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Bolton demands FCO speed up plans for moving UK embassy to Jerusalem - why the hurry?

Craig Murray
craigmurray.org.uk
Sun, 18 Aug 2019 00:00 UTC
Brit embassy Tel Aviv
© pelleg-arch.com
British Embassy, Tel Aviv, Israel
Following US National Security Adviser John Bolton's talks with Boris Johnson and his ministers in London last week, FCO [Foreign Commonwealth Office] officials have been asked to speed up contingency planning for the UK to move its Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, with an eye to an "early announcement" post Brexit.

The UK is currently bound by an EU common foreign policy position not to follow the United States in moving its Embassy to Jerusalem. As things stand, that prohibition will fall on 1 November. FCO officials had previously been asked to produce a contingency plan, but this involved the construction of a £14 million new Embassy and a four year timescale. They have now been asked to go back and look at a quick fix involving moving the Ambassador and immediate staff to Jerusalem and renaming the Consulate already there as the Embassy. This could be speedily announced, and then implemented in about a year.

Johnson heads the most radically pro-Israel cabinet in UK history and the symbolic gesture of rejection of Palestinian rights is naturally appealing to his major ministers Patel, Javid and Raab. They also see three other political benefits. Firstly, they anticipate that Labour opposition to the move can be used to yet again raise accusations of "anti-semitism" against Jeremy Corbyn. Secondly, it provides good "red meat" to Brexiteer support in marking a clear and, they believe, popular break from EU foreign policy, at no economic cost. Thirdly, it seals the special link between the Trump and Johnson administrations and sets the UK apart from other NATO allies.
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Handcuffs

Epstein's lawyer claims his death in 'American gulag' to fuel conspiracies for years


RT
Tue, 20 Aug 2019 04:09 UTC
Metropolitan Correctional Center/Epstein
© Reuters/Chip East; Jeffrey Epstein, Reuters/New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services
The Metropolitan Correctional Center
The death of millionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein behind bars should trigger "system-wide self-reflection" on how prisoners are treated, Epstein's lawyer tells RT - and it will trigger conspiracy theories for years to come.

'Institutionally ill-equipped American gulag'

Metropolitan Correctional Center "is sort of like an American gulag for people who have not been convicted of anything," Epstein lawyer Marc Fernich tells RT. Insisting the wealthy pedophile was not a "security risk," Fernich laments that the prosecution painted him as an "exceptional flight risk and danger" - equipped as he was with at least one phony passport, a private jet, and a considerable fortune - and left him to languish in "uncivilized conditions" which took their toll on his mind and body.

MCC is "institutionally ill-equipped" to deal with someone like Epstein who wouldn't last long in general population but who isn't a hardened criminal, Fernich explains. "This is one of the toughest pre-trial detention facilities in the country. And the conditions are inhumane." Epstein, he insists, was "presumed innocent," despite his 2008 conviction for soliciting underage prostitutes - part of a slap-on-the-wrist plea deal the fallout from which culminated in this year's sex trafficking charges - and should not have been confined in such "barbaric" conditions.


Comment: See also:

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Pirates

Lull before another storm? China claims 'terrorist organizations' are stirring in Syria


Sputnik
Tue, 20 Aug 2019 15:47 UTC
IS fighters Syria
© AP
IS fighters clash with Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces in Manbij, Aleppo Province, Syria.
Jihadist rebels have withdrawn from a pocket of land near Idlib in northern Syria following an assault by President Bashar al-Assad's forces. The Idlib region is the last part of Syria to be holding out against the Damascus government.

China has warned of "terrorist organisations" including remnants of Daesh rising again in Syria if the international community ignores the "early warning" signs.

Xie Xiaoyan, Beijing's envoy in Syria, said: "There is now a danger of terrorist organisations like ISIS (Daesh) being revived. The international community should pay attention."

He was meeting in Geneva with the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen.

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Bad Guys

Hindsight: Top Iranian official says Iran should never have signed Obama-era nuclear deal

Ali Arouzi
NBC News
Mon, 19 Aug 2019 18:06 UTC
Ali Shamkhani Iran
© Iran Front Page News
Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani
A top Iranian official and close adviser to Iran's supreme leader says his country should never have signed the international nuclear deal that has now been renounced by President Donald Trump.

In an interview with Lester Holt of NBC News, the official, Ali Shamkhani, who rarely speaks to the Western press, said that there were people in Iran who felt that signing the 2015 nuclear pact, known as the JCPOA, was a mistake.

Asked by Holt if he was one of those people, Shamkhani said, "Yes. ... I'm just following the viewpoints of my nation, the people of Iran."

Shamkhani is the military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and since 2013, has also been the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, making him Iran's top national security official. A former anti-Shah militant and Revolutionary Guard who once commanded Iran's naval forces, he previously served as minister of defense and mounted an unsuccessful campaign for Iran's presidency in 2001.

Comment: But as Trump has grudgingly admitted, Iran is a proud, not to mention resourceful nation. They have learned to cope with US bullying. Patience is a strong suit for this ancient country. They can wait for the US empire to engineer its own downfall.



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Light Sabers

Ex-wife of Pakistani PM makes explosive claim: 'Khan sold off Kashmir to India. He knew beforehand Modi would strike Article 370'


GND Online
Tue, 20 Aug 2019 17:45 UTC
Reham Khan
© Reham Khan/Youtuve
Reham Khan
Reham Khan, the former ex-wife of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, says there was a 'deal' on Kashmir.

In a video message posted on her YouTube channel 'Reham Khan Official', she talks about various issues including Kashmir.

"I would say that Kashmir has been sold off. We were taught from the beginning that 'Kashmir Banega Pakistan'," she said in the interview.


Comment: That's Hindi for "Kashmir will become Pakistan."


Comment: The rumor in Pakistan is that this woman works for MI6. Khan obviously didn't trust us, divorcing after a marriage that lasted just several months.

She's clearly trying to turn Pakistanis against Khan, accusing him of selling out Kashmir to India.

But what else can he do (for now) but play the nationalist card and beg for international sympathy and cash?

He knew what was coming, and even did what he hates doing: he went to DC to beg Trump for help prior to Modi's announcement. He has to at least look like he's fighting...

We suspect, however, that Reham may essentially be correct: Khan knows there's nothing that can stop Kashmir becoming India proper.

The only question is; what will become of Pakistan? Is Kahn only bluffing here? Khan warns India: Pakistan will respond to any aggression in Kashmir

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Caesar

Russian diplomacy racks up success after success in the Middle East

Thierry Meyssan
Voltaire.net
Tue, 20 Aug 2019 16:58 UTC
Turkey Iran Russia

For five years, Russia has been multiplying its approaches in order to re-establish international Law in the Middle East. It has relied in particular on Iran and Turkey, whose manner of thinking it does not really share. The first results of this patient diplomatic exercise are redefining the lines of division existing at the heart of several conflicts.
New balances of power and a new equilibrium are being set up discreetly in the Nile valley, in the Levant and the Arab peninsula. On the contrary, however, the situation is blocked in the Persian Gulf. This considerable and coordinated change is affecting different conflicts which in appearance have no connection with one another. It is the fruit of patient and discreet Russian diplomacy [1] and, in some cases, the relative good will of the USA.

Unlike the United States, Russia is not seeking to impose its own vision on the world. It begins on the contrary with the culture of its interlocutors, which it modifies by small touches at its contact.
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Bad Guys

US banned-missile test was apparently in works long before leaving INF


RT
Tue, 20 Aug 2019 16:50 UTC
romania us aegis
© AFP / DANIEL MIHAILESCU
The inauguration ceremony of the US Aegis Ashore site in Romania in May 2016.
It took the US just 17 days after it was no longer officially bound by the INF Treaty to conduct a missile test that would have breached its rules. And it probably was breaching the treaty, given how long preparation takes.

On Sunday, the Pentagon fired a Tomahawk cruise missile from a truck-mounted Mark 41 Vertical Launching System to a distance of over 500km. The test was hardly unexpected. Both the missile and the launcher are time-tested, and their capabilities are publicly known. The only novelty was that the Mk41 was placed on a ground vehicle as opposed to a warship.


If anything, the test was a demonstration of intent and attitude. It would have been legally impossible just a month ago, when the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty still forbade not only deploying but even developing weapon systems like the ground-based Tomahawk.

The INF kicked the bucket this year after years of bickering between the US and Russia over who was the worst at sticking to the spirit of the deal. Washington said the Russians had secretly developed a missile that was in violation. There was even secret intelligence to support the accusations - or at least to convince NATO allies not to question the US' justification for withdrawal.

Comment: So the U.S. develops and plans to test a missile banned under the treaty, leaves the treaty, conducts the test, and meanwhile blames Russia. Sounds legit.
The Kremlin said the U.S. missile test showed that Washington had long been preparing to exit the nuclear pact.

"It is simply not possible to prepare for such tests in a few weeks or a few months. This ...shows that it was not Russia, but the United States with its actions that brought the breakdown of the INF," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

China also expressed concern.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the test showed the United States was stoking a new arms race and confrontation, which would have a serious negative impact on regional and global security.

"We advise the U.S. side to abandon outdated notions of Cold War thinking and zero-sum games, and exercise restraint in developing arms," Geng told a daily news briefing.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov also responded:
The Pentagon's recent cruise missile test is "regretful" as it shows that "the US has clearly embarked on a path of inciting military tensions," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said.
...
Ryabkov said that the new test by the US proves that it was actually the Pentagon that has been secretly violating the INF Treaty. "There can't be more striking and obvious proof that the US has been developing such systems for a long time," he told reporters, adding that Moscow will not jump the gun in response.

"We have been assuming this turn of events. We will not allow ourselves to be dragged into an expensive arms race. We don't fall for provocations."

The diplomat reiterated that if Russia ever obtains missiles that were previously banned under the INF Treaty, it will not deploy them unless the US does so first.


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Chess

'Color revolution' comes home? Democrats target Trump with regime-change tactics

Nebojsa Malic
RT
Tue, 20 Aug 2019 16:58 UTC
hong kong protests
© Global Look Press via ZUMA Press / Erik Mcgregor
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar calling on Americans to "take back our democracy" by emulating Hong Kong protests is just the latest episode in Democrats' slide towards "color revolution" tactics to get power they lost at the ballot box.

"Could we take back our democracy if 1.7 million Americans marched for it?" asked Omar (D-Minnesota) on Sunday, retweeting a video allegedly showing that many Hong Kongers on the march.

The protests shaking the Chinese semi-autonomous territory began at the end of March, over a proposed extradition bill, but have continued long after it was withdrawn, with demonstrators carrying US and UK flags while demanding democracy, freedom and human rights. This has led the Chinese authorities and much of the public to believe the protests amount to Western-backed "color revolution."

To Omar, however, the protesting Hong Kongers are just a prop: her actual target is US President Donald Trump. Nor is this the first time a Democrat has called for radical tactics to oust Trump. The self-styled "Resistance" has been at it from the moment he won the 2016 presidential election.
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Bullseye

Lavrov responds to Turkey's whining, says they were warned HTS would be crushed in Idlib


Sputnik
Tue, 20 Aug 2019 16:27 UTC
idlib
© AFP 2019 / Omar Haj Kadour
The Turkish Defence Ministry said a day earlier that three civilians had been killed and 12 more had been injured in an attack on its convoy moving toward an observatory point in Idlib Province.

Attacks by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham militants in Idlib will be crushed, Turkey has been notified about that, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"Jointly with our Turkish colleagues, in order to stop regular violations by these terrorists of the cessation of hostilities regime, although it does not extend to them, we have made it clear that if they carry out attacks from this zone, they will be severely suppressed. Throughout this year, these provocations have not stopped", Lavrov said at a press conference, held after his talks with Ghanaian counterpart, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS or the "Organisation for the Liberation of the Levant") is an alliance of militant groups active in Syria. The group, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra is a part of this broader alliance.

He added that in all cases, Turkish colleagues were warned that "we would respond, and this practice can't stop, because the agreement on Idlib does not provide for the extension of the ceasefire regime to terrorists".

"The developing situation has emerged due to the fact that extremists do not cease their attempts to hit from there [Idlib's areas controlled by militants and the opposition] targets located in other territories of the Syrian Arab Republic. Our military certainly maintains constant contact. These days, they are discussing the current situation", Lavrov stated.

Comment: The terrorist groups have fled Khan Sheikhun, as well as the towns and villages to the south, which will soon be encircled by the Syrian Army. See also: And the latest map:
khan sheikhun

Flags are areas from which HTS has withdrawn


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Arrow Up

Good advice: Iran warns North Korea not to trust US

Paul Antonopoulos
Fort Russ News
Tue, 20 Aug 2019 16:04 UTC
zarif
Iran has advised its allies in Pyongyang not to trust the US and revealed that the Islamic Republic's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has plans to visit Pyongyang.

"The US has proved unreliable for dialogue, both at the exit of the JCPOA [Global Joint Action Plan] and in negotiations with North Korea," said Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abas Araqchi on Monday, during a meeting with a North Korean parliamentary delegation.

The main US instrument against independent countries such as Iran and North Korea is economic sanctions, the deputy minister said, adding that the restrictions were unable to break the two states' resolve in any way.

In addition, Araqchi also announced that Tehran would be available to develop political ties between the two countries and willing to prepare Zarif's visit to Pyongyang.

This proclamation was made after Tehran completed the creation of the Bavar-373 air defense system. Iranian authorities compare the new system with the Russian S-300, reports the IRNA news agency, with reference to the Iranian Ministry of Defense.

According to the military entity, the new system will be introduced next week.

Comment: This was a huge reason against Trump's decision to pull out of the nuclear deal. It proved to the world that the U.S. is not "agreement-capable", as the Russians put it. It's hard to make deals in the future if everyone knows your word is worthless.

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