Of Spies and Fake News
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3913524/The-extraordinary-intimate-Trump-family-photos-THRIFT-SHOP-showing-Donald-s-softer-side.html
The topics of spies and fake stories have been much in the news of late. They have of course been centred on the process to elect a new American President and Donald Trump in particular.
It is clear that his election to what is described as "the most powerful position in world", has upset a lot of well-made plans of mice and men. Other aphorisms come to mind: 'A bull in a china shop' and 'fox amongst the chickens' seem particularly appropriate to me - on many levels!
A very brief, and therefore admittedly superficial, summary may be in order to try to get a grip on the essentials. It has been said that politics and prostitution are very alike, except that the former is much dirtier. These events appear to prove it true.
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Across the Western World, Government has lost its shine. Indeed for one reason or another, politicians and the machinery of government itself, is in crisis. Wherever one looks, government and its political leaders have reached a nadir of public confidence and approval. Merkel in Germany, Hollande in France, May in Britain, Obama and Trump in America, to mention but a few. Scepticism and distrust appear to have reached epidemic and endemic proportions throughout the world.
Why this should be, is put down to various causes, one of them being the 'alternative media' and rise of the Internet. Certainly 'news' and opinion is now much more difficult to control, and particularly that which reflects badly on those in positions of power.
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No wonder there is now so much emphasis placed by them on "Fake News" and the need to control it. Many would see it merely as a thinly veiled attempt to curtail freely expressed opinion and the very opposite of fake news - the truth. Few politicians subscribe to Oliver Cromwell's instruction to "paint me, worts and all" it seems.
There is little doubt that this has had a corrosive effect on the respect and deference in which they are held but it is a process that has a much longer ontology dating back to the satire shows and publications of the 1960's, although the genre is much older still - Punch and the cartoonists of the eighteenth century are British examples.
BMS.6546 (etching) Thomas Rowlandson, Political Affection. London: John Hanyer, 22 April 1784.
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"All is fair in love and war" and currently America is at war with itself. Nor is love completely out of the question. Trump rode to victory on being anti-establishment and "draining the Washington swamp". It is therefore hardly surprising that the dirty tricks and opposition have emanated from both Democratic and Republican circles. There are suggestions that State organs such as the CIA and FBI might also be implicated in trying to undermine his position.
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Central to the current debacle was the story of lewd goings on in Moscow hotels. Note how it played to other promoted themes such as the threat from Russia and his affinity with President Putin. It comes only weeks after highly damaging revelations flowing from Wikileaks publication of hundreds of thousands of private E-mails that implicated Hillary Clinton's Chief of Staff, John Podesta was linked into a child abuse network behind a front of Pizza businesses.
https://i1.wp.com/www.newnationalist.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/pizzagate-compilation.jpg?resize=600%2C350
This and further evidence of the misuse of a private server for official secret communication, suspicious deaths linked to the Clintons, corrupt payments and laundering through the Clinton Foundation and other disreputable actions, all conspired to interfere with the Clinton supremacy that had been projected and supported by the media machine.
Whatever one might think of Trump, it cannot be denied he won despite all the odds. We may not like all his opinions and rhetoric but we can not help but like the fact that there is a glimmer of hope that international tensions might possibly be reduced by his election and that his unconventional approach may possibly disrupt what has emerged as a malign and dangerous cabal intent on war.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2017/01/12/Steele-Trump-large_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqSFXWNnhoSSUDZbpG8a9LxFe3EUkzYjpuremyrIsmq5I.jpg
It appears that central to what was intended as salacious and highly damaging information on Trump's sexual behaviour in Moscow originated with an ex- British MI6 officer, Chris Steele (52) who had been a Second Secretary at the British Embassy there as part of his twenty years employment and subsequently on leaving in 1999 had started his own (with another ex-British spy Christopher Burrows) his own lucrative private investigation businesses. These were "Orbis Business Intelligence" and "Walsingham Training" located respectively nearby Buckingham Palace and in Eastleigh, Hampshire the Times reports. (See foot notes)
Steele had followed a very traditional spy route from Cambridge - he was president of the debating society - and into the Foreign Office. He therefore presumably has some very useful contacts in high places.
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When Chris Steele's name and identity entered the public domain (and that in itself raises a question) he precipitously with his second wife and children from his previous marriage (his first wife died in 2009 following a brief illness) set off from his Surrey home, reputedly because he was fearful for his health and safety.
Now when someone as deeply embedded in covert activities runs for cover from what he sees as real risk, you had better take it seriously. It begs the question from what direction it might come? The FSB is one obvious source but previous experience would suggest it tends to target Russian emigres it perceives as traitors. Would it go for an Englishman living in England who arguably has only damaged the reputation of an American?
Alexander Litvinenko
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If as is suggested he wrote the report at the request of first disaffected Republicans and later Democrats, to damage Trumps chances in respectively the Primaries and then General Election, why might a threat come from that quarter? Would it be to prevent further details emerging as to who (the CIA or Military?) that was behind it?
Or might it even be that he saw a threat coming from British based organisations for reasons of treachery or because it might embarrass HM Government? Steele would still be subject to the Official Secrets Act. If the information (or unsubstantiated rumours) he passed on were gained whilst employed by MI6, or arguably because of it, he may have committed a criminal offence.
The last thing MI6 would want would be a public trial for that. The cases of Stephen Milligan, Lady Diana, Gareth Williams and David Kelly are all too fresh in the memory to rule out the potential for assassination from a domestic quarter.
DR. DAVID KELLY: "MANY DARK ACTORS"
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How strange it is, that whenever this sort of story breaks, Jewish individuals, organisations or the Israeli State appears to get in on the act. The Israel-based newspaper Haaritz (see below) makes the claim that reservations have been made as to the intelligence implications of a Trump Presidency. Apparently it has warned that if Trump and Putin get on, this might mean it is unable to share secret information with the CIA as it might get back to its enemy, Iran.
Clearly Israel wanted Clinton in the White House and is trying to undermine Trumps position, no doubt in consort with its political and departmental lackeys in Washington. The people that actually paid for the Steele disinformation has not be revealed but it might be interesting to know. Is it feasible that Israel was behind this whole thing? In view of the recent disclosures by Aljazeera of such specific proposals to get rid of British politician Alan Duncan and others - with incidentally little in the way of consequences - it is far from impossible. Both in assassination and dirty tricks, Israel has proved itself more than competent.
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Now before we leave the subject altogether, sadly and co-incidentally, a day after Mr Steele went into hiding from the press, a notable critic of it - particularly in Germany - died. Udo Ulfkotte who was fifty-seven succumbed to a heart attack on Friday 13th January, 2017. He had, it is said, survived earlier such health scares. He appears to have been critical of Merkel's policy of allowing Muslim refugees to enter the country in such numbers, although having in the past converted to Islam but later returning to Christianity. He memorably claimed that all German journalism was in hock to the USA and the CIA. (See Foot Notes below)
FOOT NOTES
From: https://orbisbi.com/about-orbis/
Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd. was founded in 2009 by former British intelligence professionals. The team now draws on extensive experience at boardroom level in government, multilateral diplomacy and international business to develop bespoke solutions for clients.
Our tailored approach means the Directors are closely involved in the execution and detail of every project, supported by an in–house team of experienced investigators and professional intelligence analysts.
Our global network of senior associates is made up of regional, industry and academic experts, as well as prominent business figures. We call upon their expertise and closed network of contacts to help our clients frame business decisions, protect our clients’ reputations, and problem–solve for companies facing complex issues worldwide.
Ethical business practice is a fundamental value for the Orbis Business Intelligence team. Our documented procedures, developed in conjunction with external legal counsel, ensure compliance with relevant UK, US and EU legislation.
From:
http://www.bizdb.co.uk/company/walsingham-training-limited-09558344/
General Information
On January 13, Udo Ulfkotte died, reportedly of a heart attack.
Ulfkotte had been an editor at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitzung.
He published a courageous book in which he said that the CIA had a hand on every significant journalist in Europe, which gave Washington control over European opinion and reduced knowledge of and opposition to Washington’s control over European heads of state. Essentially, there are no European governments independent of Washington.
From WIKI: According to Ulfkotte, the CIA and German intelligence (BND) bribe journalists in Germany to write pro-NATO propaganda articles, and it is well understood that one may lose their media job if they fail to comply with the pro-Western agenda.[8][9][10] In 2014, Ulfkotte published Bought Journalists ("Gekaufte Journalisten"), in which he claims that the CIA and other secret services pay money to journalists to report a particular story in a certain light.[11][12]
- Bought Journalists. How Politicians, Intelligence and High Finance Control German's Mass Media. Kopp, Rottenburg am Neckar 2014, ISBN 978-3-8644-5143-0
- Holy War in Europe. Eichborn, Frankfurt/Main, 2007, ISBN 3-8218-5577-0
- The War in the Dark. The True Power of the Secret Services. Eichborn, Frankfurt/Main, 2006, ISBN 3-8218-5578-9
- The War in our Cities. As Radical Islamics Infiltrate Germany. Eichborn, Frankfurt/Main 2003, ISBN 3-596-16340-4
See: http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/literatur/udo-ulfkotte-umstrittener-publizist-und-ehemaliger-faz-journalist-ist-tot-a-1130008.html
When it comes to these matters, strangely Israel seems to crop up somewhere.
From: https://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/2017/01/13/u-s-intelligence-officials-warning-israeli-counterparts-against-sharing-info-with-trump-administration/
Shared information could be leaked to Russia and onward to Iran, American officials implied to Israelis in closed meeting, saying Kremlin has ‘leverages of pressure’ over Trump, Ronen Bergman reports.
Haaretz
Israeli intelligence officials are concerned that the exposure of classified information to their American counterparts under a Trump administration could lead to their being leaked to Russia and onward to Iran, investigative journalist Ronen Bergman reported by Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot on Thursday.
The intelligence concerns, which have been discussed in closed forums recently, are based on suspicions of unreported ties between President-elect Donald Trump, or his associates, and the government of Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
As Russian intelligence is associated with intelligence officials in Tehran, highly classified information, such as Israel’s clandestine methods of operation and intelligence sources, could potentially reach Iran. Such information has been shared with the United States in the past.
American intelligence officials expressed despair at the election of Trump during a recent meeting with their Israeli counterparts, Bergman reported. They said that they believed that Putin had “leverages of pressure” over Trump, though they did not elaborate. The American media reported on Wednesday that Russia has embarrassing intelligence about the president-elect.
According to Bergman, the American intelligence officials implied that Israel should “be careful” when transferring intelligence information to the White House and the National Security Council (NSC) following Trump’s inauguration – at least until it is clear that Trump does not have inappropriate connections with Russia.
Cooperation between the Israeli and U.S. intelligence communities has intensified over the past two decades, with most of the joint operations directed, according to reports, against Iran. Hezbollah and Hamas were also intelligence targets. An official agreement in 2008 for comprehensive cooperation, including the exposure of sources and methods of action, reportedly led to impressive results, including the disruption of the Iranian nuclear program.
President Barack Obama put an end to offensive activity against Iran in 2013, at the start of secret talks between the U.S, and Iran over a nuclear agreement. However, the exposure of Israeli intelligence to the U.S. continued.
American officials are convinced that whistleblower Edward Snowden handed over intelligence to Moscow – in return for which he received political asylum – and that some of it was handed over to Tehran, in the context of Putin’s policy of increasing Iranian dependence on Moscow.
