Wed, Nov 2, 2022 at 3:27 PM
http://www.wikipediaexposed.org/
Biden inauguration: Your guide to what happens when - from the swearing-in to Lady Gaga's national anthem
A host of stars are involved in events to mark the big day, such as Jennifer Lopez, Tom Hanks, Katy Perry and Bruce Springsteen.
  
Cеlеbrаtеd Nаmе: Јое Віdеn Rеаl Nаmе/Full Nаmе: Јоѕерh Rоbіnеttе Віdеn Јr.
Gеndеr:Маlе, Аgе: 78 уеаrѕ оld, Віrth Dаtе: 20 Nоvеmbеr 1942
Віrth Рlасе: Ѕсrаntоn, Реnnѕуlvаnіа, Unіtеd Ѕtаtеѕ: Nаtіоnаlіtу: Аmеrісаn, Неіght: 1.83 m. Wеіght: 75 kg
Ѕехuаl Оrіеntаtіоn: Ѕtrаіght. Маrіtаl Ѕtаtuѕ: Маrrіеd: Wіfе/Ѕроuѕе (Nаmе): Јіll Віdеn (m. 1977), Nеіlіа Нuntеr (m. 1966–1972)
Сhіldrеn: Yеѕ (Нuntеr Віdеn, Веаu Віdеn, Аѕhlеу Віdеn, Nаоmі Віdеn)
Dаtіng/Gіrlfrіеnd (Nаmе): N/А, Рrоfеѕѕіоn: Аmеrісаn роlіtісіаn
Nеt Wоrth іn 2021: $10 mіllіоn -Lаѕt Uрdаtеd: Јаnuаrу 2021
Јое Віdеn іѕ а fаmоuѕ Аmеrісаn роlіtісіаn whо ѕеrvеd аѕ thе Vісе-Рrеѕіdеnt оf thе Unіtеd Ѕtаtеѕ оf Аmеrісаn fоr еіght уеаrѕ. Не wаѕ thе mеmbеr оf thе Dеmосrаtіс раrtу whо rерrеѕеntеd Dеlаwаrе аѕ а UЅ ѕеnаtоr fоr thіrtу-ѕеvеn уеаrѕ. https://www.wealthypersons.com/joe-biden-net-worth-2020-2021/
Everyone Noticed What Biden did To HIDE the Truth, seconds later Trump publicly Humiliates Him
Simon Parkes, Charlie Ward, David Nino Rodriguez and Tiana -
Claim that Donald Trump put the USA effectively under control of the US Military before resigning as US President
and put the following in charge: Christopher Miller- Previous Deputy Defence Secretary and Peter Gainer Head of FEMA
20TH JANUARY UPDATE CURRENT NEWS
Kamala Harris, - kamalaharris.org
Kamala Devi Harris is an American politician and attorney who is the vice president-elect of the United States. Harris served as a United States senator from California from 2017 to 2021, and as attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017
Everything We Know About Biden's Inauguration On Jan. 20
An Event for All Americans | Joe Biden & Kamala Harris Inauguration 2021
Washington — Joseph R. Biden, Jr., has been sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, taking the reins of power at a perilous time in American history and urging a bitterly divided country to unite around defeating the deadliest pandemic in a century.
"This is America's day. This is democracy's day," Mr. Biden said in his inaugural address. "Today we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause. The cause of democracy. The people, the will of the people, has been heard, and the will of the people has been heeded."
Noting that he was being inaugurated on the Capitol steps just two weeks after it was stormed by an "angry, violent mob," Mr. Biden said the country has learned that "democracy is precious, democracy is fragile, and at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed."
Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office shortly before noon, when Mr. Biden officially became president. Mr. Biden addressed the nation minutes after Vice President Kamala Harris was first sworn in, making history as the first woman and person of color to become second in line to the presidency.
Mr. Biden takes over at a time of tremendous upheaval and division, fueled both by his predecessor and the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 400,000 Americans.
The inauguration ceremony was unlike any the country has ever seen, with a new president addressing an empty National Mall while thousands of National Guard troops stood watch over downtown Washington. The Mall was filled with thousands of small flags representing Americans who might otherwise have been in attendance, were it not for the pandemic.
Members of Congress, Supreme Court justices and outgoing Vice President Mike Pence were on hand to witness Mr. Biden's swearing-in, with seats spaced apart to prevent the spread of the virus. Three former presidents — Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton — were also among those in attendance.
Former President Donald Trump, however, was not there, having left Washington earlier Wednesday morning. Mr. Trump instead addressed supporters before boarding Air Force One for the last time as president to fly to Florida. He is the first outgoing president in more than 150 years to not attend the inauguration of his successor.
Mr. Biden plans to quickly begin dismantling some of Mr. Trump's signature initiatives with a slew of executive orders and actions set to be signed on Day 1. He becomes the first president to enter office without a single Cabinet secretary confirmed by the Senate.
Inauguration Live Updates: Biden sworn in as 46th president, declaring "democracy has prevailed" (cbsnews.com)
Also see
Biden Inaugurated as 46th President - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. and Kamala Devi Harris took the oath of office at a Capitol still reeling from the attack of a violent mob at a time when a deadly pandemic is still ravaging the country.
Biden Will Be the Oldest President to Take the Oath. Who Were the Youngest and Oldest? - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Biden Is the Oldest President to Take the Oath
President Trump previously held the record for the country’s oldest chief executive. At 42, Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest.
Where Does Joe Biden Stand on Major Policies?
Here’s an overview on President-elect Biden’s positions on coronavirus, health care, the economy, taxes and climate change.
 
President-elect Joe Biden speaks as he announces members of economics and jobs team at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, January 8, 2021. © Reuters / Kevin Lamarque
Biden the unifier? President-elect likens Cruz, Hawley to Nazi propagandist Goebbels, says they share blame for inciting violence
8 Jan, 2021
President-elect Joe Biden speaks as he announces members of economics and jobs team at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, January 8, 2021. © Reuters / Kevin Lamarque
Follow RT on [RT]
President-elect Joe Biden, who has vowed to help heal America's fractured political system, may have taken a wrong turn on the road to reconciliation by likening two Republican senators to Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Biden said Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) share responsibility with President Donald Trump for inciting the violent protesters who breached the US Capitol on Wednesday. Rather than being forced to resign, he said the two senators should be voted out of office when they come up for re-election.
“They're part of a big lie, a big lie,” Biden said. He then stumbled over a story about how Goebbels made people believe Nazi propaganda, such as exaggerating civilian casualties from the Allied bombing of Dresden, by telling a lie repeatedly. Goebbels infamously said, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”
Cruz and Hawley led opposition to certifying results of the November 3 presidential election – at least not before an investigation – citing allegations that Biden won based on hundreds of thousands of fraudulent votes in Georgia and other swing states. “If he's the only one saying it, that's one thing,” Biden said of Trump. “But the acolytes that follow him, like Cruz and others, they are as responsible as he is.”
Biden's comments were not unlike the Nazi-invoking rhetoric that was used against Trump and his supporters for the past four years. And the comments came one day after he leaned on another anti-Trump theme, racism, suggesting police failed to protect the Capitol because they responded more leniently to Wednesday's rioters than if the protest had been a Black Lives Matter event.
ALSO ON RT.COM House Democrats leak draft of Trump IMPEACHMENT for ‘inciting insurrection’
Social media users pointed out the contrast between Biden's pledges of healing and his divisive actions. “So now we are calling people Nazis?” a Twitter commenter asked. “This from the party who abused the DOJ to spy on their political opponents to abuse FISA? Remember, Joe Biden called Trump 'illegitimate' and claimed Russian collusion was real.” Another observer quipped, “The Nazi talk is so 'unity,'” while still another reminded Biden of another quote that's often attributed to Goebbels: “Accuse the other side of that of which you are guilty.”
“Biden would know best about what it is to repeat the same lies over and over until they're taken as truth,” conservative Twitter pundit Ian Miles Cheong said. “He does it better than Trump ever did.”
"A message from Washington!
The U.S. military has sent a message to the mass media regarding the Emergency Broadcast Service (EBS). [BB News"
Highlights and analysis: Inaugural events to kick off amid heightened security
Biden and Harris will take part in a ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial on Tuesday to commemorate those who have perished from Covid-19.
Jan. 20, 2021, 5:24 AM EST
Preparations for President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration continued Wednesday amid a heavy security presence in Washington, with the areas around the Capitol and downtown streets closed to the public and tens of thousands of National Guard troops mobilized in a massive show of force.
In a major departure from previous inaugurations, most of the events were already planned to take place virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. In a sign of the anxiety gripping Washington following the riot at the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob earlier this month, the building was briefly on lockdown and its west front, where a rehearsal for Wednesday's inaugural ceremony was taking place, was evacuated Monday after a "small fire" under a nearby bridge prompted an announcement of a security threat.
On Tuesday evening, Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will speak at a ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to commemorate the over 400,000 Americans who have died from Covid-19. A field of flags has been placed on the National Mall, representing those unable to attend the inauguration because of the coronavirus. The inauguration comes as the Senate prepares to try President Donald Trump on one article of impeachment for urging thousands of supporters to march on the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Biden inauguration:
Your guide to what happens when - from the swearing-in to Lady Gaga's national anthem
A host of stars are involved in events to mark the big day, such as Jennifer Lopez, Tom Hanks, Katy Perry and Bruce Springsteen.
Biden inauguration:
A host of stars are involved in events to mark the big day, such as Jennifer Lopez, Tom Hanks, Katy Perry and Bruce Springsteen.
By Russell Hope, news reporter - Wednesday 20 January 2021
https://news.sky.com/story/biden-inauguration-your-guide-to-what-happens-when-from-the-swearing-in-to-lady-gagas-national-anthem-12187722
The inauguration is taking place amid unprecedented security and without the usual crowds
Joe Biden is today being sworn in as the 46th president of the United States - part of an inauguration ceremony he hopes will start a national healing process after four divisive years.
The new president and his inaugural committee plan to showcase diversity, emphasising "the beginning of a new national journey, one that restores the soul of America and brings Americans together".
Here is your guide to the events throughout the day and night.
Biden inauguration:
Your guide to what happens when - from the swearing-in to Lady Gaga's national anthem
A host of stars are involved in events to mark the big day, such as Jennifer Lopez, Tom Hanks, Katy Perry and Bruce Springsteen.
Biden inauguration: bunting was put up for the inauguration in front of the White House.
What and when - and who?
Donald Trump will leave the White House for the final time in the morning and is expected to head to his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
As he heads south, the build-up in Washington DC begins for his successor's swearing-in ceremony.
Live updates on the final preparations for Joe Biden's inauguration
'We pray for the new administration'
Events start at around 11am local time (4pm GMT) with the invocation, read by the Reverend Leo O'Donovan, a Jesuit priest who is the former president of Georgetown University and a close friend of the Biden family.
Next is the Pledge of Allegiance, read this year by Andrea Hall, the first black female firefighter to become captain of the Fire Rescue Department in South Fulton, Georgia.
Then comes the national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, sung by Lady Gaga, who campaigned with Mr Biden on domestic violence when he was vice president and campaigned for him in the 2020 election.
Watch and follow events on Sky News from 1pm, with the inauguration ceremony starting at 4pm
:Gaga also performed during a drive-in rally for Joe Biden .
Amanda Gorman, America's first Youth Poet Laureate, will read a poem she has written for the occasion called The Hill We Climb.
She will be followed by performances by Jennifer Lopez, and Garth Brooks.
A long-time friend of the Biden family, the Reverend Silvester Beaman, pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Wilmington, Delaware, will deliver a benediction.
Mr Biden and Kamala Harris will be sworn in as president and vice president shortly after noon US time (about 5pm GMT).
:Kamala Harris (left) will be sworn in by the first Latina member of the Supreme Court. Pic: AP
As is tradition, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, will administer the oath of office to Mr Biden.
He will take the oath with his hand on his 127-year-old family Bible, held by his wife, Jill.
Ms Harris will be sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina member of the Supreme Court.
She will use two Bibles, one that belonged to a close family friend and another that belonged to Thurgood Marshall, the country's first African American Supreme Court justice, and one of her heroes.
Then comes Mr Biden's first presidential address to the country, expected to last just over 20 minutes.
Trump snubbing inauguration 'a good thing'
Star power
Remember 2016, when some big names turned down invitations to perform for Donald Trump, aghast at his shock victory over Hollywood's political heartthrob, Hillary Clinton?
No such issues for his successor, with organisers having bagged some of the world's biggest stars.
As if having Gaga perform the national anthem wasn't enough, Jennifer Lopez and country music star Garth Brooks, who also played Barack Obama's inauguration, will perform.
"They [Gaga and Lopez] represent one clear picture of the grand diversity of our great nation," his team said in a statement, also noting Gaga's advocacy of LGBTQ issues, and Lopez's work raising awareness about the impact of coronavirus on Latinos.
Later on, Bruce Springsteen, John Legend, Katy Perry and Foo Fighters are among the acts booked for the evening TV special.
Jennifer Lopez is among the performers.
Diversity
Emphasising the changing mood in Washington, a career firefighter, Andrea Hall, will lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
She and Amanda Gorman, the inaugural US National Youth Poet Laureate, who will give a poetry reading, are both black.
Two members of the clergy will take part, one of whom, Reverend Silvester Beaman of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, is a pastor from Mr Biden's hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
He and Father Leo O'Donovan are both close to the Biden family.
Ms Gorman will be continuing a tradition - for Democratic presidents - that includes such celebrated poets as Robert Frost and Maya Angelou.
:Amanda Gorman, seen in 2019, will read a poem at the Biden/Harris inauguration
Traditions
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be sworn in on the West Front of the US Capitol as usual, but not every tradition will be followed.
Living former presidents usually attend, but there will be no Donald Trump, who has declined to go and may have already arrived in Florida by now.
He becomes the first president to skip his successor's inauguration since Andrew Johnson in 1869. Vice President Mike Pence will attend, however.
Other previous occupants of the White House - Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton - and their wives will be there, but Jimmy Carter, 96, and his wife Rosalynn Carter will not.
There will be an inspection of the troops at the Capitol, but the traditional parade along Pennsylvania Avenue - the road outside the White House - which usually follows has been cancelled.
Joe Biden was planning to travel to Washington on a special train, but has changed plans over security concerns.
This is a limited version of the story so unfortunately this content is not available.
Also off this year is the customary lunch that follows the inaugural ceremony, and the inaugural balls have been cancelled.
One of the more prominent inauguration galas, The Creative Coalition's quadrennial ball, a benefit for arts education, is entirely virtual this year.
:Members of the National Guard visiting the US Capitol ahead of the inauguration.
No crowds
In a big departure from past inaugurations, the National Mall, where thousands traditionally gather to see the new president sworn in - will be closed to the public on inauguration day due to threats of violence from groups who attacked the Capitol.
Organisers had already announced that they would not be issuing tickets for those who can attend closer to the ceremony, but this latest closure extends to the entire mall area.
Only authorised people will be allowed in, one official said, such as those working on the entertainment programme planned for later in the evening.
Security tightens ahead of inauguration
Heavy security
Up to 25,000 members of the US National Guard are expected to be in the nation's capital to help provide security, turning the city centre into an armed fortress, with roads closed and barbed wire.
"It's like a ghost town but with soldiers," said Dana O'Connor, as she and her husband walked past concrete barriers near the White House on Sunday.
"It's eerie. It feels super unnatural," she said.
The 'field of flags' on the National Mall, looking towards the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Pic: AP
The troops' task is to ensure there is no repeat of the chaos and violence of the deadly riot at the US Capitol by making sure no one is there who shouldn't be.
The deployment reflects continuing anger - and fear - stemming from the attack on Congress by pro-Trump supporters, which resulted in an historic second impeachment for the president.
Only about 8,000 National Guard members were present during Mr Trump's own inauguration in 2017.
The Department of Homeland Security is also implementing a security lockdown in downtown Washington.
In a sign of the growing anxiety in the city, Mr Biden has decided not to travel there from his home in Wilmington, Delaware, by train.
:Barbed wire is placed at Columbus Circle, near the Capitol in Washington. Pic: AP
The TV special
With little in the way of public interaction because of the pandemic, the PIC has organised a prime-time Inauguration Day TV programme entitled "Celebrating America" for the evening.
It will air between 8.30pm and 10pm coast to coast (after 1am Thursday GMT), featuring remarks by Mr Biden and Kamala Harris, celebrity performances and segments highlighting "America's resiliency".
Hosted by Tom Hanks, it will include performances by Foo Fighters, John Legend, and Bruce Springsteen from iconic locations across the country.
Tom Hanks will host the inauguration prime-time TV special. Pic: AP
Demi Lovato, Justin Timberlake, Ant Clemons. Katy Perry and Jon Bon Jovi will also play the show - which aims to "celebrate the beginning of a new national journey toward an America united".
Eva Longoria and Kerry Washington will introduce segments throughout the night ranging from stories of young people making a difference in their communities, to musical performances.
:John Legend will perform in the TV special.
The programme showcases "the American people's resilience, heroism, and unified commitment to coming together as a nation to heal and rebuild".
The show will be carried live by major broadcasters ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and MSNBC as well as being streamed live on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch and Amazon Prime Video.
The committee said in a statement: "This inauguration represents the beginning of a new national journey, one that restores the soul of America and brings Americans together."
Longoria supported Biden and Harris, and spoke during a Hispanic Heritage Month event during their campaign. Pic: AP
Five-day celebration
There is also a series of events over five days under the banner of "America United".
It began on Monday with "United We Serve", a National Day of Service on what is Martin Luther King Jr Day.
Tuesday saw a nationwide COVID-19 Memorial to Lives Lost.
Pelosi marks 400k US COVID deaths
As well as the inaugural ceremonies, Wednesday has a wreath-laying service at the tomb of the unknown soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
The customary parade along Pennsylvania Avenue has been replaced with a "Parade Across America".
A public art display, named "Field Of Flags", made up of 191,500 US flags and 56 pillars of light, will cover part of the National Mall to represent every US state and territory and those unable to travel to the capital.
By Russell Hope, news reporter - Wednesday 20 January 2021
https://news.sky.com/story/biden-inauguration-your-guide-to-what-happens-when-from-the-swearing-in-to-lady-gagas-national-anthem-12187722
|
|
Wed, Nov 2, 2022 at 3:27 PM
http://www.wikipediaexposed.org/
Biden inauguration: Your guide to what happens when - from the swearing-in to Lady Gaga's national anthem
A host of stars are involved in events to mark the big day, such as Jennifer Lopez, Tom Hanks, Katy Perry and Bruce Springsteen.
Cеlеbrаtеd Nаmе: Јое Віdеn Rеаl Nаmе/Full Nаmе: Јоѕерh Rоbіnеttе Віdеn Јr.
Gеndеr:Маlе, Аgе: 78 уеаrѕ оld, Віrth Dаtе: 20 Nоvеmbеr 1942
Віrth Рlасе: Ѕсrаntоn, Реnnѕуlvаnіа, Unіtеd Ѕtаtеѕ: Nаtіоnаlіtу: Аmеrісаn, Неіght: 1.83 m. Wеіght: 75 kg
Ѕехuаl Оrіеntаtіоn: Ѕtrаіght. Маrіtаl Ѕtаtuѕ: Маrrіеd: Wіfе/Ѕроuѕе (Nаmе): Јіll Віdеn (m. 1977), Nеіlіа Нuntеr (m. 1966–1972)
Сhіldrеn: Yеѕ (Нuntеr Віdеn, Веаu Віdеn, Аѕhlеу Віdеn, Nаоmі Віdеn)
Dаtіng/Gіrlfrіеnd (Nаmе): N/А, Рrоfеѕѕіоn: Аmеrісаn роlіtісіаn
Nеt Wоrth іn 2021: $10 mіllіоn -Lаѕt Uрdаtеd: Јаnuаrу 2021
Јое Віdеn іѕ а fаmоuѕ Аmеrісаn роlіtісіаn whо ѕеrvеd аѕ thе Vісе-Рrеѕіdеnt оf thе Unіtеd Ѕtаtеѕ оf Аmеrісаn fоr еіght уеаrѕ. Не wаѕ thе mеmbеr оf thе Dеmосrаtіс раrtу whо rерrеѕеntеd Dеlаwаrе аѕ а UЅ ѕеnаtоr fоr thіrtу-ѕеvеn уеаrѕ. https://www.wealthypersons.com/joe-biden-net-worth-2020-2021/
Everyone Noticed What Biden did To HIDE the Truth, seconds later Trump publicly Humiliates Him
Simon Parkes, Charlie Ward, David Nino Rodriguez and Tiana -
Claim that Donald Trump put the USA effectively under control of the US Military before resigning as US President
and put the following in charge: Christopher Miller- Previous Deputy Defence Secretary and Peter Gainer Head of FEMA
20TH JANUARY UPDATE CURRENT NEWS
Kamala Harris, - kamalaharris.org
Kamala Devi Harris is an American politician and attorney who is the vice president-elect of the United States. Harris served as a United States senator from California from 2017 to 2021, and as attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017
Everything We Know About Biden's Inauguration On Jan. 20
An Event for All Americans | Joe Biden & Kamala Harris Inauguration 2021
Washington — Joseph R. Biden, Jr., has been sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, taking the reins of power at a perilous time in American history and urging a bitterly divided country to unite around defeating the deadliest pandemic in a century.
"This is America's day. This is democracy's day," Mr. Biden said in his inaugural address. "Today we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause. The cause of democracy. The people, the will of the people, has been heard, and the will of the people has been heeded."
Noting that he was being inaugurated on the Capitol steps just two weeks after it was stormed by an "angry, violent mob," Mr. Biden said the country has learned that "democracy is precious, democracy is fragile, and at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed."
Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office shortly before noon, when Mr. Biden officially became president. Mr. Biden addressed the nation minutes after Vice President Kamala Harris was first sworn in, making history as the first woman and person of color to become second in line to the presidency.
Mr. Biden takes over at a time of tremendous upheaval and division, fueled both by his predecessor and the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 400,000 Americans.
The inauguration ceremony was unlike any the country has ever seen, with a new president addressing an empty National Mall while thousands of National Guard troops stood watch over downtown Washington. The Mall was filled with thousands of small flags representing Americans who might otherwise have been in attendance, were it not for the pandemic.
Members of Congress, Supreme Court justices and outgoing Vice President Mike Pence were on hand to witness Mr. Biden's swearing-in, with seats spaced apart to prevent the spread of the virus. Three former presidents — Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton — were also among those in attendance.
Former President Donald Trump, however, was not there, having left Washington earlier Wednesday morning. Mr. Trump instead addressed supporters before boarding Air Force One for the last time as president to fly to Florida. He is the first outgoing president in more than 150 years to not attend the inauguration of his successor.
Mr. Biden plans to quickly begin dismantling some of Mr. Trump's signature initiatives with a slew of executive orders and actions set to be signed on Day 1. He becomes the first president to enter office without a single Cabinet secretary confirmed by the Senate.
Inauguration Live Updates: Biden sworn in as 46th president, declaring "democracy has prevailed" (cbsnews.com)
Also see
Biden Inaugurated as 46th President - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. and Kamala Devi Harris took the oath of office at a Capitol still reeling from the attack of a violent mob at a time when a deadly pandemic is still ravaging the country.
Biden Will Be the Oldest President to Take the Oath. Who Were the Youngest and Oldest? - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Biden Is the Oldest President to Take the Oath
President Trump previously held the record for the country’s oldest chief executive. At 42, Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest.
Where Does Joe Biden Stand on Major Policies?
Here’s an overview on President-elect Biden’s positions on coronavirus, health care, the economy, taxes and climate change.
President-elect Joe Biden speaks as he announces members of economics and jobs team at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, January 8, 2021. © Reuters / Kevin Lamarque
Biden the unifier? President-elect likens Cruz, Hawley to Nazi propagandist Goebbels, says they share blame for inciting violence
8 Jan, 2021
President-elect Joe Biden speaks as he announces members of economics and jobs team at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, January 8, 2021. © Reuters / Kevin Lamarque
Follow RT on [RT]
President-elect Joe Biden, who has vowed to help heal America's fractured political system, may have taken a wrong turn on the road to reconciliation by likening two Republican senators to Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Biden said Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) share responsibility with President Donald Trump for inciting the violent protesters who breached the US Capitol on Wednesday. Rather than being forced to resign, he said the two senators should be voted out of office when they come up for re-election.
“They're part of a big lie, a big lie,” Biden said. He then stumbled over a story about how Goebbels made people believe Nazi propaganda, such as exaggerating civilian casualties from the Allied bombing of Dresden, by telling a lie repeatedly. Goebbels infamously said, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”
Cruz and Hawley led opposition to certifying results of the November 3 presidential election – at least not before an investigation – citing allegations that Biden won based on hundreds of thousands of fraudulent votes in Georgia and other swing states. “If he's the only one saying it, that's one thing,” Biden said of Trump. “But the acolytes that follow him, like Cruz and others, they are as responsible as he is.”
Biden's comments were not unlike the Nazi-invoking rhetoric that was used against Trump and his supporters for the past four years. And the comments came one day after he leaned on another anti-Trump theme, racism, suggesting police failed to protect the Capitol because they responded more leniently to Wednesday's rioters than if the protest had been a Black Lives Matter event.
ALSO ON RT.COM House Democrats leak draft of Trump IMPEACHMENT for ‘inciting insurrection’
Social media users pointed out the contrast between Biden's pledges of healing and his divisive actions. “So now we are calling people Nazis?” a Twitter commenter asked. “This from the party who abused the DOJ to spy on their political opponents to abuse FISA? Remember, Joe Biden called Trump 'illegitimate' and claimed Russian collusion was real.” Another observer quipped, “The Nazi talk is so 'unity,'” while still another reminded Biden of another quote that's often attributed to Goebbels: “Accuse the other side of that of which you are guilty.”
“Biden would know best about what it is to repeat the same lies over and over until they're taken as truth,” conservative Twitter pundit Ian Miles Cheong said. “He does it better than Trump ever did.”
"A message from Washington!
The U.S. military has sent a message to the mass media regarding the Emergency Broadcast Service (EBS). [BB News"
Highlights and analysis: Inaugural events to kick off amid heightened security
Biden and Harris will take part in a ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial on Tuesday to commemorate those who have perished from Covid-19.
Jan. 20, 2021, 5:24 AM EST
Preparations for President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration continued Wednesday amid a heavy security presence in Washington, with the areas around the Capitol and downtown streets closed to the public and tens of thousands of National Guard troops mobilized in a massive show of force.
In a major departure from previous inaugurations, most of the events were already planned to take place virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. In a sign of the anxiety gripping Washington following the riot at the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob earlier this month, the building was briefly on lockdown and its west front, where a rehearsal for Wednesday's inaugural ceremony was taking place, was evacuated Monday after a "small fire" under a nearby bridge prompted an announcement of a security threat.
On Tuesday evening, Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will speak at a ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to commemorate the over 400,000 Americans who have died from Covid-19. A field of flags has been placed on the National Mall, representing those unable to attend the inauguration because of the coronavirus. The inauguration comes as the Senate prepares to try President Donald Trump on one article of impeachment for urging thousands of supporters to march on the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Biden inauguration:
Your guide to what happens when - from the swearing-in to Lady Gaga's national anthem
A host of stars are involved in events to mark the big day, such as Jennifer Lopez, Tom Hanks, Katy Perry and Bruce Springsteen.
Biden inauguration:
A host of stars are involved in events to mark the big day, such as Jennifer Lopez, Tom Hanks, Katy Perry and Bruce Springsteen.
By Russell Hope, news reporter - Wednesday 20 January 2021
https://news.sky.com/story/biden-inauguration-your-guide-to-what-happens-when-from-the-swearing-in-to-lady-gagas-national-anthem-12187722
The inauguration is taking place amid unprecedented security and without the usual crowds
Joe Biden is today being sworn in as the 46th president of the United States - part of an inauguration ceremony he hopes will start a national healing process after four divisive years.
The new president and his inaugural committee plan to showcase diversity, emphasising "the beginning of a new national journey, one that restores the soul of America and brings Americans together".
Here is your guide to the events throughout the day and night.
Biden inauguration:
Your guide to what happens when - from the swearing-in to Lady Gaga's national anthem
A host of stars are involved in events to mark the big day, such as Jennifer Lopez, Tom Hanks, Katy Perry and Bruce Springsteen.
Biden inauguration: bunting was put up for the inauguration in front of the White House.
What and when - and who?
Donald Trump will leave the White House for the final time in the morning and is expected to head to his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
As he heads south, the build-up in Washington DC begins for his successor's swearing-in ceremony.
Live updates on the final preparations for Joe Biden's inauguration
'We pray for the new administration'
Events start at around 11am local time (4pm GMT) with the invocation, read by the Reverend Leo O'Donovan, a Jesuit priest who is the former president of Georgetown University and a close friend of the Biden family.
Next is the Pledge of Allegiance, read this year by Andrea Hall, the first black female firefighter to become captain of the Fire Rescue Department in South Fulton, Georgia.
Then comes the national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, sung by Lady Gaga, who campaigned with Mr Biden on domestic violence when he was vice president and campaigned for him in the 2020 election.
Watch and follow events on Sky News from 1pm, with the inauguration ceremony starting at 4pm
:Gaga also performed during a drive-in rally for Joe Biden .
Amanda Gorman, America's first Youth Poet Laureate, will read a poem she has written for the occasion called The Hill We Climb.
She will be followed by performances by Jennifer Lopez, and Garth Brooks.
A long-time friend of the Biden family, the Reverend Silvester Beaman, pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Wilmington, Delaware, will deliver a benediction.
Mr Biden and Kamala Harris will be sworn in as president and vice president shortly after noon US time (about 5pm GMT).
:Kamala Harris (left) will be sworn in by the first Latina member of the Supreme Court. Pic: AP
As is tradition, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, will administer the oath of office to Mr Biden.
He will take the oath with his hand on his 127-year-old family Bible, held by his wife, Jill.
Ms Harris will be sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina member of the Supreme Court.
She will use two Bibles, one that belonged to a close family friend and another that belonged to Thurgood Marshall, the country's first African American Supreme Court justice, and one of her heroes.
Then comes Mr Biden's first presidential address to the country, expected to last just over 20 minutes.
Trump snubbing inauguration 'a good thing'
Star power
Remember 2016, when some big names turned down invitations to perform for Donald Trump, aghast at his shock victory over Hollywood's political heartthrob, Hillary Clinton?
No such issues for his successor, with organisers having bagged some of the world's biggest stars.
As if having Gaga perform the national anthem wasn't enough, Jennifer Lopez and country music star Garth Brooks, who also played Barack Obama's inauguration, will perform.
"They [Gaga and Lopez] represent one clear picture of the grand diversity of our great nation," his team said in a statement, also noting Gaga's advocacy of LGBTQ issues, and Lopez's work raising awareness about the impact of coronavirus on Latinos.
Later on, Bruce Springsteen, John Legend, Katy Perry and Foo Fighters are among the acts booked for the evening TV special.
Jennifer Lopez is among the performers.
Diversity
Emphasising the changing mood in Washington, a career firefighter, Andrea Hall, will lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
She and Amanda Gorman, the inaugural US National Youth Poet Laureate, who will give a poetry reading, are both black.
Two members of the clergy will take part, one of whom, Reverend Silvester Beaman of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, is a pastor from Mr Biden's hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
He and Father Leo O'Donovan are both close to the Biden family.
Ms Gorman will be continuing a tradition - for Democratic presidents - that includes such celebrated poets as Robert Frost and Maya Angelou.
:Amanda Gorman, seen in 2019, will read a poem at the Biden/Harris inauguration
Traditions
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be sworn in on the West Front of the US Capitol as usual, but not every tradition will be followed.
Living former presidents usually attend, but there will be no Donald Trump, who has declined to go and may have already arrived in Florida by now.
He becomes the first president to skip his successor's inauguration since Andrew Johnson in 1869. Vice President Mike Pence will attend, however.
Other previous occupants of the White House - Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton - and their wives will be there, but Jimmy Carter, 96, and his wife Rosalynn Carter will not.
There will be an inspection of the troops at the Capitol, but the traditional parade along Pennsylvania Avenue - the road outside the White House - which usually follows has been cancelled.
Joe Biden was planning to travel to Washington on a special train, but has changed plans over security concerns.
This is a limited version of the story so unfortunately this content is not available.
Also off this year is the customary lunch that follows the inaugural ceremony, and the inaugural balls have been cancelled.
One of the more prominent inauguration galas, The Creative Coalition's quadrennial ball, a benefit for arts education, is entirely virtual this year.
:Members of the National Guard visiting the US Capitol ahead of the inauguration.
No crowds
In a big departure from past inaugurations, the National Mall, where thousands traditionally gather to see the new president sworn in - will be closed to the public on inauguration day due to threats of violence from groups who attacked the Capitol.
Organisers had already announced that they would not be issuing tickets for those who can attend closer to the ceremony, but this latest closure extends to the entire mall area.
Only authorised people will be allowed in, one official said, such as those working on the entertainment programme planned for later in the evening.
Security tightens ahead of inauguration
Heavy security
Up to 25,000 members of the US National Guard are expected to be in the nation's capital to help provide security, turning the city centre into an armed fortress, with roads closed and barbed wire.
"It's like a ghost town but with soldiers," said Dana O'Connor, as she and her husband walked past concrete barriers near the White House on Sunday.
"It's eerie. It feels super unnatural," she said.
The 'field of flags' on the National Mall, looking towards the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Pic: AP
The troops' task is to ensure there is no repeat of the chaos and violence of the deadly riot at the US Capitol by making sure no one is there who shouldn't be.
The deployment reflects continuing anger - and fear - stemming from the attack on Congress by pro-Trump supporters, which resulted in an historic second impeachment for the president.
Only about 8,000 National Guard members were present during Mr Trump's own inauguration in 2017.
The Department of Homeland Security is also implementing a security lockdown in downtown Washington.
In a sign of the growing anxiety in the city, Mr Biden has decided not to travel there from his home in Wilmington, Delaware, by train.
:Barbed wire is placed at Columbus Circle, near the Capitol in Washington. Pic: AP
The TV special
With little in the way of public interaction because of the pandemic, the PIC has organised a prime-time Inauguration Day TV programme entitled "Celebrating America" for the evening.
It will air between 8.30pm and 10pm coast to coast (after 1am Thursday GMT), featuring remarks by Mr Biden and Kamala Harris, celebrity performances and segments highlighting "America's resiliency".
Hosted by Tom Hanks, it will include performances by Foo Fighters, John Legend, and Bruce Springsteen from iconic locations across the country.
Tom Hanks will host the inauguration prime-time TV special. Pic: AP
Demi Lovato, Justin Timberlake, Ant Clemons. Katy Perry and Jon Bon Jovi will also play the show - which aims to "celebrate the beginning of a new national journey toward an America united".
Eva Longoria and Kerry Washington will introduce segments throughout the night ranging from stories of young people making a difference in their communities, to musical performances.
:John Legend will perform in the TV special.
The programme showcases "the American people's resilience, heroism, and unified commitment to coming together as a nation to heal and rebuild".
The show will be carried live by major broadcasters ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and MSNBC as well as being streamed live on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch and Amazon Prime Video.
The committee said in a statement: "This inauguration represents the beginning of a new national journey, one that restores the soul of America and brings Americans together."
Longoria supported Biden and Harris, and spoke during a Hispanic Heritage Month event during their campaign. Pic: AP
Five-day celebration
There is also a series of events over five days under the banner of "America United".
It began on Monday with "United We Serve", a National Day of Service on what is Martin Luther King Jr Day.
Tuesday saw a nationwide COVID-19 Memorial to Lives Lost.
Pelosi marks 400k US COVID deaths
As well as the inaugural ceremonies, Wednesday has a wreath-laying service at the tomb of the unknown soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
The customary parade along Pennsylvania Avenue has been replaced with a "Parade Across America".
A public art display, named "Field Of Flags", made up of 191,500 US flags and 56 pillars of light, will cover part of the National Mall to represent every US state and territory and those unable to travel to the capital.
By Russell Hope, news reporter - Wednesday 20 January 2021
https://news.sky.com/story/biden-inauguration-your-guide-to-what-happens-when-from-the-swearing-in-to-lady-gagas-national-anthem-12187722
A message from Washington!.. The U.S. military has sent a message to the mass media regarding the Emergency Broadcast Service (EBS). [BB News" please see below Video and attached screenshot
On Monday 18th January, 2021 the US Republic would be restored to the original Constitution and return power to The People. To make that happen, the Mass Media and Internet would go offline while the Emergency Broadcast System wss activated with messages from President Donald Trump.
On Sunday 17th January, 2021 the below was sent from a high up US Military Intel Contact:
"According to the latest schedule everything will be exposed sometime between Sunday afternoon and Monday night. The timer has been set for those two particular days. During that time the EBS (Emergency Broadcast System) will be activated. President Trump will send out a message, "My fellow Americans,
The Storm is Upon Us. That puts under Global Marshal Law."
There will be seven presidential messages from President Donald Trump via Air Force One.
Via the EBS and on authorized devices, there will be an eight hour video played three times a day for ten days straight.
Individuals being exposed for their Crimes Against Humanity at their military tribunals.
On Monday the 18th January, 2021, the US Republic would be restored to the original US Constitution and return power to The People. To make that happen, the Mass Media and Internet would go offline while the Emergency Broadcast System was activated with messages from President Donald Trump.
While the movie is played, 500,000 plus people would be taken down worldwide. This repeating movie will be extremely painful for most of us because it involved people we thought we could trust committing unthinkable crimes.
"We understand that no one will be allowed to leave their residence until completion.
"During this moment in history we will transition to GESARA/NESARA. The ....
"During this moment in history we will transition to GESARA/NESARA. There will be a full rewiring of Plant Earth. It is our understanding that Mainstream Media and Internet will be shut down.
This is not a transition from President Trump to Biden, It is a transition that President Trump in in junction with the military have composed restoring things back to We The People.. Now you know why General Flynn was pardoned (key asset to this entire process.)
For years the above has been planned to take down what was known as the Cabal- a Satan Worshiping, Child Sacrifice Group of Global and Political Elite, who were trying to establish a New World Order - with the beginning of their takeover being the 2020 US Presidential Election.
President Trump and Patriots of the Alliance to the rescue.
Right before the 2020 Election Trump went before the Supreme Court with evidence that the Chinese Communist Party was working in collusion with Pelosi and other Democrats to steal the election.
SCOTUS rules as per the Constitution, that if there was any foreign interference in the 2020 US Presidential Election it would be declared null and void.
Since the election POLTUS and the military had gathered tons of evidence that not only communists in Chine, but communist parties and others in Italy, Spain, Germany, Canada and the UK
Since the election POLTUS and the military had gathered tons of evidence that not only communists in Chine, but communist parties and others in Italy, Spain, Germany, Canada and the UK were involved in changing Trump votes to Biden through Dominion Voting Machines at CIA Offices in Frankfurt Germany.
Election Fraud under an active State of War was considered treason. The US Military had seized Pelosi's and other Democrats laptops which had evidence...
Biden's Presidential Inauguration was no more.
Weeks ago the Presidential Inauguration Parade was cancelled. Schedules rehearsals for the Inauguration last Friday and today didn't happen and wouldn't. Ten miles of barbed wire fencing and over 200,000 National Guardsmen surrounded Capital Hill and the White House in Washington, USA.
The Troops have been told their mission was to secure the 2020 Biden Inauguration. Rumour among the troops was that Trump was ending the American Corp and re-establishing the Republic. They would be arresting thousands of senior department heads, career politicians from both Republican and Democrat,
The Troops have been told their mission was to secure the 2020 Biden Inauguration. Rumour among the troops was that Trump was ending the American Corp and re-establishing the Republic. They would be arresting thousands of senior department heads, career politicians from both Republican and Democrat, lobbyists and pedophiles.
There are 220,000 to 500,000 sealed indictments filed in Federal Courts across the US Nation since Donald Trump took Presidential Office.
Since 2016, the US Attorney General for Utah, John Hunter and his 740 investigators have been busy gathering intel, holding state Grand Juries and filing the inditements.
Among those on the list to be arrested were Joe Biden, Barrack Obama, Harris, Cheney and Chief Justice John Roberts.
On Wednesday the 20th January, 2021, there will be a real possibility that the people behind Joe Biden, along with the No News Mass Media, would create and carry a fake electronic Joe Biden Inauguration. If so, within twelve hours of that broadcast the Mass Media would be off the air permanently. The indictments would be unsealed and served, with Deep Staters arrested in up to 400 cities arcross the USA. Among those on the lisy to be arrested were Joe Biden, Barrack Obama, Harris, Cheney and Chief Justice John Roberts.
Last week Donald Trump said,
"I'm drafting an Executive Oder to take he following propaganda media outlets off the airwaves: ABC, NBNC, CBS, Fox News, CNN and MSNBC. I am working with the FCC to pull the licences. We have evidence that all of these media organizations employ agents of the Chinese Communist Party as well as embedded CIA Agents whose sole purpose is to brainwash hypnotize and direct public opinion toward certain agendas that support the Left and Deep State.
These organisations are a threat to national security and virtually nothing they report is actual news."
President Donald J. Trump was legally required to act on this because of his own oath to the US Constitution: t protect our Republic from enemies both Foreign and Domestic.
If the treasonous Mass Media continued to cover up what was really going on the station would be taken off airwaves. After which Ten Days of Media Darkness was planned as the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) activated.
Power outages may occur, but they would be kept to a minimum, TV, cell phones could go down worldwide for a period of time.
As America watched, a decrepit, mentally incompetent Joe Biden was “sworn in” today, with almost no members of the public in attendance, but with Biden surrounded by now a reported 65,000 troops, just like you’d see in a Third World dictatorship.
Day of reckoning: Is this the end of the republic?
Mike Adams - Natural News 20th January 2021
Today we begin by reminding you that a fake, staged inauguration stemming from an illegal, unconstitutional election carries no legal standing. Biden was only "sworn in" as an act of theater. It isn't binding to any true Americans.
In today's Situation Update, we discuss the possibilities for the transition of power to temporary military authority, which may yet be under way. I also cover the coming authoritarian left-wing nightmare that will haunt this nation if Biden successfully seizes power and isn't removed by law.
There is still cause for real hope, but I also warn that we should all prepare for the worst case scenario, because that's exactly what democrats now have in mind for America. They are preparing to hunt down and murder conservatives, Christians and Trump supporters. This is what communist cleansing always entails.
Situation Update, Jan 20th – Day of Reckoning: Will the republic DIE or be REBORN? – NaturalNews.com
Wednesday, January 20, 2021 by: Mike Adams
Tags: genocide, inauguration, Joe Biden, left cult, lunatics, police state, President Trump, secret police, Situation Update, terrorism, treason, Tyranny, White House
[Image: Situation Update, Jan 20th – Day of Reckoning: Will the republic DIE or be REBORN?]
(Natural News) As America watched, a decrepit, mentally incompetent Joe Biden was “sworn in” today, with almost no members of the public in attendance, but with Biden surrounded by now a reported 65,000 troops, just like you’d see in a Third World dictatorship.
In truth, Biden wasn’t sworn into anything. The election was illegal, unconstitutional and fraught with deliberate malfeasance. The theft of the election renders the Biden regime null and void, carrying no legal weight whatsoever.
Everything the Biden regime attempts to do from this day forward isn’t rooted in law; it’s rooted in coercion. Rule by brute force, in other words. Gunpoint enforcement by a brutal, authoritarian regime that can only browbeat the population into submission through intense censorship, false flag operations and relentless media propaganda.
That’s why this isn’t over. Biden has no legitimacy, and the proof of election fraud still exists in abundance. It’s recorded in the ballots themselves, which must be saved for 22 months according to federal law. Any honest assessment of the ballots would reveal the Biden election theft, and legal efforts are still under way to reveal the truth.
In fact, just today, one hour after the inauguration of fake president Biden, a statement from Arizona Senate President Fann reveals that the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has agreed to the voting machine audit they’ve been hiding all this time. They waited until after Biden was sworn in, of course, because they know they cheated.
Biden also knows the election was stolen. He admitted before the election that dems were running the most elaborate vote fraud organization in the history of American politics. On camera, no less.
Now, Democrats are pushing to label all those who demand election integrity “domestic terrorists.” This is a blatant attempt to weaponize the federal government to target and intimidate anyone pointing to the mountain of vote fraud evidence that already exists.
As of today, they think they’ve successful stolen the election, but they know the evidence still exists that proves they cheated, so now they have to go into overdrive to complete their cover-up and try to suppress (or intimidate) anyone who tells the truth.
That’s why dems are now calling for actual secret police to be launched in America to spy on conservatives. One of the key factors they’ll be looking for is people who say Joe Biden is an “illegitimate” president, or that the election was stolen.
Yet every honest American knows it was stolen. And so do most democrats, who are universally satisfied that their election theft was “justified” because they really, really hate Donald Trump. And when the Left has sufficient hatred, they can justify absolutely anything, including door-to-door genocide of Christians, Whites, Trump supporters, gun owners and conservatives.
That’s where this is all moving toward now: A left-wing “cultural revolution” ethnic cleansing in America. And if the military doesn’t step in and take charge to save our constitutional republic, this nation will descend into a brutal left-wing regime that weaponizes the government against its own citizens and calls for mass killings of conservatives by labeling them all “domestic terrorists.”
It has already begun, in fact.
Today’s Situation Update for Jan 20th lays out more details of what we’re witnessing:
Trump’s farewell speech was not a concession speech.
Focused on family, life and opposing censorship. Don. Trump Jr., “The best is yet to come!”
Why the GOP is dead and a new “Patriot” party will likely be launched.
Why we must have faith in God as we navigate uncharted waters.
The Dems wanted us to know it was stolen. They want America to react so they can label everyone “domestic terrorists.”
Where Trump had real people at his inauguration, Biden’s team sticks flags in the ground and is mostly abandoned. (What a complete joke.)
Russiagate declass documents confirmed and partially released.
12 members of the National Guard removed after FBI “vetting.” Also a complete joke.
Mike Pompeo declares China to be engaged in “genocide” and “crimes against humanity.” (Today, China has sanctioned Pompeo and 27 other people, including Steve Bannon.)
Why the military buildup in DC? It’s clearly not for an inauguration that’s mostly empty.
National Guard chief admits now 65,000 troops in DC. Now 4,300 have been deputized as US Marshals. Who are they planning on arresting, especially since there are no protesters there?
“Bloody” Gina Haspel resigns from CIA. Michael Ellis put in place at NSA. Haspel’s resignation was a marker claimed by Dr. Steve Pieczenik, who insists Trump will still be president.
Haspel was a key person blocking the declass effort.
Highway signs tell travelers to avoid going to DC.
A preview of the horrors to come if Biden seizes power: A nightmare of “radical trans activist clowns” will attempt to rule over America.
Sec. of Defense nominee Gen. Austin wants to turn the US military into a woke festival of LGBT troops and eliminate all Whites, conservatives and Christians from the military. (Get ready for the Gay Marines and the Lesbian Air Force.)
The rise of digital fascism: The Left knows they lied and cheated and stole the election, and they fear the people and the military.
Steve Bannon warns of the formation of the new “Stasi” secret police to spy on Americans.
Laura Loomer put on secret no-gun red flag list by vengeful FBI.
Big Tech censorship goes into overdrive, unleashing a “one way” trip to Hell for America if this isn’t reversed.
Pelosi launches attack on people who don’t support abortion.
Mainline conservative publishers and personalities ordered to toe the line on pushing vaccines.
Brighteon.com/5a0b0b1a-8721-43ec-bc7e-5e11d7de2aaa
I will be publishing a new Situation Update on both Thursday and Friday. Find them at Brighteon.com:
https://www.brighteon.com/channels/hrreport
John le Carré (1931-2020) on the Iraq War, Corporate Power, the Exploitation of Africa & More
Democracy Now!
The world-renowned British novelist John le Carré died on December 12 at the age of 89. Le Carré established himself as a master writer of spy novels in a career that spanned more than half a century. He worked in the British Secret Service from the late 1950s until the early '60s, at the height of the Cold War — which was the topic of his early novels. His later works focused on the inequities of globalization, unchecked multinational corporate power and the role national spy services play in protecting corporate interests. His best-known books include "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" and "The Constant Gardner." Le Carré was also a fierce critic of the U.S. response to the 9/11 attacks and the Bush administration's invasion of Iraq. In 2010, he appeared on Democracy Now! for a rare in-depth interview. #DemocracyNow
The Anti-American Politics of John Le Carré with Adam Sisman
John le Carre filmed interview on BBC Radio 3 Night Waves at London's Royal College of Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoSdtgTWPK8
BBC Radio 3
In a special event recorded in front of an audience at London's Royal College of Music Anne McElvoy talks to John le Carré to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his ground breaking Cold War espionage novel, The Spy who Came in from the Cold. It's the book which brought him international fame and which was described by Graham Greene as 'the best spy story I have ever read'. He discusses his extraordinary childhood as well as the state of Britain today, and the revelations of whistleblowers such as Edward Snowden.
60 Minutes archives: Le Carré
- YouTube
60 Minutes
John le Carré was the pen name of David Cornwell, an ex-spy for Britain's famed MI6, whose page-turner spy thrillers made him one of the most successful authors of the past 60 years. Steve Kroft reported on him in 2017
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Malcolm Nance: The Plot To Betray America (Edited Version)
- YouTube
Commonwealth Club of California
Malcolm Nance is one of the world’s renowned intelligence experts and a popular guest on NBC News and MSNBC. With over 33 years combating radical extremist terrorism, Nance is known for championing human rights, ethical responsibility and cultural awareness in intelligence practices. In his newest book, The Plot to Betray America: How Team Trump Embraced Our Enemies, Compromised Our Security, and How We Can Fix It, Nance argues that President Trump and his team have conspired to commit the greatest act of treason in the history of the United States: betrayal of the oath of office for personal gain. The Plot to Betray America contains in-depth interviews with insiders, analysis from intelligence experts, and substantial evidence of Trump’s deep financial ties to Russia. It also provides solutions on how to protect America’s compromised security. Join us for an essential conversation with intelligence and counterterrorism expert Malcolm Nance as he explains how we can still save America’s democracy, security and future. -
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Biden wastes no time on his first day
Jane Fraser of Citigroup warned investors about the “folly of best-laid plans.
”Erin Scott/Reuters
What big banks reveal about the economy
America’s biggest banks have all now released their financial results for the past year, data that reflect the strange economic situation facing President Biden and his new administration. Parts of the economy are booming, others are at a standstill and the outlook is extraordinarily uncertain.
Wall Street’s core business is booming. Goldman Sachs’s trading operation reported its highest annual revenue in a decade, a factor that helped the bank more than double its fourth-quarter profit. JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley also reported big jumps in their investment banking and trading units after a huge year for bond issues, I.P.O.s and M.&A. deals.
It’s a different story for Main Street. Other banks with big consumer-lending arms didn’t fare as well, with Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo lagging in terms of profit growth. The low interest rates that prompted companies to raise debt have hurt banks’ net interest income on consumer loans, which fell year-on-year for most lenders in their latest results.
It could be worse. In the fourth quarter, JPMorgan released nearly $3 billion worth of reserves that it had built up to guard against loan defaults, while Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo released a combined $2 billion in the same period. Over the course of the full year, those four banks still added around $50 billion to their provisions against credit losses, a sign that they remain on guard against a potential wave of defaults. In the meantime, loan demand is low and deposits are piling up.
What to do with all that cash? “We have so much capital, we cannot use it,” Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan quipped to investors. The bank’s cash pile has doubled over the past year, to more than $500 billion. It’s a similar story at other banks, and now that they’ve been cleared by regulators to resume share buybacks, “we’re going to be aggressively buying back, and consistently,” said James Gorman, Morgan Stanley’s C.E.O. Analysts polled by FactSet expect the six largest banks to buy back nearly $70 billion in shares this year, up from $18 billion last year.
Cautious optimism. Although few bank bosses appear to think that Wall Street-focused businesses will perform as well this year, worries about Main Street units seem less acute than last year. Taken together, you get what Jane Fraser, Citi’s incoming C.E.O., told investors on an earnings call: “While we hope the end is in sight, this virus has surprised us and taught us the folly of best-laid plans, so we will remain vigilant and adaptable.”
HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING
A grim pandemic anniversary. One year ago, the C.D.C. confirmed the first Covid-19 case in the U.S., the beginning of an outbreak that has led to more than 400,000 deaths in the country.
A prominent investor warns of “vanished” risk. Baupost’s Seth Klarman, whose letters to clients are widely read around Wall Street, criticized Fed policies like persistently low interest rates, arguing that they mask the true health of the U.S. economy. “As with frogs in water that is slowly being heated to a boil, investors are being conditioned not to recognize the danger,” he wrote.
Trump’s family business is battered. The Trump Organization’s revenue fell nearly 38 percent last year, dragged down by signature properties like the Doral golf club in Florida and the Trump International Hotel in Washington.
Kelly Loeffler’s Atlanta Dream is near a sale. The W.N.B.A. team, which counts the former Republican senator as a co-owner, is poised for new ownership, the league said in a statement. Players on the team have objected to Ms. Loeffler’s ownership amid criticism of her stance on Black Lives Matter and other positions she took as an outspoken ally of Mr. Trump.
Winners and losers of inauguration fashion. American designers were represented by the key figures at the inauguration, often a revenue-boosting showcase for brands. Ralph Lauren dressed President Biden and Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris. (Notably absent was Brooks Brothers, the now-bankrupt clothier that has dressed many presidents.) Ms. Harris wore clothes from Christopher John Rogers, Sergio Hudson and Pyer Moss, while Dr. Jill Biden wore an outfit by Markarian.
The New York Times
Biden wastes no time on his first day
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn in just before noon, and within hours of the barrier-breaking occasion Washington had changed. Democrats officially took control of the Senate and Mr. Biden issued executive orders “with an urgency not seen from any other modern president,” The Times’s Michael Shear writes. (Here are the stats to prove it.)
The pandemic, immigration, climate change and the economy were the focus of the orders, memorandums and proclamations signed in the Oval Office yesterday afternoon, rapidly reversing many of his predecessor’s policies. Among other things, Mr. Biden named an official Covid-19 response coordinator, shielded “Dreamers” from deportation, revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and rejoined the Paris climate accord.
Business leaders had mixed feelings:
Sundar Pichai, the Alphabet C.E.O., applauded the “quick action on Covid relief, the Paris Climate Accord, and immigration reform,” adding that “Google has supported action on these important issues.”
Bill Gates championed the “great first step” of rejoining the Paris accord so the U.S. can “lead the world in avoiding a climate disaster.”
Jay Timmons of the National Association of Manufacturers criticized the lost pipeline permit, saying that it would have created 10,000 union jobs. Marty Durbin of the Chamber of Commerce also opposed the move, calling it “a politically motivated decision that is not grounded in science.”
Wall Street seemed pleased. Driven by expectations of a hefty economic stimulus, the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq all ended in record territory.
What happens next: Mr. Biden will take more unilateral action today, using his executive authority to ramp up the manufacturing of coronavirus test kits, vaccines and supplies. His team said it had identified 12 “immediate supply shortfalls” critical to the pandemic response, including N95 surgical masks and isolation gowns. Jen Psaki, the new White House press secretary, said Mr. Biden “absolutely remains committed” to invoking the Defense Production Act to bolster these supplies.
When the focus shifts from executive orders to legislation, namely a huge stimulus bill, “it is going to take more than Mr. Biden’s trademark backslapping and good nature to break through the persistent gridlock in Congress,” The Times’s Carl Hulse writes.
How you’d fix America
Last month we published a special report, “How to Fix America,” in which we asked experts what they would do to address the most pressing problems in the U.S. It clearly struck a chord, because our inbox has been flooded with your ideas ever since. At the start of a new administration, here are some readers’ suggestions, edited for clarity and length:
“Mandatory financial literacy classes in every elementary and junior high school.” — Seth Polevoy in Cresskill, N.J.
“Flip the tax incentives on health insurance premiums so that the tax benefit goes to individuals, rather than employees, for purchasing individual health insurance.” — Julia Thomson in Phoenix
“Require one full year of community service before the age of 25. Let’s give young people the opportunity to build community while serving others.” — Andrew David in Sherman Oaks, Calif.
“Redefine the federal poverty guidelines so that benefits remain high and people have more usable income, not less, when they get a raise or increase their hours.” — Jan Hise in Indianapolis
“If each political candidate were given an equal amount of public funds, the one who ran the best race would win.” — Sandie Onorato in Kirtland, Ohio
“Term limits for Congress.” — Roy Beamer in Durham, N.C. (and many others)
“The Federal Reserve could adjust the risk-weighted asset calculations of carbon assets for banks, say by setting the weight on a loan to a solar farm at 80 percent, and that for a tar sands project at 120 percent.” — Noah Pirani in Providence, R.I.
About Amazon’s vaccine ‘offer’ to the White House
On President Biden’s first day in office, the head of Amazon’s consumer business, Dave Clark, sent a letter to the White House with an offer to help achieve the goal of vaccinating 100 million people in the administration’s first 100 days. By way of assistance, the retailer offered to vaccinate a large share of its workers.
The e-commerce giant has made similar offers to state governments, including Tennessee and Washington. The earlier letters to governors were signed by Brian Huseman, who runs Amazon’s U.S. lobbying team, which has been seeking permission from the C.D.C. to vaccinate “essential” workers at the company’s warehouses, data centers and Whole Foods “at the earliest appropriate time.” The company has hired a health care provider to help administer the vaccine to employees, it said in the letters.
In Washington, Amazon was not among the companies Gov. Jay Inslee announced as partners in its vaccination plan this week.
This suggests that public-private partnerships to distribute vaccines may come with perks for the companies taking part, allowing workers to get vaccinated outside the age, health and job-based priorities set by states. Several states are struggling to roll out vaccines as fast as they’d like because of issues with funding, staffing and logistics. In his letter to Mr. Biden, Mr. Clark said that Amazon could help with “operations, information technology and communications capabilities,” though he didn’t specify what that would entail.
THE SPEED READ
Deals
The online luxury retailer Mytheresa went public at a $2.2 billion valuation, a windfall for creditors of its former owner, Neiman Marcus. (FT)
In SPAC news: Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing’s former C.E.O., reportedly plans to create a blank-check fund, while the payments start-up Payoneer is in talks to go public by merging with a SPAC. (Bloomberg)
Jay-Z has launched a $10 million fund to invest in minority-owned cannabis businesses. (WSJ)
Politics and policy
More companies have halted donations to the Republican Attorneys General Association after its fund-raising arm urged supporters to march on the Capitol before the Jan. 6 riot. (Documented)
President Biden is reportedly set to name Michael Barr, a former Treasury Department official, as the comptroller of the currency. (WSJ)
Tech
BlackRock indicated in regulatory filings that it may begin offering investments in Bitcoin futures. (Decrypt)
President Biden may have a tech national security vulnerability: his Peloton exercise bike. (NYT)
Best of the rest
The battle of activist investment funds over … their use of the word engine in their names. (Bloomberg)
A Deutsche Bank board member is under fire for suggesting that Wirecard’s C.E.O. “finish” The Financial Times for publishing investigations into the embattled fintech company. (Bloomberg)
Senator Bernie Sanders made an unexpected sartorial splash at the inauguration, with handmade mittens and a cozy coat that launched a thousand memes. (NYT)
The Biden administration begins to address the six crises that the new president described in his inaugural address
New New York Times -January 21, 2021
By David Leonhardt
The Biden administration begins to address the six crises that the new president described in his inaugural address.
Joe Biden was sworn in as president just before noon Eastern yesterday.Erin Schaff/The New York Times
‘Cascading crises of our era’
Near the end of his inaugural address yesterday, President Biden named six crises that the U.S. faces: the virus, climate change, growing inequality, racism, America’s global standing and an attack on truth and democracy.
“Any one of these will be enough to challenge us in profound ways. But the fact is, we face them all at once,” Biden said. “We will be judged — you and I — by how we resolve these cascading crises of our era.”
To get started, Biden announced a longer list of Day 1 executive actions — 17, in all — than any previous modern president, as The Times’s Michael Shear points out. The Biden administration is also asking for legislation by Congress. But here’s our explanation of how the new president is trying to make immediate progress:
A field of flags represented the thousands of Americans who could not attend the inauguration.Jason Andrew for The New York Times
The virus
Biden signed an executive order yesterday requiring masks where he has the authority to do so — in federal buildings, for example — as well as a separate order creating a White House position to improve the government’s response to the virus.
He also made clear that he was ending the Trump administration’s hostility to global cooperation by halting the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization. Biden is sending Dr. Anthony Fauci to the group’s meeting today as the head of the U.S. delegation. “It’s an interconnected world,” my colleague Apoorva Mandavilli says. To succeed in combating the virus, “we have to coordinate with other countries.”
Biden is also asking Americans to wear masks for the next 100 days. One question he hasn’t yet answered: How will he persuade more Republican voters — many of whom are skeptical of masks — to wear them?
President Biden delivering his inaugural address.
Climate change
Biden signed two executive orders on climate — one that recommits the U.S. to the Paris climate agreement and another that reverses Donald Trump’s hostility to environmental regulations. “No president has brought in this many people at the start of an administration to work on climate change,” Lisa Friedman, who covers climate policy, said.
Still, these actions are only first steps, Nathaniel Keohane of the Environmental Defense Fund told me. Reversing Trump’s actions is significant, he added — but the world needs more ambitious steps to curb the use of greenhouse gases that are causing so much damage.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris during a ceremonial review of the miiltary.Amr Alfiky/The New York Times
Inequality and racism
Biden’s biggest attempts to reduce economic and racial inequality will require congressional legislation. But he took some early steps yesterday.
He has extended moratoriums on evictions and student-loan payments that the Trump administration had put in place. He also ordered federal agencies to root out racially unequal policies. “We have great evidence from economists that tearing down barriers to advancement for men of color and women of all races fueled huge amounts of growth in the United States in decades past,” The Times’s Jim Tankersley said.
Biden also sought to undo several of Trump’s anti-immigration policies. Among the moves: refocusing deportation efforts on those undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes in the U.S. “Trump, on the other hand, decided that anyone in the country illegally should be arrested and deported,” Miriam Jordan, who covers immigration for The Times, said.
Biden signing the executive orders.Doug Mills/The New York Times
Democracy, truth and America’s role in the world
In his address, Biden repeatedly stressed the importance of truth and included a veiled but obvious reference to Trump by criticizing “lies told for power and for profit.” And at her first White House briefing last night, Jen Psaki, Biden’s press secretary, said: “There will be moments when we disagree … but we have a common goal, which is sharing accurate information with the American people.”
Biden signaled his emphasis on diplomacy by embracing the Paris climate accord and World Health Organization. Another big move to improve the U.S. image around the world was his immediate repeal of a signature Trump policy: the so-called Muslim travel ban. It had restricted nearly all passport holders from several Muslim-majority countries — including Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen — from entering the U.S.
MORE ON THE INAUGURATION
REVIEWS OF THE SPEECH
Most presidents’ inaugural addresses have included encomiums to unity. But “Biden’s words felt less like rhetorical flourishes and more like an urgent appeal to stabilize a country reeling” from multiple crises, Julie Pace of The Associated Press wrote.
The journalist Clare Malone: “‘Lies told for power and for profit’ is a good line and a description of a thing that’s not going away.”
Slate’s Jim Newell: Biden is not likely to erase the country’s political divisions. But he has laid out an agenda with “tangible, deliverable items to make lives better.”
Eric Levitz of New York Magazine: “He does not seek the unity of all Americans, only that of ‘enough of us’ to drag the rest toward justice.”
“It wasn’t a memorable speech, but its informal style was true to Biden,” National Review’s Rich Lowry wrote. “Obviously it’s much easier to talk unity than achieve it.”
Biden’s declaration that he would “defeat” white supremacy echoed Ulysses S. Grant, the president who crushed the Ku Klux Klan after the Civil War, The New Yorker’s Jelani Cobb noted.
Amanda Gorman reading her poem “The Hill We Climb.”Erin Schaff/The New York Times
THE POEM
Amanda Gorman, 22, was the youngest person to deliver an inaugural poem. You can watch her performance, or read the text.
Gorman said she had listened to the musical “Hamilton” for inspiration. “You were perfect,” Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show’s creator, wrote to her on Twitter. “Brava!”
Like Biden, Gorman has had a speech impediment, and it helped draw her to poetry. Before the inauguration, she practiced delivering her poem “The Hill We Climb” over and over, she told The Times.
INAUGURAL FASHIONS
Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff.Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Purple — a blend of red and blue — was the color of the day. (It’s also one of the signature colors of the suffragists.) Vice President Kamala Harris, Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton all wore variations of the color.
Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, as well as Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, wore American designers. Harris’s outfit was designed by Christopher John Rogers, the latest Black designer whose clothes she has spotlighted.
Bernie Sanders at yesterday’s inauguration.Brendan Smialowski/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Senator Bernie Sanders and his mittens became a meme. They are Vermont-made, and he wore them on the campaign trail, Ruby Cramer of BuzzFeed News wrote.
Lady Gaga, who wore a large brooch of a dove carrying an olive branch as she sang the national anthem, evoked the dystopian book series “The Hunger Games.” Its heroine, Katniss Everdeen, sports a pin of a fictional bird.
Sneakerheads admired the rare pair of Dior Air Jordan 1s that Nikolas Ajagu, husband of Meena Harris and nephew-in-law of Kamala Harris, wore to the ceremony.
THE ADMINISTRATION’S FIRST DAY
The Senate confirmed Avril Haines to be the director of national intelligence. She was Biden’s first cabinet nominee to receive a vote.
The Washington Post got a peek at how Biden has redecorated the Oval Office, from bringing back Bill Clinton’s drapes to installing a big portrait of Franklin Roosevelt, a president who steered the nation through multiple crises.
Jon Bon Jovi, John Legend and Katy Perry — singing “Firework” to actual fireworks over the Mall — were among those who performed at a celebration to mark the day.
“The performances stuck to a theme: hope in a dark time,” The Times’s critic writes.
OTHER NEWS
The World Health Organization reported that 93,000 people died of the coronavirus across the globe last week, a record. (Here’s how to protect yourself.)
Because of a shipping delay, New York City postponed 23,000 vaccination appointments that were scheduled for this week.
Members of the Proud Boys, a far-right group loyal to Trump, are calling him “weak,” as more of them face charges over storming the Capitol.
Antifascist and racial-justice protesters in Portland, Ore., and in Seattle smashed windows, marched through the streets and burned an American flag, saying that the Biden administration “won’t save us.”
Several species of salmon in the Pacific Northwest are “on the brink of extinction,” partly as a result of climate change.
A U.S. woman living in Bali praised the Indonesian island as “queer friendly.” In response, the authorities deported her for “spreading information that could unsettle the public.”
MORNING READS
Old Gottlieb’s Bakery in Savannah, Ga., in the early 1970s.Gottlieb's Bakery
A Morning Read: An ode to Gottlieb’s Bakery, whose Georgia-made rye bread rivaled any deli in New York City for those who grew up with it.
From Opinion: Access to the coronavirus vaccines has been unfair and inequitable. But if you’re offered one, you should take it — no matter how undeserving you may feel, Melinda Wenner Moyer writes.
Lives Lived: Margo St. James was one of the nation’s most prominent advocates for sex workers, devoting her life to decriminalizing prostitution and destigmatizing its practitioners. She called her organization COYOTE (for Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics). She died at 83.
This newsletter is free, but you can go deeper into the stories we highlight each morning with a subscription to The Times. Please consider becoming a subscriber today.
Yossy Arefi for The New York Times
The pangram from yesterday’s Spelling Bee was multiply. Today’s puzzle is above — or you can play online if you have a Games subscription.
Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Head-butt (three letters).
Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David
P.S. A hidden haiku in Abraham Lincoln’s 1861 inaugural address, recently spotted by @nythaikus: “Though passion may have / strained it must not break our / bonds of affection.” And one from Biden’s: “We can join forces / stop the shouting and lower / the temperature.”
You can see today’s print front page here.
Today’s episode of “The Daily” is about the inauguration. On the latest “Sway,” Isabel Wilkerson discusses America’s caste system.
Claire Moses, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Tom Wright-Piersanti and Sanam Yar contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
‘More a will than a political programme’: Russia reacts to inauguration of ‘old man’ Joe Biden
Oliver Carroll - Independent
‘More a will than a political programme’: Russia reacts to inauguration of ‘old man’ Joe Biden (msn.com)
Bell-ringing and air-punching as Covid jabs begin in Whalley Range
Adams: My Father Knew Charles Ives; Harmonielehre review – evocations of New England
[Joe Biden in a suit and tie] © Provided by The Independent
The morning after the inauguration of Joe Biden as president of the United States, the Kremlin continued to keep its silence — but that did not stop its agents in the state media from sketching out aggressive battle lines for likely bruising times ahead.
TV propaganda shows projected the 78-year-old leader as a forgetful, old man obsessed with minority rights.
Sixty minutes, the lunchtime discussion show on Channel One, led with observations about the skin colours and sexual orientations of Mr Biden’s nominations for government.
Mr Biden had projected calls for unity, host Olga Skabeyeva said, but in fact he was interested in “reeducating and fighting with” Trump supporters. His pick for defence, Lloyd Austin, “a black man,” had already signalled he would “start a war with whites in the army,” she claimed — “or white terrorists as he calls them.”
As is the norm in the semi-scripted show, Ms Skabeyeva’s talking point was diligently amplified by the selected guests. They included the recently returned Marina Butina, convicted in the US in 2018 for attempting to infiltrate the National Rifle Association as a Russian agent.
Aleksey Zhuralyev, a deputy for the ruling United Russia party dismissed the new president’s first speech as a “boring, old man’s” spiel. It was “more a will than a political programme,” he said, with the US leader showing “he was only interested in minority rights.”
Co-host Yevgeny Popov delighted in telling viewers of the “unprecedented” number of executive orders signed by Mr Biden. “Seventeen new anti-Trump laws,” he noted. Using a phrase first invented for the speed in which Russia’s parliament rubber stamps the Kremlin’s most draconian laws, Mr Popov said Mr Biden’s “out-of-control printer” had brought forward new laws that the “whole world” had been waiting for.
“Yes,” Mr Popov announced with a smile and dramatic pause, “the return of transgender soldiers to the American army.”
Co-host Skabeyeva lamented the departure of the traditional, “feminine charm” of Melania Trump.
“We will miss Melania and her fantastic dresses. The charmless Jill Biden is no comparison,” she said. The former model has long been a favourite for Russian propaganda, usually in negative comparison to her predecessors. Americans take a different view, with Ms Trump’s 47 per cent unfavorable rating making her the most unpopular presidential wife in history.
Other leading figures in the state media played heavy on Mr Biden’s advanced age. A common refrain was to liken him to Leonid Brezhnev, the 18-year Soviet leader, who by the end of his term became senile and the butt of many a joke.
For Vladimir Solovyev, the headmaster of Russian propaganda, the only reason why Lady Gaga had been invited to sing at the inauguration was because “old man Biden” could pronounce her name. That, and because he couldn’t afford Alla Pugacheva, the Soviet Madonna, who at 71 is herself already well into third age.
Representatives of the governing class treaded an altogether more diplomatic line.
In an interview with local media, Konstantin Kosachyov, the influential chair of the foreign affairs committee of Russia’s upper house, said the inauguration was “no celebration.” It would prove to be a departure point for ever deepening division in the US, he said.
We will miss Melania and her fantastic dresses. The charmless Jill Biden is no comparison,
Olga Skabeyeva, Russian TV host
But things were unlikely to get worse on the US-Russian relations front. Joe Biden was a team player, he said, and that would provide stability. The fact that his team was full of “anti-Russians” was also a guarantee the relations wouldn’t get much better.
The Kremlin has made no official inauguration statement congratulating the new US president, or otherwise. In his daily briefing with journalists, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were no plans for a tete-a-tete with Mr Biden. In-person communications were off because of the pandemic, he said, and, besides, there would need to be a reason for such a meeting to take place.
“The question is not on our agenda,” Mr Peskov said.
US Russia relations are at their worst since the Cold War and personal relations between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden are known to be problematic. In a 2014 interview to the New Yorker, then VP Biden claimed he had told Putin he had “no soul”.
Read More
President Biden suspends deportations for 100 days – follow live
Biden removes controversial portrait from Oval Office
Russia claims US has cut off telephone lines to its New York consulate
Donald Trump
Donald Trump
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Donald Trump
Trump's Second IMPEACHMENT
‘Trump An Imminent threat’: Democrats make final case to remove Trump
House impeachment managers finished their opening arguments with one last attempt to break Trump’s Republican firewall.
POLITICO By KYLE CHENEY 1/24/2020
President Donald Trump remains an “imminent threat to the integrity of our democracy,” the House’s top impeachment manager Adam Schiff argued Friday in an extraordinary Senate-floor appeal in which he accused Trump of embracing Russian propaganda at the expense of U.S. national security.
“The threat that he will continue to abuse his power and cause grave harm to the nation over the course of the next year … is not hypothetical,” Schiff argued. “Merely exposing the president's scheme has not stopped him from continuing this destructive pattern of behavior that has brought us to this somber moment. He is who he is.”
Schiff’s appeal was part of the House’s final attempt to break Trump’s Republican firewall in the Senate, where Democrats face long odds to win GOP support for their effort to convict Trump on charges that he pressured Ukraine to investigate his Democratic rivals — and then tried to cover it up.
In a final crescendo late Friday, Schiff recited the two articles of impeachment against Trump, declaring intermittently that each allegation “has been proved.” He also offered an extended appeal to "moral courage" — one aimed implicitly but squarely at the handful of Republican senators who say they're open-minded — by suggesting that true courage "comes not from disagreeing with your opponents but from disagreeing with your friends."
Schiff also used his final speech to run through a litany of anticipated defenses by Trump's lawyers, who begin their own defense on Saturday, and attempted to knock down each one. He told senators to ignore arguments that the House's impeachment was partisan or that it was procedurally defective, contending that such excuses were an attempt to distract from Trump's own conduct.
Moments before the clock struck 9 p.m., Schiff ceded the floor, concluding a three-day argument after delivering his most visceral remarks yet — a warning that Senate Republicans, too, could someday be targeted by Trump.
“I'll tell you something, the next time it just may be you. It just may be you,” Schiff warned. “Do you think for a moment that any of you, no matter what your relationship with this president, no matter how close you are to this president, do you think for a moment that if he felt it was in his interest, he wouldn't ask you to be investigated? And if somewhere deep down below you realize that he would you cannot leave a man like that in office when he has violated the constitution.”
On their final day of arguments, Democrats continued to toggle between exhaustive recitations of the evidence and appeals to senators’ consciences — saving their loftiest and most potent arguments for the primetime audience. They’re also making one last plea for Senate Republicans to call witnesses in the trial, most prominently acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton. Other witnesses have described both as central players with firsthand knowledge of the events at the heart of the Ukraine scandal.
Democrats focused the remainder of their arguments on the charge that Trump obstructed Congress’ investigation of the Ukraine matter. He directed about a dozen high-level witnesses not to cooperate with the House’s probe, including Mulvaney, Bolton and senior officials in the White House budget office. Many of the 17 witnesses who testified before House investigators — including several senior White House and State Department officials — defied Trump’s orders.
Those witnesses provided the backbone of the allegations that Trump pressed Ukraine’s newly elected president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, as well as a debunked conspiracy theory, promoted by Russia, that Ukraine — not Russia — hacked a Democratic Party server in 2016. Those witnesses provided evidence that Trump withheld $391 million in military aid to Ukraine and a White House visit for Zelensky amid Ukraine’s active war against Russian aggression, as part of the alleged pressure campaign.
TRUMP's SECOND IMPEACHMENT TODAY
The Senate voted today to acquit Trump on charges that he abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political opponents, and then stonewalled Congress’ investigation of the matter.
Who supports Trump’s conviction in the Senate?
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Sen. Mitt Romney said he will vote to convict Trump in the impeachment trial, becoming the only Republican to break with the president and his party.
Sen. Doug Jones, who faces a tough reelection race in Alabama, will vote to convict Trump on both articles of impeachment.
Sen. Susan Collins will vote to acquit Trump on both articles of impeachment.
Read all impeachment coverage »
Schiff broadened his case Friday afternoon, tying Trump’s Ukraine scandal to his 2018 press conference alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, in which he raised the conspiracy theory about the server.
“It's a breathtaking success of Russian intelligence. I don't know if there's ever been a greater success of Russian intelligence. Whatever profile Russia did of our president, boy did they have him spot on — flattery and propaganda, flattery and propaganda is all Russia needed,” Schiff said. He added, “This is just the most incredible propaganda coup because as I said yesterday, it's not just that the president of the United States standing next to Vladimir Putin is reading Kremlin talking points. He won't read his own national security staff talking points.”
If Democrats hope to call any witnesses, they need to convince at least four Republican senators to join them, and their final arguments will likely reflect that effort. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee are seen as the likeliest group, with Alexander — a close ally of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — the linchpin.
Democrats are also reinforcing their case that the Senate must demand documents from the White House and State Department that Trump refused to provide. The House’s seven impeachment prosecutors have contended that in some ways they’d even prefer to obtain the documents to witnesses, whose memories might be flawed or influenced by subsequent testimony.
Throughout their testimony, the impeachment managers have emphasized holes in the full Ukraine story that could only be filled by specific documents that they know exist but that Trump has withheld from Congress. They include correspondence, like former U.S. envoy to Ukraine Bill Taylor’s cable to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo worrying about the hold on military aid. They also include the notes kept by Trump’s former national security aide Fiona Hill and contacts between Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and senior members of the State Department and White House.
So far, most Republicans have shown no signs of budging. While Romney and Collins are likely to support efforts to obtain additional witness testimony and documents, it remains unclear if two more GOP senators will ultimately vote alongside Democrats to demand more information.
Democratic aides working on the trial said they tailored the final argument toward what they’ve termed the “two juries” — the senators who will decide Trump’s fate, and the American public, whose sentiments may guide them.
Schiff was once again Democrats’ closer for a third straight night.
He concluded the first day with a call for senators to “show the courage” that witnesses like Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who was the subject of a smear campaign by Trump associates, showed in testifying over the president’s wishes.
On the second night, Schiff challenged senators to consider whether any of them doubt that the scheme Democrats allege is really out of character for Trump.
“Does anybody really question whether the president is capable of what he’s charged with? No one is really making the argument, ‘Donald Trump would never do such a thing,’” he said. “Because, of course, we know that he would and of course we know that he did.”
In his final remarks Friday night, before the White House defense team begins its rebuttal on Saturday, Schiff appeared to rankle some Republican senators when he quoted from a CBS story suggesting the White House had threatened GOP senators who didn't close ranks around Trump. Several senators openly protested as he read it, and some later suggested it undercut remarks that were otherwise well-delivered.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of Trump's loudest defenders, even hailed the entire three-day presentation by Democrats as delivered primarily in a "professional, articulate manner respectful of the body."
"They were prepared and very, very, very thorough," he said. "The other side of the story will be presented tomorrow and then we decide."
Andrew Desiderio contributed to this report.
DONALD TRUMP,
POLITICO
You Counter Trumpism By Ending The Conditions Which Created It, Not With Authoritarian Policies
by Caitlin Johnstone
The US political/media class have been pushing hard for more authoritarian policies to stave off the threat of "domestic terrorism" in the wake of the Capitol riot. President Biden, who was already working on rolling out new domestic terror policies well before January sixth, confirmed after the riot that he is making these new measures a priority. Political internet censorship is becoming increasingly normalized, and now we're seeing liberals encouraged to form "digital armies" to spy on Trump supporters to report them to the authorities.
And an amazingly large percentage of the US population seems to have no problem with any of this, even in sectors of the political spectrum that should really know better by now.
"What else can we do?" they reason. "What other solution could there possibly be to the threat of dangerous fascists and conspiracy theorists continuing to gain power and influence?"
Well there's a whole lot that can be done, and none of it includes consenting to sweeping new Patriot Act-like authoritarian measures or encouraging monopolistic Silicon Valley plutocrats to censor worldwide political speech. There's just a whole lot of mass-scale narrative manipulation going on to keep it from being obvious to everyone.
The way to stem the tide of Trumpism (or fascism, or white supremacism, or Trump cultism, or whatever term you use for what you're worried about here) is to eliminate the conditions which created it.
Trump was only able to launch his successful faux-populist campaign in the first place by exploiting the widespread pre-existing opinion that there was a swamp that needed draining, a corrupt political system whose leadership does not promote the interests of the people.
Conspiracy theories only exist because the government often does evil things and lies about them with the help of the mass media, forcing people to just guess what's happening behind the opaque wall of government secrecy.
People only get it in their heads that they need a trustworthy strongman to overhaul the system if the system has failed them.
People who are actually interested in ending Trumpism would be promoting an end to the corruption in the political system, an end to the opacity of their government, an end to their uniquely awful electoral system, and an end to the neoliberal policies which have been making Americans poorer and poorer with less and less support from the government which purports to protect them.
But these changes are not being promoted by the US political/media class, because the US political/media class speaks for an empire that depends on these things.
Without corruption, the plutocratic class couldn't use campaign donations and corporate lobbying to install and maintain politicians who will advance their interests.
Without government secrecy, the oligarchic empire could not conspire in secret to advance the military and economic agendas which form the glue that holds the empire together.
Without a lying mass media, people's consent could not be manufactured for wars and a system which does not serve their interests.
Without widespread poverty and domestic austerity, people could not be kept too busy and politically impotent to challenge the massive political influence of the plutocrats.
So the option of stopping the rise of Trumpism by changing the system is taken off the table, which is why you never hear it discussed as a possibility in mainstream circles. The only option people are being offered to debate the pros and cons of is giving more powers to that same corrupt system which created Trump, powers which will be under the control of the next Trumpian figure who is elevated by that very system.
You're not going to prevent fascism by creating a big authoritarian monster to stomp it into silence, and even if you could you would only be stopping the fascism by becoming the fascism. To stop the rise of fascism you need to actually change. Drastically. Believing you can just make it go away without changing your situation is like believing you can avert an oncoming train by putting your hands over your eyes.
There is no valid argument against what I am saying here. Saying the powerful won't allow any positive change is just confirming everything I'm saying and confirming the need to remove the powerful from power. Saying that ending corruption, government secrecy and injustice would just be giving the terrorists what they want would be turning yourself into a bootlicker of such cartoonish obsequiousness there aren't words in the English language adequate to mock you.
Yes, change is desperately needed. Yes, the powerful will resist that change with everything they have. But the alternative is letting them plunge the world into darkness and destruction. We're going to have to find a way to win this thing.
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