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Attention

'Stirring up a hornet's nest': Czech President Zeman condemns illegal US-led missile attacks on Syria


Sputnik
Mon, 16 Apr 2018 12:07 UTC
Presidente checo, Milos Zeman
© David W Cerny - Reuters
Czech President Miloš Zeman has commented on the April 14 missile attack on Syria, carried out by the United States, France and the United Kingdom in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons by Damascus.

Western countries have "stirred up a hornet's nest" of geopolitical tension in the Middle East, the president of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman, said Sunday at the Prague F1 radio station, commenting on the latest missile strikes on Syria.
"The West has eminently stirred the Middle East. Firstly, they invaded Iraq, claiming that its authorities have weapons of mass destruction, though, in the end, they found nothing. This military operation brought enormous people losses, including the lives of American soldiers. Now, Kurds fight with the Iraqis, while the Iraqi Shiites fight the Iraqi Sunnis. I don't even mention large financial losses," Zeman said.

Comment:

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Heart - Black

Western hypocrisy: 'US, UK, France stand by Saudis in Yemen but pose as moral crusaders in Syria'

Neil Clark
RT
Mon, 16 Apr 2018 17:18 UTC
airstrike yemen
© Naif Rahma / ReutersA man is seen at the site of an airstrike that destroyed the Community College in Saada, Yemen April 12, 2018.
The Syria attack reveals the hypocrisy of the West - which fuels the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen despite documented abuses - but relies on unverified claims to punish Syria, journalist and broadcaster Neil Clark told RT.

As Riyadh's campaign in Yemen enters its fourth year, it has been repeatedly accused by rights groups of civilian casualties during the bombardment. However, in Syria's case, reports of a chemical weapon attack in Douma that are yet to be independently corroborated became the trigger for a coordinated military action, Clark pointed out.
"On the one hand, they are rolling out the red carpet for Saudi leaders and they are supporting, either directly or indirectly, the Saudi bombing of Yemen, which is causing a great humanitarian catastrophe - and how many children has that conflict killed?

"On the other hand, they pose as moral paragons, as moral crusaders when they claim children have died in Syria's chemical weapons attack without evidence."

Comment: What's a few dead kids when there's money to be made and geopolitical influence to retain?

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Yoda

Flashback Putin calls it: "Publish a world map and mark all the U.S. military bases on it. You will see the difference between Russia and the US"

Corriere della Sera Translation by Julia Gabrielle Barnes
MintPress News
Mon, 08 Jun 2015 16:39 UTC
Putin
© Associated PressRussian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin pulls no punches in an interview with Corriere della Sera.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a forum of independent regional and local mass media in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, April 28, 2015.

Full transcript:

Luciano Fontana: I would like to start with a question concerning Russian-Italian relations. This relationship has always been close and privileged, both in the economic and political spheres. However, it has been somewhat marred by the crisis in Ukraine and the sanctions. Could the recent visit by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to Russia and your upcoming visit to Milan somehow change this trend, and if so, what is needed for that?

Vladimir Putin: First, I firmly believe that Russia was not responsible for the deterioration in relations between our country and the EU states. This was not our choice; it was dictated to us by our partners. It was not we who introduced restrictions on trade and economic activities. Rather, we were the target and we had to respond with retaliatory, protective measures.

But the relationship between Russia and Italy has, indeed, always been privileged, both in politics and the economy. For instance, in recent years, that is, in the last couple of years, trade between our countries increased eleven fold, from what I believe was $4.2 billion - we make calculations in US dollars - to over $48 billion, nearly $49 billion.
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Info

Russian envoy to OPCW: 'Moscow has irrefutable evidence chem attack in Syria's Douma was staged'


RT
Mon, 16 Apr 2018 18:46 UTC
A child is treated in a hospital in Douma
© ReutersA child is treated in a hospital in Douma, eastern Ghouta in Syria, after what was claimed to be a suspected chemical attack April, 7, 2018
Moscow has "irrefutable proof" that the alleged chemical incident in Syria's Douma was a "false-flag attack," orchestrated by UK security services with support from the United States, the Russian envoy to the OPCW said.

"We have not just a 'high level of confidence,' as our Western partners uniformly put it; we have irrefutable proof that there was no chemical attack in Douma on April 7," Russia's Ambassador to the Organization for the Prohibition of the Chemical Weapons Aleksandr Shulgin said at a special meeting of the UN chemical watchdog's executive council. The diplomat added that the incident had been a "pre-planned false-flag attack by the British security services, which could have also been aided by their allies in Washington."

"Things unfolded according to the pre-written scenario prepared by Washington. There's no doubt, the Americans play 'first fiddle' in all of this," Shulgin said, adding that "attack" was staged by "pseudo-humanitarian NGOs," which are under the patronage of the Syrian government's foreign adversaries.

Comment: Clashes are underway between units of the Syrian Republican Guard and militants in the Syrian town of Duma in Eastern Ghouta, there are casualties, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported on Monday from the scene.
The fighting broke out at the Al Rahmani neighborhood.

According to local residents, a large arsenal of militants was located in one of the buildings in the neighborhood before the town's liberation.

Several people were killed and injured.

The development comes after the Syrian forces said that all the militants had left Douma, that was considered to be the last militant stronghold in Eastern Ghouta. Maj. Gen. Yuri Yevtushenko, head of Russia's Reconciliation Center for Syria, said that 3,976 militants left Douma by bus on Friday. He added that at least 67,680 have left the embattled Damascus suburb.


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Bad Guys

US, UK, France scrambling to maintain international legitimacy after illegal attack on Syria


RT
Mon, 16 Apr 2018 15:35 UTC
UK envoy Karen Pierce, French envoy Francois Delattre and US envoy Nikki Haley
© Eduardo Munoz / ReutersUK envoy Karen Pierce, French envoy Francois Delattre and US envoy Nikki Haley before the UN Security Council meeting on Syria, April 13, 2018.
Having set themselves above international law by bombing Syria without UN authorization, the US, the UK and France are now going calling on other countries to unite behind their fait accompli and endorse their actions.

American, British and French ships and airplanes fired over 100 missiles at Syria Saturday morning, claiming it was in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons in the Damascus suburb of Douma. The three countries did not wait for UN authorization, or even for evidence from the scene: the international team of experts from the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) had just arrived in Syria to investigate when the missiles began to fly.

As US President Donald Trump triumphantly declared "mission accomplished," his French colleague Emmanuel Macron called for the UN Security Council to step in and pick up the pieces.

Comment: See also: The US-led strike on Syria may have just attacked their own legitimacy

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Eye 2

From Srebrenica to Syria: How the US displaced the UN as the 'world police'

Nebojsa Malic
RT
Sat, 14 Apr 2018 16:28 UTC
nato bomb yugoslavia
© Reuters
After President Donald Trump tweeted "missiles are coming," the US, UK and France launched airstrikes on Syria. There was no international investigation of the alleged chemical attack, or UN authorization. How did it come to this?

The US likes to present itself as the foremost guardian of the "rules-based international order," blaming Russia and China for flouting these rules or seeking to change them. Yet in practice it is Washington and its allies that trample on the rules at nearly every occasion. Friday's strikes are but one example.

Earlier this week, US envoy Nikki Haley told the UN Security Council that Washington intended to act in Syria "with or without" the UN. Russia's Vassily Nebenzia responded with a reminder that the UN has all too often been used as a fig leaf for Western military adventurism. He specifically cited the example of Libya in 2011, when UNSC Resolution 1973 that authorized a "no-fly zone" was used by NATO as a license for regime change.

George W. Bush flouted the UN entirely in 2003, when he invaded Iraq after basically telling the Security Council he intended to do so no matter what. Before that, Bill Clinton launched NATO's 78-day war against Yugoslavia in 1999, also without bothering with the UN.

Comment: The destruction of Yugoslavia was a shameful act by the West, even more so because it appears to have been a testing ground for cynical new political, propaganda and military tactics

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Chart Pie

Afghan president invites Taliban to run in election and prove they have actual popular support


RT
Sun, 15 Apr 2018 16:37 UTC
afghan election
© Mohammad Ismail / Reuters
Afghanistan's president has invited the Taliban to take part in the upcoming parliamentary election in October. The unusual offer comes as the militant group continues to seize swathes of land in the war-torn country.

The Afghan government made "a clear and comprehensive suggestion about peace" to the Taliban, President Ashraf Ghani declared on Saturday as he spoke at a voter registration launch ceremony, Pajhwok reported. "The upcoming election is a great opportunity" for those "who think they have roots in this country," he said.

The Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist movement which emerged back in the 1980s, now "can appear as a political party and participate in this process," Ghani says. He added that Afghans are "tired of the bloodshed," and urged the militant group "to be serious about elections."

President Ghani already offered recognition of the Taliban as a legitimate political group in late February. The offer included negotiating a ceasefire and the release of the Taliban's prisoners, as well as holding including new elections that would involve the militants. The Taliban did not respond to the proposal.

However, Mohammed Akram Khpalwak, chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council - an agency in charge of negotiating with the Taliban - claimed on Saturday the group is considering the proposal. "As per our information, discussions are ongoing among them [the Taliban]," he said, as cited by TOLO News.

Comment: Seventeen years later, and the Taliban are still gaining ground. Mission accomplished?

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Bad Guys

UK's strikes on Syria contravened international law says Oxford law expert


RT
Mon, 16 Apr 2018 14:24 UTC
April 13, 2018 - London, England, United Kingdom - A protest takes place outside the gates of Downing Street, against the British government.
© Alberto Pezzali / Global Look PressApril 13, 2018 - London, England, United Kingdom - A protest takes place outside the gates of Downing Street, against the British government.
Theresa May is preparing for a parliamentary showdown, days after she ignored calls for a vote on Syrian strikes. As the UK leader gears up for an undoubtedly heated debate, one legal expert says she had no right to attack at all.

According to Oxford professor Dapo Akande, an article by whom was commissioned by the Labour Party and published on its website hours before May's face-off with MPs, the joint British, US and French action against the Syrian government was "not in accordance with the United Nations Charter and international law."

Akande, who is a professor of public international law, said the government's position was "significantly flawed" and not representative of current international legislation.

Comment: Not only did they contravene international law but in doing so they also exposed just how pitiful their abilities are: See also: And check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Humpty Trumpty? Western Reality Creation Taken to Breaking Point in Syria Strikes

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Map

Sources say Trump lawyer Cohen really did make trip to Prague in 2016

Peter Stone and Greg Gordon
McClatchy
Fri, 13 Apr 2018 13:11 UTC
MichaelCohen/Trump
© Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call; Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images.jpgLawyer Michael Cohen • President Donald Trump
The Justice Department special counsel has evidence that Donald Trump's personal lawyer and confidant, Michael Cohen, secretly made a late-summer trip to Prague during the 2016 presidential campaign, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Confirmation of the trip would lend credence to a retired British spy's report that Cohen strategized there with a powerful Kremlin figure about Russian meddling in the U.S. election.


Comment: Whether or not Cohen made the trip, and whether or not he strategized about "Russian meddling" with a Kremlin figure, are two separate issues.


It would also be one of the most significant developments thus far in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of whether the Trump campaign and the Kremlin worked together to help Trump win the White House. Undercutting Trump's repeated pronouncements that "there is no evidence of collusion," it also could ratchet up the stakes if the president tries, as he has intimated he might for months, to order Mueller's firing.

Trump's threats to fire Mueller or the deputy attorney general overseeing the investigation, Rod Rosenstein, grew louder this week when the FBI raided Cohen's home, hotel room and office on Monday. The raid was unrelated to the Trump-Russia collusion probe, but instead focused on payments made to women who have said they had sexual relationships with Trump.

Cohen has vehemently denied for months that he ever has been in Prague or colluded with Russia during the campaign. Neither he nor his lawyer responded to requests for comment for this story.

Comment: Nothing official has been released so far, so we'll have to wait and see whether or not there is actual evidence that Cohen made this trip. Meanwhile, prosecutors say that Cohen has been under a criminal probe for months now, focusing on his business dealings:
Investigators are seeking evidence of crimes "many of which have nothing to do with his work as an attorney, but rather relate to Cohen's own business dealings," prosecutors said. Investigators have reason to believe "that Cohen has exceedingly few clients and a low volume of potentially privileged communications," they said.
...
Evidence gathered in the probe so far shows that the "overwhelming majority" of material seized during the raid won't be privileged, prosecutors said in their memo. The government said it's not even apparent that Cohen has any attorney-client relationships with anyone other than Trump - and that there is "reason to doubt" that his communications with the president regarding Daniels are protected.

"Among other things, President Trump has publicly denied knowing that Cohen paid Clifford, and suggested to reporters that they had to "ask Michael" about the payment," the prosecutors wrote.
If Cohen did in fact make the Prague trip and subsequently lied about it, it's possible it had nothing to do with election meddling collusion, but dealt with something shady nonetheless. Even if the trip is confirmed, the reason for the trip may not mesh with what the dossier claims. We'll just have to wait and see whether or not any actual evidence is made public.

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Dollar

Saudis spending $1.5 billion to cover up their genocidal war on Yemenis

Dan Glazebrook
Counterpunch
Mon, 05 Mar 2018 00:00 UTC
Yemen
© Photo by Gerry & Bonni | CC BY 2.0
"The situation in Yemen - today, right now, to the population of the country," UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock told Al Jazeera last month, "looks like the apocalypse."

150,000 people are thought to have starved to death in Yemen last year, with one child dying of starvation or preventable diseases every ten minutes, and another falling into extreme malnutrition every two minutes. The country is undergoing the world's biggest cholera epidemic since records began with over one million now having contracted the disease, and new a diptheria epidemic "is going to spread like wildfire" according to Lowcock. "Unless the situation changes," he concluded, "we're going to have the world's worst humanitarian disaster for 50 years".

The cause is well known: the Saudi-led coalition's bombardment and blockade of the country, with the full support of the US and UK, has destroyed over 50% of the country's healthcare infrastructure, targeted water desalination plants, decimated transport routes and choked off essential imports, whilst the government all this is supposed to reinstall has blocked salaries of public sector workers across the majority of the country, leaving rubbish to go uncollected and sewage facilities to fall apart, and creating a public health crisis. A further eight million were cut off from clean water when the Saudi-led coalition blocked all fuel imports last November, forcing pumping stations to close. Oxfam's country director in Yemen, Shane Stevenson, commented at the time that "The people of Yemen are already being starved to submission - unless the blockade is lifted quickly they will have their clean water taken away too. Taking clean water from millions of people in a country that is already suffering the world's largest cholera outbreak and on the verge of famine would be an act of utmost barbarity."

Comment: So basically what the US, UK and others have already achieved in the way of massive war crimes perpetrated in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya (and attempted in Syria), is now effectively being done (through its Saudi arm) to the people of Yemen. The relentless pursuit of oppression, destruction and 'regime change' in the Middle East seems to know no limits.

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