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Austrian Chancellor Kurz calls for new EU treaty, chides bloc members who 'gladly take our money'

Sebastian Kurz
© Reuters/Simon Dawson
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz scolded members of the EU, who are too eager to "cash in" on the bloc's funds, while having large debts. To fix the union, it needs a new treaty altogether, Kurz believes.

The bold remarks were made by Austria's chancellor right ahead of the EU leaders summit in Romania, where he is expected to table his proposals. In order to "reserve" the EU, the bloc needs a new fundamental agreement instead of the Lisbon Treaty, Kurz believes.

"Many, above all the younger heads of government, know that we must change the European Union if we want to preserve it," Kurz told Austrian broadcaster ORF on Thursday. "Various heads of government among the liberals but also within the [conservative] European People's Party have a similar view to me."

Kurz did not elaborate on who these like-minded politicians are exactly, while leaders of the EU countries seem to be quite silent about the prospects of any amendments to the bloc's treaty. The changes, proposed by Austria's chancellor include introduction of penalties for countries that have been taking in way too many migrants and have large - and growing - debts, while leeching from the bloc.

"We are talking here about countries that gladly take our money and are fully prepared to cash in," Kurz stated.

Question

Just asking...what will it take to get Bolton fired?

TrumpBolton
© Gints Ivuskans/shutterstock
Donald Trump and his National Security Advisor John Bolton during NATO Summit 2018.
Jason Rezaian engages in a bit of wishful thinking of his own:
Is John Bolton about to get the Iran war he's always wanted, or is he on the verge of losing his job?

Over the past several days, President Trump's national security adviser has made comments and issued statements about Iran and Venezuela that are usually reserved for the run-up to military campaigns.

Yet Bolton's boss doesn't seem to be playing along.
There is an understandable desire to see Bolton and Trump sharply at odds over foreign policy, but I'm not sure why anyone thinks it is happening. In the L.A. Times article I cited earlier, there is a quote from former ambassador Christopher Hill where he says something similar:
"The president is so dead set against military engagement anywhere, and Bolton is so dead set on military engagement, it has left the administration speaking without one voice and overall being sort of feckless."
If Trump and Bolton disagreed with each other this much, it is difficult to explain why Bolton is still allowed to have free rein in making the administration's foreign policy.

Comment: See also: Could we be watching John Bolton's last stand?


Mr. Potato

Dems vote to hold AG in contempt as Trump asserts executive privilege over full Mueller report

nadler hearing Barr
© Chip Somodevilla/Getty
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler presides over a hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill, May 08, 2019, in Washington.
The House Judiciary Committee, led by Chairman Jerry Nadler, voted along party lines Wednesday to advance a resolution to hold Attorney General Bill Barr in contempt of Congress for not complying with a subpoena for special counsel Robert Mueller's unredacted report, after President Donald Trump asserted executive privilege over Mueller's findings.

The moves marked an escalation in tensions between Democrats and the Trump administration, and set up a likely battle in the courts as Democrats work to review Mueller's conclusions.

"There can be no higher stakes than this attempt to take all power away from Congress and away from the American people. We are in a constitutional crisis," Nadler said following the committee action.

The resolution, passed after more than six hours of sharp debate, could receive a vote on the House floor in the coming weeks.

Comment: And in a struggle to stay relevant, Schiffy decides to get in on the action:
Attorney General William Barr is facing a second House subpoena, this one from intelligence committee chair Adam Schiff, as Democrats double down on their quest for the unredacted Mueller report and the evidence behind it.

Barr's Justice Department "has repeatedly failed to respond, refused to schedule any testimony, and provided no documents responsive to our legitimate and duly authorized oversight activities," Schiff said in a statement on Wednesday.

Schiff's subpoena follows on the heels of the House Judiciary Committee's decision to hold Barr in contempt for refusing to provide an unredacted copy of the special counsel's report in response to committee chair Jerrold Nadler's own subpoena, issued last month after the release of the (redacted) Mueller report failed to satisfy impeachment-hungry Democrats. The full House will vote on whether to refer Barr's contempt charge to the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, who would decide on prosecution.

Barr has until May 15 to produce documents related to the Mueller probe for the Intel Committee. President Donald Trump invoked executive privilege over the unredacted report and the materials behind it on Wednesday morning, calling Nadler's subpoena a "blatant abuse of power," prompting the charges against Barr.

The Justice Department did offer select lawmakers the option to look at a less-redacted version of the report in a secure location, but only Republicans took the offer. Nadler, meanwhile, denounced the president's stonewalling as an "assertion of tyrannical power" and a "constitutional crisis."

Last week, Barr opened an investigation into allegations the FBI and Justice Department spied on Trump's campaign in 2016, hinting in his announcement that he was targeting senior figures in both agencies and planned to concentrate on when intelligence collection had begun and how many spies the FBI had inside the campaign. The probe is in addition to Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz's own investigation into the legality of the FISA warrant used to surveil Trump aide Carter Page, which is expected to conclude next month.

With no proof of collusion or obstruction to be found in the 90 percent of the Mueller report currently available for the public to read, House Democrats are hoping the last 10 percent holds the "roadmap to obstruction" that will pry Trump out of the White House once and for all. Barr, who redacted the document in cooperation with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, says the redactions were necessary to avoid interfering with ongoing criminal cases or revealing investigative techniques, as well as to protect grand jury testimony and the privacy of tangentially-related individuals.



Bullseye

Russian UN envoy: ICC won't revive reputation after dropping US war crimes probe

ICC building
© AFP 2019 / Martijn Beekman
ICC building
Moscow doubts that the ICC will be able to restore its reputation in light of the court's recent decision to drop a probe into allegations of US war crimes in Afghanistan, Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Gennady Kuzmin said during a UN Security Council meeting on Libya.

On 12 April, the International Criminal Court (ICC) dropped a probe into possible US war crimes in Afghanistan just weeks after Trump administration officials threatened to sanction and prosecute ICC judges. The ICC chamber argued that because Washington is unlikely to cooperate, a probe would not serve the "interests of justice", despite the evidence that war crimes had likely been committed.

"For those who still naively believe in the shining image of the ICC as a champion of justice, I would recommend that you look at the decision of the judges from the 12th of April this year [...] My fear that after such an elegant verdict describing the 'interests of justice' as the ICC understands it, it will never be able to restore its reputation. With this judicial policy the investigation in respect of Libya will hardly be able to achieve any credible results", Kuzmin said on Wednesday.

Vader

Fmr UN rapporteur: US to increase pressure on Venezuela, may try to kill Maduro

maduro
© AP Photo / Miraflores Press Office / Jhonn Zerp
The US-backed coup attempt in Venezuela is not going well, with the Bolivarian Republic's army and senior officials still standing up for legitimately elected President Nicolas Maduro. Speaking to Sputnik, Alfred de Zayas, an American lawyer, and Professor Julia Buxton shared their views on Washington's failed efforts to oust Maduro.

According to Alfred de Zayas, an American lawyer, writer, historian, and former UN rapporteur to Venezuela, Washington's failure to replace Maduro with Juan Guaido, the self-proclaimed interim president, may prompt the US to try to kill the legitimate head of Venezuela.

"I know from reliable sources that for several months now the US has been offering vast amounts of money and promising other perks to any military who will defect", he told Sputnik. "Undoubtedly they have financed each and every coup attempt, including failed attempts to have Maduro assassinated. The US will continue on this path, and maybe they will succeed in having Maduro murdered".

Chess

New Zealand breaks from Western Empire, becomes first Five Eyes country to join China's Belt and Road project

jacinda arden and xi
© RAO AIMIN/XINHUA/ALAMY
Jacinda Ardern in Beijing with President Xi last month
New Zealand has broken away from its western intelligence allies with an offer to support China's contentious global infrastructure and investment project.

The Belt and Road initiative involves Chinese state banks offering funds to develop transport schemes around the world to facilitate trade.

Supporters present it as a development initiative but critics say it is primarily to advance Beijing's strategic interests, and even a form of "debt colonialisation". Beijing has recently tried to recast the programme, promising to improve standards and transparency.

Jacinda Ardern, the New Zealand prime minister, said she believed the scheme had "really evolved" and her government was prepared to offer Beijing advice on expanding it. Her trade minister, David Parker, said that New Zealand believed that it could "find a win-win situation with China".

Snakes in Suits

Comey splits hairs on Trump campaign op - 'We don't spy ... we INVESTIGATE'

comey
© Reuters / Jonathan Ernst
It looked like a spy, it wiretapped like a spy, and set up sting operations like a spy - but James Comey says the FBI's counterintelligence operation against Donald Trump's presidential campaign was "investigating."

In an appearance on 'CBS This Morning' on Wednesday, America's former top spy, sorry, investigator, took aim at Attorney General William Barr for his claim that FBI "spying did occur"on the Trump campaign in 2016.

"Yeah, I have no idea what he's talking about. The FBI doesn't spy, the FBI investigates," Comey told CBS. "We investigated a very serious allegation, that Americans might be hooked up with the Russian effort to attack our democracy."

Che Guevara

US cuts off power to Venezuelan Embassy with activists besieged inside - cheering Guaido crowd attacks supporters, steals food

activists venezuela embassy Washington
© Reuters/Shannon Stapleton
An activist in opposition of the U.S. involvement in Venezuela occupying the Venezuelan Embassy, sits in a window sill in Washington
The Venezuelan Embassy in Washington DC was plunged into darkness after the US authorities shut down power in the building. The anti-coup activists hunkered down inside say they are not leaving despite the blackout.

After weeks of tense standoff between the 'Embassy Civilian Protection Collective' and supporters of US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido outside the Venezuelan diplomatic compound, the US authorities attempted to drive the temporary occupants out by depriving them of electricity.

In a statement on Twitter posted by one of the group's members, independent journalist Alex Rubinstein, an activist says that the loss of electric power won't coerce them into abandoning their mission - to protect the embassy from a takeover by Juan Guaido appointees.

Comment: More from Sputnik:
The activists drew a parallel between US "attacks" on Venezuela's electric grid, and this attack on the power supply at the embassy of Venezuela.

"We are not leaving, we are going to resist," the statement says.

According to the witnesses, lights in the Venezuelan Embassy are completely out.


Earlier in the day, the Collective released a series of videos showing strange activity by police and utility workers around manholes nearby. ​

Earlier the Collective reported that US Veterans for Peace Director, Jerry Condon was arrested for attempting to give food to embassy protectors


​For last several weeks, with the permission of the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry, the Embassy Protection Collective activist group has been living in the embassy to prevent Guaido representatives from taking it over. The activists have been holding various events like lectures and speeches inside.

Members of the Embassy Protection Collective stressed that they will not leave the Embassy grounds until the United States works out an agreement with the Venezuelan government.



Vader

Saying it won't make it so: Pompeo echoes falsehood about Venezuela's Guaido as "duly elected leader"

pompeo
© Reuters / Pool
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo repeated the false claim that US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido is the 'duly elected leader' of Venezuela. Apparently he reads CNN.

Speaking in London after his meeting with UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Pompeo told reporters that Venezuelans had chosen Guaido to lead them.

"The Venezuelan people have spoken through through constitutional mechanism, they have put Juan Guaido as their interim president, and he is the duly elected leader there," Pompeo said, adding that "Maduro is on borrowed time."

Comment: Pompeo and his neocon partner-in-crime Bolton are salivating at the thought of a war, any war:


Cardboard Box

We don't need the federal government to save kids from video game 'loot boxes'

© Blizzard
"Overwatch" loot box
Today's round of ill-advised, for-the-children government meddling comes from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who is fed up with video game makers selling stuff to kids for, uh, real money.

Hawley announced that he's going to introduce "The Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act," which would ban the sale of so-called "loot boxes" and other microtransactions marketed toward children.

For non-gamers, microtransactions are options to buy things within a video game itself, using real money. If you download a "free" iPhone game, for instance, the game publisher may encourage you to buy stuff inside the application in order to improve the game experience. These game upgrades are charged to a credit card or checking account associated with wherever the game was purchased (such as the Apple's App Store).