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Snakes in Suits

Recording exposes top Trudeau aide leaning on Canadian Attorney General to drop case

Jody Wilson-Raybould

Former Canadian Justice Minister and AG Jody Wilson-Raybould
Try as he might to convince the Canadian people that he was merely looking out for the jobs of thousands of Quebecois, the Canadian Press and Parliament keep poking holes in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's story in a corruption scandal that has tanked his poll numbers and stoked calls for his resignation.

The latest blow landed on Friday when a parliamentary committee published a clandestine recording made by former Canadian Justice Minister and AG Jody Wilson-Raybould of a phone call with former top bureaucrat and Trudeau advisor that clearly substantiates her story that she was "hounded" by Trudeau and his political henchmen, who subjected her to "inappropriate" political pressure over her decision to move ahead with the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, a Quebec-based engineering firm accused of taking bribes from the Libyan government.

Stock Down

Economy minister forecasts 'zero growth' for Italy this year

Giovanni Tria Italy
© Emmanuel Dunand/Agence France-Presse
Italian Economy Minister Giovanni Tria.
Italy is headed for zero economic growth in 2019, Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said, while brushing off possible changes to the government's budget.

"We face a widespread slowdown in growth across Europe, and in Italy we are headed for zero growth", Tria told an economic forum in Florence on Sunday.

Italy's central bank and the International Monetary Fund have both estimated that the eurozone's third-largest economy would expand by a meagre 0.6 percent this year, while the European Commission was more pessimistic, pencilling growth of just 0.2 percent.

Comment: Italy's woes are not entirely of their own making. Being under the thumb of the EU, which is essentially the same as being under the thumb of the US, has damaged the country enormously. Being on the frontline of illegal migration routes only makes the problem worse:


Control Panel

Collective punishment? Zuckerberg's call for internet regulation is aimed at competitors - analyst

zuckerberg

"Share whatever you want on my platform! Except anything that might infringe ideological boundaries..."
Mark Zuckerberg's support for more internet regulation is aimed at keeping Facebook competitive by forcing the government to punish all of Silicon Valley for the tech giant's dismal track record, an analyst told RT.

In a seemingly counter-intuitive move, the Facebook CEO has asked governments to step up supervision of tech giants such as his own, and impose sanctions if they refuse to honor stricter rules regarding privacy and political or harmful content.

Investigative journalist Dave Lindorff explained that Zuckerberg isn't motivated by accountability, but rather the desire to keep Facebook intact - and protect the company's bottom line.


Comment: The Free Speech hot potato:

Facebook: "You do the censoring!"

Govt: "No, you do it! We can't be seen to be doing it!"

And so CorpGov collectively worms its way to 'a happy medium'.

The Zuck knows it's evil but will do whatever it takes to keep his eyes on the gold: the mass of data needed to power 'AI innovation' in the new 'data economy'.


Eye 1

Alleged Khashoggi killers received training in US

trump saudi protest
© Reuters / Leah Millis
FILE PHOTO.
At least some Saudi agents involved in the grisly murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi were trained in the US as part of Washington's broader plan to 'modernize' Saudi intelligence, a new report by the Washington Post says.

Members of the 'Saudi Rapid Intervention Group', which was allegedly sent to the Istanbul Consulate in October 2018 to deal with the self-exiled journalist and critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, underwent training in America as part of a program launched under a State Department license, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote, citing Saudi and US sources.

The CIA reportedly warned other government agencies that the special-operations training the Saudis might have received was conducted by Tier 1 Group, an Arkansas-based company as part of ongoing liaison with the Saudis.

The hit-team's alleged leader, Colonel Maher Mutreb, is said to be the one who received the training. Mutreb reportedly served in London as deputy chief of station between 2002 and 2007, and was later repeatedly sent to the US and elsewhere for training, Ignatius said.

Comment: The West has been providing all kinds of training and support to the Saudi's: Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: West Discovers Saudi Arabia Has Human Rights Issues & The Real Reason People Hate Trump


Heart - Black

'Her heart is not in The Bronx', and neither is she - AOC's constituents turn against her

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
© Getty Images
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Amid her zeal to save the world with the Green New Deal, Rep. ­Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has ­ignored residents in her own Bronx back yard.

"I thought AOC would be our savior, but that's not the case," complained Roxanne Delgado, a local activist who said she has tried for months to get in touch with the congresswoman for help saving an animal shelter and to clean up parks in the district.


Comment: Salvation sells well, but rarely ever delivers.


Delgado, 40, says she has made numerous calls to Ocasio-Cortez's offices in Washington and Queens and sent a barrage of tweets after the freshman lawmaker encouraged residents during a recent visit to a Bronx public library to hit her up on social media.

But she's heard nothing back.

"NO email or contact on @AOC's page except DC number which has full #voicemail and no one picks up," Delgado tweeted on Monday.

Comment: Being that Ocasio-Cortez didn't actually grow up in the Bronx, it's not at all surprising she doesn't feel the need to connect with her constituents.

See also:


Star of David

Netanyahu's spokesman under fire for calling Gaza protesters 'ISIS women'

Gaza Protests
The Israeli PM's spokesman has faced a fiery backlash, including accusations of racism, after he mischaracterized female flag-waving Palestine protesters, calling them "ISIS women." Hamas is in a state of war with the 'caliphate'.

Ofir Gendelman, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Arab media spokesman, sparked a Twitter storm after he captioned an image with four veiled female protesters in the foreground as "ISIS women also participate today in the Hamas' led riots on the Gaza border."

He then piled on another highly dubious claim: "That's no surprise because Hamas IS the Gazan branch of ISIS."

Sherlock

Bezos investigation suggests the Saudis obtained his private data for blackmail purposes

Jeff Bezos MBS Mohammed Bin Salman
© Sarah Rogers/The Daily Beast / Photos by Getty
For 40 years, I've advised at-risk public figures and government agencies on high-stakes security matters. My career has included working with the CIA, FBI, at the Reagan White House, counseling foreign leaders, and advising on controversial murder cases. I've seen a lot. And yet, I've recently seen things that have surprised even me, such as the National Enquirer's parent company, AMI, being in league with a foreign nation that's been actively trying to harm American citizens and companies, including the owner of the Washington Post. You know him as Jeff Bezos; I know him as my client of 22 years.

To understand where this story goes, some background is needed.

In January, the National Enquirer published a special edition that revealed an intimate relationship Bezos was having. He asked me to learn who provided his private texts to the Enquirer, and why. My office quickly identified the person whom the Enquirer had paid as a source: a man named Michael Sanchez, the now-estranged brother of Lauren Sanchez, whom Bezos was dating. What was unusual, very unusual, was how hard AMI people worked to publicly reveal their source's identity. First through strong hints they gave to me, and later through direct statements, AMI practically pinned a "kick me" sign on Michael Sanchez.

Light Sabers

Fmr French spy suspected in failed Congo hit-job found shot to death in parking lot

Daniel Forestier Gen ferdinand Mbaou

Daniel Forestier & GenFerdinand Mbaou
A former French spy has been murdered six months into an investigation for allegedly plotting to assassinate an opponent of Congolese President Sassou Nguesso, according to The Times.

The body of 57-year-old Daniel Forestier was found with five bullet wounds, including to the head and heart, in a remote car park near his home on the shores of Lake Geneva in the Alps.
France Bleu radio in Haute-Savoie said Forestier lived in the village of Lucinges, nine miles (15km) from where his body was found, with his wife and two children and had served as a local councillor until he was put under investigation last September.

The public prosecutor said the killing was probably a settling of scores. "There's almost no doubt about it," Philippe Toccanier said. Forestier had been shot five times in the thorax and the head, he added. -The Guardian

Star of David

New leaks: Cory Booker says he & AIPAC president 'text message like teenagers'

Sen. Cory Booker
© AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., left, accompanied by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right (File).
In a closed-door meeting with activists from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Tuesday, presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., spoke about working closely with the organization and his desire to create a "unified voice from Congress" against the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement, or BDS.

Booker spoke to AIPAC members from New Jersey at the organization's annual policy conference in Washington, D.C., a gathering of thousands of activists from around the country, culminating in a lobbying effort on Capitol Hill. Booker's appearance came at a contentious time; last week, the progressive advocacy group MoveOn called on 2020 candidates to skip the conference, and at least five of the Democrats declined to attend.

Booker's remarks, some of which were first reported by the Jerusalem Post, did not appear on a schedule of on-the-record events for journalists covering the conference. The Intercept obtained a 35-minute audio recording of the session from a conference attendee and is publishing the recording in full here.

Snakes in Suits

Europe's migrant crises: Accidental or predesigned?

immigrants boat
© Irish Defence Forces / Flickr.com
For the past decade, the coast of Europe has been inundated with a practically ceaseless flow of migrants from the Mideast and Africa almost all under the guise of "refugees" fleeing from some war and chaos in their own lands. At first, most Europeans welcomed them with open arms, having been pressed by their governments and religious leaders to do so out of charity and compassion. As time passed though, it became more and more clear that the great bulk of those crossing over where not in fact refugees at all, but mere economic migrants falsely claiming asylum status, settling in ethnic ghettos of extrajudicial religious practices that are alien to the European spirit. Confronted by the increasingly dismal conditions which now plagued portions of their nations, many began to investigate further into not only what has caused the migrant influx but who benefits both directly and directly by it.

Comment: See also: And check out SOTT radio's: