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Biohazard

Skripal poisoning mystery: Where was Detective Sergeant Nicholas Bailey poisoned?

Nicholas Bailey
I wrote back here that the Achilles Heel of the door handle theory is Detective Sergeant Nicholas Bailey. When his name was first mentioned publicly, on 8th March, it was widely reported that he had been one of the first responders at the bench in The Maltings. However, this was thrown into confusion the following day by none other than Lord Ian Blair, former Chief Constable of the Metropolitan Police, who stated the following on Radio 4's Today Programme:
"There are some indications that the police officer who was injured had been to the house, whereas there was a doctor who looked after the patients in the open, who hasn't been affected at all. So there maybe some clues floating around in here.'"
As I pointed out in that piece, the phrase "some indications" was somewhat disingenuous, as The Metropolitan Police would have known by that time exactly where Mr Bailey had been. And in any case, there was no particular reason for Lord Blair to reveal this information.

The point I went on to make is that if it was known that he had been poisoned, which it was; if it was known that he'd been to the house, which it was; and if it was known that the poisoning didn't happen at The Maltings, which it was (at least according to investigators who ruled it out with surprising swiftness), then it MUST have been known that he was poisoned AT THE HOUSE. But if this was the case, why exactly was the house not locked down, with forensic scientists all over the house taking swabs? Why did it take nearly two weeks for that to happen?

Comment: And where exactly is Det. Sgt. Bailey? Hanging out with Sergei Skripal perhaps? Isn't it a bit odd that he hasn't been seen or heard from since he was released from the hospital?


Dig

Trudeau confirms Canadian intel listened to Khashoggi murder tapes

trudeau
© REUTERS / Chris Bolin
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed that Turkey has shared audio tapes with Canada related to the murder of Saudi opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi, thus becoming a first foreign leader to confirm the existence of the recordings.

Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the recordings were shared with France, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United States, among others. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that he was not aware whether Turkey had actually shared the information and accused the Turkish leader of "playing political games."

"Canada's intelligence agencies have been working very closely on this issue with Turkish intelligence and Canada has been fully briefed on what Turkey had to share," Trudeau said at a press conference in Paris on Monday.

The Canadian prime minister confirmed that the intelligence had heard the tapes, but added that he "has not" heard the tapes himself.

"I had a conversation with Erdogan a couple of weeks ago, and here in Paris we had brief exchanges and I thanked him for his strength in responding to the Khashoggi situation," Trudeau added.

Comment: According to Erdogan, the recordings "shocked" a Saudi intelligence officer when he heard them:
Speaking to reporters on his return from a trip with world leaders to Paris, France, the Turkish leader said the audio related to Khashoggi's murder perturbed a Saudi intelligence official who listened to it.

"The recordings are really appalling. Indeed when the Saudi intelligence officer listened to the recordings, he was so shocked he said: 'This one must have taken heroin, only someone who takes heroin would do this'," he added, Reuters reports.

Erdogan believes the murder occurred at the hands of top Saudi officials, although he said he does not think Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman (MBS), for whom he has "limitless respect", could order such an atrocity.



Fire

Video shows IDF bus burst into flames after being hit by Gaza missile

idf bus
© Screenshots / hallal__ / Twitter
A video has surfaced online showing an Israeli military bus being hit with an anti-tank missile near the Gaza border. The attack happened during a rapid escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas.

The video, published Monday, begins with a long white bus parked behind the trees. Reportedly dozens of soldiers had just disembarked. Several figures can be seen standing behind the two white SUVs nearby.


The bus starts moving, and, once it gets out in the open, it is suddenly hit with what the IDF described as a guided anti-tank missile.

Comment: Israelis are notoriously thin-skinned about IDF casualties, not seeming to realize that is the cost of a military occupation. You can't have one without the other, even if they would like it to be like that. A very large portion of the Israeli population would prefer to be able to bomb Palestine and kill Palestinians with impunity. But as an occupation force, the IDF is a legitimate target under international law. If they don't like it that way, the Israelis will just have to begin acting like normal people, instead of self-entitled murderers.

See also:


Mr. Potato

Time to step away from the keyboard: Stanford prof McFaul scoffs at idea of checking sources before tweeting

McFaul
© Reuters / Maxim Shemetov
Michael McFaul speaks during a Russian Public Chamber round table event in Moscow April 4, 2013
Ex-envoy to Russia Michael McFaul has shrugged off criticism he received after being duped by a well-known parody account, arguing that checking sources on Twitter is often too time consuming. Sage words from a Stanford professor?

McFaul, along with Obama-era UN ambassador Samantha Power, pounced on an anti-Trump tweet posted by a parody account that poses as North Korea's "official news feed."

To his credit, McFaul deleted the offending tweet. But the celebrated Stanford scholar went one step further, issuing an extremely articulate and compelling defense for his oversight: Who even has time to check sources on Twitter?

Comment: McFaul's Twitter life mirrors his public life as he has stumbled from fail to fail. Why is anyone still listening to this clown?


Family

Washington's and NATO's criminal wars and government austerity policies at the heart of European & US migration turmoil

migrant woman child
© AFP / Jorge Guerrero
A migrant woman holds a baby upon her arrival aboard a coast guard boat at Malaga's harbour on September 23, 2018
Europe has certainly adopted more fortress-like controls against would-be refugees. A concomitant rise in anti-immigrant political parties has in turn fueled popular resentment towards EU institutions.

But the debate requires much more than "moral appeals."

A recent study entitled 'Building Walls' puts the growth of EU internal and external border barriers into stark perspective. In the 1990s, there were two border walls. Now the number has grown to a total of 17, with most of the structures built over the past three years.

Bad Guys

A century since WWI, world slides into war again - Peter Kuznick

Theresa May and Emmanuel Macron
© AFP
Theresa May (R) and Emmanuel Macron near graves at the World War I French-British memorial of Thiepval, November 9, 2018
Our world leaders don't learn the lessons of history: with countries conducting the largest military drills in decades and modernizing its nuclear arsenals the world is rapidly sliding into war again, Prof. Peter Kuznick told RT.

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump were among the heads of state attending events to mark the centenary of the end of WWI in Paris on Sunday. While the Russian and American leaders didn't have an actual meeting, they still managed to grab headlines for what was described as 'over-friendly' body language.

Ahead of Armistice Day Trump had criticized France's President Emmanuel Macron over his proposal to create a European army calling it "insulting." However, in Paris they glossed over any differences and agreed on more defense spending for Europe.

RT discussed the issue with Professor Peter Kuznick, a historian and co-author with Oliver Stone of 'The Untold History of the United States'.

RT: A top Kremlin aide has said that the French government was opposed to a meeting between Trump and Putin in Paris. Why would that have been? Was it right for them not to meet?

Vader

Israel amasses tanks at Gaza border after "green light" for "major retaliation"

tanques israelíes Gaza
© AFP
An convoy of Israeli tanks enters the city of Sderot, southeast of the occupied Palestinian territories, November 12, 2018.
Commenting on Monday's flare-up of rocket fire after a prior Israeli commando raid into Gaza territory to assassinate Hamas leaders, the Jerusalem Post observed that Hamas' retaliation included "the most amount of rockets ever fired into Israel in 24 hours."

Various international reports have cited over 300 rockets and mortars fired into Israeli, which began with a sustained barrage of about 100 within the first hour of the launches alone. What's been dubbed as a "revenge" attack on heels of Monday funeral prayers for slain Hamas commanders killed by Israeli special forces were quickly met with widespread airstrikes on the strip, including on a Hamas television broadcast building, and some 70 targets in total across the strip.

Meanwhile there appears preparations for what could be a major war and full Israeli invasion of Gaza underway as tank units have been observed mustering at entry points into Gaza.


Comment: The IDF is preparing for a major offensive in "retaliation" for recent events - yet as South Front observes in the following video, they have been concentrating ground forces close to Gaza for weeks, including battle tanks.

Indeed, a month ago the Israeli defense minister Avigdor Lieberman was asking just for this, and now he is having his wish come true:

Lieberman wants to inflict a "heavy blow" against Hamas in Gaza

More on the recent escalation:


Magnify

France wants Europe to be sovereign, Trump is insulted, but Putin agrees

napolean eu flag
Europe shouldn't be shy of using its power and should become an "empire" like China and the US, France's finance minister said after the president's speech about 'a European army' - an idea which was later bashed by Donald Trump.

"I'm talking about a peaceful empire which is a constitutional state," Bruno Le Maire, told Handelsblatt newspaper in an interview released on Sunday.

This empire will be based on the principles of technological, economic, financial, monetary and cultural power. "Europe should no longer be afraid of using its power and [become] an empire of peace."

Comment: Clearly not all pro-EU speakers have the same vision in mind, and PM Macron's is particularly twisted. But Europe cooperation in line with Putin's comments make sense, so long as the nations within a union also retain regional sovereignty. Although until any of this can happen, the EU and some its most insidious policies will need an overhaul: And check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Trump Ditches Europe, Europe Bluffs, Russia and China Carry on With Eurasian Integration


Snakes in Suits

Playing the victim: May to extend 'olive branch' to Moscow if they 'stop breaking international law'

Russian flag Maslenitsa
© REUTERS/Neil Hall
A woman holds a Russian flag during Russian Maslenitsa, London.
Relations between Russia and the UK could be set to improve. After years of rising tensions, Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to state that she is open to a 'different relationship' with Moscow, albeit with stipulations.

May is expected to use her Lord Mayor's banquet address, Monday, to say Britain will be "open" to friendlier Russia relations only if they cease to "undermine international treaties and international security."

"We remain open to a different relationship - one where Russia desists from these attacks that undermine international treaties and international security - and instead acts together with us to fulfil the common responsibilities we share as permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Nuke

UN confirms Iran's complying with JCPOA limits on its nuclear program

Iran nuclear reactor
© AP Photo / IIPA,Ebrahim Norouzi
The Iran nuclear deal was scrapped by US President Donald Trump, who undermined Obama's diplomatic victory and re-imposed sanctions previously lifted under the agreement.

The UN atomic watchdog has issued a report confirming that Iran was following the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal. Thus, the UN watchdog affirmed that the Islamic Republic had been complying with the restrictions on its nuclear programme.

The international body also verified that the Islamic Republic had provided access to the sites.