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Ice Cube

Best of the Web: Powerful storm hits Madrid, Spain - Cars swept away by rivers of hail. In August


RT
Mon, 26 Aug 2019 20:42 UTC
madrid hail storm
Madrid is under a torrential downpour of rain and hail as floods sweep over the city's streets, washing away cars and anything else in their path. The storms were captured in incredible footage.

The immense storm passed over Madrid on Monday afternoon, with footage emerging from the city's Arganda district detailing its destructive power. Cars, trash cans and benches, among other debris, could be seen swept up in the flash floods.


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Jet1

Best of the Web: Israel is now more visible in the geopolitical mix

Steve Brown
The Duran
Mon, 26 Aug 2019 00:00 UTC
Israeli air force
Take it as given that Israel tends to operate behind the scenes and would prefer to influence affairs covertly rather than overtly, so when Israel admits to resuming air strikes vs Syria and Iraq that's worth a look.

Israel has resumed air strikes on Syria and Iraq, claiming to strike Iranian military emplacements in both countries. Perhaps significantly, the Israeli strikes have resumed just subsequent to serious setbacks for terrorist militias in Idlib and Hama; where Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, Ahrar al Sham, al Nusra, the NLF, and many other terrorist groups are based and backed by the US, Turkey, and Israel.

One basis for hope to end foreign adventurism in Syria was the liberation of Khan Sheikhoun, which cut a major terrorist supply route between Hama and Idlib. Considering the Syrian forces in that region, it would be logical for the IAF to strike there, however the New York Times reported Israeli bombing in the vicinity of al Aqraba which is in southern Damascus (and unlikely to have been a real target) while the IAF report says that Dama near As-Suwayda was hit. Most likely, neither report is accurate.

Where Israel truly bombed is anyone's guess since the normally reliable liveua conflict map shows just the one Israeli report for August 25th with no verifiable evidence, an unusual occurrence in itself. Only the New York Times and Israeli press are reporting the specifics of the attack, and those sources are generally doubtful. Reports this author has seen indicate that Israel bombed a corridor north of Hama used by Syrian security force reinforcements at a time when the Syrian air force and its allies were relatively inactive.

Comment: See also:

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Stormtrooper

Best of the Web: Policing for profit: How civil asset forfeiture has perverted American law enforcement


ammo.com
Sat, 24 Aug 2019 09:00 UTC
civil asset forfeiture 1
Picture this: You're driving home from the casino and you've absolutely cleaned up - to the tune of $50,000. You see a police car pull up behind you, but you can't figure out why. Not only have you not broken any laws, you're not even speeding. But the police officer doesn't appear to be interested in charging you with a crime. Instead, he takes your gambling winnings, warns you not to say anything to anyone unless you want to be charged as a drug kingpin, then drives off into the sunset.

This actually happened to Tan Nguyen, and his story is far from unique. It's called civil asset forfeiture and it's a multi-billion dollar piggybank for state, local and federal police departments to fund all sorts of pet projects.

With its origins in the British fight against piracy on the open seas, civil asset forfeiture is nothing new. During Prohibition, police officers often seized goods, cash and equipment from bootleggers in a similar manner to today. However, contemporary civil asset forfeiture begins right where you'd think that it would: The War on Drugs.

In 1986, as First Lady Nancy Reagan encouraged America's youth to "Just Say No," the Justice Department started the Asset Forfeiture Fund. This sparked a boom in civil asset forfeiture that's now become self-reinforcing, as the criminalization of American life and asset forfeiture have continued to feed each other.

In sum, asset forfeiture creates a motivation to draft more laws by the legislature, while more laws create greater opportunities for seizure by law enforcement. This perverse incentive structure is having devastating consequences: In 2014 alone, law enforcement took more stuff from American citizens than burglars did.

The current state of civil asset forfeiture in the United States is one of almost naked tyranny. Don't believe us? Read on.

Comment: See also:

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Fire

Best of the Web: Amazon burning? Well maybe not so much

Catte Black
OffGuardian
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 00:01 UTC
amazon rain forest fire
One of many misattributed photos doing the rounds. This is from another fire entirely.
Statistics indicate this is an average year for wildfires, so why the above-average hysteria?

Today on Twitter OffG stepped into the current panic-inferno and thick forest of screaming hashtags that is the "Amazon Forest Fire Crisis." The results were thought-provoking.

The mainstream media message is very simple. There are "record" numbers of forest fires currently in the Amazon basin. It's mostly Bolsonaro's fault. The G7 - soon to be assembling - needs to act. (Business Insider and The Guardian are also both very keen we send money to some rainforest charities)

Comment: One thing not mentioned in the above article is the sheer number of mainstream media outlets blaming the Amazon fires on you, because... wait for it... you eat too much meat!

amazon fires eating meat
This fits in nicely with the overall Green New Deal agenda. How convenient.

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Star of David

Best of the Web: Israel opens new front against Lebanon, with two drones hitting Hezbollah targets in Beirut - Zionist entity now bombing 4 ME countries UPDATES


RFE/RL
Sun, 25 Aug 2019 08:14 UTC
israeli drones
File photo: Israeli drones dropping tear gas against Palestinian protesters last year
Lebanon's military says two Israeli drones hit Hizballah's stronghold in south Beirut, while the Iran-backed Shi'ite movement says one of the aircraft damaged its media center.

The two aircraft violated Lebanese airspace at dawn over the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, an army statement said on August 25, adding: "The first fell while the second exploded in the air causing material damage."

Prime Minister Saad Hariri called it a "blatant attack on Lebanon's sovereignty" and said this "new aggression" represents a threat to regional stability.

A Hizballah spokesman, Mohamed Afif, said that one of the two drones was rigged with explosives and "exploded causing huge damage to the media center. Hizballah did not shoot down any drone," Afif said.

Israeli officials did not comment on the incident, which came hours after Israel said it had struck Iranian forces in neighboring Syria to prevent a pending attack "using killer drones."

Comment: From RT 25/8/2019: Lebanese PM accuses Israel of 'open attack' on sovereignty
Israeli drone flights were "an open attack on Lebanese sovereignty" and an assault on UN Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war, Hariri said on Sunday.

Hariri called the drone incursion a "threat to regional stability and an attempt to increase tensions."

He said there's a heavy presence of planes in the airspace over Beirut and its suburbs, adding he will consult with Lebanese President Michel Aoun on what could be done to repel the "new aggression."

Separately, Israeli combat aircraft have reportedly flown mock sorties over the Lebanese city of Sidon. Local media described warplanes flying at low altitude over the country's third largest city, which lies about 40km south of Beirut.
From Sputnik, 25/8/2019: Israeli fighter jets fly over Lebanon after drones crash in Beirut
A group of Israeli fighter jets have conducted an flyover of Beirut and southern Lebanon following a mysterious crash of alleged Israeli drones in the southern outskirts of the Lebanese capital, an informed source at the Beirut International Airport said on Sunday.

"Four Israeli Air Force aircraft invaded Lebanese airspace. We saw them flying over Beirut and southern Lebanon. Having made a number of maneuvers, they left Lebanese airspace", the source said.
From Sputnik, 25/8/2019: Nasrallah denounces Israeli drone attack in Beirut, vows to confront such incidents in future
Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, said on Sunday that the Israeli drone attack is the first dangerous incident and breach of rules between the two countries since August 2006. He went on to say that one of the drones that crashed over the Lebanese capital was on a "suicide mission".

While Nasrallah stated that Hezbollah didn't down the two crashed drones on the night between 24 and 25 August, he vowed that the movement would "do everything to prevent" such attacks in the future, saying that the time when Israel could bomb Lebanon "is over". The Hezbollah leader warned the Israeli military stationed at the country's border with Lebanon of an imminent response to the drone attack.

Nasrallah said in his statement that the group had entered a new phase in its conflict with Israel, vowing to retaliate for the deaths of two Hezbollah members in an IAF strike in Syria that took place on the same night.
Nasrallah also called "The latest Israeli development very, very, very dangerous," in a televised speech.

Things are finally opening up in the Middle East. Israel is now directly engaged in airstrikes against Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and - possibly very soon - Yemen. If it starts serious bombing in Lebanon, and Hezbollah - armed to the teeth this time around - fights back, it's curtains for the modern incarnation of Judea.

The Israeli govt justifies its utterly insane belligerence by saying 'the Iranians are everywhere'. But calling everyone it hates 'Iranians' is the Israeli equivalent of Western leaders calling all dissenting opinion 'Russian trolls'.

What's actually happening is that the largest (population-wise) countries in the region are coordinating their military actions to encircle and eventually contain Israel. This is their (belated) pushback against the Neocons' Yinon plan to 'balkanize' the region.

Israel - blinded by pathological hatred - doesn't see that its wild, preemptive actions are just tightening the noose around its neck...

UPDATE 26 Aug 2019

From RT, 26/8/2019: Israel strikes Palestinian group in Lebanon after punishing Hamas for Gaza rocket fire
Israeli air strikes targeted the headquarters of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in Lebanon's Bekaa region, local media report. Earlier the IDF struck several targets in Gaza, in retaliation to rocket fire.

"Three Israeli air strikes targeted the Lebanese-Syria border east of Zahle... explosions were heard in several parts of the Bekaa valley," An-Nahar news channel said as unverified footage of the strike apparently targeting the PFLP office spread across social media. The strikes seem to be limited as the PFLP said initial reports indicate no casualties.

The alleged raid on the Lebanon-Syria border area follows a confirmed Israeli attack against Hamas targets in Gaza Strip that targeted a military compound and the militant group battalion commander's office. Earlier, Tel Aviv accused the organization of firing three rockets into Israel, two of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.

See also:

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Propaganda

Best of the Web: MSM rubber-stamps suicide finding, shuts down reporting on Epstein's death

Patrick Martin
World Socialist Web Site
Mon, 19 Aug 2019 00:00 UTC
epstein island
The corporate-controlled media in the United States has effectively shut down all reporting on the death of the politically connected multi-millionaire sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, only one week after his body was discovered in a prison cell in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.

Epstein's death was the most widely reported American event in the first few days of the week, with hours of coverage on cable television, the lead story on nightly network news programs, and pages upon pages of reporting in the New York Times, Washington Post and other leading daily newspapers.

There was ample reason for such attention, particularly by the standards of the sensation-obsessed American media. Epstein was, at least by reputation, both fabulously wealthy and dangerously predatory. He travelled in the highest circles of bourgeois society, hobnobbing with ex-presidents, future presidents, British royalty and numerous billionaires, some of whom he claimed to have enriched enormously.

And his crimes against teenage girls and young women had already resulted in a 2008 felony conviction that led to a slap on the wrist in jail time, in keeping with his status as a member of the class of super-rich "money managers." Only hours before his death, moreover, 2,000 pages of new documents were released linking many prominent world figures, including Prince Andrew and several top Democrats, to Epstein's sex-trafficking activities.

Comment: The Epstein taint promises to be both deep and far-reaching, and any provable association with this case is a given liability. The story control lever, abruptly pulled, certainly raises interesting questions. Perception management? Too close to home? What do the media moguls not want the American public to know?

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Books

Best of the Web: The Arabian cradle of Zion: Moses, Muhammad, and Wahhabo-Zionism

Laurent Guyénot
The UNZ Review
Sat, 08 Jun 2019 12:00 UTC
moses


When Yahweh resided in an Arabian volcano

"Yahweh came from Sinai" (Deuteronomy 33:2; Psalms 68:18). It is in Sinai that Moses first encounters Yahweh; it is back to Sinai that Moses leads Yahweh's people from Egypt; and it is from Sinai that, two years later, on Yahweh's order again, Moses sets off with them to conquer a piece of the Fertile Crescent.

But where is Sinai, with its Mount Horeb? Exodus unequivocally places it in the land of Midian. After fleeing "into Midianite territory," Moses is hosted by "a priest of Midian with seven daughters" (2:15-16). He "agreed to stay on there with the man, who gave him his daughter Zipporah in marriage" (2:21). Moses' father-in-law is named Reuel in Exodus 2:18, but Jethro in Numbers 3:1, "Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite" in Numbers 10:29, and "Hobab the Kenite" in Judges 1:16. We'll call him Jethro, his most popular name. His daughter Zipporah gave Moses two sons: Gershom (2:22) and Eliezer (18:4). It is while grazing his father-in-law's flocks that Moses finds himself near Mount Horeb, "to the far side of the desert" (3:1), where he hears Yahweh call his name. By implication, Sinai is in Midian.

Comment: More from Lauren Guyénot: Also check out SOTT radio's:

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No Entry

Best of the Web: Suddenly the West is miserably failing to overthrow 'regimes' all around the world

Andre Vltchek
New Eastern Outlook
Thu, 22 Aug 2019 00:00 UTC
Syrian flag
It used to be done regularly and it worked: The West identified a country as its enemy, unleashed its professional propaganda against it, then administered a series of sanctions, starving and murdering children, the elderly and other vulnerable groups. If the country did not collapse within months or just a couple of years, the bombing would begin. And the nation, totally shaken, in pain, and in disarray, would collapse like a house of cards, once the first NATO boots hit its ground.

Such scenarios were re-enacted, again and again, from Yugoslavia to Iraq.

But suddenly, something significant has happened. This horrific lawlessness, this chaos stopped; was deterred.

The West keeps using the same tactics, it tries to terrorize independent-minded countries, to frighten people into submission, to overthrow what it defines as 'regimes', but its power, its monstrously destructive power has all of a sudden become ineffective.

It hits, and the attacked nation shakes, screams, sheds blood, but keeps standing, keeps proudly erect.

Comment: It's producing a time of - relatively-speaking - world peace. But what happens when the 'energy' (military, financial, industrial) cannot go into what it normally goes into (warfare, domination, chasing hegemony)?

Is it transmuted somehow into positive forms of creativity? Some people hope so, but we fear other people will start wrecking everything.

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Megaphone

Best of the Web: Trump lashes out after China retaliates with counter-tariffs... by ordering US companies to come home and attacking Fed chairman!


RT
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 20:10 UTC

Comment: One is never sure if Trump is smoking crack, or some kind of dissembling genius.

He has once again gone on an angry rant against China's govt, but wrapped within an even more stinging attack against the Federal Reserve...


trump federal reserve
President Donald Trump has lashed out at the Federal Reserve chairman, after Jay Powell refused to cut interest rates to Trump's liking, a move that would have given the president ammunition to escalate his trade war with China.

"As usual, the Fed did NOTHING!" Trump tweeted on Friday, after Powell announced that he would "sustain the expansion" of the US economy, but not by slashing interest rates by a whole percentage point, as Trump has repeatedly called for. Instead, Powell is likely to lower rates by around a quarter of a percentage point, from their current level of 2.25 percent.

Interest rates are usually lowered during periods of recession to stimulate the economy, as low rates make borrowing cheaper and increase consumer spending and investment. However, when rates are too low, they can spur unsustainable growth and fuel rising inflation.

Crucially for Trump, a dramatic lowering of rates could help sustain the US' roaring economy heading into his re-election campaign, and insulate it from damage wrought by the president's ongoing trade war with China. Trump made no secret of this on Friday, asking "who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?"



Comment: Here, it's quite clear that he's insinuating the Federal Reserve is the real enemy of the United States.


Comment: Well, the Chairman's job is to dissemble, so why shouldn't the President?

"We only conduct monetary policy" is the core scam of the US central bank (like all such dens of iniquity). Once you control monetary policy, you essentially control trade policy. Along with everything else.

'The market' has responded to Trump by tanking 700 points...

Maybe this is what's behind Trump's ridiculously exuberant "nobody loves Jews and Israel as much as me" statements of late?

Is he flattering in order to deceive? He's practically goading Americans to chant "End the Fed! Rein in the money-lenders!"

Or maybe he's just having one of those days where he attacks everyone and sees who blinks first...

Update 11:15 CET

Trump has upped the ante against China...





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USA

Best of the Web: Great Firewall of Westernia: YouTube (Google) follows Twitter and Facebook with mass censorship of Chinese accounts criticizing HK protests

Helen Buyniski
RT
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 17:28 UTC
hong kong protesters american flag
© Reuters / Kim Kyung-Hoon
YouTube has disabled 210 channels for posting content related to the Hong Kong protests "in a coordinated manner," following in the footsteps of Facebook and Twitter in restricting its arbitrary censorship to pro-China accounts.


Comment: It's not that they're 'pro-China' necessarily; it's that they're reporting objectively on the manipulated situation in Hong Kong. The Empire won't allow it; there must be violent revolution in China.


"Channels in this network behaved in a coordinated manner while uploading videos related to the ongoing protests in Hong Kong," Google threat analyst Shane Huntley claimed in a blog post on Thursday, adding that the Google team's "discovery" was "consistent with recent observations and actions related to China announced by Facebook and Twitter."

Translation? The channels were "sowing political discord" on behalf of the Chinese government, and had to be stopped. How did Google know it was the Chinese nefariously attempting to poison the minds against the protesters? The "use of VPNs" and "other methods of disguise" - widespread in the era of mass surveillance - was all the proof required to wipe the channels out of existence.

Twitter got the anti-China censorship ball rolling earlier this week, in perhaps the first-ever social media preemptive strike "proactively" deplatforming hundreds of thousands of accounts for the capital crime of "sowing discord." Their crimes included "undermining the legitimacy and political positions of the protest movement on the ground." One could argue that the protests themselves are a form of political discord, but resistance is futile when charged with such an inchoate offense.

None of the social media platforms have ever defined what exactly constitutes "attempting to sow discord," though a common thread running through the mass deplatformings of the past year suggests it involves posting in support of a government the US doesn't like - whether Russia, Iran, Venezuela, or China.

Comment: Throughout the internet era, petabytes have been written about China's evil firewall of censorship.

Who's totalitarian now?

See also:

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