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Blue Planet

Best of the Web: Hello, and welcome to the real Iran!

Andre Vltchek
countercurrents.org
Sun, 19 Aug 2018 11:24 UTC
Iran
© Andre VltchekYoung filmmakers working on the streets of Tehran
Have you ever considered the possibility that almost everything that you have been told about the world by the Western mass media is a lie and fabrication?

I am sure you have, at least lately, when the insanity of Western propaganda is becoming very clear and obvious. But what about the extent of indoctrination you were subjected to?

If you live in Europe or North America, how poisoned are you by the lies about Cuba and Venezuela, Russia and China, North Korea and yes - about Iran? Are you beyond recovery? If you see the truth, if you were confronted by reality, would you still be able to recognize it, or would you perceive it as propaganda and lies?

I have just left Tehran, a city with a tremendous history and culture, overflowing with museums, theatres, wonderfully kept parks dotted with modern art sculptures. It is a city with modern and fully subsidized public transportation, consisting of high-tech metro, ecological bus ways, as well as suburban trains. A city of tall trees, and quiet squares, of elegant cafes, and extremely educated and kind people.

Comment: A refreshing look at what daily life on the ground in Iran is like. While no country is 'perfect' without a doubt Iran is not the pariah that the West makes it out to be. The people of Iran are not interested in 'regime change'. In fact they are more interested in tackling unemployment than the regime. For that they have only to thank the US and endless sanctions designed specifically to hurt their economy. Despite that, the people of Iran are smart, strong and resilient as ever. See also:

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Bug

Best of the Web: Bombshell: Courts documents reveal #MeToo movement leader raped teenage boy then paid him off


RT
Mon, 20 Aug 2018 10:38 UTC
Asia Argento
Not so glorious now, is it? Asia Argento, the actress who kickstarted last year's global anti-men campaign. Was she paid to do it?
Asia Argento, an Italian actress and director at the forefront of the #MeToo campaign that brought down producer Harvey Weinstein over sexual assault, herself reportedly assaulted an underage actor, and paid him to stay silent.

Court documents reportedly seen by the New York Times outline allegations by Jimmy Bennet, actor and rock musician, who says Argento sexually assaulted him when he was 17 and she was 37. The age of consent in California, where the alleged assault took place, is 18.

Comment: Watch now as they defend her by saying "but that wasn't rape - it was consensual..."

As we said at the time, while we would, hypothetically, extend our sympathy to the actual individual victims of rape (preferably, shown to be such in a court of law), the entire batch of claims was rendered dubious-by-association because of the 'public shaming' witch-hunt manner in which they became known.

In any event, Hollywood - and other dens of iniquity - ranks among the least deserving venues of public sympathy.

And what does this say about the shallow, vapid nature of people - the world over - who fell for this emotional guff? The whole #MeToo nonsense was one great big spasm of emotional incontinence.

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Heart

Best of the Web: Ever the gentleman: VIP guest Putin brings big bouquet of flowers, dances with Austrian FM at her wedding


RT
Sat, 18 Aug 2018 15:56 UTC
putin austrian FM wedding
© Reuters
When Austria's foreign minister gets married, you can expect politicians to be there - but maybe not a foreign head of state. However, one of Karin Kneissl's guests was Vladimir Putin, who arrived with a bouquet of flowers.

The bouquet wasn't the only gift up Putin's sleeve at the wedding of Kneissl and multi-millionaire Wolfgang Meilinger. He also brought along the Kuban Cossak Choir to entertain guests.

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Attention

Best of the Web: Twitter bans anti-war activist Caitlin Johnstone for 'abusing' John McCain

Caitlin Johnstone
Medium
Fri, 17 Aug 2018 00:01 UTC
Caitlin Johnstone twitter banned
UPDATE: It looks like the suspension was lifted just after I hit publish on this. A lot of my fans and even a few haters made a big noise in objection to Twitter's actions, and it worked! As we discussed recently, the plutocratic manipulators work so hard to manufacture our consent because they need that consent, and they can't act if we don't give it to them. I've left the article as-is below for posterity, and so people can see my experience with #Resistance Twitter's attempt to silence dissident speech. Never stop fighting.

I've received an email from Twitter which reads as follows:
Hello Caitlin Johnstone,
Your account, caitoz has been suspended for violating the Twitter Rules.
Specifically, for:
Violating our rules against abusive behavior.
You may not engage in the targeted harassment of someone, or incite other people to do so. We consider abusive behavior an attempt to harass, intimidate, or silence someone else's voice.
Note that if you attempt to evade a permanent suspension by creating new accounts, we will suspend your new accounts. If you wish to appeal this suspension, please contact our support team.

Comment: See also:

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Yoda

Best of the Web: Ron Paul Interviews His Son, Senator Rand Paul, About His Visit to Moscow


Sott.net
Thu, 16 Aug 2018 21:54 UTC
Rand Paul Moscow
US Senator Rand Paul visiting members of the Russian Duma in Moscow last week
Ron Paul, now 'retired' from politics, but still plugging away trying to counter the tsunami of BS coming from Washington, publishes the Liberty Report. On today's episode, he interviewed his son, Senator Rand Paul, about his recent peace mission to Moscow, where he spent a week meeting Foreign Committee members of the Duma and Federation Council (Russia's Congress).

They discussed the senator's progress with opening channels of communication between US and Russian legislatures, his meeting with Mikail Gorbachev, and the insanity that is 'Russiagate'.

They both stressed the importance of normalizing relations with Russia rather than the status quo of diplomatic isolationism - which, as Ron Paul points out, is richly ironic given their political stance as 'isolationists' regarding US imperial ventures overseas...

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Bandaid

Best of the Web: America's deep-seated Russophobia is pushing US-Russia relations to the brink of ultimate disaster

Robert Bridge
RT
Wed, 15 Aug 2018 13:44 UTC
russian dolls
© Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters
Starting around WWI, the US has experienced at least three waves of anti-Russia sentiment. What is unique about today's Russophobia is that it's not based on ideological differences, but rather raw political brinkmanship.

When viewing particular chapters of American history, it becomes evident that US leaders have a tendency to believe, or feign to believe, that Americans are totally incapable of acting and thinking for themselves. We the ignorant sheeple are simply unqualified to act as independent agents in times of crisis. Instead, the American people are being manipulated like marionettes at the hands of some foreign puppet master, which, as we have been reminded of late on numerous occasions, is Russia.

Russophobia in the US has deep roots. In 1919, coming just after WWI and the Russian Revolution, an imagined Bolshevik bogeyman was seen as the force behind a series of domestic upheavals, like the Seattle General Strike when 65,000 workers walked off their jobs for five days, and the Boston Police Strike, which saw officers protesting for better wages and conditions.

The rationale to explain those past social seizures sounds strikingly familiar today: any American who dares speak out on some domestic issue must be under the subtle influence of a Kremlin indoctrination campaign.
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Better Earth

Best of the Web: Pepe Escobar: The Caspian sails towards Eurasian integration

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
Tue, 14 Aug 2018 14:03 UTC
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev walk along a Caspian Sea embankment while participating in the Fifth Caspian Summit in Aktau, Kazakhstan.
© Sputnik/Aleksey NikolskyiRussian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev walk along a Caspian Sea embankment while participating in the Fifth Caspian Summit in Aktau, Kazakhstan.
The five states surrounding the sea - Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan - have reached difficult compromises on sovereign and exclusive rights as well as freedom of navigation

The long-awaited deal on the legal status of the Caspian Sea signed on Sunday in the Kazakh port of Aktau is a defining moment in the ongoing, massive drive towards Eurasia integration.

Up to the early 19th century, the quintessentially Eurasian body of water - a connectivity corridor between Asia and Europe over a wealth of oil and gas - was exclusive Persian property. Imperial Russia then took over the northern margin. After the break up of the USSR, the Caspian ended up being shared by five states; Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.

Comment: See also: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Trump Ditches Europe, Europe Bluffs, Russia and China Carry on With Eurasian Integration

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Mr. Potato

Best of the Web: Now they're censoring censorship? Twitter suspends Alex Jones for tweeting a call to end censorship


RT
Wed, 15 Aug 2018 16:10 UTC
alex jones
© Sean P. Anderson / Flickr
Controversial right-wing commentator Alex Jones has been banned from tweeting after he posted a link to a video of himself calling on President Trump to "take action" against tech companies censoring his content.

Infowars Editor Paul Joseph Watson tweeted a screenshot of the notification sent by Twitter staff to Jones. According to Twitter, a tweet by Jones one day earlier was considered to be "targeted harassment," and, as a result, the Infowars host would have his access to the social-media platform restricted for one week. Watson described the situation as "truly, monumentally, beyond stupid."


In the video, Jones ranted about the censorship of conservative voices by Silicon Valley tech companies, directing much of his scorn at Apple CEO Tim Cook. He called his own ban from various tech platforms a "total anti-American attack," and called on President Trump to "do something about it." Along the way, he bashed Democrats, criticized the mainstream media, and accused Cook of working with the Chinese government to undermine America.


Comment: Most of what Jones says is eye-roll-worthy. But that's about it. And the censorship just makes him more popular.


Comment: Further reading

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Fire

Best of the Web: Lightning strikes thrice? One killed and one in critical condition following explosion at chemical weapons factory in Salisbury


RT
Fri, 10 Aug 2018 23:56 UTC

Comment: This is getting beyond ridiculous. While we wait and see how the British security apparatus spins this, we'll just note that Salisbury and its environs is one strange place: Salisbury Plain is the primary UK military proving ground for testing weaponry, the bulk of which are manufactured in and around Salisbury town; those facilities include numerous producers of chemical weapons, which have been exported globally since WW1, and of which Porton Down is the 'nerve center'...


Salisbury
© Google Street View
At least one person has been killed and another has suffered serious injuries, after an explosion rocked the Chemring Countermeasures plant in Salisbury, located some three miles from the MoD's notorious Porton Down lab.

Six fire crews were immediately sent to the scene to battle the blaze which erupted following the blast that happened at about 17:00 local time. While the fire department managed to put out the blaze, rescuers discovered one person dead at the scene. Another individual was rushed to a hospital in serious condition, Wiltshire police has confirmed.

Comment: So what the heck is going on in Salisbury? While there's no immediate connection to Porton Down and the Skripal incident, it seems this sleepy little town has been quite the hotspot (pardon the pun) as of late.

See also:

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Vader

Best of the Web: Blood-spattered children & broken bodies: Disturbing video reveals bus attack horror in Yemen


RT
Fri, 10 Aug 2018 19:56 UTC
yemen bus attack
© ReutersA doctor treats children injured by an airstrike in Saada, Yemen, August 9
A shocking video of small children - dazed and covered in blood - has revealed the grim truth of Thursday's bus attack in northern Yemen which left 50 people dead.

The bus was in the Dahyan Market in northern Saada, a Houthi rebel stronghold, when it was attacked on Thursday morning. The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed the attack shortly afterwards, as it was inundated with injured children - many aged under 10 years.

A Ruptly crew has filmed the injured in hospital.

WARNING: Following video contains disturbing images.
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