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Integrity Initiative's favourite propagandist Deborah Haynes tries to whitewash the scandal

Kit Klarenberg
Sputnik
Tue, 19 Mar 2019 17:29 UTC
anonymous globe
© Pixabay
Anonymous has become a big thorn in the side of UK propaganda outfits
On 6 March, Sky News published a shocking 'exclusive', revealing the UK National Crime Agency had launched an investigation into a "suspected cyberattack" on the Institute for Statecraft, and its Integrity Initiative subsidiary.

The article's headline was explosive - 'Highly likely' GRU hacked UK institute countering Russian fake news - and the content equally incendiary, with security officials said to regard the attack as extremely significant, given it would mark the first time Russia had conducted a "hack-and-leak operation" in Britain.

However, close examination of the piece - and its accompanying video package - reveal the sensational report to be an extended exercise in damage limitation, and self-promoting spin of the slipperiest sort.

Comment: More on the Institute for Statecraft and its nefarious spawn, Integrity Initiative.

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Toys

UK parliament cannot hold another vote parliament on same Brexit deal - speaker


RT
Mon, 18 Mar 2019 15:48 UTC
REmainers
© Reuters / Henry Nicholls
Anti-Brexit protesters demonstrate outside the Houses of Parliament in London
House of Commons Speaker John Bercow has delivered a blow to PM Theresa May, announcing that he will block a third meaningful vote on her Brexit deal unless her government makes "substantial" changes.

Addressing MPs in parliament, Bercow referenced Erskine May, the parliamentary procedure and constitutional conventions rulebook, on the subject of identical motions being put to the House.

Bercow told British lawmakers that the same motion "in substance... may not be brought forward again during that same session."

It comes as various media report that the Tory government could put forward May's Brexit deal to a vote for a third time - with no changes.

Comment: While postponing Brexit may seem preferable to some in the UK establishment, perhaps hoping people will become so war-weary that they give up caring, some of those that voted to leave may feel very aggrieved indeed that their vote, and the farce playing out in parliament, has come to nought: Also check out SOTT radio's:

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Bad Guys

US is pushing Lebanon into the arms of Iran and Russia

Elijah J. Magnier
ejmagnier.com
Mon, 18 Mar 2019 17:35 UTC
Hassan Nasrallah

Hassan Nasrallah
Lebanon is expecting the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week at a time when the Lebanese economic-political map is being redrawn and while Lebanon is suffering its most serious economic downturn in recent history.

Reasons for the deterioration of the local economy include not only the corruption of Lebanon's political leadership and lower level administration but also US sanctions imposed on Iran. The latest sanctions are the harshest ever imposed. They will also dramatically affect Lebanon so long as President Donald Trump is in power if Lebanon does not follow US policy and dictates.

If, as anticipated, Washington declares economic war on Lebanon, the sanctions will leave Lebanon few alternatives. They may force Lebanon to fall back on Iranian civilian industry to overcome US economic pressure, and to rely on the Russian military industry to equip Lebanese security forces. This will be the result if Pompeo insists on threatening Lebanese officials, as his assistants have done on previous visits to the country. The consistent message from US officials has been: you're either with us or against us.

Politically, Lebanon is divided between two currents, one pro-US (and Saudi Arabia) and another outside the US orbit. The economic situation may well increase internal division to the point that the local population reacts angrily in order to exclude the US and its allies from influence in Lebanon.
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Caesar

Putin scores another win in the battle against corruption - bureaucrats forced to pay workers' withheld wages

Joaquin Flores
Fort Russ News
Tue, 19 Mar 2019 16:48 UTC
russia money currency
© Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin war against oligarchy and corruption has found a new victory. Putin earlier today has said that the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation had achieved a settlement for wage arrears for public sector workers in 2018 in the amount of more than 26 billion rubles, or roughly $400 million dollars. He said this at the oversight board meeting on Tuesday, March 19th.

"With the direct participation of the prosecutor's office, the salary debts for citizens were repaid. We continued to monitor compliance with the laws and in the public sector. Salary is, of course, a significant result. The debt was repaid in the amount of more than 26 billion rubles," RIA Novosti quotes the head of state .

Comment:

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Info

Kazakh president Nazarbayev resigns after almost 30 years in power


RT
Tue, 19 Mar 2019 17:22 UTC
Nursultan Nazarbayev
© REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Nursultan Nazarbayev
Key Russian ally Nursultan Nazarbayev, the long-time president of Kazakhstan, has handed in his resignation after almost 30 years in power.

"I have made the decision to end my tenure as president," 78-year-old Nazarbayev said in a special address to the nation on Tuesday. He then signed a decree stating that his presidential tenure will end on Wednesday live on air.

His duties will be performed by Senate Speaker Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, from Nazarbayev's Russia-friendly ruling party Nur Otan, until a new president is elected.

Nazarbayev had been the leader of Kazakhstan since 1990. He was on his fifth term when he resigned.

Nazarbayev will retain some of his other posts after the resignation, he said. He will remain as the head of Kazakhstan's security council, as well as the leader of the Nur Otan party.

Comment: Perhaps coincidentally, Russia's governor of Chelyabinsk (on the border with Kazakhstan) also resigned:
The Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region, Boris Dubrovsky, sent a request for resignation to Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is stated in the appeal, published on his website.

"This is my personal decision," the governor stressed.

Dubrovsky thanked his countrymen for their support and noted that he felt it all the time during his time in office.

"I am sure that I am doing the right thing. The Chelyabinsk region is a wonderful region, and I am happy that I had the opportunity to invest my work for the good of our region," he stressed.
...
On March 18th, the Federal Anti-monopoly Service issued a decision on a case of collusion in public procurement for the repair of roads in the Chelyabinsk Region. According to the Ministry of Information, the participants in anti-competitive agreements are Dubrovsky, the regional ministry of road facilities and Yuzhuralmost, reports Interfax . Given how widespread this practice is in much of the world, including the Russian Federation, FRN considers the actual reasons behind this resignation to be presently unknown or resolved insofar as the public is concerned.


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Arrow Up

Dem candidate Yang comes out against circumcision

Will Sommer
The Daily Beast
Mon, 18 Mar 2019 17:10 UTC
yang
© Joshua Lott/Getty
Outsider presidential hopeful Andrew Yang's latest idea is both literally and figuratively his most unorthodox yet: He's taking a strong public stance against circumcision.

The Democratic candidate revealed in a little-noticed tweet last week that he was against the ritualized practice of cutting a newborn's foreskin. But in an interview with The Daily Beast, he said that if he were elected he would incorporate that view into public policy, mainly by pushing initiatives meant to inform parents that they don't need to have their infants circumcised for health reasons.

"It's sort of pushed on parents in many situations," Yang said, describing pressure to circumcise a child as a "cultural onus" imposed on families.

Yang, an entrepreneur whose candidacy is fueled by grassroots donations, appears to be the first presidential candidate in history to take a public position on circumcision. But that's not a terrible surprise to those who have followed his upstart presidential campaign. There are dozens of position statements on his campaign website, ranging from the obscure to the existential.

Comment: See also:

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Pirates

CIA turning refugee camps in eastern Syria into ISIS hotbeds - Turkish press


South Front
Wed, 13 Mar 2019 17:02 UTC
ISIS wife
© REUTERS / Ali Hashisho
The CIA is conspiring with ISIS commanders in northeastern Syria supplying them with fake documents and then transferring them to Iraq, according to reports in Turkish pro-government media.

About 2,000 ISIS members were questioned in the areas of Kesra, Buseira, al-Omar and Suwayr in Deir Ezzor province and at least 140 of them then received fake documents. Some of the questioned terrorists were then moved to the camps of al-Hol, Hasakah and Rukban, which are controlled by US-backed forces. The CIA also reportedly created a special facility near Abu Khashab with the same purpose.

Israeli, French and British special services are reportedly involved.

An interesting observation is that the media of the country, which in the previous years of war, used to conspire with ISIS allowing its foreign recruits to enter Syria and buying smuggled oil from the terrorists, has now become one of the most active exposers of the alleged US ties with ISIS elements.

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Attention

France to ban Yellow Vest protests in "worst hit" areas, Paris police chief sacked - UPDATE


RT
Mon, 18 Mar 2019 16:03 UTC
yellow vest 18
© Reuters / Philippe Wojazer
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Paris could soon ban protests in "worst hit" neighborhoods, after radical protesters turned a Yellow Vests' demonstration on Champs-Elysees into smashing, looting, and burning mayhem.

"From next Saturday, we will ban 'yellow vest' protests in neighbourhoods that have been the worst hit as soon as we see sign of the presence of radical groups and their intent to cause damage," Philippe told reporters on Monday.


Comment: Police will be seeing radicals where there aren't any. They didn't need just cause to relentlessly launch flash bombs and tear gas so this will be no different.


Philippe then announced that the city's police chief, Michel Delpuech, will be sacked and replaced on Wednesday by Didier Lallement, currently the top police official in the southwestern region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Philippe criticized the Paris police for their handling of Saturday's protests, saying "the strategy for maintaining order was not correctly implemented."

Comment: We can't be sure how much of the destruction of property is due to Yellow Vest protesters, although it's clear many are extremely angry with the increasingly dire situation in their country. We'll have to wait and see just how accepting the Yellow Vests, who enjoy support from the vast majority in France, are when they find out their freedom to protest is being restricted by a government that is worryingly out of touch: And check out SOTT radio's: UPDATE: 19th March 2019

The Express provides some more details on the protest ban:
Speaking over the weekend, Mr Macron said: "There are people today who try by all means to damage the Republic by breaking, by destroying things at the risk of killing someone.


Macron has a meager 30% approval rating, one could say he doesn't represent or know what constitutes France's Republic.


"Everyone who was there made themselves accomplices in this."

Following the sacking of Mr Delpuech, French prime minister, Edouard Philippe announced a ban on all yellow vest protests being held along the Champs-Elysees avenue.

The ban will apply for an unspecified amount of time in parts of Bordeaux and Toulouse.

[...]

Both he and Mr Macron have both alluded to making new security measures following meeting with senior officials although they have not been announced as of yet.


Considering the weaponry the French police have already been using - some of them banned throughout much of Europe - one dreads to think what they have in mind.


The violence last weekend was a major setback for Mr Macron who had managed to restore some semblance of authority with concessions to the movement.

However, after rioters looted luxury shops, set fire to a bank and damaged a historic restaurant, Mr Philippe has criticised the police for allowing the violent groups to gather.


These looters do not represent the Yellow Vests. And there's good reason to believe there's more than a few agent provocateurs attending these legitimate protests.


Mr Philippe said: "These were criminal acts. The government's response must be strong."

The French Prime Minister also acknowledged the "dysfunction" within the police.

He announced that officers will be able to use drones and video surveillance to help prevent violence.

Last weekend's riot was the worst since December where hundreds of protestors were left injured.


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Bad Guys

'Our tolerance has limits!' Expel US envoy for acting like 'occupation commissioner', says German MP


RT
Tue, 19 Mar 2019 15:45 UTC
Richard Grenell
© REUTERS/Axel Schmidt
US ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell leaves meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Berlin seems to be losing patience with the US ambassador who didn't mince his words over German defense spending. A high-ranking MP demanded that the envoy be sent home because he acts "like an occupation commissioner."

Wolfgang Kubicki, vice speaker of the German parliament, called for Richard Grenell to be declared persona non grata immediately, local media reported. The emotive remark wasn't limited to what Berlin should do in relation to the American ambassador.

"If a US diplomat acts like a high commissioner of an occupying power, he will have to learn that our tolerance has its limits," Kubicki said angrily. Grenell had crossed the line again and interfered "in political affairs of the sovereign Federal Republic," the senior MP argued.

Earlier, the official Twitter account of the US embassy in Berlin quoted Grenell as saying: "Reducing its already unacceptable commitments to military readiness is a worrisome signal to Germany's 28 NATO allies."
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Jet5

'NATO solidarity clause is called Article 5, not article F-35' - French defense minister


RT
Tue, 19 Mar 2019 15:37 UTC
Lockheed Martin F-35B; French forces
© Reuters / US Air Force / Staff Sgt. Joely Santiago; Reuters / Guillaume Horcajuelo
(L) Lockheed Martin F-35B; (R) French forces
Europe must move away from full dependency on American weapon supplies, the French defense minister stressed, slamming President Donald Trump's "conditional" approach towards NATO and his European allies.

Expressing concern that Trump's idea of NATO's solidarity is "conditional on allies buying this or that equipment," the French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, wondered if the US commitment to the military block will continue to be "perennial."
The alliance should be unconditional, otherwise, it is not an alliance. NATO's solidarity clause is called Article 5, not article F-35.
Despite the White House pushing their allies to buy more American weapons, developing European autonomous capabilities in the military field is crucial to national security and essential to moving away from Washington's dominance, Parly argued, noting the US arms industry currently supplies NATO with 100 percent of its strategic bombers and missile defense systems, 92 percent of its drones, and 91 percent of its air tankers.
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