Author: KJ McElrath

Intelligence Community More Worried About Job Security Than the Truth

Intelligence Community More Worried About Job Security Than the Truth

Posted by | Mar 14, 2017 | , , |

There is this popular image of the world of espionage which resembles novels by Ian Fleming or Robert Ludlum. If you’ve ever seen movies featuring the characters of James Bond or Jason Bourne, you have an idea. That’s the myth. However, the reality is closer to the 1960s TV sitcom Get Smart, British actor Rowan Atkinson’s Johnny English, or MAD Magazine’s “Spy vs. Spy.” The fact of the matter – according to a former diplomat from Australia – that spies from all countries are primarily interested in employment security. i.e., keeping their jobs, not saving the world from Dr. No....

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The Intelligence Community Now Embroiled In Deep State Infighting

The Intelligence Community Now Embroiled In Deep State Infighting

Posted by | Mar 13, 2017 | , |

A few weeks ago, The Ring of Fire shared a story of warnings from journalist Glen Greenwald and former Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich. Those warnings were about the consequences of intelligence agencies such as the CIA and the NSA siding with Trump resisters as they attempt to overthrow our nominally democratic government, replacing it with themselves – appointed bureaucrats who are unaccountable to We, The People. Now, elements of that “Deep State” are going to war with each other over that very issue. Like the legislature and the judiciary, the Deep State is divided into two broad factions. One...

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Tensions On The Korean Peninsula Increase As U.S. and China Prepare for a New Arms Race

Tensions On The Korean Peninsula Increase As U.S. and China Prepare for a New Arms Race

Posted by | Mar 11, 2017 | |

Few people realize that the Korean War, which began in June of 1950, has never officially ended. The actual shooting ended with the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement of July 27th 1953, which called for a “complete cessation of hostilities and of all acts of armed force in Korea until a final peaceful settlement is achieved.” However, that “final peaceful settlement” has yet to be achieved – and  recent events in the region are threatening to break that fragile and temporary truce. The most recent threat came as a result of last week’s launch of four missiles by...

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Facing 11,000 Xarelto Lawsuits, Johnson & Johnson Doubles Down On Physician Bribes

Facing 11,000 Xarelto Lawsuits, Johnson & Johnson Doubles Down On Physician Bribes

Posted by | Mar 11, 2017 | , |

Xarelto, a “New Generation” anti-coagulant, was supposed to have been the ideal replacement for warfarin, the standard treatment for patients at risk for embolism and thrombosis due to blood clots. The FDA approved Xarelto in 2011, and it was on pharmacy shelves by July of that year. However, within little over a year, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) was sounding the alarm about the abnormally high number of adverse events. According to the report that was published in October 2012, there had been nearly 160 cases of serious side effects during the first three months of that...

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The Talk of Isolationism and ‘America First’ Was Just Talk: Trump Wants To Go To War

The Talk of Isolationism and ‘America First’ Was Just Talk: Trump Wants To Go To War

Posted by | Mar 10, 2017 | , |

Does anyone remember Trump’s “America First” rhetoric on the campaign trail last year? Granted, his foreign policy was not always clear, but essentially, he “promised” that there would be major changes in the way the U.S. has approached global issues since the end of the Second World War. Under his administration, U.S. foreign policy would start moving away from ruinously expensive and ultimately pointless interventionist actions overseas. Other nations would be expected to step up and take greater responsibility for their own protection. Trump pointed out (in a rare moment of candor) that, “For many decades, we’ve enriched foreign...

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