May 8, 2024

Small worm the size of a large worm.

RFK Jr. is my presumptive choice for President, so I'm keeping track of what the mainstream media has to say about him. They seem to be heightening the scrutiny, so let's take a look:

New York Times: "R.F.K. Jr. Says Doctors Found a Dead Worm in His Brain/The presidential candidate has faced previously undisclosed health issues, including a parasite that he said ate part of his brain."
In 2010, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was experiencing memory loss and mental fogginess so severe that a friend grew concerned he might have a brain tumor.... Several doctors noticed a dark spot on [his] brain scans.... The doctor believed that the abnormality seen on his scans “was caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died,” Mr. Kennedy said in [his 2012 divorce] deposition.... In the interview with The Times, he said he had recovered from the memory loss and fogginess and had no aftereffects from the parasite, which he said had not required treatment.... Several infectious disease experts and neurosurgeons said... they believed it was likely a pork tapeworm larva.... Though it is impossible to know, [one doctor said] it is unlikely that a parasite would eat a part of the brain.... 

Washington Post: "RFK Jr’s ‘history lesson’ on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine flunks the fact test/A line-by-line dissection shows he’s often echoing Russian talking points" (by Glenn Kessler, the "fact checker")(free access link). Excerpt from a long piece:

A reader asked us to fact-check a four-minute “history lesson” posted by presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on YouTube. International events — and the causes of war — are often open to interpretation. But Kennedy’s lecture, about how the United States allegedly provoked the Ukraine war, was filled with so much misinformation and Russian talking points that it seems worthy of a detailed look....

“When the wall came down in the Soviet Union and Europe, [Soviet President Mikhail] Gorbachev destroyed himself politically by doing something that was very, very courageous. He went to [President George H.W.] Bush. He said, ‘I’m going to allow you to reunify Germany under a NATO army. I’m going to remove 450,000 Soviet troops. But I want your commitment. After that, you will not move NATO one inch to the east.’ And we solemnly swore that we wouldn’t do it.”

Kennedy is echoing Russian propaganda here. By every account of the 1990 negotiations for the unification of Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall, including Gorbachev’s, the conversation claimed by Kennedy never happened.

“The topic of ‘NATO expansion’ was not discussed at all, and it wasn’t brought up in those years,” Gorbachev said in a 2014 interview. “I say this with full responsibility. Not a single Eastern European country raised the issue, not even after the Warsaw Pact ceased to exist in 1991. Western leaders didn’t bring it up, either.”...

Don't believe things that sound like "Russian propaganda," but do believe what Gorbachev said in a 2014 interview. Noted.

As for that worm he said ate part of his brain... he's not volunteering that information and putting it in that form now. That's from a 2012 deposition in his divorce case, where it was in his interest to minimize what the NYT refers to as his "earning power."  While that case was pending, his wife, Mary Kathleen Richardson, killed herself. 

94 comments:

Dave Begley said...

That worm is still inside Biden’s brain and is chowing down!

R C Belaire said...

Hmm. Does your "presumptive choice" mean you'd actually vote for the guy, AA? Or stay on the fence and sit this one out like last time?

Iman said...

“Crawl, maggot brain… crawl, maggot brain!”

Aggie said...

I see what you did there, starting the story with a tale about one worm, and ending it with the comments of another.

Next thing you know, we'll start hearing stories about Junior' colluding with the Russkies.

narciso said...

But enough about kesslers own colleagues at the Post hes more a Denebian slime devil

narciso said...

Of course kesslers grovel is renfield like

rhhardin said...

"Seems to mean well" is not a choice for President. It's a choice for babysitter. Small system vs large system.

wild chicken said...

This was Stephen F Cohen's argument too. That non expansion of NATO was part of the deal. GW Bush promised.

Cohen was a Russia expert at NYU and his book War with Russia? is one of the reasons I can't get all sentimental about Ukraine.

We sure need his voice now but he passed several years ago.

narciso said...

That was back when he was the darling of thd left

Scott Patton said...

Medicine is not an exact science... It was probably a toad or a small dwarf.

Big Mike said...

RFK Jr. is my presumptive choice for President

I’m sorry to learn of your terminal disease. I cannot imagine anything else that would justify such a blasé attitude towards the American economy and our long-term prospects for prosperity.

Big Mike said...

While that case was pending, his wife, Mary Kathleen Richardson, killed herself.

Or perhaps he told Hillary Clinton that Mary Kathleen had evidence against her. Maybe he told Boeing she was a whistleblower?

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

Another paragraph on what Gorbachev said in 2014:

"There was, he said, no promise not to enlarge the alliance, though in the same interview Gorbachev also stated that he thinks that enlargement was a “big mistake” and “a violation of the spirit of the statements and assurances made” in 1990."

Bobby K is on firm ground in saying it was unbelievably stupid to promise Ukraine could join NATO. Stupid for the U.S., whose leaders probably thought they could avoid sending troops, but stupider for European countries which cannot be nearly as detached about a Ukraine-Russia war. Trump told the Europeans, especially the Germans, they were stupid to put so much reliance on Russian gas, especially at the same time they were provoking a war.

Gusty Winds said...

RFK Jr. is my presumptive choice for President

Trump should appoint RJK Jr. Surgeon General. It would be nice to get a serious, comprehensive investigation on the USA vaccine cocktail and the cause of the Generation Z autism spike, which is still rising.

This issue, and resistance clot shot technology is the main issue that sets RJK Jr. apart from Biden and Trump.

Aggie said...

Here's an observation:

The NYT 'National Enquirer' headline screams: "R.F.K. Jr. Says Doctors Found a Dead Worm in His Brain !!"

And then the story below says: "The doctor believed that the abnormality seen on his scans “was caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died,” Mr. Kennedy said in the deposition...."

Did Glen fact-check his own story for misquotes?? 'Cuz they missed that one in the headline.

Aside from the lurid click-mongering and the whole-cloth bias, the story is pretty interesting in what it reveals about Junior', though.

Gusty Winds said...

(by Glenn Kessler, the "fact checker")

Quotes around fact checker. Awesome. Progress.

Iman said...

In RFK JR.’s defense, he is the only candidate that even mentions the $36 trillion debt, ever accelerating, that will sink this nation within a decade’s time.

Rusty said...

I think the Kennedys have taken enough of Americas time and treasure. Let's give some other people a chance.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

We all know the Mainstream Soviet Democrat press have a vested interest in electing Crook Joe - Above-the-law Joe. Un-scrutinized Husk-puppet Joe.

RFK Jr., with his skeletons and worms - is the only person in the race who can articulate ideas and speak like an educated adult.
Trump sounds like a ridiculous super hero movie character.
Crook Joe is suffering cognitive decline and must be pumped up with drugs, run thru the face-stretch ward with the esthetician, his every move and word a guided event. If he is allowed to speak his mind - the media and his controllers spring into action to cover for him. Never mind this VP international family grift.

So - the Mainstream Soros Soviet Democrat press have their slime Trump down to a boring and tired art. The leftist media must pivot to RFK jr.

wildswan said...

It is a fact that in the 90's Russia and the US guaranteed that the Ukraine would keep Crimea even after it gave up its nuclear weapons. And a fact that Russia took over Crimea in 2014 while the US did nothing. These facts should influence our attitude toward the Ukraine war. We can't act as if there's no history involving us or only a secret history based on dubious sources. There were treaties and treaty-breaking invasions and now this latest invasion. Putin in my opinion is destroying his country by his own choices. He doesn't have the manpower for imperial conquests due to the demographic decline and he's grinding up the young men he has. But an autocrat can ignore all that for awhile and so the war grinds on. Ukraine suffers too, but they have no choice. If they lose, war isn't over. There are 147 million Russians and 40 million Ukrainians so Russia's population will in crease by about a quarter if Putin wins; and then Putin can use the additional manpower for fresh wars.

planetgeo said...

Presumptive choice, eh? Not exactly shocking breaking news, but definitely gives one pause to seriously consider rhhardin's views on the 19th amendment.

Wince said...

Worm In Your Brain Song

When you feel down or when you feel sad,
When your mind makes you think that everything's bad,
Try not to worry, you aren't completely insane,
Just remember there's a worm in your brain.

Red Guy: Hey, the worm in my brain tells me I don't have the body type to pull off wearing denim, but I just tell it to pipe down! (Duck: Ugh!)

Duck: And the worm in my brain makes me think that the documents I've been forging have led to many deaths. But I know that's just silly.

Yellow Guy: Huh?

Red Guy: That's right.

We all have a worm in our brain.
Yes, we all have a worm in our brain.
(Springhead Boy joins in the song)

Even the worm in your brain has a worm in his brain,
That worm has a worm has a worm—
[Song ends abruptly]

Sean Gleeson said...

I do not see any plausible reason to believe there was a promise by Bush to Gorbachev "to not move NATO one inch to the east." It's certainly not something anyone put in writing, or even mentioned at the time, or even anything that Bush or Gorby later recounted.

However, even if it were a real promise, it is not broken, because NATO is still just as far east now as it was in 1990. NATO's easternmost point is still 44°49'04"E, in Turkey.

Enigma said...

People went through a lot of mental adjustment as the USSR fell and as the old Cold War borders fell. Some were happy to see the Communists gone and there were indeed discussions of leaving the Russian sphere of influence alone if Germany was brought together in NATO. However, a lot of this was just early 1990s TV talking heads and random dreams. It may or may not have been a formal policy of any country...and policies change rapidly. This proves that old politicians watched cable TV news programming back then.

If not for the self-destruction of WW1 and WW2, Germany would be a huge powerhouse spanning from France to today's Russian border. Poland, Chechia, Austria, Kaliningrad, and Belarus may have been part of the German Empire. We wouldn't speak of the "European Union", rather, "German Europe" versus the rest.

Leland said...

I'm not "fact checker", but both the NYT and GWU can reference a declassified document where then Secretary of State James Baker floated the idea to Russia of "not one inch eastward" in regards to NATO expansion. Baker would later claim Russia never "agreed" to that commitment, but it isn't just Russian propaganda that it was discussed with Russia. It also doesn't take a genius to ask what Ukraine has to do with the North Atlantic? You can disagree with Putin's Casus Belli but I don't see how NATO's eastern expansion wasn't an easy sell to Russian people. The US under another Kennedy seemed mighty upset when the Soviets put missiles in Cuba.

Tom T. said...

Don't believe things that sound like "Russian propaganda," but do believe what Gorbachev said in a 2014 interview.

Actually, what you're doing is believing that one of the most consequential conversations in modern statecraft stayed completely secret from every information source around the world for decades, until it was somehow learned of and disclosed by RFKJr.

That's classic conspiracy theory. If you want me to believe that conversation happened, find some evidence.

Heartless Aztec said...

What no one asked - I really like RFK Jr. too. But not enough to vote for him. I despise Biden for his criminal activities in selling himself to whoever his family can shake down. As a Southerner I instinctively dislike and recoil from Trump's Queen Borough personality but not enough to stop me from crawling through a minefield swept by machine gun fire and targeted by artillery to pull the lever and vote for him as my personal fuck you to the Democratic Party I was a member of for several decades. They need to be RICO'd.

Sally327 said...

What happened to cruel neutrality?

Will we be treated to pictures of a Kennedy campaign tea hosted at Meadehouse sometime soon?

I just checked and Ethel Kennedy is still alive. She's 96 years old. I wonder what she thinks of the rest of the family trashing Jr.

Iman said...

I think dat worm has turned…

Original Mike said...

"In the interview with The Times, he said he had recovered from the memory loss and fogginess and had no aftereffects from the parasite"

"A worm ate my brain"
…doubtful looks from his colleagues…
"I got better."

Gusty Winds said...

A good illustration of the stupidity of modern, liberal America is all the virtue signaling about Ukrainian "independence", without any concern for all the dead Ukrainians.

The unnecessary expansion of NATO is the fault of the American public no longer paying attention to what's important. Ignorance of history. We care about Stormy Daniels spanking Trump with a magazine. That is the fault and failure of our liberal education system.

Also for liberals keeping the Russian boogeyman alive is vital. After going all in on "Russia interfered in our election" and the Russian collusion lie...they must remain and enemy for life.




rehajm said...

That explains a lot…

Amadeus 48 said...

Voting for RFK, Jr. is a cop-out and ignores the substance his long history of low-grade legal demagoguery.

Smilin' Jack said...

“RFK Jr. is my presumptive choice for President…”

Good grief.

Original Mike said...

"In RFK JR.’s defense, he is the only candidate that even mentions the $36 trillion debt, ever accelerating, that will sink this nation within a decade’s time."

That's nice, but what does he propose to do about it? I haven't seen him proposing a plan.

Narayanan said...

why did they not leave unification to the Germans without outsider butting in?

East Germany taking over WestG was the plan all along?

Iman said...

Teh PuppetMaster’s candidate?

Keep an eye on that guy.

Achilles said...

wildswan said...

It is a fact that in the 90's Russia and the US guaranteed that the Ukraine would keep Crimea even after it gave up its nuclear weapons. And a fact that Russia took over Crimea in 2014 while the US did nothing. These facts should influence our attitude toward the Ukraine war. We can't act as if there's no history involving us or only a secret history based on dubious sources. There were treaties and treaty-breaking invasions and now this latest invasion. Putin in my opinion is destroying his country by his own choices. He doesn't have the manpower for imperial conquests due to the demographic decline and he's grinding up the young men he has. But an autocrat can ignore all that for awhile and so the war grinds on. Ukraine suffers too, but they have no choice. If they lose, war isn't over. There are 147 million Russians and 40 million Ukrainians so Russia's population will in crease by about a quarter if Putin wins; and then Putin can use the additional manpower for fresh wars.

Wildswan conveniently forgets that the US pulled a coup in Ukraine in 2014 and a legally elected President was deposed by American supported forces in a violent revolution.

After this coup in 2014 the US funded groups like the Azov battalion who spent the years after 2014 repressing and killing the people that voted for the deposed president.

America promptly installed a corrupt Zelensky that promised to sign the Mingsk Accords during his campaign. After Zelensky was elected he immediately reneged on those promises he made in the campaign. Since then he has thrown all political opposition in jail, jailed reporters critical of his regime, and suspended elections in Ukraine.

The US government has since taken to blowing up bridges, dams, and pipelines and has become the biggest sponsor of state terrorism in the world. We are funneling money into Regimes like Iran in a transparent attempt to stoke war in the middle east.

It is time for the Victoria Nuland fanboys to start being honest about what is going on.

Amexpat said...

But I want your commitment. After that, you will not move NATO one inch to the east.

Such a promise sounds very speculative without any written evidence or corroboration by those involved. On the contrary, both parties to the alleged promise deny it was made.

Also, the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the first East European countries joined NATO in 1999, long after Bush Sr. made the alleged promise and well into Clinton's second term.

How could subsequent US presidents by bound by an alleged secret gentleman's agreement between Bush and Gorbachev? And how could the Russians expect future administrations to be bound by this alleged promise without a treaty, or at the very least a public declaration of this by the US government?

Ice Nine said...

He surely had neurocysticercosis, otherwise known as "pork tapeworm" cyst in the brain (as the docs in the article surmised). We used to see them frequently in the ER, usually as incidental findings on skull x-rays but sometimes the result of a work up of headache or seizures. They were seen virtually exclusively in Mexican immigrants. Cysticercosis is a third world disease, rarely seen in non-immigrant Americans. There are exceptions to everything, of course, but how Kennedy managed to pick it up has to be considered a bit puzzling.

Chronic epilepsy and headache are the two most common complications of neurocysticercosis. But - a word to RFK voters...and to all Americans were he to manage to get elected - neuropsychiatric dysfunction ranging all the way to severe dementia is also a well-known sequela. Not that that ground is not already currently being - wormlessly - broken, of course...

Achilles said...

RFK Jr. is my presumptive choice for President, so I'm keeping track of what the mainstream media has to say about him.

Pretty sure she is just trolling you all.

Nobody is that silly.

Iman said...

“that even mentions” is key to that comment, original Mike.

It’s baby steps, but for chrissakes, what the F is the matter with the rest of them. And are WE all just discount Jared Bernsteins, whistling past the graveyard as we ignore what we are encumbering our children and grandchildren with?

As Americans, we need to wake up before the shit gets as real as real can get.

Dogma and Pony Show said...

I don't get why anyone thought it'd be a good idea to push to include Ukraine in NATO. Isn't the goal of these alliances PEACE? We're literally involved in a hot war against Russia over NATO expansion.

Also, given that Ukraine wasn't (and still isn't) a NATO member, why are we essentially treating it as a NATO ally for purposes of this war?

Iman said...

“They were seen virtually exclusively in Mexican immigrants”

Fuck me runnin’… I gotta cut back on teh carnitas!

Bob Boyd said...

Rush used to say "with half my brain tied behind my back."

Listen to RFK speaking, explaining his ideas and positions. The difference between RFK and either Biden or Trump is striking. He's so much more articulate and has so much more persuasive material at his mental disposal. He presents evidence, anecdotes, names, dates, numbers, he cites studies and cases, all from memory and all with half his brain having been eaten behind his back by a sneaky, little pig worm. Good lawd. What a world, what a world, as the Wicked Witch of the West used to say.

This is not an endorsement, simply an observation. You have to be more than "articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy" to get my vote.

Bob Boyd said...

There are exceptions to everything, of course, but how Kennedy managed to pick it up has to be considered a bit puzzling.

CIA

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Trump is the only major candidate whose brain has NOT been exposed to air then. Interesting.

Christopher B said...

The Ukraine war originated, like most wars, from long-standing geopolitical realities abetted by operational and tactical mistakes that ignored those realities.

Part of why the Cold War era was so stable was the USSR controlled all the gaps that lead to the Eurasian Hordelands. This has been the primary drive of Russian security policy since Peter the Great, and before. After the fall of the Wall in 1989, Russia lost control of all of them. Every war Putin has launched has been an attempt to get back to these gaps because Russia doesn't have the population to secure the thousands of miles of indefensible terrain inside those natural boundaries.

This is of course going to generate conflict with nations formed in and around those gaps like Hungary, Poland, and Ukraine, and they will naturally seek alliance to protect their integrity. The great problem with bringing those nations into closer economic, political, and military alliance with their natural allies in the EU is that the EU has no military force independent of NATO. The US doesn't trust an independent European military outside NATO but neither do the Europeans want to give up on their NATO leverage on the US military both for support and to influence US policies. Extending the EU eastward pulled NATO, but more specifically the US, along with it.

The great operational and tactical blunder was the Obama administration's infamous rapprochement with Putin, first driven by domestic politics as a reaction to W and more general Republican distrust of Putin but later driven by the hope that Putin would influence the mullahs to at least appear to accept Obama's proffered nuclear deal. This was compounded by Biden's waffling ('minor incursion') as the same players behind the scenes sought again to get Putin to influence Iran. Putin, driven by geopolitical reality and his own theory of Slavic dominance, took the green light and ran with it, gambling that he had sufficiently military force to capture Ukraine (he didn't) and the US and NATO wouldn't respond with aid to Ukraine (unlike Crimea and Donbass in 2014, they did). So NATO is now in the middle of a Mexican stand-off where Putin can't afford to lose the war and Ukraine isn't ever going to be strong enough to eject Russia without significantly more outside support.

While Kessler does spin some of the fact checks (as expected, he ignores or obfuscates the consequences of Hillary's 'Russia Overload', Obama's walkback of support for ABM installations in Poland and Romania, and the lack of US/NATO response to the Crimea takeover), he is broadly correct in pushing back against most of RFKjr's Ukraine talking points.

Broadly, Trump had it right. Make the US energy independent to dry up Russia's oil cash flow, isolate Iran rather than making them the 'balancing power' in Central Asia, and strengthen NATO by getting the Europeans to pony up more and for the US to supply more material aid to countries on the frontline against Russia. Trump sent lethal aid to Ukraine unlike Obama and Russia didn't react, and most of the claims that he would 'abandon NATO' are based on directed misreadings of his comments regarding the European's own participation in NATO.

Why you would vote against that and for a guy who is as wrong on virtually everything about Russia policy as FJB boggles the mind.

Iman said...

I don’t think RFK Jr. is much suited to be POTUS, but he might make a good fishin’ buddy.

I‘d pick his brain and use the worm as bait in search of the infamous 38” Jack Crevelle!

Big Mike said...

“The topic of ‘NATO expansion’ was not discussed at all, and it wasn’t brought up in those years,” Gorbachev said in a 2014 interview.

Nor would it have been. From 1987 onwards the USSR was falling apart with startling speed. Gorbachev had no leverage, nothing to bargain with. As Bob Boyd points out above, RFKJr is articulate. However IMAO he’s nuttier than a box of acorns.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

LoL with Achilles @9:08 AM ...bro, it's Althouse. Democrat Party 4Evah!!! If the Party member is too despicable, she votes for 3rd party crackpot. She voted for Jill Stein and Ralph Nader. She will renounce feminism before she ever pulls the lever for a republican. There is no other alternative, and nothing Kennedy can do to lose that vote.

Bob Boyd said...

I bet DARPA is working on robot pig worms as we speak...worms that can crawl through your skull, eat everything you know, shit it into a PDF file and email it right to Langley. In some cases it would be short enough to just text it.

Michael said...

RFK Jr. is a "don't blame me" vote; whoever actually gets in, it won't be your fault. But this is "a time for choosing" - between a free Country and the Progressive Deep State. Trump may be a wrecking ball but sometimes that is what's needed.

Iman said...

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...
“Trump is the only major candidate whose brain has NOT been exposed to air then. Interesting.”

Excellent point, Mike. And you beat Dr. Michael K to it.

Rusty said...

"RFK Jr. is my presumptive choice for President"
OK. Now you're just messin' with us.

TeaBagHag said...

This story makes it crystal clear that RFK JR’s quixotic run is going to divide the Trump vote. Voters who want a worm hole addled brain in their leader are going to be torn.

RCOCEAN II said...

It doesn't matter if Gorby doesn't remember the promise or not. The question is whether it was made and recorded AT THE TIME. And in any case, Yelsin was saying in the early 1990s that Russia was opposed to NATO expansion to Poland and other E. European countries and claiming that the Reunification Peace Treaty with Germany forbad NATO expansion.

WaPo "factchecks" are just "Opinon assertions". Kessler can't prove Baker didn't make the promise. It was done orally.

The other point is this: What has Gorby said over the years about NATO Expansion? Wikipedia says:

President Mikhail Gorbachev, who participated in the 1990 negotiations, subsequently spoke out about the existence of a "guarantee of non-expansion of NATO to the east" inconsistently, confirming its existence in some interviews[8][9] and refuting in others.[10][11] Among academic researchers, opinions on the existence or absence of a non-extension agreement also differ.[12][13]

wendybar said...

maybe it was the heroin....

William said...

Ross Perot thou should be living at this hour....They haven't really aimed the big guns at RFK Jr. By they, I mean the MSM. They're not really dredging up the really heavy mud surrounding him. Even by Kennedy standards, he was quite irresponsible. I guess they don't want to damage the Kennedy brand, just RFK Jr. Kennedy's aren't famous for pig worms. It's localized to RFK Jr. Or maybe they're afraid his past will make Trump look good. Trump cheated on his wife in a dignified and responsible way unlike RFK Jr.

Achilles said...

Amexpat said...

Such a promise sounds very speculative without any written evidence or corroboration by those involved. On the contrary, both parties to the alleged promise deny it was made.

Not one inch to the East. This is not speculative.

Also, the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the first East European countries joined NATO in 1999, long after Bush Sr. made the alleged promise and well into Clinton's second term.

How could subsequent US presidents by bound by an alleged secret gentleman's agreement between Bush and Gorbachev? And how could the Russians expect future administrations to be bound by this alleged promise without a treaty, or at the very least a public declaration of this by the US government?


It was very public. The problem is that our media has been a propaganda tool for the government for decades and that the Bush wing of the Republican Party and the Democrat party are really just the same thing.

People need to look back and remember what the Reagan Presidency was like. The DC establishment treated Reagan just like they treated Trump with betrayals and backstabbing. The shooting and the pressure of the office took it's toll on Reagan and I don't think he was really able to oppose them towards the end of his presidency. They were constantly attacking him with lawfare bullshit and the Republican Party proved it was not an opposition party.

George HW Bush was a full on globalist traitor from the start. Perot didn't pop up out of no where. The Republican voters were betrayed over and over again and part of that betrayal was not allowing us to win the Cold War.

Russia has never been a serious threat to Europe. They just aren't. Ukraine was a corrupt Klepto state in the middle of a civil war and ethnic cleansing campaign and Russia couldn't invade them. Russia is only able to carry out this feeble attack because Biden and the Neocons are driving the price of oil up.

There are too many people that make too much money off of US wars. Russia didn't invade anyone during Trump's Presidency because Trump didn't incite war. It is laughably easy to keep Russia contained and the Neocons are purposely failing and forcing Russia into a defensive posture.

And pretending that Ukraine is a democracy and that this current looting of the treasury to send them our tax dollars that gets laundered back to DC is just dishonest and gross. Every republican that supports that and votes for it is just a democrat at this point.

J Scott said...

I am more interested in how they got their hands on the deposition. Sounds like someone in the family probably showed it to the NYTs for the obvious reasons. The time reporter has this document at least since Nov 2023 since they used it in November to attack Kennedy. No mention of the brain worm or mercury poisoning. I guess they wanted to see if they could get RJK to step aside, but I guess that didn't work.

Achilles said...

Dogma and Pony Show said...

I don't get why anyone thought it'd be a good idea to push to include Ukraine in NATO. Isn't the goal of these alliances PEACE? We're literally involved in a hot war against Russia over NATO expansion.

Also, given that Ukraine wasn't (and still isn't) a NATO member, why are we essentially treating it as a NATO ally for purposes of this war?



The obvious answer is that it is War for War's sake. There are people that benefit from wars and other people dying in them.

The major problem right now is you can get a comfortable 6-7 figure job in DC starting wars around the world and there is no risk of actually having to participate yourself. It is also a lot easier to just call someone a Putin puppet than actually defend their stupidity.

Candide said...

Brazen liars lying brazenly...

WaPo hack says,

"Kennedy is echoing Russian propaganda here. By every account of the 1990 negotiations for the unification of Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall, including Gorbachev’s, the conversation claimed by Kennedy never happened.

“The topic of ‘NATO expansion’ was not discussed at all, and it wasn’t brought up in those years,” Gorbachev said in a 2014 interview. “I say this with full responsibility. Not a single Eastern European country raised the issue, not even after the Warsaw Pact ceased to exist in 1991. Western leaders didn’t bring it up, either.”...

and stops quoting. But if you continue to read the quote, it goes on

"...Another issue we brought up was discussed: making sure that NATO’s military structures would not advance and that additional armed forces from the alliance would not be deployed on the territory of the then-GDR after German reunification. Baker’s statement, mentioned in your question, was made in that context. Kohl and [German Vice Chancellor Hans-Dietrich] Genscher talked about it.

Everything that could have been and needed to be done to solidify that political obligation was done. And fulfilled. The agreement on a final settlement with Germany said that no new military structures would be created in the eastern part of the country; no additional troops would be deployed; no weapons of mass destruction would be placed there. It has been observed all these years."

So, according to Gorbachev, the promise was clearly made. Also according to Gorbachev in 2014 it was still observed. For all we know, the promise not to expand NATO military installations into East Germany may be still observed even now. It was simply circumvented by NATO expansion into other East European countries. According to Gorbachev, this possibility was not discussed at all, in large part because it seemed so far-fetched back in 1990.

Whatever you might think about veracity of Gorbachev's statements, the point is that selected Gorbachev's words were cited by WaPo hack to deny what Gorbachev actually said, if you read his complete statement. That is a brazen falsehood by WaPo hack.

Narr said...

One thing that Putin's special military operation shows is that conquest is hard.

Even if the Ukes succumb, the only gain for Russia is a demolished and impoverished landmass full of people who hate Russia. I don't see young Ukes being very enthusiastic about going after the Poles and other neighbors--less enthusiastic in fact than young Russians seem to be about going after Ukraine.


mccullough said...

Junior is too old to be president as well.

A country governed by Old Men & Women is doomed

Kakistocracy said...

Did the horse dewormer actually... work?

Literal brain worm saw what was going on in there and took its own life.

Regrettably, the worm was the sensible one.

Bob Boyd said...

The worm's not dead, it's only resting, it's tired and shagged out after a long graze, it's pining for the sty.

Josephbleau said...

"As for that worm he said ate part of his brain... he's not volunteering that information and putting it in that form now. That's from a 2012 deposition in his divorce case, where it was in his interest to minimize what the NYT refers to as his "earning power." While that case was pending, his wife, Mary Kathleen Richardson, killed herself."

Are you saying that Kennedy, a trust fund child with access to millions (probably conveniently stashed in trusts that don't manifest as personal income), lied to the court in a deposition, perjuring himself to minimize the amount of money he would pay to his wife? Does that seem like something an admirable person would do? He has no moral superiority over any other candidate.

But what he does have is a highly refined stupidity and lack of general knowledge, Can a worm larvae pass the blood brain barrier? or did it crawl into his ear and do some exploration? Did the worm think his brain was tastier than the ear drum and move on seeking a better feed lot? To show that his earnings were diminished did he tilt his head and constantly poke his finger in his ear with his tongue out? Did he go cross eyed when asked a question? This was his own statement, not a made up smear quote, right?

This guy is a member of the Bar, can he be permitted to lie in court? 2012 was only 12 years ago, this was not a youthful indiscretion.

Butkus51 said...

The dingo ate your baby.

Gusty Winds said...

Blogger Amadeus 48 said...
Voting for RFK, Jr. is a cop-out and ignores the substance his long history of low-grade legal demagoguery.

Let's hope Ann represents a Wisconsin trend. There HAS to be some internal regret among certain liberals that Biden has turned America into a shit show. They know we can't go on this way. A JFK Jr. vote allows them to wash their hands of Biden, while still being able to claim the don't support Trump. Win-Win for them, and a win for Trump/MAGA.

If JFK Jr. gets 5% to 8% in Wisconsin it's coming off Biden, and Trump wins the state despite Madison and Milwaukee fraud.

Kakistocracy said...

It’s a constant whack-a-mole game, but sanctions are certainly affecting Russia’s ability to procure needed imports for its illegal war. My guess is that by the time you add up all the commissions and markups charged by the increasingly unsavory characters conducting the illicit trade with Russia, increased shipping costs and the decline in the rouble, Russia must be paying at least double what the price of these goods was before the war— and probably more.

Josephbleau said...

OK reading the above comments I guess I am the stupid one:

"From Wiki:

Neurocysticercosis /ˈnjʊəroʊˌsɪstiˌsɜːrˈkoʊsɪs/ is a specific form of the infectious parasitic disease cysticercosis that is caused by the infection with Taenia solium, a tapeworm found in pigs. Neurocysticercosis occurs when cysts formed by the infection take hold within the brain, causing neurologic syndromes such as epileptic seizures. It is a common cause of seizures worldwide. It has been called a "hidden epidemic"[1] and "arguably the most common parasitic disease of the human nervous system".[2] Common symptoms of neurocysticercosis include seizures, headaches, blindness, meningitis, and dementia.[3] "

So as I see it , the worm is not in your brain, but the worm infects you and causes a cyst to form in your brain, so the worm does not eat your brain and poop it out per se. And the worm does not need to trek it's way to your brain. The tape worm probably lives in your gut. Our upper crust elites really need better preventive health care!

Joe Smith said...

'RFK Jr. is my presumptive choice for President, so I'm keeping track of what the mainstream media has to say about him.'

Wow.

Howard said...

This was a very good series on the history of the Cold War and how it led to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/turning-point-bomb-cold-war-release-date-trailer-news

Iman said...

Undeniably appropriate…

https://youtu.be/JOKn33-q4Ao?si=J94wOo43l8SbHkn1

mindnumbrobot said...

RFK Jr. is my presumptive choice for President, so I'm keeping track of what the mainstream media has to say about him.

The professor is the just the type of voter Team Biden can't afford to lose, thus the attempt to tank RFK Jr's campaign by hook or by crook. She obviously isn't going to vote for Trump, so any alternative choice must be removed.

Kakistocracy said...

Suddenly, things make much more sense.

“I have cognitive problems, clearly,” he said in the 2012 deposition. “I have short-term memory loss, and I have longer-term memory loss that affects me.” ~ RFK Jr

But he’s miraculously all better now.

Freeman Hunt said...

What makes RFK your presumptive choice?

loudogblog said...

I don't agree with everything that RFK Jr. says or believes in, but he's not irrational. He's very level headed and expresses himself clearly.

The thing that most people get wrong about the Ukraine/Russia war is this: Ukraine CANNOT win this war. Russia is just too big. Ukraine needs to seriously negotiate for an end to the war ASAP, even if it means ceding land to Russia. As each day goes by, Ukraine is in a much worse position to dictate peace terms. We are only throwing our money to Ukraine down a bottomless pit.

At least Israel is capable of beating Hamas. But the Biden administration has actually begun to withhold arms shipments to Israel. (That's not a smart move since we get so much of our military tech from Israel.)

loudogblog said...

Iman said...
"In RFK JR.’s defense, he is the only candidate that even mentions the $36 trillion debt, ever accelerating, that will sink this nation within a decade’s time."

That is an actual threat to our democracy. If that problem isn't solved soon, the government will either lose the ability to fund things like social programs, infrastructure, military spending, Social Security and Medicare...or we'll have to reduce the value of the national debt by printing money which will cause massive inflation. (Much worse than we have now.)

effinayright said...

Achilles said...

"Russia has never been a serious threat to Europe. They just aren't"
****************
Oh really? Ask the people of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Moldova and Bulgaria about that.

Does the term "Iron Curtain" strike a familar note?

Jim at said...

Voters who want a worm hole addled brain in their leader are going to be torn.

A Biden voter just wrote that.

Jupiter said...

You know, there was a time when Democrats didn't hate Russia. Back when it was the Soviet Union, Teddy Kennedy met with Soviet agents to try to get them to collude in the 1980 Presidential election. The Democrats started hating Russia when it stopped being the flagship of international Communism and went back to being a white, Christian nation. Funny, huh?

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

NBC Rich - What's Crook Joe's excuse?

Mutaman said...

"RFK Jr. is my presumptive choice for President,"

Althouse found the one person on the planet who's a bigger space cadet than she is.

Mikey NTH said...

NATO membership doesn't work like the old Warsaw Pact. A nation applies for membership and the current members must all agree.

Now, why on the historical earth we are on, why would any nation that had been graced with Imperial Russisn or Soviet occupation sprint to join NATO? Truly one wonders.

Mutaman said...

"Mr. Kennedy said in [his 2012 divorce] deposition."

So Junior brought this up because he was trying to get out of paying alimony and child support.

Iman said...

Well said, loudogblog @1:50PM!

Candide said...

I think it is interesting to consider where Gorbachev was coming from making his statements.

Gorbachev was President of USSR and he was dealing with US and European leaders in that capacity. According to Gorbachev he negotiated a very good deal with the West, which was later scattered by nationalists that undermined and destroyed USSR: Russian, Ukranian, Kazakh and all other nationalists. According to Gorbachev, none of this present mess would happen if USSR was not dissolved by nationalist movements. Naturally, as an erstwhile President of USSR, that is exactly what he would be expected to say.

I don't think Gorbachev is lying about promises made to him not to expand NATO. Important to keep in mind that practically all the old guard US diplomats that were dealing with Gorbachev were always critical about NATO expansion and were not really opposed to continuation of USSR in more moderate form. So it would be totally in character for them to make promises not to expand NATO and mean it.

Ironically, promises not to expand NATO were made to all the subjects of USSR, including Ukranian SSR, and maybe even to all members of Warsaw pact.

Of course, promises made to Gorbachev in his capacity of USSR President mean nothing nowadays, because USSR doesn't exist.

FullMoon said...

" While that case was pending, his wife, Mary Kathleen Richardson, killed herself."

Why?

Nancy Reyes said...

brain tapeworm lesions are a common cause of seizures in Latin America.

https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/cysticercosis/index.html

this article is easier to read:

https://theworld.org/stories/2016/07/31/brain-tapeworms-are-more-common-previously-thought-study-warns

RMc said...

RFK Jr. is my presumptive choice for President

I’m sorry to learn of your terminal disease.


You know you're in trouble when you have two terrible candidates for president, and a third-party candidate who's...even worse.

Kakistocracy said...

Brainworm, Hepatitis C, mercury poisoning, heart fibrillation, drug addiction, and yet he thinks his greatest threat is vaccination.

BrianE said...

We have the text of the conversation between Gorbachev and Baker. At least the declassified part.

Page 6:

Baker: "...If we maintain a presence in a Germany that is a part of NATO, there would be no extension of NATO's jurisdiction for forces of NATO one inch to the east."


On page 9:

Baker: ...Let's assume for the moment that unification is going to take place. Assuming that, would you prefer a united Germany outside of NATO that is independent and has no US forces or would you prefer a united Germany with ties to NATO and assurances that there would be no extension of NATO's current jurisdiction eastward."

Gorbachev: "Let me say that the approach you have outlined is a very possible one..."




https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/4325679/Document-05-Memorandum-of-conversation-between.pdf