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Russian ambassador demands official apology from UK newspaper for slander


TASS
Tue, 05 Mar 2019 11:04 UTC
Alexander Yakovenko
© Michael Metzel/TASSRussia's ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko
Russia's ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko expects an official apology from Mail on Sunday newspaper for slander, according to the letter published on the official websited of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"We have noted today's Mail on Sunday piece on Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko. As was made clear to your correspondent yesterday, we would have been prepared to comment on statements regarding the Ambassador personally if we had an opportunity to look at the article in advance," the letter said. The Ministry noted that the newspaper misled the British public.

"The information that Mr Yakovenko, when working at the USSR Mission in New York, was expelled for spying, is not true. Mr Yakovenko worked at the Mission from 1981 and 1986 and left after the standard term of posting expired. The allegation on him having been expelled is a blatant lie," the message said.
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War Whore

Washington's war on Syria, for Israel

Elias Samo
Strategic Culture Foundation
Tue, 05 Mar 2019 11:11 UTC
missile launch
I was recently asked to participate and give a presentation at a closed, and invitation-only, conference in Washington, DC, on February 6th, 2019. The topic was: "Strategic Implications of Recent US Decisions on Syria". I attended the conference and gave a presentation. The following is a summary of some of the things I said.

Upon my introduction, I informed the audience that I hold dual nationality, Syrian by birth and American by choice. In over five decades of academic work, I was always plagued by a nightmare of a war between the US and Syria, my two countries; unfortunately, this eventually become a reality. However, I should qualify; the ongoing war in Syria is not between the US and Syria, for there is no conflict between the Syrians and the Americans. It is a war waged by Washington against Syria in the service of Israel and some regional powers; Washington is waging a proxy war on Syria.

I briefly introduced Syria and its historic and religious importance. Syria is the cradle of civilization and home of the three monotheistic religions, where they started or flourished. I also reminded the audience that Syria is an archeological treasure; of the five oldest and continually inhabited cities, three are in Syria: Aleppo, the oldest, Damascus, the third and Latakia, the fifth. Following this introduction, I moved to the subject of the conference, dividing it into two sub topics:
  1. Trump Decisions to serve American interests in Syria; and
  2. Strategic Implications for Syria.

Comment: See also: Israel's 'secret war' on Syria is likened to the US' 'secret war' on Laos

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Megaphone

Plain for all to see: MSNBC lies then refuses to correct its story on Bernie Sanders' opening speech

Glenn Greenwald
The Intercept
Sun, 03 Mar 2019 17:31 UTC
Bernie Sanders
© Anthony Behar/Sipa USA via APSen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a political rally to kick off his 2020 presidential campaign at Brooklyn College in Brooklyn, N.Y., on March 2, 2019.
MSNBC is a dishonest political operation, not a news outlet. It systematically and deliberately refuses to adopt a defining attribute of a news outlet: a willingness to acknowledge factual errors, correct them, and apologize. That they not only allow their lies to stand uncorrected but reward their employees who do it most frequently - especially when those lies are directed at adversaries of the Democratic Party - proves that they are, first and foremost, a political arm of the Democratic establishment.

The most recent example is as glaring as it is malicious. On Saturday in Brooklyn, Bernie Sanders delivered his first speech for his 2020 presidential campaign in front of thousands of people. MSNBC broadcast the speech live, and anyone can watch the full two-hour event, or just Sanders's full 35-minute speech, on YouTube.

As a result, there's no confusion possible about what was said. Everyone can see it with their own eyes.

Before Sanders spoke, he was introduced by a series of speakers including three African-Americans: South Carolina state Rep. Terry Alexander (who spoke of Sanders's lifelong commitment to equal justice and opportunity), former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner (who heralded Sanders's long-time commitment to racial justice and his status as "only one of two white elected officials" who supported Jesse Jackson's presidential campaign run in 1984), and racial justice activist (and Intercept columnist) Shaun King (who described in detail Sanders's history as an anti-racist and civil rights activist in the 1960s and his decadeslong devotion to issues of racial equality).

After Sanders's speech, MSNBC immediately asked its panel for reactions. The first person they turned to was Zerlina Maxwell, who the host identified only as an "MSNBC analyst." What the host omitted, but which Maxwell herself acknowledged, was that she was a paid official for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign against Sanders: that, revealingly, is the first person MSNBC had opine on Sanders's speech.

Comment: See also:

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Alarm Clock

"Mass death": Greenpeace co-founder calls Ocasio-Cortez "pompous little twit" for Green New Deal

Penny Starr
Breitbart
Sun, 03 Mar 2019 12:00 UTC
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
© Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Greenpeace Co-Founder on AOC: 'Pompous Little Twit' - Green New Deal Would Cause 'Mass Death'

3 Mar 20198,293 2:15 Patrick Moore, the co-founder of Greenpeace who left the organization he said has been "hijacked by eco-fascists,' weighed in on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal resolution calling her a "pompous little twit" on social media.

Moore, who now calls himself a "sensible environmentalist," got attention for his tweet about Ocasio-Cortez


Comment: For more on AOC and the GND, check out SOTT's editorial: AOC's 'Green New Deal': Ideology Masquerading as Realism

See also:

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Attention

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou sues Canadian government, RCMP and CBSA for 'serious violations' of her constitutional rights

Amy Smart
Global News
Mon, 04 Mar 2019 06:44 UTC
Meng Wanzhou
© ReutersMeng Wanzhou
The defence team for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou has filed a notice of civil claim alleging "serious violations" of her constitutional rights, accusing officers of detaining and questioning her for three hours before notifying her of her arrest.

The suit filed with the B.C. Supreme Court on Friday is against members of the Canadian Border Services Agency, the RCMP and the federal government.

It seeks damages for false imprisonment based on multiple alleged failures of government officials to comply with the rule of law upon her detention, search and interrogation at the Vancouver airport on Dec. 1.

The allegations have not been proven in court and the CBSA, RCMP and the attorney general's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

"This case concerns a deliberate and pre-meditated effort on the part of the defendant officers to obtain evidence and information from the plaintiff in a manner which they knew constituted serious violations of the plaintiff's rights," the claim says.

Comment: See also:

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Eye 1

New video shows French snipers and gunners at the front-lines in Baghouz, Syria


Al Masdar News
Mon, 04 Mar 2019 18:00 UTC
troops
French troops were recently filmed at the front-lines in eastern Syria as they provide assistance to their allies on the ground against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) forces.

Led by their snipers and machine gunners, the French troops could be seen heavily targeting the Islamic State's positions at the Baghouz Camp, which is the where the terrorist group's last bastion is located.

While the battle is temporarily suspended due to the ongoing evacuation of wounded Islamic State fighters, the French troops and their allies from the U.S. Coalition and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are expected to resume their operation in the next 48 hours.

Comment: This comes on the heels of other footage which shows the US-led coalition using banned white phosphorous over the Syrian town of Baghouz, an area where it is reported civilian hostages are being held.

See also:

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Satellite

US prepares for future wars by militarizing space

Stephen Lendman
stephenlendman.org
Sun, 03 Mar 2019 00:00 UTC
weoponization of space
The notion of real time star wars, possibly with nukes and/or other super-weapons, should terrify everyone.

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty bans nations from placing WMDs (not conventional weapons) in earth orbit or otherwise in outer space.

It restricts use of celestial bodies to peaceful purposes, bans space bases and outer space weapons testing. The 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty prohibits nuclear testing in outer space.

The 1972 SALT I Treaty, 1987 INF Treaty (pulled out from by Trump), 1992 Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty, 1994 START I Treaty, 2000 Start II, 2011 New START, and other international agreements include provisions dealing with space-related issues.

The UN Conference on Disarmament, established in 1984 to negotiate arms control and disarmament agreements, strongly opposes weaponizing space.

So do the vast majority of world nations. The cosmos should be used exclusively for peaceful purposes benefitting humanity.

Washington refused to negotiate with Russia and China on their joint draft treaty to ban space-based weapons.
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Bulb

OPCW Syria report debunks Western "chemical weapons" narrative

Tony Cartalucci
New Eastern Outlook
Mon, 04 Mar 2019 00:00 UTC
OPCW HQ
The OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) has presented its final report regarding an alleged chemical weapons attack on Douma, Syria on April 7, 2018. Despite attempts by the Western media to hail it as "proof" that the Syrian government used chemical weapons in Douma - the report says nothing of the sort.

In fact, the report fails to link any of the alleged 43 deaths to apparent chlorine found at the scene of the alleged attack.

Claims of the attack were made by US-backed militants on the eve of their defeat - with the Syrian military retaking Douma the following day. Initial reports claimed sarin or chlorine chemical weapons were deployed through the use of two yellow gas canisters modified as bombs.

No sarin of any kind was found by OPCW inspectors.

Comment: See also: OPCW's final report states Chlorine was 'likely' used in alleged Douma chemical attack - no nerve agent as Western media reported

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Safe

Under economic siege: Russia's financial decisions show preparedness for war waged by US

Anna Andrianova and Yevgenia Pismennaya
Fort Russ News
Sun, 03 Mar 2019 00:00 UTC
Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for war. War, the main weapons in which will not be hypersonic missiles and nuclear torpedoes, which he boasted about for a whole year.

Putin has built a financial fortress, which, according to government officials and Kremlin advisers, will protect the economy from strikes and encourage the US and allies to assess Russia's military capabilities and intentions..

Putin has been striving for this goal since he came to power at the turn of the millennium. The problem is becoming more urgent against the background of the next crisis with the West. When the global financial crisis occurred 10 years ago, Russia's main stock market index lost three-quarters of its value. And 5 years ago, after the collapse of oil prices and the imposition of sanctions because of the situation in Ukraine, the ruble fell by half against the dollar, which led to the longest recession during Putin's rule.

Now Russia is on the rise again, despite the adoption of a very curtailed budget. The total expenses of the Russian treasury this year (about $ 270 billion) make up less than half of Pentagon expenses. Last year, the country became one of the three G20 surplus economies, and its debt burden is the lowest in this group.

Comment: See also: From strength to strength: Russian goods trade surplus up 20% in 2018 to $212bn

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Light Saber

Ilhan Omar stands strong amid blizzard of attacks: 'I am told I am anti-American if I am not pro-Israel'

Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss
Mon, 04 Mar 2019 19:16 UTC
Ilhan Omar
Ilhan Omar
Ilhan Omar's statement last week about the role of the Israel lobby- "I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country" - has ignited a firestorm of criticism, including from House Democratic colleagues such as Eliot Engel, chair of House Foreign Affairs, who called on her to apologize for a "vile, anti-semitic slur." Engel is a regular at the Israel lobby organization AIPAC, where he has promised to keep support for Israel bipartisan.

Nita Lowey has also been outspoken against her colleague:
Lawmakers must be able to debate w/o prejudice or bigotry. I am saddened that Rep. Omar continues to mischaracterize support for Israel. I urge her to retract this statement and engage in further dialogue with the Jewish community on why these comments are so hurtful.
Lowey is also an AIPAC regular. That event was closed to the public, in a Westchester temple.

Comment: Love her or hate her Ilhan has finally brought the issue of Israel's inordinate influence over American foreign policy out into the open. She deserves to be commended for it.

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