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MIB

Ray McGovern: Former CIA chief Brennan running scared

Ray McGovern
Consortium News
Mon, 19 Mar 2018 10:15 UTC
Former CIA director John Brennan
Former CIA director John Brennan


With former CIA Director John Brennan accusing President Donald Trump of "moral turpitude" for his "scapegoating" of Andy McCabe, it remains to be seen whether a constitutional crisis will be averted, writes Ray McGovern.

What prompted former CIA Director John Brennan on Saturday to accuse President Donald Trump of "moral turpitude" and to predict, with an alliterative flourish, that Trump will end up "as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history"? The answer shines through the next sentence in Brennan's threatening tweet: "You may scapegoat Andy McCabe [former FBI Deputy Director fired Friday night] but you will not destroy America...America will triumph over you."


It is easy to see why Brennan lost it. The Attorney General fired McCabe, denying him full retirement benefits, because McCabe "had made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor - including under oath - on multiple occasions." There but for the grace of God go I, Brennan must have thought, whose stock in trade has been unauthorized disclosures.

Comment: On the recent dismissal of Andrew McCabe, see: And on John Brennan:

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Red Flag

China to respond to 'Taiwan Travel Act' with diplomatic and military pressure: experts

Deng Xiaoci
Global Times
Sun, 18 Mar 2018 10:00 UTC
Taiwan military
Taiwan military
China will and should take timely countermeasures against the US and all "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces through diplomatic and military means if US legislation that encourages high-level contact between the US and the island of Taiwan is implemented, Chinese observers said on Sunday.

"The passing of the act is a serious political provocation, as it has crossed the 'red line' and will thoroughly undermine relations," Xu Guangyu, a retired China's People's Liberation Army major general, told the Global Times.

The legislation, known as the Taiwan Travel Act, came into effect on Friday when US President Donald Trump signed the bill.

On Sunday the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council stated that the island will suffer serious consequences if it attempts to act on the US bill.

China said on Saturday that the country "firmly opposes the US side signing the 'Taiwan Travel Act,'" while urging "the US side to correct its mistake, stop pursuing any official ties with Taiwan or improving its current relations with Taiwan in any substantive way, and handle Taiwan-related issues properly and cautiously so as to avoid causing severe damage to China-US relations and cross-Straits peace and stability," according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry website.

Comment: Global TImes is considered as a venue for the Chinese government to state its position without having to do so officially.

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Beaker

Iran successfully synthesized novichoks in 2016 from commercially available ingredients

Craig Murray
craigmurray.org.uk
Sat, 17 Mar 2018 09:36 UTC
‘Novichok’
© CHROMORANGE / Global Look Press
The line that novichoks can only be produced by Russia is now proven to be a complete lie. As I previously proved by referencing their publications, in 2013 the OPCW scientific advisory committee note the evidence was sparse that novichoks had ever been successfully produced, and that was still the line being published by Porton Down in 2016. You can find the hard evidence of all that here.

I have now been sent the vital information that in late 2016, Iranian scientists set out to study whether novichoks really could be produced from commercially available ingredients. Iran succeeded in synthesising a number of novichoks. Iran did this in full cooperation with the OPCW and immediately reported the results to the OPCW so they could be added to the chemical weapons database.

This makes complete nonsense of the Theresa May's "of a type developed by Russia" line, used to parliament and the UN Security Council. This explains why Porton Down have refused to cave in to governmental pressure to say the nerve agent was Russian. If Iran can make a novichok, so can a significant number of states.

Comment: See also:

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Gear

Lavrov: Japan joining US global anti-missile shield directly affects Russia's security interests


RT
Wed, 21 Mar 2018 09:16 UTC
Japan Self-Defense Forces soldier
© Issei KatoA Japan Self-Defense Forces soldier takes part in a drill to mobilise their Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile unit
The deployment of US missile shield components in Japan directly affects Russia's national security and regional interests, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a press conference with his Japanese counterpart in Tokyo.

"Japan's plans for deploying a global missile defense system directly affect [the] security interests of Russia," Lavrov noted on his state visit, reiterating Moscow's concerns over Tokyo's intentions "to actively engage" in US plans to deploy missile defense components on its territory.

READ MORE: Japan approves missile shield expansion with US-made land-based Aegis launchers

"With full respect for Japan's right to choose the way it protects its territory, we proceed from the premise that any action of any country should be based on the rule of security indivisibility. No one must ensure their security by infringing on the security of others," the top Russian diplomat added.

Comment: The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be held this May in Russia, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"Certainly, the major event of the year will be a meeting between our leaders in May in Russia," Lavrov said at a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono. "We want to use our talks for the most effective preparation for this summit."

According to Lavrov, an intense dialogue between Moscow and Tokyo today is crucial.
Tokyo has a great number of tasks which demand cooperation with Russia, including North Korea, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said on Wednesday ahead of a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
"We have a great deal of tasks which demand cooperation with Russia, including the North Korean issue," Kono said.

Lavrov arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday. His talks with Kono are expected to focus on the peace treaty and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.


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Light Sabers

Iranian FM blasts Bin Salman for war crimes in Yemen


RT
Tue, 20 Mar 2018 00:00 UTC
Mohammed bin Salman
© Tolga Akmen / AFPSaudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrives for talks at 10 Downing Street, in central London March 7, 2018.
Iran's Foreign Ministry has described Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as "delusional" and "naive" following remarks he made on a recent US TV show. Among his claims, the Saudi royal alleged Iran was harboring terrorists.

"Bin Salman's claims on Iran hosting Al-Qaeda's leaders is a big lie," Bahram Qasemi said as cited by Al Masdar News. "They were arrested and extradited to their respective governments, according to their documents and nationalities, including a number of Bin Laden's family members, that because of their Saudi nationalities, Riyadh was informed. Following the coordination, Bin Laden's daughter was extradited to Saudi embassy in Tehran."

Bin Salman is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and National Security Adviser HR McMaster. However, the Iranian Foreign Ministry sees the whole tour as a cynical exercise in self-promotion ahead of Bin Salman's assumed ascension to the Saudi throne.
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Mr. Potato

Shock horror! Trump congratulates Putin on election victory and media goes bananas


RT
Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:37 UTC
President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin attend the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam November 11, 2017.
© Jorge Silva / ReutersPresident Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin attend the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam November 11, 2017.
All hell broke loose in Washington DC on Tuesday when President Donald Trump confirmed that he had congratulated Russian president Vladimir Putin on his recent election victory.

Journalists and Trump critics flooded Twitter with sarcastic remarks, registering their disgust at the news, using the benign remarks as more evidence of his alleged (by some) collusion with the Russian state.

CNN's national security reporter Zachary Cohen pointed out that both Kim Jong-un and Trump had now congratulated Putin, in an apparent effort to cast Kim and Trump in the same light for the crime of extending congratulations which, in reality, is fairly standard diplomatic protocol.

Daily Beast reporter Adam Rawnsley, also miffed by Trump's words of congratulations to the Russian leader, used the occasion to bring up the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in the UK, accusing Russia of using a "weapon of mass destruction" on British soil, even though there's no evidence to prove that.
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Cow Skull

Questions still surround Robert Mueller's dodgy Boston past


Sara A. Carter
Tue, 20 Mar 2018 00:01 UTC
mueller
© Getty Images
Mueller's involvement in one of the FBI's most embarrassing cases

President Donald Trump directed angry tweets at Special Counsel Robert Mueller over the weekend. The tweets were prompted by the Department of Justice's decision to fire Deputy Director Andrew McCabe Friday as recommended by the bureau's Office of Professional Responsibility took action on McCabe after the DOJ's Inspector General handed over evidence that the former FBI agent lied under oath and leaked information to the media.


Comment: Mueller is a corrupt scumbag who has no business investigating the President of the United States. The whole Russia probe has been a sham from the beginning. See also:

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Brain

'We don't even know if a Novichok program existed' - John Pilger

Alex Christoforou
The Duran
Sun, 18 Mar 2018 16:55 UTC
john pilger on rt
John Pilger: "Skripal case is a carefully-constructed drama"

Russia-UK relations have hit dangerous levels amid a row over the poisoning hoax of a former spy and his daughter.

Award-winning journalist John Pilger tells RT that this is all propaganda, a "carefully-constructed drama".

Comment: The supposed 'evidence' supporting these claims is so flimsy that it really should be obvious to anyone that the Novichok claims are a bunch of nonsense. For more info: Skripal Likely Poisoned by British Intelligence in Effort to Smear and Silence Russian World View

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Info

Jim Jordan on Trump investigation: 'When is it all gonna end?'

Carlos Garcia
The Blaze
Mon, 19 Mar 2018 22:35 UTC
Trey Gowdey and Jim Jordan
© YouTube screenshot compositeRep. Jim Jordan (right) (R-Ohio) responded to the statement from fellow Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy (S.C.) who said that if President Donald Trump was innocent then he should act like it.
In heated interview with MSNBC's Katy Tur, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) defended the position that the Mueller investigation should be ended, and responded to the statement from fellow Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy (S.C.) about President Donald Trump not acting guilty.

Here's part of their exchange:

"If the president is not innocent, why is he not acting like he's innocent?" Tur asked

"I think he is acting like he's innocent," Jordan responded, "but he's like so many other Americans, frustrated about what he sees that took place at the top level of the FBI. Jim Comey's been fired; Andrew McCabe's been fired; Jim Rybicky, former chief of staff, has left the FBI; Jim Baker, former chief counsel at the FBI, has been demoted, reassigned; Peter Strzok, former deputy head of counterintelligence, has been demoted, reassigned; Lisa Page has been demoted and reassigned."

"Those are the top people at the FBI," he continued, "so I think he's frustrated by that, as are the American people and what we know they did and when they started this Russia Trump investigation in 2016, namely, how they used the dossier."

Comment: See also:

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Bullseye

Many Americans believe the "deep state" is running the country

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Mon, 19 Mar 2018 15:11 UTC
deep state
For the past two years, the long-running narrative, at least that promulgated by the mainstream media which continues to "explain away" Hillary Clinton's loss to Donald Trump, is that Americans had fallen for a massive, long-running fake news scam (in part aided and abetted by the likes of Facebook), which boosted Trump's popularity at the expense of Hillary's as part of some giant "Russian collusion" conspiracy theory between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin (which Mueller was supposed to uncover, but has instead shifted to investigating obstruction, seemingly unable to find anything).

But what if that entire narrative is dead wrong: what if Americans have become so skeptical in the government process and structure, they never needed a "fake news" boost to vote for an establishment outsider?

According to a new poll, that's precisely the case because a supermajority of Americans believes the faction of unelected officials, known as the deep state, is orchestrating policy in Washington, D.C. and effectively running the nation.

Comment: As the mask slips, the actions of those 'behind the curtain' are becoming more and more evident, showing their hand in media, government and policy. See also:

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