarchs and narco-traffickers to seize power—all under the guise of battling corruption. The U.S., with some notable exceptions, does not exert power through the blunt force of military coups or armed-and-funded paramilitaries in the way that it used to. But in many ways, the result is the same...

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Biden gives arms shipment proponent top Israel policy role

from Mondoweiss

Last week the Biden administration tapped Mira Resnick, an official who has helped facilitate weapons shipments to Israel, as the State Department’s point person on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

The HuffPost‘s Akbar Shahid Ahmed reported that Resnick will replace Andrew Miller as the department’s new deputy assistant secretary for Israeli-Palestinian affairs. Miller quit the position in June, citing family obligations. He was regarded as a critic of the Netanyahu government and Biden’s policy in the region.

Prior to joining the State Department, Resnick spent over a decade working for pro-Israel Democrats, including former Representatives Eliot Engel (D-NY), Henry Waxman (D-CA), Ron Klein (D-FL), and Steve Israel (D-NY)...

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US to provide Israel with additional $3.5bn in military aid amid Gaza war

from PressTV

The administration of President Joe Biden has announced plans to send an additional $3.5bn to Israel to spend on US-made weapons and military equipment amid the occupying regime’s months-long onslaught against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The US State Department said it had notified Congress of the Biden administration’s intention to release billions of dollars worth of foreign military financing to Israel.

CNN reported earlier on the release of the amount which comes from a $14 billion supplemental funding bill for Israel passed by the Congress in April.

The State Department said part of the new financial aid would go to Israel’s Netzah Yehuda battalion, an Israeli military unit which is based in the occupied West Bank and has for long been committing human rights abuses against Palestinians there.

The State Department also said it had decided against sanctioning the unit, stressing that it was satisfied with what was claimed to be “Israeli efforts to address” violations by the battalion.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined in a finding made public in April that the battalion carried out grave human rights abuses against Palestinians, triggering an investigation under US legislation related to US military aid to foreign forces...

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Biden Drops Out

 by Scott Creighton

The seclusion in Delaware ended pretty much as most thought it would, with an unhappy Crackhead Biden and Lady McBiden screaming and clawing at Joe to get up off the floor, wipe his nose and study those debate scripts.

But no. Sneaky Uncle SloJo has wandered off the track and left the race.

News of the Day: CrowdStrike Beta Test, Vance as Poppy Bush and WHO Eyes December Vote

For links to these stories check out my website listed below.

People Close to Biden Say He Appears to Accept He May Have to Leave the Race

(You can bet it's not his crack-head son or power-hungry wife telling him it may be time to go.)

from the NYT

Several people close to President Biden said on Thursday that they believe he has begun to accept the idea that he may not be able to win in November and may have to drop out of the race, bowing to the growing demands of many anxious members of his party.

One of the people close to him warned that the president had not yet made up his mind to leave the race after three weeks of insisting that almost nothing would drive him out. But another said that “reality is setting in,” and that it would not be a surprise if Mr. Biden made an announcement soon endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement.

Some people in Mr. Biden’s camp have told Democratic allies that the president’s resolve to stay in the race has been most shaken by three developments: The decision by Representative Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker, to weigh in so strongly, new state polls showing that his path to an Electoral College victory has grown far more remote and the boycott of key party donors.

The discussions among Mr. Biden’s advisers have advanced to the point that they are talking about the best timing and other details for an announcement if the president decides to give up his bid for a second term, according to one of the people informed about the situation. While some were anticipating that an announcement could come as early as the next few days, the timing remained in flux in part because Mr. Biden is in isolation at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., after a Covid diagnosis...

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Biden Tests Positive for Covid

(Looks like the botched, ham-fisted attempt on Trump has succeeded in finally doing away with Biden's doomed campaign. This will undoubtedly bring in a better replacement for the aging politician and give the DNC renewed hope in beating Trump. If they replace him with Man Shoulders Obama, could be trouble for the Don.)

from the NYT

President Biden tested positive for Covid on Wednesday, forcing him to cancel a campaign event in Las Vegas and likely sidelining him for days following the conclusion of former President Donald J. Trump’s nominating convention on Thursday.

The illness, which the president’s doctor said had produced only mild symptoms so far, was diagnosed even as the Democratic revolt over his candidacy got louder, with more of Mr. Biden’s allies and supporters calling on him to drop out of the race, citing concerns about his ability to defeat Mr. Trump...

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New Polling Shows a Large and Growing Majority Want Biden to Step Aside

from NYT

Nearly two-thirds of Democrats said President Biden should step aside and allow the party to select a different nominee, according to a new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The survey also found that 70 percent of Americans, including nearly half of Democrats, said they were not confident that Mr. Biden had the mental capacity to be president. That is a marked increase since February, when only about one-third of Democrats said they were not confident in his abilities...

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Schumer and Jeffries tell Biden directly that they have deep concerns about the election

from CNN

Congress’ two highest-ranking Democrats have gone directly to President Joe Biden with concerns about their party’s fate in November.

On Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told Biden that he is concerned about Democratic losses in November, according to one person close to both men who was granted anonymity to speak freely about the private conversation.

Just days before, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sat down with Biden and offered a similar message, voicing concerns that the president could put Democratic chances in the House at risk if he remained atop the ticket, according to a person familiar with the discussion, who was also granted anonymity to speak frankly...

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Pelosi privately told Biden polls show he cannot win and will take down the House; Biden responded with defensiveness

from CNN

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi privately told President Joe Biden in a recent conversation that polling shows that the president cannot defeat Donald Trump and that Biden could destroy Democrats’ chances of winning the House in November if he continues seeking a second term, according to four sources briefed on the call.

The president responded by pushing back, telling Pelosi he has seen polls that indicate he can win, one source said. Another one of the sources described Biden as getting defensive about the polls...

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Biden orders security for Kennedy

 (Everyone knows RFK Jr.'s bid will cost Biden more votes than Trump. His main donor funding his PAC also funds Trump's. It's kinda obvious. Now Biden is giving Junior some Secret Service 'protection'? Is the SS now our version of the Tonton Macoute or SAVAK?)

from RT

Independent US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be given Secret Service protection in the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced on Monday...

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How Biden’s Stumbles Collided With a Right-Wing Conspiracy Theory

(The masters of the universe are not as unipolar as some would have us believe. I have no doubt that there is a faction (maybe one including Obama at this point) that would like to see Biden replaced at the top of the ticket and if you understand that he has been showing signs of decreasing capacities for sometime, then you can certainly figure they have been thinking about doing this for a while. However, the debate was held early because there are no other candidates in the race and that has not happened in a long while. If they all wanted him out, he'd be out. Presidents don't rule. They front. That's their job. They are there by the grace of the masters. So someone wants to keep things as they are for another 4 years. Just not all of em. Once again there is a battle in the heavens and we poor mortals are limited to spectator roles. Is that how the Founding Fathers envisioned our Great Experiment? I don't think so.)

from the NYT

For years, far-right commentators have floated a conspiracy theory that Democratic Party elites were secretly plotting to replace President Biden on the ticket — a switcheroo that could give the party an advantage in November.

Suddenly, Mr. Biden being replaced by another Democrat as the party’s presidential nominee seems like a distinct possibility.

There is no evidence that the chaotic events following June’s debate were planned or that Mr. Biden’s halting performance was intentional. But the crisis over his candidacy has right-wing influencers heralding the moment as a conspiracy theory turned true.

“It was their final opportunity to toss the old man to one side, as I’ve been saying for the entire last year and a half,” said Vivek Ramaswamy, the former Republican presidential candidate, in a podcast interview after the debate.

“What they described as a conspiracy theory last year has become a reality today,” he added...

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How DementiaJoe's Debate Fail is Costing Palestinian Lives

We are sending more bombs to Israel to depopulate northern Gaza and even set the Nakba Pier back up to ship forcibly displaced Palestinians to Big Business for use as cheap labor. All because Joe Biden screwed up a debate and now he needs the Zionist lobby to stay in power. Its sickening.

The Latest | US-built aid pier in Gaza will reopen for a few days, then be removed permanently

 (Looks like Biden team figured out they could get the American press off their backs if they brought back the Nakba Pier and started giving the Israeli Zionists some more Big Gubmint welfare in the form of 500lb bombs to drop on Gaza City. Seems to be working as the MSM and even some alt-media influencer types are now supporting DimentiaJoe staying in the race while he shits his pants at NATO functions.)

from the AP

The (NAKBA) pier built by the U.S. military to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza will get reinstalled Wednesday to be used for several days, but then the plan is to pull it out permanently, several U.S. officials said. It would deal the final blow to a project long plagued by bad weather, security uncertainties and difficulties getting food into the hands of starving Palestinians.

Heavy Israeli bombardments pounded Gaza City on Tuesday, driving thousands of Palestinians to flee and forcing medical facilities to shut down because of the latest offensive in the territory’s north. And in southern Gaza, an apparent Israeli airstrike on a school-turned-shelter killed at least 25 people and wounded dozens more, Palestinian health officials said.

Hamas has warned that Israel’s expanding military operations in Gaza City and the displacement of thousands of residents could have “disastrous repercussions” for talks aimed at a cease-fire and the release of Israeli hostages...

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US to resume shipment of heavy bombs to Israel despite rising civilian deaths

from PressTV

The administration of US President Joe Biden is set to resume shipping heavy bombs to the Israeli regime in defiance of international calls against the move, in line with Washington’s untrammeled support for the occupying entity in its months-long genocidal war on Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Speaking on condition of anonymity on Wednesday, a US official said Washington would resume shipping 500-pound bombs to Israel. The official added, however, that the US would continue to hold back on supplying 2,000-pound bombs over what he claimed to be “concerns” about their use in the densely populated city of Rafah in southern Gaza.

“We’ve been clear that our concern has been on the end-use of the 2,000-lb bombs, particularly for Israel’s Rafah campaign which they have announced they are concluding,” the official said.

“Our main concern had been and remains the potential use of 2,000 lb bombs in Rafah and elsewhere in Gaza ... because our concern was not about the 500 lb bombs, those are moving forward as part of the usual process,” the official added.

The US media also confirmed that the shipment of 500-pound bombs to Israel is getting underway...

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Alt-Left Getting Behind I'mLudinJoe

They are gettin their minds right in the so-called alt-left. They are all on board with SloHandJoe. Parkinson's don't matter. Stumbling don't matter. None of it matters. All that matters is the establishment and Crackhead Hunter stay with their hands on the levers of power for now.

Morning Joe Flip-flops on Question of Biden as did AOC

by Scott Creighton

Lots of folks are suddenly jumping sides when it comes to calling for DementiaJoe staying in the race. 

Yesterday, Morning Joe was treated to an extremely rare live call-in interview with the president, probably because they have a large following and viewer base and Joe and Mika have been pretty honest about his declining abilities and how they threaten Democrats' chances of winning in November.

The softball porn slobberfest was pretty ridiculous.

 Biden says the majority of Dems want him to stay in the race. Its about 51% and they only think that because they have been told repeatedly that he is the only candidate that can beat Trump.

Bernie Sanders would wipe the floor with Trump but you all know, in the land of the Big PX, we can't have a left leaning president... even if he's just a fake one.

AOC: Joe Biden Is The Democratic Nominee, "This Matter Is Closed"

from Real Clear Politics

' I have spoken to the president over the weekend. I have spoken with him extensively. He made clear then and he has made clear since that he is in this race.

The matter is closed. He had reiterated that this morning. He has reiterated that to the public. Joe Biden is our nominee. He is not leaving this race. He is in this race and I support him.

Now, what I think is critically important right now is that we focus on what it takes to win in November because he is running against Donald Trump who is a man with 34 felony convictions that has been, that has committed 34 felony crimes, and not a single Republican has asked for Donald Trump to not be the nominee.'...

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How Biden Is Leveraging His Defiance to Try to Stem Democratic Defections

from the NYT

President Biden’s increasingly emphatic declarations that he will not exit the presidential race are delivering an unmistakable message to potential wayward Democrats: Any criticisms going forward damage the party’s chances against Donald J. Trump.

For days, Mr. Biden has said he will remain his party’s nominee after his poor debate short of an intervention from “the Lord Almighty.” On Monday, he put that assertion into action.

It began with an open letter to congressional Democrats saying he was definitely running. It continued with a defiant call into one of his favorite cable news shows decrying the “elites” trying to shove him out. It included a midday appearance on a private video call with some of his campaign’s top financiers as well as a call into a virtual meeting on Monday evening with a bulwark of his past support: the Congressional Black Caucus.

“I am not going anywhere,” Mr. Biden told the donors.,,

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