Puppet MastersS


Eye 2

British child sex abuse inquiry: Home Secretary vows to press on in wake of Justice Goddard's resignation

Caroline Mortimer
The Independent
Fri, 05 Aug 2016 16:16 UTC
child abuse inquiry Lowell Goddard-
© Associated Press
Justice Lowell Goddard, who is a high court judge in New Zealand, has resigned from the inquiry
Home secretary says the 'success of this inquiry remains an absolute priority'

The inquiry into child sexual abuse will continue "without delay" the Home Secretary Amber Rudd has said, following the resignation of its chair Dame Lowell Goddard.

Justice Goddard became the third chair of the inquiry to resign after controversy over holidays and comments she made about not understanding English law.

The New Zealand high court judge was appointed as chair of the inquiry by then-Home Secretary Theresa May after the two previous chairs were forced to stand down over their links to establishment figures.

Comment: Did Justice Goddard bail because she realized the inquiry would be going nowhere?

Institutional child sex abuse inquiry loses third head and it hasn't even started yet

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Magnify

No, Aleppo is not the new Srebrenica: The West won't go to war over Syria

Robert Fisk
The Independent
Thu, 04 Aug 2016 15:44 UTC
Syrians queue up to buy bread
© AFP/Getty Syrians queue up to buy bread in a rebel held area of Aleppo on 12 July 016.
As armed rebels - "terrorists" in the eyes of the regime - tighten their grip on the country, at one stage holding 60 per cent of the land, government troops hit back, seizing control of the main roads and laying siege to major towns.

The ruthless dictator, supported by Russia, accuses foreign powers of assisting his rebel enemies. There are massacres by both sides. NGOs fear for the tens of thousands of civilians trapped amid the fighting, while Western powers threaten to strike at the dictator unless he abides by a humanitarian ceasefire.

Sound familiar? Of course. I'm describing Kosovo in 1998, the year before NATO launched its war against Slobodan Milosevic's regime in Serbia.

The Kosovo Liberation Army - assisted and advised, as we now know, by the CIA - was threatening to seize all of Kosovo, the Serbian province in which Milosevic's regime had long committed human rights abuses and ethnic murder against its Muslim majority. Milosovic accused Albania of sending weapons into Kosovo with the help of Western powers. All true.
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Eye 2

US-backed 'moderates' implicated in Syria chemical attack - State Dept. spokesman Toner ducks questions


RT
Fri, 05 Aug 2016 15:10 UTC
chemical weapons aleppo
© JM Lopez/Agence France-Presse
Washington dodged questions about a chemical attack in Syria, which the Russian military has blamed on US-backed militants, refusing to clarify whether the "incident" if confirmed would disqualify the group from being considered "moderate."

Shells suspected to have contained chlorine gas were fired into the Salahuddin residential district in eastern Aleppo on Tuesday night, the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday, identifying the perpetrators as "militants from the Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki group, considered by Washington as 'moderate opposition'."

Al-Zenki has been identified as one of the groups that received TOW anti-tank missiles from the US.
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Snakes in Suits

US to give Argentina declassified files on American role in 'horror' of military dictatorship

Nadia Prupis
Common Dreams
Fri, 05 Aug 2016 15:18 UTC
Images of missing people at an illegal detention center in Argentina where prisoners were tortured
© Pablo Flores/flickr/ccImages of missing people at an illegal detention center in Argentina where prisoners were tortured.
In Buenos Aires on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he would hand over declassified documents relating to America's role in the 1976-83 military coup and dictatorship in Argentina—often referred to as the "Dirty War"—during which tens of thousands of leftist activists and dissidents were murdered and imprisoned.

"I want to note that the relationship between the United States and Argentina is an exciting, forward-looking one. But we're also conscious of the lessons from the past," Kerry said during a press conference.

The move comes amid warming relations between the U.S. and Argentina, which elected neoliberal businessman Mauricio Macri as president in November, signaling a rightward shift for the country. President Barack Obama announced in March that the U.S. would release the files.
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Network

Putin encourages ties with Iran and Eurasian Economic Union


RT
Fri, 05 Aug 2016 14:40 UTC
Vladimir Putin
© Michael Klimentyev / SputnikRussian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised the successful cooperation between Moscow and Tehran, and has expressed hope that a free trade zone can soon be established between Iran and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union.

"Iran is Russia's longtime partner. We believe that bilateral relations will benefit from the reduction of tensions around Iran following the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear program," Putin said in a major interview with Azerbaijani state news agency Azertac released on Friday. He added that Iranian leaders shared his approach.

In some branches of the economy Russian-Iranian cooperation has already become strategic, Putin noted. This concerned first of all the nuclear energy sphere, with Russia completing and servicing the Bushehr power plant in Iran and reaching agreements on building eight more nuclear power units. Overall the two states have managed to increase bilateral trade by 70 percent and bring it to $855 million in the first five months of 2016.
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Snakes in Suits

Transparency? Ha! US State Dept Toner bursts into laughter at press briefing


RT
Fri, 05 Aug 2016 15:02 UTC
Mark Toner, the deputy spokesman for the US State Department, literally burst out laughing at the idea of transparency and democracy during an official press briefing on Thursday.

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Pistol

Thriving on war: UK weapon traffickers eye global sales boost thanks to plunging post-Brexit pound value


RT
Fri, 05 Aug 2016 14:45 UTC
sigm400
© Stefan Wermuth / ReutersA woman aims a SIGM400 rifle during the Defence Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair at ExCel in London. File photo.
British arms firms hope a plunge in the value of the pound will make exports less expensive and attract business from Turkey and India, which are seeking to expand their own arms-making capabilities.

UK arms giants Rolls Royce and BAE Systems, as well as parts suppliers Senior Plc and Meggitt Plc, are hoping to cash in on cheap designs and components.

Meggitt CEO Stephen Young told Bloomberg the firm could benefit if the weak pound lifts foreign demand for British parts - particularly in places like India, which are looking to expand their own arms manufacturing.

"We do and always have sold to original-equipment manufacturers around the world. If those channels are opened up further then obviously we'd be interested in selling more, absolutely," he said.

Comment: Like cockroaches, arms dealers are always the last man standing.

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Sheriff

Gulen extradition request strains Turkey-NATO relations, warrant issued for his arrest


Sputnik
Fri, 05 Aug 2016 11:49 UTC
gulen
© AP Photo/ Chris PostMost wanted.
Relations between Turkey and NATO are becoming increasingly strained, following the attempted military coup in July, however, NATO will continue to deal with Turkey for strategic military reasons, Sputnik has been told.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed the failed coup on the US and the75-year-old US-based cleric, Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey wants to extradite. It is understood the Turkish Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag is expected to go to Washington to negotiate the extradition of Gülen. Bozdag has said the US is well aware Gülen is behind the attempted coup.

The move will put further strain over Turkish-NATO relations. Turkey has been a member of the alliance since 1952 and NATO relies strongly on its military, as well as airbases — particularly Incirlik. In southern Turkey, which has a massive NATO presence and is critical to Middle East operations.

Comment: Gulen was arrested in absentia in Istanbul. The ruling AKP has announced that Gulen supporters will be banned from the party from now on.

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Info

Institutional child sex abuse inquiry loses third head and it hasn't even started yet


RT
Fri, 05 Aug 2016 14:28 UTC
New Zealand High Court judge Justice Lowell Goddard
© Jack Taylor / AFP
Britain's gigantic inquiry into institutional child abuse is facing another setback after the top judge in charge resigned her post, becoming the third to do so.

New Zealand high court judge Dame Lowell Goddard called it quits Thursday evening, claiming the inquiry had an unshakeable "legacy of failure" and that the job was a "struggle."

However, Goddard herself has recently come under fire after it emerged that in her first year on the job she spent 30 days on leave and 44 working days in New Zealand and Australia.

The inquiry, which is unprecedented in size, is due to report in 2020, but some pundits estimate it could take longer as it has not yet publicly questioned a single victim or witness.
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Star of David

Five US activists detained, handcuffed, jailed and deported by Israel upon arrival


Sputnik
Fri, 05 Aug 2016 14:19 UTC
Israel police in Ben Gurion airport
© AP Photo/ Ariel Schalit
Five US activists aiming to investigate living conditions for Palestinians in Israeli-occupied areas were subjected to a cold welcome upon their arrival to Israel; detained without explanation, handcuffed, humiliated based on belief, appearance or ethnicity, and finally banned from entering the country.

The incident occurred on July 17, when a five-member delegation of the rights group US Campaign to End Israeli Occupation was detained at Ben Gurion Airport, some 20 kilometers from Tel Aviv. All of the activists had US citizenship and appear to have been stopped in violation of visa agreements between Washington and Tel Aviv.

Some of the activists were quickly sent back to the United States, while others were detained by Israeli border police, held in prison-like conditions for up to 18 hours. A few were banned from entering Israel for a period of ten years.
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