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Hungary makes the US look lenient when it comes to immigration

Laura King
HeraldNet
Fri, 29 Jun 2018 15:42 UTC
Uvjerljiva pobjeda Viktora Orbana i sve njegove bitke s EU u borbi za Mađarsku
Nearly every day, an immigration lawyer makes his or her way to a barbed-wire enclosure along Hungary's border with Serbia, ready to walk an asylum seeker through the daunting process of pleading for safe haven in one of the most refugee-resistant countries in Europe.

Now these lawyers risk jail time if they so much as help a client fill out a complicated Hungarian-language form. Hungary's parliament last week approved a legislative package aimed not only at barring the gates to almost any outsider - but also decreeing punishment for those who try to aid would-be migrants.

Amid paroxysms of immigration-related political strife in the United States - family separations at the border with Mexico, the Supreme Court's upholding of the administration's travel ban targeting nationals from certain Muslim-majority countries - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a self-professed fan of President Donald Trump, is savoring his latest and most sweeping victory in the migration wars shaking Europe.

The new measures, set to take effect as early as this weekend, allow for the prosecution and jailing of human rights workers and volunteers for providing services, advice or support to migrants and asylum seekers. The package, which prompted vehement criticism from the European Union and human rights groups, could still be vetoed by Hungary's president, Janos Ader, but such a scenario is seen as highly unlikely.
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Handcuffs

Ex-diplomat Craig Murray: Prosecute Blair govt officials at ICC after torture report


RT
Fri, 29 Jun 2018 15:41 UTC
Prisoners Guantanamo military prison
© T. McCoy/Handout/ReutersPrisoners in a holding area at the notorious Guantanamo Bay in Cuba
Craig Murray, the only British civil servant to express written concerns over UK complicity in torture and rendition, has told RT that former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw should face the International Criminal Court.

Murray was the British ambassador to Uzbekistan when he noted that MI6 operatives were receiving intelligence from the "torture chambers of the Uzbek regime," later expressing written concerns back to the Foreign Office and "to Jack Straw personally," only to be told that "in the War on Terror, the decision was that we would accept intelligence from torture."

"I subsequently became aware that in fact the Americans were also shipping people into Uzbekistan specifically in order for them to be tortured under the extraordinary rendition system," said Murray.
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Magnet

Chinese navy plans to equip second vessel with electromagnetic railgun


Sputnik
Fri, 29 Jun 2018 22:05 UTC
electromagnetic railgun 1
© AFP 2018 / John F. Williams / Office of Naval Research
The Chinese navy plans to equip an electromagnetic railgun onto a second type of surface warfare vessel, before the United States Navy puts such a weapon on one ship, according to a US intelligence report cited by CNBC last week.

In February, the People's Liberation Army-Navy became the first known navy in the world to install an electromagnetic railgun onto an amphibious assault ship. According to a US intelligence report, sections of which were leaked to CNBC last week, China is expected to install the gun onto a destroyer by 2025. This, according to Task and Purpose, would be "a major strategic coup" for Beijing.

Railgun rounds are propelled by electromagnetic pulses instead of gunpowder and thus expected to be both cheaper to operate and more effective than existing cannons. They are also immensely powerful and destructive.

"If the PLA-N's fleets actually include any significant number of railgun-equipped ships by 2025," The War Zone said in an analysis of the American intel assessment, "it is even more likely that the era of near-total United States naval supremacy in any prospective conflict, especially in Pacific Region, will have come to a close."

Previous photos of the railgun appearing on a PLA-N ship showed the weapon mounted on the bow of a Type 072II-class landing ship (NATO designation Yuting-class), which is suited for amphibious assault warfare. Railguns have long been high on the wish lists of navies around the world, including those of Iran, Russia, and the United States, CNBC noted. Russia and the US have both tested their own railguns, but not on ships.
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Question

Tory colleagues give buffoon Johnson the 'cold shoulder' after another week of gaffes. Will May tolerate him much longer?


RT
Wed, 27 Jun 2018 15:32 UTC
Boris johnson
© Toby Melville / ReutersUK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was treated to many a "cold shoulder" and barely concealed contempt from cabinet colleagues, on his return from Afghanistan, after avoiding the contentious Heathrow expansion vote in parliament.

According to three cabinet ministers, the gaffe-prone Johnson encountered less "jocularity" from colleagues over his recent "f*** business" outburst over Brexit and avoidance of the critical vote on Heathrow expansion, and more "cold shoulder" and even "barely concealed contempt," the Guardian reports.

The Foreign Secretary was reportedly ignored by senior cabinet members who were "fed up and disappointed" with his recent actions, they feel, have damaged the Tory party, during a 90-minute meeting in which the Brussels EU summit taking place later this week and the government's LGBT action plan, were discussed.

Comment: How did this clown ever get into office, let alone stay there this long?

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Map

Trump leaves door open when asked about Crimea recognition: 'We're going to have to see'


RT
Sun, 01 Jul 2018 15:07 UTC
Donald Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One
© Reuters
In comments sure to ruffle some 'Russiagate' feathers, Donald Trump hinted that he may consider recognizing Crimea as a part of Russia. The remark comes two weeks before his historic summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

US President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, was asked if Washington would accept Russia's claim to Crimea. The president laconically replied: "We're going to have to see."

"I'll talk to him about everything," Trump said in reply to another question about the topic of Crimea at the much-anticipated summit. "We're going to be talking about Ukraine, we're going to be talking about Syria, we'll be talking about elections, and we don't want anybody tampering with elections."

Comment: Does Trump recognize that the Crimea issue is all political and that the will of the people in a wonderful display of democracy is being ignored?

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Snakes in Suits

Duterte marks two years in power, but unlikely to make it to six


RT
Sun, 01 Jul 2018 13:43 UTC
Duterte
© Erik De Castro / Reuters
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte may have just marked his second year of a six-year term, rattling the world and his country with controversial statements and policies. Though still popular, he's facing more discontent.

Duterte's staunch critics, association of leftist and progressive groups, National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) said the president has "become isolated domestically and internationally" in the two years since he took office and is unlikely finish his term forced out "by way of a surge in anti-fascist protest actions or some other means."

Part of that alliance Communist Party, which Duterte calls "terrorists," people are growing tired of Duterte's strict government policies, "deepening crisis and oppression," and controversial comments made towards other nations and their leaders, that push the country's "national dignity to the lowest levels."

It's true Duterte has made many controversial moves and statements since he was elected president in 2016, carving out a reputation for himself as one of Asia's most outspoken and outrageous leaders.
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Attention

EU chief Donald Tusk says Europe should prepare for the worst with Trump

Lorne Cook
AP
Thu, 28 Jun 2018 00:00 UTC
Donald Tusk
© European Jewish CongressEuropean Council President Donald Tusk
European Council President Donald Tusk says the European Union must prepare for the worst due to the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump, as a trade war looms between Washington and Brussels.

In a pre-summit invitation letter to the leaders of EU countries Wednesday, Tusk wrote that "trans-Atlantic relations are under immense pressure due to the policies of President Trump."

Tusk, who chairs the two-day summit starting Thursday in Brussels, said that "unfortunately, the divisions go beyond trade. It is my belief that, while hoping for the best, we must be ready to prepare our Union for worst-case scenarios," he wrote.

Earlier this month, Trump imposed tariffs on imports of European steel and aluminum. The EU responded with "rebalancing measures" that hit around 2.8 billion euros ($3.25 billion) worth of American-made products.

Tusk thinks Trump's action on tariffs, which the EU insists is pure protectionism, and pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal - an agreement the Europeans say is vital to their security- is part of a pattern rather than isolated incidents. Trump is also threatening to introduce tariffs on cars, which could heavily impact Germany.

Comment: Trump has a way of shaking up the comfort zone and doing away with complacency. With enough prodding, trade partners will have to rethink their economic structures and evaluate workable solutions. Do they want to? No. Do they have to? Now they do.

Sputnik is reporting that Donald Tusk made an explicit reference to NATO:
Tusk Warns 'Immense Pressure' From Trump May Lead to NATO Collapse - Reports

The European Union should boost its defenses and be able to act independently of the United States, the 28-member bloc's leaders said in a summit statement, released earlier in the day.

During a summit dinner, the president of the European Council laid out his concerns that the "immense pressure" the Trump administration is exerting on the North Atlantic Alliance could lead to its collapse.

"Despite our tireless efforts to keep the unity of the West, transatlantic relations are under immense pressure due to the policies of President Trump," he said.

According to The Times, Tusk called on EU leaders to "go beyond" discussions on US steel and aluminum tariffs and consider a potential break-up of NATO.

[...]

"Europe must take greater responsibility for its own security. The union is therefore taking steps to bolster European defense, by enhancing defense investment, capability development and operational readiness," The Times cited a draft communiqué as reading.

[...]


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Attention

Ministers prepare for Queen's death in 'unprecedented' secret exercise


RT
Sun, 01 Jul 2018 15:00 UTC
London
© Kevin Coombs / Reuters
UK ministers took part in a secret exercise to prepare for the aftermath of the Queen's death, according to a report by the Sunday Times. The scale of the high-level gathering was dubbed "unprecedented."

Thursday's meeting was chaired by UK Prime Minister Theresa May's deputy David Lidington, and was attended by Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom, and Scottish Secretary David Mundell, the paper reported. The exercise took place in the same Cabinet Office room where the Cobra emergency committee meets and political aides were banned in an effort to prevent any leaks.

Plans for the 92-year-old Queen's death have long been in place, and are referred to as 'London Bridge'. However, the scale of this week's exercise along with the ministers' attendance has been described as "unprecedented."

"This is the first time different ministers have come together in one room," an unnamed Whitehall source told the Times. "Previously it has only been officials."
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Stop

FBI agent Strzok refuses to testify about any talks with dossier-linked Fusion GPS

Aaron Klein
Breitbart
Fri, 29 Jun 2018 14:54 UTC
strzok
© Getty Images
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) revealed that during his closed session interview with the House Judiciary and Oversight committees, former FBI official Peter Strzok refused to answer multiple questions, including whether he communicated with the author of the discredited anti-Trump dossier or with the firm paid by Hillary Clinton's campaign to produce the infamous dossier.

Goodlatte made those revelations during the televised portion of Wednesday's hearing.

At that section of the hearing, Goodlatte stated (emphasis added):
We went through a lot of questions about a lot of things for which we got answers, but we were also stymied time and time and time again because the FBI counsel instructed him not to answer because it was, as she called it, an ongoing investigation. Now we have an ongoing investigation here as well.
...
Mr. Strzok was expected to answer questions regarding his involvement in both of these investigations. Not from this standpoint of the substance of the investigation but from the standpoint of what his role was in a contemporaneous time with some of the most unbelievably, outrageously biased, vulgar texts that he was exchanging at the same time that he was being introduced into this investigation.

So questions regarding has he ever communicated with Mr. Steele, or Glenn Simpson, who is a journalist, or other matters like this to find out what his role was in the start of that investigation is critical to our investigation. And we need the answers to those questions. And we are now being blocked again from the FBI.
Simpson, a former journalist with the Wall Street Journal, is the co-founder of Fusion GPS, the controversial firm that hired former British spy Christopher Steele to produce the dossier. Simpson's Fusion GPS was paid for its anti-Trump work by Trump's primary political opponents, namely Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) via the Perkins Coie law firm.

Comment: See also:

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Quenelle

Tit for tat: France accuses Russia of breaking media laws and Russia rightfully retaliates


Yahoo
Fri, 29 Jun 2018 12:00 UTC
France 24 broadcasts in English on Russian satellite packages
© AFP Photo/Valery HACHEFrance 24 broadcasts in English on Russian satellite packages
Russia's state media regulator on Friday accused television channel France 24 of violating the country's media laws, after Paris issued a warning to the French arm of Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT.

"As part of its control and supervision activity in the media, Roskomnadzor identified a violation of media law 19.1 by France 24 in Russia," the watchdog said in a statement.

The law in question bans foreigners from holding more than a 20-percent stake in Russian media outlets, forcing them to be controlled by local legal entities.

France 24 broadcasts in English on Russian satellite packages.

Comment: It remains to be seen what happened with the apparent fake dubbing, but what is clear is that Russia has no need to produce government authorised fakenews, which is the bread and butter of the Western mainstream media. Merely publishing the truth and exposing the very real corruption of the Western establishment is sufficient, and their behaviour towards outlets who do this, like RT, is brazen:

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