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Blame Russia! EU centrists likely to lose MEP seats to Eurosceptics - and Russia is again accused of meddling


RT
Mon, 15 Apr 2019 10:08 UTC
Matteo Salvini of Italy
© REUTERS / Alessandro Garofalo
FILE PHOTO: Matteo Salvini of Italy (R), Marine Le Pen (C) of France and Heinz-Christian Strache of Austria give a thumbs up.
Anti-establishment Eurosceptic parties are preparing to make a splash during next month's European Parliament election. But some see their rise as evidence of successful interference by Russia.

The 750 MEP seats will be up for grabs in May, and various anti-establishment forces on either side of the political spectrum are forging alliances to gobble up the shares currently held by centrists. Adding to the confusion is Britain, which will take part in the election despite supposedly working hard to leave the EU.

But for some European and international officials, the problem seems to be Russia secretly supporting Eurosceptics - not the disconnect between political elites and the people they are meant to represent. Blaming the looming electoral failure on Kremlin trolls (without offering a shred of evidence, of course) is as tempting in 2019 Europe as it was in 2016 America.


Comment: Just look at any of the thwarted neo-liberal, neocon, globalizing, nation-destroying policies coming out of the West these days - and watch the media and elite political class blame Russia for it's failures.

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Bell

Washington uses Colombia for 'cheap spectacles' against Caracas - Venezuelan FM


RT
Mon, 15 Apr 2019 17:17 UTC
venezuela protesters
© Reuters / Ivan Alvarado
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza accused US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of using the tensions on the border with Colombia to stage a publicity stunt as part of a smear campaign against Caracas.

The US and Colombia turned the beleaguered Colombian border town of Cucuta into a "regular stage for their most decadent and cheap spectacles," Arreaza tweeted on Sunday in response to Pompeo's visit in the area.
The consequences of the criminal blockade imposed by his [Pompeo] government on Venezuela are too grave to count. It has created death, suffering and need.
Earlier, Venezuelan migrants living in camps on the Colombian side of the border rioted over food rations and clashed with local police. Towns on the Venezuelan side also saw clashes between law enforcement and protesters.

The unrest was exacerbated by the opposition's attempts to drive trucks filled with US-sponsored aid into Venezuela. The authorities refused to let them pass, denouncing the move as a "PR stunt," and citing suspicions that Washington might use the trucks to smuggle in weapons.

As tensions mounted, US officials and some in the Western media accused the Venezuelan government of setting one of the trucks on fire during a dramatic confrontation at a border bridge with Colombia, but footage from the scene and additional reporting revealed that the truck was in fact set on fire by opposition activists.

Nevertheless, during his stay in Cucuta, Mike Pompeo met with a group of Venezuelan migrants and once again urged Caracas to accept the US-sent "humanitarian aid."

Comment: If the U.S. were really concerned about the humanitarian aspect of aid, it would simply use accepted channels like the Red Cross. Instead, it offers 'aid' which it knows the Venezuelan government will reject in order to get headlines that make the Venezuelans look bad. The U.S. actually prefers that their aid get rejected, in order to reinforce their image of the Venezuelan government as a mad dictatorship. And at the same time, they sanction Venezuelan leaders and major companies, which only makes the situation worse. Does that sound humanitarian to you? See also:

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No Entry

Trump's Middle East Peace Plan means no sovereignty for Palestinians


Sputnik
Mon, 15 Apr 2019 11:03 UTC
middle east hatred of trump
© AFP 2019 / Abbas Momani
The White House has been tight-lipped on the proposal, which is expected to be released in the coming months. Media reports say it represents an "unconventional approach" based on a realistic reading of the situation.

Donald Trump's long-awaited peace plan for the Middle East is coming out of hibernation after Benjamin Netanyahu's election victory, and it is said to be likely to sweep the Palestinian statehood issue under the carpet.

In drafting the plan, the US president's administration has relied heavily on his point man for the Middle East, Jared Kushner.

The Washington Post reports, citing US and Arab officials familiar with the matter, that Trump's son-in-law is looking to preserve Israeli control over the Palestinian territories and includes Palestinian "autonomy" but not a sovereign Palestinian state.

An unnamed senior White House official said that the plan is "fair, realistic and implementable" and that it reflects reality. "We looked at past efforts and solicited ideas from both sides and partners in the region with the recognition that what has been tried in the past has not worked. Thus, we have taken an unconventional approach founded on not hiding from reality, but instead speaking truth."


Comment: "Unconventional" does not mean that the idea is necessarily workable either!

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Star of David

Pat Buchanan: Where Trump's and Bibi's Interests Clash

Patrick J. Buchanan
buchanan.org
Mon, 15 Apr 2019 13:47 UTC
trump i netanyahu
On Monday, President Donald Trump designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization, the first time the United States has designated part of another nation's government as such a threat.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council responded by declaring U.S. Central Command a terrorist group.

With 5,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and 2,000 in Syria, often in proximity to Iranian units, this inches America closer to war.

Why did we do it? What benefit did the U.S. derive?
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Eye 1

The blatant lies & dirty deals surrounding Assange's arrest

Kit Knightly
Off Guardian
Mon, 15 Apr 2019 13:47 UTC
Assange
© Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Julian Assange gestures to the media from a police vehicle on his arrival at Westminster Magistrates' Court on April 11, 2019 in London.
The US has been planning to have Julian Assange handed over for a longtime, that much is obvious. Mike Pence, the Vice President, was visiting Ecuador last year, notionally to discuss the Venezuela situation, and trade. But it was fairly obvious at the time, and even more so now, that they were discussing the details of Assange being handed over to UK authorities, and eventually extradited to the US.

"Trade", indeed.

In terms of quid pro quo, the situation is clear-cut - In February, Ecuador got a $4.2 BILLION loan approved by the International Monetary Fund (amongst other pay-outs). Reuters reported on February 19th of this year:
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Chess

Kim Jong Un extends hand to Trump after initiating a 'military shake-up'

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Mon, 15 Apr 2019 13:47 UTC
Kim-Trump summit
© Leah Millis/Reuters
Amidst the ongoing nuclear negotiation standoff with the United States, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has initiated a large-scale military shakeup, bolstering his general officers corps with a wave of promotions.

The move is said to mark the upcoming birthday of his grandfather and North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, according to state media, but more significantly Kim used the occasion to extend another hand to Washington, signaling he's not given up after the disappointing failed February talks with Trump in Hanoi, which rapidly broke down.

Kim said on Saturday during a speech on state television he would be willing to hold a third summit with Trump, and said Washington has until the end of the year to make a nuclear deal happen.
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Clipboard

Still on the table: Top Trump advisors and Latin American officials discuss US military attack in Venezuela at private DC meeting

Max Blumenthal
The Grayzone
Sat, 13 Apr 2019 11:15 UTC
maduro venezuela army


(The complete list of attendees for the private CSIS event on US military options against Venezuela appears at the bottom of this article.)

The Washington, DC-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) hosted a private roundtable on April 10 called "Assessing the Use of Military Force in Venezuela." A list of attendees was provided to The Grayzone and two participants confirmed the meeting took place. They refused to offer any further detail, however.

Among the roughly 40 figures invited to the off-the-record event to discuss potential US military action against Caracas were some of the most influential advisors on President Donald Trump's Venezuela policy. They included current and former State Department, National Intelligence Council, and National Security Council officials, along with Admiral Kurt Tidd, who was until recently the commander of US SOUTHCOM.

Senior officials from the Colombian and Brazilian embassies like Colombian General Juan Pablo Amaya, as well as top DC representatives from Venezuelan coup leader Juan Guaido's shadow government, also participated in the meeting.

Comment: See also:

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Eye 1

Assange and the death of Journalism: You have the right to always remain silent

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
Sat, 13 Apr 2019 12:00 UTC
Assange
© AFP/Alex McNaughton/Sputnik
A file photo of WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange on the balcony of the Ecuador Embassy in London.
The arrest of Julian Assange was an act of revenge by the US government that strikes at the heart of journalism

By The date - April 11, 2019 - will live in infamy in the annals of Western "values" and "freedom of expression." The image is stark. A handcuffed journalist and publisher dragged out by force from the inside of an embassy, clutching a Gore Vidal book on the History of the US National Security State.

The mechanism is brutal. WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange was arrested because the United States demanded this from the Tory British government, which for its part meekly claimed it did not pressure Ecuador to revoke Assange's asylum.

The US magically erases Ecuador's financial troubles, ordering the IMF to release a providential $4.2-billion loan. Immediately after, Ecuadorian diplomats "invite" the London Metropolitan Police to come inside their embassy to arrest their long-term guest.

Comment: See also:

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Arrow Up

My friend Julian Assange - Alicia Castro former ambassador for Argentina

Alicia Castro
The Indicter
Sun, 14 Apr 2019 12:00 UTC
Assange Alicia Castro

Julian Assange, his cat "James", and Ambassador Alicia Castro
Editor's Note: @ProfessorsBlogg tweeted 14/4 a translation of "Mi Amigo Julian Assange", authored by Ms Alicia Castro, formerly Argentina's ambassador in the UK and Venezuela. The text in Spanish appeared the same day in Página 12, Argentina. Text translated by Prof. Marcello Ferrada de Noli, April 14, 2019.
In 2012, the year I arrived in London as ambassador, Julian Assange obtained the diplomatic asylum of Ecuador and settled in the embassy on Hans Crescent Street. That day the embassy was surrounded by cars of the British police and some agents struggled to enter. My first reflection was to send some trays with meat pasties -"empanadas"- and sweet pastries to alleviate the doings of ambassador Ana Alban. During the following days, together we organized a meeting of Latin American ambassadors, to follow from the legation of Ecuador the session of the OAS [the Organization of American States] where the asylum of Assange was discussed. We sat, for the first time, around that dark table, in an austere room. Suddenly, and discreetly, as we all were waiting, Julian Assange burst in. He was already a legend. I expressed to him how much, we the Latin Americans, had to thank for his revelations about the diplomatic cables that showed the deep and perverse degree of interference by the United States government in our affairs. I myself had as proof the cable that the ambassador of the United States in Argentina, Lino Gutierrez, wrote about my appointment as ambassador in Venezuela, where specific details of my actions are described, which I did not even remember.

Comment: See also:

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Propaganda

UK media and MPs: The latest Assange deception

Jonathan Cook
Jonathan Cook Blog
Sat, 13 Apr 2019 00:00 UTC
Assange
© Unknown/KJN
In my last blog post, I warned that the media and political class would continue with their long-running deceptions about Julian Assange now that he has been dragged from the Ecuadorean embassy. They have wasted no time in proving me right.

The first thrust in their campaign of deceit was set out on the Guardian's front page today.

There should have been wall-to-wall outrage from public figures in the UK at the United States creating a new crime of "doing journalism" and a new means of arrest for those committing this "crime" overseas, what I have termed "media rendition".

Remember that all of the information contained in the US charge sheet against Assange - the supposed grounds for his extradition - were known to the previous Obama administration as far back as 2010. But Barack Obama never dared approve the current charges against Assange because legally there was no way to stop them being turned against "respectable" journalists, like those at the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Guardian.


Comment: Considering what was to follow media-wise during the 2016 election and when Trump assumed the office, it stands to reason Obama didn't want to upset the MSM applecart. The DNC and individual colluders needed the MSM to be the solid and abiding disinformation source they more than adequately have proven to be.


This was the same Obama administration that had the worst record ever for prosecuting whistleblowers. Obama was no friend to investigative journalism but he understood that it would be unwise to so overtly subvert the notion of a free western press.

Comment: Recommended by Jonathan Cook: Video (viewer discretion): 'Collateral Murder - Wikileaks - Iraq

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