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Handcuffs

Former Dutch PM calls Benjamin Netanyahu a 'war criminal' who should be tried in The Hague

dries van agt
© Sander Bakkes/Creative CommonsFormer Dutch PM Dries van Agt
Former Dutch prime minister Dries van Agt has described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a war criminal who should be tried in the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

His comments come ahead of Mr Netanyahu's visit to The Netherlands this week.

Speaking to Dutch television channel NPO 1, Mr van Agt said: "There's a war criminal coming to this country.

"The occupation and expansion... building of settlements, of occupied territory, this is according to the Rome Statute, which is... the statute on which the international criminal court is based, in so many words, a war crime.

In a rambling interview, the 85-year old, who was prime minister of The Netherlands for five years until 1982, added: "So why should we receive someone who continues with such things?

"We could have sent him straight away to the international criminal court - that would have been better."

Comment: Real war crimes have yet to be taken seriously by the ICC in The Hague. One example is war criminal Tony Blair, who is still a free man as the ICC would not prosecute him for war crimes he committed in Iraq.

In the world we live in, real criminals roam free, while great leaders or officials are demonized, prosecuted, jailed, or often killed.

From RT:

"I began studying, figuring out what's going on there. I found one story after the other. Then I started thinking about the 39 United Nations resolutions begging, demanding and imploring Israel to vacate the Occupied Territories," he said in an interview to Haaretz, adding that his sudden political U-turn made his critics think that he is not "fully in my right mind anymore".


Quenelle - Golden

A step-by-step challenge of the latest US-inspired disinformation on Syria

Veterans for Peace
The conflict in Syria is a war of aggression against Syria by a coalition of powerful states led by the US. 'Socialists' misrepresent it and facilitate this aggression by adopting the US/NATO narrative of a 'revolution' against a 'tyrant'.

At the recent annual convention of Veterans for Peace, VFP Vice President Gerry Condon said "The US peace movement has been demobilised by disinformation on Syria."

Disinformation and propaganda on Syria takes three distinct forms. The first is the demonisation of the Syrian leadership. The second is the romanticisation of the opposition. The third form involves attacking anyone questioning the preceding characterisations.

There is a recent article which exemplifies all three of these forms. It is titled "Anti-Imperialism and the Syrian Revolution" by Ashley Smith of the International Socialist Organization (ISO). It's a remarkable piece of misinformation and faulty analysis. Because it is clear and well written, it is likely to mislead people who are not well informed on the facts regarding Syria. Hence the importance of critically reviewing it.

Propaganda

'Too many whites': MSNBC 'tweaks' CNN poll to show Hillary back in the lead

political cartoon of Hillary Clinton
Just over a month ago, Donald Trump shocked the establishment and took the lead in national polls.

Reuters jumped into action and 'tweaked' its polling methodology.
In a presidential campaign notable for its negativity, the option of "Neither" candidate appears to be an appealing alternative, at least to participants in the Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll.

Many voters on both sides have been ambivalent in their support for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump, complicating the task of the pollsters trying to track the race.

That sentiment may help explain an apparent skew that recently emerged in the Reuters/Ipsos poll results. Given the choice, a relatively large group of voters opted for "Neither/Other" candidate compared with other major polls, leading to an underreporting of several percentage points for one or other of the two major contenders at times in the race.

As a result, Reuters/Ipsos is amending the wording of the choice and eliminating the word "Neither," bringing the option in line with other polls.
And order was restored with Hillary surging into the lead.

Dollars

US paid Iran another $1.3 billion cash in Swiss Francs, Euros and other currencies

Alleged photo of the original $400 million cash payment to Iran
© BBCAlleged photo of the original $400 million cash payment to Iran.
One month ago, a scandal erupted when it emerged that the US had made a $400 million cash delivery to Iraq (in foreign currencies) to facilitate the release of 4 US hostages held by the regime; many promptly called it a ransom payment. At the time we noted that this was just a portion of the full amount that the US had paid Tehran, and overnight the WSJ confirmed as much when it reported that the Obama administration followed up a planeload of $400 million in cash sent to Iran in January with two more such shipments in the next 19 days, totaling another $1.3 billion.

The cash payments were once again made in foreign currencies, mostly Swiss francs, euros, and settled a decades-old dispute over a failed arms deal dating back to 1979. U.S. officials have acknowledged the payment of the first $400 million coincided with Iran's release of American prisoners and was used as leverage to ensure they were flown out of Tehran's Mehrabad on the morning of Jan. 17. The White Housee has yet to comment if the incremental $1.3 billion was also part of a ransom payment prearranged with Iran.

Newspaper

Clinton campaign unloads on NBC for covering Killary's 'coughing attack'

Hillary Clinton coughing
With questions about Hillary's health permeating much of the fringe media over the past month, if mostly absent from the mainstream coverage, yesterday's not one but two dramatic coughing fits by Hillary, promptly blamed on Cleveland's pollen levels (we showed earlier that Cleveland pollen was actually moderate, and is absent from the inside of a hermetically sealed airplane), led to another frenzy of inquiries: what exactly is wrong with her?

It also led to a furious response by the Clinton campaign at an unwitting recipient: NBC News, which "dared" to cover the story (even if, as we first reported, MSNBC ultimately cut its live feed of Clinton's Cleveland coughing fit).

As The Hill first wrote, NBC News is "facing harsh criticism" from Hillary Clinton's campaign and her supporters for publishing one article on the Democratic presidential nominee's coughing fit. Lest there be any confusion, the 91-word report, had virtually no commentary aside from reporting the facts, which included her quote that she is "allergic to Donald Trump." This is all that it said:
Hillary Clinton struggled to fight back a coughing fit while campaigning in Cleveland, Ohio, on Monday.

"I've been talking so much," Clinton said with a hoarse voice. "Every time I think about Trump, I get allergic."

The former secretary of state has suffered from coughing fits at times throughout the Democratic presidential primary.

However the frog in Clinton's throat on Monday was one of the most aggressive she's had during her 2016 run and left her almost unable to finish her remarks.

After the event, campaign aides attributed it to allergies.

Info

Embattled Merkel strikes back, defends migrant policy after election rout

German Chancellor Angela Merkel
© REUTERS/Stefanie Loos
Chancellor Angela Merkel hit back at critics of her open-door migrant policy on Wednesday after her conservative CDU party was humiliated in a regional vote, urging all parties to fight the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) with facts.

In a combative speech to the Bundestag lower house of parliament, Merkel directly addressed the outcome of Sunday's election in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern where the AfD pushed her Christian Democrats into third place.

"All of us should realize the AfD is a challenge not only for the Christian Democrats ... but that they are a challenge for everyone in this house," she said, suggesting that the AfD's anti-immigration policies were a threat to the values of society.

Comment: Is war on the horizon as Germany prepares for the worst?


Info

Trump and Clinton look to pass U.S. commander-in-chief test at forum in New York

Image of Clinton, Putin and Trump
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, pledging a major new military buildup, and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton get a chance on Wednesday to show how they would lead the U.S. armed forces as commander-in-chief.

The two Nov. 8 election opponents are to make back-to-back appearances at an NBC "commander-in-chief" forum in New York, Clinton first, followed by Trump. It will offer a prelude of what to expect from them when national security issues come up in their three presidential debates.

Trump is to lay out a major military rebuilding proposal at an 11 a.m. EDT address in Philadelphia. A senior aide said he would outline a plan for new ships, planes, submarines, combat troops and missile defense systems.

Eagle

Obama's 'pivot to Asia' and the US secret war in Laos

Barry in Laos
Barack Obama arrived Monday night in the Laotian capital of Vientiane, becoming the first US president to return to the scene of one of US imperialism's bloodiest crimes, even as his administration is preparing new wars on a far greater scale.

Obama will attend the East Asian Summit where rising tensions with China over the South China Sea are set to dominate following a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in favour of a US-backed Philippine challenge to China's territorial claims.

In a pre-recorded CNN interview aired on Sunday, Obama signalled his intent to deliver a blunt message to Chinese President Xi Jinping to abide by the court's decision. "When we see them violating international rules and norms, as we have seen in some cases in the South China Sea, or in some of their behaviour when it comes to economic policy, we've been very firm," he said, warning: "We've indicated to them that there will be consequences."

What utter hypocrisy! As with every other international rule and norm, the US insists that others abide by rulings under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which it has not even ratified. Over the course of his two terms in office, Obama has transformed the long-running regional disputes in the South China Sea into a dangerous international flashpoint that threatens to trigger war.

Biohazard

Smuggling terrorists into Britain - ISIS upping efforts

isis
© AFP
Islamic State is increasing its efforts to smuggle terrorists into Britain to launch attacks on civilians, according to new intelligence gathered following last year's Paris massacre.

The 90,000 pages of intelligence from European investigations into the November attacks, in which 130 people were killed, has reportedly revealed the scale of the slaughter could have been much worse.

The new documents leaked to the media say two other would-be attackers - Algerian Adel Haddadi and Pakistani Muhammad Usman - also intended to strike France. The pair were given fake Syrian passports and smuggled into Europe using the same route refugees have been taking, according to the documents.

Comment: ISIS planned more attacks across Europe after Paris massacre, new warnings to expect more


Info

Foreign Minister Cavusoglu: Turkish people 'pressing' govt to drop aim of EU membership

EU and Turkey flags
© Murad Sezer / Reuters
People in Turkey no longer want the EU membership, according to the country's Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu. The official said the government is under "huge pressure" to abandon its plans to join the bloc, which is being accused of "double standards."

"We are under huge pressure to stop the negotiating process," Cavusoglu said on Tuesday, while speaking at a Strategic Forum in Slovenia, as quoted by Reuters.

The reason the Turkish people want their government to rethink the plan to join the 28-member bloc - something Ankara has been aiming to do for years, is "the double standards" the EU apparently applies toward Turkey.

Comment: Turkey has taken on a new role: From NATO lapdog to emerging empire