Puppet Masters

ICC prosecutor seeks to resume Afghanistan war crimes probe with focus on Taliban and IS, but not US forces

Dawn
Mon, 27 Sep 2021 00:00 UTC

The International Criminal Court's new chief prosecutor said Monday he wants to focus his investigation in Afghanistan on the Taliban and Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), and to "deprioritise" alleged war crimes by US forces.

A statement said the request was being made to the court's judges in light of developments since the Taliban movement seized control of Afghanistan in a lightning advance last month.

The ICC had already spent 15 years looking into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan before opening a full investigation last year. That probe was put on hold by the Afghan government, which said it was investigating the crimes itself.

The Hague-based ICC is a court of last resort, intervening only when a member country is unable or unwilling to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide.

The fall of the internationally recognised Afghan government and its replacement by the Taliban represent a "significant change of circumstances", new prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement.

Comment: The US claims the ICC has no authority nor jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed by US citizens although that is what it was designed to do according to the Rome Statute - no matter if a country is a member of the court or not. The US and Israel are not members.

Hungary summons Ukrainian ambassador, blasts Kiev for 'interfering' in its internal affairs as row over Russian gas deal heats up

RT
Tue, 28 Sep 2021 10:25 UTC

© Reuters/Anton Vaganov/John Thys
Hungary's Minister for External Economy and Foreign Affairs Peter Szijjarto
Construction site of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, near the town of Kingisepp, Russia

The Hungarian Foreign Ministry has summoned Ukraine's ambassador over Kiev's reaction to Budapest's new deal with Russia's Gazprom energy giant, Hungary's top diplomat revealed in a statement published on Facebook on Tuesday. Peter Szijjarto wrote:

"The Ukrainian government's actions aimed against the deal, through the European Commission, are extremely outrageous. Ukraine has nothing to do with those we make deals with. Budapest views such steps by Kiev as a violation of [Hungary's] sovereignty and national security interests."

Budapest has accused Ukraine of meddling in its sovereign political decisions after Kiev decried the arrangement as a decision made only to serve the interests of Moscow.

It will see around half of the country's annual gas supply transported via the Balkans and Austria. Effective from Friday, the new arrangement will cost Kiev millions in transit fees.

An FBI informant was marching into the Capitol on Jan. 6 'riot' - testimony contradicts media spin

Alan Feuer and Adam Goldman
New York Times
Sat, 25 Sep 2021 21:00 UTC

© Jason Andrew for The New York Times
Records show that an F.B.I. informant marched from the Washington Monument to the Capitol and told his handler that Trump supporters were entering the building.

A member of the far-right Proud Boys texted his F.B.I. handler during the assault, but maintained the group had no plan in advance to enter the Capitol and disrupt the election certification.

As scores of Proud Boys made their way, chanting and shouting, toward the Capitol on Jan. 6, one member of the far-right group was busy texting a real-time account of the march.

The recipient was his F.B.I. handler.

In the middle of an unfolding melee that shook a pillar of American democracy — the peaceful transfer of power — the bureau had an informant in the crowd, providing an inside glimpse of the action, according to confidential records obtained by The New York Times. In the informant's version of events, the Proud Boys, famous for their street fights, were largely following a pro-Trump mob consumed by a herd mentality rather than carrying out any type of preplanned attack.

Comment: Well, Feuer and Goldman certainly know how to pile on the purple prose. And even though it was buried paragraphs down, they deigned to give an accurate account of the informant's statements. They just seemed to be hoping no one would read that far.

Far from being FBI fumbling, it would appear they were orchestrating a good part of the day's events:

South Korea may ban dog meat consumption amid debate over animal rights

South China Morning Post
Mon, 27 Sep 2021 18:56 UTC

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in on Monday said there might be a need to prohibit dog meat consumption amid debate over the controversial practice and growing awareness of animal rights.

While no longer as common as before, dog meat is eaten mainly by older people and is served in some restaurants and can be bought at specific markets.

Moon made the remarks after being briefed by Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum on efforts to improve the handling of abandoned animals and a mandatory registration system for dogs.

"After the briefing, he said time has come to carefully consider imposing a dog meat ban," Moon's spokeswoman Park Kyung-mee said in a statement.

It was the first time that Moon raised a ban, which is likely to give fresh momentum to debate over whether to curtail the practice.

To boost their popularity, several presidential hopefuls have pledged to ban dog meat in recent weeks, especially as dogs have become popular as pets and advocacy groups have urged South Korea to close down restaurants and markets selling dog meat.

Totalitarian nutjobs: Taliban prohibits barbers from shaving, trimming beards in Helmand province

Tala Michel Issa
Al Arabiya
Mon, 27 Sep 2021 18:46 UTC

The Taliban have prohibited barbers in Afghanistan's Helmand province from shaving or trimming beards, saying it breaches their interpretation of Islamic law and anyone who does not adhere to the rule will be punished, the BBC reported on Monday.

Some barbers in Kabul have also received similar orders, which included banning them from playing music in their shops, according to CNN.

The rules suggest a return to the strict control of the extremist group, similar to that of its past tenure in power, despite their promises to exercise a milder form of government.

"You are urgently informed that from today, shaving beards and playing music in barbershops and public baths are strictly prohibited. If any barbershop or public bath is found to have shaved anyone's beard or played music, they will be dealt with according to the Sharia principles and they will not have the right to complain," the local authorities said in a statement issued on Sunday.

"The fighters keep coming and ordering us to stop trimming beards," a Kabul-based barber told the BBC.

"One of them told me they can send undercover inspectors to catch us."

Biden tacitly admits he's never letting US return to pre-Covid normal

Shawn Fleetwood
The Federalist
Tue, 28 Sep 2021 17:21 UTC

© AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
President Joe Biden speaks in the State Dining Room at the White House, Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, in Washington. Biden is announcing sweeping new federal vaccine requirements affecting as many as 100 million Americans in an all-out effort to increase COVID-19 vaccinations and curb the surging delta variant.

Comment: But we knew that a long time ago.

President Joe Biden indicated that it will take 97 to 98 percent of Americans receiving the COVID-19 jab before he lets the nation move on from the pandemic. The moment came during a White House event on Monday, where the president was receiving his COVID-19 booster shot.

"I think we get the vast majority ... 97 percent, 98 percent. I think we'll get awful close," he said. "But I'm not the scientist. I think one thing is for certain. A quarter of the country can't go unvaccinated and us not continue to have a problem."

Comment: But 'the science' . . . . .

Russia scrambles fighter jets as US bomber crosses Pacific Ocean & approaches country's border

Jonny Tickle
RT
Mon, 27 Sep 2021 15:00 UTC

The bomber was allegedly entering Russian air space over the Pacific Ocean

Russia's Ministry of Defense has released a video of three Su-35S fighter planes escorting a US Air Force B-52H bomber over the waters of the Pacific Ocean on Sunday after it was spotted heading toward the country's airspace.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the scrambled aircraft guided the US bomber away from the Russian border.

The Su-35, first completed in 2008, is a derivative of the Soviet Su-27, a supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi in the 1970s. Designed for intercepting and destroying all classes of aerial targets and air superiority, the Su-35 is commonly scrambled when foreign planes come near Russian airspace. It has also seen action in Syria.

Comment: See also:

"Evil intentions": China condemns UK warship's sail through Taiwan Strait

ABC.net.au
Mon, 27 Sep 2021 09:07 UTC

China bristled on Monday over Britain's decision to send a Royal Navy warship sailing through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, saying the act "harbored evil intentions." China claims democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, and has increased pressure on the small island in recent years to accept Beijing as its capital.

The Royal Navy announced that the HMS Richmond, a frigate deployed as part of a U.K. aircraft carrier strike group, was sailing through the Taiwan Strait on Monday in a move that challenges Beijing's claim to the sensitive waterway.

"After a busy period working with partners and allies in the East China Sea, we are now en route through the Taiwan Strait to visit Vietnam and the Vietnam People's Navy," read a tweet from the official account for HMS Richmond.

Comment: The West has made it perfectly clear that it intends to 'contain' China, but, since it can't take China (nor Russia) head on, it has to resort to rather feeble actions such as that we see above:

'Unelectable!' 'Woke' Labour condemned by Britons as conference delegates told too many white men putting their hands up to speak

RT
Mon, 27 Sep 2021 09:48 UTC

© REUTERS/Hannah McKay
Audience members hold up their hands during Britain's Labour Party annual conference, in Brighton, Britain, September 26, 2021.

Delegates at the Labour Party conference have been told that too many white men were putting their hands up to make contributions during a debate on housing and transport, leading some to question the direction of the party.

On Sunday, white men were told not to "dominate" the conversation during a session on housing and transport at the Labour Party's annual conference in Brighton. Mark Ferguson, a member of Labour's National Executive Committee and chairman of the session, noted his concern that people putting their hands up to speak were predominantly white men and urged them to let others speak.

"I am afraid, and I am not speaking from a position of particular strength here, there are too many white men putting their hands up," Ferguson told delegates, adding that he wasn't "anti-white men" and that some of his favourite people, including his dad, were white men.

Comment: The stunning stupidity of politician's alienating their base in favor of ideology. 'Unelectable' is exactly right.

See also:

'Blatant Big Tech interference, US cyberattacks' during recent Russian elections, ex-President Medvedev tells RT

RT
Mon, 27 Sep 2021 18:32 UTC

There was widespread and blatant interference in the recent Russian election, ranging from targeted recommendations and censorship by Silicon Valley to overt cyberattacks on servers coming from the US, Dmitry Medvedev has told RT.

The former president and prime minister of Russia is now the deputy chairman of the Security Council, serving directly under President Vladimir Putin.

In an exclusive interview airing Tuesday, Medvedev has told RT that during the September 17-19 vote, Central Election Commission servers "were under constant attack," and about half of the attacks came from the US, according to the ministry of digital development.

"That's reason enough for a fight, right?" he said.

Comment: Indeed. Russian officials lodged a complaint with the US, and evidence of vote rigging, and even an NGO giving a class on how to sabotage the election process, were shared online:

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Puppet Masters

ICC prosecutor seeks to resume Afghanistan war crimes probe with focus on Taliban and IS, but not US forces

Hungary summons Ukrainian ambassador, blasts Kiev for 'interfering' in its internal affairs as row over Russian gas deal heats up

An FBI informant was marching into the Capitol on Jan. 6 'riot' - testimony contradicts media spin

South Korea may ban dog meat consumption amid debate over animal rights

Totalitarian nutjobs: Taliban prohibits barbers from shaving, trimming beards in Helmand province

Biden tacitly admits he's never letting US return to pre-Covid normal

Russia scrambles fighter jets as US bomber crosses Pacific Ocean & approaches country's border

"Evil intentions": China condemns UK warship's sail through Taiwan Strait

'Unelectable!' 'Woke' Labour condemned by Britons as conference delegates told too many white men putting their hands up to speak

'Blatant Big Tech interference, US cyberattacks' during recent Russian elections, ex-President Medvedev tells RT

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