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Russia 'novichok' hysteria shows politicians and media haven't learned the lessons of Iraq

Patrick Henningsen
Consortium news
Sat, 31 Mar 2018 19:36 UTC
Theresa May charicature
The current state of anti-Russia hysteria is reminiscent of earlier dark chapters of American history, including the rush to war in Iraq of the early 2000s and McCarthyism of the 1950s.

If there's one thing to be gleaned from the current atmosphere of anti-Russian hysteria in the West, it's that the US-led sustained propaganda campaign is starting to pay dividends. It's not only the hopeless political classes and media miscreants who believe that Russia is hacking, meddling and poisoning our progressive democratic utopia - with many pinning their political careers to this by now that's it's too late for them to turn back.

As it was with Iraq in 2003, these dubious public figures require a degree of public support for their policies, and unfortunately many people do believe in the grand Russian conspiracy, having been sufficiently brow-beaten into submission by around-the-clock fear mongering and official fake news disseminated by government and the mainstream media.
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Quenelle

Russia performs legitimate missile drill in international waters - the West panics

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Sat, 31 Mar 2018 15:00 UTC
sweden russia drill
"I've Never Seen Anything Like It" - Russia Declares 'Unusual' Missile Drill, Just Miles From Sweden by Sat, 03/31/2018 - 15:00 346 SHARES Twitter Facebook Reddit Email Print

Rather than exercising caution after the nerve gas attack in the United Kingdom and a tidal wave of Russian diplomatic expulsions from Washington, Eurozone, and other countries, Moscow is upping the ante which has surprised the Eurozone and the West on Thursday. Besides the tit-for-tat expulsions of Russian and American diplomats, President Vladimir Putin has chosen to flex his war muscles next week with an unusual missile exercise in international waters, but close enough to Sweden and Latvia that it will shut down commercial airspace.


Comment: Considering Russia is one of the least likely culprits and has nothing to hide, why would they act like the guilty party? Skripal Likely Poisoned by British Intelligence in Effort to Smear and Silence Russian World View


The Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov, assigned to the 43rd Missile Ship Division of the Russian Northern Fleet, has been deployed to the Baltic Sea for a live firing exercise in international waters near Sweden and Latvia on April 06 through 08, TASS reported, citing the Russian Navy's press release.

According to Sweden's Aftonbladet, the Swedish Civil Aviation Administration received a Russian telegram on Tuesday alerting officials that "rocket test firings in the southern part of the Baltic Sea" will take place in proximity to Karlskrona, Sweden. The test area is known as "Russia 1", from April 4 at 6:00 to 6 April at 18:00.
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Blackbox

20 more questions that need to be answered about the Skripal case

Rob Slane
The Blogmire
Tue, 27 Mar 2018 19:32 UTC
skripal salisbury
To my knowledge, none of the questions I wrote in my previous piece - 30 questions That Journalists Should be Asking About the Skripal Case - has been answered satisfactorily, at least not in the public domain. Yet despite the fact that these legitimate questions have not yet been answered, and many important facts surrounding the case are still unknown, the case has given rise to a serious international crisis, with the extraordinary expulsion of Russian diplomats across many EU countries and particularly the United States on March 26th.

This is a moment to stop and pause. A man and his daughter were poisoned in the City of Salisbury on 4th March. Yet despite the fact that investigators do not yet appear to know how they were poisoned, when they were poisoned, or where they were poisoned, a number of Western nations have used the incident as a pretext for the co-ordinated expulsion of diplomats on a scale not witnessed even during the height of the Cold War. These are clearly very abnormal and very dangerous times.

I pointed out in my previous piece that it is not my intention to advance some sort of conspiracy theory on this blog. It remains the case that I simply don't have any holistic theory - "conspiracy" or otherwise - for who carried this out, and I continue to retain an open mind. But since the Government of my country has rushed to judgement without many of the facts of the case being established, and since this has led to the biggest deterioration in relations between nuclear-armed nations since the Cuban Missile Crisis, it seems to me that it is more important than ever to keep asking questions in the hope that answers will come.

And so, for what it's worth, here are 20 more important questions that I think that journalists ought to be asking regarding this case:

Comment: Russia has some questions of their own, strongly hinting that France may have a lot more to do with this trumped-up provocation than previously thought:

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Attention

Collusion delusion: New docs show Obama officials and FBI coordinated in anti-Trump probe

Sara Carter
saraacarter.com
Sat, 31 Mar 2018 00:00 UTC
Harry Reid
© Unknown
Former Senator Harry Reid
Former Sen. Harry Reid asked James Comey to investigate Trump.

Documents obtained by congressional investigators suggest possible coordination by Obama White House officials, the CIA and the FBI into the investigation into President Donald Trump's campaign. Those senior Obama officials used unsubstantiated evidence to launch allegations in the media that the Trump campaign was colluding with Russia during the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, according to newly discovered documents and communications obtained by Congress.

The documents also reveal that former Senate majority leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, sent a letter on Aug. 29, 2016, asking former FBI Director James Comey to investigate the allegations, which were presented to him by then CIA Director John Brennan. Brennan had briefed Reid privately days earlier on the counterintelligence investigation and documents suggest Reid was also staying in close touch with Comey over the issues.

The documents, which include text messages from embattled FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok and his paramour Lisa Page, also reveal that former Obama White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough was involved in the initial investigation into Trump's campaign. Comey, Brennan, and McDonough were the "highest-ranking officials at the FBI, CIA and White House" and were working in concert to ensure an investigation was initiated, congressional members told this reporter.

Comment: What kind of 'brains' create and execute this caliber of multi-level calculation, collusion, subterfuge and fragmental innuendo capable of swaying entire countries, influencing governments into hysteria and destroying international relations, perhaps beyond repair? Meanwhile, the 'sheeple safely graze' and the 'powers' remain the law unto themselves. Conclusion: We are slapping at the fly long after it leaves the table.

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Attention

Poland secures its largest arms deal in history as Eastern Europe preps for war

Bill Van Auken
Russia Insider
Fri, 30 Mar 2018 00:00 UTC
Patriot anti-missile system
© Unknown
Patriot anti-missile system
Poland is buying $4.75 billion worth of Raytheon toys, Russia says this is destabilizing and a threat!

The Pentagon and Poland Wednesday signed a $4.75 billion deal to sell the eastern European country the Patriot anti-missile system.

While Poland's extreme right-wing government hailed the arms deal, the largest in the country's history, it will undoubtedly further stoke tensions between the West and Moscow, which has viewed the deployment of such systems as part of a concerted effort by Washington and its allies to undermine Russia's ability to defend itself against a nuclear attack.

Comment: Disturbing how the pace is picking up in readying the West for confrontation. Even more unsettling is how many countries have 'bought' into this paranoia - figuratively and literally (Skripal incident = arms sales). The build-up, as outlined, has become an epic crusade against a reluctant adversary and the weight of these collective actions involving most Western allies is reaching frightening proportions.

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Star of David

Israeli defense minister refuses to probe IDF murder of Palestinian civilians - calls it 'hypocritical'


RT
Sun, 01 Apr 2018 19:21 UTC
gaza snipers
© Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Palestinians take cover from Israeli snipers during clashes at the Gaza-Israel border at a protest demanding the right to return to their homeland, in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2018.
Israeli officials have rallied behind the IDF after calls at home and abroad for an independent probe into its use of force against Palestinian protesters at the border of the Gaza Strip on Friday.

Violence erupted during demonstrations on 'Land Day,' an annual Palestinian protest against Israeli settlements. This year, tens of thousands of people gathered on the Israel-Gaza border for the occasion.

Hundreds of them ignored calls by organizers and warnings by the Israelis not to approach the border wall, which is considered a restricted military zone by the Israeli Defense Forces. The IDF responded with sniper fire, rubber bullets and tear-gas cannisters dropped from drones. According to Gaza health officials, 15 people were killed and hundreds of others were injured, making the event the deadliest in Gaza since Israel's military operation there in 2014.


Comment: I.e., considered so by the illegal military occupation.


Commenting on the violence, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an independent investigation into the bloodshed. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, rights group Amnesty International, and Israel's left-wing opposition Meretz party made similar calls. But the Israeli government is standing by the IDF's response to the Palestinian protest.

"Israeli soldiers did what was necessary. I think all our soldiers deserve a medal," Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Army Radio. "As for a commission of inquiry - there won't be one."

Comment: If you can stomach it, check out Netanyahu's hasbara troll David Keyes on RT giving the official party line. TLDW: "You made us kill you."

See also:

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Attention

FBI report: Andrew McCabe 'lied four times' about media leaks

Chuck Ross
The Daily Caller
Thu, 29 Mar 2018 11:28 UTC
McCabe
© Eric Thayer/Reuters
Ex-FBI Director Andrew McCabe
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe lied four times, including to James Comey, about his authorization of leaks to the media, according to a Republican lawmaker familiar with an internal FBI report recommending McCabe's firing.

"He didn't lie just once; he lied four times," Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan told Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Thursday. "Four times he lied. He lied to James Comey. He lied to the [FBI's] Office of Professional Responsibility, and he lied twice under oath to the inspector general."

Jordan, a Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee, told The Daily Caller News Foundation earlier on Thursday the Office of Professional Responsibility report revealed McCabe not only did not tell Comey he authorized leaks to the media, he "affirmatively denied" he did so.


Comment: Actually, McCabe's GoFundMe raised more than $400K in 20 hours.

More from Zero Hedge:
Specifically, McCabe authorized an F.B.I. spokesman and attorney to tell Devlin Barrett of the Wall St. Journal, just days before the 2016 election, that the FBI had not put the brakes on a separate investigation into the Clinton Foundation - at a time in which McCabe was coming under fire for his wife taking a $467,500 campaign contribution from Clinton proxy pal, Terry McAuliffe.

The WSJ article in question reads:
New details show that senior law-enforcement officials repeatedly voiced skepticism of the strength of the evidence in a bureau investigation of the Clinton Foundation, sought to condense what was at times a sprawling cross-country effort, and, according to some people familiar with the matter, told agents to limit their pursuit of the case. The probe of the foundation began more than a year ago to determine whether financial crimes or influence peddling occurred related to the charity....Some investigators grew frustrated, viewing FBI leadership as uninterested in probing the charity, these people said. Others involved disagreed sharply, defending FBI bosses and saying Mr. McCabe in particular was caught between an increasingly acrimonious fight for control between the Justice Department and FBI agents pursuing the Clinton Foundation case.
So McCabe leaked information to the WSJ in order to combat rumors that Clinton had indirectly bribed him to back off the Clinton Foundation investigation, and then lied about it four times to the DOJ and FBI, including twice under oath.

Also recall that McCabe's team, under Director Comey, heavily altered the language of the FBI's official opinion concerning Hillary Clinton's mishandling of classified information - effectively "decriminalizing" her conduct. Comey's original draft - using the term "grossly negligent" would have legally required that the FBI recommended charges against Clinton. Instead, McCabe's team changed it to "extremely careless," - a legally meaningless term.


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Info

Trump donor Elliott Broidy sues Qatar for hacking his emails - Qatar accuses him of nefarious influence on American foreign policy

Aiden Pink
Forward
Mon, 26 Mar 2018 19:12 UTC
elliott broidy
© Stefanie Keenan / Getty Images for Pepperdine University
A prominent Republican fundraiser has sued the country of Qatar and a lobbyist for that country for allegedly hacking into his emails and distributing its contents to journalists.

Elliott Broidy, a top donor to both the Trump election campaign and the Republican Jewish Coalition, alleged in his lawsuit that the Gulf kingdom engaged in "a sophisticated electronic warfare, espionage, and disinformation campaign" against him and his wife due to his criticism of Qatar and support for its regional rivals.

"We believe the evidence is clear that a nation state is waging a sophisticated disinformation campaign against me in order to silence me, including hacking emails, forging documents, and engaging in espionage and numerous other illegal activities," Broidy said in a statement. "We believe it is also clear that I have been targeted because of my strong political views against Qatar's state sponsored terrorism and double dealing."

Multiple publications, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, have published stories that appear to be based on Broidy's leaked emails, HuffPost reported.

Comment: In cases like this, it's pretty common that both parties are correct. Qatar was (and is?) a big sponsor of terrorist groups. What guys like Broidy tend to leave out is that the U.S. does the same thing. And you can't walk the streets of Washington without bumping into a lobbyist for a foreign government. And lobbyists tend to focus on particular issues to demonize or promote individual countries - conveniently leaving out contrary information, evidence of double standards, and covert geopolitical agendas. There's a reason Trump tried to cut back on politicians becoming lobbyists... They are demon-spawn.

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Chess

Towards 'NATO-Exit': Geopolitical shift in the structure of military coalitions - Turkey's alliance with Russia, China and Iran

Prof Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research
Sat, 31 Mar 2018 20:22 UTC
NATO
Reminiscent of World War I, shifting alliances and the structure of military coalitions are crucial determinants of history.

Today's military alliances, including "cross-cutting coalitions" between "Great Powers" are equally dangerous, markedly different and exceedingly more complex than those pertaining to World War I. (i.e the confrontation between "The Triple Entente" and "the Triple Alliance").

Contemporary developments point to a historical shift in the structure of military alliances which could contribute to weakening US hegemony in the Middle East as well as creating conditions which could lead to a breakup of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

NATO constitutes a formidable military force composed of 29 member states, which is largely controlled by the Pentagon. It is a military coalition and an instrument of modern warfare. It constitutes a threat to global security and World peace.
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Chart Bar

China eases capital controls as cash outflow fears subside


RT
Sun, 01 Apr 2018 00:00 UTC
Chinese Yuan
© Petar Kudjundzic / Reuters
Regulators in China have allowed global asset managers including JPMorgan Chase to raise funds from Chinese onshore clients for investment in offshore hedge funds.

The move comes after a two-year tightening on cross-border capital flows. It is explained by the strengthening Chinese economy and persistent US dollar weakness.

People familiar with the situation told the Financial Times that JPMorgan Asset Management has received a new quota for the program, while several other asset managers are expecting similar allotments.

Comment: China's Petroyuan was just born - and here's what it means

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