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Best of the Web: 49 killed and more than 40 seriously injured in New Zealand terror attack at 2 mosques - UPDATES

Louis Casiano, Samuel Chamberlain
Fox News
Fri, 15 Mar 2019 10:52 UTC
Christchurch man reacts
© AP Photo/Mark BakerA man reacts as he speaks on a mobile phone outside a mosque in central Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, March 15, 2019. A witness says many people have been killed in a mass shooting at a mosque in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.
One person has been charged in connection with a "well-planned" terrorist attack that killed 49 people and injured dozens more in two New Zealand mosques on Friday, authorities said.

The New Zealand police said four people -- three men and one woman -- were in custody in connection with the mass shooting at both places of worship in the city of Christchurch. The charged male suspect is expected to appear in court Saturday, Police Commissioner Mike Bush told reporters at a news conference. He said the principal suspect was a 28-year-old Australian-born citizen who earlier claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said none of the suspects were on any security watch lists.

"These are people who I would describe as having extremist views, that have absolutely no place in New Zealand," Ardern said.

Bush clarified that police found two improvised explosive devices in one vehicle after the shooting. One was disabled and police were working to defuse the second Friday night.

Comment: UPDATE 15/3/2019 7:43: RT summary of events:
This is what we know about the attacks so far.
  • Police Commissioner Mike Bush has confirmed that 49 people have been killed, over 20 more injured.
  • Children were among those with gunshot wounds admitted to hospitals.
  • A man in his late 20s was charged with murder and is set to appear in court tomorrow, police said.
  • Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that a number of improvised explosives were found attached to the assailants' vehicles, but it is not clear whether they were planning a suicide attack. The explosives were then defused.
  • Four suspects have been arrested; one of them has been confirmed to be an Australian national by the country's prime minister. None of them were on any security watch lists.
  • PM Ardern called the tragedy "a terrorist attack" by "extremist right-wing" perpetrators, describing it as "one of New Zealand's darkest days."
  • The national security threat level has been changed to "high," the PM said, adding that New Zealand was targeted because of its values, which "cannot be shaken."
  • According to police, the attack was a "very well-planned event," and officers will be dispatched around mosques "to ensure nothing further occurs."
  • One of the gunmen identified himself on social media as a 28-year-old Australian named Brenton Tarrant.
  • Tarrant used a GoPro camera to livestream the attack on the Al Noor Mosque.
  • His weapons were inscribed with references to famous European battles against Muslims and neo-Nazi slogans. One of the battles referenced is the 1683 Battle of Vienna against the Ottoman Empire.
  • Tarrant posted a lengthy online 'manifesto' in which he declared his hatred toward "Muslim invaders" and cited Norwegian right-wing terrorist Anders Breivik as an inspiration.
  • Shortly after the beginning of the livestream, Tarrant reportedly said "Remember lads, subscribe to Pewdiepie," referring to popular YouTube blogger Felix Kjellberg. The YouTuber responded by saying he felt "absolutely sickened having my name uttered by this person." He also offered condolences to the victims.
  • The Bangladesh national cricket team was training near one of the mosques and was about to enter the building but fled when shots were heard. All players made it back safely to their hotel.
More background on the shooters:
The man said to be behind the deadly New Zealand mosque shootings is an Australian who vowed to fight against 'Muslim invaders'. Inspired by a Norwegian terrorist, he livestreamed himself while shooting worshippers.

The attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand claimed 49 lives, the police comissioner confirmed. Four people were detained in connection with the tragedy.

The man, identified himself on social media as a 28-year-old Australian named Brenton Tarrant, used a GoPro to livestream the attack on the Al Noor Mosque. The footage was promptly removed by Facebook at the request of police, but parts of it were published by local media. The POV-style video showed the gunman driving up to the mosque and taking firearms out of the trunk of his car.

The weapons contained inscriptions referencing famous European battles against Muslims and neo-Nazi slogans. One of the battles referenced is the 1683 Battle of Vienna against the Ottoman Empire.

Shortly before the attack, he published a 73-page 'manifesto' in which he vowed "revenge" against Muslim "invaders." According to reports, he also wrote that he was inspired by right-wing terrorist Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people in Norway in 2011.

He apparently picked the particular mosque to attack because a church once stood at the same place. He also mentioned a 2017 terrorist attack in Stockholm where five people died. One of them was an 11-year-old girl, who the shooter wrote he would avenge.


UPDATE 15/03/2019 - 22:00 CET

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ahern has announced new gun control measures after it's claimed one of the gunmen acquired his weapons in the country legally. Quite how the gunman "got a Category A firearms license in 2017" when he only arrived in New Zealand from Australia in 2019 has not yet been explained...

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Arrow Up

Best of the Web: Rouhani's visit to Iraq is a slap in the face to Trump

Darius Shahtahmasebi
RT
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 13:05 UTC
Hassan Rouhani and Barham Salih
© AFP / SABAH ARARRouhani’s visit to Iraq is a slap in the face to Trump
Hassan Rouhani and Barham Salih
While the US has had a strategy to contain and isolate Iran, Iran continues to seek and build friendships with its regional neighbors. There are many indications that the US will not tolerate this for much longer.

As an aspiring journalist, it is hard to keep up with which country is at the top of Donald Trump's "to-bomb" list, given the target appears to change every week or so. Since the infamous days of his campaign trail up until the present day, the US president has held a deep animosity towards Tehran. However, the government's focus appears to shift away from the Islamic Republic periodically - one minute it's North Korea, every April since his election he also decides he briefly wants to bomb Assad in Syria, and most recently, his entire administration has raved incessantly about Venezuela.

No matter how the news cycle goes, and no matter the sort of historical death-squad arming psychopath Trump appoints as Special Envoy to Venezuela, at the end of the day the media focus inevitably continues to fall back on Iran (and with it, Donald Trump's keen and hawkish eye).

Comment: Netanyahu has made it quite clear that he won't stop till he's dragged the world into a war with Iran - because Israel isn't capable of taking Iran on alone: At Trump summit Netanyahu declares "common interest of war with Iran" sparking backlash from Tehran Also check out SOTT radio's:

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Eye 2

Best of the Web: McCain associate David Kramer was in contact with a dozen reporters regarding Steele dossier

Chuck Ross
The Daily Caller
Fri, 15 Mar 2019 16:56 UTC
U.S. Senator John McCain
© Larry Downing / ReutersU.S. Senator John McCain
An associate of late Arizona Sen. John McCain described in detail his contacts with a dozen journalists and several government officials regarding the infamous Steele dossier, according to a transcript of a court deposition unsealed Thursday.

David Kramer, a former State Department official, said in a deposition on Dec. 13, 2017 that he provided a copy of Christopher Steele's dossier to reporters from McClatchy, NPR, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and BuzzFeed and CNN's Carl Bernstein.

He also shared the report with State Department official Victoria Nuland, Obama National Security Counsel official Celeste Wallander and Illinois GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger.
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NPC

Best of the Web: No more joking around: Colbert invites Tulsi Gabbard on The Late Show to smear her in person

Caitlin Johnstone
Medium
Wed, 13 Mar 2019 07:36 UTC
tulsi colbert
Hawaii Congresswoman and Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard recently appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where instead of the light, jokey banter about politics and who she is as a person that Democratic presidential candidates normally encounter on late night comedy programs, the show's host solemnly ran down a list of textbook beltway smears against Gabbard and made her defend them in front of his audience.

Normally when a Democratic Party-aligned politician appears on such a show, you can expect jokes about how stupid Trump is and how badly they're going to beat the Republicans, how they're going to help ordinary Americans, and maybe some friendly back-and-forth about where they grew up or something. Colbert had no time to waste on such things, however, because this was not an interview with a normal Democratic Party-aligned politician: this was a politician who has been loudly and consistently criticizing US foreign policy.


After briefly asking his guest who she is and why she's running for president, Colbert jumped right into it by immediately bringing up Syria and Assad, the primary line of attack employed against Gabbard by establishment propagandists in American mainstream media.

Comment: Stephen Colbert is so NPC right now.


See also:

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Light Saber

Best of the Web: 'Constructive ambivalence' masks complex scheme to contain US in Middle East

Alastair Crooke
Strategic Culture Foundation
Mon, 11 Mar 2019 10:29 UTC
assad tehran
It was the eleventh, and perhaps the most important meeting between President Putin and PM Netanyahu on 27 February, writes the well-informed journalist, Elijah Magnier: "The Israeli visitor heard clearly from his host that Moscow has no leverage to ask Iran to leave - or, to stop the flow of weapons to Damascus ... Moscow [also] informed Tel Aviv about Damascus's determination to respond to any future bombing; and that Russia doesn't see itself concerned [i.e. a party to such conflict] ".

This last sentence requires some further unpacking. What is going on here is the mounting of the next phase of the Chinese-Russian strategy for containing the US policy of seeding hybrid disorder - and of pouring acid in to the region's 'open wounds'. Neither China nor Russia wish to enter into a war with the US. President Putin has warned on several occasions that were Russia to be pushed to the brink, it would have no choice but to react - and that the possible consequences go beyond contemplation.

In short, America's recent wars have clearly demonstrated their political limitations. Yes, they are militarily highly destructive, but they have not yielded their anticipated political dividends; or rather, the political dividends have manifested more as an erosion of US credibility, and of its appeal as a 'model' for the world to mimic. There is now no 'New' Middle East that is emerging anywhere that casts itself in the American mold.

Trump's foreign policy-makers are not old-style 'liberal' interventionists, seeking to slay the region's tyrannical monsters', and promising to implant American values: that wing of US neo-conservatism - perhaps unsurprisingly - has assimilated itself to the Democratic Party and to those European leaders desirous of striking (a supposedly morally 'virtuous') pose in contra-distinction to Trump's (supposedly amoral) transactional approach.

Comment: Yes indeed, it's all about containing the US, quietly, all the while the US believes it is containing Russia/Iran/anyone who dares defy it!

See also: Bolton and Netayahu meet to discuss staying in Syria, Iran and the occupied Golan heights

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Vader

Best of the Web: US regime change plan hatched 8 years ago proposed Venezuelan power blackout as 'watershed event' to 'galvanize public unrest'

Max Blumenthal
The Grayzone
Wed, 13 Mar 2019 18:27 UTC
guaido duque pence
© Associated Press/Martin MejiaPretend "president" Juan Guaido, Colombian President Ivan Duque (C), and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence
A September 2010 memo by a US-funded soft power organization that helped train Venezuelan coup leader Juan Guaido and his allies identifies the potential collapse of the country's electrical sector as "a watershed event" that "would likely have the impact of galvanizing public unrest in a way that no opposition group could ever hope to generate."

The memo has special relevance today as Guaido moves to exploit nationwide blackouts caused by a major failure at the Simon Bolivar Hydroelectric Plant at Guri dam - a crisis that Venezuela's government blames on US sabotage.

It was authored by Srdja Popovic of the Center for Applied Non-Violent Action and Strategies (CANVAS), a Belgrade-based "democracy promotion" organization funded by the US government that has trained thousands of US-aligned youth activists in countries where the West seeks regime change.
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Eye 1

Best of the Web: 'Influencing human behavior': UK MoD-funded psychological warfare research project leaked


RT
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 17:03 UTC
group of people
© Global Look Press / West Coast Surfer
The UK Defense Ministry is actively looking for a contractor for its new psychological research, which is allegedly aimed at boosting troops' performance and well-being. Some details of the project are quite unnerving, though.

The ministry's agency known as the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) has been seeking contributions from specialists in the fields of psychiatry, neuroscience and social sciences that would help the military shape its future strategies and policies. The University of Cambridge was particularly shortlisted by the DSTL among the four organizations it said were eligible for taking part in an almost £70 million ($92.4 million) research program known as the Human and Social Sciences Research Capability (HSSRC).

At first glance, the whole study appears to be mostly aimed at supporting the troops and improving their performance in the rapidly changing environment of the "21th century in the UK and globally." Five out of six research areas listed in the Cambridge tender bid that gives a detailed insight into what appears to be the nature of the project are dealing with typical personnel issues pretty much every country's military could face nowadays.

The list includes providing "novel approaches... to support delivery of a sufficient, capable, motivated and cost-efficient workforce," helping the military to develop necessary skills, optimizing personnel performance and improving the troops' psychological and physical health.
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Bad Guys

Best of the Web: We are being lied into war again

Lee Camp
truthdig
Wed, 13 Mar 2019 18:08 UTC
Mike Pompeo
© CNN screen shotSecretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared on CNN's "State of the Union" to give host Jake Tapper the Trump administration's take on Venezuela.
I was 23 when we invaded Iraq, and I wasn't sure it was based on lies, but something deep down in me told me it was based on lies. Kinda like if your blind date shows up and you notice he has a 2004 flip phone.

It seems vaguely worrisome, and no explanation he can haltingly supply will put you at ease. Plus, anyone else who acts like it's normal also becomes suspect.

The invasion of Iraq just felt like it was a lie to me. And it turned out that I was right, that it was a lie, and that the entirety of the mainstream media and our government were either wrong or lying and, most of the time, both.

Now our government and our media are trying their damnedest to lie us into another war, this one with Venezuela. They tell us the Venezuelan people are desperate for necessities like toothpaste, while independent journalists show piles of affordable toothpaste in Caracas.

Comment: WW1 too. The Lusitania was lured into a trap by British and American spooks. "Live bait," Churchill called it.

Check out The American Trajectory: Divine or Demonic by David Ray Griffin for the full history of US false-flag attacks to justify America's aggressive wars.

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Attention

Best of the Web: British parliament nullifies Brexit referendum result by voting for UK to remain in EU


RT
Wed, 13 Mar 2019 22:00 UTC
british parliament jobsworths
"I can't let you do that, it's more than my job's worth."
UK MPs have voted to take a 'no-deal' Brexit off the table for good as they passed a motion that rules it out in a decisive 321 to 278 vote.

The option of a no-deal was first ruled out by MPs after an amendment originally tabled by Caroline Spelman passed by a close vote of 312-308.

The Spelman amendment says the House "rejects the United Kingdom leaving the European Union without a withdrawal agreement and a framework for the future relationship."

The MPs then voted on the main motion, as amended, passing it with an even greater margin of 43, with 321 voting in favor and 278 against.


Comment: Yes, our title is not explicitly what they did. But it's what they did.

It's all one big manipulation to restore the 'dictatorship of the parliamentariat' from 'those populist hordes who dare defy us'. They endlessly vote about voting, as if their form of democracy is in any way aligned with the popular will.

As we said on June 22nd 2016, the UK isn't going anywhere. The only way it is, is through fundamental change. Look to France for an idea as to how difficult it is to get politicians to listen to reason these days.

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Stock Down

Best of the Web: Boeing is screwed: EU and India follow China's lead in banning 737 Max planes from their airspace - UPDATE: Trump grounds all US 737 Max aircraft


BBC
Wed, 13 Mar 2019 14:56 UTC
boeing 737 Max
© Getty'Nothing to see here!' American and Southwest airlines continue to fly their 737 Max 8s in the US
The European Union and India have banned the Boeing 737 Max from flying over their airspace to ensure passenger safety.


Comment: It's one thing to mandate the grounding of all such planes, but you know they know something is seriously wrong when they won't even let the planes traverse their airspace.


They join a long list of countries in suspending the plane, including the UK.

It comes after an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed on Sunday, killing 157 people on board. It was the second fatal accident involving the 737 Max 8 model in less than five months.

US officials say the aircraft are still safe to fly.

However, the US Association of Flight Attendants-CWA union is now calling for the Federal Aviation Administration "to temporarily ground the 737 Max fleet in the US out of an abundance of caution".

Comment: They apparently needed to install an 'anti-stall system' because the plane was prone to stalling upon take-off. American pilots reported the plane making "recurrent sudden downward pitches" upon take-off last year.

We don't claim to know exactly what the technical issue is, but it's fairly clear that US allies like the EU and UK would not be taking such precautionary measures if they did not have specific information about a fatal design flaw.

Keep in mind that Boeing is a mega-corporation and major branch of the US military-industrial complex, effectively making it the US government itself, so most of what you'll read about this in the media is damage control on its behalf.

UPDATES 21:30 CET

Canada has banned the 737 Max from flying in its airspace, citing "new data from validated satellite tracking," despite earlier this week saying that grounding them would be "premature."

An hour later, Trump announced that the US, among the last countries to do so, would also ground all 737s. He apparently went above the FAA, which has been batting for Boeing all week, and has yet to make a follow-up announcement.

Boeing stocks have, pardon the pun, taken a nose-dive.

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