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Even if Tulsi Gabbard wins lawsuit against Clinton over 'Russian asset' smear, establishment Dems will stand behind Hillary

Robert Bridge
RT
Fri, 24 Jan 2020 00:31 UTC
Tulsi Gabbard and Hillary Clinton
© (L) REUTERS/Brendan McDermid; (R) Getty Images for Hulu/Erik Voake
The gloves came off this week in the United States as Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard announced she would sue Hillary Clinton for suggesting she was a 'Russian asset.'

Clinton's conspiracy theory that Gabbard was in the employ of the Russians went something like this: somewhere deep behind the walls of the Kremlin, the Russians, trembling at the prospect of having to play 4D chess against the likes of old Joe Biden, came to the conclusion that Donald Trump would never emerge victorious in 2020 without a third-party candidate to play spoiler. Thus, as the story goes, the Russians began "grooming" one of the Democratic candidates for the role.

"I'm not making any predictions, but I think they [the Kremlin] have got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate," Clinton said in an interview with the Campaign HQ podcast. "She's the favorite of the Russians... They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her."

Comment: You GO girl! Tulsi Gabbard announces $50 million defamation lawsuit against Hillary Clinton

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Bullseye

Disaster for Europe: Iran blasts EU for buckling to Trump & acting like 'strong man' against Tehran


RT
Sat, 25 Jan 2020 11:09 UTC
Zarif
© REUTERS/Evgenia NovozheninaFILE PHOTO: Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
Acquiescing to Washington's hardline stance on Tehran spells catastrophe for Europe, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has argued, warning that there will be consequences for their u-turn on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The decision by European signatories of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to trigger a mechanism that could lead to UN sanctions against Iran is a "disaster" for Europe, Zarif said during an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel magazine. He claimed that, behind closed doors, European leaders have admitted that they dare not defy US President Donald Trump's unilateral decision to pull out from the accord and to implement sanctions.

The Europeans call us and say: 'We're sorry, we cannot do anything.' The Europeans can't buckle to Trump and then try to act like the strong man against Iran.

Comment: See also:

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Footprints

Long-time Putin aid, Vladislav Surkov, to leave the Kremlin

Bryan MacDonald
RT
Sat, 25 Jan 2020 18:53 UTC
Putin/Surkov
© RIA Novosti/Alexei NikolskyRussian President Vladimir Putin and Putin aide Vladislav Surkov
Russian media is all abuzz with reports that Vladislav Surkov, former Deputy PM, the ex-deputy head of the presidential administration and Vladimir Putin's long-time influential aide, has exited government service.

The reports cite Surkov's close associate Alexey Chesnakov who, writing on his Telegram Channel, said Surkov left his post, as an advisor to President Vladimir Putin, "in connection with the change of course in policy towards Ukraine." He noted that Surkov himself promised to reveal the details and talk about his future career plans next month.

Chesnakov later said that the President himself will decide when the announcement will be made public, but nothing will affect Surkov's decision. "I know this from Surkov himself," the political scientist added.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, on Saturday afternoon, that the comment about altering Moscow's Ukraine strategy is untrue. Statements in this regard "reflect only the personal point of view of those who talk about it," he insisted, emphasizing that it was the private opinion of a particular person.
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Clipboard

One out of four Americans: Trump should be tried for war crimes over Soleimani assassination


Sputnik
Fri, 24 Jan 2020 23:39 UTC
Soleimani
© Aiฬˆda Amer/Axios; Getty Images: Tom Stoddart Archive, Adam Glickman/Underwood Archives, Mehdi Ghasemi, NurPhoto
A new poll has found more than a quarter of Americans believe that US President Donald Trump should face war crimes charges in the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the January 3 killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander General Qasem Soleimani.

A recent Business Insider poll given to a total of 1,083 Americans asked:
"Iran announced it will pursue war-crime charges against President Donald Trump at the International Criminal Court in The Hague over the assassination of Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Do you agree or disagree with such charges?"
According to the outlet, a total of 27.4% of those polled believed that Trump should face a war crimes tribunal in The Hague. However, a larger percentage, 35.6%, disagreed with the idea. A total of 24.8% of respondents said they "neither agree nor disagree" with the tribunal and 12.2% responded "I don't know."

Comment: See also:

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Star of David

Palestinian Authority to abandon all agreements if Israel annexes Jordan Valley


Middle East Monitor
Thu, 23 Jan 2020 03:14 UTC
Hussein Al-Sheikh
© File photo1 Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs, Hussein Al-Sheikh
Member of Fatah Central Committee and PA Minister Hussein Al-Sheikh yesterday warned that all deals signed with Israel will be scrapped should Tel Aviv annex the Jordan Valley, Safa news agency reported.

On Twitter, Al-Sheikh, who is close to the PA President Mahmoud Abbas, wrote: "Any #Israeli decision to annex the #Jordan Valley and settlements will cancel all the #agreements signed between the two parties and lead to the collapse of the status quo."

"We would enter a new phase that has major repercussions for the entire region."


Comment: See also:

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USA

Pence delivers a history lesson: Soviets didn't liberate Auschwitz, Americans did - what was everyone thinking?

Nebojsa Malic
RT
Fri, 24 Jan 2020 22:19 UTC
Survivors Auschwitz
© UnknownSurvivors of Auschwitz leave the liberated death camp in this Soviet photo, 1945.
US Vice President Mike Pence's speech on the Holocaust left the impression it was American soldiers who liberated Auschwitz, erased the Soviet Union's well-documented act, and even used the solemn occasion to lash out at Iran.

Speaking at the World Holocaust Forum in Israel on Thursday, Pence said that it was "soldiers" who opened the gates of Auschwitz on January 27, 1945. Which soldiers? Pence does not say, whether accidentally or on purpose.

Pence's omission became much more glaring a few moments later, when he honored the memory of "all the Allied forces, including more than two million American soldiers, who left hearth and home, suffered appalling casualties, and freed a continent from the grip of tyranny."


Comment: When you 'choose' a reality, it is not 'reality' and all that goes forward reflects this. Knowledge of history and understanding its lessons should be a fundamental qualifier for those who occupy the seats of any government.

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Whistle

Sustained efforts to undermine Douma 'attack' whistleblower underscore importance of his UN testimony

Scott Ritter
RT
Thu, 23 Jan 2020 14:25 UTC
OPCW
© HOKRG/KJN
NATO states responded with an unjustified certainty to the Douma incident two years ago, and have compounded the shame with their treatment of weapons expert Ian Henderson this week at the UN.

Preordained conclusions

At an 'Arria-formula' meeting of the Security Council convened on January 20, 2020 at the request of Russia, Ian Henderson - a former member of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) - gave testimony which contradicted, or otherwise brought into question, the conclusions of the OPCW detailed in its official report on the use of chemical weapons in the Damascus suburb of Douma on April 4, 2018.

The details provided by Henderson were technical in nature, addressing various scientific and bureaucratic shortcomings within the OPCW regarding the collection, assessment and presentation of information relating to the Douma incident.

Henderson noted that he and his fellow inspectors "had serious misgivings that a chemical attack had occurred" at Douma, but that these concerns were overridden by OPCW management amid pressure from the US and UK to sustain the original allegations.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

Will they stay? Hell yes! US general says troops to remain in ME for 'quite a while'


Sputnik
Fri, 24 Jan 2020 21:50 UTC
McKenzie
© NBC NewsUS Marine General Frank McKenzie, Commander of CENTCOM
In the last eight months, US troop levels in the Middle East have increased by one-third, and new arrivals can expect to be there "for quite a while," a top US general said earlier this week.

US Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, who commands US Central Command (CENTCOM), told sailors and Marines aboard the USS Bataan in the Red Sea on Thursday, according to AP.
"You're here because I requested that you come. I'm not sure how long you're going to stay in the theater. We'll work that out as we go ahead. Could be quite a while, could be less than that, just don't know right now."
McKenzie's comments come amid a heated debate in Washington about redeploying US troops for confrontation with Russia and China on the one hand, and increasing pressure on US forces in the Persian Gulf as Washington pushes ever closer to war with Iran on the other.

Troop shifts proposed by Pentagon leaders, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and US Defense Secretary Mark Esper, could see as many as 200,000 service members shifted toward theaters more likely to see conflict with Moscow or Beijing, with most of them going to US Indo-Pacific Command, Sputnik reported.

Comment: Nothing says 'de-escalation' like frontloading troops to a volatile pressure point.

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Bizarro Earth

Brexit Britain scheming towards new 'forceful' role in Asia

David Hutt
Asia Times
Fri, 24 Jan 2020 10:55 UTC
HMS Queen
© AFP/Richard PohlePost-Brexit Britain eyes new forceful role in AsiaA British naval officer looks up at the fluttering White ensign flag hoisted at the stern during the Commissioning Ceremony for the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth at HM Naval Base in Portsmouth, southern England on December 7, 2017.
When Britain leaves the European Union (EU) later this month, it will be free to chart its own independent course in foreign affairs and fulfill years of promises to build a truly "global Britain."


Comment: When Britain leaves? More like if.


That will likely entail a historic realignment of its foreign policy interests from the Middle East and Africa to the "Indo-Pacific," one of the three "primary centers of the global economy and political influence", after North America and Europe, according to the United Kingdom's last National Security Capability Review published in March 2018.

The Indo-Pacific is currently home to most of the world's largest and fastest growing economies, as well as the center of US-China geopolitical competition, which isn't likely to dampen down anytime soon.

Comment: It's a blessing for our planet that the wishful thinking of the British establishment will also have to face the reality of Russia:

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Snakes in Suits

The Davos World Economic Forum for the world's elites is at it again - Celebrating it's 50th anniversary

Peter Koenig
Global Research
Wed, 22 Jan 2020 00:00 UTC
Davos World Economic Forum
Friends, this year the WEF is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. Forty-nine (49) of the insanely pompous - and every year more - WEF events took place in Davos, Switzerland. Just one, in 2002, after 9/11, was moved to New York City, paradoxically for 'security reasons' they said - the logic of such a move was as ludicrous as the WEF itself.

Friends, you should go to the WEF, the notorious World Economic Forum in Davos, (21-24 January), where a 12 square-meter hotel room costs US$ 10,000 per night (if you don't believe it, look it up on the internet), and where it's totally normal that sharpshooters are everywhere on roof tops in subfreezing temperatures - to protect the about 3000 upper-echelons, of course - and that a huge section of the Zurich airport has been cordoned-off for the private planes of the 'environmentally conscious elite' โ€” and where Trump arrived this morning, Tuesday, 21 January; and where the "plane-spotters" with their sophisticated binoculars and telescopes are practically camping in the airport areal โ€” to be first when the airport gates are opened, for them to enter the airport terraces to "spot" the arriving VIP / CEO / celebrity private planes (you get the picture, it's sort of like Black Friday, with the campers in front of the Walmart gates) - hundreds of private jets are expected - the normality of abject uselessness and decadence of the rich - and its acceptance and even glorification by the populace, is much more than George Orwell could have ever thought of when he wrote 1984 in 1948.
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