Puppet Masters
The negotiations ultimately floundered when it came to the question of lifting US sanctions on North Korea. Kim wanted partial sanctions relief in return for its "realistic proposal" to halt nuclear and missile tests and dismantle a nuclear facility at Yongbyon, but Trump was not prepared to compromise.
Murray Hunter, an associate professor at the University Malaysia Perlis, told RT the result was a "catastrophic failure"given the "high expectations" the White House had put on the meeting. So, what does it really take to reach a deal with the United States?
© Evan Vucci / Associated Press
Yet as Pyongyang tested intercontinental ballistic missiles, President Donald Trump came along and threatened "fire and fury" if the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea (DPRK) did not disarm. Presidential sidekick Senator Lindsey Graham dismissed fears of a U.S. attack on the North, opining that any war would be "over there" rather than "over here."
But then Trump showed a willingness to talk, ending what had seemed like a slide toward war. After the Singapore meeting, he declared, "I want to bring our soldiers back home." For years before being elected, Trump had railed against the South Koreans as well as the Europeans for underinvesting in their defense and unnecessarily relying upon America. He has since reiterated those criticisms as president.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman talked about determining what determines which users get banned from the platform. Over the past year, Paypal has banned Act For America, Gab.com, Laura Loomer, and Jihad Watch from using its processor. In fairness, the platform has also yanked several antifa groups. Schulman admitted that his staff rely on the Southern Poverty Law Center's opinion when it comes to who to remove.
He said, "Southern Poverty Law Center has brought us things ... We are very respectful with everyone coming in." Schulman then claimed that PayPal still believes in freedom of speech, even though the platform will censor based on political ideology.
© Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters
Israeli troops fire teargas at Palestinians protesting near the Gaza border fence.
Israeli troops fire teargas at Palestinians protesting near the Gaza border fence.
The independent Commission of Inquiry, set up last year by the UN's human rights council, said Israeli forces killed 189 people and shot more than 6,100 others with live ammunition near the fence that divides the two territories.
The panel said in a statement that it had found "reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli snipers shot at journalists, health workers, children and persons with disabilities, knowing they were clearly recognisable as such".
Thirty-five of those killed were children, three were clearly identifiable paramedics and two were clearly marked journalists, the report said.
Israel dismissed the report as "hostile, mendacious and slanted".
The panel acknowledged "acts of significant violence" from the demonstrators, who threw stones, molotov cocktails and in several cases explosives at the fence and Israeli troops behind it.
Comment: When taking in the totality of the brutal repession of the Palestinians by Israel, to say it 'may' amount to war crimes is skirting around the facts. They did, and have been and will continue to do so. Unsurprisingly, Israel's response is to cry foul and call it "absurd":
Tel Aviv has fired back at a UN report alleging that Israeli forces may have committed war crimes when they killed dozens of Palestinian demonstrators during Gaza border protests last year, describing the claim as "absurd."
Acting Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that the UN Human Rights Council had "produced another hostile, mendacious and slanted report against the State of Israel ... No one can deny Israel the right of self-defense and the obligation to defend its citizens and borders from violent attacks."
He dismissed the report's findings as "theatre of the absurd."
The UN inquiry, which released its findings on Thursday, concluded that Palestinian demonstrators "did not pose an imminent threat of death or serious injury to others when they were shot, nor were they directly participating in hostilities."
The commission said Israel's use of live fire during last year's protests was unlawful, while also calling on Palestinians to cease the use of incendiary kites and balloons. The findings will be forwarded to the International Criminal Court. Some 189 Palestinians were killed and 6,100 more were wounded during the "Great March of the Return," a protest movement that snowballed at the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip in March 2018.
Protesters demanded an end to the decade-long siege imposed on the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt.
© AP
Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military
Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military
An Islamist "jihadi" base had been eliminated. Then I heard the name Balakot and realised that it was neither in Gaza, nor in Syria - not even in Lebanon - but in Pakistan. Strange thing, that. How could anyone mix up Israel and India?
Well, don't let the idea fade away. Two thousand five hundred miles separate the Israeli ministry of defence in Tel Aviv from the Indian ministry of defence in New Delhi, but there's a reason why the usual cliche-stricken agency dispatches sound so similar.
For months, Israel has been assiduously lining itself up alongside India's nationalist BJP government in an unspoken - and politically dangerous - "anti-Islamist" coalition, an unofficial, unacknowledged alliance, while India itself has now become the largest weapons market for the Israeli arms trade.
Not by chance, therefore, has the Indian press just trumpeted the fact that Israeli-made Rafael Spice-2000 "smart bombs" were used by the Indian air force in its strike against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) "terrorists" inside Pakistan.
They voted to pass H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, which would require background checks for all firearm sales, including private transactions and purchases made online and at gun shows. Currently, only federally licensed firearms dealers, importers, and manufacturers are required to conduct background checks on customers under federal law. Twenty states and D.C. have already expanded background checks to include at least some private sales. The bill was described by NPR as "sweeping."
H.R. 8 also prohibits firearms transfers by a person who is not a licensed dealer. However, it does exclude gifts to family members and transfers for hunting, target shooting, and self-defense. A temporary transfer of a gun can also take place in situations where it's "necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm."
This is just another proposed gun control measure that won't do anything to stop crime.
Comment: Since "gun control" has been proven not to reduce crime, then why the big push for it that we now seeing in the US? See:
- Enough with the extremist rhetoric: Tucker Carlson takes aim at David Hogg and those using him to push gun control agenda
- Leaked audio reveals the hidden hands behind the so-called student-led 'March For Our Lives' gun control rally
- Did a book written in 1991 predict the connection between mass shootings and manipulated public demand for gun control?
- Coming for your guns: Since Parkland shooting, 26 states have passed 55 gun control laws with bipartisan support
- Gun control goes global? Media silent as US agrees to "full implementation" of UN gun control agreement
© Chris Wattie / Reuters
Ms Wilson-Raybould gave testimony before the Canadian House of Commons justice committee for several hours on Wednesday, speaking out against members of staff and Prime Minister Trudeau attempting to interfere with an investigation into the SNC-Lavalin corporation, The Globe and Mail reports.
© Unknown
Refugees return to Syria
Refugees return to Syria
A synopsis of the short BBC video segment would read:
After years of people fleeing Syria and its civil war, there are now long queues to enter the country each day. Jordan opened its Jaber border crossing last October after Syrian government troops defeated rebels who had controlled the other side.Huge numbers of Syrians have already returned to Syria - specifically to areas government forces have cleared of Western-armed and backed terrorists. This includes Aleppo, Homs, and Daraa.
Now several thousand people pass through each day. They include small-scale merchants reviving cross-border trade and returning Syrian refugees who hope to rebuild their lives.
The flood of returning refugees to government-held areas indicates Syrians were fleeing the US-backed proxy war against the Syrian government - not the Syrian government itself.
© AP/Sebastian Scheiner
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed corruption charges against him in a television address Thursday night, calling the attorney general's announcement of possible charges against him so close to election time "outrageous" and accusing the opposition of carrying out an "unprecedented witch hunt."
"The pressure of the left worked," Netanyahu said, adding that the attorney general's office's actions were lies and "blood libel" which have threatened democracy in Israel. The prime minister promised to squash all charges against him and prove his innocence.
Earlier, Attorney General General Avichai Mendelblit said he intended to indict Netanyahu on counts of corruption, breach of trust and fraud, Israeli television reported on Thursday, quoting the Ministry of Justice. The attorney general promised to give Netanyahu the opportunity to argue against the indictment during pretrial hearings, which may be held before or after the upcoming legislative elections.
Earlier, Mendelblit rejected a government request to postpone Netanyahu's indictment until after the April elections, where the prime minister is seeking a fourth consecutive term in office, saying it would be a "violation of the principle of equality before the law."
Comment: See also:
- Lock him up: Israeli AG advises Netanyahu be indicted over corruption case
- About time! Israeli AG prepares to indict Netanyahu on bribery charge this week
- Crime Minister: Israeli protestors demand resignation of Netanyahu over corruption charges
- Netanyahu says he won't resign if indicted on graft charges
- Netanyahu corruption investigation circles in: Seven more of PM's cronies brought up on charges
- Netanyahu's corruption case could expose secrets about Israel's nuclear weapons program
Comment: Global Times reports: RT reports: See also:
- The art of ... no deal? Why Washington struggles to reach agreements
- Trump should offer full withdrawal of troops for complete denuclearization of Korean peninsula
- North Korea will denuclearize for lifting of sanctions - Trump claims he won't press for a deadline - UPDATE: No agreement reached between Trump and Kim at summit
And check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Trump Wags the Iran Riot Dog, Kim Talks Korean Peace