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Briefcase

Nunes sues Twitter, some users for over $250M alleging anti-conservative shadow bans and smears

Gregg Re, Catherine Herridge
Fox News
Tue, 19 Mar 2019 00:00 UTC
Jack Dorsey/Devin Nunes
© BBC/culture.comTwitter CEO Jack Dorsey • CA GOP Rep. Devin Nunes
California GOP Rep. Devin Nunes filed a major lawsuit seeking $250 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages against Twitter and a handful of its users on Monday, accusing the social media site of "shadow-banning conservatives" to secretly hide their posts, systematically censoring opposing viewpoints, and totally "ignoring" lawful complaints of repeated abusive behavior.

In a complaint filed in Virginia state court on Monday, obtained by Fox News, Nunes claimed Twitter wanted to derail his work on the House Intelligence Committee, which he chaired until 2019, as he looked into alleged and apparent surveillance abuses by the government. Nunes said Twitter was guilty of "knowingly hosting and monetizing content that is clearly abusive, hateful and defamatory - providing both a voice and financial incentive to the defamers - thereby facilitating defamation on its platform."


Comment: See also:
Rep Nunes tells Fox he's looking into remedies against Twitter censoring conservatives

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Bomb

The bipartisan battle: 5 bombs dropped ahead of Mueller report release

Ekaterina Blinova
Sputnik
Tue, 19 Mar 2019 15:00 UTC
ClintonTrump
© AFP/Jim BourgClinton-Trump Debate, October 9, 2016
While Donald Trump's antagonists pin their hope on Special Counsel Mueller's report to deal a political blow to the US president, a series of bombshell exposures have been released over the last week casting a shadow on the Mueller probe and raising further suspicions about the alleged "collusion" to unseat Trump.

As the end of Special Counsel Mueller's investigation into the alleged Trump-Russia "collusion" nears, new disclosures involving Democratic policy makers, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) are continuing to surface.

Mueller's 'Pit Bull' Weissmann in a Heap of Trouble

On 14 March, it was reported that Andrew Weissmann, one of the prominent members of Mueller's "squad" was stepping down, which is seen by the US media as a clear sign that the special counsel has all but wrapped up his probe.

However, it appears that Republican lawmakers are unwilling to "let him go". On 1 March, Reps. Mark Meadows, R-NC, and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio wrote a letter to Attorney General William Barr urging him to look into Weissmann's "imparity and independence" as a senior member of the special counsel's team.

According to ex-Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr's testimony, before the Mueller probe was launched in May 2017 Weissmann and his counterpart Zainab Ahmad had been informed that the much-discussed dodgy "Trump dossier" compiled by former MI6 agent Christopher Steel was "biased" and not properly vetted.
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Arrow Up

Trump: US strongly looking at Brazil for NATO membership


RT
Tue, 19 Mar 2019 16:34 UTC
BolsonaroTrump
© AM PostBrazilian President Jair Bolsonaro • US President Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump has said that he is seriously looking at NATO membership or some other formal alliance with Brazil as he welcomed Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to the White House on Tuesday.

Bolsonaro made an unusual trip to the CIA headquarters yesterday, the first day of his trip to the US during which he hopes to articulate a pro-US stance and to expand trade ties and diplomatic cooperation.

Brazil's president was one of the first to throw his support behind Venezuela's pro-US opposition leader Juan Guaido after Trump declared support for him in January.

Ahead of Bolsonaro's trip, a senior Trump administration official touted the "historic remaking" of the US-Brazil relationship to McClatchy.

Bolsonaro endorsed Trump's southern border wall and immigration policy in an interview with Fox News on Monday night and echoed Trump's own rhetoric, saying that the "vast majority" of potential immigrants "do not have good intentions.They do not intend to do the best or do good to the US people," he said.

Comment: See also:

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Arrow Down

Trump administration's 2020 budget request proposes closure of three RFE/RL language services


RFE/RL
Mon, 18 Mar 2019 21:04 UTC
RFE/RL
© The Daily Signal
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has submitted a 2020 budget request that proposes to cut spending on international broadcasting by 22 percent and envisions the elimination of three RFE/RL language services.

A summary of the proposed budget was placed on the website of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees broadcasting by RFE/RL, VOA, Radio Free Asia, and other entities, on March 18.

According to the budget request, RFE/RL's budget would be cut from $124 million in 2019 to $87 million in 2020. That drop envisages sweeping cost-cutting measures, including the proposed closure of RFE/RL's Georgian, Tatar-Bashkir, and North Caucasus language services during the fiscal year. RFE/RL would also cut its Balkans Service by "discontinuing operations in Montenegrin and Macedonian."

"Last year, RFE/RL reached a weekly audience of 34 million people across Internet, television, and radio -- a 30 percent increase from the previous year. This is testament to the growing need for objective journalism in Russia, Iran, Pakistan, and all of RFE/RL's target countries," said RFE/RL Acting President Daisy Sindelar. RFE/RL currently broadcasts to 22 countries in 26 languages. Its mission is to provide objective and professional news and information to countries with restricted media. VOA, Radio Free Asia, and other USAGM entities also saw substantial cuts in the 2020 budget proposal.
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Star of David

The king frowns: Complexities of Israeli-Jordanian relations

Jacky Hougi
The Jerusalem Post
Sun, 17 Mar 2019 12:12 UTC
King of Jordan
© Andrew Burton/Getty Images/AFPKing of Jordan Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein, United Nations General Assembly
The State of Israel seeks any gesture of good will from Arab leaders, yet it looked down on Abdullah II of Jordan.

Last Thursday, 500 Jordanians suddenly became employed when Israel and Jordan expanded an agreement allowing Jordanian citizens to work in Eilat hotels. The agreement also includes sleeping arrangements and commuting arrangements as the Jordanians are meant to enter Israel in the morning and return to Jordan in the evening, the deal will provide the Jordanian kingdom millions of dinars annually and thousands of job applications made their ways to the relevant job agencies.

The agreement, which largely went unreported, is one more example of the complexities of the Israeli-Jordanian peace agreement now marking its 25th year. On the one hand, the two countries are engaged in intense security cooperation, which is done behind closed doors, on the other hand, tensions and suspicions are increasing. On the same day the tourism visas were expanded envoy to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Meir Ben-Shabbat attempted to reach an agreement regarding recent tensions on Temple Mount and returned empty-handed.

Tzofar in southern Israel, halfway between Eilat and Rabat Amon, now faces the question of what is to happen to their agriculture lands. When the Israeli-Jordanian peace agreement was signed the then-king of Jordan agreed the lands will go on being cultivated by the Israelis despite being Jordanian lands for a period of 25 years, the time is now up and the Jordanians intend to annex their lands now.

Comment: See also:

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Rocket

Niet! Moscow rules out destroying new missiles in response to 'groundless' US request


RT
Tue, 19 Mar 2019 13:31 UTC
Russian missile
© Sputnik/Vladimir Astapkovich
Russia will not destroy its 9M729 missile complexes, which the US claims to be violating the terms of the INF Treaty, the country's Foreign Ministry has announced.

"We cannot go for destroying our 9M729 missile that Washington groundlessly believes to violate the treaty," the ministry said in a statement. It added that the US side didn't show "any readiness for dialogue," but had become "fixated on the unacceptable ultimatum" for Russia.

In February, the US announced its unilateral withdrawal from the INF Treaty. It claimed that Russia's testing of the 9M729 missile breached the terms of the landmark 1987 deal, which bans ground-based missiles with a range of between 500km and 5,500km. In response, Russia also suspended the country's participation in the treaty.

Russia's Foreign Ministry reiterated that the US was actively developing medium-range missile systems. The US abandoning the treaty opens the possibility of deploying these missiles in Europe. "We have to prepare ourselves for Washington's potential deployment of these systems," the statement read.
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Oil Well

Venezuela: US-bound oil may be diverted to Russia and China


RT
Tue, 19 Mar 2019 14:48 UTC
VenezCrisis
© Freedoms Phoenix
Sanctions-hit Venezuela may reroute crude initially destined for the US to other countries, according to the country's top energy official, adding that shipments could go to Russia and China.

Venezuela's oil minister and president of state-run oil company PDVSA, Manuel Quevedo, told a meeting of OPEC and other oil ministers in Azerbaijan on Monday that Caracas is going to diversify its crude shipping routes. Reuters reported that Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft and China were seen as the destinations after the country halted its crude supplies to India.

"Russia and China are seen as the main destinations because of the suspension of oil exports to India," the Azerbaijani Energy Ministry said in a statement citing the minister.

India used to be the leading buyer of Venezuelan crude during the first half of February before facing US pressure for continuing to deal with the Latin American country after Washington slapped Caracas with heavy sanctions.

The US restrictions targeted the Venezuelan oil sector, which is crucial for Venezuela to keep the economy afloat as oil revenues account for about 98 percent of its export earnings.

Comment: See also:
Maduro: European HQ of Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA will be moved to Moscow

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X

Tel Aviv denies Saudi media's claim Iran hacked Netanyahu's family phone


Sputnik
Tue, 19 Mar 2019 15:06 UTC
Netanyahu family
© AFP/Gail TibbonIsraeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, wife and sons
The hack was reportedly carried out some time ago and allegedly only now brought to light due to the upcoming Israeli elections. Tel Aviv denies the intrusion took place at all.

Telephones belonging to the Israeli prime minister's wife and son, Sara and Yair Netanyahu, were allegedly breached by Iranian intelligence services in order to wiretap the Israeli head of government, Independent Arabia reported, citing anonymous sources. According to the news outlet, the hack occurred several months ago, but was eventually discovered and the breach closed.

It remains unclear just how much and what information was leaked, if the hack actually took place, but according to the report, the intrusion, as well as a previous hacking scandal involving Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz's phone, was unearthed only recently in the run-up to the Israeli elections.

The Israeli prime minister's office reacted to the report by stating that security officials had run checks that showed no signs of the phones having been hacked.
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Eye 2

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

Kit Klarenberg
Sputnik
Tue, 19 Mar 2019 17:29 UTC
anonymous globe
© PixabayAnonymous 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 NichollsAnti-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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