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Chess

EU spokesman: Bloc stands ready to react 'swiftly' to any Trump trade curbs

Margaritis Schinas
Margaritis Schinas, the current Chief Spokesperson of the European Commission
The European Union has reacted to US President Donald Trump's criticism over, what he called, the EU's unfair trade practices, which the President sees as discriminatory toward the US, explaining by it the expanding US foreign trade deficit.

"We here, in the European Union, believe that trade can and should be win-win. We also believe that while trade has to be open and fair, it has also to be rules-based. The European Union stands ready to react swiftly and appropriately in case our exports are affected by any restrictive trade measures from the United States," Margaritis Skinas, the official representative of the European Commission (EC) stated on Monday at a press conference in Brussels.

The comment follows US President Donald Trump's statement made earlier in the day during an interview with UK ITV broadcaster, saying that he had a lot of problems with the European Union in the sphere of trade, calling their practices discriminatory toward the US and explaining that their alleged international currency manipulations had impacted the US trade deficit over the past two decades.

Comment: Further reading:


Attention

US refuses to budge as Turkey extends military ops into US-occupied Manbij

US Army Syria
© AP Photo/ Arab 24 network
After launching its Olive Branch operation in Syria's Afrin, the Turkish authorities said that the operation was likely to expand towards the neighboring city of Manbij, where the US has some 2,000 of its military personnel deployed.

Pulling US forces from Manbij is "not something we are looking into", US Central Command chief General Joseph Votel said Monday.

Earlier this month, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Ankara will not limit its precautionary measures against the YPG to Syria's Afrin district but could move to Manbij, also in Aleppo province.

Comment: Further reading: Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu says US troops must leave Syria's Manbij


Info

Sochi to host National Dialogue Congress in attempt to boost Syrian peace efforts

Syria sochi talks
Sochi is hosting a forum on Syria's future, bringing together representatives of the country's various social strata. The Congress is expected to boost the peace process and kick-start efforts to draft a new constitution.

The Syrian National Dialogue Congress is to start in the Russian resort city of Sochi on Monday. The event is expected to last for two days, the main negotiations taking place on Tuesday.

The Congress is sponsored by Russia, Turkey and Iran, the leaders of the three countries having agreed to the all-Syrian Congress in November. The main goal of the meeting is to gather "delegates from various political parties, internal and external opposition, ethnic and confessional groups at the negotiating table," Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the time.

Comment: While Russia attempts to establish a credible and lasting peace in Syria, Western interventionist powers have taken it upon themselves to fashion their own 'plan' for shaping Syria's future. Reports suggest this plan includes a UN-supervised election and the stripping of President power.

Tass reports:
The proposals for a settlement in Syria developed by a group of five nations (the United States, the UK, France, Saudi Arabia and Jordan) at a meeting in Washington on January 12 are totally unacceptable, head of the Damascus delegation at the intra-Syrian talks and Syria's Permanent Representative to the UN Bashar Jaafari said on Friday summing up the results of the meeting in Vienna.

"This document is totally unacceptable and is not even worthy of the ink it is written with," he said.

"We believe that this failed attempt is aimed at undermining the Geneva talks and the congress in Sochi, the political process and efforts to establish peace in Syria," Jaafari added.

According to Jaafari, the meeting in Washington and the unofficial document prepared at it are "tantamount to a black comedy, in which we live in new chapter of conspiracy against Syria." [...]

A group of five nations prepared an unofficial document on resolving the Syrian crisis at a meeting in Washington on January 12. Its text has not been made public, but the Al Mayadeen TV channel reported on Friday citing its own sources that it focuses, in particular, on turning Syria into a parliamentary and presidential republic, decentralization in the country and carrying out reforms and post-war reconstruction processes under external control. According to the TV network, the plan has been presented to UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura.



Bizarro Earth

'Operation Olive Branch' and other curiously named military campaigns

turkish military
© Umit Bektas / Reuters
Since WWI, armies have provided code names for their military operations. Many, however, have been euphemisms to conceal what really stands behind them.

This week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a military campaign against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in the enclave of Afrin, situated in northern Syria. Codenamed 'Operation Olive Branch,' it has failed miserably from the outset to live up to its name.

First, considering that Ankara views the YPG as a bona fide terrorist organization, it is hard to understand how it could give such a blatantly deceptive codename to what amounts to a full-blown military incursion. But then again, deception is part and parcel of any such enterprises.

Comment: If we take into the often delusional thinking of some military leaders, it should be no surprise that illegally invading countries could be considered as 'bringing freedom', then again, some of them know exactly what they're doing and their humour is as twisted as the results of these inhumane 'wars':

For more on the Turkish action in Syria, see: Also See: $200bn to reconstruct war-torn Syria: The US and its allies are responsible and should be charged for war crimes


Cardboard Box

US to take back heavy weapons sent to YPG but no time frame given, says official

Kurdish Kurds soldiers
The United States reiterated its commitment to Turkey that it will take back heavy weapons it delivered to the People's Protection Units (YPG) but refrained to give a certain time frame during high-level bilateral political and military talks in the Turkish capital Ankara on Jan. 23 and 24.


"We did tell them that we do intend to fulfill that commitment. But I can't give you a specific time frame," a senior U.S. official told the Hürriyet Daily News on Jan. 24 about the U.S. promises over the weapons given to the YPG. The official also informed that only heavy weapons delivered to the YPG would be collected.

But the official reiterated the U.S.'s well-known position that they will continue to cooperate with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an umbrella group mainly consisting of YPG militants, to ensure that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) will be fully cleared from Syria.

Ties between Turkey and the U.S. have strained over a number of issues, but the latter's military support to the YPG pitted the two long-standing allies against each other. Turkey considers the YPG as an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and, therefore, as terrorist. The U.S., however, regards the group as the most efficient ground force in the fight against ISIL and has supplied it with heavy weapons.

Comment: It is with some amusement that we observe how clueless the US is about what to do in regards to Turkey's decisive move on the Kurds. They can't say no to NATO ally Turkey, and they don't want to say no to their Kurdish pawns. So they do neither, pleasing no one. But what will the Kurds do once they realize the US was never really 'on their side'? Thus, the US 'Plan B' in Syria is quickly unravelling:


Bad Guys

Kurds slam US 'double standards' for not fighting Turkey in Afrin, as Erdogan vows to 'cleanse' city of 'terrorists'

Turkish forces are seen near Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, Syria, on January 23, 2018.
© Khalil Ashawi / ReutersTurkish forces are seen near Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, Syria, on January 23, 2018.
As Kurdish fighters look to the US to help in the fight against Turkish troops in Manbij, some are accusing Washington of double standards after it did nothing to protect Afrin from "Turkish occupation."

"With the coalition, especially the US forces, we saw some double standards," a Kurdish military officer by the name of Khalil told RT's Ruptly agency. "What we demand from the US, in particular, is to fulfil the promises to the [US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces] - that is to protect the liberated areas, including Afrin, which, as we can see, has been fighting heroically and fiercely for seven days against Turkish occupation..."

The US did not step in when Turkey launched its 'Operation Olive Branch' in Afrin, which Ankara says is aimed at battling terrorists in the region. Instead, President Donald Trump "relayed concerns that escalating violence [in Afrin] risks undercutting [sic] our shared goals in Syria," a White House spokesperson said. "He urged Turkey to exercise caution and to avoid any actions that might risk conflict between Turkish and American forces."

Comment: For more on the US decision to not challenge Turkey in Afrin, check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Turkey Launches Military Operation Against Syrian Kurdish 'Rebels'

Also See:


Snakes in Suits

George Soros shows himself to be an elitist hypocrite as he addresses attendees at Davos

George Soros
Liberal billionaire George Soros grabbed headlines at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday by attacking internet giants Google and Facebook. Conveniently ignoring his own investment in these companies, Soros branded them a "menace to society."

"They deliberately engineer addiction to the services they provide," Soros said. "This can be very harmful, particularly for adolescents. There is a similarity between internet platforms and gambling companies. Casinos have developed techniques to hook gamblers to the point where they gamble away all their money, even money they don't have. Something very harmful and maybe irreversible is happening to human attention in the digital age. Not just distraction or addiction: social media companies are inducing people to give up their autonomy."

Well, Soros would know about gambling: after all, he made his billions, by gambling in the casino of the financial markets. It worked out great for him, turning him into a fabulously wealthy plutocrat afforded the platform to pontificate pompously to his fellow elitists at Davos, and to indulge his personal political predilections by throwing his money at liberal causes.

Dollars

It sure seems like NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio took a bribe

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio
© Michael Loccisano/Getty ImagesNew York Mayor Bill de Blasio
A campaign donor to Mayor Bill de Blasio secretly pleaded guilty in federal court to bribery, admitting that he used his contributions to the mayor to try to win favorable lease terms for a restaurant he owned on city property, newly unsealed court records show.

While the court papers included no charges against Mr. de Blasio or other city officials, a federal criminal information in the case makes it clear that the donor, Harendra Singh, got something in return.

The court documents said that the mayor took steps to benefit Mr. Singh in exchange for the contributions, and that an unnamed senior aide to Mr. de Blasio arranged a meeting to pressure a city agency to offer more favorable terms to Mr. Singh.

Last March, federal prosecutors who had investigated Mr. de Blasio's fund-raising decided not to bring criminal charges against the mayor based on what they described as a high burden of proof and the challenge of proving corruption without "evidence of personal profit."

Mr. Singh's plea hearing occurred in a sealed Long Island courtroom before United States District Court Judge Sandra J. Feuerstein on Oct. 17, 2016; Mr. Singh said that his donations were intended as part of a quid pro quo, according to a transcript of the hearing.

Health

Britain renews UNRWA support for Palestinian refugees

UNRWA palestine aid
© Ali Jadallah/Anadolu AgencyPalestinian men carry food aid given by UNRWA in Gaza City, Gaza on 15 January 2018
Britain renewed its "reinforced" support for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), a statement from its consulate in Jerusalem made clear on Friday. The statement was issued days after the US announced that it is cutting by half its financial support for the international organisation.

Britain has given £214 million to UNRWA since 2014, including £50m for the current financial year, 2017-18. According to the consulate statement, the government recognises the unique role that UNRWA plays in affording the basic needs of the Palestinian refugees in the occupied Palestinian territories, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

"After visiting several places run by UNRWA in Gaza and Bethlehem," explained British Consul Philip Haul, "I see that its services are important. We are committed to continue supporting this organisation." UNRWA offers basic education to more than half a million Palestinian refugees in 700 schools and health services to more than 2 million refugees every year.

On Sunday, Britain's Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Alistair Burt MP, said that his country would continue providing support for UNRWA. "My officials are working closely with UNRWA and other European Union partners on how best to ensure continuity of essential services to Palestinian refugees," he confirmed.

Magnify

Macron's presidency so far: Neoliberal hawk or maverick statesman?

Macron
© unknownFrench President Emmanuel Macron
The gambit is a well-known opening move in the chess game. The player makes a sacrifice, typically a pawn, for the sake of a compensating advantage. Emmanuel Macron metaphorically did that in the first six months of his presidency. In the run-up to the presidential election, the political neophyte introduced himself as neither left-wing nor right-wing, but rather as left-wing and right-wing. It was a bold attempt to supersede the deeply entrenched left-right divide in French politics, and to take from both camps "what works best." In so doing, Macron was able, for a short period of time, to defy political gravity and position himself as an ideal centrist candidate.

What's more, the 39-year old candidate was untested politically, a young bright figure with a liberal profile and background. In this respect, Macron likes to remind everyone that he was once the editorial assistant to renowned French philosopher Paul Ricoeur. Indeed, Macron is keen to be seen as the first "intellectual president" since François Mitterrand.

If Macron was a breath of fresh air in the run-up to the election, his political honeymoon with the voters did not last long. His first actions in power have marked the end of an original realignment of French politics. His economic policy blatantly leans to the right and is of a neoliberal nature. Both sides say so. Les Républicains, the party launched by former president Nicolas Sarkozy, has been remarkably silent since the start of the Macron presidency. They are unable to mount any significant challenge because, as some Republicans privately argue, Macron has stolen most of their policies. In short, they have virtually nothing to oppose and nowhere to go.


Comment: This can only help France, which has become such a stifled place for business that small businesses don't even bother anymore.


Comment: The author thinks he can school Macron on what not to do but, so far, Macron is proving something of a maverick. He's flawed, of course, and obnoxious at times, like Trump, but warnings about his Rothschild past notwithstanding, he's turning out to be a 'French leader for French people'.

That's why his opponents are grasping at straws; Macron's winning.