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Former French president Sarkozy on trial again after corruption conviction


.France 24
Wed, 17 Mar 2021 19:46 UTC
sarkozy
© Reuters / Gonzalo Fuentes
French president Nicolas Sarkozy
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy went on trial on Wednesday over claims of illicit financing for his failed 2012 re-election bid, just two weeks after a landmark conviction for corruption.

On March 1, the 66-year-old became France's first post-war president to be sentenced to prison when he was given a three-year term, two years of which were suspended, for corruption and influence peddling.

This case was one of several hanging over him since he left office.

Sarkozy has denied any wrongdoing, saying he is the victim of a vindictive judicial system with which he tangled while in power between 2007 and 2012.

Comment:

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Document

Open letter from doctors and scientists to the European Medicines Agency regarding COVID-19 vaccine safety concerns


Doctors for Covid Ethics
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 00:00 UTC
European Medicines Agency
© AFP/Reuters
European Medicines Agency
Dear Sirs/Mesdames,

FOR THE URGENT PERSONAL ATTENTION OF: EMER COOKE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE EUROPEAN MEDICINES AGENCY

As physicians and scientists, we are supportive in principle of the use of new medical interventions which are appropriately developed and deployed, having obtained informed consent from the patient. This stance encompasses vaccines in the same way as therapeutics.

We note that a wide range of side effects is being reported following vaccination of previously healthy younger individuals with the gene-based COVID-19 vaccines. Moreover, there have been numerous media reports from around the world of care homes being struck by COVID-19 within days of vaccination of residents. While we recognise that these occurrences might, every one of them, have been unfortunate coincidences, we are concerned that there has been and there continues to be inadequate scrutiny of the possible causes of illness or death under these circumstances, and especially so in the absence of post-mortems examinations.

In particular, we question whether cardinal issues regarding the safety of the vaccines were adequately addressed prior to their approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
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Calendar

Biden calls Afghanistan withdrawal deadline of May 1 'tough'


Yahoo News
Wed, 17 Mar 2021 07:42 UTC
Biden
President Joe Biden says that it will be "tough" for the U.S. to meet a May 1 deadline to withdraw troops from Afghanistan but that the complete drawdown won't take much longer.

The deadline to end America's longest war six weeks from now was set under an agreement reached by former President Donald Trump and the Taliban, without the buy-in of the Afghan government.

Biden, in an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that aired Wednesday, said he was consulting with allies on the pace of the drawdown. Of meeting the May 1 deadline, he said it "could happen, but it is tough." If the deadline is extended, he added, it won't be by "a lot longer."

Biden, like his predecessor, has promised to end the nearly 20-year conflict and bring home more than 2,500 American troops in the country — down from about 13,000 troops a year ago. The Trump deal caught some American allies off guard, as the roughly 7,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan rely on the U.S. for logistics and security support.

Comment: Here's Biden special message to migrants:
President Joe Biden said in an exclusive interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos his message to migrants is "Don't come over."

Amid a surge of migrants and unaccompanied minors on the U.S. southern border, Stephanopoulos asked the president, "Do you have to say quite clearly, 'Don't come'?"

"Yes, I can say quite clearly: Don't come over," Biden said during the wide-ranging interview in Darby, Pennsylvania. "Don't leave your town or city or community," he added.


The number of unaccompanied teens and children who have been taken into U.S. custody along the U.S.-Mexico border has shot up in recent weeks, as the number of migrants attempting to cross into the country increases.

Republicans have said Biden's moves to rescind former President Donald Trump's harsh immigration policies have encouraged migrants to come to the United States, but Biden told ABC News that "we're sending back people" who cross the border.

Stephanopoulos asked Biden: "Was "a mistake not to anticipate this surge?"

"First of all, there was a surge in the last two years," the president said. "In '19 and '20, there was a surge, as well."

Stephanopoulos noted, "This one might be worse," and Biden acknowledged, "Well, it could be."

"The idea that Joe Biden said, 'Come' -- because I heard the other day that they're coming because they know I'm a nice guy," Biden said. "Here's the deal, they're not," he said.
See also: See also:

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Target

Vanity Fair accuses Trump of KILLING 400K people with Covid, Trump supporters want to see the magazine sued


RT
Tue, 16 Mar 2021 19:23 UTC
TrumpKushner
© Seattle Times
Former US President Donald Trump • Son-in-law Jared Kushner
Vanity Fair is seemingly holding Donald Trump responsible for murdering 400,000 Americans with Covid-19. Needless to say, there's no mention of Andrew Cuomo or Joe Biden. Some suggested a libel suit might teach the mag a lesson.

The story begins with Jared Kushner, son-in-law and adviser to the former president, who on Monday praised President Joe Biden's handling of tensions with Iran thus far, and encouraged the Democrat to build on Trump's "progress in the Middle East" - mainly his administration's negotiation of diplomatic relations between Israel and a number of her former adversaries.

Vanity Fair dispatched journalist Bess Levin to tear down Kushner, in an article published later on Monday. Levin had only minor issues with Kushner's actual work in the Middle East, his pet policy area, and, instead, bashed him for "bungling" the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic, making sure to call him an "overconfident moron" along the way, in an article containing more sass and snark than substance.

Scathing as it may have been, Levin's article was restrained compared to how Vanity Fair promoted it on Twitter. "Jared Kushner, who helped his father-in-law kill 400,000 people, has some free tips for Joe Biden," read a tweet from the magazine on Tuesday.

Comment: The Twitter gallery thus responded:


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Eye 1

UK's HoC passes 'draconian' policing bill that vastly 'dictatorial' powers against protest, threatens 10 years in prison for causing a 'serious annoyance' in public


RT
Tue, 16 Mar 2021 23:56 UTC
protest police london
© Reuters / Henry Nicholls
Protest against policing bill outside New Scotland Yard police headquarters, in London.
Legislation vastly expanding the UK government's powers to suppress peaceful protests for the sake of public order, promoted by Home Secretary Priti Patel, has been backed by the House of Commons after heated debate.

Lawmakers voted 359 to 263 to pass the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill on its second reading on Tuesday. After clearing the Commons, it's set for consideration in the House of Lords.


Comment: One can expect it will pass with little resistance there: UK's Lords daily allowance higher than unemployed and disabled get in one month


Spanning nearly 300 pages, the legislation proposes a wide range of stiff measures, including harsher punishments for serious offences and granting judges the power to slap those convicted of child murder with life in prison, among other things.

Comment: It should come as no surprise that the UK's ponerized establishment want powers to silence 'dissidents': Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Perfidious Albion: If Russia is a Rogue State, What is the UK?

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Newspaper

International bodies pressured to 'alter facts' about Syria, former US chief of staff reveals

Kirill Kurevlev
Sputnik
Tue, 16 Mar 2021 03:43 UTC
OPCW
© AFP 2021 / EVERT-JAN DANIELS
Earlier this month, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said Western countries were trying to strip the Syrian government of its rights in OPCW, as they were using the chemical weapons case against Syria as an instrument to punish what Western countries view as "undesirable authorities" in Damascus.

Lawrence Wilkerson, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff, argues that international bodies, like the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), have been occasionally pressured by some countries into "altering the facts" in regard to its investigation of the alleged chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma in 2018.

This statement follows the Courage Foundation's recent report, where it is stated that the OPCW had "sidestepped" worries about its contested inquiry into the alleged chemical attack, accusing the body of endorsing "unsubstantiated or possibly manipulated" findings.

Comment: See also:

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Bizarro Earth

Expect government crackdowns in a "global depression"

Bruce Wilds
Advancing Time
Sun, 07 Mar 2021 00:00 UTC
authoritarianism
For those professing a preference for one type of government over another, an ugly reality is they all cut from the same cloth. Whether we are talking about Democracy, Communism, Socialism, or Fascism the strong link they share is one of dominance and a desire to control. While seen as vastly different systems with distinct goals, each is rooted in the promise people should sacrifice as needed for "the greater good." The main flaw in a democracy is that it allows a simple majority to force their desires upon others. This is why our forefathers set checks and balances in the Constitution, however, even these do not guarantee freedom will remain.

Today, the burden of risk and the amount of "skin in the game" is not equally shared by all of society. Over time our financial system and institutions have been corrupted by crony capitalism and a political system that panders to the masses by exchanging favors for baubles. It could be argued that those in power don't have to take away our freedom by force if we are willing to surrender it or trade it for a few paid weeks off work. Nor do they have to be fair in how they go about this if they simply get a majority of the populace to go along with their plan.
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Eye 1

Fears of 'widespread disobedience' of lockdown if protests allowed - UK Foreign Sec


RT
Tue, 16 Mar 2021 09:21 UTC
Police London
© REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
FILE PHOTO: Police officers cross Westminster Bridge during a protest, following the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard, in London, Britain
The foreign secretary has warned that making exceptions to Covid-induced lockdown restrictions for protest movements could lead to further 'disobedience' and rule breaking, as critics question police at Sarah Everard vigil.

Speaking on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said there was an "inherently difficult challenge" in balancing people's desire to protest and share their grievances with the need to control the pandemic.

"The thorny issue is how we allow peaceful protest expressing our concern with something as terrible as the Sarah Everard case with also the public concern as we come through this vicious and deadly pandemic," Raab told Sky News.

Comment: Perhaps some of those in power are aware that, after nearly a year of harsh lockdown restrictions, people are liable to seek out some outlet to release the tension that has built up? History and psychology predict protests and riots after lockdowns

RT reports that Irish ministers are calling for people to refrain from drinking alcohol during St Patrick's Day celebrations.

One wonders just what is it with politicians' obsession with alcohol consumption at the moment? Is it alcohol itself or is it just ponerized politicians lust for power and control? Both?
Irish government ministers are warning would-be St Patrick's Day revelers that they should use water, not booze, as their tipple of choice when celebrating the national holiday. And if they really want to be patriotic in the pandemic, better still to stay home while toasting Ireland's patron saint.


It's likely that Irish politicians haven't and won't forfeit an alcoholic drink: Irish ministers resign after violating coronavirus rules at golf dinner - day after signing lockdown legislation


St. Patrick's Day
© Reuters /Clodagh Kilcoyne
FILE PHOTO: St. Patrick's Day celebrations in Dublin before Covid.
Speaking on Irish radio on the eve of the holiday, Minister of State Patrick O'Donovan urged people to "drown the shamrock with water" this year. Health officials fear alcohol consumption will lead to a breakdown in social distancing and more people gathering in larger groups, increasing the spread of the virus.


People also tend to be less anxious, talk more openly and for longer periods when they're having an alcoholic drink; one can imagine that certain pathological politicians would prefer to avoid this.


The minister also criticized the fact that sales of alcohol in shops and supermarkets - Ireland's pubs have been shut for most of the past year due to Covid-19 restrictions - had not been curtailed in the lead-up to the March 17 holiday, or during lockdown periods in general.


The solution to that would be to let pubs open, but, instead, the minister appears to be warming up to a South Africa style total ban on alcohol sales.


"We didn't deal with it as a country, and I'm very critical of the way in which we didn't do this," O'Donovan said. "It was a massive failure because we didn't deal with it before Christmas and I think we paid a very dear price for it."

On December 13, Ireland recorded the lowest virus rates in Europe. A month later, following a relaxation of lockdown rules over Christmas, it recorded the highest number of confirmed cases per million of population anywhere.

Ireland has recorded over 227,000 coronavirus cases over the past year and 4,534 Covid-related deaths. Last year's St. Patrick's Day celebrations were canceled as people were told to practice social distancing and not to gather in big groups, and Ireland entered its first strict lockdown two weeks later.

O'Donovan's sentiments were echoed by Ireland's higher education minister, Simon Harris, who served as health minister for the first months of the pandemic.

"What I would suggest tomorrow - the most patriotic thing people can actually do in terms of our national battle against Covid-19 - is stick to the public health advice," Harris said, adding the government wants to be able to issue a roadmap out of lockdown restrictions in the next two weeks.
For weeks now governments throughout the EU have been leading the public on with promises of a 'road map' out of lockdown, but now, lockdowns are yet again being reimposed in a suspiciously coordinated fashion, amidst the experimental mass vaccination campaigns, over claims of a 'third wave': Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal #26: Globalization vs Nationalism - The Hidden Causes of The Yellow Vest Protests in France

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Snakes in Suits

'Something Must Be Done' after shocking Sarah Everard killing will again lead to disproportionate reactions & make things WORSE

Neil Clark
RT
Tue, 16 Mar 2021 17:26 UTC
Everard
© REUTERS/Hannah McKay
FILE PHOTO: People gather at a memorial site in Clapham Common Bandstand, following the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard, in London, Britain March 13, 2021
Whenever something bad happens, we get calls for drastic action. But very often the 'Something Must Be Done' syndrome leads to knee-jerk policies being rushed through which make things even worse. The question is: who benefits?

A serving officer of the Metropolitan Police, Wayne Couzens, is charged with the kidnapping and murder of a 33-year-old woman. What's the state's response?

Well, according to today's newspaper reports, it's to have plain-clothes police patrolling bars and nightclubs to 'protect' women? What could possibly go wrong?

Comment: And, even amidst the scandal over the aggressive police tactics at the late-night vigil for Sarah Everard, the UK government has still managed to push through legislation that further curtails the right to gather and protest, and that extends and increases police powers: Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal #26: Globalization vs Nationalism - The Hidden Causes of The Yellow Vest Protests in France

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Binoculars

Will the US be responsible for a Russian-Chinese-North Korean missile alliance?

Andrew Korybko
Oneworld
Mon, 15 Mar 2021 00:00 UTC
Russian-Chinese-North Korean
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned last Friday that the US' reportedly planned deployment of intermediate-range missiles to Japan "will certainly entail our retaliation", which could realistically take the form of informally creating a Russian-Chinese-North Korean missile alliance in defensive response to that destabilizing scenario.

The US is so obsessed with attempting to "contain" China that it might ultimately be responsible for creating a Russian-Chinese-North Korean missile alliance if it doesn't reconsider its reportedly planned deployment of intermediate-range missiles to Japan. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned last Friday that such a move "will certainly entail our retaliation" because it "would have an extremely destabilizing effect from the standpoint of international and regional security."

The Neo-Realist theory of International Relations preaches that states will always put their security interests first, which in this case could realistically lead to Russia, China, and North Korea coordinating their defensive response to America's emerging missile-driven threat as is their right under international law. Such an outcome would arguably be against the US' regional security interests, including those of its Japanese and South Korean allies.

Comment: Every belligerent and potentially dangerous escalation and policy taken by the US towards Russia, China etc. - is always presented as "justified". And every appropriate response taken in response is labeled as "aggression" by Washington. One thing's for sure as the above article intimates: " it seems unlikely that the US will hold back". But then again neither will Russia, China, Iran or others to defend its interests and security.

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