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TV

Poor Comey: ABC interview falls flat for members of the press

Eddie Scarry
Washington Examiner
Mon, 16 Apr 2018 15:17 UTC
comey
© Ralph Alswang/AP
Former FBI Director James Comey's highly anticipated weekend TV interview fell flat for key members of the press.

The one-hour interview, which aired Sunday on ABC ahead of the publication of Comey's book "A Higher Loyalty," received extensive coverage in the national press for Comey's sharp rebukes of President Trump, but there were almost no revelations in his answers, and some critics said Comey came across as self-serving.

"I didn't like that interview," CNN political analyst David Gregory said Monday morning. "I don't think Jim Comey came off well at all. I think yet again he is obsessed with his standing, his media standing, his kind of political standing."

New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman said Comey's book "does not appear to contain a ton of news in terms of revelations," and she described the ABC interview as "much lower grade burn than I thought it would be, certainly, and than I think [Trump's] advisers thought it would be."

Washington Post politics blogger Aaron Blake said Comey "presented himself as too imperfect a figure - one overly concerned with appearances, politics and ego..." He added that there were times Comey seemed "vindictive and even petty" and that "if he was looking to prosecute the case against Trump in the court of public opinion, he has chosen a strange way in which to do it."

Comment: FBI agents aren't very pleased either:
Current and former FBI agents are furious after former Director James Comey gave his first interview since President Trump fired him last year to ABC's George Stephanopoulos on Sunday night, reports the Daily Beast - which was privy to a play-by-play flurry of text messages and other communications detailing their reactions.
Seven current or former FBI agents and officials spoke throughout and immediately after the broadcast. There was a lot of anger, frustration, and even more emojis - featuring the thumbs-down, frowny face, middle finger, and a whole lot of green vomit faces.

One former FBI official sent a bourbon emoji as it began; another sent the beers cheers-ing emoji. The responses became increasingly angry and despondent as the hourlong interview played out. -Daily Beast
"Hoover is spinning in his grave," said a former FBI official. "Making money from total failure," in reference to Comey plugging his book, A Higher Loyalty.

Jana Winter of The Beast adds that when a promo aired between segments advertising Comey's upcoming appearance with The View, the official "grew angrier."

"Good lord, what a self-serving self-centered jackass," the official said. "True to form he thinks he's the smartest guy around."

A current official with the FBI said it was strange how Comey seemed so pleased with how things played out. "It's how happy he looked on TV while cashing in on the biggest mistake in history. His mistake," they said. "Jim Comey made that mistake. We all just wonder what could have been and what we could've done to change it."

Not all the current and former FBI officials had problems with the interview, however - as one official who spoke out in support of Comey said "I thought he was highly trustworthy and very transparent, like watching someone in confession," the former official said. "It seems like he's still wrestling with it."

The majority, however, were all negative on the former Director's interview - with one even souring as the interview progressed:
One longtime Team Comey source-who is still an FBI agent-sent thumbs-up emojis repeatedly during the first half hour, but even this loyalist began to lose patience by the halfway mark-sending a frowny face. A few minutes later there was a nauseous emoji, and then a poop emoji after the final segment. -DB
Sources confirm to ZeroHedge that a frowny face emoji is indeed very bad. In a stunning development, Comey's interview even encouraged a former FBI official to start using emojis.
Another former FBI official not historically known for their use of emojis, sent a bowing emjoi which-they explained in a follow up message-they believed to mean "slamming my head into something, obviously."
Another source who works frequently with the FBI said they wouldn't watch the extended cut of the interview.

"Didn't watch it - I don't care, he's basically a scumbag. I don't know how they're letting him write a book in the middle of an investigation that he's part of. I wonder if he had his book cleared by the intelligence community? He's supposed to but I bet he didn't."


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Eye 2

Flashback US supplied white phosphorus to Saudi Arabia in its war against Yemen

Thomas Gibbons-Neff
The Washington Post
Sun, 18 Sep 2016 00:00 UTC
white phosphorus mortar
© Spc. Barbara Ospina/1st Brigade Combat Team Public AffairsAn 81mm white phosphorus mortar round bursts on impact during a live-fire exercise involving elements of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division.
Saudi Arabia appears to be using U.S.-supplied white phosphorus munitions in its war in Yemen, based on images and videos posted to social media, raising concerns among human rights groups that the highly incendiary material could be used against civilians.

Under U.S. regulations, white phosphorus sold to other countries is to be used only for signaling to other troops and creating smoke screens. When the munition explodes, it releases white phosphorus that automatically ignites in the air and creates a thick white smoke. When used against soldiers or civilians, it can maim and kill by burning to the bone.

It is unclear exactly how the Saudis are using the munitions, but the government has already received widespread condemnation for its indiscriminate bombing in civilian areas since its campaign against rebel forces in Yemen began in 2015.

U.S. officials confirmed that the American government has supplied the Saudis white phosphorus in the past but declined to say how much had been transferred or when. After reviewing a social media image taken from the battlefield that showed a white phosphorus mortar shell, a U.S. official said it appeared to be American in origin but could not trace it to a particular sale because some of the markings were obscured.

Comment: The fact is that regulations or no regulations the US has been supplying white phosphorous to its allies (and using it against enemy combatants) for a long time now. The US, Saudi Arabia, the Kiev junta and Israel's IDF know no bounds when they've decided to engage the enemy with utter barbarity.

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Bizarro Earth

US 'think tanks' funded by defense companies that lobby for war - and how threats against Syria are good for the stock market

Danielle Ryan
RT
Tue, 17 Apr 2018 11:42 UTC
raytheon boeing stock market
© Brendan McDermid / Reuters
When US President Donald Trump fired a barrage of Tomahawk missiles at Syrian government targets last week, it was a good day for defense contractors, at least.

In the aftermath of the strike, which Trump claimed was in retaliation for an alleged chemical attack by the Syrian government, stocks in Tomahawk missile manufacturer Raytheon surged. Raytheon stock has climbed more than 18 percent in 2018 so far. In fact, stocks in defense companies have been climbing in general since Trump entered office promising "historic" increases in military spending.

Almost a year ago to the day, Trump delivered another bump to the defense companies after attacking Syrian government positions for the first time - also in response to an alleged chemical attack, evidence for which remains in question.

Comment: So while these companies not only drain the economy of funding for social programs and raise taxes, they line their pockets, slaughter innocent civilians worldwide, and subvert the very core of democracy.

Even though the financial system is rigged, it can still tell us a lot of; one of the more significant points is that Western economies are sliding into the abyss and the driving force now lies elsewhere: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Humpty Trumpty? Western Reality Creation Taken to Breaking Point in Syria Strikes

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Eye 1

Comey blames Obama & Lynch for 'setting up' FBI during Clinton investigation


RT
Wed, 18 Apr 2018 11:16 UTC
James Comey
© Aaron Bernstein / Reuters
In his new book, former FBI director James Comey blames President Barack Obama and Attorney General Loretta Lynch for "setting up" his bureau amid the investigation into the Hillary Clinton email affair.

In the book, Comey writes that President Obama "jeopardized the Department of Justice's credibility," by referring to Clinton's use of a private email server as a "mistake," according to an advance copy obtained by the Washington Examiner.

Obama appeared on Fox News in 2016, and said that Clinton may have been careless but did not do anything to intentionally harm national security. "President Obama is a very smart man who understands the law very well," wrote Comey. "To this day, I don't know why he spoke about the case publicly and seemed to absolve her before a final determination was made."

Comment: Further reading:

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Bad Guys

Now they're bombing Syria, Paris to revoke Assad's Legion of Honor


RT
Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:43 UTC
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrives for a meeting with then French President Jacques Chirac in Paris, June 25, 2001
© Ayman Trawi / AFPSyrian President Bashar al-Assad arrives for a meeting with then French President Jacques Chirac in Paris, June 25, 2001
Following its missile strike on Syria, Paris suddenly realized that Bashar Assad is still holding the country's most prestigious Legion of Honor decoration, received in 2001 from Jacques Chirac, local media has revealed.

France has initiated a procedure to revoke the Legion of Honor awarded to Syrian President Bashar Assad, an official of the French presidency told BFM TV broadcaster on Monday evening. "The Elysee [palace] confirms that a disciplinary procedure to withdraw the Legion of Honor of [President] Assad has been launched," the official said.

Assad was made a knight of the Legion of Honor (Legion d'Honneur in French), the country's highest decoration, back in 2001, when he met former French president Jacques Chirac. At that time, he had just succeeded his father Hafez Assad, who had ruled Syria for several decades.

Comment: After more than a decade of apparently exemplary behavior, suddenly Assad is a tyrant and doesn't deserve France's "highest decoration" - this tired trope has been played out so many times by the West it's nauseating. Surely if Assad was a tyrant, diplomats would have been amassing evidence to support the claim, and this would have been revoked much earlier?

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Rainbow

On the brink of peace: North and South Korea reportedly set to announce official end to war

Sam Meredith
CNBC
Tue, 17 Apr 2018 09:42 UTC
north south korea gymnasts
© Claro Cortes / ReutersNorth Korea's gymnast and South Korea's listen to the national anthem as the North Korean flag rises
  • Ahead of a summit next week between North Korean premier Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-In, lawmakers from the neighboring states were thought to be negotiating the details of a joint statement that could outline an end to the military conflict between the two countries.
  • Pyongyang and Seoul have technically been at war since the 1950-1953 Korean conflict ended with a truce - and not a peace treaty.
North and South Korea are in talks to announce a permanent end to the officially declared military conflict between the two countries, daily newspaper Munhwa Ilbo reported Tuesday, citing an unnamed South Korean official.

Ahead of a summit next week between North Korean premier Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, lawmakers from the neighboring states were thought to be negotiating the details of a joint statement that could outline an end to the confrontation.

Kim and Moon could also discuss returning the heavily fortified demilitarized zone separating them to its original state, the newspaper said.

Pyongyang and Seoul have technically been at war since the 1950-1953 Korean conflict ended with a truce - and not a peace treaty. Geopolitical tensions have occasionally flared up since the armistice, although to date both countries have managed to avoid another devastating conflict.

A successful summit between the Koreas later this month could help pave the way for a meeting between Kim and President Donald Trump. The U.S. president and North Korean leader are poised to hold talks in late May or June, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Comment: While the US is busy looking for ways to demonize Russia and harass Syria, the Koreas are giving peace a chance. Washington will realize what is going on soon, so let's keep an eye for unpleasant surprises that obstruct the peace effort. See also:

Disastrous Winter Olympics For the USA, May Lose South Korea to Peace

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Dollars

Trump picked the least expensive option to strike Syria out of three

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Mon, 16 Apr 2018 09:21 UTC
Pence Trump Bolton
The White House took roughly a week to retaliate against the Syrian regime for a gas attack on a rebel-held city as Trump was distracted by the FBI's raid on the home, hotel and office of his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, the ongoing negotiations over Nafta and his burgeoning war against Amazon.

While Trump alienated much of his noninterventionist base by ordering the strikes, it also appears that the president somehow resisted the temptation to go full neocon - opting instead for the most mild, and least costly, of the alternatives presented to him by Defense Secretary James Mattis, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Comment: Ultimately, it boils down to the realization of the White House that they cannot have a direct confrontation with Russia without paying a huge price for it, so they are largely restricted to theatrics. See:

Forget WW3: What We Just Saw Happen In Syria Is The Extent Of Western Power

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Yoda

The lone voice of sanity in UK: Corbyn attacked for calling for concrete proof of Russian involvement in Skripal poisoning


RT
Tue, 17 Apr 2018 20:55 UTC
Boris Johnson Jeremy Corbyn
© Jeff Overs / ReutersBoris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn has again called for "incontrovertible" proof of Russian involvement in the Salisbury chemical attack. Boris Johnson's reaction to the demand for evidence was to call the Labour leader 'blind.'

Corbyn told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show that he wants concrete proof that Russia was behind the Skripal poisoning. "I want to see incontrovertible evidence of it," Corbyn said. "I am appalled and alarmed at the idea that anyone would use this nerve agent and clearly it was an attempt to murder the Skripals on British soil.

"Sadly, it's not the [OPCW's] job to identify who made it or necessarily where it was made. I think we do need to strengthen the role of the OPCW in the future."

Comment: At least Corbyn is getting some support within his own party
In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today program, [Labour Shadow Attorney General ] Chakrabarti said that the government's arguments for the legal justification for airstrikes carried out in the early hours of Saturday did not pass "the tests it set for itself."

"You can't use force under international law just to punish Syria for bad behavior," Chakrabarti said. "You have to actually be using urgent, necessary and proportionate force. And you have to do it with the will of the world behind you."

Chakrabarti added that "the government has not passed the tests it set for itself. I don't think that the government can demonstrate convincing evidence, and a general acceptance by the international community that they had to act in the way they did a few days ago."

UK Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to apply for an emergency Commons debate on the joint mission carried out by the US, Britain and France, in response to the recent alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria.

Chakrabarti suggests the PM chose not to recall Parliament because she was afraid of losing such a critical vote, saying:
"I think that Parliament should have been recalled before the strike. Some people will suspect that that didn't happen because of governmental concerns that they couldn't get the vote in Parliament. And that to me is not a good enough reason."


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USA

SOTT Focus: Douma Chemical Attack Was Staged: This Short Video Proves it


Sott.net
Tue, 17 Apr 2018 20:15 UTC
Douma chemical attack
The US, UK and French governments claimed that a 'chemical weapon' attack occurred in Douma on April 7th. They cited "social media" as their evidence for the attack, in particular a video of a chaotic scene inside a hospital where people were being treated. Yet rather than waiting for OPCW inspectors to visit the scene of the alleged attack to determine what occurred, the US, UK and French militaries attempted to bomb 10 targets, mostly Syrian military bases, on the morning of April 13th.

In the short video presentation below, several doctors and other medical personnel who were in the hospital room in the aftermath of what they said was shelling - and who appeared in the video used by the US, UK and French governments as evidence that a chemical weapon was used - tell their story.
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Cult

Nikki Haley suggests that US will stay in Syria for as long as Iran exists

Caitlin Johnstone
Medium
Sun, 15 Apr 2018 00:00 UTC
Haley
So quick recap:

One year ago, the Trump administration transgressed establishment Washington orthodoxy by asserting that it was no longer pursuing regime change in Syria as a priority. Days later, there were contested reports of a sarin gas attack in Idlib province which killed dozens of civilians. This was immediately responded to by a missile strike on a Syrian airbase without any investigation. After the strike, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley was trotted out, saying that removal of Assad had just become a US priority.

Flash forward to this year.

Two weeks ago, Trump was openly talking about wanting to get US troops out of Syria "like, very soon," as soon as 48 hours by some reports. As we all know, this was followed by another disputed report of a chemical attack on civilians, which was followed by another military strike on the Syrian government. And, just today, none other than Nikki Haley was trotted out to inform us that US troops will be staying in Syria for the foreseeable future.
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