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Mon, 08 Nov 2021
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Pirates

US promotes 'Arab alliance' against 'Iranian aggression'

Trump&King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
© The Atlantic
US President Donald Trump and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Around the time Trump announced the United States's withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear non proliferation agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Bolton was pushing this idea of a kind of 'Arab NATO' type of alliance, to take America's place in the Middle East. Trump has been touting the idea of withdrawing American troops from the region, but that wouldn't suit Washington's agenda over there, and could result in the return of some degree of stability, and that just can't be allowed.

So, enter the Bolton factor. The idea is to arrange everyone in the Middle East who has a beef against Tehran, or Shiites in general, into a single alliance in order to continue America's work in the area. It's not as though they'd be on their own, as America has already been funding, training, and arming terrorists in the region, so there's no reason to fear that these nations or this alliance would have to field the 'Iran threat' all by themselves; Washington would be liberal with the money, the weapons, and the military training and advice, and maybe perhaps a little bit of strategic positioning here or there. This would advance a lot of agendas at the same time, and Israel would welcome the idea too, since they, too, have some issues with Iran.

Comment: Be careful what you create...


Better Earth

New World Order: Erdogan wants BRICS to let Turkey in

BRICS T
© Facebook/KJN
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on leaders of BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to allow Turkey's accession to the group.

"We are in the G20 with five of those countries. I wish they would take the necessary steps to let us in and we could take our place in BRICS," the Turkish president told the Hurriyet Daily News on the sidelines of the group's forum in the South African city of Johannesburg. "If you take us in the name of the platform would become BRICST."

According to Erdogan, the suggestion was warmly welcomed by the member states, especially by China. He reportedly said that the BRICS members had been considering adding other nations in the group.

"Especially China says that it stands in favor of enlargement. I have seen that they are considering involving other countries in this platform. They are not opposed to it," Erdogan said, as quoted by the media.

Comment: Turkey is a fence rider - choosing whatever side looks greener at the moment.


Jet1

Lavrov: Russia is aware of US-Western military plans

F-35 Joint Strike Fighters
© Darin Russell/Reuters
F-35 Joint Strike Fighters
Moscow knows what military actions Washington and its Western allies might be plotting against it, but the country is well-protected, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"Our awareness of what plans the US and other Western countries' militaries are nursing in relation to the Russian Federation is guaranteed," Lavrov told the participants of the Russian youth educational forum "Territory of Meanings", held some 200km from Moscow in Vladimir Region.

The US has been actively deploying its air-defense systems around the globe, including on Russia's doorstep, in the Baltic states, and Japan. But the top diplomat said the country shouldn't worry "no matter what happens in the world," as its security is ensured. He was citing Russian President Vladimir Putin and new developments in the Russian Army.

Briefcase

Republican Representative seeks answers on FBI's ties to Southern Poverty Law Center

Matt Gaetz
© Orlando Weekly
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz
A Republican lawmaker is demanding some answers from the FBI after he says the bureau admitted to working with the controversial Southern Poverty Law Center.

In a letter obtained by Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight," Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., says the FBI has "admitted to working with the SPLC," in a development he describes as "surprising and worrisome." "This is surprising and worrisome, as the SPLC is known to use its platform in order to denigrate and disparage certain groups by labeling them 'hate groups,'" he said.

He said that groups such as the Christian Family Research Council (FRC) have been labeled a hate group, while members of "Antifa" -- a broad collaboration of left-leaning, anti-fascist activists -- have not been given such a label. He added that Floyd Corkins, who shot an FRC employee, later said he targeted the group as the SPLC had labeled it an antigay group.

Comment: See also:


Jet5

Two Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza Strip

IDF Gaza Strip
© Anadolu Agency
IDF in Gaza Strip
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has yet to comment on reports it targeted a group of Palestinians east of Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Health Ministry has reported that two Palestinian men were killed overnight by an Israeli airstrike, which took place east of Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip. While the report suggests that the strike targeted a group of men gathered near a cemetery, the IDF has yet to comment.


Star of David

Jerusalem's Aqsa Compound invaded by Israeli police attacking Muslim worshipers

Al Aqsa
© AFP
Water canons fired at worshipers by Israeli police entering Al Aqsa mosque compound.
Israeli incitement: Dozens of Palestinians were injured Friday when Israeli forces entered the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and began attacking worshipers.

"At least 50 additional policemen have entered the mosque compound within the last hour," one eyewitness told Anadolu Agency. "Meanwhile," he added, "Israeli forces have sealed the gates of Al-Aqsa and prevented anyone from entering the mosque compound."

A Palestinian official who works in the area said that "dozens" of Palestinians had been injured after Israeli forces entered the compound and began attacking worshipers.

Russian Flag

Medvedev announces Crimea's full integration into Russian Federation, improvements to infrastructure

Russian PM Medvedev attends
© Sputnik
Russian PM Medvedev attends a meeting with President Putin in Sochi
The Crimean Republic has completed integration with Russia's economy, infrastructure and judiciary, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced while speaking to members of the Sevastopol city government.

"We faced an unprecedented task, both in its difficulty and in its scale - we had to integrate the peninsula in the Russian legal, infrastructure and economic fields. Today we can say that the hardest stage is over and we have started the more stable and planned work regime," RIA Novosti quoted Medvedev as saying on Monday.

Pirates

White Helmets: Is the British gov't saving Syrian 'heroes' - or just importing more fanatics?

fanatic Abu Qatada

In the end it took 11 years of legal wrangling to get fanatic Abu Qatada, with his very nasty opinions, out of the country
You may recall the fuss Theresa May made about getting rid of the Islamist preacher Abu Qatada.

In the end it took 11 years of legal wrangling to get this fanatic, with his very nasty opinions, out of the country.

Without her personal intervention at the end, he would probably still be here.

Why, then, is the British Government seriously considering welcoming into this country an unknown number of men who have been - I put this at its mildest - closely associated for several years with an armed faction linked to Al Qaeda, or with others perhaps even worse?

Was all the fuss about Abu Qatada just a public relations front? Or does the right hand just not know what the left hand is doing?

Here's what is going on. Last week the new Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, put his name to a very odd statement about a very odd event.

I think the nicest thing to say here is that Mr Hunt is a bit inexperienced. The statement said that Britain would be 'protecting' a group of 'White Helmets', supposedly civil defence workers from Syria. That's what they call themselves, anyway.

The 400 people involved (a quarter of them said to be 'White Helmets') had been caught by the sudden collapse of Islamist jihadi rebel forces in a southern corner of Syria next to the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.

Comment: Good questions that clearly point to the fact that the White Helmets are Western intelligence and propaganda assets that have been saved to lie and shill for Empire another day.

See also:


TV

Giuliani on FOX News: Everything released so far shows Trump is 'absolutely innocent'

Rudy Giuliani Michael Cohen

Rudy Giuliani and Michael Cohen
President Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani on Monday said the tapes released by Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen show Trump is "absolutely innocent."


"Everything that's been released so far shows the president to be absolutely innocent," Giuliani said on Fox's Fox and Friends.

"He didn't do anything wrong," he continued. "The last two tapes are evidence in his favor."

Comment: More on the Cohen tapes:
Rudy Giuliani dropped a bombshell on Saturday evening, saying some experts believe that someone may have "messed with" the secret audio recordings from Michael Cohen, who previously served as President Donald Trump's personal lawyer.

During an interview on Fox News Saturday, Giuliani, the president's lead attorney, said experts believe the Cohen tape obtained by CNN last week could have been doctored. He also said that he believes Cohen has 183 total secret recordings, and that the president "only speaks" on one of the tapes.

Giuliani said experts and "retired FBI agents" who have listened to the recordings believe someone could have "played" with the contents, and that the recording that was aired on CNN's Chris Cuomo's show last week is a "tape of a tape."
"Now that we've seen the full scope of Cohen and Lanny Davis' deception, we don't trust anything. Since we don't have the original, we asked for it. Our expert analysis is done until we get the raw copy, which we are seeking."
Giuliani also declared that the president's legal team is working on getting the original recording to determine whether the tape had been cut, edited, or altered in any way.

Watch below:


Giuliani also repeated the bombshell assertion on CBS' Face The Nation, telling host John Dickerson that Trump's team is aware of "something like 183 recordings," adding that one features Cohen speaking to the president about paying Playboy model Karen McDougal for the rights to a story, and "11 or 12 others" feature Cohen speaking with the media about his interactions with Trump.
"We know of something like 183 unique conversations on tape. One of those is with the president of the United States. That's the three-minute one involving the McDougal payment, AMI-McDougal payment. There are 12 others, maybe 11 or 12 others out of the 183, in which the president is discussed at any length by Cohen, mostly with reporters."
Last week, Cohen's legal team provided CNN with a secret audio recording between Trump and Cohen that was reportedly taped in 2016.

The recording reveals that Trump and Cohen appear to be discussing plans to acquire the rights to a story about an alleged affair Trump had with former Playboy model Karen McDougal more than a decade ago.

Trump has denied the affair, and Giuliani said CNN used a selectively edited clip that does not show the full conversation.

Giuliani said CNN didn't air part of the tape that shows Trump was asking Cohen how to do the payment legally, and he even provided CNN with a full transcript of the tape showing Trump was ordering Cohen to abide by the law.

Listen to the audio below:


The tape was seized a few months ago when the FBI raided Cohen's home, hotel, and office amid an investigation into whether any laws were broken by the Trump campaign during the election with alleged payments to McDougal and adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Cohen is already under heavy fire for recording conversations of his client (Trump) and then leaking them to the media. And if those tapes were doctored or edited in any way, that could have serious legal implications.



Better Earth

EJ Magnier: Syrian Kurds are waking up - US will soon leave Syria

us troops sdf kurds
The Syrian army is ending the battle in the last 2% of the Qunietra province that remains under the control of the "Islamic State" (ISIS) terrorist group. This will free tens of thousands of troops of the Syrian army and its allies from the burden of fighting in the south of the country and will mark a real turn in the seven years of war imposed on the Levant. The whole of Syria has been liberated from the territorial control of all militias and jihadists. What remains is under the control of two countries: the US and Turkey in the north of the country. However, this doesn't seem sustainable, particularly when the Kurds, controlling 23% of Syria, have decided to respond to the Syrian President's call to either start dialogue or face war. The US has no chance of staying over the long run, but will find a way to leave with some dignity, very soon.

The US presence in Syria had several aims:
- To divide Syria and make sure the north is called Rojava, a Kurdish State under US governorate and "protection", similar to Kurdistan Iraq during Saddam Hussein's era. The US was not against a Kurdish state that includes Syria and Iraq. However, the Iraqi Kurdistan, under Masood Barzani, burned the bridge towards independence and refused to follow the advice of the US to postpone such a decision for 18 months. Barzani's decision was confronted with a strong reaction from Baghdad troops, who took control of Kurdistan's borders and resources.

- To leave the rest of Syria in an endless bloody war between Salafi-Takfiri jihadists and all the other groups. This would have ended with ISIS being in control, whose objective was not the US (a far away enemy, even if it is at its doorstep), but a nearer enemy: Lebanon, Jordan, and the rest of the Middle East. This would have been detrimental to the "Axis of Resistance" (Iran, Syria, Hezbollah) or would have at least interrupted the flow of weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hezbollah would have been cornered into the south of Lebanon, a Shia enclave surrounded by Israel on one side and a hostile government or Takfiri rule in the other parts of the country.
The US came to Syria not exclusively to control part of its oil but to serve the purpose of Israel by eliminating its enemy. However, the war in Syria did not go as planned and today the Syrian President, or at least the government of Damascus, controls the entire Syrian territory with the exception of the north. This is regardless of ISIS' insurgency, which can continue to be operational not only in Syria, but also in any other part of the Middle East and North Africa (Egypt is the best example where the state is well established but suffers from continuous terrorist attacks).