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Smiley

Total Freeze! State Dept stumped when asked why US slams Iran but not Saudis (VIDEO)


RT
Thu, 01 Jun 2017 11:28 UTC
Department of State Dave Clark Stuart Jones
© US Department of State / YouTube
This could be the most uncomfortable State Department press briefing moment yet.

During a press conference about US President Donald Trump's recent trip to the Middle East, AFP journalist Dave Clark asked a department official why the US criticizes the Iranian elections and its record on democracy, but not Saudi Arabia.

"How do you characterize Saudi Arabia's commitment to democracy, and does the administration believe that democracy is a buffer or a barrier against extremism?" Clark asked.
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Star of David

If it wanted to, the U.S. could impose a two-state solution on Israel through 'severe pressure'

Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss
Wed, 31 May 2017 21:47 UTC
Nathan Thrall Israel
© Phil WeissNathan Thrall, at the Jerusalem Hotel, May 24, 2017.
Nathan Thrall is the author of an important new book, The Only Language They Understand: Forcing Compromise in Israel and Palestine. On May 24, Scott Roth and I interviewed him at the Jerusalem Hotel in occupied Jerusalem. Thrall began by relating a central part of his analysis, "Israel-Palestine, the real reason there's no peace," which lately appeared in the Guardian.

What I tried to argue in that Guardian piece was that it's actually irrational for Israel to go for an agreement right now. Basically they're sitting pretty. They've got quiet in the West Bank, they're playing footsie with the Arab states that had been boycotting them. They've got an occupation that's paid for largely by the U.S. and Europe. They have full security control over the West Bank. They're on the border with Jordan as they want to be. They're not facing any kind of public demand to change things. The public protests in recent years are over the price of cottage cheese, right? And so you look at that, and you say to yourself, What Israeli prime minister could rationally uproot tens of thousands of settlers, and say—which is a sine qua non— we're giving up sovereignty over the Temple Mount, the Haram al Sharif when you have consistent polls showing a majority of Israelis are opposed to that - risking probably the greatest upheaval the society has ever faced, the potential assassination of the prime minister, Jew on Jew violence potentially -

To do all of that, for what? What are you going to gain? And what are you going to avoid by not doing it?
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Pills

'Deadly mess': Ohio sues five pharma companies over opioid crisis


RT
Wed, 31 May 2017 22:42 UTC
opioid pills
© GLobal Look Press
Ohio is suing five drug manufacturers for their role in causing the state's unprecedented addictions crisis, and accusing them of intentionally misleading patients about the dangers of painkillers and claiming drug benefits not backed by science.

State Attorney General Mike DeWine, who announced the lawsuit on Wednesday, said the state was awash in opioids and engulfed in a public health crisis. DeWine said the drug companies had created a "deadly mess in Ohio that they now need to pay to clean up."

The five companies being sued were Purdue Pharma LP, Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc unit, a unit of Endo International Plc, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd's Cephalon unit and Allergan Plc.

Comment: For more on the opioid epidemic:

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Laptop

A page from the US elections: Tory 'dark ads' target voters on Facebook with barely any election oversight


RT
Wed, 31 May 2017 21:35 UTC
tory election ads facebook
© Conservatives / Facebook
Theresa May's Tories are flooding Facebook users living in marginal constituencies with "dark ads" designed to draw away the Labour faithful using an election loophole that allows parties to target voters online with very little regulatory oversight.

Online advertising is not covered by election campaign rules stipulating how much money parties can spend in each constituency and requiring parties to submit detailed accounts of their expenditures.

While political TV advertising is illegal in Britain, showing videos online through paid advertising is not.

The Electoral Commission estimates that more than 99 percent of advertising on social media was spent through Facebook in the last general election, when Conservatives spent £1.21 million, Labour £160,000, UKIP £91,000, the Liberal Democrats £22,245, the Green Party £20,000, and the Scottish National Party (SNP) £5,466.

In 2015, parties and candidates were not required to categorize spending with social media companies. While the commission has proposed that this should change, the 2017 election is being held under the same rules, despite growing concern over unregulated online election activity, dubbed "dark advertising."
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Info

Corbyn decides to join BBC leaders' debate but 'chicken' May refuses to accept challenge


RT
Wed, 31 May 2017 21:17 UTC
Jeremy Corbyn
© Peter Nicholls / Reuters
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has made a last-minute decision to attend Thursday night's BBC leaders' debate, despite Prime Minister Theresa May boycotting the live TV grilling.

Corbyn had previously said he would not take part in any debate if the Tory leader refused to participate, but in a shock move during a rally in Reading on Thursday morning, Corbyn said he would join other party leaders in the Cambridge debate airing at 19:30 BST.
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Info

Vladimir Putin's interview with French newspaper Le Figaro (VIDEO + TRANSCRIPT)


The Saker
Wed, 31 May 2017 20:03 UTC
Putin interview with Le Figaro
President Vladimir Putin gave an interview to French Le Figaro newspaper, at the Russian Cultural Centre in Paris. The interview was recorded on May 29 in Paris during the President's visit to France.

Comment: For some analysis on Putin's visit to France:

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Bad Guys

'Like Some Groundhog Day Dream': Manchester Bomber is A Result of West's Destruction of Libya

Jim Kavanagh
CounterPunch
Wed, 31 May 2017 12:38 UTC
Hillary Gaddafi
We came, we saw, he died... Ha ha ha!
On November 20, 2015, two jihadi militants attacked the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali, seizing about 100 hostages and "leaving bodies strewed across the building." When it was over, 22 people (including the attackers) had been killed. As the New York Times reported:
Mali has been crippled by instability since January, 2012, when rebels and Al Qaeda-linked militants — armed with the remnants of late Libyan leader Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's arsenal — began advancing through the country's vast desert in the north and capturing towns.
Not much has been made in American and Western media of this attack. Most of the dead were Malians, Russians, and Chinese—and, hey, it was in Africa; Shit happens. Especially there. How many people reading this even remember that it happened? Follow-up analysis? It was Africa. That kind of coverage. (I did post about it at the time, making many points that unfortunately bear repeating here.)
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Info

Saudi Arabia and Russia: Neither allies nor enemies but wary friends

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Wed, 31 May 2017 19:50 UTC
Mohammed bin Salman and Vladimir Putin
The visit of Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Russia shows Saudi Arabia's need for Russia's help to stabilize the oil market.

Shortly after hosting US President Trump in Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom's actual ruler - Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - flew off to Russia to meet Russian President Putin.

My colleague Adam Garrie has recently suggested that Saudi Arabia needs Russia more than Russia needs Saudi Arabia, and that this account for the visit. He is absolutely right.

Comment: Also read: Saudis reportedly invite Russia to work with emerging 'Arab NATO'

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Snakes in Suits

Secretive Bilderberg Group to talk Russia, Trump and 'war on information'


RT
Wed, 31 May 2017 19:41 UTC
Protesters take part in a demonstration against the Bilderberg conference
© Christian Bruna / AFP
Many of the world's most powerful people are gathering for the annual meeting of the mysterious Bilderberg Group this week. Russia, the Trump administration and 'The war on information' are among key topics up for discussion.

This year's gathering takes place in Chantilly, Virginia, less than 30 miles from the White House, and goings on in the Oval Office are top of the agenda for the 131 people who've confirmed they're attending.

Many top White House figures will be at the four-day event, including the Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, National Security Advisor HR McMaster and Assistant to the President Christopher Liddell.
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Attention

Days after Manchester bombing, French President Macron meets with ISIS & Al Qaeda leaders in Paris

Alex Christoforou
The Duran
Wed, 31 May 2017 12:38 UTC
Macron
© Philippe Wojazer / ReutersPresident Emmanuel Macron
If you ever needed any more proof that the new wonder-boy French President is nothing more than a neo-liberal, globalist puppet, then look no further than Macron's recent meeting in Paris with Syria's opposition, known as the Riyadh-based High Negotiations Committee (HNC)...which includes political and armed groups trying to overthrow the Assad government.

Macron says he seeks to review French policy on Syria's war with Saudi-Qatari-Turkey funded jihadists, but welcoming a terrorist organisation to Paris, one day after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, and days after ISIS bombed Manchester Arena, is no way to revaluate a failed western regime change operation of a sovereign nation...or maybe it is exactly the way Macron's globalist rulers want him to behave when dealing with Syria.

Comment: Further reading: 'Like some brain-eating virus': Macron's deceitful propaganda against Russian media is the real fake news

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