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Snakes in Suits

US officials demand Al Jazeera register under FARA as a propaganda agent

Peter Van Buren
The American Conservative
Tue, 27 Mar 2018 00:00 UTC
Al-Jazeera tvstudio
© Wittylama/CreativeCommonsAl Jazeera's main television studio, Doha headquarters.
The network is the latest in the big chill, is being called 'anti-American, anti-Semitic, and anti-Israel.'

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to investigate whether Al Jazeera, the news outlet connected to the Qatari government, should register with the Justice Department as an agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). This will have broad implications for the First Amendment, our access to dissenting opinions, and even how the rest of the world views us.

The lawmakers include Representatives Josh Gottheimer, (D-NJ), Lee Zeldin (R-NY), and 16 other House members. Senator Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, also signed the letter to Sessions. The letter claims Al Jazeera "directly undermines American interests" and broadcasts "anti-American, anti-Semitic, and anti-Israel" material. If forced to register, Al Jazeera would join Russian outlets RT and Radio Sputnik, Japan's Cosmomedia, the Korean Broadcasting System, and China Daily as acknowledged foreign state propaganda outlets. The DOJ has also been asked to look into a range of other Chinese media.

Ironically, the bipartisan request to force Al Jazeera to register comes amid a controversy over the network's filming of a documentary critical of pro-Israel lobbying in the United States. For that exposé, the network used an undercover operative to secure footage revealing possibly illegal interactions between advocacy groups and lawmakers.

Comment: As we lose rights, we lose capability to distinguish and determine what is good and what is bad. This only works for an oppressive government that has something to hide or an agenda to push.

See also:

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Attention

Kushner is reported to have sought out Bolton's advice before McMaster's oust


Sputnik
Thu, 29 Mar 2018 15:58 UTC
Kushner
© reutersmediaJared Kushner
It appears that a high-ranking member of the Trump administration contacted John Bolton long before the latter was appointed as new national security adviser.

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner has apparently maintained contact with John Bolton for months, seeking the latter's advice on various important issues, the Wall Street Journal reports.

According to the newspaper, Kushner sought Bolton's advice on matters related to the United Nations while White House aides also asked the former to obtain Bolton's opinion on other topics as well.

Last Thursday, March 22, US President Donald Trump announced John Bolton will replace Herbert McMaster as his new national security adviser.

This development prompted the former US President Jimmy Carter to describe Bolton's nomination as one of Trump's "worst mistakes" and a "disaster" for the United States.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

A Saudi Arabia - Iran war may occur in just 10-15 years says Crown Prince


RT
Fri, 30 Mar 2018 06:39 UTC
Saudi CrownPrince
© Hamad I Mohammed / ReutersSaudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
De-facto Saudi leader Crown Prince Bin Salman has warned that Riyadh may go to war with regional nemesis Iran in the next 10-15 years if the international community fails to apply more sanctions pressure on Tehran.

Mohammed bin Salman (commonly referred to as MBS) is on a historic visit - the first in nearly 75 years - to Saudi Arabia's closest ally, the US. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal this week, he called for restrictions that would "create more pressure" on Tehran. "If we don't succeed in what we are trying to do [imposing sanctions on Iran], we will likely have war with Iran in 10-15 years," MBS, who has become the true power behind his aging father, King Salman, said.

Tehran and Riyadh have clashed over various issues in recent years. The Syrian crisis - especially the future of Syria's government under President Bashar Assad - remains one of the major stumbling blocks.

The trip to the US of the prince's entourage and meeting with Donald Trump only added fuel to the fire amid already strained relations. Iran sees the whole tour as a cynical exercise in self-promotion ahead of Bin Salman's assumed ascension to the Saudi throne.

Comment: Time to take a giant step back and rethink the allegations and threats. Talk is cheap but consequences are deadly and expensive. Unfortunately, logic and good sense were yesterday's news.

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Jet5

Libya: US launches airstrike, kills Al-Qaeda chief


RT
Thu, 29 Mar 2018 22:42 UTC
Benghazi Libya ruins
© Esam Omran Al-Fetori / ReutersBenghazi, Libya
The US is back to bombing Libya, this time in an attempt to fight Al-Qaeda. The war-ravaged country has become a safe haven for terrorist groups after the NATO intervention brought down the Gaddafi government.

The airstrike conducted on Saturday killed two terrorists, "including Musa Abu Dawud, a high ranking al-Qa'ida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) official," US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in a statement on Wednesday, noting that no civilians were killed.

Dawud was an important Al-Qaeda operative, according to AFRICOM. He "trained AQIM recruits in Libya for attack operations in the region. He provided critical logistics support, funding and weapons to AQIM, enabling the terror group to threaten and attack US and Western interests in the region," the statement added.


Comment: Killing Gaddafi was a calculated action by US/NATO. It instantaneously left Libya vulnerable and the West took advantage by pillaging its resources, murdering countless civilians and throwing this modern and prosperous nation to 'their wolves' in rebel clothing. If Gaddafi was still in power, there would be slim chance Al Qaeda would have found a foothold. Debt owed, still not paid.

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Snakes in Suits

Blundering Boris Johnson brags about UK culture vs. Russia: "We make light sabers, Russia makes novichok"


RT
Fri, 30 Mar 2018 16:26 UTC
star wars
© Yoshio Tsunoda / Global Look Press
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson bragged about the UK's cultural influence, claiming its "arsenals" carried the "power of imagination." The bold statement came from a principle facilitator of civilian deaths in Yemen.

Speaking at the Lord Mayor's Easter Banquet in London, Johnson had a message to deliver: despite withdrawing from the EU, Britain remains a global team player and a stalwart defender of the ideals-based rule of law. Unlike Russia, which he described as a bad actor in all too many regards, Britain is apparently a bastion of commerce, science and culture.

"We have the most vibrant and dynamic cultural scene, with one venue - the British Museum - attracting more visitors than 10 whole European countries that it would not be tactful to name tonight,"Johnson said.

The jibe's targets were quite apparent, since earlier in his speech Johnson had named every nation that backed the UK in its drive to expel Russian diplomats over the Skripal poisoning affair - "the full roll of honor," he called it. He didn't mention that the absentees in the list probably didn't have the opportunities to plunder their foreign colonies for decades to fill their museums, unlike Britain.
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Die

Islam expert slams French Minister's plan to welcome home jihadis who fought for Daesh


Sputnik
Fri, 30 Mar 2018 15:42 UTC
French police
© REUTERS/Charles PlatiauFrench police secure a street as members of special forces carried out counter-terrorism swoop at different locations in Argenteuil, a suburb in northern Paris, France, July 21, 2016.
France's Secretary of State Christophe Castaner claimed the country has proposed to take back French jihadists who left to fight in Syria and Iraq, and keep an eye on them. A specialist in monitoring radical Islam criticized the suggestions in his interview with Sputnik.

Discussing the latest terror attack in southern France with the broadcaster Europe 1, the top official revealed that French authorities expect to take back more than 250 former Daesh* fighters, who fled Europe to join terrorists in Syria and Iraq. While saying that France should take them back, he stated that each case should be considered individually.

"I think, we should watch them closely, accept them, and imprison them if they have committed any crimes, to find out how dangerous they are," stated the politician.
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Chess

Kosovo attack on Serbian Official: US attempt to humiliate Belgrade and Moscow - Politician


Sputnik News
Wed, 28 Mar 2018 00:00 UTC
Kosovo Attack on Serbian Official
© AP Photo/ Visar Kryeziu
The violent detention of Serbian Office for Kosovo Director Marko Duric during his trip to the self-declared republic is almost undoubtedly aimed at both Belgrade and Moscow, Milorad Dodik, president of the Republika Srpska in Bosnia, has said.

Speaking to Sputnik Serbia, Dodik stressed that "what we saw...in Mitrovica was certainly an attempt to humiliate both Serbia and the Serbian people." It was "an attempt by sponsors who have long been known - i.e. those for whom statues have been built," Dodik said, referring to the statue of former US president Bill Clinton in Pristina and by association, the US.

Saying that the "arrogance" shown by Kosovar security forces was "unbearable," the politician suggested that Belgrade will now have a hard time figuring out how to work with Pristina. Dodik noted that the ethnic Serb coalition's exit from the government was a good start. At the same time, he urged Serbs in northern Kosovo to remain calm, but to continue to show their peaceful opposition to such violence.

Comment: See also:

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Info

Former Obama advisor, Susan Rice, appointed to Netflix's board of directors

Jack Heretik
Washington Free Beacon
Wed, 28 Mar 2018 15:26 UTC
Susan Rice
© ReutersFormer national security adviser Susan Rice
Former Obama administration national security adviser Susan Rice now has a new gig as a member of Netflix's board of directors.

Rice and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings released statements regarding her joining the video streaming company, Variety reports.

"I am thrilled to be joining the board of directors of Netflix, a cutting-edge company whose leadership, high-quality productions, and unique culture I deeply admire," Rice said.

Comment: No conflict of interest here.

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Wolf

Flashback The sordid background to Mueller's selection as special prosecutor

Eric Zuesse
Zero Hedge
Sun, 12 Nov 2017 14:15 UTC
mueller
© Getty Images
It all began with the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers apartment complex in the Saudi city of Khobar, which killed 19 U.S. military, who worked at the Dharan air base three miles away.

That incident became the lynchpin of the accusation by the Saudi royal family, the U.S. State Department, and the CIA, that Iran is the foremost state sponsor of terrorism.

Both Robert Mueller and his longtime ally James Comey (the latter of whose firing as the FBI chief, by U.S. President Trump, had sparked the appointment of Mueller to become the Special Counsel investigating the U.S. President) performed crucial roles in establishing that the Khobar Towers bombing had been a Hezbollah operation run by the Iranian Government - and, starting upon this basis, in helping to develop the case that Iran "is the foremost state sponsor of terrorism."

However, as has been made clear by several great independent investigative journalists, on the basis of far more-solid documentation than the official account, the Khobar Towers bombing was instead entirely a fundamentalist-Sunni operation, specifically perpetrated by Al Qaeda, which hates Shia and which also hates America's military presence in the Middle East. Osama bin Laden's claim of the bombing's having been done by Al Qaeda, was, in fact, entirely honest and accurate.
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Die

Diquat: How Syngenta won the war over weedkillers

Simon Marks & Giulia Paravicini
Politico.eu
Fri, 23 Mar 2018 14:12 UTC
Syngenta
© Patrick B. Kraemer/EPAA sign with the logo of the Swiss agrichemical group Syngenta on a field in Baltenswil, Switzerland
More than two years after the European Food Safety Authority signaled concerns about a pesticide made by Syngenta, the Swiss agrichemical giant has avoided an EU ban on the product after mounting a campaign to undermine the watchdog's findings.

Emails, letters and technical papers released by the European Commission in response to a POLITICO request show the Commission twice withdrew a proposal to remove Syngenta's pesticide, called diquat, from the market after the company questioned the methodology behind EFSA's science.

The battle over diquat illustrates how Syngenta used its lobbying in Brussels to drive a wedge between the Commission and its own food safety agency. The company's questioning of EFSA's science has helped kick the prospect of a ban down the road.

Comment: Read more about Syngenta undermining the credibility of scientific research when it comes to serious health concerns/ questions regarding their 'products'

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