UPDATED: The New Normal In Light Of Gamestop

Yesterday evening/night and much of today I've spent digging out from a massive snowstorm, and I'm still not done. In between bouts of shoveling I've also been spending time tweaking new privacy measures--just because. Not that I don't trust Uncle but, well, just because, as I say. In fact, the measures, so far, are really directed at my ISP.

Along those lines, by the way, I've seen commenters discussing various supposedly more private browsers. During the last couple of weeks I've experimented with several additional browsers--additional to the several that I already use (at any given time I always have at least two different browsers open). Those additional browsers have included Brave and Iridium. While I like them well enough I'll probably be sticking with my two default browsers, the main one being Slimjet. Slimjet has, for quite a long time, simply worked for me--it doesn't call back to Google and it's builtin adblocker is very efficient (more so than most extensions). Slimjet is cross platform and based on Chromium, so it uses the Blink rendering engine. There's also a Slimbrowser, which is a Windows only product and is based on Firefox (Gecko rendering engine). I assume it's every bit as good as Slimjet. If you're looking for an excellent browser, one of those two may well fit the bill for you.

With that said, I've seen virtually no news today, but I did just read what I thought was an excellent article by Edward Ring:

Robinhood, Reddit, and the Cram Down of Economic Populism

This is what we can expect from Biden’s financialized economy, ascendant now over Trump’s productivity economy.

Ring first provides what I thought was a very lucid overview of short selling and what happened this past week with regard to GameSpot. He then moves on to what it means in the overall Big Picture. In particular, he punctures the narratival balloon that tells us what noble things the short sellers do for us all, but preventing over valuation of stocks. Here's how he concludes--I really like the way he wraps it all up and ties it in to things like the Green New Deal, the Great Reset, Big Tech, etc.

What Was Biden Thinking About With That China EO?

I'm glad you asked. It's like this. It's complicated. I'll circle back ...

Good on WH @PressSec @JRPsaki for calling on @Newsmax's @EmeraldRobinson during today's briefing, who then asked about an executive order as it relates to China and the U.S. power grid.

Watch for Psaki's fellow lefties to demand she never call on Emerald again in 3, 2, 1.... pic.twitter.com/DSVyWmapKy

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 25, 2021

 On a more serious note ...

In Hard-Hitting Press Conference, Press Demands To Know Biden's Favorite Disney Princess https://t.co/vLKqM47s0R

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) January 25, 2021

Biden Inc. Payback To China?

Yesterday, along with many others, we took a look at the new regime's anti-union initiatives--or, more exactly, its anti unionized workers initiatives. These initiatives were part of Biden Inc.'s executive orders targeting the energy industry. Another executive order that will have a significant negative impact on unionized workers also came to light, but it will also have an impact on the security of our nation's critical infrastructure:

Biden Rescinds Trump Order Banning Chinese Communist Involvement In US Power Grid

Far be it from me to be cynical, but this almost looks like payback. Ask yourself: If you were Chairman Xi, what type of favor would you be asking Biden Inc. for, while hoping to keep it under the radar? To me, this would fit the bill.

An emailer sent me this analysis of the national security implications behind this EO. I will preface his analysis by adding that, in national security circles, it has long been known that China has been targeting our critical infrastructure, so it's not as if no one could have warned the new regime about this

C'mon Man, This Is Perfect!

The Executive Orders have been coming so fast and furious(ly) that it's hard to keep track of them all. I missed this one yesterday:

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Joe Biden signed an executive order this morning granting citizenship to everyone who voted for him.

Some ten million people are expected to receive citizenship through the executive order, making it the largest instance of amnesty in our nation's history.

"If you voted for me, darn it, man, you deserve to be an American," Biden said at a press conference this morning. "Thank you for your service, and welcome to America. You're all Americans in my book -- clean, articulate ones."

"Now let's build back better!" Biden pulled out his phone and played "Despacito" in honor of the votes he received.

There was some confusion as he then appeared to hear a voice in his ear and said, "Breathe in, breathe out." The statement was praised by all media outlets as being "a powerful reminder that we need to just calm down and breathe."

One guess. 

The Chaos To Come?

Many regulars will know that commenter Ray So-Cal is into lists. Below is his list of expectations from the new regime. Ray presents these strictly as Wild Ass Guesses. See what you think. I've edited only lightly by have added comments in brackets.

As is usually the case, some of these events or developments--if they come to pass--will interact with others. The result may be that political and socio-economic conditions will become more chaotic than previously. IMO, it's hardly surprising that the Left is acting up already--and targeting the Dem establishment this time. Tougher tactics against Antifa/BLM would undoubtedly win widespread public support, but ...

1. Such tactics would drain Dem support from its base of support, and

2. would win little additional support from Middle America.

As a result, any crackdown will be a touch act to pull off--and likely won't happen. 

Further, the pretense of a Biden regime will quickly collapse. It starting out as threadbare, and signs with press interaction are already bad. Biden/Harris may be a front for Obama/Jarrett, but they're not ready for prime time and the fact is that Obama/Jarrett are constitutionally unable to step back in. Neither Pelosi nor Schumer--nor any other Congressional Dems--are up to the task. State Dems? Cuomo won't play outside NY, Pritzker won't play outside Chicago, and Newsom is on the hotseat in CA. Expect a rough ride.

Now, Ray So-Cal:

Briefly Noted: National Guard In DC For The Inauguration? I Like That!

Thinking it over, I think this is a great thing. The symbolism of troops on the streets is perfect. What could better illustrate to the American that the four year coup effort against Donald Trump--complete with a Russia Hoax, a fake impeachment, and finally a hoax election--really was a coup? Usher in the Biden Inc. kleptocracy with a show of military might on the streets of the Imperial City on the Potomac. Nothing says 'illegitimate' quite like that!

Don Surber has Good News and Bad News:

The good news is Americans are not paranoid.

Their fears are real. I guess that is the bad news as well.

Read it all--it's really very good. And, while I'm thinking about, yes, Surber was right about Bluto Barr and I was wrong:

The Year of the Fear

 

Dyer's Latest Update On The 'Key Supporting Effort'

Just yesterday the question of "Whatever happened to DNI Ratcliffe's report?" came up in the comments. That's Trump's Executive Order 13848, requires the DNI to submit an assessment of any foreign interference in US elections within 45 days of an election. That deadline has come and gone. Ratcliffe did indicate at one point that he was not getting all the cooperation he needed from some unnamed agencies of the federal government, but there's been no further word, except that the assessment is in process.  In light of some recent developments--as explained in Jen Dyer's latest very thorough article--it may be worth wondering whether Ratcliffe's assessment is now being deliberately withheld by the Trump administration for use at the proper time. As we'll see, not only Dyer but George Eliason at Creative Destruction Media offer good reason to believe that Trump is aware of such foreign interference--and that China may be one of the foreign actors involved.

The best way to start may be with Eliason's article, which Dyer cites. It's a long, technical article, but the title will give you at least an idea of what it contains.

GA’s SoS Raffensperger Gave Hackers Roadmap To Infiltrate Machines A Year Before Election

Eliason details some of Raffensperger's illegal shenanigans, but for our purposes this brief excerpt tells us what we want to know--the national security angle to the story of the Big Steal is very real:

In short, there is no security on the Dominion system at all. Most importantly, you’ll see how the election is being stolen from the inside. 

The stories about the election tallies being sent overseas to Germany, Rome, the UK, Canada, and other exotic places to be processed are true. Inside Dominion’s contract is a use of temporary foreign worker’s clause for the GA general election. This is Dominion’s contract with the State of Georgia.

Dominion hired workers in foreign countries to service the 2020 election. Dominion uses 3 or 4 levels of access keys to operate the Democracy Suite system. Just to be able to work from outside the United States, these foreign nationals working with the ballots need have master tech keys. With the tech keys every part of the system is open and every election file is available and changeable.

Obviously Trump knows all that, too--and undoubtedly lots more.

UPDATED: Please Send $10 Million. Quickly.

Oh, and best wishes from my entire family.

As it happens, this exact deal didn't happen. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained. And if Biden Inc. was about anything, it was certainly about venturing to gain. And so Fox is reporting, based on an email they've obtained:

Hunter Biden in 2017 sent 'best wishes' from 'entire Biden family' to China firm chairman, requested $10M wire

2017 letter asked chairman to 'properly fund and operate' Biden joint venture with Chinese energy company

It's a lengthy article, but this will give you a flavor.

UPDATED: Briefly Noted: Steve Hayward Surprises Me, 'Dr.' Biden Doesn't

The reason Hayward surprises me in his election retrospective is that I didn't expect two things: 1) That recovering TrumpSkeptic Hayward is rather complimentary with regard to Trump, and 2) He advocates war to the knife against any Biden administration--assuming that comes to pass:

They Stole It Fair And Square

Hayward first makes the observation that came up in the comments this morning--that Trump had warned of fraud, had claimed to have an army of lawyers ready to deal with it, but then ...

Hayward places some deserved blame on the Trump campaign, but he also singles out Republicans in the States for being "foolish if not derelict in their duty." In our "decentralized" election "system"--which Hayward aptly describes as an astoundingly chaotic way to choose a president--the State party organizations are largely responsible for policing the "system." That was the brainchild of the Founding Fathers. The Republican response to what they knew was coming was simply haphazard.

After briefly noting the difficulty in America of doing anything effective about fraud, Hayward offers some concrete recommendations:

Brett Tolman Takes Bill Barr To Task

Those of you who have watched the video interviews of Brett Tolman on Fox--which I've linked a fair number of times--will know that Tolman is far from being a bomb thrower. He's a former Senate lawyer and US Attorney, and he offers informed, measured, analysis of legal matters--with no verbal fireworks. So, when he offers sharp criticism of someone like Bill Barr--whom he admires--you know that his views are deeply held. 

Nevertheless, Tolman doesn't hold back. When AG Barr shot his mouth off about election fraud, making some frankly inexcusable statements after the election, Tolman didn't mince words--This Statement Really Stunned Me:

It almost sounds like someone shooting from the cuff and making some comments without having done any due diligence on his own. I've spoken to folks that are on the ground in several of these states that have been talking to witnesses, looking at what is alleged. It's really hard to believe that the Attorney General came out and-- Look, I'm a fan of AG Barr and I've followed his career for many, many years, but this statement really stunned me,because if you've watched any of the hearings you know that there are people out there expressing their first hand account of issues and irregularities that are concerning and that somebody needs to be digging into and getting to the bottom of. 

This morning I came across a Fox segment with Martha MacCallum that covers the new revelations of Biden Inc. criminality:

Fox Drops News of Yet Another Federal Investigation Into Hunter Biden

MacCallum spends nearly half of the segment discussing the matter with Tolman, and MacCallum's focus is all on, What did Bill Barr know, when did he know it, and why didn't he say anything about it?--a question on quite few people's minds.

SWC's Must Read Hunter Biden Prediction

Let's get Shipwreckedcrew's prediction out of the way first thing:

My Prediction: If Joe Biden Is Sworn in, the Investigation of Hunter Biden Will Lead to Joe's Resignation

I think most us who have been following the Hunter Biden story won't be surprised at such a prediction. In fact, given that if the Dems really end up pulling off their Election Hoax we know whatever administration ensues will be Obama 2.0, and given the further fact that we know Obama has no use for Biden anyway, it follows that they key word in that title just might be "If". Someone is wasting no time in exposing a ton of Biden baggage to public view, well in advance of any inauguration. Heck, Biden hasn't even made it to president elect, yet! Who really believes that the liberal media, having dutifully covered up for Biden Inc. during the election, has suddenly developed a conscience? Me neither. These revelations--revelations to low info Dem voters, anyway--look very much like messages to Biden Inc.: Start making plans for your future, and don't include a Pennsylvania Ave. address in those plans.

Here's the thing, though. That scenario envisions a President Kama Sutra--something few Dem voters really bargained for. Not in the sense of really processing the implications through their skulls. These switcheroo gimmicks rarely work out as envisioned, and we know Obama isn't exactly a political genius. So prospects for any sort of happy ending for the Dems from their Election Hoax are fading.

That's my prediction, if this scenario plays out as SWC believes it will.

Now, here's why SWC's article is a must read.

Will A Biden Presidency Be Most Corrupt Ever? Don't Doubt It!

To be honest, I haven't even been following the "appointments" that "Biden" is making. It's too depressing. But from the names I've seen in passing it's clear that the Dems are about to start burying all bodies that have been disinterred during the past few years--while Grassley and Johnson go through their usual ritual motions.

Here's an example:

After joining Burisma, Hunter Biden requested meetings with Antony Blinken: State Dept. emails

President-elect Joe Biden nominated Blinken for secretary of state

New Secretary of State pick Antony Blinken has a long-standing relationship with President-elect Joe Biden going back to their days in the Obama administration, but State Department emails revealed that during that time Blinken appeared to have made a connection with Hunter Biden as well.

In the weeks leading up to the 2020 election, Hunter Biden was the subject of reports about business dealings in Ukraine and China and possible links to his father. Records show that the younger Biden also had ties to Blinken, having scheduled meetings with him while he was on the board of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma and Blinken was deputy secretary of state.

"Have a few minutes next week to grab a cup of coffee? I know you are impossibly busy, but would like to get your advice on a couple of things," Hunter Biden said in a May 22, 2015 email to Blinken that the State Department released in 2019, pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request.

"Absolutely," Blinken replied. Several emails followed discussing logistics. A separate email from Blinken's assistant on May 27, 2015, listed his schedule for that day. It included a meeting with Hunter Biden set for 3:30 p.m.

Absolutely! What's a busy Deputy Secretary of State in office for, if not to provide "advice on a couple of things" to the VPOTUS' crackhead sex fiend son? And how would that VPOTUS--now claiming to be POTUS elect--possibly say no to Blinken if Blinken asked for the SoS spot?

Biden, Inc.? You're joking, right? Ukraine? China? Down the memory hole!

What Are These Hints About China About?

We're not getting definite information, but we are getting hints or suggestions that China may have been involved in the election fraud--probably through some tie in to Dominion. You may also remember that we discussed recently the fact--and this is a fact--that the FBI had a FISA on Patrick Ho. Andy McCarthy and Chuck Ross have written about this, cf. Highly Recommended--A Collusion Tale: China and the Bidens:

FISA Surveillance

United States intelligence agencies clearly took notice. As the Daily Caller’s Chuck Ross reports, our government obtained at least one FISA surveillance warrant that yielded evidence against Chi Ping Patrick Ho, one of CEFC’s heavyweights. The surveillance authorized by the FISA court included electronic eavesdropping as well as physical searching.

As Russiagate and the challenges to investigating it have made painfully clear, FISA surveillance is classified. The government applications and evidentiary showings that lead to it are closely guarded national-security secrets. Even on the rare occasions when evidence derived from FISA surveillance is used in court, as it was in Ho’s eventual prosecution for corruption crimes, the lawyers for the defendant and the trial prosecutors are not informed of the factual basis that predicated the surveillance. The full breadth of the counterintelligence investigation is not revealed publicly. The full range of targets remains secret, and we learn neither how long the monitoring went on nor what specific intelligence-gathering methods were employed.

Is it far fetched to think that the FISA was picking up the Bidens--Hunter and Joe and Jim? I don't think that's far fetched at all. To the contrary, I'd be surprised if that were not the case. Imagine the kinds of things that might have been discussed! Trump, politics, a presidential run? Why not?

Be that as it may, Seth J. Levy is offering a theory, a big picture theory of what's been going on, which of course suggests that there could be some big things coming down the line. See what you think:

UPDATED: Who Is Kathy Chung?

H/T TGP

That's the question that Michael Flynn is suggesting we should be asking:

General Flynn

@GenFlynn

.

@MZHemingway

Ask who is Kathy Chung (EOP) and why in 2015 is she giving a “treasure trove” of intelligence (phone no’s) to Hunter & Redacted. Any foreign power would love to have this information!!!

6:17 AM · Nov 1, 2020·

It's an interesting question, and one that's easily answered. Kathy Chung (aka Kathy Sang-Ok Chung, Kathy S. Geraghty) was an assistant to then Vice President Joe Biden--that is, in 2015. Here is the email that Michael Flynn is referring to, the one that Kathy Chung sent to Hunter Biden--the name at the bottom is Eric Cantor:

Yes, it's easy to imagine that a foreign intelligence service would be interested in having all those cell phone numbers--but what use would Hunter Biden have for them?

GNEWS thinks it has the answer, and in fact their answer seems to be what Michael Flynn is hinting at: Hunter Biden Sold the Clintons’ Phone Numbers to the CCP. Of course, there would be any number of ways to disguise what the payment was actually for. GNEWS doesn't go in for nuance:

The CCP obtained the personal cell phone numbers available only to the Secret Service because the whereabouts of these members and their families were being protected by the United States Secret Service [USSS]. A traitor among them [USSS] had apparently supplied the list directly or indirectly to Kathy S. Chuang, who was hired by Rosemont Seneca, of which Hunter Biden was a co-founder. The CCP would secretly monitor and record the phone conversations of these officials who worked at the government at the highest level, in order to find their weakness and their dirty dealings, to blackmail them, and to own them.

It's an interesting narrative. One that hangs together pretty well. A good working hypothesis.

UPDATE: Apologies for the slow posting. There's just so much to digest these days--new election news, new Russia Hoax information and, above all, trying to come to terms with the implications of the Biden Inc. scandal. Just a few days ago we examined Andy McCarthy's excellent effort to come to grips with Biden Inc.--A Collusion Tale: China and the Bidens. Today, Shipwreckedcrew follows on with a fine article on the same topic: What to Make of DOJ Announcement That Hunter Biden Is Under Investigation -- Just Money Laundering or More? 

The implications of the fact that we now know that the FBI has had a FISA on--at the very least--associates of Hunter Biden are enormous. I think most people have some idea from the Russia Hoax of the scope of information that current FISA methods can scoop up. The real point to me is that the FBI has almost unquestionably been gaining vast new knowledge over several years about the scope of Chinese influence buying from top to bottom of the US political establishment--but especially among Dems. That's why I drew attention to the list of "domestic contacts" that Jim Biden set out in a May, 2017, email: Subject: Hunter Biden And Associates.

Those names, which included, among others:

Andrew Cuomo 

Chuck Schumer (D)

Kirsten Gillibrand (D)

Bill de Blasio

Terry McAuliffe

Mark Dayton

Al Franken (D)

Amy Klobuchar

Rick Scott

Jerry Brown

Dianne Feinstein

Kamala Harris

Gavin Newsom

Eric Garcetti

may only be the tip of a very large iceberg. The Russia Hoax may have revealed the willingness of the Left to trash all constitutional legal safeguards in pursuit of Power, but Biden Inc. may yet reveal the extent to which America's Progressive elite has been willing to sell America to China.

This is what we will hopefully begin to see soon after the election. This is the meaning of the extreme measures the Dems have been willing to take to bring down Trump: shutting down the economy, the violence of Antifa/BLM, and the threat of more lockdowns and more violence to come if the American people vote for Trump.

Highly Recommended--A Collusion Tale: China and the Bidens

Andy McCarthy has an excellent article today (h/t Mike Edmonson):

A Collusion Tale: China and the Bidens

Not only were the Bidens’ Chinese business contacts known to have ties to the regime; they also may have been clandestine agents.

There's actually no real "may have been" about it. McCarthy cites Hunter Biden's own description of a key partner, Chi Ping Patrick Ho, as “the f***ing spy chief of China.” As McCarthy amply documents, there is ample reason to accept Biden's assessment that Ho, if not the actual "f***ing spy chief of China," was certainly serving an intelligence function for China. And Ho worked directly for another top Chinese intelligence operative, Ye Zianming.

McCarthy tells the whole story very clearly, despite the dense detail. I highly recommend it.

I also draw attention to the role of FISA in the FBI investigations into these China operatives. There's no doubt at all that the FBI would have been well aware of the the Chinese cultivation of the Biden family--and other US politicians. That awareness, by now, has certainly spanned quite a few years. That's what the use of FISA makes possible, but there is a complication when it comes to use of evidence gather under FISA in a criminal trial. McCarthy explains:

The Biden Inc. Investigation Timeline

Nope, I'm not gonna provide a timeline. Jen Dyer has already done that, and commenter devilman drew Dyer's timeline to our attention:  

The laptop and the FBI investigation: The most interesting timeline you will see in 2020

There are a few details that can be added to flesh the timeline out just a bit, which I'll try to do. Dyer's basic narrative is that everything that we're now learning has to be viewed as part of a larger political struggle--but with the critical involvement of AG Bill Barr.

UPDATED: How Serious Is The FBI's Biden Inc. Investigation?

Almost certainly very serious. In the Indian tribe fraud case in which two Hunter Biden associates were convicted (Devon Archer's conviction was very recently reinstated on appeal), a lot of evidence regarding these key Biden Inc. players was gathered. One is now cooperating from prison. Next question: What will Devon Archer do? Obviously what they have to offer to the government, their bargaining chips, all have to do with Biden Inc. And the Biden Inc. case is open. Ongoing. But they've had to wait for the hoped for cooperation, working the documentary trail of evidence while they wait.

There's another indicator, and it's a significant one.

Jeff Cortese, 

@FBI SSA and Public Corruption A/Unit Chief (former)

writes something that makes total sense:

 

Jeff Cortese

@jeffreycortese

I’ve done my share of five hour interviews, but six FBI agents feels like multiple squads with separate cases. You don’t need that many people unless you’re working different angles.

Quote Tweet

James Rosen

@JamesRosenTV

· 16h

EXCLUSIVE: Tony Bobulinski tells @WeAreSinclair he was questioned by six @FBI agents, with counsel present, for five hours on October 23, listing him as a "material witness" in an ongoing investigation focused on Hunter Biden and his associates. His cell phones were examined.

1:47

864K views

11:56 PM · Oct 29, 2020

Obviously the cases probably involve evidentiary overlap. Nevertheless, it makes administrative sense to separate different strands of investigation for the sake of focus and efficiency. To see 6 agents together like this is highly unusual and argues for something like three investigative teams--two representatives from each team.

UPDATE: How would those hypothetical three teams/squads divide the investigative pie? To me, perhaps the most logical way, based on what we know, might be assign investigative duties based on geography. For example, we know that China and Ukraine/Russia were two very active areas for Biden Inc. One team for each? As for other areas, another team to handle all the rest? 

To me that would make sense, for this reason. Suppose that there are multiple criminal violations. The likelihood remains that, for any given geographical area, the same players would be involved in all the violations. Therefore, it would be logical to keep them together. That's just a guess. I can also see a separate team handling all the financial investigation, regardless of geography. We'll just have to wait and see.