20191203 ~ NATO Summit Day 1

Trumps and the American delegation will be in England, on a world stage, with impeachment swirling on the homefront. Dems and US Press Corps will do their best to discredit our leader. Expect it, as the sun will rise in the east. The Trumps take it all in stride, goofing with each other.

**On the way to England for NATO, December 2, 2019**

Robert Lighthizer, USTR dropped a MOAB on France, completing their investigation with perfect timing to recommend up to 100% tariffs on anything French. Similar action is expected for Austria, Italy, and Turkey, who are also targeting USA companies. Yes, the “digital tax” is also being considered in Great Britain and Canada (It’s so easy to shake down USA companies). Again, we have another example of the expropriation of American wealth. Please consider, the recommendation comes AFTER the 7 Billion dollar ruling for America, against France, in the WTO for subsidies to AirBus, harming Boeing.

The U.S. government on Monday said it may slap punitive duties of up to 100% on $2.4 billion in imports from France of Champagne, handbags, cheese and other products, after concluding that France’s new digital services tax would harm U.S. tech companies.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said its “Section 301” investigation found that the French tax was “inconsistent with prevailing principles of international tax policy, and is unusually burdensome for affected U.S. companies,” including Alphabet Inc’s Google <GOOGL.O>, Facebook Inc <FB.O>, Apple Inc <AAPL.O> and Amazon.com Inc <AMZN.O>.
https://news.yahoo.com/u-vows-100-tariffs-2-230931230.html

Meanwhile, the uber graceful Lady in Red, with the most beautiful feet in the world and a megawatt smile, has landed in London. She’s our FLOTUS, Melania. Expect a fashion roll out extraordinaire! Because Melania speaks so many languages, she becomes a secret weapon for President Trump when it comes to events with many world leaders. With that smile, Melania could STOP London fog. Wow.

Schedule for Day One is loaded with activity:

♦4:10am ET / 9:10am Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a 1:1 meeting with the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Jens Stoltenberg, London, United Kingdom

♦4:30am ET / 9:30am Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a working breakfast with the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Jens Stoltenberg, London, United Kingdom

♦6:00am ET / 11:00am Local – THE PRESIDENT departs Winfield House en route to the InterContinental London Park Lane, London, United Kingdom

♦6:15am ET / 11:15am Local – THE PRESIDENT arrives at the InterContinental London Park Lane, London, United Kingdom

♦6:30am ET / 11:30am Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a roundtable with supporters, London, United Kingdom

♦7:05am ET / 12:05pm Local – THE PRESIDENT departs the InterContinental London Park Lane en route to Winfield House, London, United Kingdom

♦7:20am ET / 12:20pm Local – THE PRESIDENT arrives at Winfield House, London, United Kingdom

♦9:00am ET / 2:00pm Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a private ‘restricted’ bilateral meeting with the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, London, United Kingdom

♦9:20am ET / 2:20pm Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in an expanded bilateral meeting with the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, London, United Kingdom

♦10:30am ET / 3:30pm Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in an expanded bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, London, United Kingdom

♦11:55am ET / 4:55pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart Winfield House en route to Clarence House, London, United Kingdom

♦12:10pm ET / 5:10pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at Clarence House, London, United Kingdom

♦12:15pm ET / 5:15pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY have tea with H.R.H. The Prince of Wales and H.R.H. The Duchess of Cornwall, London, United Kingdom

♦12:50pm ET / 5:50pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart Clarence House en route to Buckingham Palace, London, United Kingdom

♦1:00pm ET / 6:00pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY attend a North Atlantic Treaty Organization Leaders’ Reception hosted by Her Majesty The Queen, London, United Kingdom

♦2:35pm ET / 7:35pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart Buckingham Palace en route to No. 10 Downing Street,
London, United Kingdom

♦2:40pm ET / 7:40pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at No. 10 Downing Street, London, United Kingdom

♦2:45pm ET / 7:45pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY attend a North Atlantic Treaty Organization Leaders’ Reception hosted by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Boris Johnson, London, United Kingdom

♦4:05pm ET / 9:05pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart No. 10 Downing Street en route to Winfield House, London, United Kingdom

♦4:30pm ET / 9:30pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at Winfield House, London, United Kingdom

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Including the background info from yesterday for those who missed it. We’ll call it a bonus segment. If you’ve already seen it, please breeze by.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As financial contributions to NATO have been a subject for many years, let’s take a look at the 2.5 billion dollar budget. Not a much as we thought. “NATO Allies have agreed the civil and military budgets for 2019. At a meeting of the North Atlantic Council on Tuesday (18 December 2018), Allies agreed a civil budget of €250.5 million and a military budget of €1.395 billion for 2019.” https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_161633.htm

https://www.statista.com/chart/17529/nato-defense-spending/

What is the purpose of the North-American TransAtlantic Organization? It used to be the group were allied to defend Western Europe against Russia. Yet today, France wants to buy ships from Russian military and form a closer alliance with Moscow. Germany has been working on Nordstrom pipeline, to supplying 60% German citizens with LNG from Russia. Obviously, Western Europe does not perceive Russia as a threat.

Newly declassified documents paint a CLEAR picture of the promise from George Herbert Walker Bush and his admin, to Gorbachev of Russia around the time of the of the Berlin Wall. The promise made was that NATO would NOT expand past the East German Border, “not one single inch”. In effect, if the Soviet Union was to disband, there was no further purpose to NATO. Yet, various interests in the USA and Europe were reluctant to give up the fiiefdom of NATO. In fact, over the last 30yrs, NATO has expanded to include 13 former Soviet Bloc Nations, and advance all the way up to the Russian border. https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/newly-declassified-documents-gorbachev-told-nato-wouldnt-23629 RT points to the 30 documents as proof of a broken promise. https://www.rt.com/news/413029-nato-gorbachev-expansion-promises/

Here’s the link to the actual documents, fascinating read. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early

Of course, IF the USA and NATO broke their promise to Russia, it would still be fresh in the mind of Putin, who was stationed in East Germany 1985-1990. AND it would explain his objections, nervousness, as NATO absorbed more and more countries, placed Patriot missiles in Poland, and probably why Putin would object to our involvement in Ukraine.

Again, we come back to Ukraine. Funny, eh?

Yet, this particular NATO Summit is fraught with high stakes drama from all sides.

December 12th is the “Snap Poll/Election” for Boris Johnson/Brexit/MPs in the UK and the most unpredictable in a generation and a true showdown. It’s the first time Brits have gone to the polls for a December election since 1923. Try these links for more background to get “the feel” of drama for Brexit (or check on our own Churchmouse who has many excellent posts on the subject). Tories have been thrown out of the party. Decoupling from the EU is main driving point of the election. Will they leave or remain? https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/29/uk-general-election-confirmed-for-12-december-after-brexit-stalemate https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/breaking-general-election-held-december-20752583

A NATO Summit the week before the election gives Boris Johnson a chance to take the stage as a world leader. Look for President Trump to try to help him as much as possible.

Added to the drama is our squirrelly ally Macron of France. He gave an interview to the Economist in November and his comments were “scary” as to the future of NATO’s alliance. He doubted if the USA would show up for a conflict in Europe and said NATO is experiencing “brain death”. https://www.economist.com/europe/2019/11/08/allies-aghast-at-emmanuel-macrons-dismissal-of-nato The Allies were “aghast”, as The Economist points out, they were sure it would be Trump who would make the incendiary remarks. (Sigh).

The Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, fired back at Macron in an article for The Financial Times, picked up by Reuters, here: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-poland-nato-idUSKBN1XL13B

(Photo by Michele Tantussi/Getty Images)

Interesting little tidbits fall from the article:

French President Emmanuel Macron’s critical remarks about NATO were “dangerous”, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in an interview published on Sunday evening by the Financial Times.
Macron told The Economist last week that NATO was experiencing “brain death”, citing a lack of coordination and U.S. unpredictability under President Donald Trump. (Got that? Macron waffles on NATO – but blames Trump)
“I think President Macron’s doubts about (NATO’s commitment to mutual defense) can make other allies wonder if perhaps it is France that has concerns about sticking to it. I hope that we can still count on France fulfilling its obligations,” Morawiecki was quoted as saying. (Morawiecki puts the blame back where it belongs)
“France is spending below 2 per cent of GDP (on defense) . . . I think it’s worth asking why certain aspects of NATO do not look as we wish. And it’s not for the lack of U.S. commitment to the alliance, but rather the lack of reciprocity on the part of some European allies,” he said. (Ouch, that one hurt, but Morawiecki is correct)
France has traditionally had an ambivalent role in NATO, taking no part in its strategic military planning from 1966 to 2009 despite being a founding member. Still Macron’s comments – a month before NATO’s Dec. 4 summit in London – were unexpected.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-poland-nato-idUSKBN1XL13B

Wait……… What do you mean France takes no part in strategic military planning and hasn’t since the mid-60’s? So, France contributes less than 2%, complains about it, and has absolutely no idea how their country is defended? Did France just become the 14yr old teenager, consuming more than they contribute?

In 2017, France looked to expand their relationship with Moscow and Beijing. https://www.wsj.com/articles/france-looks-to-deepen-trade-ties-with-russia-and-china-1514808000

In 2018, Macron was still looking to cozy up to Moscow, despite tension in Syria. https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-france-russia-talks-20180209-story.html

Again in 2019. https://punchng.com/putin-at-chirac-service-as-france-seeks-closer-ties-with-russia/

With friends like France, who needs enemies? Of course, everything is relative and media cannot be trusted. Many times leaders use hot rhetoric to their domestic audience which does not play well on a foreign stage.

But then……. there’s Merkel of Germany. Merkel lambasted Macron for his comments on NATO, https://www.dw.com/en/angela-merkel-condemns-macrons-drastic-words-on-nato/a-51154583

Take a look at Germany’s Defense Minister, Ursula von der Leyen ……. the petite blond to the right of Merkel, and Kramp-Karrenbauer, known as “Mini-Merkel” the brunette to the left of Merkel….. thought to be Merkel’s successor…. a “coronation in waiting”. The woman on the far right, wearing red, is German Politician Julia Kloeckner.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/26/angela-merkel-fends-party-rebellion-chosen-successor-mini-merkel/

Germany has pledged to bump defense spending to 2%……. but by the year 2031. They hope to get to 1.5% by the year 2014. No kidding, they’re waiting until 2031. According to Kramp-Karrenbauer “A country of our size, with our economic and technological power, our geostrategic position and global interests, cannot just stand on the sidelines and watch,” she said.

The Bundeswehr should be deployed proactively abroad, the defense minister said. She has pledged to bump defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2031, which could make Germany the third largest defense spender in the world.
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-must-play-active-military-role-says-defense-minister/a-51145869

In other words, Germany wants a seat at the table but for the USA to pick up the tab. President Trump believes this is unfair to the USA taxpayers….. but apparently President Trump is a brut for asking his allies to pay for their meal.

Merkel has problems with her health, the videos of her shaking violently are still fresh on the minds of others. She also has problems with allowing free speech in Germany, her most recent contentious policy stance. Merkel is on the way out. It will be interesting to see if her “replacement” accompanies Merkel and is introduced to new leaders. Watch the makeup of the German delegation.

According to AP, the USA will pay less for NATO in 2019 and Germany will pay more. The U.S. spends more on defense than all other 28 allies combined. Macron refuses to increase France’s portion, citing the death of 13 French soldiers.

Macron said France won’t increase its contributions for NATO’s in-house budget and referred to the 13 French soldiers killed in a helicopter collision as they were fighting Islamic State group-linked extremists in Mali.
“If anyone wants to see what they call cost sharing, they can dome to the ceremony that France is organizing on Monday,” he said. “They will see the price.”
https://apnews.com/d70fb6c8ede14d578246f95b0b27ac1f

As Eastern EU nations are still fearful of Russia, western EU nations look to strengthen ties with Russia. Eastern nations strongly object to the dangers of nation security which come with more immigration from the Middle East, while Germany/France/Belgium and Spain embrace more and more migration. Trade/IP theft/National Security and surveillance from China and problems with radical Islam present new problems.

Whatever happens this week in England will surely make headlines.

2A Supporters: Are You Ready to Take the Weinstein Challenge?

No, not THAT Weinstein – THIS ONE.

Or THIS ONE.

Or this one.

Eric Weinstein is an interesting Twitter follow. He has opinions which I would say land square in the middle of the “new skeptical intelligentsia”, part of which would include the “intellectual dark web”, part of which would be outside it, but are disturbed in different meaningful ways that such a thing has to exist (and therefore some people on the left consider them PART of the “intellectual dark web”). Eric is pretty much on the internal border between the two parts of the larger movement, and “gets” everybody.

Stated another way, he’s “Quillette perfect”.

Anyway, he’s worth following even if you just want to see what smart people are saying about stuff.

Well, a Twitter friend replied to him on something, and that led THE WOLF to pontificate just a bit. The tweets were ultimately in response to a QUESTION by Weinstein.

How – 2A defenders – do we stop the NEXT school shooting?

Let’s talk about the next major US school shooting with more than 3 dead. Those folks are currently alive. They are just having a day today like anyone else. They don’t need our thoughts & prayers yet. We could take action to save those lives. We know it is going to happen.

Nu?
— Eric Weinstein (@EricRWeinstein) November 25, 2019

Oh, did I *EVER* want to talk about how I, personally, may have stopped a “non-school” shooting by NOT SHOWING UP in the same room as a politician, thereby nixing an opportunity for the MURDEROUS WHOEVER to pull their little game of “wrap up multiple loose ends”. But then THIS gets into the REALITY of “fighting the future” in a statistical, quantum-ish, highly uncertain, multiverse way – something most people aren’t even ready to consider, much less believe, much less understand.

This gets into all we have observed about active shooter training exercises and drills “mysteriously” preceding active shooters who are used for political payload. This gets into my long-and-painfully-developed “economy of events principle”, which shows how these events nearly always have to have MULTIPLE POLITICAL PAYOUTS for them to occur.

This gets into acceptance that there are technologies IN USE that most of us are not aware of, few of us understand, and nearly none of us is even CLEARED to know about.

This gets into believing that there are motivations IN PLAY which are far, far different from anything which is being revealed publicly to the hapless population of victims and aggrieved family members.

This gets into believing that there is ANOTHER “intellectual dark web” – possibly not all on this planet or even in this universe – that has its own ideas about where humanity needs to go.

Yeah. Some conjecture may be necessary. And you had probably better believe that EPSTEIN didn’t kill himself.

So scratch THAT SHIT. Unless somebody really wants to understand how tenuous ACTIVELY STOPPING ACTIVE SHOOTINGS actually is, when SOMEBODY OUT THERE WANTS THEM, and all we have to go on is the experience of SURVIVORS and WITNESSES – those who have been set up before by sketchy, abused LE and IC, and managed to walk out of their “history grooming process”. Or those who have dedicated their lives to investigating and stopping this stuff.

In that case, then they can look at how it was done in one particular instance.

Seeking QTreeper Counsel on Active Shooter Training and Sketchy Scheduling Thereof

https://www.theqtree.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/activeshooter.jpg

This is a bit of a strange post, and I won’t go into all of the details here and now. Maybe never. However, I am deciding how I’m going to deal with exactly what is in the title, and I want the have maximum information at hand when I do. You folks are a wealth …

https://wqth.wordpress.com/2019/11/04/seeking-qtreeper-counsel-on-active-shooter-training-and-sketchy-scheduling-thereof/

So skipping the X-Files stuff, or maybe not, let me show you my responses on the thread.

Here’s my plan: That we begin talking ahead of time and not retroactively. Move to the next one. Like it is “Groundhog day”. Let’s set a schedule of anticipation and see if it changes anything. Why are we exhibiting learned helplessness? Makes no sense.
— Eric Weinstein (@EricRWeinstein) November 25, 2019

Gun control is feared by many of my fellow Americans. Ok. So…I want the strong 2A crowd to take the lead. What real plan do we have that we can fund and implement to get these deaths toward numbers that aren’t an embarrassment?
— Eric Weinstein (@EricRWeinstein) November 25, 2019

https://twitter.com/ed_grimly/status/1201683664951746561

Yes. Add this to the LIST. All ppl skin in game on social stability. The solutions [which must retain FREEDOM and POPULAR RESERVE OF POWER (2A)] have to be multiple and have components in many directions because of post-Marxist societal deformations in so many dimensions.
— Wolf Moon (@WOLFM00N) December 3, 2019

When I was a kid (60's), even though bullied as a nerd, the idea of shooting up a school was unthinkable. The FAKE NEWS has worked very hard to make it thinkable so that it can be an issue to kill 2A. WEIRDLY, now that I've disconnected from fake news, SOLUTION is thinkable.
— Wolf Moon (@WOLFM00N) December 3, 2019

Thus, I believe that KILLING THE MEDIA as it presently exists – as it was TURNED for stealthy political power – is a necessity to end gun violence. Somewhere in communist doctrine, in an offline vault in Beijing, is an idea that our media + violence was needed to get US guns.
— Wolf Moon (@WOLFM00N) December 3, 2019

I believe that @realDonaldTrump is entirely correct that guns are not the ultimate problem. I might back-fill reasoning later. For now, this: I believe a unifying idea we can all gravitate to is "Big Switzerland". Distributed power (2A, anti-Mao), freedom, peace, TRAINING.
— Wolf Moon (@WOLFM00N) December 3, 2019

The latter is a secret that most opponents of private gun ownership don't often see in person – that the deeper one gets into gun culture, the more it becomes like a religion of safety. Indeed, many gun critics fall off the wagon when they see this. Authentic "safety" is good.
— Wolf Moon (@WOLFM00N) December 3, 2019

Sadly, "safety" has been used propagandistically, and division grows, but REAL safety from familiarity and training spreads more than just safety – is spreads the "old 2A social culture". I believe this true gun culture washes out "media training" connecting guns to violence.
— Wolf Moon (@WOLFM00N) December 3, 2019

I grew up in an anti-gun fam. Mom traumatized by WWII horrors – hated even toy guns. But a WWII vet (Patton), NRA life member, changed us all, patiently. Mom eventually saw the light on 2A, and joined NRA. She never owned a gun, but felt it was a duty for younger people.
— Wolf Moon (@WOLFM00N) December 3, 2019

I'll end on that idea. When people feel that owning a gun is more of a duty and a responsibility than simple empowerment, then safety, wisdom, and peace ensue, and that's a GOOD THING. I believe we can get back there, but we MUST regain control of our own media to do it. /end
— Wolf Moon (@WOLFM00N) December 3, 2019

NOW, I think my idea about “neutralizing” the FAKE NEWS MEDIA is really key to this, but probably not enough. FAKE ENTERTAINMENT has to be dealt with as well. And more.

But that’s just ME.

What about YOU? What do all of YOU think? Most of you have been unplugged from FAKE WORLD enough that you may be seeing answers, too. You may see that THE RIGHT is going to be who solves this problem – not THE LEFT.

I’m all ears. And – hopefully – so are others.

Dear KMAG: 20191203 Open Topic

This DELIGHTFUL DECEMBER [1203] Q’PER TUESDAY open thread is VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA / KAG! / KMAG world (KMAG being a bit of both MAGA and KAG!).

You can say what you want, comment on what other people said, and so on.

Free Speech is practiced here. ENJOY IT. Use it or lose it.

However, we have a new policy. Starting 20191110. Keep it ~~SOMEWHAT~~ civil.

We have a new board – actually a new SITE – called The U Tree – where people can take each other to the woodshed without fear of censorship or moderation. NOT HERE.

This board will remain a REFUGE for those who need civility, either some or all of the time.

Our rules began with the civility of the Old Treehouse, later to become the Wolverinian Empire, and one might say that we have RESTORED THE OLD REPUBLIC – the early high-interaction model of the Treehouse – except of course that Q discussion is not only allowed but encouraged, and speech is considerably freer in other ways. Please feel free to argue and disagree with the board owner, as nicely as possible.

Please also consider the Important Guidelines, outlined here in the January 1st open thread. Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven.

SPEAK THE FIVE WORDS BOLDLY TO OUR PRESIDENT!

“I AM PRAYING FOR YOU!“

AND WHAT TIME IS IT?

TIME TO….

DRAIN THE SWAMP

Our movement
Is about replacing
A failed
And CORRUPT
Political establishment
With a new government controlled
By you, the American People.
Candidate Donald J. Trump

Also remember Wheatie’s Rules:

No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.

Remember this?

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/05/17/report-ig-horowitz-found-reasonable-grounds-for-criminal-prosecution-and-referred-to-u-s-attorney-john-huber/

Report: IG Horowitz Found “Reasonable Grounds” For Criminal Prosecution and Referred to U.S. Attorney John Huber…

It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

We actually went through a lot since then.

Are you getting PSYCHED for a little JUSTICE coming?

PREPARE TO ENGAGE THE ENEMIES OF TRUTH!

https://twitter.com/rmead777/status/1200528910989058048

This point may be very critical, if the “powers that be” have manipulated the situation so that CIA assets and agents (or even FBI, in a sneaky lie) cannot be revealed, thus continuing to protect THE SWAMP.

If this is the case, given that there now appears to be incontrovertible proof that CIA is being used AGAINST AMERICAN CITIZENS POLITICALLY, then we need to demand CLOSURE OF CIA.

This is part of my point that….

WE DO NOT HAVE TO ACCEPT THE IG REPORT AS THE FINAL WORD.

If the IG report is not to our liking, then we have to demand ACTION BY TRUMP AND CONGRESS. That action can included CLOSURE of criminal, derelict, and dangerous agencies. It could even include their MEDIA OUTLETS (cough) and DELIVERY COMPANIES (cough). Their remaining legitimate functions can be transferred to “clean” agencies, with all transferred personnel on probationary status, and passing rigorous review of past involvements.

So GET READY. Our job BEGINS with the IG Report.

Day: December 3, 2019