Best of the Web:


Eye 2

Best of the Web: Fmr OPCW chief Bustani on how John Bolton threatened him and his family before Iraq War


RT
Sat, 07 Apr 2018 17:06 UTC
bustani bolton OPCW
© Global Look Press / Reuters
Jose Mauricio Bustani(L), John Bolton(R)
The first OPCW chief, who tried to bring Iraq and Libya into the organization, told RT how US foreign policy hawk John Bolton threatened him over his refusal to resign prior to the 2003 Iraq War.

Jose Bustani, the first director-general of the global chemical weapons watchdog Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), sat down with RT and revealed how John Bolton, a Bush-era official and now Donald Trump's pick for National Security Adviser, bulldozed the way for the 2003 Iraq invasion.

Bustani, a Brazilian diplomat, led the organization from 1997 until 2002, when he was ousted after falling out of favor with the US. At the time, he was trying to convince Iraq and Libya to join the organization, meaning that the two countries would have been obliged to dispose of all chemical weapons if they had any.

Comment: 'We Know Where Your Kids Live': How John Bolton Bullied and Intimidated an International OPCW Official

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Black Cat

Best of the Web: Sarkozy's hand caught in the French cookie jar?

Eric Margolis
EricMargolis.com
Thu, 29 Mar 2018 21:01 UTC
Nicolas Sarkozy
© Benoit Tessier/ReutersFrance’s ex-president is accused of receiving €50m in campaign funds from Muammar Gaddafi.
There was something refreshing about watching former French president Nicolas Sarkozy being interrogated in a French jail. Particularly since he may soon be accused of conspiracy in the murder of my old friend, Col. Muammar Khadaffi of Libya.

Sarkozy and his former chief of staff, Claude Guéant, are being investigated for secretly accepting at least fifty million Euros from Khadaffi for his 2007 electoral campaign. Such a payment violated France's maximum permissible limit for political donation, not to mention a ban on foreign financing of candidates and failure to report the payments. Sarko also faces investigation over secret payments from the Gulf oil states.

French political candidates often have to wade through the sewers to finance their campaigns because spending limits were set relatively low to prevent big money from buying the elections, as in the United States.

These charges against Khadaffi and Guéant have been percolating for years with only a muted response. Sarkozy also got into hot water after he was accused of bilking large sums of cash from a senile heiress to France's L'Oréal cosmetics company.

Comment:

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X

Best of the Web: Abby Martin's interview, critical of Israel, blocked by YouTube in 28 countries


RT
Fri, 06 Apr 2018 00:12 UTC
youtube purge
An episode of Abby Martin's Empire Files, featuring journalist Max Blumenthal and spotlighting rising militarism in Israel, has been blocked by YouTube in 28 countries, including Israel and the UK, for violating "local laws."

"Just notified by YouTube that Abby Martin's interview with Max Blumenthal has been blocked from being viewed in 28 countries (including Israel) to 'comply with local laws.' Actions disabled & warnings for viewers elsewhere," the program's official Twitter account related on Thursday.

Entitled "Jewish-American on Israel's Fascism: 'No Hope For Change From Within'," the episode featured a discussion between Martin and journalist Max Blumenthal about the increasingly militaristic, racist attitude of Israel towards Palestinians.
"YouTube has claimed that it removed my interview on Israel-Palestine with Abby Martin to comply with laws in 28 countries. However, nothing I did or said in the discussion was even remotely illegal, even in countries with the strictest hate crime laws," Blumenthal told RT in an email. "My comments were based entirely on my extensive journalistic experience in the region and my analysis was clinical in nature. At no point did I denigrate anyone based on their faith or ethnicity."

Comment: It's a control war against any message, report, criticism of Israel that it deems unfavorable, be it true or not, regardless the context. It applies to any and all commentary right down to censoring the individual. Can we please get alarmed about this? Impression management is going viral and mutating. Think gender labels, pronoun confusion, vegan warriors... Do we understand the depth and breadth of this process and the outcome?

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Eye 2

Best of the Web: The (mostly unrecognized) US occupation and plunder of Syria

Stephen Gowans
what's left
Sun, 11 Mar 2018 15:43 UTC
US military syria
An American military convoy consisting of several armored vehicles reportedly entered Syria from the Iraqi border on April 29, 2017
The United States has invaded Syria with a significant military force, is occupying nearly one-third of its territory, has announced plans for an indefinite occupation, and is plundering the country's petroleum resources. Washington has no authorization under international or even US law to invade and occupy Syria, much less attack Syrian forces, which it has done repeatedly. Nor has it a legal warrant to create new administrative and governance structures in the country to replace the Syrian government, a project it is undertaking through a parallel invasion of US diplomatic personnel. These actions-criminal, plunderous, and an assault on democracy at an international level-amount to a retrograde project of recolonization by an empire bent on extending its supremacy to all the Arab and Muslim worlds, including the few remaining outposts of resistance to foreign tyranny. Moreover, US actions represent an escalation of Washington's long war on Syria, previously carried out through proxies, including the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda, into a full-scale conventional war with direct US military involvement. Yet, despite the enormity of the project, and the escalation of the war, the US occupation of Syria has largely flown under the radar of public awareness.

Atop multiple indignities and affronts to liberty and democracy visited upon the Arab world by the West, including the plunder of Palestine by European settlers and the political oppression of Arabs by a retinue of military dictators, monarchs, emirs and sultans who rule largely at the pleasure of Washington and on its behalf, now arrives the latest US transgression on the ideals of sovereignty, independence, and the equality of nations: marauders in Washington have pilfered part of the territory of one of the last bastions of Arab independence-Syria. Indeed, Washington now controls "about one-third of the country including most of its oil wealth", [1] has no intention of returning it to its rightful owners, has planned for an indefinite military occupation of eastern Syria, and is creating a new Israel, which is to say, an new imperialist outpost in the middle of the Arab world, to be governed by Kurdish proxies backed by US firepower. [2] The crime has been carried out openly, and yet has hardly been noticed or remarked upon.

Here are the facts:
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Binoculars

Best of the Web: FBI cover-up suggests anti-Trump motive behind Las Vegas massacre

Jan Syrmopoulos
The Free Thought Project
Wed, 04 Apr 2018 14:31 UTC
paddock vegas
It has been more than six months since the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history killed 59 and injured 851, when Stephen Paddock allegedly opened fire on a crowded country music festival in Las Vegas, yet the American public has few answers as to a motive for the massacre or whether others were involved in the planning or operationalizing of the attack.

It is important to point out that TFTP is not attempting to paint this shooting in any political light. We are merely reporting on alternative information for the sole purpose of seeking truth. Moreover, TFTP is not attempting to stereotype any group by reporting this information. This information is being presented from a politically neutral position.

Since the attack on Oct. 1, 2017, there has been a consistent lack of transparency that has raised questions as to whether some type of cover-up was ongoing. Legitimate inquiry into the attacks has reportedly been shut down at the highest levels, and high-ranking FBI officials in Washington are involved in a cover-up.

The FBI's "official" narrative goes something like this: Paddock was a mysterious lone wolf gunman. He was a mystery man and habitual gambler who snapped, bought guns, and shot up a music festival - and no one knows why.

This massive cover-up involves the FBI attempting to hide the fact that they have evidence that the election of President Trump was a catalyst for the radicalization of Paddock - and that other persons of interest could potentially be involved in the massacre.

Comment: See also:

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Star of David

Flashback Best of the Web: Al Jazeera undercover investigation: 4-part series on how the Israel Lobby in Britain influences politics and universities


Al Jazeera
Wed, 11 Jan 2017 17:45 UTC
israel lobby uk
  • Israeli diplomat boasts of role in establishing pro-Israel groups
  • Investigation reveals Israel offers financial, strategic support to UK lobby
  • Students targeted to boost support for Israel amid BDS movement
  • Groups attempting to oust NUS leader Malia Bouattia
  • 'Pluralist' Fabian Society think-tank analysts sent on paid trips to Israel
Israel is influencing student, activist and parliamentary groups in the UK, offering financial and strategic assistance in order to gather support among young organisers and shape British politics, Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit reveals.

For six months, undercover reporter Robin (an alias) infiltrated pro-Israeli groups working to counter the powerful and growing movement against the illegal occupation of Palestinian land.

He uncovered a close link between Shai Masot, whose business card described him as a senior political officer at the Israeli embassy in London, and a network of politicians, activists and analysts in Britain who are sympathetic to Israel.
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Sheeple

Best of the Web: Israel kills Palestinians and the Western liberal sham of 'humanitarian intervention' is laid bare

Mehdi Hasan
The Intercept
Mon, 02 Apr 2018 15:55 UTC
Israeli troops
© Majdi Mohammed/APIsraeli troops fire teargas at protesters during a clashes following a protest to mark the Land Day, in the village of Qusra, near the West Bank City of Nablus, Friday, March 30, 2018.
"If the concept of intervention is driven by universal human rights, why is it - from the people who identify themselves as liberal interventionists - why do we never hear a peep, a word, about intervening to protect the Palestinians?"

That was the question I put to the French philosopher, author, and champion of liberal (or humanitarian) interventionism, Bernard-Henri Lévy, on my Al Jazeera English interview show "Head to Head" in 2013.

The usually silver-tongued Levy struggled to answer the question. The situation in Palestine is "not the same" as in Syria and "you have not all the good on one side and all the bad on the other side," said Levy, who once remarked in reference to the Israeli Defense Forces, or IDF, that he had "never seen such a democratic army, which asks itself so many moral questions."

I couldn't help but be reminded of my exchange with the man known as "BHL" this past weekend, as I watched horrific images of unarmed Palestinian protesters at the Gaza border being shot in the back by the "democratic army" of Israel. How many "moral questions" did those Israeli snipers ask themselves, I wondered, before they gunned down Gazan refugees for daring to demand a return to their homes inside the Green Line?
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Attention

Best of the Web: All Russiagate roads lead to London: Evidence emerges of Joseph Mifsud's links to UK intelligence

Elizabeth Vos
Disobedient Media
Wed, 04 Apr 2018 00:01 UTC
Joseph Mifsud
Over the last few months, Professor Joseph Mifsud has become a feather in the cap for those pushing the Trump-Russia narrative. He is characterized as a "Russian" intelligence asset in mainstream press, despite his declarations to the contrary. However, evidence has surfaced that suggests Mifsud was anything but a Russian spy, and may have actually worked for British intelligence. This new evidence culminates in the ground-breaking conclusion that the UK and its intelligence apparatus may be responsible for the invention of key pillars of the Trump-Russia scandal. If true, this would essentially turn the entire RussiaGate debacle on its head.

Comment: See also:

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Russian Flag

Best of the Web: Russophobia in the New Cold War: Interview with Stephen Cohen


The Nation
Wed, 04 Apr 2018 17:09 UTC
cold war propaganda russia
© Republic Pictures
Several factors make this US-Russian Cold War more dangerous than its predecessor. Is "Russo-madness" one of them?

Stephen F. Cohen, professor emeritus of Russian Studies and Politics at NYU and Princeton, and John Batchelor continue their (usually) weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War. (Previous installments, now in their fourth year, are at TheNation.com.)



Cohen has previously explained why the new Cold War is potentially even more dangerous than was its 40-year predecessor, citing factors such as the political epicenter's now being on Russia's borders, lack of a mutual code of conduct, and the unprecedented demonization of the Kremlin leader. He had not much considered the role of Russophobia because he thought it had not been a large causal factor, unlike anti-Communism, in the preceding one, recalling an episode in his own family and, more importantly, the words of George Kennan, the architect of containment, in 1951, about the Russian people: "Give them time; let them be Russians; let them work out their internal problems in their own manner... towards dignity and enlightenment in government."

Comment: We've read Mettan's book; it's excellent.

The short answer is that russophobia isn't so much a phenomenon about Russia as it is one about the West and its founding myths.

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MIB

Best of the Web: Knobs, knockers and Russian 'secret spycraft manuals'

Craig Murray
craigmurray.org.uk
Thu, 05 Apr 2018 15:30 UTC
Gary Aitkenhead Porton down skripal
© Daily MailGary Aitkenhead, Porton Down's chief executive
What is left of the government's definitive identification of Russia as the culprit in the Salisbury attack? It is a simple truth that Russia is not the only state that could have made the nerve agent: dozens of them could. It could also have been made by many non-state actors.

Motorola sales agent Gary Aitkenhead - inexplicably since January, Chief Executive of Porton Down chemical weapons establishment - said in his Sky interview that "probably" only a state actor could create the nerve agent. That is to admit the possibility that a non state actor could. David Collum, Professor of Organo-Chemistry at Cornell University, infinitely more qualified than a Motorola salesman, has stated that his senior students could do it. Professor Collum tweeted me this morning.

The key point in his tweet is, of course "if asked". The state and corporate media has not asked Prof. Collum nor any of the Professors of Organic Chemistry in the UK. There simply is no basic investigative journalism happening around this case.
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