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Ri Son Gwon, Minister of Foreign Affairs of DPRK: 'Our message to the US is clear!'


KCNA Watch
Fri, 12 Jun 2020 00:00 UTC
Ri Son-gwon
© beyondparallel.csis.orgNorth Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Ri Son-gwon
Ri Son Gwon, Minister of Foreign Affairs of DPRK, made public the following press statement on Friday which reads:
Two annual rings were run since the historic June 12 summit talks between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the United States of America.

We need to see what the world has witnessed and what lesson the history learned from the DPRK-U.S. relations during this not-a-short period that spans 732 days.

What stands out is that the hope for improved DPRK-U.S. relations - which was high in the air under the global spotlight two years ago - has now been shifted into despair characterized by spiraling deterioration and that even a slim ray of optimism for peace and prosperity on the Korean peninsula has faded away into a dark nightmare.

The desire of the peoples of two countries to put a period to the world's most antagonistic relations between the DPRK and the U.S. and to open a new cooperative era of peace and prosperity runs deep as ever. Yet the situation on the Korean peninsula is daily taking a turn for the worse.

This is substantiated by the DPRK-U.S. relations during the past two years.

Comment: Blinded by power, the US has, once again, shown the world it is not willing to live up to its promises only its rhetoric. That pattern is clear. This letter, in its entirety, is as much a message for other global leaders as it is a direct slam on the Trump administration.

See also: l

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Book

John Bolton: Press release for new book claims evidence of Trump's transgressions


RT
Fri, 12 Jun 2020 17:29 UTC
Bolton/Book sign
© Reuters/Leah Millis/Reuters/Jonathan DrakeFormer national security advisor John Bolton • Crowd's not buying it
Ex-national security advisor John Bolton has released a juicy teaser for his new book, claiming to have evidence of Donald Trump's foreign policy "transgressions" prompting many to ask why he kept the information from Congress.

In a press release advertising his new book on Friday, Bolton, who was fired by Trump in September 2019, accuses his former boss of more "Ukraine-like transgressions" which allegedly spanned "the full range of his foreign policy."

Trump was impeached by the US House of Representatives last year for "abuse of power" and "obstruction of Congress." Democrats accused him of withholding US military aid from Ukraine in an effort to pressure Kiev to launch an investigation into a company that employed the son of former vice president Joe Biden and was accused of corruption. In the end, the military aid was delivered on time.

Now, Bolton is suddenly claiming he is aware of other transgressions and pointing the finger at the House for having "committed impeachment malpractice by keeping their prosecution focused narrowly on Ukraine."

Comment: Firing Bolton was one of the shining moments of the Trump administration. No regrets.

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Oil Well

Turkey's plan: Establish 2 permanent military bases in Libya


Sputnik
Fri, 12 Jun 2020 21:43 UTC
Sarraj/Erdogan
© APHead of GNA Fayez al Sarraj • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Turkey is planning to establish two permanent military bases in Libya as part of its continued support for the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), the Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak reported on Friday, citing military sources.

According to the newspaper, Libya's GNA is considering giving the Turkish military use of the recently recaptured Al-Watiya Air Base for the stationing of air defence systems and combat drones. GNA forces recaptured the base from the rival Libyan National Army (LNA) on 18 May. The second base will reportedly be established in the port of Misrata for Turkish naval vessels.

Ankara may become a co-owner of offshore oil companies that are based in Libya's exclusive economic zone, meaning that Turkish warships will be necessary to monitor drilling operations, the newspaper reported. Turkey also believes that the ongoing tensions with Greece make it necessary for warships to be deployed in the region.
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Eye 1

New Facebook tool gives employers ability to suppress "unionize" in workplace chat

Lee Fanglee
The Intercept
Sat, 13 Jun 2020 17:23 UTC
facebook censorship
Facebook Workplace is currently used by major employers such as Walmart, which is notorious for its active efforts to suppress labor organizing. The application is also used by the Singapore government, Discovery Communications, Starbucks, and Campbell Soup Corporation.

The suggestion that Facebook is actively building tools designed to suppress labor organizing quickly caused a stir at the Menlo Park, California-based company. Facebook employees sparked a flurry of posts denouncing the feature, with several commenting in disbelief that the company would overtly pitch "unionize" as a topic to be blacklisted.

The following day, the company presentation was taken down. But on Thursday afternoon, after the presentation had been deleted, Karandeep Anand, a product manager for Facebook Workplace, weighed in on an internal company board. Anand apologized for the "unionize" example, noting that "censoring users is not the purpose of this feature and Workplace's ambition is to give everyone a voice, while maintaining a respectful work environment." He added that the "oversight" was likely "lack of context versus bad intent from anyone on the team."
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Mr. Potato

What a joke! Biden's biggest fear: 'This president is going to try to steal this election'

Rebecca Shabad and Marianna Sotomayor
NBC News
Thu, 11 Jun 2020 07:30 UTC
Joe Biden in Los Angeles on March 3, 2020.
© Melina Mara / The Washington Post via GettyJoe Biden in Los Angeles on March 3, 2020.
Joe Biden said Wednesday night that his greatest concern is whether everyone's votes will be counted in November as he warned that President Donald Trump may try to "steal" the presidential election.

In an interview on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," host Trevor Noah asked the former vice president what the plan is to ensure everyone has the opportunity to vote without being in a line that's six hours long, as many people in Georgia experienced during Tuesday's primary.


Comment: Biden made these ridiculous statements on a Comedy Central Tee Vee show - which is as symbolic as it is appropriate.


"It's my greatest concern, my single greatest concern. This president is going to try to steal this election," said Biden, the presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee.

Biden noted that the president has repeatedly cast doubt on the legitimacy of mail-in ballots even though Trump himself took advantage of the process to vote in Florida earlier this year.

Comment: Biden's statements and aspersions actually reflect the intentions of his party - to steal the presidential elections themselves. Everything Trump has been - and continues to be accused of in these regards - is in fact what the Dems have been, and continue to be guilty of, as they work to rig the election in their last ditch efforts to oust "Orange Man Bad!". And make not mistake, they are going ALL OUT to achieve this.

See also:

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Star of David

UAE envoy says Israel's annexation would 'upend' improving Arab ties

Samir Salama
Gulf News
Fri, 12 Jun 2020 16:46 UTC
Jewish colony
© AFPA Jewish colony in Occupied East Jerusalem
Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the US on Friday warned Israel against annexing the Jordan Valley and other parts of the occupied West Bank, saying the move would "upend" Israel's efforts to improve ties with Arab countries.

However, former Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, dismissed arguments that Israel must maintain control of the Jordan Valley for security purposes as "nonsense."

Al Otaiba was among three Arab ambassadors who attended President Donald Trump's January unveiling of his Mideast plan, which allows Israel to annex around 30 per cent of the West Bank and was immediately rejected by the Palestinians.

In an editorial published by Israel's Yediot Aharonot newspaper, Al Otaiba warned that Israel's planned annexation — a process that could begin as soon as July 1 — would "ignite violence and rouse extremists."
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Mr. Potato

QAnon is about to get its first congresswoman

Chris Cillizza
CNN
Fri, 12 Jun 2020 13:38 UTC
QAnon sign
The Republican primary in Georgia's 14th district on Tuesday didn't draw much national attention. After all, it's an overwhelmingly Republican district that GOP Rep. Tom Graves had held easily for a decade in Congress before announcing his retirement last year.

But when all the votes were counted, it became clear that the 14th district was on the verge of making history: Electing the first openly pro-QAnon member of Congress in Marjorie Taylor Greene.

What, you ask, is QAnon? It's a broad-scale internet-based conspiracy theory begun in early 2017 that is based on a belief that there is a high-level government official -- "Q" -- who sprinkles clues on internet message boards like 4chan and 8chan about a massive "deep state" conspiracy (or series of conspiracies) at work in the country.

Comment: See also:

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Caesar

Boris Johnson says attacking statues is 'lying about our history' and protests have been 'hijacked by extremists'

Boris Johnson
Independent
Fri, 12 Jun 2020 00:00 UTC
Boris Johnson
We must not 'censor our past' says prime minister in defence of Churchill monument

Boris Johnson has said tearing down statues amounts to "lying about our history" and that it is "absurd and shameful" for a monument to Winston Churchill to be boarded up ahead of expected protests this weekend.

The prime minister said the wartime leader's statue in London's Parliament Square is "a permanent reminder of his achievement in saving this country - and the whole of Europe - from a fascist and racist tyranny".

"We cannot now try to edit or censor our past," he wrote in a string of tweets. "We cannot pretend to have a different history."

Mr Johnson added that the "only responsible action" was to stay away from planned anti-racism protests this weekend, which he claimed had been "hijacked by extremists" and would "end in deliberate and calculated violence".

Comment: Finally Boris Johnson would seem to be correct about something.

And others in UK politics have been voicing similar concerns:
Brexit Party Chairman Richard Tice has called for the protective hoarding around the Winston Churchill monument in London to be removed, despite fears of violence and potential vandalism at this weekend's protests.

Addressing UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and London Mayor Sadiq Khan directly, Tice said "the woke warriors seem now to be winning over the United Kingdom," adding that "the greatest Briton" had now "disappeared."


[...]

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he had acted with the Met Police to secure several London landmarks, including the Cenotaph in Whitehall, which commemorates everyone who died during all the wars in which British citizens have fought. Khan has asked the public to remain at home over the weekend.

Conservative MPs Andrew Bridgen and Conor Burns decried the move, and Bridgen even called for both Khan and Scotland Yard Commissioner Cressida Dick to resign.




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Dollars

US resumes military aid to Ukraine with payment of $250 million following Pentagon approved 'reforms'


RFE/RL
Fri, 12 Jun 2020 01:05 UTC
Donetsk
A Ukrainian soldier in the town of Avdiyivka in the Donetsk region in November
The U.S. Defense Department has announced a resumption of millions of dollars in military assistance to Ukraine after it was frozen last year, putting it at the heart of the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

The Pentagon said $250 million will be released to assist with "training, equipment, and advisory efforts to strengthen Ukraine's capacity to more effectively defend itself against Russian aggression."

A Pentagon statement says the aid reaffirms the long-standing defense relationship between the United States and Ukraine, adding that the country is "a critical partner on the front line of strategic competition with Russia."

Comment: US citizens are seeing their economy crumble along with their livelihoods meanwhile those in power are using what little capital the country has left to buy influence and interfere in foreign nations:

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Stormtrooper

The parallels between Minneapolis and Jerusalem are more than skin deep

Jonathan Cook
Middle East Eye
Thu, 11 Jun 2020 19:07 UTC
Israel US american police knee on neck
© Agence France-PressePalestinians demonstrate against police brutality and in support of US protesters over the death George Floyd in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on 8 June, 2020
In a world of depleting resources and contracting economies, states are preparing for future uprisings by a growing underclass

It is hard to ignore the striking parallels between the recent scenes of police brutality in cities across the United States and decades of violence from Israel's security forces against Palestinians.

A video that went viral late last month of a Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, killing a black man, George Floyd, by pressing a knee into his neck for nearly nine minutes has triggered a fortnight of mass protests across the US - and beyond.

The footage was the latest disturbing visual evidence of a US police culture that appears to treat Black Americans as an enemy - and a reminder that rogue police officers are all too rarely punished.
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