McCarthyism 2.0: Real skill of US ‘disinformation experts’ is spreading disinformation

An obscure bloggers hit-job on an American writer and his associates amounts to small beans. In the bigger picture, however, it exposes a cancer spreading through present American discourse on Russia and the wider world.

MOSCOW – Once again it was Molly McKew. “Putin is waging an information assault on Americans – yet many supposedly anti-Putin experts want you to believe there's nothing you can do to stop it,” she tweeted. “Why? Stellar wknd (sic) longread by @JamesFourM (Jay McKenzie) on understanding how the Kremlin takes down its critics.”

And with that, a group of American thinkers and writers with no obvious sympathies towards Russia, had their reputations attacked.. Some days later, Medium, which hosted the smear, took the piece down – but the damage had been done.

Now, you’d need a heart of stone to take satisfaction from the current Russia hysteria in the United States. Because it’s genuinely sad to see the political and media elite of a great country tear themselves apart over poltergeists that most rational people assumed had evaporated decades ago.

What’s even more depressing is how the social media age, which promised a new dawn in expression and thought, is increasingly echoing the worst excesses of the 1950s: the period known as “McCarthyism.”

Except the new smear artists are arguably even more uncouth and opportunistic than their predecessors from those two-tone times. And they have less justification: Russia is no longer a closed country, hidden behind an “iron curtain.” In fact, contemporary Americans, if they so desire, can pick up a visa and bounce around from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok to their heart’s content.

Fool's gold

However, the spy hunters and “disinformation warriors” aren’t interested in first-hand experience, because their real motivation is to smear and silence the genuinely curious, who have invested the time and effort to acquire expertise. And what’s thoroughly depressing is that Molly McKew, John Schindler, Eric Garland, and their fellow travelers boast tremendous influence on Twitter and many also have platforms on mainstream media.

McKew, for instance, is a Politico columnist, who appears on US national television and is frequently cited as an “expert” by the Washington Post. A paper which also publishes Max Boot. Indeed, only last week, he used its pages to ludicrously claim Trump couldn’t have won the 2016 US election without Russian assistance. And, no, Boot didn’t suggest Moscow had somehow convinced Hillary Clinton not to campaign in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Schindler is a familiar face to Fox and CNN viewers.

Last weekend presented a vivid example of how these charlatans operate, when they used their Twitter accounts to promote a – subsequently deleted – “Medium” post designed to defame Dustin Giebel, an American writer who focuses on Russia. The diatribe, from one Jay McKenzie, appeared to be alleging that Giebel was some sort of Kremlin agent because he’d regarded the poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko as a mentor at college. Yevtushenko, who died last year, had been a supporter of reformist Soviet and Russian leaders Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin, who late-in-life, divided his time between Russia and the United States. 

While the “gotcha” nonsense largely focused on attempting to trip up Giebel over old tweets (obviously uninterested in Edward de Bono’s observation: “If you never change your mind, why have one.”), it also took aim at buddies, online at least, of the writer. Thus, Nina Jankowicz, a think-tanker at the US government-funded Wilson Center, and Michael Colborne, a Canadian journalist hardly noted for Kremlin sympathies, ended up in the crossfire.  

And it all seemed to be inspired by the shocking revelation that Giebel intended to take his wife to Moscow this June, during the World Cup, which was taken as clear evidence of his comprised credentials. Giebel later alleged that the fallout led to a “threat against my two-year-old daughter from one of your loony’s (sic) so your cosplay and doxxing was a success. Thank Molly McKew and John for this, the great AMERICAN threat is sleeping with her blankie.” 

Sad times

He was referring to how McKew and former CIA agent turned TV fixture John Sipher had shared the smear job. And they were joined by Moscow-born neoconservative activist Max Boot.

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Sipher tried to backtrack with a bizarre statement: “This seems to be a fight over people's credentials. We need to move past it. Yes, we need the voices of serious academics. We also need journalists, diplomats, practitioners, politicians and interested parties. What Russia and Trump are doing is obvious and damaging.” But McKew was unrepentant, even after Jankowicz appealed to her directly.

“Molly, I don’t want anyone to say anything bad about you, but I’d also prefer you did the same for me and didn’t spread unfounded lies about me and my work,” she wrote. “Our disagreements are intellectual, not personal. Do you stand by James’ ‘research’ conclusion that I’m a Kremlin agent?” A few days later, McKew hasn’t replied. Even though she’s surely aware the article has been shut down.

Speaking of which, McKenzie wasn't deterred after it went dark. “The current Kremlin espionage offensive against the West bears [an] uncanny resemblance to the late 1940s,” he told his 28K followers. “They will deny until they can deny no more, right until the unpleasant truth finally comes out. Read @20committee's (Schindler) latest and know our enemy.” Meanwhile, an anonymous user claimed the Kremlin itself had the article deleted.

Of course, in normal circumstances, Twitter spats between lobbyists, writers and activists wouldn’t merit the op-ed treatment. But these are not regular times.

Viewed from Europe, the United States media, academic and political elites appear to be tearing themselves apart over issues with Russia, which are relatively minor and don’t touch a nerve with the general populace. And the standards of journalism right now are so low as to be almost beyond belief.

We have a situation where someone like Boot, alongside promoting fake slanders, is able to appear on CNN and allege Russia has “attacked” America, while the host, Anderson Cooper, doesn't even bother to challenge his views. Not to mention how CNN itself regularly presents analysts who have never even been to Russia as “experts” on the country. 

Then there is McKew’s presence across mainstream media and the huge Twitter traffic generated by folk like Eric Garland, Schindler and Seth Abramson.

However, while these chancers enjoy the limelight, genuine Russia specialists are ignored unless they are willing to betray reality and enthusiastically join in the madness. The former ambassador Michael McFaul is a case in point.

This is all very sad, worrying, troublesome and dangerous. Legitimate, sincere, inquisitive and equitable voices tossed to the margins, and defamed, while spoofers, quacks, carpetbaggers and blackguards take center stage. One wonders how sober historians will judge this lunacy.

*An earlier version of this article stated that McKenzie has “600-odd” followers. We apologize for the mistake.

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/434846-twitter-russia-disinformation-mccarthyism/

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NRA says it may no longer exist as non-profit due to Cuomo's onslaught, Twitter erupts

A recent lawsuit filed by the National Rifle Organization (NRA) argues that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's crusade may force it to cease to exist as a nonprofit. The news sparked a frenzy on Twitter.

The amended version of the lawsuit, originally filed by the NRA in May, was released in full by Rolling Stone. It was claimed that the powerful lobby group is "in deep financial trouble" and "may be 'unable to exist.'" 

In its lawsuit, which lists Gov. Andrew Cuomo, both individually and his official capacity, as well as Maria T. Vullo, superintendent of the department of financial services (DFS), among the defendants, the NRA argues that Cuomo has gone on the warpath against the organization. It apparently involves "selective prosecution, backroom exhortations and public threats with a singular goal – to deprive the NRA and its constituents of their First Amendment rights to speak freely about gun-related issues and defend the Second Amendment."

At the core of Cuomo's "vendetta,"according to the NRA, are threats of regulatory reprisals to financial institutions that do not sever their relationship with the NRA under pressure from the New York City authorities.

The NRA says that if it fails to obtain security insurance, it won't be able to hold rallies, annual conferences, and other events that require insurance. So far, its long-time business partner, Lockton Companies, and an unspecified corporate carrier, have refused to renew their policies. The latter refuses to do so "at any price," the NRA stated, laying the blame squarely on Cuomo. In May, Lockton Companies was fined $7 million by the DFS after it ruled that the NRA 'Carry Guard' insurance program "unlawfully provided liability insurance" to legal gun owners "for certain acts of intentional wrongdoing." 

The lawsuit says that if the state does not roll back its crusade, the NRA "will suffer irrecoverable loss" and "will be unable to exist as a not-for-profit or pursue its advocacy mission."

The potential restructuring implied in the complaint has already seen liberals on Twitter enthusiastically mourning the NRA.

Many offered the organization their "thoughts and prayers," mocking a frequent response by GOP politicians to mass shootings.

While it may not end up thriving as before, fears of the NRA's demise are greatly exaggerated, anti-gun activist Shannon Watts tweeted, noting that the nonprofit can always count on the support of gun manufacturers… and of course Russia, since there is no domestic issue in the US these days that Russia can't be dragged into.

Some commenters believe the NRA's complaints amount to nothing more than a creative fundraising strategy.

Comedian Chelsea Handler, citing the NRA's generous donations to GOP politicians, said they could ask them to return the favor and give them a loan.

The NRA's financial statement for 2016 shows that the lobby group overspent by $46 million in the year of the presidential election. 

Cuomo, meanwhile, rejected the NRA's claim that he was responsible for putting it "out of business," tweeting that if he was actually capable of doing so, "he would have done it 20 years ago."

"I'll see you in court," he added.

The NRA has received an amount of public wrath of previously unseen proportions this year, with the Parkland shooting in February reigniting the debate on state gun laws and sparking a new gun control movement spearheaded by survivors of the massacre.

A poll conducted by NBC News/Wall Street Journal in March shows that for the first time since 2000, more people surveyed have a negative view of the NRA (40 percent) than positive (37 percent).

https://www.rt.com/usa/435095-nra-cuomo-lawsuit-existence/

Dark money secrets: NRA, Planned Parenthood & others can now conceal donors

Great news for the NRA and other non-profits looking to hide their influence on US democracy: Dark money political organizations will no longer have to disclose where their money is coming from, the Treasury Department announced.

The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced Monday that politically active nonprofit groups like the NRA and Planned Parenthood will no longer need to file “personally-identifiable information”about their donors in their annual returns. It described the process as an“unnecessary reporting requirement.”

While nonprofit organizations that are tax-exempt due to to their charitable, educational or religious status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code still have to provide information about their donors, other 501(c) tax exempt organizations like social-welfare focused groups and trade associations no longer need to do so.

The Treasury Department said the policy will reduce the risk of “inadvertent disclosure” or misuse of confidential information, which it said is an “especially important safeguard for organizations engaged in free speech and free association protected by the First Amendment.” It also said “conservative tax-exempt groups were disproportionately impacted by improper screening”under the Obama administration.

The move is likely to be cheered by wealthy donors and conservatives who have long accused the policy of subjecting conservative groups to more scrutiny.

One influential group to gain from the new rule is the NRA, which is classed as a social welfare organization and spent $35 million on elections in 2016 through its NRA Institute for Legislative Action arm, and $54.4 million in total. Others include groups created by the billionaire Charles and David Koch brothers, and the liberal America Votes and Patriot Majority USA. 

These politically active nonprofit groups can participate in political campaigns so long as it isn’t their primary activity. The groups can accept unlimited contributions from individuals and corporations and can also give funds to other nonprofits, which doesn’t count as political spending. This money is often funneled into campaign super PACs, allowing wealthy donors to circumvent individual campaign contribution limits. These groups are also a handy way for corporations and individuals to donate to causes they may not wish to be publicly associated with.

Such groups have risen since the 2010 Supreme Court Citizens United ruling that opened the doors for unlimited spending on political activities.

>>2448235

https://www.rt.com/usa/433529-nonprofits-disclose-donors-dark-money/

Koch brothers join #Resistance, launch campaign against Trump tariffs

The billionaire Koch brothers are launching a campaign against President Donald Trump’s tariffs and trade policies, denouncing them as bad for business.

Industrialists Charles and David Koch will spread their message through Koch network group’s Freedom Partners, Americans for Prosperity, and the LIBRE Initiative, they announced on Monday. The campaign will use ads, activists, lobbying and policy analysts, “all intended to transform the way Washington and the rest of the country consider and value trade with other nations.”

Last week, the Trump administration implemented the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union. Canada has retaliated with tariffs on a range of US imports, including toilet paper. The Kochs own Georgia Pacific, a major toilet paper supplier.

Politics and trade make for strange bedfellows, apparently. The Kochs’ anti-tariff push has aligned them with the Democrats, who have spent years demonizing the brothers as the source of all evil. For example, the Kochs were accused of being behind Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement in January 2017.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, however, the Kochs were rebuffed by Trump and indicated they would rather donate to his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. Just last week, the brothers funded an ad thanking Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota) for backing a banking deregulation bill they approved of. The Kochs have also supported efforts in Congress to give amnesty to many immigrants in the US illegally, favored by Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans.

A group of Republicans in the Senate, led by Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), is hoping to get Democrats’ support to “push back” on Trump’s tariffs. Corker has openly broken with Trump and is not seeking re-election in November.

Groups opposed to the tariffs have argued that they might result in the loss of anywhere between 400,000 and 2.6 million American jobs. Trump has countered by promising better trade deals and pointing to the just-released statistics for May, showing the US economy added 223,000 jobs and pushed the unemployment rate to 3.8 percent, the lowest it has been in 18 years.

https://www.rt.com/usa/428720-koch-brothers-trump-tariffs/

>>2448265

Nps. :)

>>2448341

Recipient of Koch Industries cash in 2010.

THE WICHITA CONNECTION

Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo owes his political career to the Koch brothers

Before becoming a US congressman in 2010, Mike Pompeo had patrolled the Iron Curtain, and started and sold two Kansas businesses, but never held office.

When he ran, Pompeo earned the nickname the “Congressman from Koch” because of the outsized donations made to his 2010 campaign by the industrialist Koch brothers, whose energy conglomerate is headquartered in Pompeo’s Wichita, Kansas district. Koch Industries donated just $80,000 directly to Pompeo—but that made them the largest contributor to his campaign in 2010. It also helped him out-raise his Democratic challenger by almost 20%. Pompeo won the race with 58% of the vote.

That was also the year the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decisionopened the floodgates to a rush of “dark money” in politics. The Koch brothers support for Pompeo became a blueprint for how they’d go on to influence Congressional races across the country in years to come, while forming a massive fund-raising empire that’s now one of the most influential powers in US elections.

Overall, Koch Industries contributed $375,500 to Pompeo through his six-year congressional career, while the oil and gas industries total spent $1.1 million.

More important than the dollar figures is the precedent set by the Koch-Pompeo relationship, campaign finance experts say. He represented a “starting point for the Koch brothers to jump in on all political spending,” Aaron Scherb, the director of legislative affairs for Common Cause, a Washington, DC watchdog group that analyzes money in politics.

In Congress, Pompeo pushed Koch Industries-friendly legislation to curb regulations on oil and gas companies, and end tax breaks for renewable energy. He also hired Koch Industries lawyer Mark Chenoweth as his chief of staff. In a 2012 op-ed he wrote for Politico, Stop Harassing the Koch Brothers, Pompeo wrote, “The Democrats’ obsession with the Kochs as a political target is, indeed, additional evidence of a truly Nixonian approach to politics.”

As secretary of state, Pompeo will oversee a powerful, though somewhat diminished, agency that oversees tens of thousands of employees and contract workers. The state department has a budget of about $40 billion, and overseas US Embassy building contracts, while also partnering with local governments and private companies on infrastructure projects through subsidiaries like USAID. Traditionally, State department officials also advise on everything from US trade policy to sanctions.

While Pompeo’s current role as head of the CIA is an extremely important position, Scherb said, as secretary of state he will make key decisions about US policies overseas, which have broader financial repercussions. Because of his links to the Kochs, Pompeo deserves “another level of scrutiny now that he’s been nominated as Secretary of State,” he said.

Privately-held Koch Industries has 120,000 employees in 60 countries nationwide, include a big presence in Europe and Asia, according to the company. It earned $100 billion in revenue in 2017.

Pompeo’s nomination will need to be confirmed by the US Senate, which has set a tentative date to for a hearing in April.

https://qz.com/1227882/secretary-of-state-nominee-mike-pompeo-owes-his-political-career-to-the-koch-brothers/

>>2448490

It Cost The Koch Brothers Only $299,000 To Block Labeling Of Genetically Modified Foods

In what may have been the most underreported event overnight, the House quietly passed legislation that would keep states from issuing mandatory labeling laws for foods that contain genetically modified organisms, often called GMOs. The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, as the law is formally known, passed 275-150, creating a federal standard for the voluntary labeling of foods with GMO ingredients. And since clearly nobody wants to advertise they are using GMOs in their food, the number of "volunteers" will be precisely zero.

As the Hill reports, Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), who authored the bill, called mandatory labeling laws — which have already passed in Vermont, Connecticut and Maine — unnecessarily costly given that GMOs have been deemed safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“Precisely zero pieces of credible evidence have been presented that foods produced with biotechnology pose any risk to our health and safety,” Pompeo said. “We should not raise prices on consumers based on the wishes of a handful of activists.”

Well, sure. Then there is the curious case of a lobbyist who back in March proclaimed that Monstanto's weedkiller "won't hurt you", only to promptly refuse drinking it on live it adding "I'm not stupid."

Somehow we doubt Mike Pompeo is stupid either, which is why he will use all his hard-earned lobby dollars to only purchase organic foods which do not have GMO ingredients, and which happen to be a premium food category, precisely for that reason. Which makes Pompeo's statement even odder, considering the prices of non-GMO foods are already substantially higher.

And while a minority was not willing to trade off healthy food for higher food prices, the victorious majority claimed a patchwork of labeling laws at the state level would drive up food costs.

Citing a study from a Cornell University professor, the Grocery Manufacturers Association said state-level GMO labeling mandates would increase grocery prices for a family of four by as much as $500 per year and cost food and beverage manufacturers millions of dollars to change food labels and supply chain systems.

Actually, where it would hurt manufacturers would be in the public's revulsion to eating foods clearly labelled as being genetically modified, leading to a collapse in sales in this high margin food category, and forcing even higher non-GMO prices. Outcomes that would lead to a dramatic erosion in shareholder value for the owners of those companies who stood to lose the most should the Labeling act not pass in its current form.

Owners such as the Koch Brothers and Monsanto.

Last night's passage of the anti-labeling law was the culmination of a very long and tedious process, one which started well over a year ago. In fact, as Andrea Germanos recalls, it all started last April, when in a move slammed as sealing "an unholy alliance between Monsanto and Koch Industries," a Kansas congressman submitted legislation that would ban state-level GMO labeling laws.

Called the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2014, the industry-supported legislation sponsored by Republican Rep. Mike Pompeo would "amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to food produced from, containing, or consisting of a bioengineered organism, the labeling of natural foods, and for other purposes."

At least between its 2014 name and the final 2015 version Pompeo and his backers added "Safe" to the front just in case the irony was lost on someone.

Which brings us to the biggest winners from this law, and how Rep. Pompeo made a few very rich people even richer.

Starting with the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA).

According to The Center for Food Safety: "Koch Industries’ subsidiary, Georgia-Pacific, is a member of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which donated more than $7 million against the recent Washington State ballot initiative to label GE foods. Monsanto, another GMA member, was the single largest contributor to that campaign. Between Washington State and California, Monsanto, GMA (including Georgia-Pacific), and others, have contributed over $67 million to keep consumers in the dark about GE foods."

Others quickly jumped onboard, especially those who would reap the biggest incremental profits such as biotech companies, and now the GMA and other industry groups like the Biotechnology Industry Organization are cheering Pompeo's legislation.

At the time, many were livid that a full-court press by a few corporations and even fewer billionaires would keep Americans in the dark as to the genetic content of the food they eat:

>>2448490

GMA’s selection of Congressman Pompeo as their champion shows how extreme the proposal really is," stated Colin O’Neil, director of government affairs for Center for Food Safety. "Selecting Pompeo creates an unholy alliance between Monsanto and Koch Industries…"

Well, today the unholy alliance won, and the GMA was delighted:

“Today’s bipartisan passage of the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act (HR 1599) clearly demonstrates the growing support for this critically important legislation,” said Pamela G. Bailey, president and CEO of the Grocery Manufacturers Association.  “We thank the sponsors of this bill, Congressmen Mike Pompeo (R-KS) and G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), along with Congressmen Mike Conaway (R-TX), Collin Peterson (D-MN), Fred Upton (R-MI) and the other members who supported it for standing on the side of consumer choice, science and fact-based labeling. We now call on the U.S. Senate to move quickly on a companion bill and pass it this year.”

Finally, the question everyone is dying to get the answer to: how much did it cost the Koch Brothers to purchase Mike Pompeo and his bipartisan congressional peers, both republicans and democrats, and pass a law that would save the company billions in profits?

The answer: $299,000

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-24/it-cost-koch-brothers-only-299000-block-labeling-genetically-modified-foods

>>2448514

Learn more.>>2448527

>>2448592

You are free to trust whom ever you wish.

>>2448672

With trust comes responsibility.

>>2448530

Continued here.

>>2448692

>>2448702

Depends which mirror you are looking through. If you are going to trust, it is your responsibility to know why you are. To know the person you are trusting. Or just follow.