© Reuters / Jonathan Ernst
Social media has long been chock-full of images and videos demonstrating Biden's overly touchy-feely approach with women he came into (too much) contact with over the course of his political career.
Puppet Masters
Social media has long been chock-full of images and videos demonstrating Biden's overly touchy-feely approach with women he came into (too much) contact with over the course of his political career.
© AFP / Yuri CORTEZ
A shipment of 65 tons of Chinese medicine reached Caracas on Friday. Venezuelan Vice President Tareck El Aissami welcomed the aid flight, and praised the "important and strategic level" of the partnership between Beijing and Caracas.
However, unconfirmed reports stated that a deployment of more than 120 Chinese People's Liberation Army soldiers accompanied the aid flight, bringing military supplies for President Nicolas Maduro's forces.
Beijing, however, denies sending troops to Venezuela. Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters on Tuesday
Comment: With Russian equipment, and Lavrov's recent comments that much of South America would be against it, likely fearing that they'd setting a precedent, at the moment, it seems unlikely Venezuela would need Chinese boots on the ground:
- China offers help to Venezuela to restore power amid nationwide blackout
- Zakharova blasts hypocrites in Washington for projecting their schemes for Venezuela onto Russia
- China's 'Peace Ark' medical ship makes maiden visit to Venezuela - Meanwhile US vows to increase pressure on country
© Reuters / Miraflores Palace
FILE PHOTO: Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro attends a military exercise.
FILE PHOTO: Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro attends a military exercise.
"We don't accept the methods, with which the US is trying to improve the life of the Venezuelan people," Lavrov said in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper.
Washington has outright backed opposition leader, Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim president of Venezuela in January. It has introduced hash economic sanctions against the struggling country, preventing it from importing food and medical supplies. Top US officials also threatened with so-called "humanitarian intervention" of Venezuela in order to remove unwanted socialist leader, Nicolas Maduro, from power.
Comment: See also:
- Pepe Escobar: The Pentagon's obsession with China, and Putin's strategy
- Russia gives US a red line in Venezuela then pulls a Syria: S-300 missile batteries now up and active near Caracas
- "Crimes against humanity": Former UN rapporteur says US sanctions on Venezuela like a "medieval siege"
- Trump betrays MAGA over Venezuela
© Reuters / Vitaly Nevar (L) ; Reuters / Amir Cohen (R)
S-400s stationed in Russia and a F-35 on maneuvers
S-400s stationed in Russia and a F-35 on maneuvers
Speaking at a panel discussion organized by the Atlantic Council in Washington, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the S-400 purchase was "a done deal" - confirming President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statement that the transaction would go ahead. He then blamed Washington for preventing the purchase of the US' Patriot system for a decade, while insisting that Russia's S-400 would not be a security issue.
"[S-400s] will not be integrated into the NATO system," Cavusoglu said, before proposing the creation of a technical group that would ensure that the air-defense system "will not be a threat" to either the F-35 or other NATO systems.
The comments come after NATO-member Turkey failed to adhere to a deadline set down by Washington to cancel the S-400 deal. By way of admonishment, the Pentagon said on Monday that it had "suspended deliveries and activities associated" with Turkey's F-35 program until "they forgo delivery of the S-400."
"Should Turkey procure the S-400, their continued participation in the F-35 program is at risk," the statement warned.
Comment: It's not just the overpriced, under-performing F-35 deal that's under threat; it's Turkey's very membership in NATO, according to VP Pence:
This is highly instructive from Pence. It exposes NATO for what it has actually been all along: a 'captive market' for the US military-industrial complex.
© Reuters / Thilo Schmuelgen
FILE PHOTO: Brexit caricature being prepared for 2018 Rose Monday parade in Cologne
FILE PHOTO: Brexit caricature being prepared for 2018 Rose Monday parade in Cologne
Speaking at Number 10 on Tuesday, May said the extension would be "as short as possible" and would come to an end when a deal was made.
May said she understood that people were fed up and wanted to leave the EU without a deal, but said she supported reaching a deal and offered to sit down with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to come up with a workable plan.
Comment: More from RT reports:
Corbyn says he's 'very happy' to meet May to hammer out Brexit plan, others not so sureSee also:
UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said he would be "very happy" to meet Prime Minister Theresa May after she suggested the two should sit down to agree on a new plan to ensure a no-deal Brexit is avoided.
Commenting shortly after May gave a speech at 10 Downing Street about the way forward for Brexit, Corbyn said he recognized that the PM had "made a move" and that he would meet with her.
"I recognise my responsibility to represent the people that supported Labour in the last election and the people who didn't support Labour but nevertheless want certainty and security for their own future - and that's the basis on which we will meet her and we will have those discussions," Corbyn said.
It wasn't all friendly gestures, however. Corbyn also said that Labour "reserved the right" to bring a motion of no-confidence in May's government if it proves it is "incapable of commanding a majority in the House of Commons" - but "time will tell" on that front, he said.
The response to May's speech has sparked some angry reaction in her own Conservative Party, with hardline Brexiteer MP Jacob Rees-Mogg lashing out at her plan to delay Brexit for a second time in order to work with Labour. Rees-Mogg said May's move was "deeply unsatisfactory" and "not in the interests of the country."
"You do find that leaders who decide to go with the opposition rather than their own party find that their party do not tamely follow," he added.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was also unenthusiastic about May's latest plan and her promise to make the Brexit delay time "as short as possible." Sturgeon said this was a "potential trap" and that the sensible way forward would be for Britain to take part in upcoming European elections and then to seek a longer delay and allow for a public vote on whatever parliament agrees.
A spokesperson for May said the government was hoping to avoid taking part in European parliamentary elections, however.
Meanwhile, former British foreign secretary and Brexiteer Boris Johnson also weighed in, saying May's new course of action would mean key law-making powers could end up being "handed over to Brussels."
"As it is, we now face the ridiculous possibility of being forced to contest the European elections more than three years after [voting to] leave the EU and having to agree to exit terms that in no way resemble what the people were promised when they voted to leave," he said.
- Still Confused About Brexit? It's Actually Pretty Simple...
- Brexit: A Political Farce Based on a Public Lie
- SOTT Exclusive: Brexit's main goals: Oust Jeremy Corbyn and expand predatory capitalism in Europe
- NewsReal #26: Globalization vs Nationalism - The Hidden Causes of The Yellow Vest Protests in France
- NewsReal: Yellow Vest Protests, Brexit Farce - Revolutionary Climate in Western Europe?
- NewsReal: California Wildfires, Climate Change, And The Impossible Brexit
© Wikimedia Commons
President of People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping celebrates in Europe
President of People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping celebrates in Europe
In Rome, the populist government of Premier Giuseppe Conte brought Italy into China's ambitious plan to connect East Asia and Western Europe via a multitude of infrastructure projects stretching from Shanghai to Lisbon and beyond. The memorandum of understanding Xi and Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio signed calls for joint development of roads, railways, bridges, airports, seaports, energy projects and telecommunications systems. Along with the MoU, Chinese investors signed 29 agreements worth $2.8 billion.
© Lommes, CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons
BRI’s six proposed corridors, with Italy circled, on maritime blue route. (Note: Map does not include latest national boundaries.)
BRI’s six proposed corridors, with Italy circled, on maritime blue route. (Note: Map does not include latest national boundaries.)
© Ali Mohammadi/Bloomberg/Getty Images
A support vessel flying an Iranian national flag sails alongside oil tanker ‘Devon’ preparing to transport crude oil to export markets in Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Friday, March 23, 2018.
A support vessel flying an Iranian national flag sails alongside oil tanker ‘Devon’ preparing to transport crude oil to export markets in Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Friday, March 23, 2018.
As the first anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from a 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and several world powers approaches, energy market participants are waiting to see whether the Trump administration will extend sanctions waivers on eight countries importing Iranian oil.
Trump has until May 2 to decide whether to issue new waivers to eight governments - China, India, Japan, Turkey, Italy, Greece, South Korea and Taiwan - that were allowed in November to keep buying Iranian oil without facing penalties.
"The U.S. will probably fail to reduce Iranian exports to zero, despite renewed talk from the White House about letting all oil import waivers expire in early May," analysts at Eurasia Group said in a research note published Tuesday.
Given OPEC and non-OPEC production cuts and conditions in Venezuela, "the oil market probably cannot absorb the loss of 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude without a significant effect on domestic gasoline prices - a red line for U.S. President Donald Trump," they added.
Comment: More on oil wavers from VOA, 4/2/2019:
Three of the eight countries to which Washington granted waivers to import Iranian oil have now cut their shipments from Iran to zero, a U.S. special representative said on Tuesday.
"In November, we granted eight oil waivers to avoid a spike in the price of oil. I can confirm today three of those importers are now at zero," Brian Hook, the envoy on Iran, told reporters. Hook did not identify the three countries.
We can presume, from the above article, those countries are Greece, Italy and Taiwan.
A senior Trump administration official told reporters on Monday that the U.S. government was considering additional sanctions against Iran that would target areas of its economy that have not been hit before.
© Valery Sharifulin/TASS
Pretender Juan Guaido
Pretender Juan Guaido
The decision to revoke Guaido's immunity - which he has held as the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly - came a day after Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) urged the ANC lawmakers to take action against the self-proclaimed 'interim' president, as he stands accused of inciting violence and engaging in an illicit financial activity.
"Justice is necessary for the guarantee of peace," the president of the assembly Diosdado Cabello stressed, adding that ANC approves the top court's request "so that there is justice in our country."
The unanimous decision now paves the way for legal proceedings against the 35-year-old politician. "Sometimes the law takes time, but let's not despair," Cabello said, referring to the criminal investigations against Guaido currently being conducted by the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Supreme Court of Justice.
© Reuters/Yuri Gripas
George Papadopoulos
George Papadopoulos
Lamenting the "disinformation" encircling the Trump campaign and Russia over the past three years, Papadopoulos explains that the only reasons the Trump team ever wanted to work with Russia were to stabilize Syria and Ukraine - and "to assure that Russia and China do not align in this devastating geopolitical alliance which will probably have many unpredictable consequences for the US in Europe and in Asia."
But they never even got a chance to make any Russian connections, Papadopoulos says, adding that he was contacted by Israeli, Australian, and American intelligence - all of whom were interested in his "high-level connections in the Middle East" - but no Russians.
"It goes to the core of how corrupt the Mueller investigation really was, into supposed Russian interference when no one on the Trump campaign and the transition team was even dealing with Russians. I've never met a Russian...official in my entire life, and somehow I find myself in the middle of a fake Russian conspiracy!"
© PA
The Independent Paramedics entering HMP Birmingham during the 2016 riot
The Independent Paramedics entering HMP Birmingham during the 2016 riot
The Ministry of Justice cancelled G4S's contract to run HMP Birmingham, months after seizing temporary charge of the jail following an "urgent notification".
Officials denied the unprecedented move was a "public versus private sector issue", but critics claimed years of warnings over outsourcing prisons had been vindicated.
Mark Fairhurst, chairman of the Professional Trades Union for Prison, Correctional and Secure Psychiatric Workers (POA), said: "The obsession this Tory government has to outsource and privatise public sector work must cease.
Comment: This is just one of many attempts to privatize or outsource public services by the UK government that has abjectly failed:
- Great train robbery: UK rail line returns to public ownership after 'total failure of privatization'
- UK government's welfare dept reluctantly admits 21,000 people died waiting for benefits
- Cost of Privatization in UK: Rail, water & utilities hit households financially - study
- Privatized Royal Mail queues lengthen as depots close across UK
- Russia closes 93 prisons in 7 years due to optimization and leniency
Comment: People are so blinded by their political biases they're missing the crux of the issue, which is that Joe Biden is super creepy and at times has acted in ways that are downright pedophilic. Just like with the leaked DNC emails exposing the party's plot to make sure Hillary became the Democratic candidate, it doesn't really matter who is pushing this information into the public sphere. (For the record, it wasn't the Russians then and isn't the Russians now.) What is important is what has been exposed.