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UK police on Skripal Saga: 'We haven't got a case yet. We have to go with evidence', not conspiracy theories about Russia

Vikram Dodd
The Guardian
Wed, 07 Aug 2019 16:40 UTC
Sergei and Yulia Skripal
© REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
(L) Sergei Skripal Global Look Press; (R) Yulia Skripal speaks to Reuters in London, Britain, May 23, 2018.
Russian president is assessed as 'likely' to have approved of nerve agent attack on Skripals

The UK has issued a European arrest warrant for two men charged over the Salisbury novichok poisonings. Photograph: Kirsty O'Connor/PA

Scotland Yard has examined the role of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in the novichok nerve agent attack in Salisbury, it has been revealed.

Putin is assessed by UK intelligence agencies as having been "likely" to have approved of the attack in March 2018 on Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer, and his daughter, both of whom were left seriously ill but survived.

Comment: RT comments:
Right from the start of the whole affair, the UK government and mainstream media proclaimed that it was the work of Russian military intelligence agency, the GRU. As the plot thickened, London claimed the two Russians, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, were sent to use a military-grade nerve agent called 'Novichok' on the Skripals.

Later, the UK issued a European arrest warrant (EAW) and an Interpol "red notice" for both men, but implementing them would be no easy task, Basu explained: "In order to get an EAW, you have to have a case capable of being charged in this country. We haven't got a case capable of being charged."

Although the lingering investigation produced no tangible results so far, it didn't stop the UK government from slapping Moscow with sweeping sanctions and downgrading political ties. Other Western nations, most notably the US, followed suit, embarking on a war of words, ordering diplomatic expulsions and economic restrictions.

However, it didn't help bring the world closer to solving the Salisbury puzzle. "It shows their need to find a culprit for this tragedy, but it also shows their weakness in trying to pinpoint who was actually responsible," commented Klisman Murati, political analyst and director of the London-based Pangaea Wire consultancy.
"They're stuck between a rock and a hard place in trying to explain themselves with only inferences and expert opinion guiding their finger towards Putin and the Russian government."
Calling the poisoning "an undercover operation," he told RT that it will be "very hard to connect the dots to really prove who did this in the first place."
Remember that, despite zero evidence that 'Russia did it', that was what the UK govt has been telling the whole world was the case since March 2018.

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Attention

Grayzone interviews Maduro: 'John Bolton tried to assassinate me'

Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton
The Grayzone
Tue, 06 Aug 2019 17:23 UTC
maduro i bolton
The Grayzone's Max Blumenthal sits down with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas. We discuss the plots to kill him, US sanctions on food distribution, corruption allegations, and the corporate media's industrial grade demonization campaign against him and his elected government.

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Map

Russian FM: US Embassy meddled in Moscow anti-govt unrest by mapping protest locations online


RT
Fri, 09 Aug 2019 17:16 UTC
moscow protests
© REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
People take part at a rally calling for opposition candidates to be registered for Moscow city elections
The American diplomatic mission in Russia is meddling in domestic affairs, Moscow claims. The US had posted the locations and routes of recent massive opposition rallies in the capital, which saw scuffles with police and arrests.

The US Embassy had published a map of downtown Moscow that flagged sites where anti-government rallies were about to happen on August 3. The map went public a day before the protests, which led the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to believe that the US mission had known beforehand where the unrest would take place.

On Friday, the ministry summoned Tim Richardson, the head of the US Embassy's political section, to voice its unease over the alleged US role in the demonstrations. Posting the chart on their website and Twitter account, the Embassy had tacitly encouraged residents to take to the streets, the foreign ministry statement reads.

This "was an attempt to interfere in the domestic affairs of our country," it insisted.


Aside from the US embassy's map, the publication in question listed the most frequently-visited parts of Moscow, warning US citizens to stay alert, be aware of their surroundings and carry a proper US passport with the Russian visa. "Given the possible size of the protest and the large police presence, US citizens should avoid the protest route," it advised.

Comment: Patrick Armstrong sums up the protests so far:
Whatever might have been the reason for the original protests, they've now gone full provocation. How to make a photogenic riot: 1) ask for a demo permit 2) refuse it 3) move to the main drag 4) invite cameras. (Is there any country that allows protests anywhere, anytime? Not USA, not Canada, not UK and certainly not France.) This impresses Western pundits - Putin's frightened! but not Muscovites, who support the authorities. Why? Because they've seen the movie before: the regime changers are running out of ideas.
It wasn't just the U.S. embassy:

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Dollar

Trump not yet ready to make trade deal with China


RT
Fri, 09 Aug 2019 16:54 UTC
Trump

US President Donald Trump
US president Donald Trump said that, while talks are progressing with Beijing, no deal has been reached for now, as the two countries attempt to resolve an ongoing trade dispute.

The president told reporters on Friday that he would like to see more movement in the trade talks, but that Washington was not ready to finalize an agreement.

"China wants to do something on trade, but I'm not ready to do anything yet," President Trump said, adding that the American taxpayer is "not paying for" the tariffs currently imposed on trade with the country.

President Trump also noted that for now, "the US is not going to do business with Huawei," the Chinese telecommunications firm, but said that could change in the event a deal is reached.

Comment: See also:

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Boat

'No thanks': Japan mulls own Gulf patrols, reluctant to join US-led anti-Iranian mission


Sputnik
Fri, 09 Aug 2019 16:13 UTC
stena bulk oil
© AP Photo / Damian Dovarganes
Tokyo is reportedly considering its own operations and has no plans to join a US-led coalition tasked with securing oil shipping routes amid tanker seizures in the region.

Japan is mulling over deployment of the country's Self-Defence Forces to the Gulf of Oman and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait in order to escort Japanese tankers in the region amid an escalation in tensions in the Middle East, Nikkei reported on Friday.

The reports also noted that Tokyo had no plans to join the US mission.

Comment: See also:

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Star of David

Killing of soldier in West Bank increases Israeli politicians' call for annexation

Yumna Patel
Mondoweiss
Fri, 09 Aug 2019 16:13 UTC
west bank soldier stabbed search
© Hazem Bader
Israeli forces carried out a house-to-house search in the nearby town of Beit Fajjar following the attack
Israeli politicians and leaders of the settler movement are calling for annexation of the occupied West Bank after the body of an Israeli soldier was found on the side of the road early Thursday morning in the southern West Bank.

The soldier was identified as 19-year-old Dvir Sorek, a settler from the Ramallah-area Ofra settlement, and was reportedly stabbed to death by Palestinian attackers affiliated with the Hamas movement, Israeli media reported.

Israeli forces have embarked on a manhunt for the alleged Palestinian attackers, raiding villages nearby where the soldier was found, and setting up roadblocks and flying checkpoints across the southern West Bank.

Comment: Tragic for the family of the soldier, but an auspicious windfall for Netanyahu and the neoliberals ruling Israel. The very thing to whip up the electorate.

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Eye 1

Monsanto's 'intelligence center' targeted journalists and activists in attempt to stifle criticism for cancer-causing products

Sam Levin
The Guardian
Thu, 08 Aug 2019 13:30 UTC
Carey Gillam
© Carey Gillam
Monsanto adopted a multi-pronged strategy to target Carey Gillam, a Reuters journalist who investigated the company’s weedkiller.
Internal documents show how the company worked to discredit critics and investigated singer Neil Young

Monsanto operated a "fusion center" to monitor and discredit journalists and activists, and targeted a reporter who wrote a critical book on the company, documents reveal. The agrochemical corporation also investigated the singer Neil Young and wrote an internal memo on his social media activity and music.

The records reviewed by the Guardian show Monsanto adopted a multi-pronged strategy to target Carey Gillam, a Reuters journalist who investigated the company's weedkiller and its links to cancer. Monsanto, now owned by the German pharmaceutical corporation Bayer, also monitored a not-for-profit food research organization through its "intelligence fusion center", a term that the FBI and other law enforcement agencies use for operations focused on surveillance and terrorism.

Comment: See also: And don't miss:



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Radar

Iran states it reserves the right to counter Israel's presence in US-led coalition in Persian Gulf


PressTV
Fri, 09 Aug 2019 09:50 UTC
IRGC officer

An IRGC officer speaks on a walkie talkie in the Persian Gulf in this undated photo.
Iran says it considers possible Israeli presence in a US-led coalition in the Persian Gulf as a clear threat to its national security, and reserves the right to counter it.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi on Friday referred to the "illegitimate existence" of the Israeli regime in the Middle East as a source of insecurity and instability.
"Within the framework of the country's deterrence and defensive policy, the Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right to counter this threat and defend its territory," he noted.

"The US regime and the illegitimate Zionist regime are responsible for all the consequences of this dangerous move," the spokesman added.
The remarks came after Israel said it will join what the US calls an effort to boost security of navigation in the Persian Gulf.

Comment: Iran is absolutely correct in taking this position. By assuming this posture, the Persian nation is seeking to nip any false flags or provocations initiated by Israel's military or intelligence services right in the bud. Because one thing's for sure, the war hawks in Israel and the US will not be satisfied until Iran's sovereignty is utterly brought to its knees in abject subjugation, if not destruction.

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Stock Up

Neoliberalism Has Met Its Match in China. Maybe It's Time to Adopt Their Economic Model?

Ellen Brown
TruthDig
Wed, 07 Aug 2019 14:36 UTC
china oil tanker VLCC

There are oil tankers, and then there are mega AI-controlled Chinese oil tankers...
When the Federal Reserve cut interest rates last week, commentators were asking why. According to official data, the economy was rebounding, unemployment was below 4% and gross domestic product growth was above 3%. If anything, by the Fed's own reasoning, it should have been raising rates.

Market pundits explained that we're in a trade war and a currency war. Other central banks were cutting their rates, and the Fed had to follow suit in order to prevent the dollar from becoming overvalued relative to other currencies. The theory is that a cheaper dollar will make American products more attractive in foreign markets, helping our manufacturing and labor bases.

Over the weekend, President Trump followed the rate cuts by threatening to impose, on Sept. 1, a new 10% tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese products. China responded by suspending imports of U.S. agricultural products by state-owned companies and letting the value of the yuan drop. On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 770 points, its worst day in 2019. The war was on.

Comment: Great idea, but it's kryptonite to Western banksters and their puppet govts, who would NEVER submit their schemes to genuine public oversight. It's precisely because such ideas can never be allowed to diffuse or transmit from east to west that China, Russia and others are demonized to the nth degree in all spheres. At all costs, Westerners absolutely must be convinced that 'here be dragons' rather than 'here be hope'. If that means taking down competing models, and destroying half the world in the process, so be it.

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Vader

Tough guy Barak accuses Netanyahu of 'restraint' on Gaza - and makes his leftwing partners uncomfortable

Jonathan Ofir
Mondoweiss
Wed, 07 Aug 2019 00:00 UTC
Ehud Barak

Ehud Barak, former Prime Minister, speaking at Herzliya conference, published June 22, 2017
Ehud Barak's new Israeli Democratic Party has authored talking points, including some about getting tougher than Netanyahu on Gaza. The points were distributed to the candidates of the new merger slate, Democratic Union, which includes the Meretz list as well as former Labor member Stav Shaffir.

This was too much for Meretz, which is supposed to mark the far left of the Zionist spectrum.

The clause that upset the Meretz members, as Haaretz reported, said:
Before anything, we must restore the deterrence equation in Gaza. Netanyahu chooses restraint and pays protection to Hamas, and thus forfeits the security of residents of the border region.
The document also gave preeminence to generals:
Gaza creates a different challenge for the military echelons and the political echelons. The military echelons, the chief of general staff, the head of Military Intelligence and the head of Southern Command are the ones who will recommend to the government when and how to restore the deterrence against Hamas.

Comment: As this article demonstrates, there is little to no effort among Israel's main political body at being constructive towards the Palestinians. Rather, there seems to be a contest among many as to who can sound and act the most pathological.

More on the truly despicable Ehud Barak:

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