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It's not us, it's you: Obama blames MSM and social media for Americans retreating to echo chambers

Helen Buyniski
RT
Tue, 15 Jun 2021 03:20 UTC
Obama
© Greg Nash/Reuters
Former US President Barack Obama
Former President Barack Obama has pointed the finger at the media and social networks, arguing they are to blame for the growing divisions among Americans - even as he himself admitted the divide grew under his watch.

While heaping praise on the current president during a Monday interview, Obama condemned media outlets for polarizing the American people, saying that those who watch Fox News and read the New York Times "perceive a different reality." Despite the divide, he said Joe Biden is well equipped to bridge the gap between the two.

The former president argued that the country has been torn apart by a "combination of political, cultural, ideological and geographical divisions," insisting, however, that when he first ran for the office America was far more unified.

In the time since, preexisting yet benign differences have been magnified by social media, he said, claiming that this has allowed netizens to live in their own bubbles with like-minded people and avoid considering other views.

However, Obama himself can hardly be considered blameless in Americans' race to the bottom, given his petty refusal to even utter ex-President Donald Trump's name while Trump was in office

Comment: Obama's legacy and reputation are tied to Biden - the real loose cannon of concern. All the rest is deflection.

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Arrow Up

Latest NATO summit showed that enabling never-ending US dominance is the REAL reason it exists

Tom Fowdy
RT
Tue, 15 Jun 2021 13:00 UTC
Biden
© Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
US President Joe Biden holds a news conference at the end of the NATO summit
Brussels, Belgium • June 14, 2021
There was plenty of talk about China at the latest meeting of NATO, a country far removed from the North Atlantic. Do we need any more proof that the organization is now just a vehicle for promoting American hegemony?

Following the weekend's G7 meeting, the NATO summit followed on Monday and predictably adopted a similar theme: China.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg denied that the West was in a "Cold War" with Beijing, but nonetheless proceeded to say China presented "systemic challenges" due to its rising capabilities, which posed a threat to the security of the alliance. Beijing hit back by claiming NATO was obsessed with the "China threat theory" and stirring up trouble, urging it to view the country's "development rationally."

So, is there a Cold War or not? It seems highly confusing for an organization that was itself funded to pursue a Cold War to subsequently deny it has similar intentions towards China. On paper alone, none of it makes sense. NATO is, as its name suggests, a North Atlantic organization, yet it is focusing on a nation which is based on the other side of the world in East Asia. This makes the idea that China is a risk to the alliance highly questionable. China does not have a military presence in the Atlantic, and is not looking to expand into the area. Why, then, is Beijing a threat to NATO?

What is obvious is that NATO is not so much a security organization for European states as it is a vehicle to prop up American hegemony.
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X

Duterte won't cooperate in ICC probe vs PH drug war

Catherine S. Valente
The Manila Times
Tue, 15 Jun 2021 00:00 UTC
Duterte,
© Presidential Communications
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte,
President Rodrigo Duterte will never cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) if it pushes through with its investigation of alleged crimes against humanity in the country, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

In a press briefing, Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said the request of the ICC for judicial authorization to conduct such an inquiry was "legally erroneous" because it no longer has jurisdiction over the Philippines since the country withdrew from the international court in 2019.

Roque also said the institution was also barred by the principle of complementarity and the investigation was not
"pursuant or in aid of substantial justice. I believe the decision to move forward into a formal investigation stage is legally erroneous and politically motivated. Hinding-hindi tayo magko-cooperate dahil hindi na tayo miyembro ng ICC (We will not cooperate because we are no longer member of the ICC)."
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Target

White House announces strategy to counter domestic terrorism

Nicholas Sherman
Just the News
Tue, 15 Jun 2021 07:56 UTC
Terrorism strategy
© National Shooting Sports Foundation
US President Biden takes aim at domestic terrorism
The strategy calls for greater funding to law enforcement and for civil society to help combat terrorism.

The Biden administration Tuesday announced its plan for countering domestic terrorism, including an additional $100-plus million to the departments of Justice and Homeland Security with a goal of understanding and trying to prevent such attacks in the U.S. President Biden said in a statement:
"Domestic terrorism - driven by hate, bigotry, and other forms of extremism - is a stain on the soul of America. It goes against everything our country strives for and it poses a direct challenge to our national security, democracy, and unity."
The strategy calls for the bolstering of law enforcement, at every level, funneling some of the more than $100 million into the FBI. The plan also includes training on domestic terrorism threats for state, local and other law enforcement groups, according to a White House fact sheet.

Comment: Distillation: Biden is scant on plans, nebulous on targets, definite on costs, negligent on onus.

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Star of David

Palestinians may have contributed to Netanyahu's ousting, but nothing will change for them

Robert Inlakesh
RT
Tue, 15 Jun 2021 17:31 UTC
netanyahu poster billboard
© REUTERS/Corinna Kern
Supporters of the new Israeli government celebrate in Tel Aviv
Dragged down kicking and screaming, Israel's longest serving PM has been ousted. While many Israelis are celebrating, the same can't be said about the Palestinians whom the establishment are desperately attempting to sideline.

Replacing Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu is his former right-wing ally Naftali Bennett, who will serve as prime minister of Israel for two years, preceding his coalition partner Yair Lapid, who will serve for the latter period of the new "change" coalition's reign.

Despite attempts from the new Israeli government to focus almost purely on the economy and on uniting Israel, it was clear from the outset that foreign policy issues and the Palestinian question were not going away anytime soon. Yet, no coherent plan for the dealing with the Palestinian citizens of Israel, as well as Palestinians in the occupied territories, has been presented.
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Bulb

Latin America ditching US dollars? Following El Salvador, other Latin American countries plan to make Bitcoin legal tender

Timothy Alexander Guzman
Silent Crow News
Thu, 10 Jun 2021 00:00 UTC
Latin America crypto
Did El Salvador just add another nail in the coffin for the US dollar? El Salvador just made Bitcoin the country's legal tender that can possibly bypass the future use of the US dollar. The bold move must have made the US government and the Federal Reserve bank very nervous at this point in time since many countries around the world have been dumping US dollars including China, Russia and Iran. Reuters headlined with the latest news on El Salvador becoming the first country to adopt the bitcoin, 'In a world first, El Salvador makes bitcoin legal tender' reported that "El Salvador has become the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender after Congress approved President Nayib Bukele's proposal to embrace the cryptocurrency." Bukele said "It will bring financial inclusion, investment, tourism, innovation and economic development for our country." Bukele's plan has inspired other Latin American countries including Paraguay who is also in pursuit of making bitcoin legal tender. According to zycrpto.com, a news source that reports on crypto currency trends said that Paraguay will most likely join the bitcoin revolution following El Salvador's lead. On June 5th, Bukele's first announced that he will submit a bill to make bitcoin legal tender in the impoverished country:
In a videotaped announcement on June 5, El Salvador's president Nayib Bukele stated that he was planning to submit a bill next week to make bitcoin legal tender. The founder of Lightning Network-powered bitcoin payments firm Strike, Jack Mallers, revealed that he had been working with El Salvador to implement a plan to help the nation adopt the bitcoin standard. If Bukele's plan is approved by Congress, the Central American country will be the first in the world to formally adopt the OG crypto
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Star of David

Israel's Knesset votes in new government; Naftali Bennett named prime minister

Jotam Confino and Deirdre Shesgreen
Yahoo! News
Mon, 14 Jun 2021 00:58 UTC
Naftali Bennett
Israel's parliament approved a new government on Sunday, ending the record 12-year tenure of Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister and swearing in a fragile, diverse coalition that has promised to break the country's political gridlock.

The change came by the slimmest of margins, with 60 votes in favor and 59 opposed in Israel's 120-member Knesset. One member abstained.

Far-right politician Naftali Bennett, who once worked for Netanyahu, becomes Israel's new prime minister for two years in a coalition agreement that includes eight separate parties and is led by Bennett and centrist Yair Lapid.

Comment: Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

More from RT:
Removal of Netanyahu from power ends 'one of worst periods' in conflict with Israel - Palestinian Authority premier

The prime minister of the Palestinian Authority has said that the ouster of Israeli longtime leader Benjamin Netanyahu closes a particularly dark chapter in Israeli-Palestinian relations.

"The departure of the Israeli prime minister after 12 years in power marks the end of one of the worst periods in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Mohammad Shtayyeh said, as cited by the Times of Israel.

Shtayyeh said he did not see the new government "as any less bad than the previous one" and condemned the support of Israel's new prime minister, Naftali Bennett, for Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law.

"The new government has no future if it does not take into consideration the future of the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights."

The Palestinian Authority released a statement on Sunday, saying it would judge the new Israeli cabinet based on the concrete positions it would take. Striking a skeptical tone, it said the so-called 'government of change' would likely institute policies no different from those of the Netanyahu era, "or perhaps be even worse."
Israelis are apparently partying in the streets! From Sputnik:
Thousands of Israeli citizens rushed into the heart of Tel Aviv, Israel's beachfront city, to mark the end of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 12 years in power as a new coalition government takes office.

Tel Aviv's city hall was illuminated as the flag of Israel for the celebration. In the square in front, the city's residents waved flags and raised toasts, with music blaring in the background. Soap bubbles were also seen flying in the air.

According to local media estimates, thousands of people have gathered at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv.

As journalist Noga Tarnopolsky put it, the city was celebrating the "end of Netanyahu's era", which spanned 12 years. And people were clapping, cheering, and waving flags as the Knesset swore in a coalition of ideological adversaries pledging "change".



See also:

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Magnify

Nicaraguan government rounds up opposition leaders accused of treason for supporting US sanctions


Yahoo
Mon, 14 Jun 2021 15:16 UTC
Tinoco
© AP Photo/Esteban Felix, File
Nicaragua Opposition
FILE - In this Jan. 28, 2014 file photo, opposition legislator Victor Hugo Tinoco, of the Sandinista Renewal Movement (MRS) gestures before the National Assembly votes to amend the Nicaraguan Constitution to include eliminating presidential term limits in Managua, Nicaragua. Nicaraguan police arrested Tinoco, the leader of the political movement Unamos, late Sunday, June 13, 2021, bringing to six the number detained over the weekend, the biggest one-day roundup so far in President Daniel Ortega’s campaign to jail anyone who might challenge his rule.
Nicaraguan police have arrested another opposition politician, bringing to six the number detained over the weekend in an unprecedented roundup of opponents of President Daniel Ortega.

Five were arrested Sunday, the biggest one-day roundup so far in Ortega's campaign to jail anyone who might challenge his rule. The last arrest, which came late Sunday, was that of Victor Hugo Tinoco, the leader of the political movement Unamos.

Tinoco is a former assistant foreign minister and former ambassador to the United Nations; he was detained by 10 men wearing hoods and plainclothes at a shopping mall.

Comment: It would appear that in recent years Nicaragua has managed to extricate itself from the clutches of the US, but are we seeing renewed efforts to bring them back under US control through the usual NGO and regime change operations?

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Broom

NBC interviews Putin: American unilateralism is driving global instability, Syria, BLM, Navalny


RT
Tue, 15 Jun 2021 16:10 UTC
putin
© kremlin
While Washington constantly talks of the need for international harmony, it has rarely played a positive role in it in recent years, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, stressing that stability is vital in world politics.

Asked during an interview with NBC's Keir Simmons, broadcast on Monday, whether he would support a call for predictability and stability from his US counterpart, Joe Biden, when the two leaders meet in Geneva on Wednesday, Putin said that it "is the most important value... in international affairs." However, he added, "on the part of our US partners, this is something that we haven't seen in recent years."

Simmons pointed out that Biden has previously accused Russia of causing "a lot of instability and unpredictability," with Putin responding that Moscow is concerned about the impact of American foreign policy as well. The Russian president pointed to what he described as Washington's role in destabilizing Libya in 2011, as well as across much of the Middle East.

Comment: Although Putin has done a number of interviews with US news outlets (that were equally disappointing in their execution and spin), it's notable that this interview has gone ahead in the run up to the Putin-Biden meet. More so since Biden, dogged by questions over his mental health, has declined the offer of doing a joint press conference with Putin as part of the meeting: Russia blasts US flight of 'Dr. Strangelove' nuclear bombers near its borders, warning move could darken Putin-Biden meeting

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Attention

Mr. Putin, it's a trap! In fact, it's exactly the same trap

Tim Kirby
Strategic Culture Foundation
Fri, 11 Jun 2021 06:06 UTC
putin and biden
There is a lot of optimism and big press regarding the upcoming meeting between Biden and Putin. This will be the first meeting of the two since Biden took that seat behind the lovely desk in the Oval Office. There are many issues on the table for discussion and there is tension and excitement in the political press in both the West and especially in Russia. There is a growing belief that this could be a turning point or at least provide some small nudging of relations in a positive direction. This wishful thinking, although pleasant from a moral standpoint, does not reflect the realities of the current divide between the United States and Russia. This meeting simply cannot provide some sort of new start for relations between the countries and will probably look like a head-nodding and pretending-to-listen fest the likes of which we have never seen before. Hours worth of hot air will be blown to throw words onto deaf ears with some background posturing to boot.

One reason for the Russians to be suspicious of any offers from Washington is simply recent precedent. Over ten years ago when Obama was still full of Hope and Change his feisty new Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with a great big smile presented Foreign Minister Lavrov the infamous Russian Reset Button. The red button had the word "overload" accidentally written on it in place of "reset". This mistake due to a fake desire to make it seem like Washington cared enough to learn one word of Russian was very telling as during the brief era of the Russian Reset, America's Soft Power machine was working day and night to organize the Maidan in Kiev. From a Western perspective this revolution was another piece of evidence that the people of Eastern Europe want nothing to do with naughty Moscow, but from a Russian perspective the Maidan was the beginning of an endless waking nightmare. This all led to the genocidal war in the Donbass breaking out, the return of Neo-Nazism to Europe, and the now official systemic racism that Russian speakers have to endure in the "Zimbabwe of Europe". After an experience like that, can one really expect any sort of optimism from the Russian side because Biden sort of stepped back a bit on the whole Nord-Stream 2 thing?

Comment: See also:

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