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The US-UK 'special relationship' is collapsing... and that's fine

Matthew Ehret
The Strategic Culture Foundation
Thu, 01 Aug 2019 19:33 UTC
US UK flags
© Oliver Brandt / Global Look Press
British Ambassador Kim Darroch's return to London from his failed mission in America is being hailed by many naïve commentators as yet another proof that President Trump is a crazed ego-maniac who cannot take criticism from a seasoned professional diplomat.

During the weeks since the "Darroch memo" scandal erupted, mainstream media has totally mis-diagnosed the nature of the breakdown in US-British relations, and has brushed over the most relevant evidence that has been brought to light by Darroch's cables. This spinning of the narrative has made it falsely appear that the Ambassador merely criticized the President as "clumsy, diplomatically inept, unpredictable and dysfunctional" and was thus unjustly attacked by the President causing the poor diplomat to resign saying "the current situation is making it impossible for me to carry out my role as I would like." Former British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt went so far as to say that Darroch was "the best of Britain" and encouraged all diplomats to continue to "speak truth to power." International press on both sides of the ocean followed suit portraying Darroch as a hero among men.

Hog wash.

The reality is that Darroch's messages to the British Foreign Office go much deeper and reveal something very ugly that challenges the deepest assumptions about recent history and modern geopolitics.

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Attention

Gorbachev says US decision to quit INF will result in 'chaos'


RT
Fri, 02 Aug 2019 19:59 UTC
Gorbachev
© REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin 905
Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has lamented the US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which he once signed with US counterpart Ronald Reagan, saying it would undermine international security.

The first and only president of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, said that by pulling out of the 1987 treaty, the US is dealing a potentially crushing blow not only to European security, but to the entire international security system.

"The termination of the treaty will hardly be beneficial for the international community, this move undermines security not only in Europe, but in the whole world," Gorbachev, 88, told Interfax on Friday.
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Snakes in Suits

#BackDoorBoris! This phoney PM can run, but not for long!

Tommy Sheridan
Sputnik
Tue, 30 Jul 2019 20:20 UTC
Boris/Nicola
© Reuters/Russell Cheyne
Britain's PM Boris Johnson • Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon • Bute House, Edinburgh
Yesterday I was proud of both my country and my First Minister. The fake Prime Minister of the UK, elected by less than one 1% of the 46 million registered voters, sought to charm a part of the British union which has rejected his party and his politics consistently over the last 64 years with a secretive and swift visit to Scotland.

His arrival in Edinburgh city centre outside Bute House, the official residence of the First Minister, was met with a cacophony of boos and derogatory chants from the several hundred Scots who had gathered at very short notice to express their disapproval for a democratically illegitimate PM who has consistently disrespected Scotland and displayed the pompous, racist and condescending characteristics we have grown to expect from the privileged self-obsessed minority who travel through the Eton and Oxbridge corridors that reek of entitlement and advantage.

Our First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, conveyed the feelings of the nation with body language that screamed contempt for the visiting buffoon who had somehow manoeuvred himself into a position of authority far beyond his intellect, capability or moral values.
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Light Sabers

A glimpse behind the scenes: Tulsi's takedown of Kamala Harris

Michael Tracey
Spectator
Thu, 01 Aug 2019 08:55 UTC
T. Gabbard
© GettyImages
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Gabbard dismantled Kamala Harris because no one else had bothered trying!

It's no great mystery why Tulsi Gabbard chose to focus her ire on Kamala Harris last night in Detroit. For months, Harris has gotten away with empty identity-related sloganeering and shallow performative stunts, like the one she pulled on Joe Biden in the previous round of debates - which of course was received rapturously by much of the media, leading to bogus claims of a Harris 'surge.' Meanwhile, left unexamined was the phony central conceit of Harris's campaign: that she is a 'progressive prosecutor' and therefore supremely well-qualified to make the case against Trump. This mantra has long been ripe for a proper dissection, given its utter ridiculousness. Unfortunately for Biden, though, his cognitive faculties aren't exactly in the greatest shape and challenging Harris effectively seems well outside his scope of competence at this point. So into the void stepped Tulsi.

It had been simmering for some time. In one of the first synopses of the Democratic candidates from January of this year, The New York Times chose to highlight the 'history-making potential' of Harris on account of her unique identity status, yet Tulsi - despite also being a woman, in addition to a racial and religious minority - did not receive the 'history-making' moniker.

Comment: See also:

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Cloud Grey

Pentagon puts hold on $10B contract after Trump's swipe at Amazon puts deal 'under a dark cloud'

Jacqueline Feldscher
Politico
Thu, 01 Aug 2019 04:07 UTC
Esper
© politico
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper
The Pentagon is slamming the brakes on its mega-competition to award a $10 billion cloud computing contract after President Donald Trump suggested the Defense Department might have rigged the contest in favor of Amazon, a frequent target of his criticism.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who assumed his post July 23, is now reviewing accusations of unfairness in the fiercely fought competition, the Pentagon announced Thursday, marking the president's latest incursion into the arcane world of Defense Department contracting. Oracle has reportedly waged an aggressive lobbying campaign to push back on the competition, now pitting Amazon against Microsoft, including talking with members of Congress and preparing a graphic that made its way to the president's desk.

Elissa Smith, a Pentagon spokesperson, said in a statement Thursday:
"Secretary Esper is committed to ensuring our warfighters have the best capabilities, including Artificial Intelligence, to remain the most lethal force in the world, while safeguarding taxpayer dollars. Keeping his promise to Members of Congress and the American public, Secretary Esper is looking at the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) program. No decision will be made on the program until he has completed his examination."
The latest scrape once again pits Trump against Amazon, whose founder and CEO Jeff Bezos also owns The Washington Post and has become a growing powerbroker in the D.C. region.

Comment: See also:

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Dollar

Soros enters the 2020 'funding influence' game: $5.1M check to Democrats


RT
Thu, 01 Aug 2019 21:33 UTC
George Soros
© Getty Images
George Soros
Billionaire financier George Soros has created a super PAC and written a $5.1 million check for Democrats ahead of next year's election. However, the liberal mega-donor has not revealed which candidate will get his blessing.

Soros spent more than $20 million during the 2016 election, donating more than $9 million to Political Action Committees (PACs) supporting Hillary Clinton, and the rest on committees working to install Democrats in Congress and to boost minority turnout at the polls.

According to records filed with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday, the 88-year-old billionaire kicked his 2020 efforts off with a deposit of $5.1 million into his own Democracy PAC, more than doubling the $2.1 million he had donated at this point in the 2016 cycle.

Though no doubt spurred on by a desire to unseat President Donald Trump, Soros has not revealed who among the two dozen Democratic hopefuls his PAC will bestow its wealth on. Speaking to the Washington Post last year, the Hungarian-born investor said he would stay out of the party's primaries, as playing favorites would "divide the Democratic Party."
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Footprints

Peace deal? US to withdraw thousands of US troops for Taliban guarantee of direct negotiations with Kabul


RFE/RL
Fri, 02 Aug 2019 02:56 UTC
Khalilzad
© Rafiq Maqbool/AP
US Peace Envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad
The United States is ready to withdraw a large number of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in exchange for Taliban guarantees to start direct negotiations with Kabul on ending the nearly 18-year war in Afghanistan, U.S. media reported on August 1.

The Washington Post and CNN cited unnamed sources as saying that the number of soldiers would go down from 14,000 to 8,000-9,000 as part of a peace deal to end the conflict. To date, the Taliban has refused to negotiate with the Kabul government, calling it a "puppet regime."

Other measures include a personnel reduction at the U.S. Embassy and cuts in security personnel, CNN reported.

Speaking to RFE/RL on July 31, U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said there were four key issues for a comprehensive peace agreement: the withdrawal of foreign troops, a Taliban guarantee to prevent terrorist attacks, intra-Afghan dialogue leading to a political settlement, and a permanent cease-fire. In acknowledging the delicate situation, he has stressed that "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed."

Comment: See also:
US and Taliban reportedly reach peace deal to end Afghan war, remove all foreign troops within 1.5 yrs

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Boat

Undeployable! USN's money-pit ship can't deliver munitions to deck nor launch F-35 fighters


RT
Thu, 01 Aug 2019 19:20 UTC
Aircraft Carrier Ford
© Reuters/Handout
An F/A-18F Super Hornet jet flies over the USS Gerald R. Ford, 2017
The US Navy's new $13 billion aircraft carrier was delivered with only two of its 11 elevators -vital to get munitions to its deck- operational. For the Navy, it's the latest in a series of costly embarrassments.

The USS Gerald R. Ford is the first of the Navy's new Ford-class aircraft carriers, a hulking, 100,000-ton beast built to replace the aging fleet of Nimitz-class vessels. Already 23 percent over budget, it was delivered in 2017 but has yet to undergo so-called 'shock trials' to prove its combat readiness.

However, Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Virginia) told Bloomberg this week that nine of the Ford's weapons elevators are non-operational, and will require costly and time-consuming upgrades to get them working. With the Ford's crew unable to move ordnance to deck, "the ship can't deploy," Luria -who serves on the House Armed Services Committee- said.

Senate Armed Services Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) also hounded Vice Admiral Michael Gilday, President Donald Trump's nominee for Chief of Naval Operations, at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday. "The ship was accepted by the Navy incomplete, nearly two years late, two-and-a-half billion dollars over budget, and 9 of 11 weapons elevators still don't work, with costs continuing to grow," Inhofe exclaimed, adding that the Navy's lack of planning "ought to be criminal."
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Arrow Down

BoJo's govt majority slashed to just one as Tories suffer repercussions of a damaging by-election


RT
Fri, 02 Aug 2019 12:58 UTC
Lib Dems/Chris Davies
© Reuters/Rebecca Naden
Liberal Democrats celebrate winning • Conservative MP Chris Davies
Boris Johnson's Tory government just got weaker after being inflicted with a damaging by-election defeat that leaves the new UK prime minister with a perilous majority of just one, and which may precipitate a general election.

It would appear that talk of a 'Boris bounce' effect on the fortunes of the Conservative Party has been somewhat premature. Johnson is now a record-breaker -not that he'll want to boast about it- after becoming the UK PM that lost a seat in a by-election faster than any other for over a century.

The resurgent pro-remain Liberal Democrat Party, represented by Jane Dodds, won the seat of Brecon and Radnorshire in Wales by a majority of 1,425. They secured 43.5 percent of the vote while the Conservatives were beaten into second, on 39 percent.
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Pirates

Trump threatens to unleash ISIS prisoners into Europe

Ellen Manning
Yahoo News
Fri, 02 Aug 2019 19:22 UTC
trump
Donald Trump has threatened to release thousands of ISIS fighters into Europe if countries don't agree to take them back.

The US president made the threat as US officials warned that ISIS remains a global threat despite losing swathes of territory it held in Syria and Iraq.

Speaking outside the White House, Mr Trump said: "We have 2,500 ISIS fighters that we want Europe to take...We have thousands of ISIS fighters that we want Europe to take and let's see if they take them.

"And if they don't take them, we'll probably have to release them to Europe."
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