Episode 545 · Thursday, 5 September 2013

Lethal Aid

The White House pivots from humanitarian support to direct military assistance in Syria while navigating a high-stakes energy conflict with Russia over European gas markets.

By The No Agenda Show | 2h 41m listen | 49 chapters
Lethal Aid cover
The No Agenda Show · No. 545

About this episode

Secretary of State John Kerry and Deputy National Security Advisor Tony Blinken lead a coordinated push for military intervention in Syria, framing the conflict as a moral necessity following reports of chemical weapon use. The administration introduces the term lethal aid to describe a shift from humanitarian assistance to direct military support for Syrian opposition forces. During congressional testimony, Kerry cites social media evidence and rocket trajectory maps as concrete proof of the Assad regime's culpability while warning that inaction would serve as a permission slip for Iranian aggression.

Senator Robert Menendez and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz advocate for a limited force authorization, though Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly labels Kerry a liar regarding the presence of Al-Qaeda within rebel ranks. Intelligence from the Turkish border suggests Syrian chemical stockpiles are too vast for the U.S. Army to secure, even as Senator Carl Levin pushes for anti-tank weaponry to be sent to vetted rebels. Meanwhile, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations loom in the background, suggesting the Syrian crisis may be a tactical maneuver in a larger energy war to replace Russian Gazprom exports with American fracked natural gas.

Nancy Pelosi shares a controversial anecdote about her five-year-old grandson to humanize the push for war, a move Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak characterize as a performative dog and pony show. A Code Pink protester interrupts the proceedings, prompting a scripted response from Kerry about his own anti-war past. The episode also features the knighting of Jim Mann as Sir Jim and a breakdown of the Swedish media's bizarre attempt to honor Barack Obama with a segment on macaroni and cheese.


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CHAPTER 01 / 49 Discussion

Introduction, Gitmo Nation Media Assassination Episode 545

Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak open Episode 545 of the No Agenda show from Austin, Texas, and Silicon Valley. They advise listeners to prioritize current episodes over the archives to stay informed on fast-moving news cycles. A brief mention is made of a producer in Espoo, Finland, who is currently catching up on older content.

adam curry· john c. dvorak· gitmo nation· austin· silicon valley

00:00 Why would they not be our lapdogs? They've been our lapdogs since Tony Blair. Adam Curry, John C. DeVore. It's Thursday, September 5th, 2013, time for your Gitmo Nation Media Assassination Episode 545. This is no agenda. It's all about the gas here in the Traverse Heights Hideout, capital of the drone star state, Austin Tate House. In the morning, everybody. I'm Adam Curry. And from northern Silicon Valley where I'm reading the tweet of Democracy Now! saying that warmongering is headed for a defeat. I'm John C. Dvorak. Well, well, well, I've done some thinking about all of this. Breaking tweets two minutes ago. You realize that by the time people listen to this show, and there's some people who are still listening to episode 490. I'm not kidding. I wish they would. You know, I've said this before and I'll say it again. Should I say it again? Yes, please do.

01:13 Listen to the current show. Go back if you want to entertain yourself, but listen to the current show and then kind of feed yourself older shows. Don't change... It's like a snack. It's like you're pretending nothing's happened. La la la la la la la la, nothing's going on. No, it's true. You should listen to the current episode, but then use older episodes as a tasty snack. Yeah, yeah when you have a moment for yourself now I got an email from my one of our producers who lives in I guess we've always been pronouncing it wrong Espo We always say a spoon Say Espo, no believe me you don't yeah, okay, Espo and and he's like I'm on episode 490 something all right dude we might actually be talking about you today You don't want to hear about it. I mean that's 200 200 hours ago Yeah, and the worst part is if you actually have something to contribute which we expect from our produce We might be dead by the time you send us an email yes You know

CHAPTER 02 / 49 Discussion

Dog and Pony Show, Silicon Valley Venture Capital Metaphor

The hosts discuss the American idiom "dog and pony show" in the context of recent C-SPAN hearings. The term is compared to the staged presentations used by Silicon Valley startups when pitching to venture capitalists. This serves as a metaphor for the performative nature of government briefings regarding international conflicts.

dog and pony show· silicon valley· venture capital· c-span· americanism

02:14 This and that hey, we're long's gone. You know try to listen just skip the old shows. It's it's not important I think I have I think I've figured out another piece of the meta puzzle which I want to talk about today And it kind of fell into my lap actually kind of accidentally, but if we just look at the news that everyone Looks to us turns to us Foolishly I might add to dissect. Oh, they don't turn foolishly What kind of a thing is that to say? Well, you didn't did you just think but to yourself ah curry you'll get it all no I'm looking at your clips I mean there was eight hours of And I taught Mickey this term she never heard of it dog and pony show on C-Span over the past couple days and

03:06 That's an Americanism dog and pony show. Not everyone understands this. Does that come from town fairs and carnivals, John? The expression dog and pony show? Dog and pony shows. It's considered just kind of a canned act. Right, kind of like a show where everyone goes and politely... The shows that they put on in Silicon Valley with the venture capitalists Go out pushing their their their packages as a dog and pony show or when? When startups who have you know the next Twitter meets foursquare meets to Facebook? They go around to the venture capitalists with their dog and pony show exactly okay, so we don't have a dog and pony show But I do have a ton of clips That I I mean just some really interesting ones that kind of lead into where we're at

CHAPTER 03 / 49 Discussion

Tony Blinken, Syria Conflict and Negotiated Transition

Tony Blinken, Deputy National Security Advisor, appears on the PBS NewsHour to discuss the Obama administration's stance on the Syrian civil war. Blinken emphasizes a "negotiated transition" and a political process to end the conflict. The hosts critique his rhetorical style and background, noting his lack of traditional national security experience.

tony blinken· susan rice· syria· judy woodruff· pbs news hour

03:57 And I mean, I don't even know where to start really. Well, I can start with a couple of clips. All right, get us rolling. Well, uh... Right, shall I? Okay, first of all, I found there's some new terms showing up. Right, we had already identified international norm and punishment. Punishment, well, there's this guy that I've been kind of backtracking. This guy named Tony Blinken. Is that the guy with the big head? No, I don't think so. He's the assistant deputy to the National Security Council or something. He works for Susan Rice.

04:40 Oh. And he seems to be out there as the guy, the go-to guy. And I have a bunch of clips of him which may lead into your clips better than your clips will lead into your own clips because it makes no sense. Because I can't lead into my clips with my clips. I need a clip. That's the problem. So fine, let's start off with, he showed up on the news hour and he's obviously a stooge. And you can look his wife up, who's got more, it's like, and there's this all-gov website that tells you everything about everyone. This guy's not even... Alright, alright, stop, stop right there. You are now officially cutting out bad. Huh. Yeah. Are you sure no one's home? No one's doing anything? There's not a person here. Everyone's working. Yeah? And did they all turn it off before they left?

05:27 Well, I hope so. All right, well keep it seems to be okay now, so we'll keep going. So Tony Blinken who looks like he's it seems like a picture of him. Yeah, I'm looking at his we have no idea how tall he is, of course. No, I think that he's about my age that is never included on the did he go to Columbia Law School with the president? He might have. No, maybe, but he's... check his age as possible. He's 51. He's the same age as the president. Yeah, maybe they ran into each other. Whatever the case is, he was part of the team all along and then they... he married a woman who I believe... if you take a look at a picture of her, she looks... and she lives in Alexandria. Okay, all right, all right. We gotta stop. We gotta stop. And so we're back.

06:19 It's magic. It's that is editing on the fly people all right Tony Blinken Yeah, Blink is married to some woman if you can get a pic name I can't her name Her name is I got it here Evan Ryan, and you sent me a show note about her as well didn't you yeah? Well look at the show note you get a picture of her and she's from LA just remember she's from Virginia and I believe he she just got spooked. She's from a spook family is what it looks like and Yeah, and she has to look and he doesn't. To say the least. And she, they just got married, like when he got that job, they got married. I just think that she's watching him. So this guy is a spokeshole for the, I don't know,

07:05 He's the deputy national security advisor. So he's got no experience that I can tell in national security whatsoever. But that's okay. Who needs experience if you're in this White House? So he, and by the way, he has this interesting little habit. He's on the PBS News Hour and Judy Woodruff, every time she asks him a question, he always, like ask me a question, just say, ask me a simple question, what do I have for coffee? Hey John, what kind of coffee do you have? Well Adam, I have coffee made in Columbia. Every time he answers the question, it's always, well Judy, unlike so-a. Might as well just say so-a.

07:50 But he always says, yes, Judy, Judy, Judy, Judy. And it was like, it's really annoying because he does it all the time and he never really answers any questions. He is just a kind of a stooge. So play. This is the introduction of the guy. And this is in the middle of a conversation they started, Judy and Blinken. But play Blinken part zero. Final question. Oh, wait, is this? No, I'm sorry. part of the part zero and i got it i got it again again i missed it so i got it we hear senators mccain and graham saying in their conversation with the president he's talking about degrading the capabilities of the assad regime that's going a step farther isn't it what does that mean to degrade so judy there two things going on here that are important understand first with regard to

08:34 uh... the underlying conflict in syria there's been a civil war going on as you know and we've been working very hard to end that war and we think the best way to do it is through a negotiated transition that moves us out out uh... through a political process in order to do that we've got to get him to the negotiating table and that involves in part putting the pressure on him isolating him and building up uh... the opposition which we've been doing uh... over the uh... in recent months interesting this is a recent interview that he did yesterday. Huh, so he is right on line with what a couple other people are saying about a political approach instead of a war approach. Well there's a lot of talking points in this guy's jibber jabber. Jibber jabber you say? But the thing that I got, the next clip which is not tight because it was the first clip but then I had the, I realized there were going to be a bunch of clips about Blinken. This one has no

CHAPTER 04 / 49 Discussion

Lethal Aid, US Support for Syrian Opposition

Tony Blinken confirms that the United States has increased its support to the Syrian opposition following intelligence reports of chemical weapon use by the Assad regime. He introduces the term "lethal aid" as a new buzzword in the administration's vocabulary. The discussion highlights the shift from humanitarian assistance to direct military support for rebels.

lethal aid· syria· chemical weapons· bashar al-assad· intelligence community

09:30 Blinken let me see new PBS part 2 Tony no no part 2 is actually part 2 looking for part 1 there it is this is the new buzzword I found it's lethal aid Now when he blew this one out, I said, this is news. He's also going to learn that things that are important to him militarily are at risk and that can have the effect of convincing him that he needs to negotiate an end to the underlying conflict as well. Well in terms of helping the rebels, we know there was a very prominent news report yesterday that military lethal aid had not yet reached the opposition. Now we're hearing that it may be close to reaching the opposition. Can you

10:15 Tell us whether it has at this point and if not, is it about to? So Judy, a number of countries have been providing assistance to the opposition, including the United States. And some months ago, you'll recall that when our intelligence community concluded initially that Assad had been using on a small scale chemical weapons over the past year, the president said that we would be increasing our support to the opposition and we've spent some time putting in place an effort to do just that. And what I can tell you now without detailing any of the support is that we have moved out on that.

10:55 So lethal aid has reached the opposition, is reaching it now? So Judy what I can say is without detailing the kind of assistance we're providing is that we have significantly increased the assistance that is getting to the opposition. Okay good, let me roll in here, this is a perfect point. So Judy is what he says. So he uses both so and Judy. So it would be better if he went so well Judy. That's just in fact. I'm gonna use that at home when I talk to Mickey so well Judy Let me ask you a question about dinner Okay, let me wrote now. I want to roll in because you actually have taken it a step further There's a lot of people who count on us to

CHAPTER 05 / 49 Discussion

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, International Military Support for Syria

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz discusses international support for U.S. action in Syria during an interview with Wolf Blitzer. She claims dozens of nations are prepared to offer military, diplomatic, and political support. The hosts analyze her refusal to name specific countries, citing classified information as a shield against transparency.

debbie wasserman schultz· wolf blitzer· syria· f-16· military intervention

11:32 You know to watch the C-Span, get the moments, let them know what's happening. So we can... and this is all, every single bit of it is facade, is show, is dog and pony as we discussed earlier. And it will come back into... Tony Blinken, he's clearly a newbie. Yeah. I mean he's gone, this is not what he should be saying. So let me show you how it's done. Here is... so we're gonna go straight to Brolf. Brolf Witzer. And he has Debbie Wasserman Schultz on. And man, she put on a performance. Now this of course, she is not only a congresswoman from Florida, she is also the, is she not the chair of the whole Democrat party? She's like the head honcho? She's one of them. I know she's the big party giver. Yeah, she throws party, that's for sure.

12:26 And she's on with Brolf and this is how you talk about other countries being involved and going to help us. Other countries do it. Well there are other countries. I mean we have, from the briefings that I've received, there are dozens of countries who are going to stand with the... Dozens would mean at least, at least 48. Right? Dozens would mean at least 20. No, 40. Well actually, a couple of dozen is 24. 48. No, 36. Do you think that should be 36? Should be? Okay, 36. United States who will engage with us. By the way, 48 makes no sense in any multiple of... Sorry. Mickey, like... No, it does. 24 is four dozen. Yeah. You know what we're getting? Skype is telling me we're getting a preventable... Hold on.

13:17 Auto preventable mic overload is the error that I'm getting from I'm over I think you're over modulating. Yeah, let me fix that That's I like the auto preventable mic overload. Yeah, they were That's a title by the way. Let me see. It's too long. Okay, it's gone now. Because I'm talking lightly. But is it me that's doing the auto... the overload? No. Would you have me on... here, I'm gonna... I'm gonna check... I have... I've now checked the auto box. So I should not... Okay, so... alright, so then nothing... well, it's still popping up. Maybe I should check the auto box. Yeah, why don't you check the auto box on... I don't want to get in trouble, you know.

13:59 Boy, that's really bad now. Where's audio setting? Okay, save. All right, you saved as well? Did you save? I just did now. Okay, auto preventable mic overload. All right, well let's continue. Good. So yeah, so I was gonna say I had a rough 48 hours and you know Mickey helped me celebrate my birthday for two days straight. Oh, I'm sorry. Should I tell you one thing that's interesting? Russian hookers are the best because they know when to leave.

14:47 That's honestly something Wolf I'm not at liberty to say. I mean some of what I've learned is classified. Classified. Some is unclassified. Of the dozens of countries, it's classified. You can't mention a one. What I can tell you is that there are many nations who have committed to support the United States in our action. militarily and that's going to be important. And you're saying militarily not just politically or vocally but militarily they will support the United States. Push it, Rolf. Push it. They will go in with their F-16s, their own missiles, their firepower. Who has F-16s, their own missiles, their own firepower that's going to join in? And target sites in Syria?

15:27 in both military and diplomatic and political support there are dozens of nations who have committed to back us up. Lovely, lovely, lovely. Now that was that okay all right good she's a pro she knows how to and Broof was pushing I was quite proud of her. I think the media is sick of this bull crap. Well okay so here now she's gonna do something Now this is really fantastic, because the idea of the Dog and Pony show for some kind of intervention, some kind of military intervention in Syria or off the coast of Syria, the whole idea is breaking an international norm, need to be punished for gassing their own people, killing children, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz hasn't just... I am so in awe

CHAPTER 06 / 49 Discussion

Holocaust Survivors, Moral Obligation for Syrian Intervention

Debbie Wasserman Schultz invokes her identity as a mother and a Jewish representative of Holocaust survivors to argue for U.S. intervention in Syria. She utilizes the "never again" slogan to frame the conflict as a moral imperative. The hosts critique this emotional appeal as a calculated political maneuver to justify military strikes.

debbie wasserman schultz· holocaust· florida· moral authority· never again

16:16 of her pulling not just a Jew card but a mom Jew card. This was very, very, very good. has always led with. And for me as a mother, to see that searing image of babies lined up, murdered by their own government, innocent children. I mean, as a Jew, Wolf, I have to tell you, as a member of Congress who represents one of the largest Holocaust survivor populations in the country, to me the concept of never again has to mean something. And the United States, morally,

16:56 cannot turn the other way around. Too many leaders of ours have regretted that decision. How awesome is that? That was terrific! I'm in awe. And by the way, to say she represents the largest Holocaust survivor group in the community or population. I mean, in all of the United States, 120,000 by the numbers I could find, Holocaust survivors, and they're all 80 or 90. You know, so in Florida itself, it's got to be, you know, a tenth of that. It's like, you know, if we truly want to talk about the Holocaust survivors, where's the Dutch contingent? You know, how come they're not all up in arms about never again? I mean, come on. That was like, wow. Anyway, in awe of what she was able to do there. That was great. That's a lot better than blinking. And then we have,

CHAPTER 07 / 49 Discussion

Ron Paul, US Foreign Policy and Syria Escalation

Former Congressman Ron Paul argues that U.S. intervention in Syria is a strategic precursor to a conflict with Iran. During a televised interview, Paul's connection is abruptly lost after he questions the U.S. authority to intervene in a foreign civil war. The hosts speculate on whether the technical failure was a deliberate attempt to silence his dissenting views.

ron paul· wolf blitzer· iran· iraq· satellite failure

17:52 So of course Ron Paul somehow, they're so desperate to get any kind of controversy going. But it has to stay within limits, obviously. And Ron Paul, who does his own interview shows these days, which is kind of... Yeah, he's decided to go into competition with us. Yeah, I'm not too happy about that. I was like, come on Ron, you're a great guest. Although he went too far with Brolf and well, Brolf did what he always does. This thing could easily spread, but who created Iraq? We did, it's our country. And now they're aligned with the Iranians. So the whole theory is that we're going into Syria because that's the way you march into Iran. At the same time, we've made it tougher. We've made it tougher for Israel, we've made it tougher for

18:39 for all right here's the director going I want to live in peace and all roll cut him off roll stirring it up in Syria it's a civil war we don't have the authority and the vote vote in a parliament that is fantastic at times it's The people are getting in charge. I gotta wrap it up, but I just want to clarify one point. You're not blaming the United States for the civil war in Syria over the past two and a half years that have already resulted more than a hundred thousand people dead. I think we just lost Ron Paul, unfortunately the satellite must have gone down but we'll have him back for sure. Ron Paul joining us. Congressman Piggly, thank you. You can see the screen, he's in a tri box and the minute Brolf cuts him off...

19:28 His box goes blue. I mean not a satellite like a disconnected seagull just blue just like just get rid of it I wish they would be funnier if they put bars. Well, they didn't that's what I said, but they should have done bars But you know, they didn't know what to do Oh my god beeping sound and then some channel number down at the bottom the guys making sense. Stop him. Stop him We can't have this All right, so then there was all kinds of funny stuff going on outside of the White House, outside of the classified meeting, because there was a classified meeting, you see, where the people flew in from all over the country to get the classified information that proves for fact, science, no doubt about it, that they have high confidence that sarin gas was used. And Nancy Pelosi,

20:16 She just, I mean, just makes no qualms about it. I am hopeful as the American people are persuaded that this action happened. What? You're hopeful that the American people are persuaded that this action happened? Well, that kind of sums it up, doesn't it? Geez and then she ghoulish the way she puts it now. She could have I think she could have done a mom Jew card instead She did the granny card My five-year-old grandson I was leaving San Francisco yesterday. He said to me Mimi Mimi Mimi Mimi Did you find that odd too? Yes, I found it odd and somewhat disturbing.

CHAPTER 08 / 49 Discussion

Nancy Pelosi, Syrian Conflict and Five-Year-Old Grandson Anecdote

Nancy Pelosi shares a story about her five-year-old grandson asking about the war in Syria to illustrate the human cost of the conflict. She uses the anecdote to argue that the American people must be persuaded of the necessity of military action. The hosts characterize the story as "insane" and a ghoulish attempt to use children for political leverage.

nancy pelosi· san francisco· syria· propaganda· anecdote

19:28 His box goes blue. I mean not a satellite like a disconnected seagull just blue just like just get rid of it I wish they would be funnier if they put bars. Well, they didn't that's what I said, but they should have done bars But you know, they didn't know what to do Oh my god beeping sound and then some channel number down at the bottom the guys making sense. Stop him. Stop him We can't have this All right, so then there was all kinds of funny stuff going on outside of the White House, outside of the classified meeting, because there was a classified meeting, you see, where the people flew in from all over the country to get the classified information that proves for fact, science, no doubt about it, that they have high confidence that sarin gas was used. And Nancy Pelosi,

20:16 She just, I mean, just makes no qualms about it. I am hopeful as the American people are persuaded that this action happened. What? You're hopeful that the American people are persuaded that this action happened? Well, that kind of sums it up, doesn't it? Geez and then she ghoulish the way she puts it now. She could have I think she could have done a mom Jew card instead She did the granny card My five-year-old grandson I was leaving San Francisco yesterday. He said to me Mimi Mimi Mimi Mimi Did you find that odd too? Yes, I found it odd and somewhat disturbing.

21:12 War of Syria, no war of Syria. I said, well what do you think? He said, I think no war. I said, well I generally agree with that, but you know they've killed hundreds of children there. They've killed hundreds of children. And he said, five years old, were these children in the United States? And I said, well no, but they're children wherever they are. So she and she goes on for another minute with a story that goes nowhere other than apparently The five-year-old kid did want the bombs dropped or something after I know it's it's all it's all about it was insane That was yeah, that was completely insane

CHAPTER 09 / 49 Discussion

Senator Robert Menendez, Authorization for Use of Limited Force

Senator Robert Menendez opens a special session regarding the authorization of limited military force in Syria. He clarifies that the request is intended to deter the use of chemical and biological weapons rather than a full-scale declaration of war. The hosts frame this as part of a broader "cover" for the administration's true objectives.

robert menendez· bob corker· syria· chemical weapons· declaration of war

21:56 So then we have Menendez, who is chairing this special session. Now this is all part of the cover you see and I'm going to get to this Probably in about 15 minutes, but it's all part of the cover because the president now is already on his way He's off to Europe and of course near the g20 is is a big deal that's coming up and that it kind of plays into all of this and Menendez is very obvious What the next eight hours spread over two days was going to be when you hear his opener? Let me say before I turn to Senator Corker for his opening statement. The president is asking for an authorization for the use of limited force and

22:36 It is not his intention or ours to involve ourselves fully in Syria's civil war. What is before us is a request, and I quote, to prevent or deter the use or proliferation of chemical or biological weapons within, to, or from Syria, and to protect the United States and its allies and partners against the threat posed by such weapons. This is not a declaration of war, but a declaration of our values to the world. Oh, okay. Just wanted to make sure I got it straight. Before we go into this, I do have to go back to the Tony Harkin material. Okay. Because he was, again, besides telling us that we, the US of A, are providing lethal aid to the rebels, brings up a couple more other things. He reveals another couple of things that I think were kind of overlooked and I'm sure weren't covered.

CHAPTER 10 / 49 Discussion

Kosovo Precedent, Targeted Military Action in Syria

Tony Blinken addresses concerns that military action in Syria could become an open-ended conflict similar to Kosovo or Iraq. He describes the proposed intervention as a "time-limited" and "very targeted" strike to deter chemical weapon use. The hosts remain skeptical of the administration's ability to control the duration of military engagements once they begin.

tony blinken· kosovo· libya· afghanistan· iraq

23:28 They weren't covered overtly in these discussions that you have the recordings of. So let's play Blinkin' Part 2. Okay, come on Blinken. How long do you think any campaign strike against the Assad regime will take? The reason I asked Tony Blinken is we know in striking Kosovo, you know, many years ago, the Clinton administration spoke about it lasting a few days. It went on for something like 72 days. How, once something like this gets started, How do you know you can put an end to it? Judy, it's really important that people understand what this is and what this isn't. And it's understandable that people have concerns about this being some kind of open-ended potential action. It is not.

24:13 The reason people tend to have that as an initial reaction is they are looking at this through the frame of the last decade. A war in Iraq, a war in Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of American troops committed. Well what this is is a very targeted, very focused, time-limited action to deter Assad from using chemical weapons again and to make it harder for him to do so. What it is not is is open-ended, it is not boots on the ground, it is not Iraq, it is not Afghanistan, it's not Kosovo, it's not even Libya. I can't be any more precise than that, but it is a very limited, targeted action, but an effective one to deal with the use of chemical weapons.

CHAPTER 11 / 49 Discussion

Chemical Weapon Norms, Risks of Inaction in Syria

Tony Blinken argues that the dangers of not acting in Syria far outweigh the risks of unintended consequences from a military strike. He asserts that failing to enforce the 100-year-old norm against chemical weapons would embolden the Assad regime and other regional actors. The hosts identify this as the primary talking point being promoted by the White House.

tony blinken· syria· turkey· israel· unintended consequences

24:54 Okay, yeah, by the way to watch her on this particular interview She has the most weird look on her face like she's talking to a man who's insane But Judy has kind of a weird look about her yeah, but not this weird She's just weird-looking, but you know she did this was like her face is scrunched up like are you kidding me? We might as well play the last part which is the talking points which I believe you'll have parts of or we'll hear more of But here this part three of this character I believe are the talking points that apply to this entire segment of this show. And is the administration prepared for unintended consequences? A Syrian foreign minister is saying today there's no way of knowing what will be the repercussions of a US strike. He talks about Syria striking back at Turkey, at Israel and at Lebanon if the US hits his country. We are very well prepared. We know that any action has risks.

25:50 Any action can have unintended consequences. We do a lot of work to make sure we anticipate what those might be and to take steps to mitigate them. But we also believe fundamentally that not acting would have far greater and far graver consequences if we don't act to enforce a norm against the use of chemical weapons that's been around for nearly 100 years, that our Congress has gotten strongly behind over the last decade. If we don't do that, Assad will conclude that he can use these weapons again with impunity. Other countries in the region and beyond who have such weapons or aspire to get them will also conclude that they can acquire them and use them with impunity. That would do terrible damage to our security and to the security of countries around the world. So, there are always dangers in acting. We work to mitigate them. There are far greater dangers in not acting.

CHAPTER 12 / 49 Discussion

John Kerry, Syrian Implosion and Boots on the Ground

Secretary of State John Kerry discusses the possibility of U.S. troops entering Syria if the country "implodes" and chemical weapon caches fall into the hands of extremist groups like Al-Nusra. While the administration officially opposes "boots on the ground," Kerry refuses to take the option off the table entirely. The hosts criticize the use of the term "implosion" as a vague metaphor for regime collapse.

john kerry· syria· boots on the ground· al-nusra· weapons of mass destruction

26:38 That's the main talking point I believe that they're going to promote. Yeah, and I want to let everyone know the word impunity, which is another one of those little memes that we didn't touch on. Impunity means without repercussion. So if a child is allowed to take candy from the candy jar without being punished, that is with impunity. Just one of those things where words matter because you hear it over and over and over again and at a certain point you don't even know what it means anymore. So yeah, so this is this is true in fact this did come up in the in the hearing This is where watermelon head carry and I'm sorry He has a huge head and by the way Did you see the I don't know if I have a clip of this But did you see the women in the back with the red hands? well, yeah, and that was and this this is when this happened and

27:31 With the red hand, it's very specific I talk about this in order. Because that's when I understood, that's when it all started to come together to me. I was like, oh my god. So first let's talk about what happens if, and there's no boots on the ground, but of course we don't really want to restrict whatever, blah blah blah. And of course that is a negotiation between the Congress and the administration. uh... would you tell us whether you believe that a prohibition for uh... having american boots on the ground is that something that the administration would accept as part of a so here they're talking about uh... negotiating the is the document that was uh... handed over by the administration uh... so that you know we could say well you can only do this will limit you to do that and of course you know carry will have none of that because that's not what are you doing got nothing to spooks talk

28:26 It's annoying when you're playing the fricking tambourine in the background. I'm sorry. I just picked it up solution Mr.. Herman it would be preferable not to not because the the There's any intention or any plan or any desire whatsoever to have boots on the ground however I think the president will give you every assurance in the world as I as the secretary of defense and the chairman I But in the event Syria imploded... Imploded! John, write this down because I need to know the definition of implosion. Well, an implosion is like when you break a old-fashioned TV tube, it explodes inward. Inward, right. Okay, got it. Do you mean it's a metaphor? No, it's an actual... It's an actual scientific thing. There was a...

CHAPTER 13 / 49 Discussion

Turkish Border Intelligence, Syrian Chemical Stockpiles

Intelligence from the southern Turkish border suggests that U.S. advisors and service members expect imminent bombing in Syria. Reports indicate that Syria's chemical stockpiles are too vast for the U.S. Army to guard effectively. Additionally, German intelligence reportedly intercepted Syrian officials discussing the chemical attack after it occurred, though no "smoking gun" exists.

turkey· syria· chemical weapons· german intelligence· sarin gas

29:20 threat of a chemical weapons cache falling into the hands of Al Nusra or someone else. And it was clearly in the interest of our allies and all of us, the British, the French and others, to prevent those weapons of mass destruction falling into the hands of the worst elements. I don't want to take off the table. Okay, so you understand what he's saying? He's saying well, you know if it got really bad, I thought they were promising there would be no problem putting that in and let me in the thing. Let me give you a little intel from our actual boots on the southern Turkish border, the border with Syria. Right, which we teased in the newsletter. Yes, so first of all everybody there pretty much expects bombs to be dropped and these are servicemen and women who are responding and some what we call advisors.

30:13 Advisors who have been in and out of the region for a while, so they're pretty sure that stuff is gonna get dropped They're not happy about it because they say that there's so many chemical stockpiles in Syria that we don't even have enough people in our army to guard them all if we wanted to Think about what that means we did so when they say boots on the ground and by the way any politician that says boots on the ground is you put an m16 to his head and This it's the it's I'm so disgusted with this term at this point. How about you know? putting people Killing people getting killed at risk at risk You know the whole it's the boots on the ground abstracts it so far and going to invade Don't you can't and don't say that to me boots on the ground. It makes me mad now at this point It's it's like it's a horrible code, and it's being forced down your throat I

31:08 And just to wrap up the intelligence that I got, besides that we don't have the manpower, it is expected. No one in the armed services that I've spoken to or communicated with, bit message, is happy about it. But in addition to that, the secret intelligence that everyone got when they came back to Washington, apparently the Germans recorded Syrian army officials talking about the chemical attack after the attack. And that is their big secret intel that they have. It's like, yeah, I would be on the ham radio talking about it if it happened in Texas. They have no smoking gun. This is why they only have so-called high confidence.

31:50 Okay, so and again, this is all leading to something that is kind of surprising and I am Confident that some kind of missiles will fly but there's not going to be World War three Russia's not going to retaliate Iran's not going to retaliate although Kerry would have you believe that this is all about you know, essentially Iran and you either with us or you with the terrorists I will tell you there are some people hoping that the United States Congress doesn't vote and for this very limited request the president has put before you. Iran is hoping you look the other way. Our inaction would surely give them a permission slip. Permission slip? What are we, are we in kindergarten now? A permission slip. Give a permission slip. At least misinterpret our intention, if not to put it to the test. Okay.

CHAPTER 14 / 49 Discussion

John Kerry, Social Media Evidence and Iran Permission Slips

John Kerry claims that U.S. inaction in Syria would serve as a "permission slip" for Iran to pursue its own weapons programs. He cites social media images and maps of rocket trajectories as "concrete" evidence of the Assad regime's culpability in chemical attacks. The hosts mock Kerry's delivery and his reliance on "the social media" as a primary intelligence source.

john kerry· iran· social media· sarin gas· propaganda

31:08 And just to wrap up the intelligence that I got, besides that we don't have the manpower, it is expected. No one in the armed services that I've spoken to or communicated with, bit message, is happy about it. But in addition to that, the secret intelligence that everyone got when they came back to Washington, apparently the Germans recorded Syrian army officials talking about the chemical attack after the attack. And that is their big secret intel that they have. It's like, yeah, I would be on the ham radio talking about it if it happened in Texas. They have no smoking gun. This is why they only have so-called high confidence.

31:50 Okay, so and again, this is all leading to something that is kind of surprising and I am Confident that some kind of missiles will fly but there's not going to be World War three Russia's not going to retaliate Iran's not going to retaliate although Kerry would have you believe that this is all about you know, essentially Iran and you either with us or you with the terrorists I will tell you there are some people hoping that the United States Congress doesn't vote and for this very limited request the president has put before you. Iran is hoping you look the other way. Our inaction would surely give them a permission slip. Permission slip? What are we, are we in kindergarten now? A permission slip. Give a permission slip. At least misinterpret our intention, if not to put it to the test. Okay.

32:44 So, um, I just had this one, this is maybe a funny clip of Kerry trying to explain to the public that he's trying to, you know, his whole job is to sell this thing and he's having a hard time even getting the words out of his face. All of them landed in opposition controlled or contested territory. We have a map, physical evidence. A map! John! We have a map. It has an X on it with a dotted line showing the trajectory. Showing every geographical point of impact and that is concrete. It's a map. It's a map. It's concrete. But there's more.

33:26 Within minutes of the attack 90 I think to be precise maybe slightly shorter. All right, let's Hold on a second when you're lying. This is not how you do it John F Kerry So the he's supposed to say or what he's trying to communicate is that within minutes of the attack social media the word is media exploded But he's tripping over himself so poorly that he has to say, 90 to be precise or kind of something like that. This is a man who's lying. Every geographical point of impact and that is concrete.

34:08 Within minutes of the attack 90 I think to be precise maybe slightly shorter the social media Exploded and he says the social media the social media. He's so he's upset with himself. So he can't even say social media It's social media slightly shorter the social media exploded horrific images and then he just goes on and on with the same talking points. Now of course we know that he's lying and Putin knows he's lying too and says it. Russian President Vladimir Putin flatly called Secretary of State John Kerry a liar for telling Congress on Tuesday that Al-Qaeda enjoys less sway over the Syrian rebel forces than it used to. We communicate with US officials and assume that they are decent people. Kerry lies openly and he knows that he lies. This is sad.

CHAPTER 15 / 49 Discussion

Vladimir Putin, John Kerry and General Martin Dempsey

Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly labels John Kerry a "liar" regarding the influence of Al-Qaeda within Syrian rebel forces. Meanwhile, General Martin Dempsey appears disengaged during congressional testimony, refusing to elaborate on Kerry's military assertions. The hosts highlight the friction between the State Department and the Pentagon regarding the Syrian strategy.

vladimir putin· john kerry· martin dempsey· al-qaeda· g20

34:58 I love the, this is sad. ...through his foreign ministry today that it was the rebels who've been using chemical weapons, yet Putin also said Russia might join in and attack on the Assad regime if it's proved the regime was culpable. Now that's interesting, if he indeed said that of course I don't really have any translated documents of what President Putin said, but he's calling Kerry a liar and I think that's a pretty bold face. One more piece from this nine hours of testimony the only I mean there were I had this tons of stuff in the show notes you all kinds of clips you can look and listen do whatever you want I'm skipping around. I thought this was the fun. There was a right at the end Rand Paul is going off on Carrie Carrie gets pissed at him gets pissed and then something really funny happens What?

35:49 I was just gonna say I can't imagine those two liking each other outside of work. Well there's a third guy in the room who was also having none of Kerry's watermelon head business. By doing so you announce in advance that your goal is not winning. I think the last 50 years of Secretaries of Defense would say if your goal is not to win, you shouldn't be involved. Of course not. Everybody, 100% of Americans will say no. And by the way, I'm a little tired of everyone throwing out percentages like 98%, you know, 98.5%, 99... Have you noticed this? That it's like, it's all 98. Yes, because it's worked so well at the global warming argument. Right. So now it's 90... and now he's 100% sure. We say no.

36:35 that of a man who's been willing to kill his own people by breaking a nearly hundred-year-old prohibition, and will we stand up and be counted to say we won't do that? That's not... I just don't consider that... going to war in the classic sense of coming to Congress and asking for a declaration of war, and training troops and sending people abroad and putting young Americans in harm's way. That's not what the president is asking for here. General, do you want to speak at all to that? No, not really, Secretary. Thank you for offering.

37:29 By the way, so that's Dempsey and Dempsey just lets him hang out there Dempsey if I was watching this mm-hmm and Dempsey was like either Show he was either folded arms, or he was he was doing a crossword puzzle mm-hmm or something He was so disengaged from this. Oh, yeah that it was In case someone needs to wake him up I'd have to see a what I mean in and everyone of course you know the distraction of the week is John McCain was playing poker on his iPhone and then he tweeted like oh it's horrible I got busted my law it's because this is a dog and pony show I'd I do want to just play could and poor carry I I feel a little bad for him because you know it's he won't he wanted to be president obviously I mean we know that he ran over his head with this job but

CHAPTER 16 / 49 Discussion

John Kerry, Benghazi and Point of Privilege

Secretary of State John Kerry engages in a heated exchange with Congressman Jeff Duncan over past military interventions and the Benghazi investigation. Kerry invokes a "point of privilege" to respond to Duncan's criticisms, a move the hosts describe as a misuse of parliamentary procedure. The segment highlights Kerry's defensive posture regarding his record and the administration's transparency.

john kerry· jeff duncan· benghazi· fast and furious· point of privilege

38:22 No, but this is the problem is that he you know first of all he was doing interviews from his clippity-clop state room I mean, I'm sure you saw that last Sunday. He was on all the all the Sunday talk shows He didn't go to the studios No, he stands in his wood paneled room with his big flags and emblem because he's trying to be Something that he can never be which is eloquent first of all and he's just he's he's right way over time I've now I'm convinced that he's not that bright. Oh, no. He's dumb. He's totally dumb. He's dumb I'm sorry junk John F. Kerry is dumb, but you know, but he's a bones man. You know, this is why he's all in on this he's from you know, the skull and bones Club and

39:06 And he does something in this altercation with Duncan, who's from I think South Carolina. First he goes into shut up slave mode and then it gets funny. Because he thinks he's like the boss of me. Have there been efforts to put weapons in the hands of Syrian rebels and also transfer weapons from Libya to Syria? So this is a valid question. He's like, hey, did these weapons that you know, like maybe these chemical weapons that we transfer them from like, I don't know, Libya, Benghazi, something like that? Well, let me begin, Congressman, by challenging your proposition that I've never done anything except advocate caution.

39:49 uh... because i volunteered fight for my country and that wasn't uh... a cautious thing to do when i did it mister so i was not going to do it i was in the senate yes i'm gonna finish got i'm gonna pay him going to finish when i was in the united states senate i supported military action in any number of occasions including grenada panama i can run a list of them And I am not going to sit here and be told by you that I don't have a sense of what the judgment is with respect to this. We're talking about people being killed by gas, and you want to go talk about Benghazi and Fast and Furious. Absolutely want to talk about Benghazi, because four Americans lost their lives. I have sympathy for the people in Syria.

40:33 And I do think there should be a worldwide response, but we should act cautiously. Yeah, we are acting cautiously We are acting so cautiously that the president of the United States Was accused of not acting because he wanted to have sufficient evidence and he wanted to build the case properly. It's been 15 days We go now to Mr. O'Baggs, Mr. Chairman. Point of privilege here. Point of privilege! Point of privilege! Point of privilege! I looked this up point of privilege. This is a parliamentary motion when a member is in need of assistance for illness or personal emergency. Or the need to immediately answer a charge of misconduct made by another member.

41:23 Point of privilege! What are you doing, Watermelon Head? I didn't see this, but there's a parliamentarian in Congress that whispers in the ear of the chair usually, and they would shut these things off. So you're not qualified to do a point of privilege. No, but this is how insane this guy is. No, he's horrible. It gets worse by the minute. I have to say that John F. Kerry becoming the Secretary of State is an improvement for our show over Hillary. I have to say because he's fun. He's more fun because all we had on her was that she made a lot of horse-like noises. She was probably the devil. She didn't sweat. You can't fight the devil.

CHAPTER 17 / 49 Discussion

Code Pink Protest, John Kerry Scripted Response

A Code Pink protester interrupts John Kerry's opening statement at a congressional hearing, shouting anti-war slogans. Kerry responds by referencing his own history as a young anti-war veteran, which the hosts suggest was a scripted moment designed to build rapport. They question the authenticity of the protest and its timing within the hearing.

code pink· john kerry· medea benjamin· anti-war protest· propaganda

42:06 the death is just a little bit lucifer is just unbeatable at the end of the day we know you know she's we couldn't talk lucifer keeps coming back carry on the other hand easy target and the big head to the shootout now this is where i where i realized oh man and this is the first day i realized this thing is set up recognize this voice and lead the world with conviction that is clear about our by the way i need to point out this is happening at the end of his opening statement perfectly timed and lead the world with conviction that is clear about our responsibility. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Secretary. The committee will be in order. The committee will be in order. We don't want another war. Ask the police to restore order. Nobody wants this war. The officials need another war. The American people do not want another war.

43:11 Now, John, do you recognize that voice? Sounds like the Operation Pink or Pink Slip. Yes, and who is the woman? I don't remember. She's the same one that interrupted Obama four times in a row. She's the same one. What's the point of her being... maybe she's just a hired gun. Yes and why is she in there and she gets you know the point of order you know like order order then she gets to talk again completely unrestricted and then they take her out. It's right after Kerry finishes his opening remarks, then she, as if on cue, she goes and then Kerry jumps back in. You know, the first time I testified before this committee when I was 27 years old,

43:59 I had feelings very similar to that protester. No you didn't. So the whole, this was his setup. This was his setup. It was scripted. Yeah, so that he could say, oh you know I protested and I understand but this is all about, you know, we can't gas children etc. Okay. So meanwhile, and here's what's happening, this is very interesting that's going on, the president is jetting off to Sweden. Now this is, and actually he's in all the Nordic countries and did he even, he might have Popped into Finland God knows but he's gonna have dinner with the king and queen and Sweden because of course He's on his way to the g20 which is in st. Petersburg. He was supposed to see Putin That's got gonna happen all part of all part of the show I'm kind of convinced in this case and then the president is in

CHAPTER 18 / 49 Discussion

Barack Obama, Red Lines and Abhorrent Rhetoric

During a press conference in Sweden, President Barack Obama clarifies that he did not set a "red line" regarding Syria, but rather the international community did. He mispronounces the word "abhorrent" while discussing global treaties against chemical weapons. The hosts analyze his attempt to shift the burden of credibility from the presidency to Congress and the world.

barack obama· sweden· reuters· red line· chemical weapons

44:45 Here we go, is in Sweden and he has a press conference. And this is also scheduled and this was a big WTF for people but I'm kind of disagreeing. I think that this guy is so slick. He's so smart. He knows exactly what he is doing. He is so right on the money. And here's Reuters getting the first question, an American journalist in Sweden asking the question, and the president is literally accepting this question as a gift, and he will say so. Steve Holland of Reuters. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, sir.

45:26 Have you made up your mind whether to take action against Syria, whether or not you have a congressional resolution approved? Is a strike needed in order to preserve your credibility for when you set these sort of red lines? And were you able to enlist the support of the Prime Minister here for support in Syria? Like we care of the Swedish Prime Minister, whatever, that's not the point. Let me unpack the question. Because it was a gift! Let me unpack... Here's the other thing. Stop. He says, when did he come up with this Silicon Valley crap? Unpack the question. Because it was a gift. John, it was a gift. Yeah, I know it was a gift, but why would he be using this terminology? Unpack the question? Because it was a gift. You unwrap a question. Oh, let me unwrap my gift. Yes! Support in Syria. Let me unpack the question. First of all, I didn't set a red line. The world set a red line.

46:30 The world set a red line when governments representing 98% of the world's population said the use of chemical weapons are abhorrent. And what is the word abhorrent? You mean abhorrent. Did he mean abhorrent and he said abhorrent? He meant abhorrent. There is no word abhorrent. I looked this up too, I'm like, am I missing a word here? No, no, no. How can you flub that one? I don't know if he's ever said the word before has he has he said abhorrent but I couldn't find any promises we do was he reading a script from a distance and he and he couldn't make out the word or someone said use the word abhorrent and he didn't hear it right we did I don't know it's very very strange so I'm it's not I don't think he's reading from a prompter uh it was weird it was weird the word abhorrence I mean come on okay

47:22 Now, and of course the whole world is like, and particularly the right wing, all the, I don't know, what are all these blogs and all this bull crap paid for by Republican crap. Red line, red line, red line. Oh man, another distraction. Let's go back and let's listen to what he said about the red line. Because here he is actually saying, I never made up the red line. And passed a treaty. Now, this by the way is something no one was looking up.

CHAPTER 19 / 49 Discussion

Syria Accountability Act of 2003, Congressional Authority

President Obama references the Syria Accountability Act of 2003 as the legal basis for potential military action. The hosts explore how this decade-old legislation provides the executive branch with broad authority to respond to Syrian aggression. They suggest Obama is using this law to deflect personal responsibility for the intervention onto Congress.

syria accountability act· elliot engel· barack obama· lebanon· constitutional law

48:02 This is the Syrian Accountability Act from 2003, which he is acting upon. He has every right by our stupid, idiotic Congress and congressional law system to do what he is doing. And this is, by the way, Eliot Engel is the guy who drafted this legislation in 2003. Elliot Engel a fine Democrat from the warmongering party and it's and it's all about going in and kicking some ass and of course it was Because they were encroaching on Lebanon's territory and this kind of comes back to what you said on Sunday that you know It may be just indeed we need to level everything make it all look the same make Syria look the same as Lebanon But the president is referring directly to something. You've not heard anyone talk about the Syrian accountability act of 2003 and

48:51 Congress set a red line when it indicated that in a piece of legislation titled the Syria Accountability Act that some of the horrendous things that are happening on the ground there need to be answered for. And so when I said in a press conference that my calculus about what's happening in Syria would be altered by the use of chemical weapons which the overwhelming consensus of humanity says is wrong. Alright, let's pause it there for a second. This guy is good, John. What? This guy is good. No, he is good because I have the other clip too. I have both these clips. Let me play it. I actually did whatever he said he said but before you go there,

49:52 I'm wondering about, you know, he does this every so often where he throws out a document. He says, because of this, and he throws the Accountability Act, certain accountability angles. You actually went to the effort to actually look at the thing. And I marked it up for everybody. You marked it up, which is what you do. I'm wondering if he, if he, this is the way he's thinking, he says okay, this situation is getting out of control, the bad publicity is not too well, let me just give them a gift, let me give the media a gift and go... Fuck John, your fucking computer is fucking up again. I can't fucking hear you now. Jesus Christ. Don't cuss me out. I'm not cussing you out, I'm angry because we're into a conversation.

50:38 Can you back it off more? I have no idea why it's still giving me auto errors. Just back it off more. I have my auto off, but let me turn down my gain. Yeah, turn down the gain and you've got your auto on, right? Yeah, I got the auto on. Is that better? I have no idea. Just pick it up. You're wondering if it's a deal. So he goes out and he gets a... he finds something in the background there that he can use as leverage and then he gives it to the meat expecting them to look at it and they never do. This has got to drive him crazy because he's got to be thinking to himself I got all the excuses in the world and then one of his guys comes on hey look at this did you ever read this holy crap this gives me all the everything I need let me throw it out there and they'll run with it but because the media has been so

51:27 De-balled and don't give a crap and they don't do their job anymore. They don't even pick up the ball. It's driving him crazy. Well, yes and no. Yes and no. No, he knew about this from day one. The minute he said I have the authority to do this and let's just go back to the Redline press conference. Us, we cannot have a situation where chemical or biological weapons are falling into the hands of the wrong people. We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground. that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus. That would change my equation. Now, so he is spot on. This is set up. He knew it. There was a reason for this. And the reason is, of course, the Wes Clark Seven. So I came back to see him a few weeks later.

52:28 And by that time we were bombing in Afghanistan. I said, are we still going to war with Iraq? And he said, oh, it's worse than that. He said, he reached over on his desk, he picked up a piece of paper and he said, I just, he said, I just got this down from upstairs, meeting the Secretary of Defense's office today. And he said, this is a memo that describes how we're going to take out seven countries in five years starting with Iraq and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and finishing off Iran. Now there's a reason for all of this. There is an absolute reason why this is taking place now and why we needed to hurry up, we need to get everything into Congress and of course Congress, their job is actually to delay a little bit because we got some interesting things happening. First let's let Obama finish up with that his credibility is not on the line here

53:15 That wasn't something I just kind of made up. I didn't pluck it out of thin air. There's a reason for it. That's point number one. Point number two, my credibility is not on the line. The international community's credibility is on the line. And America and Congress's credibility is on the line because we give lip service to the notion that these international norms are important. Alright, so now I'm thinking, alright, hold on a second. This guy does everything he does is calculated. Everything he says, and he's so good.

53:57 That he is now and I hear what you're saying, but I think that the reason why he said hey, wait a minute. This is not my credibility. This is Congress from 2003. This is, you know, this has been on the books. I'm just following orders here. I'm supposed to, when something goes wrong with Syria and we don't have to read through all the Syrian Accountability Act, you kind of get the idea of the word accountability. It's been going on for, you know, you are 10 years later. It's been simmering waiting for this to happen. And so it's like, hey, you know, this is Congress's problem. This is not my problem. I have to go and do this regardless because that is the law. And of course, I'm a constitutional lawyer now. So now I'm looking over at what this is. The timing of this is weird. Why is he pushing so hard and then throws it into Congress? And then he takes off immediately. He's going to the G20. I'm like, there's got to be something here. And I think the thing that tipped me off

CHAPTER 20 / 49 Discussion

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, Global Trade Rules

The hosts discuss the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), also known as TAFTA, as a major economic objective for the U.S. and EU. European officials describe the deal as a "game changer" that would establish the world's largest free trade zone. The hosts link the timing of the Syrian crisis to these high-stakes economic negotiations.

ttip· tafta· jose manuel barroso· karel de gucht· free trade

54:54 Was and I've got tons of show notes on this Was the big press release they did a big PR thing from the Nordic countries and Let me see if I can find it here Hold on a second. Well crap. I'll get it in a minute essentially saying hey, you know, we're all in on on Syria We're all in on the FTA. I'm like, wait a minute. I Why do we have at the top of the press release Syria and the FTA, also known as the T-A-F-T-A, also known as the T-T-I-P or the TIP. We're just putting the TIP in. So I go looking around and I'm thinking, hey, what are these guys talking about? Here's Barroso. A future deal between the world's two most important economic powers will be a game changer. Together,

55:55 we will form the largest free trade zone in the world. So this negotiation will set the standard. not only for our future bilateral trade and investment, including regulatory issues, but also for development of global trade rules. All right, so now, okay, this is interesting. Why is everyone talking about this free trade agreement ahead of this G20? I mean, is this something that we have to pay attention to? Here is the EU Commission trade dude. Karel de Gucht, he's a Dutch guy on this whole T-TIP. Ideally we'd like to complete this work in about two years, if possible before the end of the mandate of this commission. But more paramount than speed is achieving an ambitious deal. An ambitious deal!

56:49 I'm like hold on a second. I remember I remember something about this and it was another one of those things that came up in the State of the Union You know just like the 3d printers and all this other stuff like there was something that I remembered and I went back and I found the clip I'm announcing that we will launch talks on a comprehensive transatlantic trade and investment partnership with the European Union Because trade that is fair and free across the Atlantic supports millions of good-paying American jobs Mm-hmm And what are those millions of good-paying American jobs? Well as you delve into it, you have to understand the meta of this all that you know, this president is promoting our natural gas industry. The United States is now if you look at the potential output and let's just pretend that the fracking that we're doing in America and the buildup of the fracking will indeed equal the numbers that are projected which we will equal that of Russia.

CHAPTER 21 / 49 Discussion

Natural Gas Exports, US Energy Competition with Russia

A theory is proposed that the Syrian conflict is a bargaining chip in a larger energy war between the U.S. and Russia. The U.S. aims to export cheap fracked natural gas to Europe to break Russia's monopoly and the influence of Gazprom. The hosts argue that military instability in the Middle East serves to drive up gas prices and pressure the EU into a free trade agreement with the United States.

natural gas· fracking· gazprom· russia· rotterdam

57:45 Now, here is a $10 billion investment from the Qatar Petroleum going to Exxon, and this is for a liquid or a natural gas export terminal here in Texas. And when you look at, if you start just Googling around for natural gas export USA, you will find tons of amazing articles about how this is going to, if we can make this work, how it will essentially save the United States and Europe. And here's why. Currently, it's under $4 at the wellhead for gas in America. Now, this is not high enough. We need that to go up because we just can't make, no one here can make money on this stuff. But we have to get the demand up. Russian gas to Europe is at $15 per million BTU.

58:40 So there's your discrepancy. We are in a beautiful spot in the United States of America We don't have to build pipelines because well, first of all, it's gonna be almost impossible because you know build them under the the ocean But if we have these export terminals, we are right in the middle between Asia and Asia It's certainly Japan where we had an unfortunate nuclear accident and they shut down all of their nuclear power and Europe who are in desperate need because the Russians have been turning on they're famous for doing it. They're famous for turning off pipelines raising prices willy-nilly. So there's this problem that is you know, and it's like a it's a $10 difference $10 $11 difference. Now, what is the free trade agreement about it enables American exports

59:26 to countries that have a free trade agreement so that there's no export, there's no process. Right now if you want to export a container ship of natural gas it can take up to 20 months to get the process through the whole system. We have the free trade agreement and you look at it'll say climate change and other jobs and whatever bullshit This is about getting gas from America to Europe and that is the competition and Obama took this So he's trying to negotiate this right now at the g20. He wants this free trade agreement done so we can get it going It'll be hundreds of billions of dollars in America. It'll really help out Europe where there will be pretty

1:00:07 something I have to say this is kind of a brilliant plan if you don't mind killing people to get it done this is it's great because we can save our economy by finally producing something other than just war material get it over to Europe we can the Europe will be our bitch now we completely cut off Russia at the pass now what's the whole guy though well here comes here no you're gonna let me finish here comes He is using the, he needed Congress to delay while he's over there because he's using it as a bargaining chip. He's like, look, here's what I can do. I can flip the switch. If you don't give me the free trade agreement, I can flip the switch and it's going to ruin, we want to ruin Russia's potential anyway. But guess what's going to happen to your price of gas if we start blowing up Syria? You're going to double. What do you want to do?

1:00:57 This is his bargaining chip, John, and I think he might have to use it because the EU, they are so afraid of of jumping out of the fat into the fire. For instance, in the Netherlands, the Netherlands, they looked at all their secrets, just yesterday I read the press reports on this, they read all of the Syrian evidence and they came out and said, we're not convinced. We're not convinced that Assad did that. Why would they say that? Could it be the 1 billion euro investment from Gazprom in the new terminal in Rotterdam? You think that has something to do with it? Of course it does. This is only about these two players who is going to deliver to the number one customer in the world. And this is a bargaining chip. The Russians don't give a crap if we bomb out Syria. They'll figure another way to get their gas out to the Mediterranean, but they will screw with Europe. They will screw with it if the free trade agreement happens. You watch, this is what it's about. The TTIP, the TAFTA.

CHAPTER 22 / 49 Discussion

Carl Levin, Russian Weapons and Syrian Rebels

Senator Carl Levin discusses the transfer of Russian-made weapons to the Syrian regime and the potential for these arms to fall into rebel hands. He argues that the U.S. must provide anti-tank weapons to the vetted opposition to counter Assad's forces. The hosts debate whether Obama's strategy is a brilliant geopolitical maneuver or a naive gamble.

carl levin· russia· syria· weapons of mass destruction· chemical weapons

1:02:00 Right, the Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement, which also includes a lot of other stuff, you know, like Monsanto. Well, the GMOs, of course, of course. So, there's a little tidbit in here I want to play, which is, Carl Levin is an idiot clip, and this little tidbit in here, this piece of information, I thought was, I didn't know this before, you can tell me whether you knew it or not, but apparently it's the Russians who have been supplying Assad with the weapons. According to Levin, beside Assad's tanks. So those kind of weapons, it seems to me, can be safely provided to the vetted components of the Syrian opposition. Secretary Kerry said today there would absolutely positively no way be boots on the ground. Is this and that he would be open to this being included as part of the war authorization. Do you think that's

1:02:51 Is it a good idea to draw that line? No. I do. War authorization. Because I think it's important that the American people know we're not going to get dragged into a civil war. That there are ways of taking action against the use of chemical weapons which needs to be taken if countries such as Syria and Iran understand that the transfer, for instance, of weapons of mass destruction or the use of weapons of mass destruction will precipitate a response on our part because If those weapons are transferred, such as chemicals going to terrorist groups, they can end up attacking us. This is in our interest. And Russia may do that, but they don't care. They're not going to go to war over this. And this is the only message I really have. There's not going to be a World War III. Stop listening to Alex Jones with all that bullshit. This is actually good. I hate to say it.

1:03:47 Just from a meta meta perspective if the president can pull this off He made you he may and and you've and I go back to you John where you said that you know Like the 49 gold rush if we can have all this natural gas be the new gold That it could save us from the financial demise that all this idiotic money printing and quantitative easing has provided as built up over you know the last almost half decade that that this would actually save everything and the arrogance you're seeing from Obama is like, I gotta get this done. That it will, you know, people will die, of course. But it is a strategy. It's just, I would prefer if the president just went, okay, look, we need this thing with Europe and we gotta screw the Russians to go get our business. Well, here's what's got me kind of concerned.

1:04:43 which is that if they want, there's a lot of groupings of these chemical weapons throughout Syria, whether they're supplied by the Russians or not. And Levin and all these other guys, in fact Levin goes on with another clip here where he talks about these being weapons of mass destruction which is kind of uh... says bull crap because of gas is not a mass destruction item just killed but no so they'll topple or screw up that regime and then they will what they didn't want to claim they don't want which is that the rebels would let's say takeover because we're not giving them weaponry according to the blinkin guy that means that those rebels will end up with these supplies of uh...

1:05:29 of these gases, of the chemical weapons. Which is I thought that's not what we don't want that to happen because now because it's easily transportable as Levin says, they could be moved around really easy. They could bring a canister into Paris and drop it off the top of the Eiffel Tower. There's a lot of negative possibilities here which I think is what we're going to end up running into even though I would say that if your analysis of Obama's scheming is correct and even though I might be optimistic, then Obama has to be one of the smartest presidents in fact that we've ever had even though it seems to me that some of the stuff he does is naive. Yes, John, that is the travesty that Obama is probably the smartest president ever. That is what neither of us expected. Well, I mean this is assuming that this is all his doing and it's not like

CHAPTER 23 / 49 Discussion

Jordan DeMoss, Lord of the Admiralty and Baronet of the Breweries

Jordan DeMoss, a long-time subscriber serving on a submarine, is knighted as the "Lord of the Admiralty and Baronet of the Breweries" following a significant donation. He issues a humorous proclamation regarding "Marine Douchebag Awareness Month" and mentions his wait for a replica U.S. Constitution. The hosts discuss the logistics of home brewing and naval life.

jordan demoss· sub under the water· baronet· breweries· navy

1:06:25 You know, somebody, the CIA is scheduling this whole thing. Yeah, well, I think this is, well, actually, you know, what's the secret? When he was in, he just seems a little miffed all the time now. For a guy who was, you describe it as self-confident, that, that, he seemed irked. Are you running? Yeah, I'm here. Okay, I'm sorry. That's okay. You sound great, honey. Don't worry. So no problems here. Yeah, you know, here's what we've had a lot of technical issues. Why don't we I think we have a short list of executive producers. We're already way past where we should be doing our opening credits. But we've gotten to a point where let's just thank some people and then refresh our brains and come back into where we think this is headed. How's that sound?

1:07:19 Uh, yeah, I still have to get, hold on, because I had the thing open, the guy, Jordan DeMoss gave us $4.66 and 72 cents and he'll be the executive producer and he's in Hawaii and he has an email that he sent. It was a long lengthy one, so let me just look him up here. Okay, and what I'll do is I will say in the morning to you John C. DeVore. Yeah, in the morning to you Adam and in the morning to all the Well, we used to call them boots on the ground, but now you've ruined it. I can't have boots on the ground because it angers me. I don't know what to say. Now you've screwed up my whole pitch. You can say boots on the ground because when you say boots on the ground, you know that you're not talking cavalier. You're not being cavalier.

1:08:08 Well, we got boots on the ground, subs in the water, feet in the air, and the day's and night's out there. And the curious thing here is that the subs in the water guy is Jordan DeMoss. Oh, right! Yeah, no, I think this was a great email that he sent us. Yes, and you have to put him down because he's Sir Jordan and he's now a baronet. So he sends a note and I put him on the list. Eric never got this note. ITM from the sub under the water, I've been a 333 subscriber for the last three years. Donation, noagenination.com shows that I have donated. It shows that he's donated 153328. So he's made a drunken donation of 46672 for this Thursday's show to become a baronet who makes his own beer. I would like to be the baronet of breweries.

1:08:58 Well sure, can you be that when you're a baronet? Don't you have to be a baron before you can get a brewery? Or be any kind of protectorate? I think it's fine. I don't think there's going to be a big demand for this barony. You'd be surprised, we've got a lot of home brewers in the club. I believe the lands of breweries are small enough to still be considered a baronet. If you recall, my previous knighthood title was the Lord of the Admiralty. yes so please announce me as the lord of the admiralty and baronet of the breweries he's pushing it well at least yeah lord of the admiralty and baronet of the breweries all right you got it no problem no problem furthermore as a lord of the admiralty and baronet of the breweries this is a long title I hear by issue an executive proclamation that all brewers sailors and Marines

1:09:57 Who may take offense by this, by the way. Since they operate as part of the Navy, those that aren't donating are douchebags. Henceforth, every September will be Brewer, Sailor and Marine Douchebag Awareness Month. Wow, I don't know if it can fit in with all the other things we have to observe in the month of September, but okay, we'll see if we can get a presidential proclamation for it. Since one of the guys on my ship just tested positive for coke, I probably shouldn't partake in the hookers and blow. Whoops! I suggest you add barrels of beer at the bar to the offerings of the new knights and dames of the round table. And finally, he says, plug for Eric, I'm awaiting the arrival of my famed United States Constitution replica, which is currently being produced by Eric the Shill, so it may hang high above my keggerator and challenge coins. Aw, that's nice.

1:10:55 Okay, anyway. Well, thank you very much, Lord Sir Jordan, Lord of the Admiralty Baron of the Breweries for coming in. What an interesting number. Did he mention anything about why it was 466.72 or is that just... I think it's so it added up to... Whatever he has. Looks like it adds up exactly to... Oh, to his knighthood. Okay, great. Great. Yeah, there's nothing special. Okay. So anyway, how do I sound? Am I breaking up left and right? No, it's reasonable. The chat room had opted the idea of opening up a ping connection between your... I know. Well, you know what? Who knows? It can help guide the packets. Apparently, yes. Guide dogs of ping. The guide dogs of ping, yeah. Anyway, back to the spreadsheet. As I look at the ping thing, it's very hypnotic.

CHAPTER 24 / 49 Discussion

Donor Acknowledgments, Birthday Karma and Anniversary Wishes

The hosts read donations from Matthew Sluiter and Dame Joan, acknowledging birthdays and anniversaries. Sluiter requests "karma" for his brothers in Vermont and the IT business. Dame Joan provides a breakdown of her donation to honor the hosts' birthdays and her son's 15th birthday.

matthew sluiter· dame joan· holland michigan· karma· anniversaries

1:11:53 Seeing the pings go by. Matthew Sluiter. Sluiter. I think it's Sluiter. That would be the Dutch name. In Holland, 33377 is also... It says the town is Holland, Michigan. Coming in triple threes on the knees. Triple threes on the knees. Nice! 3377. You see the sevens look like knees? Oh yeah. Triple threes on the knees. Love that. Maybe that'll catch on. Finally donating on my birthday of all days to the best podcast in the universe would love to give a shot of karma to my brother Tim just starting out a new in Vermont and to my other brother Alex in this fledgling IT business.

1:12:33 Don't need anything for myself. We're all screwed anyway. Keep up the good work John and Adam best regards pronounced lighter lighter Sorry, sorry formerly from Holland now in Holland, Michigan home of the best beaches in the universe Well, here's the karma as requested. It's You've got karma obviously some And by the way, his donation amounts to a breakdown for anniversary, Adam's birthday, and his son's Griffin. Who we have on the list, by the way, his birthday coming up. Nice. Or actually, no, that's James. You know, this spreadsheet, since Eric's been doing it, it's easy to go right to the next one, because there's no line when you use the yellow coloring.

1:13:16 We need thicker lines is what we need. This is Dame Joan in Morgantown, West Virginia. She gave 255.54 and she broke it down. But 255.54, 88 for John and Mimi's anniversary, 66.66 for our anniversary, 49 for Adam's birthday, 51 for her son Griffin's 15th birthday. Now of course, you know, if Dame Joni doesn't mind, you can always hand her son over to Matthew. I mean, we can just pass him around. What are you implying? That's because you had him congratulate... Oh, I see what you're saying, because I had it mixed up. Yes.

1:13:56 It's just one big yellow blop. Trying to save you. I don't, it's not that bad. I mean, I, I... On my machine it is. Mm-hmm. There's no line between the two donations. Okay. Alright. Enough said. Alright. It's good. That's okay, because that was it. Don't do our donations. Yeah, that's it. We had two execs and one associate exec. I want to thank them for helping us on show 545. And we do need some additional help with show 546 coming up on Sunday. We do. Please go to... And maybe we just need some help just to get a dedicated line between us. I mean this is this is a very very problematic issue I also want to thank I kind of already thanked all of our human resources in the chat room there No agenda stream calm no agenda chat dotnet. Thank you to our artists Thank you very much. Tomi Tunks. I think a new artist for us who brought us the album art for episode 5 4 4

CHAPTER 25 / 49 Discussion

Namecoin, .bit Domains and No Agenda Films

Producer Matthew Hamilton, age 16, explains the use of Namecoin to register .bit domains for the No Agenda show. These decentralized domains are intended to provide censorship-resistant access to the show's content. Additionally, the hosts announce the return of No Agenda Films, which tracks propaganda in cinema.

namecoin· bitcoin· .bit· matthew hamilton· no agenda films

1:14:54 Can't wait to see what we have on no agenda art generator comm later on today Want to thank let's see producer Matthew Hamilton who has registered now I'm not quite sure how this works, but he he actually sent an email explaining the dot bit domain Which is dot BIT and we have like no agenda dot BIT pointing to no agenda show calm, but also he's got What is independence dot bit self-reliance dot bit? civilians dot bit Lincoln dot bit rebellion the shop the Shut up slave dot bit and the way this works is and he's 16 by the way Is you mine I guess you it's you run the name coin software So somehow I think you're you're in some kind of Bitcoin mining scheme and then you get domain names as like you as a goodie payoff It's very interesting

1:15:53 What? Exactly. Namecoin is a decentralized currency and you can redeem, when you mine namecoins I guess, you can redeem domain names for it. Anyway, the .bit domain, we pretty much own it now I guess. Okay, no idea how that works and also a shout out to no agenda films calm back on the scene with the The fall movie propaganda alert lineup. So make sure you check that out link in the show notes. No agenda films calm. Oh, that's good I was worried that he was gonna bail out on this because we've been recommending a lot of movies Yeah, no, he's he's back in the game. He had a couple of sick toddlers. He said so he was he was pre-op Well, I got another movie then I think people should just see it if they never seen it

CHAPTER 26 / 49 Discussion

Swedish Media, Macaroni and Cheese National Dish

A Swedish morning show celebrates President Obama's visit by featuring the "Eisenman sisters" cooking macaroni and cheese. The hosts mock the segment for portraying "cheap macaroni and cheap cheddar" as the national dish of America. They view this as a shallow attempt by Swedish media to create a "vibe" for the presidential visit.

sweden· barack obama· macaroni and cheese· eisenman sisters· propaganda

1:16:43 Alright. Eraserhead. Oh, classic. Classic. I'm not quite sure why you're recommending it. I just gave him to me. Well, good work John. It's a disturbing film, that's why. Hey, go out there and propagate our formula, will ya? Our formula is this. We go out, we hit people in the mouth. And then just to bring us back into the whole thing, President Obama, as I am now, my theory is that this is all about the free trade agreement. He's using Congress as a delay tactic and Syria is by itself a bargaining chip and if you remove the whole New World Order, we're going to kill you to do anything to make it all work thing, then it seems like a pretty genius plan.

1:17:43 Here's what was really disturbing to me that in the in the make-believe world of television I have a video here of one of these Swedish morning shows and they're all very excited about the president and And the first lady and they were coming over to hang out in Sweden and and so what do you do on a morning TV? Show when you know and you have like the full staff and you know, it's gonna think kind of like good morning America and And you have your celebrities and they're coming on. What would you do to get everyone into the whole vibe of the Obamas visiting? You'd have Michelle come on and cook something. Ooh, ooh, ooh, very close. They didn't have Michelle come on but they were cooking something.

1:18:29 On Wednesday, President Barack Obama is on his way to Stockholm. And on Sunday, we'll be doing some American brunch with the Eisenman sisters. We're preparing something very American. Yes! It's probably the most American thing you can think of. And it's macaroni and cheese. And then they go on to explain... You know what she's saying there, don't you? She's talking about how great macaroni and cheese is. Mac and cheese, mac and cheese, mac and cheese, macaroni and cheap cheddar melted together. Mac and cheese, mac and cheese, mac and cheese. That's exactly what she said. She said, this is the national dish of America. It's cheap macaroni and cheap cheddar cheese melted together. That's exactly what she was saying. How sad is it that that is now our national dish? It makes sense. It actually makes nothing but sense.

CHAPTER 27 / 49 Discussion

Senator Carl Levin, Corporate Interests in Syria

Senator Carl Levin's comments on PBS regarding "companies" joining the U.S. in Syria are scrutinized. The hosts jokingly suggest he might be referring to oil giants like Exxon and Chevron rather than "countries." The discussion centers on the overlap between military intervention and corporate energy interests in the region.

carl levin· exxon· chevron· conoco phillips· syrian free army

1:19:33 So here is further proof that this is about the gas companies and this was a great flub by now Senator Levin is he's also a Democrat yes from the war party John Levin yeah and he's from New York and he is the war party representative of the day and he is a he's on PBS our national treasure and he actually gives it all away in this one little clip. the Syrian people who are resisting Assad to have the weapons to fight for themselves. So far, certain weapons which would be very helpful in that respect have not been provided for them, and particularly in response to a chemical attack. If they had anti-tank weapons to go against the tanks which protected the launchers which launched the chemical weapons, for instance,

1:20:36 That would show that this is not just an American fight, that this is a fight that the Syrian Free Army is right in the middle of and is willing to fight, but they need the weapons. We ought to help get those weapons to them. And secondly, it seems to me it's important That when we do strike that we have other countries with us for it to be effective and that includes a number of Arab countries We were assured today. There will be a number of company countries that would join with us and that's very important for the effectiveness of any action What companies would be joining you in that effective action now warmonger 11 would that be Exxon Chevron Conoco Phillips

CHAPTER 28 / 49 Discussion

Jerry Sandusky, Penn State Obstruction and Touched Memoir

A report on "60 Minutes Sports" reveals that Penn State University actively obstructed the investigation into Jerry Sandusky's serial sexual abuse. Investigators used Sandusky's own memoir, titled "Touched," as a roadmap to identify victims. The hosts discuss the psychological compulsion of criminals to reveal their actions through "flubs" or overt statements.

jerry sandusky· penn state· touched· 60 minutes sports· child abuse

1:21:20 So I'm reminded of that I got this clip that's got nothing to do with Syria But it is you know we've talked about this on the show and it's been discussed elsewhere how people can't not tell the truth Yes, the human psyche wants to be truthful. It's hard to lie Yeah, and so it always comes somehow it comes the truth always comes out some way shape or form by a flub Or by overt stuff you remember that we talked about this when you know Penn State had that Jerry Sandusky pedophile. The pedo bear thing, yeah. And there was a huge ring and there's been an update because there's this new show on CBS called Sports 60 Minutes. It's on Showtime so they cuss a lot. Oh, oh.

1:22:08 And they had the two lawyers for the first time from that case discuss how they did it, how they beat the guy. Because apparently Penn State in particular, and from this clip, this Sandusky clip I have, they talk about how the university Pennsylvania State University itself was totally involved with the obstruction of justice. In fact, the former president of the university and two other people are under indictment as we speak and they're going to get busted. for this because they were supporting it. So they talk a little bit about that at the beginning of this clip and then they talk about how they finally managed to break the case wide open and again it's someone who could not not tell the truth. Also know that we got Penn State involved

1:22:55 a massive multi-billion dollar entity that at the time we don't realize, although we would come to realize it, may not be fully committed to disclosing what the reality is. Of course we come to realize that they're actively obstructing our investigation. They're obstructing justice? Yeah, and they had been for many years. Did you two ever look at each other and go, I can understand if they're covering up recruiting violations, But this is serial sexual abuse of children that they are institutionally resisting efforts to uncover? Many times. I mean, that happened over and over again. It's offensive. I mean, I just don't understand how you separate any of this, any of this from the context, which is children were being raped. I mean, this isn't hard. This isn't a difficult concept. This isn't a wishy-washy issue.

1:23:48 Fina and McGettigan felt there had to be more victims, but finding them and convincing them to testify appeared out of reach. Until that is an investigator discovered an old book Sandusky had written about himself, incredibly titled, Touched. When I learned that the book was entitled Touched, when I started getting involved in the investigation, I said I can't believe that he did that. I mean, he's telling people something. And he did. He really did. And we looked at the pictures in the book, some of them had names that we could identify the kid, some didn't. And then we would search and try to find somebody that could identify the picture of the kid in the book. Touched is a road map to a certain degree for you guys in the beginning to try to find some of the victims. It really was. But now you have to convince them to come forward. Yeah. Although our president, I think he actually is pretty good at it. He is... What? Headline.

CHAPTER 29 / 49 Discussion

Nobel Peace Prize, Barack Obama Acceptance Speech Review

A Swedish reporter asks President Obama about the dilemma of being a Nobel Peace Prize winner while preparing to attack Syria. The hosts review Obama's 2009 acceptance speech, noting his self-comparison to "giants of history" like King and Mandela. They argue that his rhetoric lacks true humility despite his claims of being "unworthy."

nobel peace prize· barack obama· norway· martin luther king jr· nelson mandela

1:24:52 I finally caught him in one, kind of. Well, how did you catch him? With a net. The point is that most of these guys are good at lying, or so it seems. And then as we listen to their clips, you hear them, you hear revelations. Indeed. But what they're good at is covering that part up. There was a Swedish reporter who asked, did you see this question? about well I'll play the question for you national television yes president given very eloquent talks about the moral force of non-violence was funding could you describe the dilemma to be a Nobel Peace Prize winner and getting ready to attack Syria I like this one by the way because this is what everyone always talks about yeah this question should be constantly asked I would refer you to the speech

1:25:54 that I gave when I received the Nobel Prize. I think I started the speech by saying that compared to previous recipients, I was certainly unworthy. I'm sorry, Mr. President. This is one, maybe you weren't expecting this question. Why don't we listen to the beginning of his acceptance speech, shall we, John? It's kind of fun in retrospect. Your Majesties, your Royal Highnesses, distinguished members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee,

1:26:32 Don't you love it? Your majesties, your highnesses. That's the new... that's pukey, man. New World Order bullcrap right there. Citizens of America and citizens of the world. And he has a smirk on his face. I receive this honor with deep gratitude. Okay, deep gratitude. Not quite saying he doesn't deserve it yet. And great humility. Oh, humility. Why? It's an award that speaks to our highest aspirations. For all the cruelty and hardship of our world we are not mere prisoners of fate our actions matter Have you heard it yet? John has he heard anything that he's not here. I don't hear maybe it's coming up make history in the direction of justice

1:27:26 And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. Okay, hold on a second. The controversy because he's not worthy of it, I guess he's gonna say, right? That would be what you'd expect him to say, because I'm not worthy of this. In part, this is because I am... Not worthy? At the beginning and not the end of my labors on the world stage. Compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize, okay? Let me put myself in the lineup of the Giants of history Sleitzer King Marshall and Mandela My accomplishments are slight I'm still not hearing the I don't deserve it and then there are the men and women around the world who've been jailed and beaten in the pursuit of justice in America and

1:28:24 Those who toil in humanitarian organizations to relieve suffering. The unrecognized millions whose quiet acts of courage and compassion inspire even the most hardened cynics. I cannot argue with those who find these men and women, some known, some obscure to all but those they help, to be far more deserving of this honor than I. Oh, okay. Well, you kind of said it. You were anything but humble, sir. Well, then he, yeah, he constantly does this. And he could probably make the argument by parsing that he didn't say exactly what, you know, well, I just, those exact words. Yeah, but he's usually better when he, when you know, the whole red line thing, he was spot on. He's like, let me unpack your question. I didn't say it was a red line. I said there was a red line and I was going to change my calculus. That's what happened. That was good. That's another buzzword that's showing up a lot. That's bothering me. Calculus.

CHAPTER 30 / 49 Discussion

Senator Deb Fischer, Russian Chemical Weapon Claims

Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska reports that Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel claimed Russia is supplying chemical weapons to Syria. The hosts express skepticism, questioning if this is "secret information" or a fabrication by Hagel. They discuss Hagel's performance as a "yes man" and the potential for this claim to be a red herring.

deb fischer· chuck hagel· russia· chemical weapons· pathlogical liar

1:29:33 And he uses it all the time. Really? My calculus. Yeah, I've heard it. You hear it a lot. And it keeps cropping up. So can you say my calculus? What does that even mean? Well, it's the complex calculations only I can make as president of the best country in the universe. Let's look at the definition of this word. I'm not sure. The brand of mathematics that deals with the finding and properties of derivatives and integrals of functions by methods originally based on the summation of infinitesimal differences. The two main types of differential calculus and integral calculus. You lost me at calculus. Now, the number two definition, I'll give a little credit for that under logic, a particular method, actually mathematics and logic, a particular method or system of calculation or reasoning.

1:30:29 Reasoning, yeah, that's probably where he's getting it from. Well, maybe I should just say my thinking on the matter. Because it sounds cool! You know, it's like point of privilege. You gotta use these things, man. There's a female senator from Nebraska. She's the one who brings out, and she's never been on TV before. She's kind of a squawker, and she's moaning and groaning, and she's the one who brings in the Russians, which has me skeptical about everything. No U.S. boots on the ground at any kind of enterprise in Syria. Do you agree with that? Is that taking it too far?

1:31:09 I think the American people don't want to see boots on the ground. As I said, we've been in the conflicts in that region before. We're not ready to go back. We need to understand what the ramifications are. We can say no boots on the ground, but what if Assad uses chemical weapons again? How do we respond? It's happened 14 times. We're just responding now. The British Prime Minister has said this has happened 14 times, so why are we just responding now? That's a question that needs to be answered as well. So there is, as you try to figure that out, why it didn't happen before, have you ruled out in your mind that it should happen now?

1:31:52 You know, I haven't ruled out anything. We're learning more and more every day. We just heard from the Secretary of Defense, Secretary Hagel today, that the Russians are supplying chemical weapons to Syria. We didn't know that before. I've gone through two conference calls I went through a briefing with the Armed Services Committee this morning. We just heard that today. So what else don't we know? If the Russians are involved in this, are they supplying the Syrians with chemical weapons? And what consequences are we going to see from that action? How are they going to respond if we go in and attack Syria?

1:32:32 Wait a minute is she so is this part of the secret information? They got that the Russians are providing chemical weapons. Can this really be the true information they received? You know, I was thinking about this. There's two things that in retrospect I when I've made that clip I didn't have your taft a theory in mind And this actually, and I think the 14 attacks that took place before kind of plays into your theory perfectly because the question is, he's been doing it all along, why now? Which makes sense if we were thinking about the... About the TAFTA and the G20 and the... And the G20. Right, right, right. But this thing about the Russians, which I... Here's what the problem I have with that, because I've never heard this before. No. It came from Hagel's mouth.

1:33:21 And I was thinking about this, Hagel is possibly a pathological liar. I'm always on the lookout for pathological liars. Did you see him at, I did not clip anything, there was a, I think it was on C-SPAN, a video of him and he was at an Air Force base with, it might have been Marines, and he's out on the tarmac and he's trying to get everyone to go, and no one's doing it. And they're just like ignoring him, you know, like where the teacher's trying to get you to participate. Or you go to a concert and they want you to sing. Right, yeah, right. But he was not able to get that. It was the weirdest thing. And I think that this guy, he may be just a hologram. I don't know if the guy even exists. But you hear him talk. And he's a yes man. You can hear him go, he's a moron.

1:34:21 But we already, when he was being confirmed in the Senate, remember when he screwed up his answer and he went back later and said like, what I really meant is we love Israel, whatever the hell he said that was wrong. And I think we assessed him right then as just a moron who was meant to get us into trouble. But the Russians supplying the chemical weapons? Nah. The whole chemical weapons thing, that's the red herring. I think you were right, and I couldn't sleep last night for at least half an hour, I'm thinking, God damn, John is right. The whole idea is to just ruin all of the Middle East, ruin North Africa, just ruin it.

CHAPTER 31 / 49 Discussion

NSA Distraction, Bashar al-Assad Birthday Trivia

The hosts observe that the focus on Syria has successfully removed the NSA and Edward Snowden from the news cycle. They also note the "annoying" coincidence that Bashar al-Assad was born on September 11th. The discussion shifts to the G20 summit in St. Petersburg and Putin's reaction to U.S. accusations.

nsa· edward snowden· bashar al-assad· september 11· g20

1:35:01 You know, maybe we can get the pipeline going from Qatar through, you know, up through Syria into Turkey. But I think... It's a reboot! Yeah, I mean, let's just make it all flat and dirty and dusty and horrible. And, you know, the only thing we have to look out for is so-called pirates as we have our ships of gas going over to Europe and going over to Japan. That's the only thing really we have to worry about. And of course, you know, they could be all pirates is a big word, right? It could be it could that could be the Russians could be anybody. But this is this is it's so simple. And all of this. And by the way, look what what has been achieved with with this this huge Syria thing. No one's talking about the NSA anymore. No one's talking about Snowden. No, and it's all off the table. So it's a bit beautiful.

1:35:53 The thing I'm worried about, if anything, is this is going to calm down a bit. They're going to have to start distracting us because they may not want to do anything. If we get the deal, then maybe we don't want to make such a big show of ruining Syria. We'll do it in another way. Well, I mean, if you look at the videos from that area, it's pretty ruined. Except Damascus itself is in good shape and that has to be the last to go. So when is the summit? What's the date on it? It's now. It's starting now. I think it starts today. Because we do still have our six-week cycle with the upcoming yeah, and September 11th You know what else is annoying that Bashar al-Assad born in 1965 on September 11th. That's also kind of annoying One of these annoying things that you pick up along the way like really Does it have to be like that? Okay, here we go. Here's the g20. There's a web page for people to go to is g20 org. Oh

CHAPTER 32 / 49 Discussion

Herman Van Rompuy, EU Stance on Syrian Military Solution

Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, states that there is "no military solution" to the Syrian crisis despite the "cynical use" of chemical weapons. He urges the UN Security Council to fulfill its responsibilities under international law. The hosts interpret his comments through the lens of European energy dependence on Russia.

herman van rompuy· european union· un security council· sarin gas· chemical weapons

1:36:56 Putin has got to be beside himself on this whole thing. I like him calling out Kerry as a liar. Oh, yeah. But who he may be a pathological liar too. I mean he when he ran for president I think they were busting him on some of his assertions that were bullcrap. How about here check this out. This is a so here's the official stance. So I think this is what what we're hearing from Haiku Herman. Who is of course the President of the United States of Europe. Here's kind of his vibe on this whole Syria thing, which is a little different than what you might want to hear if you're President Obama, but maybe this is the whole reason why we're doing it. I'll also say a few words on Syria. In the face of this cynical use of weapons of mass destruction, the international community cannot remain idle.

1:37:51 We have to show that such crimes are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. To show that there can be no impunity and to prevent creating a dreadful precedent for the use of chemical weapons in Syria again or elsewhere. Okay, so far so good. We hope a preliminary report of this first investigation could be released as soon as possible. We urge the UN Security Council to unite in its efforts to prevent any further chemical attack. To that effect, we encourage the UN Security Council to fulfill its responsibilities in line with international law and take all initiatives to achieve this goal. Finally, there is no military solution to the Syrian crisis. Ah, whoa, hold on a second. No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

1:38:46 I think he has to say that because if you take my theory that it's all about the gas, and by the way, how cruelly funny is it that it's about gas and they're actually using sarin gas? Maybe it's just code. Ah, ironic. Right? We'll use some gas on them. By the way, thinking about it, I would, basically, we're going to stay with your theory. We're going to assume that this whole thing is just to get some gas out of the country, which is a depressed market. Yes, it is. It needs to go up to eight or nine bucks and we'd still be groovy. It's horrible. It's three ninety or three eighty or some crazy thing. So anyway, we'll stick with this. I like the theory because it does account for a lot of things and it would also account for the following. Since the British are giving all this, oh we're so independent, we voted

CHAPTER 33 / 49 Discussion

UK Energy Crisis, Nord Stream Pipeline Expansion

Reports indicate that 25% of UK residents suffered from extreme cold during the winter to save on heating costs. Meanwhile, Gazprom and the Dutch company Gasunie are exploring an expansion of the Nord Stream pipeline to Britain. The hosts discuss how U.S. natural gas exports could provide a "second source" for Europe and lower prices.

united kingdom· gazprom· nord stream· natural gas· free trade

1:39:35 If Obama had, and obviously involved in this would be the Brits, so Cameron would agree or actually help submarine it in Parliament. He would push it because he has to look good. Oh, we got to do something and then they would get voted out. Exactly. As part of the bigger scheme. Yes. So the Brits are still, I don't know what you're saying. Like all you UK-Brits are still our lapdogs. Oh yeah, absolutely. We've got no donations coming in from the UK anymore. But that would, because why would they not be our lapdogs? They've been our lapdogs since Tony Blair and before. And if you, and so it, and I have a couple of interesting, can you turn your speakers on just a tad, John? It's because of the mumble, it's coming back. News out of the UK, a quarter

1:40:27 of the inhabitants of the Isle of Britannia, known as Gitmo Nation East, a core 25% suffered unbearable cold during the winter to save money on heating costs. Right, and now with global warming causing all these snowstorms. It's getting worse. And then we have here is Gazprom and GASUNI, fine Dutch company, have signed a letter of intent to explore the potential expansion of the Nord Stream pipeline to Britain. So, you know, if you are running a country and your people are cold and you know that the global cooling is coming, you don't want to be holding to one party. You want to have... No, you have to have second sources. And Putin is famous for turning it off in the winter. Like, oh, really? I think I'm going to turn off this pipeline. He's famous for this. If we could get gas over there somehow, it would...

1:41:22 Putin would have to lower the prices. Well, and as prom would have to lower the prices Which would be benefit. Yeah. Yeah, it would pump up the economy of Europe. Yes, it would be a super It would be a win. Yeah, I'd be great. So here's legislation in Congress. This is House House resolution House resolution two seven seven one. Let me see who introduced this thing. Let me get the this is the Uh, this act may be cited as the Expedite Our Economy Act of 2013. This is introduced by Mr. Poe of Texas for himself, Mr. Cardin and Mr. Olson. And the intention of this bill is to repeal the requirements under the Natural Gas Act for obtaining authorization for the exportation of natural gas. Gee, that would be kind of handy to have this bill pass, wouldn't it?

1:42:21 Then and then have the real brain because we don't have a free trade agreement with Europe I thought it was like don't we have that no no we've never had a free trade agreement with Europe No, and this is the this is supposed to be the way you know people don't know that people think we're buddies with Europe aren't we no? Apparently not I had no idea. I thought we had a complete free trade agreement everything was copacetic was having little little tips The cheese tiff, for example, the wine tiff. There's always been one or another. You can't have our cheese without paying extra. It's extra stinky. The reason for free trade agreements is to reduce tariffs to zero. So there's no tariff. So you can just ship stuff over there as fast as you can. Right, no tax. Right. But even so, it's like 3%. Most of it's very low. But this is more about, the way I see it is,

CHAPTER 34 / 49 Discussion

G20 Summit, Financial Instability and Market Profiteering

The G20 summit in St. Petersburg focuses on financial market instability. The hosts discuss how individuals might profit from the shifting energy landscape, suggesting investments in companies that manufacture specialized valves or tankers. They speculate that U.S. strikes in Syria might target infrastructure like pipelines to further disrupt Russian energy influence.

g20· st. petersburg· financial markets· investment· pipelines

1:43:23 If we have that, then it removes the whole reason, the whole, if we have the FTA, then it removes the whole exportation problem. So they're trying to attack it in multiple ways. I'm looking at the G20. So the G20 officially started, starts today. No, yesterday. What's today? The 5th? No, today. St. Petersburg, key objective, instability in financial markets. I mean, let's just think about this. Let's analyze this for a second, John. If this happens, The questions are, one, what does it do for the United States? Two, what does it do for the United States of Europe? And three, how can we profit from it financially, you and I personally? Well, we could invest in some international banks. It's actually for us, I think the general public, we just have to live with the money profits that plow back into the economy. I don't think that we can get anything else out of this.

1:44:24 There's nothing, there's no stock. I guess not. It's such a long game and such big money. Maybe Horowitz would have an idea because I've noticed this working with him. Because I've invested on and off for years. How's that worked out for you? Are you rich yet? No, of course not. And the reason is because when somebody's in it full time and that's all they do, they start thinking differently. And they'll think about three layers down. So you have this is going to happen and that's going to affect this company, this company, and this company. But the real beneficiary is this company three or four layers down, which makes all the valves to a certain type of pipe. Right, right. So we'd have to look at something, some company that makes something for the – because these are going to be super mega tankers that have to carry this stuff. It could be welding sticks for all we know.

1:45:14 Hey welding sticks now Son, it used to be plastics now. It's welding sticks. Okay ask Horowitz and we'll pass it on I think we should we should all be trying to benefit from this But yes, I I and I'll just and this will be the last thing I'm gonna say about it I think it's a genius plan if yeah, it's I don't see any holes in your logic on this one. And usually you do. Except for the gas getting loose, so I'm wondering whether you're even going to overthrow Assad. Or maybe, you know, I was thinking about this a couple of times. If they're going to want to launch 80 missiles or whatever onto the

1:45:54 Syrians. I was thinking this possibility. What are they gonna bomb? They keep making a big point we're only gonna bomb for one day. The airport. I think, yeah, I think they'd probably drop a couple on the airport, but what about some pipelines and some facilities, some China things, some Russian stuff? Yeah. Oh, that's all there is? Just blow up some. Yeah, no, it can only be pipelines. Pipelines and infrastructure. So they blow up a bunch and take the pipeline out. Yeah. But see, this is why I think, again, it's a double whammy. Because you know, if the pipelines get taken out, then automatically gas prices go up. I mean, already we're seeing petroleum products price increase. Just imagine you're sitting in Europe, you're paying $15 per million BTUs, and all of a sudden it's going to 20. And guess what? It's September.

CHAPTER 35 / 49 Discussion

Google Executives, Stock Sales and Larry Summers

Google executives Eric Schmidt and Sergey Brin have sold hundreds of millions of dollars in company stock throughout 2013. The hosts interpret these sales as a hedge against a potential market collapse in October. They also discuss the possibility of Larry Summers being appointed to the Federal Reserve and the impact on financial stability.

eric schmidt· sergey brin· google· larry summers· stock market

1:46:44 You know, we are going into autumn and then winter. This could be a very, very cold, expensive winter for Europe. Well, that which brings me to the point about price of oil. Actually, natural gas right now is down to $3.59, down to... Yeah, this is horrible. ...a percent. It's horrible. But the price of crude oil is up to $108. Crude oil should be around $40, no matter what anyone likes to believe. It averages 40 bucks over the long haul and gets as low as 25. It's 108. So? That's groovy. You know, Eric Schmidt, I'm looking at a financial site. Eric Schmidt and Sergey have been taking out, well, just this recently, August 28th, Schmidt took out $73 million and Brin took out $71 million from the company.

1:47:44 Yeah, that's what you do when you know October is coming. Yeah, I know you can take it off the table, but Schmidt has been consistently doing this. Let me tell you, I don't know we shouldn't be talking tech on this show, but we can. Why? Who says we can't do that? I don't know, I'm just saying. So here it is, let's take a look. He sold $11 million. million dollars on the 28th and he sold 73 million dollars on the same day to transactions I guess. Then he sold 6 million, then he sold 54 million, then he sold 11 million, then he sold 17 million, then he sold 52 more million. In July he sold 4 million, 4 million, 68 million. He's got, what is this leftover, he's just selling like crazy. Yeah. He's been selling like crazy since

1:48:29 February 22nd when he sold 20 million. Cash is king baby, cash is king. He knows what's coming. He sees it, he sees it happening. He's definitely got a lot of cash on hand. This is what you do when you look September is always a bad month for the markets and you know it's a hedge. You got October coming up. What are you going to want to do if it all if it comes tumbling down and we don't get our Obama doesn't get his stuff done in Europe. It all starts to fall apart. We've got nothing. Yeah, and then they're gonna put Larry Summers in charge which will trigger the market to collapse in October. Yeah, I'm rooting for this FTA by the way. I'm all in on it. I'm rooting. I think I want it to happen. I generally just want people to live a happy life and you know screw it if your faucets on fire fracking rocks. This is good. Who cares if your water is explosive? What else are you gonna do?

CHAPTER 36 / 49 Discussion

PETA, War on Chicken and Male Development

A study commissioned by PETA and published in Women's Health magazine claims that pregnant women who eat chicken wings may have sons with smaller genitalia. The hosts dismiss this as "the war on chicken" and a form of dietary propaganda. They compare the "scientific evidence" to the rhetoric used in political conflicts.

peta· chicken wings· women's health· science· propaganda

1:49:26 Well, most of the stuff is North Dakota. Nobody cares. Yeah, well, but Texas is an interesting state because this is where it's all going to be shipped from. This is headquarters of this stuff. We're going to have the big storage tanks. Oh, that's interesting. Wasn't it Texas? Wasn't it that Mary down there that's a bottleneck that was exploited in the movie Rubicon? Oh, yes. At the end of the movie? Interesting. Yeah. At the end of the series. Yeah, the shipping lane or whatever. Right. People who haven't seen this in our movie, guys, should make sure you get episodes. People go get it from Amazon. If you have Prime, you get it free. It's a good story that teaches you a little bit of something. And meanwhile, there is other stuff going on in the world, ladies and gentlemen, and it's back! The War on Chicken. Hey, when you want to wage war on somebody, what you need is a study.

1:50:27 And whether you're doing a study on chemical weapons or whether you're doing a study on the future of families, which was a study commissioned by PETA, known as the People's Ethical Treatment of Animals, let me tell you what's going on. The latest scientific evidence, John, evidence! The science is in! Shows... that sons of pregnant women who consume chicken are more likely to have a smaller penis. What? Yes, if you are pregnant and you eat chicken, specifically chicken wings, according to the study, your unborn male child is more likely to have a small penis. How does that explain the Japanese? Do they eat a lot of chicken? No, that's the point.

CHAPTER 37 / 49 Discussion

Australian Elections, Clive Palmer and Media Sparring

Clive Palmer of the Palmer United Party engages in a heated interview on the Australian Today Show. The hosts admire the aggressive and unrehearsed nature of Australian political media compared to the U.S. Palmer accuses his opponents of being "rigged" and critiques the influence of Rupert Murdoch on the election.

clive palmer· australia· today show· kevin rudd· tony abbott

1:51:23 I'm just telling you the news. Well, that's the war on chicken, I think. I think you might be right. That's the best you can do. I got a better one. This is published in Women's Health magazine, by the way. They're just trying to kill chicken sales. They want to eat more beef. Yes. War on chicken. So, one of our listeners sent this, or one of our producers sent this in, and I couldn't, I clipped from it. In Australia, of course, the elections are coming up and you're going to have some commentary about it. I have the same. I wonder what you clipped from it. You have a very... Well, I clipped where they just started kind of kvetching. This is off... I did like... Maybe I have a better clip because I edited the clip and it's shorter. Oh, I don't think that needed editing.

1:52:11 Well you didn't have the whole thing with the guy did you? There's only two pieces. No no no no I just got the part. No no it's to be it takes three minutes before they start to bicker. I have it cut down to two clips 1 21 and 52 seconds but okay I'll go with you. Well my clip has got more continuity. You don't even know really because this is Clive Palmer who's of the Palmer United Party and this running for this is the guy who was bitching about a green peace being run by the Rockefeller Foundation Remember that yeah, he's a character He's like you said almost a billionaire. He's in the mineral business, and he's he's one of these colorful guys They have in Australia. We have very few of these people I mean Donald Trump comes the closest so

1:53:00 He gets into a beef with the guy in the Today Show, who I believe by the way, the Today Show there is so much different than our Today Show. They're always, they're a little more, I think they're more aggressive as interviewers. Well not only that, but what I found funny in this clip, and a number of people sent this to us, at the end, they're like, hey that was fun sparring with you. Yeah, okay, alright buddy, take care. And they're all like, they're all like good. Yeah, I know they enjoy this sort of thing in the United States everyone gets offended. Yeah, and well It's a scandal because we know how to promote stuff. Can you believe what does the rest of us off? It's all fixed. It's all rigged exactly. So this is unrehearsed.

CHAPTER 38 / 49 Discussion

Rupert Murdoch, Wendi Deng and Chinese Intelligence

Clive Palmer alleges that Rupert Murdoch's ex-wife, Wendi Deng, is a Chinese spy who funneled money to Chinese intelligence for years. He further claims Murdoch is using his media empire as a "plaything" to control Australian politics. The hosts discuss the "apparatchik" nature of modern media and the sensationalist claims surrounding the Murdoch divorce.

rupert murdoch· wendi deng· clive palmer· chinese spy· news corp

1:53:44 So they get into a little beef and he keeps telling the guy to bring up his game. And it starts with a discussion over the free, he's using his workers from his various corporations to man some boots at an event for free, not paying them. And then he wants to talk about other things including the revelation that... Don't say it, listen to it, it's funny. The serious side of it is that some workers say they fear for- Alright, now I'm gonna play my opening clip first because I think the setup was important what he said about Murdoch. It's now considered an outside chance to pick up a seat in the Senate. The leader of the party, Clive Palmer, joins me now from the Sunshine Coast. So he's talking about the fact that he may pick one Senate seat because that's what the polls indicate. Beautiful Sunshine Coast. Clive, good morning to you. How confident are you of that one Senate seat?

1:54:33 I'm not very confident at all, Carl. We're looking for about 10 Senate seats across Australia. That's what our polls are telling us. You're just reading the rubbish that Rupert Murdoch puts out. He owns NewsPoll, he owns GalaxyPoll, and he said he's going to support Tony Abbott as Prime Minister. He's sworn an oath of allegiance to a foreign country. He's not an Australian citizen. I thought that was interesting. So he's accusing Murdoch of, first of all, rigging the polls because he owns the polls. Essentially, he's defected from Australia, true. He's become an American citizen. He says he's put in editors who are not Australians into writing all of the propaganda. And he's helped bring over Obama's media team to help Kevin Rudd.

1:55:44 Yeah, I thought that was interesting. It was interesting, but I believe that these American consultants have long since gone to Australia to promote various individuals. They're hired guns. They get hired. I don't think it was really anything overtly done by us as a country. But anyway, so that was good. I should have probably put that in, but all I would like was the bickering. Sorry. Here we go. You've got the opportunity if you want to. The serious side of it is that some workers say they fear for their jobs in this instance. Will they be sacked if they don't work in the business? Well, that's their problem.

1:56:20 I fear for Australia with Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott, Abbott about to take $40 billion off the budget. No but if workers fear for their jobs it takes it into a whole different category. Come on Carl, lift your game mate, get into a national thing, don't get down there at the local issues, you're bigger than that. There are your employees if they fear for their job. Look, look, look, look, if I've done something illegal, go to the police, mate. Talk about some decent stuff on your program and your ratings will go through the floor. Do you expect people to work this for free this Saturday? I can predict it coming, John. People emailing us. Hey man, with your podcast, lift your game. You guys are sucking on that podcast lift your game mate Yeah, I think all Australians will vote freely. I don't want to pay anyone to vote Carl You know come on get serious. We're all right the front page of the Australia the front page of the Australian hasn't missed today I'm sure you're aware of Hedley Thomas very well respected Hedley Thomas writing he says today Hedley Thomas is like black caviar with a broken leg

1:57:20 What does that mean? Did he say black caviar with a broken... It's either black or bad, but I think it was black caviar with a broken leg. Hold on, black... What does that mean? I don't know, I'm looking it up. Black caviar with a broken leg. This is a true Australianism as if I've ever heard one. Top filthy... Oh, black caviar is a horse! Oh, that's very... I'm surprised you didn't know this, John. I am too now that you mentioned it. Unbeaten Philly black caviar. Okay, you look into that and we'll listen to the rest. Yeah, go. He's just working for Rupert because he doesn't want to get the sack. The Australian's not a newspaper, it's Rupert's plaything. Have a look at the Telegraph. Have a look at all the editorials. Can you answer these accusations? Can you answer some of these accusations though? Does running a viable soccer club on the go?

1:58:19 This is a great word. I think apparatchik is like the Russian... Yeah, it's a Russian stooge. But the way he says it sounds like an Indian squaw, an opera chick. Something in the way he says it is weird. It's a good word. Murdoch's wife, Wendy Dung, is a Chinese spy. And that's been right across the world. She's been spying on Rupert for years, giving money back to Chinese intelligence. Read the truth about it. in southern China. I'm telling you the truth. That's why Rupert Murdoch got rid of her. And that's the truth. This guy wants to control Australian politics. He wants to control what you think. Have a look at the newspapers. That's what he wants to do. Kevin Rudd brings over Obama's team. Now they're just getting back into it. I thought that was phenomenal. And there is some reporting on this.

CHAPTER 39 / 49 Discussion

San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, Budget Overruns and Chinese Steel

The new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opens six years behind schedule and five times over its original budget, costing $6.4 billion. The hosts note that the bridge was constructed using Chinese steel, meaning much of the taxpayer funding went to China. They cite this as a primary example of California's fiscal mismanagement.

bay bridge· san francisco· oakland· chinese steel· budget

1:59:21 albeit you know sketchy but I'm down with it. It makes sense. You look at her and you look at her history where she kind of because she did kind of come out of nowhere you know you just look at her you know that now she is riding that Rupert or was riding that Rupert rampant and you know I can just see the guy go I don't care what At least I'm having some fun here. So we need a new jingle. George Clooney is a spy and so is Rupert's wife. Totally. She actually, you know, we looked at the wife of this character, Blinken. Yeah. She actually looks like her. Yeah. Only she's Chinese. She's a Chinese version. I think that's funny. I think I just, you know, how come we can't have that?

2:00:19 You know, how come that we are the land of the free, home of the brave and we have all this free speech, but what goes on in Australia on television, that is free speech, mate. I like it. Much more hilarious than what we have. Anyway, if you play the rest of the clip, he also brings up, bring up your game again. I already dropped the clip. Yeah, it's okay. I do have one little piece of local news I want to play, just to let you know why California is going broke. Play the new bridge opens. Oh yes, I've heard about this thing. Yes, here we go. The largest self-anchored suspension bridge in the world opened for business in San Francisco today. Vehicles began crossing the new section of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge some six years behind schedule. The span costs six billion dollars, five times more than its original budget.

2:01:15 How much? How much more than its original budget? Five eggs. Wow. Six years behind schedule, five times the budget. Piece of crap. And isn't it all Chinese steel? Yeah, it's all Chinese. It's all the money went to China. Nice. Excellent. Good work. So we got the first teaser and it's going to be coming up on Saturday. I'm going to make sure to watch it. The new PBS NewsHour, that Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation went into. Yeah, to recap, the Gates Foundation came into the PBS NewsHour and brought in several million dollars per annum as long as they would do a medical update, a science segment.

CHAPTER 40 / 49 Discussion

PBS NewsHour Weekend, Bill Gates Foundation Influence

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has significantly influenced the PBS NewsHour by funding specific medical and science segments. A new "jazzy" weekend edition of the show, hosted by Hari Sreenivasan, is set to premiere. The hosts argue that large donors are "sexing up" the news to make it more appealing to their interests, potentially signaling the end of the traditional NewsHour format.

pbs newshour· bill gates· hari sreenivasan· judy woodruff· philanthropy

2:02:04 And of course, that's when the News Hour started covering Africa and basically anything the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation wanted them to cover. And this is not just me saying this. You can read about this in the post-mortem of the PBS News Hour show. And then essentially they went, well, we want to hip it up a bit because this is what always happens. I've seen it happen with nonprofits where you have like a big, a nonprofit will have a fundraising event. And you have the you know the the top fundraiser probably has a I am Generalizing has a trophy wife and the trophy wife is like we have to hip it up, honey We have to make it look a little better and then essentially the big the big donor says well look You know it's like my wife over here the Chinese spy. She you know she she wants to you know like let her let her let her Organize the the gala

2:02:58 That is how things start to suck so the they said we we are not going to put any more money into the news hour Because it's boring. Yeah, they wanted to sex it up. They did make some changes They colorized the backgrounds a little bit instead of being the boring blue and they make Judy Woodruff Blondie more colorful clothes, and that's about it really this is the promo and Well, this is the promo for this weekend show which they insisted on doing and the theory is that they're going to test market the weekend show with this guy's name I can never pronounce, but he's a good-looking multi-culti guy. And he is going to do a jazzier version of the weekday show and then I believe they're going to roll out the weekend show as the show eventually.

2:03:50 So this is a... This is the promo of the weekend show that Judy Woodruff announced on yesterday's show. And that's the NewsHour for tonight, but before we go, a reminder. We have good news if you're used to watching the PBS NewsHour Monday through Friday. Starting this weekend, you can find us Saturdays and Sundays as well. PBS NewsHour Weekend premieres this Saturday, September 7th. Join Hari Sreenivasan for a 30-minute look at the top news stories with the same in-depth, independent coverage you've come to expect from the NewsHour. That's PBS NewsHour Weekend premiering right here this Saturday. Check your local listings. I'm Judy Woodruff. Yeah, hello. This is Bill Gates. Yeah, we can't pronounce the Harley Kooloogie Loggie's name.

2:04:40 You know the new guy, the multi-culti guy? We need him to change his name. Okay. You watch. Could be. They're gonna fire him. It's possible. Yeah, get rid of him. I don't know why they didn't change his name and make it more easy for people. Anyway, so this will be the beginning of the end for the news hour, which is kind of a shame because they do actually cover the news. They bring people on and they chat with them and most of the time the guests are lame. It doesn't really contribute anything, but at least they do something. They just don't rattle off a bunch of little short snippets. Anyway, that's your update for the day.

CHAPTER 41 / 49 Discussion

San Francisco Privacy Rally, Liberal Protest Apathy

An account of a privacy rally in San Francisco describes a poorly organized protest where attendees were asked for their email addresses at a privacy event. Protesters, including Daniel Ellsberg, marched to Nancy Pelosi's closed office on a Sunday while following traffic signals. The hosts mock the "retarded" level of modern liberal protest, which they view as ineffective and performative.

san francisco· nancy pelosi· daniel ellsberg· nsa· whistleblowers

2:05:22 Alright, I have a new jingle which hopefully I'll be able to use sometime in November. Of course now it's failing to play. Here we go. It's another installment of... BOTS! That's right. Dinner with the O-Bots. And I got an email regarding the most recent dinner. I thought maybe I'd share it with the group. Yes. This is from producer Drew. On liberal protests. Because you know, I was complaining that there didn't seem to be much of a protestoral vibe going on at all. Your words about American, particularly progressive, apathy made me think you'd appreciate an account of an event which I don't think made any press anywhere. About a month ago, another one of these countrywide email-list organized protests with speakers and advance reservations went down, so I decided to see how the San Francisco hippies were taking their glorious leader's betrayal.

2:06:17 And also I wanted to hear Daniel Ellsberg speak, who apparently was at the protest. Are you familiar with this protest, John? There was some protest... No, I don't get... You know, it's like one of those things that have been taken off the mailing list. Because this was you know, it's in San Francisco's you're back. I would have gone you should know the first thing I noticed when I showed up was a guy with a clipboard Asking people to please give them their names and email addresses this at a privacy rally That is pretty good. There was like it there was even a suspiciously foppish Brit telling everyone through a giant voice system I think you can trust these guys and everybody laughed. It's the one thing I don't have a recording of that I wish I did

2:06:57 Well, the speakers ended up sucking. This horrible woman, whose only claim to fame was having Eric Schwartz for a client, until yack he wasn't anymore, to gnarly program the very white crowd with FACTS. Her big finish was threatening to vote Pelosi out. Then a documentary filmmaker was very nervous. The whistleblower from AT&T basically said a lot of, I told you so. And Ellsberg repeatedly propagated the myth you debunked regarding the president's plane being forced down. Very surreal. After that the protest was underway. First the aforementioned British person started handing out whistles to the assembled crowd. Ooh, nice. This made us all honorary whistleblowers. Oh, I thought they were going to use it like they do in Europe where they just blow on these whistles. Yeah, no, you're a whistleblower if you're blowing on the whistle.

2:07:49 Oh, please. Down from the public square we marched along the street, but not in it, of course, blowing our whistles and chanting our chants. These were also led by the Brit on the megaphone, which was a huge mistake. He just did not have the voice for it. Making matters worse, I don't know who actually came up with the slogans, but a few highlights include, 2-4-6-8, this is worse than Watergate. And, hey, hey NSA, stop your spying, go away! No secret laws, no secret courts, no secret surveillance. And my favorite, 1984 no more. Cutting stuff. We tramp right down on the sidewalk, actually stopping for the effing traffic lights, if you can believe it. Who the hell stops at traffic lights in San Francisco anyway? We get down to Pelosi's office and it's closed because it's Sunday.

2:08:47 This obviously could not have escaped the notice of the organizers of the protest, but they held it there anyway. They left a giant poster board for people to write their comments on, promised to hand deliver it to her in the morning, and that was it. Protest completed. Everybody time to go home. And then, one last thing, they had everyone take out their cell phones in order to take down Pelosi's DC office number so that they could then call her the next day. What a bunch of retards. And that is the liberal protest, the level of liberal protest we're seeing. I missed it. You could have been a part of it, John. You could have been. Probably not. I think it was on Sunday. We did a show. The bridge was still closed.

CHAPTER 42 / 49 Discussion

Marie Harf, State Department Semantics and Drinking Games

State Department spokesperson Marie Harf is criticized for her use of the phrase "broadly speaking" and her ability to argue semantics without providing concrete information. A producer suggests a drinking game based on her repetitive rhetoric. The hosts discuss her role as a "perfect" spokesperson for an administration that avoids direct answers.

marie harf· state department· drinking game· semantics· propaganda

2:09:40 on the Noah Chandler Show. Well I got a- Sorry, sorry. Whoops, no, I got an email before we go into the donation segment that came in from one of our- I'm not gonna say who it is because I didn't get permission to say who it is, but it's one of our better producers. I've been watching these pressers with Maria Harf. Oh my goodness. Oh, I know the email you talk of. You speak of, yes. Yes, he sent us a nice collage. It's a very funny email. Thank you so much for turning me on to that. New drinking game. Every time she says broadly speaking, you have to take a shot.

2:10:20 If she could stop talking for long enough, I would fuck her. They put her in there because they need someone that will speak in a really confusing way and argue semantics ad nauseum. And at the end of the day, she's not really said anything. And if she does screw up and say something, it's wrapped in so much ridiculousness, you can't trust it. She is perfect. She has a job for life. Yeah, I agree. I think she is perfect. I think she had notched now that I read this letter. I think she is perfect. She had we I we criticize her for being incompetent But perhaps that's exactly what she's supposed to be doing and he sent us a collage of her like six or seven different outfits and her in Like she has something weirdly attractive about her doesn't she?

CHAPTER 43 / 49 Discussion

Producer Donations, Mr. Focker the Cat and Yahoo Mail Spam

Chad Biederman sends a letter thanking the hosts for "karma" that helped his cat, Mr. Focker, recover from illness. He also notes that Yahoo Mail is filtering certain newsletters into spam while the No Agenda newsletter remains visible. Other donors from London, Lisbon, and Amsterdam are acknowledged for their support of the "best podcast in the universe."

chad biederman· mark maron· yahoo mail· karma· amsterdam

2:11:08 Yeah, and then some of her looks. Yeah. So the look that she puts on at the steak department with the schoolmarm glasses and the stupid hairdo, I think she's unattractive. But then if you look at some of her other looks that she's done, she looks pretty good. So this whole thing is rigged. I'm gonna show my school by donating to No Agenda. Imagine all the people who could do that. Oh yeah, that'd be fab. Yeah, on No Agenda. Read the first donation which has no note and then I'll go get the note for the second donation. I may have the note. What do you have? What what's it? What do we have here? I have a John Donovan's note. I believe I think I have everything. Yeah.

2:11:54 uh... just double check because there was emails to find no i don't look at it not see a john donovan no but i i don't john donahue came in with a hundred eighty dollars a sixty six i don't know how i have a i have the jordan de moss note which we had uh... and i have you that one yeah okay night okay well we can find a note for you john uh... but chad biederman did send in a tight written letter uh... in the morning uh... armand and here Might read like a drunk letter, but I'm not drunk. Wanted to thank you for the karma you gave me a couple of years ago for my cat, Mr. Focker. Oh yes. At the time, I seriously thought I was going to have to put him down. But thanks to no agenda karma, I found a vet who found out what was wrong with him. He's still happy and healthy to this day. Really? Well, as happy as my house cat can ever be at least.

2:12:47 Had been doing the $4 a week donation for a while, but had been thinking about donating more for a while now these things Motivated me to get off my butt one seconds before Adam played jingles of his choice on 541 I thought to myself. I haven't heard the weekly hooker report anymore Imagine my surprise when Adam immediately played the obscure jingle. I just thought of Obviously a sign for me to write my check. Interesting that there are people who actually think about these things. Imagine my surprise. Yes. Listening to show 542 right after 541, and like another listener, I didn't want to be mistaken as French.

2:13:32 Because I didn't donate who likes the French nobody That she donation drop-off likely caused by the spam filtering changes by Google and Yahoo I use Yahoo mail But I have steadily received the no agenda newsletters in my inbox despite your address not being included in my contacts list go figure I'm one of the lucky ones I have however notice that the mark Maron WTF newsletters are being dumped in my spam folder So definitely something going on And then he goes on with some other... The Mark Maron podcast, by the way, is high on the ObamaBots list. Oh, is it? Yes, it is a huge... So, Maron... What? Is he an ObamaBot? I don't know if he is, but I know that this is seen as a fantastic, hilarious podcast.

2:14:25 by a chatty german came in there with a hundred twenty dollars uh... from uh... around the area okay also on the list we had andrew green underdose in london a link you who i vote blom yet you know people bloom and i think you will bloom bloom and he had a note and i care told me that find a note is a refund i've been doing it he forces of the donate for quite some time now five dollars a month As reality hit me, that is only 3.88 euros. That was too much of a steal for all the work you gents put into the best podcast in the universe, so I've decided to up the plan to 11.11. The show helps me through my daily commute, gives me twice a day a moment of quality time for myself. This and all hectic of the busy sales job and birth 13 months ago of the biggest joy of my life are human resource Liam Kick.

2:15:19 The extra today is a big extra. Thank you also for the super fast free Wi-Fi at Schiphol Airport Thank you very much, and he says big kniffle for miss Mickey Mimi and yourselves from all of us So make sure you give Mimi a dick a kniffle I'll do that. Uh-huh, I bet you will. And then next on the list is Gregory Lawrence. Wow, we dropped down to the swazzle-nuffs quick on today's list. Oops. Yes, it went quick, it went fast. I'm sitting at the airport bar, one of seven people in the U.S. watching CNN who is showing the House and Armed Services Committee asking John F. Kerry questions about Syria. And that's all he's got to say because there's no end to the sentence. Can you please tell us that, the? Okay.

CHAPTER 44 / 49 Discussion

Grand Duke Ron Palsmuker, Knighting of Jim Mann

Grand Duke Ron Palsmuker and other high-level donors are recognized for their contributions. Dame Melody, the "Lady of the Loom," requests a knighthood for her husband, Jim Mann, for his support during her cancer treatment and his family's medical crises. The hosts agree to knight him as "Sir Jim" in a surprise ceremony.

ron palsmuker· jim mann· dame melody· knighthood· afghan

2:16:06 Anyway, great. I don't know why they didn't come through Andrew Terry in Brackley North and Hampshire UK just a braille in Lisbon Portugal He also has a birthday thing coming up. Oh the Grand Duke Stephen Pell's mockers. Hold on a second. Hold on a second Wow, I was not prepared for this as you know, he is our top patron and My Lords, Dames, Knights, Slaves and Elites, please be upstanding for another donation from the Grand Duke, Ron Palsmuker. Jarrus Corporation in Arlington, Virginia. We need more money from Arlington, Virginia. Wink wink. Sam Manor in Box Hill, South Victoria. And finally Sir Brian Barrow in Wooten Basset. Oops. As a matter of fact. And is that the last one?

2:17:08 That is a yes indeed it is. 69! 69 dudes! And then we have a Mac Tank who came with 69-0-0 and then finally we have a bunch of 66-66ers. For our 6th anniversary coming up. October 26th. And we are looking forward to getting everyone on board on this little 6666 meme hi, there's more of Carlos in Hong Kong hi, Helia Dio sarin in Coral Springs, Florida Simon ox to be in Fairfield Queensland Australia Esther O'Neilly I guess is O'Neilly in another what Hong Kong again interesting

2:17:54 Okay, Julie from, oh she's, this is Julie from Hong Kong but it comes in as Esther. So she's Julie from Hong Kong. Makes so much sense. Well, it makes sense to the people at PayPal who won't update anything by the way. Anonymous from Maryland, good. They're all wishing us happy, six more. John Huzzar in Walnut Creek, California. Todd Creamer in Watsonville, California. Says more than I pay for serious radio, but better content. Yeah, give him a karma at the end Wiley Harp South Salt Lake City, Utah's Sir Paige snakes in Amsterdam. Yes Pista hide you okay. This is a this one. You're gonna have to help me Pista had to from Vorondal well, I I got the food and down and

2:18:47 Which is the Netherlands, but Pista Hajdu is not a Dutch name. Not a Dutch name. Not a Dutch name at all. In the morning guys, so good all your newsletters. I said old school pop three. Wow, that is old school. Please keep hitting it in the mouth. Yeah, you got it. Thank you very much, Pista. Anonymous from Leechburg, Pennsylvania. Simon Reed from New York City. Let's remember Scott Soltis who just skipped over from Minneapolis. Oh, Scott Soltis in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Nuts. Chris Ball in Chicago, Illinois. Simon Marchiniak. in Poland, oh that's nice, 6666. Says I've got the newsletter, actually read the promotions tab. Well that's great, 39%. In Poland, it would be one of our few Polish nights. Robert Lee in Clinton, North Carolina. Magic Tongue in New York City. Magic Tongue, spreading the love. Magic Tongue in New York City. Spreading the love. I'll bet. Jonas Astrum in

2:19:51 Vista Bolton in Sweden just getting by in Maplewood, Minnesota nuts Ned Jeffrey and Durrell's New South Wales Werner flips in in a bear shun hook bear bear shun hook bear shun bear shun hook now I'm not gonna read that note because I don't know if people want him to know the one thing If he wants people to know that he's the guy. No, no, no, no, no, no, it does not get read. No, good. And Brandon Young, 6666, finally, from Fayetteville, Arkansas. And we want to thank them for helping us on the 6660 thing. 6666 bandwagon, jeez. Aaron Magolfin, 6237, from Woodstock, Ontario. Christopher Mc...

2:20:39 in Lewisham, Australia, $55. Susan and Ralph Beardsley from Colorado, and she sent a note in, Susan did, thanks for the Mile High City. Okay, very nice note. Christopher Walker, 50 bucks. Matthew Janiszewski in Chicago, Illinois, 50. And these are the last 50s. And we've got Justin Fiore in Denver, Colorado. Brett Farrell, as usual, from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. And finally, Brian Watson in Raleigh, North Carolina. These are the people that helped us out on show 545. We want to remind people we've got 546 coming up on Sunday. And I want to thank everyone.

CHAPTER 45 / 49 Discussion

PayPal OFAC Regulations, Amsterdam Photography Exhibit

A listener in Berlin reports that PayPal limited his account for "OFAC regulation" screening despite only using it for No Agenda subscriptions. The hosts discuss the erosion of privacy and the potential for being flagged as a "terrorist risk." Additionally, a promotion is read for artist Tanya Long's photography exhibit at the Huis Marseille Museum in Amsterdam.

paypal· ofac· amsterdam· huis marseille· privacy

2:21:20 Dvorak.org slash NA, noagendashow.com, noagendasnation.com or channeldvorak.com slash NA to help us out. And I have a couple of extra notes here that popped up and I have a feeling that Eric is not getting my emails. I'm not sure if he's seeing everything. I've also, I've like emailed him three times, like where do I send the chocolate that I brought back from Europe? He's not getting back to me. So either he hates me or... I would say that would be it. Okay, because I sent these in and I don't think he's putting them on a list. Dear Adam, my husband Yoss made two recent donations to the No Agenda show. His PayPal name was mentioned VVVVLO, remember that one from Thursday? Yes. But his note was not read. In fact, you asked John if there was a note and he said no!

2:22:08 I have pasted the note below. I didn't say it with that kind of enthusiasm. I have pasted the note below. Could you guys deduce yourselves by reading it in the next show? I'd love to. Hello Adam John, my American wife Tanya Long and picture here at our wedding in 2009. MILF! That's one mother I'd like to have. has her first big opening as an artist as part of the Rediscovery of the World exhibit opening in Amsterdam at the Huis Marseille Museum for Photography this coming Saturday. This is why it was important that he wanted us to read this. That is Saturday the 7th. It would be great to see some No Agenda producers there if they're in the area, so a shout-out would be greatly appreciated by the both of us. We're tired of living the starving artist's dream of just getting by.

2:22:57 And so here's the regular promotion etc etc kind regards from your son felt over and I'm toven the Netherlands PS other no agenda listeners in the Eindhoven best area should look me up at sex sexy say faith a faith a low There you go. That was Tanya who was rather upset that her husband's note wasn't Wasn't read and then I have we also have a note from Dame Melody. Do you get the one? Yeah, I guess yeah Yeah in the morning when I sent John his Afghan I include appreciate by the way Yeah, this is a day melody lady of the lady of the loom who has done Afghan for you and for miss Mickey and I

2:23:40 I included a letter which he apparently overlooked! Yeah, that's what it sounds like. Then I sent it again in an email when he thanked me for the blanket. Again, I can only assume he overlooked it. Here's attempt number three. Adam, I know I can count on you. She didn't put that in there, but... That's what she would think. Yeah, I didn't see that either. As an anniversary gift, I would like to have my personal knight in shining armor, Jim Mann, awarded a knighthood. In addition to seeing me through the cancer treatment, he was also making the nine-hour drive between Shreveport and Atlanta, sometimes twice a week, to see his brother in ICU, who was not expected to live.

2:24:17 All of this and traveling for work as well. He did this for three months at great cost, financial, physical and mental and emotional. I'm actually kind of emotional from reading this. Happily, I'm in remission and his brother made a miraculous recovery. It's deserved karma here. Beautiful. He has already met the contribution level long before I managed it, but he'll never be the one to seek the title. I can't access his accounting as that will spoil the surprise. So I'm asking you to take the word of a dame and I'll send the proof afterward. Thank you, Dame Melody, Lady of the Loom." Well, of course we... First of all, we trust you implicitly and we'd love to knight Jim. And she didn't leave a... What did you want him to be? We'll just make him Lord Jim, Knight of the No Agenda Roundtable. That's a beautiful story.

2:25:11 Yes, and that was very sweet and then a little troubling from Christian from Berlin Adam and John the only thing I use my PayPal account for is this subscription to no agenda yesterday I got this message to keep our customers secure. We regularly screen activity in the PayPal systems during a recent screening We identified activity that may be in violation of the United States regulation administered by the Department of the Treasury Office of foreign assets control OFAC We're committed to meeting the OFAC's regulations, one regulation is to ensure that our customers are compliant with applicable laws and regulations, including those set forth by the OFAC. So they limited my account until I send them an ID. Now what I'm worried about here is if he has only used this account for the no agenda subscription, are we now seen as a terrorist risk somehow?

2:26:05 No, this is funny though because what it indicates, I mean I've seen this happen before, people are trying to send money from outside the country to the US of A. Right, which you would think would be a good thing. You'd think would be a good thing but they're blocking it. Why? Are they, it's not like people at some sleazeball In the US of A, shipping money to somebody in some terrorist operation in Somalia. This is money coming in, this is net worth to the country. It's important. It's just baffling. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever. But I would more, but really it's like, so they were, we were just regularly screening. So this is the kind of thing, this is why privacy matters people. Okay?

2:26:56 So this email could easily have been, hey, we're Google and we were just doing one of our regular screenings through your email and we saw these words that we thought were kind of a little off and weird. So just to make sure that you're protected, we've sent it over to the FBI. It's the same thing. It's exactly the same thing. So don't worry about your privacy or anything like that. Well, we have a couple of... so we have two... we have... we're going to knight Jim Mann and of course we proudly give Jordan DeMoss his Lord of the Admiralty and Baronet of the Breweries title and we appreciate your support. Please continue to support us on Sunday. We have to figure out if we can do anything about our connection and stuff that's been kind of weird for the past few weeks.

CHAPTER 46 / 49 Discussion

Technical Issues, Cable Company Ditch Diggers and BGP Routing

The hosts discuss ongoing technical issues with their connection, blaming the "ditch digger" mentality of major cable companies like Time Warner and Comcast. Adam Curry recalls similar infrastructure struggles during the early days of MTV. They explore the possibility of using private BGP routing or sysadmin assistance to stabilize the show's broadcast.

time warner cable· comcast· bgp routing· mtv· infrastructure

2:26:05 No, this is funny though because what it indicates, I mean I've seen this happen before, people are trying to send money from outside the country to the US of A. Right, which you would think would be a good thing. You'd think would be a good thing but they're blocking it. Why? Are they, it's not like people at some sleazeball In the US of A, shipping money to somebody in some terrorist operation in Somalia. This is money coming in, this is net worth to the country. It's important. It's just baffling. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever. But I would more, but really it's like, so they were, we were just regularly screening. So this is the kind of thing, this is why privacy matters people. Okay?

2:26:56 So this email could easily have been, hey, we're Google and we were just doing one of our regular screenings through your email and we saw these words that we thought were kind of a little off and weird. So just to make sure that you're protected, we've sent it over to the FBI. It's the same thing. It's exactly the same thing. So don't worry about your privacy or anything like that. Well, we have a couple of... so we have two... we have... we're going to knight Jim Mann and of course we proudly give Jordan DeMoss his Lord of the Admiralty and Baronet of the Breweries title and we appreciate your support. Please continue to support us on Sunday. We have to figure out if we can do anything about our connection and stuff that's been kind of weird for the past few weeks.

2:27:48 What do you think? No. No? It has to be the real one? Matthew Sleiter congratulates himself today being the 5th of September Dame Joan D'Adreferre. This is happy birthday to her son Griffin he turns 15 tomorrow. Hylia Desaurian congratulates herself today being her birthday on the 5th and Joost Abreu also celebrating today. Happy birthday from all your buddies here at the best podcast in the universe.

2:28:31 Alright, now let's have Jim. Now does he qualify as a Black Knight? Or since we didn't screw it up, did we? He's just... We can give him a Black Knight because I screwed up. I didn't read all these notes. Yeah, that's true. I think we should give... I think he deserves a Black Knighthood. Yeah, I think it's totally, totally... Alright, Jim Mann! Hey! I don't know if you want to participate in a hookers and blow, because, you know... The Lady of the Loom is here at the table, Dame Melody, but... For you, sir, a rare Black Knighthood, you're hereby Sir Jim, Knight of the Noah Jenderon Table! Come on over! And, uh... Well, please enjoy...

2:29:16 If you want your hookers and blow your red boys and chardonnay hot pants and booze long hard heavy meddling guys sweatshirts and beer Rubin S and with a guy she's talking about the middle of markets and bourbon sparking side of the mutton and mead Exactly. Oh, it's been a challenging day so far. Yeah, it happens once in a while. It does people support us even more Yeah, well, whatever happens. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. That's my problem I just know what to do about it Happy New Year having checked it with the pings and the dings and all the rest of it I bet you there is something going on between these two systems. Oh, that's not so unsurprising I mean they're both they're both cable companies. You know they're ditch diggers. They hate each other used to say back in the day when at MTV in the early days We'd have to so and this is 1987 1988

2:30:11 We had just gotten onto basic cable and it was touch and go because you'll remember when cable came around, John, people, the television industry laughed at it. They were like, If this is not real no advertisers didn't know how to advertise and no one could figure out exactly what it was. It was very strange. Right? And when it began it used to be called community television. Exactly. It wasn't even the cable industry. It was the guys who would out in the suburbs were trying to get a better signal. From you know so they put up these big you know these big receivers And then they would send the cable signal to the locals they would that you get a really good signal when you're in a fringe Area that was the original idea yeah, and and these guys there were tons of them They had their little little networks And there were bigger ones and smaller ones and they've all since been rolled up into these you know couple of conglomerates But back in the day we'd talk about them as ditch diggers and ditch diggers But then we'd have to go out and blow them

2:31:12 to make sure they kept us on, kept our signal on. And so now you know the mentality is still, I think it's still ditch digger mentality. I don't know, but it's a tail wagging the dog where the TV stations would say, guy can you put us on your thing please, please, please, we'll give you money if you carry us. Right. And then it switched around where the cable company is saying, if you pay us we'll put you on. Right, right, right. And now, you know, they run the infrastructure. And so we've got a crappy cable system running your internet and I've got a crappy, although I'm generally happy, but they still have to connect somewhere. And our connection has not been groovy.

2:32:03 No, you're breaking up now. Yeah, so I think what I'm gonna have to do is I'm gonna have to find, I'm gonna have to proxy out somehow and we'll figure something. It's been like this for a month. And by the way, they do this to their customers all the time. Yeah, so you go up to the business class. No, but no, no, no. Forget that. Witness Time Warner, my cable company, who just said, screw you customers, we're taking CBS and Showtime off our system. We don't care what you want to watch. Which is ludicrous. It's back now. But we don't care what you want to watch. So they may be in some kind of tiff over peering with Comcast. Who knows? Maybe one of our sysadmins or network admins can tell us and can really help us out.

2:32:45 In fact, we should be able to, you know, we should have sysadmins who can help us with private routing. I'm telling you this can be done. At the BGP level, we can have some kind of, just for us even, it can be done. It's funny how there's never a cool sysadmin working at Time Warner Cable who sends us an email. Some guys go through there, but they never stick around. It must be boring. It must be horrible. Well, we'll see. We'll see what we can do. We're gonna have to fix it one way or the other. Or we just quit the show. Because, uh... It's not really working. I think we'd go broke. Quite rapidly, yes.

CHAPTER 47 / 49 Discussion

Anthony Weiner, Deli Confrontation and Political Decline

Anthony Weiner is filmed in a heated verbal altercation with a patron at a New York City deli. The hosts describe the incident as a "train wreck" and a sign of Weiner's total political and personal decline. They speculate on his future and the "intensely sad" nature of his public outbursts.

anthony weiner· new york city· deli· rosh hashanah· train wreck

2:33:28 What you got here Johnny boy, I got I got maybe one or two things we do we spend a lot of time Well, there's the wiener meltdown. Of course. Everyone saw this. Did you see it? Yeah. Yeah, leave that for what it is I thought you know, I didn't think the wiener thing in the you're talking about him doing the Caribbean accent No, I'm talking about him yelling at the he had got into a verbal fight at a deli in New York Oh, you know, I didn't never got to see that. I think you should play it. Oh, oh You're fine.

2:34:22 This goes on for like two and a half minutes where it's this guy saying look you're just douche essentially you're saying you're scumbag I think is what he said and wiener kept saying You know, you don't judge me. Did your rabbi tell you to judge me? And of course, it's Rosh Hashanah, you know, so this is like Jews at their worst in a deli, one Jew yelling at another Jew. And it's just, it's like a train wreck.

2:34:59 It is a total... What did we put in the book for when he kills himself, Weiner? We don't have a date. We do have a... I think it was before the end of the year that you said, maybe. Because it's so... I know, it's leading up to it because he's off the rails. I mean, this is one of those fights you just don't have. If you are... No, you walk. Yeah, of course. It's really like, oh my gosh. And he's just, everyone's just deserted the guy. I mean, he's got interns showing up to rallies to make it look like somebody's there. It's really intensely sad, I'll have to say. Boy, I'm really with the New World Order today.

CHAPTER 48 / 49 Discussion

Fukushima Radiation, BBC Disinformation and Beta Particles

The BBC reports a massive spike in radiation at the Fukushima nuclear plant, claiming it could kill a person in four hours. The hosts debunk the report, noting that the radiation is 100% beta particles, which can be shielded by paper and only travel a short distance. They characterize the news as disinformation designed to promote alternative energy sources like natural gas.

fukushima· tepco· bbc· beta radiation· radiation poisoning

2:35:46 I'm liking the president, I find Wiener sad, I don't know what to do with myself. You've been drugged my friend. Drugged. I'm telling you, Miss Mickey has drugged me and I have not recovered. Alright, I do have, here you go, this was a little tidbit that I wanted to pick up on. I'm sure you've heard about, although it's hard to get any other kind of news other than the You know, are we going to kill people in Syria or not? But I have a little bit of data on another one of these fake Ashima reports. Now we'll go back to events in the Middle East a little bit later on in the program. In the meantime, we've got some news just coming in from Japan where the radiation reading at a water tank at the ruined Fukushima nuclear power plant has risen by

2:36:35 18 times. Now on Saturday, yesterday, the level of radiation near the bottom of the tank was strong enough to kill an exposed person in four hours. The operator of the plant, Tepco, has said that a new leak's been detected from a pipe connecting two other tanks. So they interrupted the BBC News to bring you this breaking report that there's radiation that can kill a person within four hours. And what happened? Apparently they were only measuring 100 mSv per hour, but they were using an old-fashioned detector and it only went to 100. When they got one that went to 11 or whatever, it turns out it was 1800 mSv per hour. 18 times! Now here is the problem that was not reported as the measured dose rate

2:37:32 was 100% beta radiation measured at a distance of 70 micrometers from the radioactive material. Beta radiation can be shielded by a piece of paper and only travels about 1 to 2 meters in dry air. So yeah, if you took that, it was in a puddle, if you put your face in the puddle, licked it for 4 hours, you might get sick. But the BBC has to propagandize this as some huge thing and it's just more disinformation. Setting us up for more gas usage essentially. I need a jingle for this fake Ishima stuff.

CHAPTER 49 / 49 Discussion

Outro, James Bond Martini Clip and Sign-off

The hosts conclude the episode by anticipating the results of the G20 summit and potential military action in Syria. They play a classic James Bond clip regarding a dry martini. Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak sign off, reminding listeners to support the show via their various websites.

james bond· martini· g20· september 11· sign-off

2:38:17 I think that you've now, by doing it, going back to the well on Fukushima and actually becoming an Obama bot, literally on the show. But I'm fighting... And the other stuff, the other one you mentioned. What? It's like, I don't know what's happened. But wait a minute, I'm going back to the well saying that this is bull crap. Yeah, but it's like you're compounding your position on these things. It's just like, this is not the, Adam, we expected with the flying saucers and the cars that run on water and some of these other crazy things. But wait a minute, I want- I want the car on water, back to that.

2:39:03 No, I want I want my in my pickup truck to run on wood. That's what I want the gas You know you could probably work that out. I mean there was a lot of cars that were running on wood You have to have a fireman in the back. I'm sorry well. I'll tell you what then why don't we just Quit quit while we're ahead all right. Let's pay attention to see what happens with With the G20 with we probably won't get much before I would be surprised if we were dropping bombs by Sunday Let's see what happens on the we'll see the 11th is Tuesday yeah, okay, we'll see that's what it's gonna be a something's gonna go on. It's expected by then yes

2:39:45 You can play the little clip by, for people who want to record these things. I did, I was watching a Bond movie and I got this, I've always wanted to get this clip because it's always been funny. You can put that at the end of the show. And uh... If I could see which one it was... It's called, uh... My Martini is Still Dry. Alright. Very famous clip from one of the Bond films. I guess what it is. And um... Can't think of anything else. All right, coming to you from... I know there's something we're forgetting. Yeah, probably. But we'll figure it out on Sunday. We'll be here. Remember us, Dvorak.org. Thanks for hanging in there, chat room. Coming to you from Austin Tejas in the morning, I'm Adam Curry. And from Northern Silicon Valley, I'm John C. Dvorak. We'll be back on Sunday, right here on NO Agenda.

2:40:55 How reckless of me! I made you all wet! Yes, but my martini's still dry. My name's James. Hello, James. Adios, mofo.