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Syrian UN envoy: Damascus continues evacuating civilians from Ghouta while terrorists still use them as human shields

Manar al-Freih / Hazem Sabbagh
SANA
Fri, 16 Mar 2018 19:05 UTC
Bashar al-Jaafari
Syria’s Permanent Representative at the UN Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari
Syria's Permanent Representative at the UN Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari said on Friday that the Syrian government cares about the lives of its citizens and is continuing to take measures to protect them, while the terrorist organizations continue to use them as human shields in Ghouta.

During a session of the UN Security Council on the situation in Syria, al-Jaafari said "I conveyed to the UNSC members on March 12th a presentation of the measures taken by the Syrian government to alleviate the suffering of Syrian civilians on the Syrian territory as a result of the practices of the armed terrorist groups. I reiterate here that the Syrian government cares about the lives of its citizens and it continues to take all measures to ensure their security and safety."

Al-Jaafari said that the Syrian government has opened three safe corridors in Ghouta (Hamoryia, Jisreen and al-Wafideen) in order to help bring out civilians who were taken by terrorist groups as human shields, adding that more than 40,000 civilians exited Eastern Ghouta on Thursday, and they were received by the Syrian Arab Army and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) who transported them safely to well-equipped makeshift housing centers.

He added that an aid convoy presented by the UN, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and loaded with 340 tons of food and medical supplies has entered Eastern Ghouta, adding that the Syrian state will continue to facilitate the dispatch of these convoys whenever security conditions prevail.

Comment: Syrian civilians are being evacuated from the Eastern Ghouta area near Damascus via humanitarian corridors set up by the Syrian Army and the Russian military. The Russian Defense Ministry is streaming live images from the scene.
As many as 13,000 people have managed to leave the besieged Eastern Ghouta in what is believed to be the largest exodus in two days in the country's seven-year war, according to the latest data from the Russian Defense Ministry on Friday. March 15 marked the somber seventh anniversary of the Syrian conflict.

Civilians, mostly elderly people, women and children, have been seen grabbing what they could carry and walking with their belongings towards the camp located in the nearby el-Dueir area.

Those leaving the area report to have been living in constant fear of being killed by militants for any perceived wrongdoing. Local resident Adnan Kafozy shared his relief at being saved from the regime of the extremists. "They were very unfair to us. I cannot describe everything," he told Ruptly.





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Mr. Potato

Still no proof and yet... France, Germany, US, UK say Salisbury incident a violation of UK's territorial integrity by Russia


RT
Thu, 15 Mar 2018 13:58 UTC
poisoning of ex-double agent Sergei Skripal
© Geoff Caddick / AFP
A joint statement by the UK, US, France and Germany says the poisoning of ex-double agent Sergei Skripal was a violation of Britain's sovereignty by Russia and was the first offensive use of a chemical agent since World War II.

The incident, in which Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in Salisbury on March 4, involved "a military-grade nerve agent, of a type developed by Russia," said the statement issued on Thursday. The four countries said the incident constituted "the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War."

The document branded the incident "an assault on UK sovereignty," adding it came in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and international law. Washington, Paris and Berlin back the UK's claim that Moscow was responsible for what they called "the attack."

Comment: See Also:

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Bug

Skripal case: Of a type developed by liars

Craig Murray
craigmurray.org
Fri, 16 Mar 2018 17:04 UTC
Theresa May Colin Powell
I have now received confirmation from a well placed FCO source that Porton Down scientists are not able to identify the nerve gas as being of Russian manufacture, and have been resentful of the pressure being placed on them to do so. Porton Down would only sign up to the formulation "of a type developed by Russia" after a rather difficult meeting where this was agreed as a compromise formulation. The Russians were allegedly researching, in the "Novichok" programme a generation of nerve agents which could be produced from commercially available precursors such as insecticides and fertilisers. This substance is a "novichok" in that sense. It is of that type. Just as I am typing on a laptop of a type developed by the United States, though this one was made in China.

To anybody with a Whitehall background this has been obvious for several days. The government has never said the nerve agent was made in Russia, or that it can only be made in Russia. The exact formulation "of a type developed by Russia" was used by Theresa May in parliament, used by the UK at the UN Security Council, used by Boris Johnson on the BBC yesterday and, most tellingly of all, "of a type developed by Russia" is the precise phrase used in the joint communique issued by the UK, USA, France and Germany yesterday:
This use of a military-grade nerve agent, of a type developed by Russia, constitutes the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War.

Comment:



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Mr. Potato

RT presenter destroys Piers Morgan, who is 'sure' Russia behind Skripal poisoning

Alex Christoforou
The Duran
Thu, 15 Mar 2018 17:11 UTC
piers morgan
Piers Morgan looked like a whiny, hysterical schoolgirl, as he debated the UK poisoning hoax with Russia Today presenter Afshin Rattansi.

Rattansi was constantly interrupted by Morgan, who made the outrageous claim that he is certain Russian President Vladimir Putin kills journalists.

Of course Morgan forgets that the UK, and its NATO allies, have a rich history of killing journalists, overthrowing legitimate governments, and starting illegal wars...Iraq, Yugoslavia, Ukraine, Syria, Yemen and on and on.

If Piers Morgan is so certain in his claims, than maybe he would like to share his "evidence" for all to see. If not than Piers should just shut his trap and try to act like a credible journalist, instead off a Deep State blowhard, spitting out warmonger talking points, that with minimal Google search have been completely discredited.

Meanwhile the UK supplies all the weapons Saudi Arabia needs to slaughter innocent civilians in Yemen.


Comment: Easy way to spot a fraud, a con man, a propagandist: they make claims of certainty about subjects for which it is impossible for them to be certain.

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Biohazard

OPCW: No member states known to have Novichok-type nerve agents - that includes Russia


RT
Fri, 16 Mar 2018 17:03 UTC
biohazard
© Adrian Dennis / AFP
The UN chemical weapons watchdog said none of its member states have declared possessing 'Novichok-class' nerve agent, which London claims was used in the poisoning of ex-double agent Sergei Skripal.

"There is no record of the Novichok group of nerve agents having been declared by a state party to the Chemical Weapons Convention," the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said in a press release on Friday. Nearly all countries in the UN are members to the OPCW, except for Egypt, Israel, North Korea and South Sudan.

The watchdog said open-source information on the agents in this class is sparse. It added that OPCW experts are searching through scientific and technical sources available to them.

The obscure name surfaced after the UK bluntly accused Russia of using the mystery agent to poison former double agent Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury. Both are said to remain in a critical condition.

Comment: The OPCW has certified that Russia destroyed all its chemical weapons stockpiles and production capacity. There's a simple conclusion to draw from all of this: even the confirmed use of a Novichok-class nerve agent doesn't support the theory that Russia did it. Any state actor could have done so. The only reason to use Novichok is to make it look like Russia did it. Either Russia did it with the intention of making themselves look incompetent, or someone else did it to paint a fake trail leading to Russia. But no conclusion can be drawn or even suggested just by the use of this class of nerve agent.

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Dominoes

US lawmakers push Trump to spend more money spreading pro-US propaganda


RT
Fri, 16 Mar 2018 16:46 UTC
house hearing pentagon budget
© Yuri Gripas / Reuters
The State Department has a $120-million war chest to counter 'Russian propaganda' but that's not enough for top lawmakers, who are demanding that President Donald Trump pumps even more into the costly effort.

Members of the House Armed Services Committee demanded that the US president invests more money and finally appoints a leader of the Global Engagement Center (GEC), the State Department's wing that fights foreign propaganda.

A letter, sent on March 9 by committee chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) and ranking member Adam Smith (D-Washington), calls on Trump to pump more money into the GEC to counter propaganda and disinformation.

"We are... disappointed that to date your administration has not provided adequate resources, including funding and personnel, to the GEC to carry out its mission and, furthermore, that you have not yet appointed a director to lead the agency in this endeavor," the letter read.
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Eye 1

The sordid history of the West's unproven 'poisoning allegations' against Russia

John Laughland
RT
Fri, 16 Mar 2018 12:42 UTC
Skripal poisoning investigation
Congratulations to Craig Murray for getting there first. The colorful former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, turned anti-establishment dissident after he was sacked from the Foreign Office in 2004, has published on his blog some key texts by authoritative scientists which cast serious doubt on the British government's claims about what happened to the former double agent, Sergei Skripal, and why.

Murray - and his sources - have unearthed texts from 2016, 2013 and 1995 by, respectively, a scientist at Porton Down, the secret British military chemical weapons installations which is 20 minutes from Salisbury where Skripal was found last week; a scientist at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the statutory body created by the 1997 Convention on Chemical Weapons but which London has ignored and bypassed in its spat with Moscow; and by the Russian defector scientist, Vil Mirzayanov, who is the sole source for the claim that the Soviet Union started to manufacture so-called novichok ("newbie") nerve agents in the 1980s, allegedly now used to poison Skripal.
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X

France slams Theresa May for engaging in 'fantasy politics' over Skripal poisoning


RT
Fri, 16 Mar 2018 12:42 UTC
Macron Theresa May
© Reuters
France has undermined Theresa May's attempts to garner support for punitive action against Russia, saying it wants more proof Moscow was behind the Salisbury poisoning. It accused the PM of engaging in "fantasy politics."

On Wednesday, May announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats and the suspension of bilateral talks. May claimed Russia was "culpable" for the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, which amounted to"unlawful use of force against the UK."

However, President Emmanuel Macron's spokesman suggested May was acting prematurely. "We don't do fantasy politics. Once the elements are proven then the time will come for decisions to be made," Benjamin Griveaux told a news conference in Paris.

Comment: While his spokesman slams Theresa May for 'fantasy politics', Macron, in solidarity with the war-mongers, has refused to visit the Russian expo stand at the Paris Book Salon. Fort Russ reports:
French President Emmanuel Macron refused to visit the Russia expo stand - an honored guest at the Paris Book Salon, which opened on Thursday.

"We were informed from the embassy that we received an official letter from the Elysee Palace, which states that President Macron will not visit our stand," the representative of the Russian delegation, Yevgeny Reznichenko, told RIA Novosti. [...]

Earlier, the French leader said he was in solidarity with London's position on the "Skripal case" and in the coming days would report on what measures he would take against Russia.

He also supported a joint statement by the heads of the United States, the Federal Republic of Germany and Great Britain, which stated that the responsibility for poisoning of the former GRU officer and his daughter lies entirely with Moscow.
And, as usual, the US has leaped at the opportunity to bash Russia. RT reports:
"The United States shares the United Kingdom's assessment that Russia is responsible for the reckless nerve agent attack on the British citizen and his daughter," the statement, issued in the wake of the UN Security Council meeting called by the UK over the issue, reads.

The statement then proceeds to allege that there is a "pattern of behavior in which Russia disregards the international rules-based order, undermines the sovereignty and security of countries worldwide, and attempts to subvert and discredit Western democratic institutions and processes."
And now France has submitted:
"This despicable attack will have consequences and the president will act firmly with his partners," a French presidential source said, commenting on the poisoning of Skripal and his daughter in the UK's Salisbury in early March, as reported by Reuters.


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Gear

Trump's Trade War: 'De-Globalization'?

Peter Koenig
Global Research
Tue, 13 Mar 2018 10:11 UTC
Donald Trump
President Trump's bold 'protectionist' move of introducing import duties of 25% and 10% for steel and aluminum, respectively - and possibly more to come - may be more than just 'populism' and fulfilling a campaign promise. And why is the term 'populism' always used with a derogative slant? As if it was way below the intellect of those who deride it as addressing the thoughtless and primitive behavior by the people? Aren't politicians supposed to work for the people? Educate them with the truth instead of ridiculing them; giving them real news instead of 'fake news' - and giving them jobs and decent livelihood? - Is that addressing "populism"?
President Trump, or whoever directs him, may have noticed the steady decline of the American economy into a hollow war and service machine, with rising unemployment at the tune of more than 20% (though the fake statistics pretend otherwise, putting it below 5%); a country gradually choking on junk consumption, anti-Russia propaganda and a rapidly deterioration physical infrastructure and civil society.

This unexpected protectionist decision may also be a genuine move against globalization - which, as we know, is controlled by neoliberal economics and has in fact nothing to do with real economics. It is sheer criminalizing of economics. It has done enormous harm to the 99.9 % and benefitted only the 0.1% (or less). "Make America Great Again" is supposed to address this fallacy. Bring production and jobs back, primarily for the domestic market and second only, for international trade, for trade that doesn't harm the local economy. This is a recipe which would also suit many European countries - Greece is a case in point, but Spain, Italy, Ireland and even France would fall into the same category. "Local production for local markets" is indeed the model that helped rescuing the US from the depression of the 30's and Europe, in particular Germany, after WWII.
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Arrow Down

Russian MoD: 'Fishwife's rhetoric' reveals 'extreme intellectual impotence degree' of UK Defense Secretary


RT
Fri, 16 Mar 2018 09:26 UTC
British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson
© Thaier Al-Sudani / ReutersBritish Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson
By telling Russia to "shut up," UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson has revealed his "extreme intellectual impotence" and underlined the vanity of British accusations against Moscow, Russia's Defense Ministry said.

"Fishwife's rhetoric demonstrated today by the head of the British Defense Ministry Gavin Williamson, perfectly characterizes an extreme degree of his intellectual impotence," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The Russian side hit back at Williamson after his Thursday comments, when he said that the country "should go away and shut up." That was the Defence Secretary's reaction to the question about possible countermeasures by Moscow in response to the British sanctions over the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in early March.

The vocabulary employed by the UK defense secretary "only confirms the vanity of all of London's accusations against Russia... but also the total pettiness of the 'accusers' themselves," the MoD pointed out.

Comment: While speaking about the recent comments of UK Defense Minister Gavin Williamson on the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats from the UK, Lavrov noted that Russia didn't pay attention to statements like that.
"He is a nice man and may want to go down in history by his loud statements. He may also lack education," Lavrov stated.
See also: Lavrov: Moscow will 'definitely' expel British diplomats in wake of UK's reaction to Skripal case

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