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Ex-UN chief: UK hid SAS deployments to avoid being allied to US and rampant illegality in Syria


RT
Mon, 25 Feb 2019 17:27 UTC
British elite SAS soldiers
© Shamil Zhumatov / Reuters
British elite SAS soldiers
The UK doesn't want to be seen deploying special forces with the likes of the US, an ex-UN chief told RT, suggesting Syria is awash with "illegality," after the British MoD admitted its personnel are active in the war-torn nation.

Despite British MPs voting in December 2015 for 'approved airstrikes only' in Syria, the Ministry of Defence's admission came after a freedom of information request relating to the death of SAS soldier, Sergeant Matt Tonroe, who was killed in March last year.

Former UN chief & humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, Hans-Christof von Sponeck, suggested that the UK does not want to give the impression it is "allied to the US" in Syria because of past ventures into Iraq and Afghanistan, which do not play well with the British public.

Asked whether the US is essentially driving these decisions to deploy special forces on the ground, and not the UK, von Sponeck replied: "Of course," but added that the Turks were also highly influential when it came to ground-force deployment.


Comment: In other words, they want to break the law without giving the impression of breaking the law. Aren't people like this traditionally thrown in prisons? See also: UK's SAS fought in Syria violating Parliament's decision, military admits

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Black Cat

A gift for Netanyahoo: George Galloway slams 'foolish' UK decision to label Hezbollah political party 'terrorists'


RT
Mon, 25 Feb 2019 15:59 UTC
Netanyahu; A supporter of Lebanon's Hezbollah
© REUTERS/Amir Cohen, REUTERS/Aziz Tah
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; A supporter of Lebanon's Hezbollah gestures as he holds a Hezbollah flag in Marjayoun
The UK politician says government is putting Israel's interests ahead of its own with move to blacklist political wing of Lebanon-based Hezbollah, adding that the designation will make diplomatic dealings with Beirut "impossible."

"Hezbollah is a major parliamentary and governmental force in Lebanon, a friendly country, and this decision will make British relations with Lebanon impossible," George Galloway told RT.

The Shia-supported group is the second biggest party in the country's ruling coalition, and holds two seats in the cabinet.

On Monday, the UK government announced that from now on all parts of Hezbollah would be treated as terrorist organizations, as it has lost the ability to "distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party," both of which it accused of "attempts to destabilize the fragile situation in the Middle East."


Comment: Hezbollah fights ISIS in Syria, resists Israeli aggression in Lebanon and is allied with Iran. So that, according to the political animals in the UK and the Israeli government - makes Hezbollah terrorists.


Comment: See also:

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Propaganda

Propaganda golden age: Venezuela coverage harkens back to the glory days of lying about Latin America

Mark Cook
FAIR
Mon, 25 Feb 2019 14:46 UTC
Crowd rally Maduro
© @jaarreaza
Crowd in support of the elected Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro
I was sitting in my apartment in Caracas, Venezuela, reading the online edition of Time magazine (5/19/16), which carried a report that there was not even something as basic as aspirin to be found anywhere in Venezuela: "Basic medicines like aspirin are nowhere to be found."

I walked out of the apartment to the nearest pharmacy, four blocks away, where I found plenty of aspirin, as well as acetaminophen (generic Tylenol) and ibuprofen (generic Advil), in a well-stocked pharmacy with a knowledgeable professional staff that would be the envy of any US drugstore.

A few days after the Time story, CNBC (6/22/16) carried a claim that there was no acetaminophen to be found anywhere, either: "Basic things like Tylenol aren't even available." That must have taken the Pfizer Corporation by surprise, since it was their Venezuelan subsidiary, Pfizer Venezuela SA, which produced the acetaminophen I purchased. (Neither Time writer Ian Bremer nor CNBC commentator Richard Washington was in Venezuela, and there was no evidence offered that either of them had ever been there.)

Comment:

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Cowboy Hat

US sees Orthodox Church as an obstacle to its expansion - which is why the Church is in process of being destroyed


Oriental Review
Mon, 25 Feb 2019 00:00 UTC
Ukrainian president and tomos

Ukrainian president and tomos
The events surrounding the Orthodox Church in Ukraine that escalated at the end of last year and the beginning of this one have clearly shown the true intentions not just of those involved in the split, but of their supporters as well. President Poroshenko has demonstrated that the decision to create an autocephalous church is necessary for his election campaign. The actions of Patriarch Bartholomew I have shown that he is using the situation to advance his own interests, first and foremost to seize new canonical territories. And, by siding with the schismatics, Washington has shown that it is pursuing its long-held goal of destroying the Orthodox Church throughout the world.

The church issue has been essential for improving Poroshenko's ratings on the eve of the presidential election. The Ukrainian president's extremely low popularity among the people was proving a serious threat to his plans to be re-elected for a second term. The loss of his authority and immunity would not only put him at risk but his whole business empire, which has seen incredible growth during his time in office. So, for him, winning the presidential election is a matter of life and death. Every effort is being made to achieve this, including the spectacular move of promoting his image as the founder of the national church.
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Eagle

Déjà vu: Trump repeats policy of Contra-style CIA-connected coups in Latin America

Wayne Madsen
Strategic Culture Foundation
Fri, 22 Feb 2019 00:00 UTC
covert coups
A largely ignored story reported by the Lebanese magazine "Ash Shiraa" on November 3, 1986, soon blossomed into a major scandal involving the covert sale of US weapons to the government of Iran and the illegal supply of weapons to right-wing Nicaraguan rebels. The Lebanese magazine was the first to reveal that the Ronald Reagan administration was covertly selling arms to Iran in exchange for the release of seven American hostages by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon.

On November 25, 1986, three weeks after the exposé by "Ash Shiraa," US Attorney General Edwin Meese announced to a stunned nation that profits from the sale of American weapons to Iran were used to buy and ship weapons to the Contra rebels battling against the socialist government of President Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua. The covert Reagan administration operation violated at least two laws. The first was breaking a US arms embargo on Iran. The second was a violation of the 1982 congressional Boland Amendment, which prohibited US taxpayers' funds being used to overthrow the government of Nicaragua. The scandal almost resulted in Congress's impeachment of Reagan and his vice-president, George H. W. Bush, from office.

Comment: Has Trump shaken hands with the with deep state devil? In this context at least, it would appear so:

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TV

"Fantasies": Russia and Italy refute Fake news report on 'secret talks' between Salvini and Russian FM


RT
Sun, 24 Feb 2019 19:39 UTC
putin salvini

A screenshot taken from the website of L'Espresso weekly.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak has never met Italy's Matteo Salvini in person, his spokesman said, denying a report on an alleged shady deal the two struck to fund Salvini's Lega Party with Russian money.

Kozak has never held any talks with Salvini, a spokesman of the Russian deputy government head, Ilya Dzhus, told journalists on Sunday.

He referred to an "investigative piece" published by Italy's L'Espresso weekly earlier this week, in which it claimed the Italian deputy prime minister secretly met his Russian colleague in Moscow to discuss the terms of a deal that would supposedly allow his right-wing Lega Party to get a hefty sum of money from Russia ahead of the European elections.

"The so-called 'investigation' by the Italian L'Espresso is based on some flimsy fantasies that do no credit to the media outlet," Dzhus told journalists. "Kozak never had any personal contacts to Salvini, never held any official or 'secret' meetings with him," he said.

Comment: Russia is quite open about the potentially world-changing deals it makes with other countries - such as NS2, oil, its burgeoning agricultural exports and transport - and so it has no need to make 'secret deals', because anyone who shares the same hopes for the future is welcome to partake. This is just another lame story from the West's relentless smear campaign aimed at thwarting progress being made by two world players it rightfully considers a threat to it's ailing hegemony: Also check out SOTT radio's:

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Star of David

US lawmakers threaten Ireland with 'economic repercussions' if it bans Israel's settlement goods

Ciaran Tierney
Electronic Intifada
Mon, 25 Feb 2019 10:52 UTC
Trump Leo Varadkar Peter King
© Aaron P. Bernstein Reuters/Newscom
Peter King (right), seen here with Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and US President Donald Trump, is trying to prevent the Dublin authorities from banning Israel’s settlement goods.
A grouping of US politicians has threatened Ireland with economic repercussions if it bans goods from Israel's settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Both houses in the Irish parliament, the Oireachtas, have approved a bill to outlaw Israel's settlement exports during the past few months. Ten US lawmakers have reacted to the moves by warning that a ban could have "potentially severe implications" for the country.

In a letter to Irish political leaders, the 10 members of Congress suggested that some corporations investing would be violating US export regulations if the Dublin authorities enforced a ban on Israel's settlement goods.
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Gold Bar

What's up with Australia's 80 tonnes of gold at the Bank Of England?

Ronan Manly
BullionStar
Mon, 18 Feb 2019 10:38 UTC
reserve bank of Australia
Recently, news network RT.com asked for comments on the question of the 80 tonnes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) gold reserves and their supposed storage location at the Bank of England's gold vaults in London. Based on some of those comments I made, RT has now published an article in its English language news website at www.rt.com about this Australian gold that the RBA claims is held in London.

The RT.com article, which was published on 18 February 2018, is titled "Hey UK! It's not just Venezuela, what happened to Australia's gold?", and can be read in full here on the RT website.

For the commentary, RT actually asked me quite a few interesting questions on both the Australian gold and other related gold topics. Since both the extended questions and the answers might be of interest to readers, we have decided to publish below the full set of questions and answers in Q&A format, which are as follows:

1) What happened to Australia's gold? What's your opinion?

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) claims to have 80 tonnes of gold bars stored in a bailment arrangement, in an allocated gold account, at the Bank of England vaults in London. Bailment means the Bank of England is custodian, and the RBA owns and has title to specific serial numbered gold bars.

However, there have never been any independent physical audits of this gold, which means that there is no way to verify the RBA's claim that it has all the gold that it claims to have.

Comment: See also: Gold thieves: It's not just Venezuela - Australia's gold is under lock-and-key in London

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War Whore

Psychopathic US Senator Marco Rubio wants Venezuela to end up like Libya

Caitlin Johnstone
caitlinjohnstone.com
Sun, 24 Feb 2019 10:16 UTC
marco rubio tweet
Influential US Senator and 2016 presidential candidate Marco Rubio has tweeted a blatant death threat and incitement of violence against Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. As of this writing the post has 13 thousand shares and counting.

The tweet consists of a "before" and "after" photo of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who in 2011 was mutilated to death in the streets following a US-led NATO intervention in Libya which was launched on false humanitarian pretexts. The first photo depicts Gaddafi alive and confident with a smile on his face, the second depicts him covered in blood following his capture by a militia group minutes before his death.


Comment: See also:

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Eye 2

American Psycho: US 'conservative' congressman Marco Rubio posts tweet of Gaddafi's lynching as threat to Venezuela's Maduro


RT
Mon, 25 Feb 2019 08:56 UTC
marco rubio gaddafi

US 'conservative' senator for Florida, Marco Rubio, reveals his inner landscape
US Senator Marco Rubio has posted a picture of the brutal murder of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in a less-than-subtle threat to Venezuela's Maduro. Twitter blasted Rubio as a manic warmonger... who has extremely poor taste.

The two pictures -one showing Gaddafi while still in power, the other showing the Libyan leader being tortured minutes before his brutal murder- were posted by Sen. Rubio (R-FL) on Twitter without any caption. Yet, given his open calls for an armed insurrection in the Latin American country to depose President Nicolas Maduro, the message was clear.

Openly threatening a head of a foreign country with a brutal death at the hands of US-propped militants was, apparently, just a tiny bit off: while a few Twitteratti supported Rubio's vision of Maduro's demise, the majority blasted the senator over an extreme lack of taste or decency.


Comment: What a deranged specimen.

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