Welcome to Sott.net
Mon, 08 Nov 2021
The World for People who Think

Puppet Masters
Map

Light Sabers

Twitter spat between Trump and May leaves Trump state visit up in the air


RT
Fri, 01 Dec 2017 22:19 UTC
trump
© Reuters/ Jonathan Ernst
The UK-US 'special relationship' has been rocked by the unprecedented row between Donald Trump and Theresa May - which started over a Twitter spat. Now, POTUS has delayed his visit to the UK, just as the PM is urged to rescind his invitation altogether.

The president started an almighty fall-out on Wednesday when he retweeted three Islamophobic videos posted by the deputy leader of a British far-right group. May said Trump, tweeting from his personal @realDonaldTrump account, was "wrong" to share the material and promote the group. The US leader fired back, insisting Downing Street should be focusing on domestic extremism - not what he says online.

Now diplomats say his post-Christmas visit is off the table. According to the Telegraph, one senior US diplomat said, "The idea of a visit has obviously been floated, but not December and not January. I would not expect a Trump visit in January."

The scaled-down version of a state visit was designed to ease Trump into the UK and avoid mass protests. Trump was expected formally to open London's new US embassy during the 'working visit'.
      Read More...
Bulb

European Parliament passes non-binding embargo on all arms sales to Saudi Arabia over Yemeni war crimes


RT
Fri, 01 Dec 2017 21:50 UTC
European Parliament
© Christian Hartmann / Reuters
The European Parliament in Strasbourg, France
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution, which calls for an EU-wide embargo on arms sales to Saudi Arabia over the alleged war crimes it has committed in Yemen. The resolution also criticizes EU members selling arms to the Gulf kingdom.

The EU parliament "condemns in the strongest terms the ongoing violence in Yemen and all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, which constitute war crimes," the resolution passed on Thursday says. It goes on to say that "dozens of Saudi-led airstrikes have been blamed for indiscriminately killing and wounding civilians in violation of the laws of war, including through the use of internationally banned cluster munitions."

The document particularly says that the European lawmakers "deplore" the blockade of Yemen established by the Saudi-led coalition and specifically condemns "the indiscriminate coalition-led airstrikes leading to civilian casualties, including children, and destruction of civilian and medical infrastructure." It adds that they equally condemn the actions of the Houthi rebels resulting in civilian casualties, including the missile attacks on the Saudi cities.

Comment: It will be interesting to see who actually follows this "non-binding" resolution. It's doubtful anyone will bat an eye at the EU Parliament's "gentle suggestion" and will continue to aid the Saudi Arabian slaughter of the Yemeni people.

      Read More...
Yoda

Lavrov blasts Nikki Haley's threats to North Korea as "bloodthirsty tirade"


RT
Fri, 01 Dec 2017 21:28 UTC
Pyongyang
© Damir Sagolj / Reuters
Ryomyong street in Pyongyang, North Korea
US military action against North Korea would be a big mistake, Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, warned, adding that Washington is itself provoking Pyongyang to make new reckless moves by drills with South Korea and aggressive rhetoric.

"If someone really wants to use force to - as the US representative to the UN put it - destroy North Korea... then I think it's playing with fire and a huge mistake," Lavrov said during a visit to Rome on Friday.

The Russian FM was referring to the comments made by US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, in the wake of Pyongyang's first missile test in two months on Tuesday, in which it fired rockets that allegedly can reach US mainland. Haley said that "if war comes... the North Korean regime will be utterly destroyed."Lavrov called Haley's speech at the UN Security Council on Wednesday "a really bloodthirsty tirade."

"We will do everything to ensure that it [military conflict] doesn't happen and that the problem is solved using exclusively peaceful and political-diplomatic means," he said. Moscow has been closely working with the US on the North Korean issue, with several meetings being held between the countries' diplomats in the Russian capital and other venues, the FM added.
      Read More...
Red Flag

Press conference to draw attention to Bill Clinton's sexual assaults draws scant attention from mainstream media


RT
Fri, 01 Dec 2017 20:26 UTC
businessman
© Getty Images
A press conference to draw attention to the issue of sexual misconduct inside the Beltway drew a surprisingly tepid response from journalists and politicians.

It seems that with each passing day in America another name is added to the list of powerful males from the gilded world of entertainment and politics - from Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein to US Senator Al Franken - falling in disgrace amidst claims of sexual misconduct.

Amidst this feverish atmosphere of political impropriety, however, there was scant media and political representation at the National Press Club this week, where a group of women who say President Bill Clinton assaulted them hoped to draw attention to the problem.

Sponsored by the Media Equality Project, Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey, Paula Jones and Leslie Millwee - just a sampling of the women who claim Clinton assaulted them - called on lawmakers accused of sexual misconduct to resign, including Franken and Michigan Congressman John Conyers, both Democrats.
      Read More...
Blackbox

Varoufakis weighs in on Brexit negotiations: 'I cannot see the logic in increasing the offer to Brussels'

Westmonster
Westmonster
Thu, 30 Nov 2017 00:00 UTC
Varoufakis
Greece's former Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis, has said he can't understand why Theresa May offered Brussels a multi-billion pound Brexit bill, or why the government agreed to the structure of negotiations.

He said: "London has accepted a structure of negotiations that was designed to lead to a disadvantageous outcome for Britain. Phase 1 - you give me everything I want. Phase 2 - let's talk about what you want. It's basically a declaration that Britain is not going to get what it wants I cannot see the logic in increasing the offer to Brussels when there's not even a suggestion of a prospect that it could lead to a kind of deal Britain needs."

Comment: And Varoufakis is one to know about horrible negotiations with the EU!

See also:

      Read More...
Info

Democrat Rep suggests Conyers accusers shouldn't be believed - because they're white

Matt Vespa
Townhall
Thu, 30 Nov 2017 21:00 UTC
clyburn
UPDATE: Clyburn now calls on Conyers to resign. The woman who settled with the congressman, Marion Brown, also came forward this morning on the Today Show. Brown is a black woman, which makes Clyburn's shoddy Susan Smith remarks even more ridiculous.




Comment: See also:

      Read More...
Eiffel Tower

The French left is falling for identity politics: Tearing itself apart over Islam

Gavin Mortimer
The Spectator
Thu, 30 Nov 2017 20:24 UTC
Street prayers france
© Reuters
Six months into his presidency, Emmanuel Macron looks untouchable. He has conquered the unions, and his political opponents are a shambles - none more so than the Socialists. Just how divided they are was demonstrated earlier this month when a vicious war of words erupted within the French left. The cause was Islam, an issue that has been agitating Socialists for decades. When the first Socialist president of the Fifth Republic, François Mitterrand, was elected in 1981, his government was initially a friend of Islam. As the eighties wore on though, some on the left became alarmed at the demands being made of the Republic: prayer rooms in factories and the right to pray five times a day were particular sticking points. Pierre Mauroy, who served as prime minister during this period, denounced the growing influence of Islam in the workplace, prompting the left-wing newspaper Liberation to warn that such statements were 'the slippery slope to racism'.

This fault line has remained in the Socialist party ever since, causing occasional tremors of disunity, such as the 1989 headscarf row, and the 2004 ban on religious symbols in schools. The attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in 2015 caused the ideological plates to shift again. On one side stands the satirical magazine's supporters, like the former Socialist prime minister, Manuel Valls, and the philosopher Alain Finkielkraut; on the other, the 'Islamo-gauchistes', led by Edwy Plenel, the former editor of Le Monde, who believes that French Muslims are institutionally victimised and that those who criticise their religion - such as the author Michel Houellebecq - are guilty of Islamophobia.

Comment: And one of the main benefactors of the situation?

      Read More...
Red Flag

A look at the Obama regime's criminal syndicate, the DOJ

Nick
Politically Short
Sun, 22 May 2016 00:00 UTC
ObamaDeptjustice
© The Western Journal
Nearly a decade after the crash of the U.S. Housing market, the Obama administration continues to pursue claims against large financial institutions accused of contributing to the crash. For instance, in the past three years the Department of Justice (DOJ) settled with JPMorgan Chase & CO. in November 2013, Citigroup Inc. in July 2014, and Bank of America in August in 2014. These settlements concerned allegations related to the issuance of residential mortgage backed securities, and collectively these three settlements alone have totaled $36.65 billion in payments from the banks to various federal, state, non-governmental organizations, and direct consumer relief.

In a report released on Thursday by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee detailing how the DOJ has essentially become a massive crime syndicate in the business of shaking down financial institutions, the report noted that the DOJ's Housing settlements removed millions of dollars of third party payments from the Congressional appropriations process as well as judicial review. Of the settlement funds set aside for consumer relief, at least $640 million was set aside for third party payments to be disbursed by the banks according to the the settlement terms. By routing funds away from the U.S. Treasury, the settlements have been able to circumvent congress's spending authority as well as oversight.

Here's how they do it

Comment: Circumventing the legal system, bypassing congressional oversight, creating illegal slush funds, the US government's crime syndicates are able to bypass protocol, influence and subsidize politics and defy the law. As this article indicates, the poison goes all the way to the top of what should be one of the 'most trusted' of agencies. The losers: the folks who lost their homes due to the banking/mortgage fiasco. Where is their slush fund?

      Read More...
Briefcase

Trial may shift focus to North Korea in Kim Jong Nam's murder

Eileen NG
AP
Fri, 01 Dec 2017 00:00 UTC
2 women escorted
© AP/Sadiq Asyraf
Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, second left, escorted by police leaving Shah Alam court house, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Malaysia's high-profile trial of two women accused of killing the estranged half brother of North Korean leader has gone into recess until next year.

Indonesia's Siti Aisyah, 25, and Vietnam's Doan Thi Huong, 29, are accused of smearing a nerve agent on Kim Jong Nam's face in a crowded airport terminal in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 13. The two are the only suspects in custody, though prosecutors have said four North Koreans who have since fled the country were also involved.

Prosecutors have focused on proving the women's guilt but shied away from scrutinizing any political motive behind the killing. Defense lawyers, who say their clients were duped into carrying out the attack, will look to shift that focus when the trial resumes Jan. 22.

Here's a look at what's been presented in court since the trial began two months ago.

Comment: See also:

      Read More...
Snakes in Suits

Flynn pleads guilty of lying to the FBI


RT
Fri, 01 Dec 2017 15:04 UTC
Flynn
© Carlos Barria / Reuters
Former Trump national security adviser, Michael Flynn.
President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, has turned himself in to the FBI. He pleaded guilty to charges of making false statements to the FBI about his conversation with the Russian ambassador in December 2016.

The charge was detailed in court documents unsealed on Friday. The document accuses Flynn of making "materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements" to law enforcement about a phone call he had with former Russian Ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak. The statements were made on January 24, four days after Trump was inaugurated.

Flynn, 58, pleaded guilty to the charge during a 10:30am EST hearing in Washington, DC.

Comment: While politicians get away with murder(s), Flynn is brought down by a couple of nebulous sentences as part of a political sting operation to target the Trump administration and build innuendo for the DNC's Russia ruse.

      Read More...
Amazon Smile
Revolt! T-shirts