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US reportedly considers pulling 4000 troops out of South Korea after Seoul balks at paying 5x more

Drago Bosnic
Fort Russ News
Fri, 22 Nov 2019 18:02 UTC
US army South Korea
© Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters
A US army soldier stands guard in front of a F-22 stealth fighter jet at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea.
The United States is considering a significant cut to its troop numbers in South Korea if Seoul does not contribute more to the cost of the deployment, South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported on Thursday.

The US broke off talks on defense costs with South Korea this week after demanding Seoul raise its annual contribution to $5bln, more than five times what it pays now, in a rare public display of discord in the alliance. Neither side has publicly confirmed the numbers, but US President Donald Trump has stated that the US military presence in and around South Korea was "$5bln worth of protection".

"I understand that the US is preparing to withdraw one brigade in case negotiations with South Korea do not go as well as President Trump wants," a diplomatic source in Washington with knowledge of the negotiations was cited as saying by Chosun Ilbo.

A typical US military brigade numbers about 3,000 to 4,000 troops. There are about 28,500 American troops currently stationed in South Korea, which remains technically in a state of war with nuclear-armed neighbor North Korea following a 1950-1953 conflict. US Defense Secretary Mark Esper noted that he was not aware of any plans to withdraw 4,000 troops from South Korea if cost-sharing talks failed.

"We're not threatening allies over this. This is a negotiation," he told reporters during a trip to Vietnam.

Comment: The U.S. occupation of South Korea is a protection racket, pure and simple.

See also:

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Stormtrooper

Bolivian police fire tear gas at mourners carrying coffins of protesters killed in previous clashes


RT
Fri, 22 Nov 2019 18:05 UTC
bolivia protest
© Reuters / Henry Romero; Reuters / Marco Bello
A march in Bolivia's de facto capital was met by a harsh police response, with security forces firing tear gas at a procession of mourners bearing the caskets of fallen demonstrators, who were forced to drop them in the street.

As unrest grips Bolivia after the ouster of socialist leader Evo Morales earlier this month, violent crackdowns on protests against the country's post-coup government have only grown more frequent. Scenes from La Paz on Thursday showed armor-clad riot police repelling a protest that doubled as a funeral cortege, compelling mourners to abandon the coffins they carried.


Comment: Repressive and authoritarian from a US-installed puppet government. The story never changes yet some people want to celebrate what's happening because socialism bad.


"The de facto government of Anez does not respect the dead in their coffins, nor forgive their relatives, women and children who marched peacefully for respect for life and democracy," Morales said in a tweet on Thursday, referring to "interim president" Jeanine Anez, an opposition senator who declared herself leader soon after Morales was forced to resign under pressure from the military.
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Network

Friends with everyone? Trump says US must stand with Hong Kong AND President Xi


RT
Fri, 22 Nov 2019 18:00 UTC
trump
© Global Look / Stefani Reynolds; Reuters / Adnan Abibi 12
US President Donald Trump is hedging his bets on supporting the Hong Kong 'pro-democracy' rioters, making clear he is not willing to alienate China in the process. Beijing has slammed a US 'pro-rioters' bill as massive overreach.

"We have to stand with Hong Kong, but I'm also standing with President Xi. He's my friend," Trump declared on Friday morning, in response to questions about whether he would sign the bills that both chambers of Congress approved unanimously. The move would satisfy both parties in Washington, but Beijing has warned it will halt all trade talks if the bill becomes law.

"I stand with Hong Kong, I stand with freedom, I stand with all of the things that I want to do, but we are also in the process of making the largest trade deals in history," Trump continued, making clear there was more on the table than Congress' "pro-democracy" virtue-signaling.

However, that didn't stop him from taking credit for "saving" the Hong Kong protesters: "If it weren't for me, Hong Kong would have been obliterated in 14 minutes." Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said, "has a million soldiers standing outside of Hong Kong," who "are not going only because I asked him 'Please don't do that...it will have a tremendous negative impact on the trade deal.'"
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Propaganda

No pantsuit for you! Hillary's white pantsuit says 'empowerment' but Tulsi's says 'fringe cult leader', according to NYT


RT
Fri, 22 Nov 2019 17:43 UTC
tulsi
© REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard speaks during the U.S. Democratic presidential candidates debate at the Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. November 20, 2019.
The New York Times has been accused of peddling ridiculous and shamelessly biased punditry, after the Gray Lady took aim at presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard's white pantsuit but ended up red-faced.

Style writer Vanessa Friedman argued that the Hawaii congresswoman's wardrobe made her look like a "cult leader" full of "combative righteousness." The terrifying white fabric has "connotations of the fringe, rather than the center" and even undermines "community building," the Times' writer expertly deduced.


Comment: "Style writer" Vanessa Friedman reveals herself to be a total non-entity - but what more can you expect from a "style writer"? The mindless rot emanating from the place where her brain should be is representative of the typical tripe spewed out by the New York Times for years. Reality is what they say it is, apparently. It would be funny if it weren't so Orwellian.


Unfortunately, her completely reasonable fashion analysis came under fire from fringe-loving social media users, who rudely pointed out that Friedman had drooled over Hillary Clinton's white pantsuit back in 2016.


Journalist Glenn Greenwald pointed out that usually it's considered "misogynistic" to attack female politicians about their clothing choices - but apparently an exception can be made for Gabbard, who has been lambasted in the media for challenging the Democratic establishment.
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Light Saber

Righting a wrong: Labour would return Chagos Islands, says Jeremy Corbyn

Owen Bowcott
The Guardian
Fri, 22 Nov 2019 17:38 UTC
chagos island protester
© Fiona Hanson/PA
Chagossians outside the high court in London in 2017.
Jeremy Corbyn has pledged to renounce British sovereignty of the remote Chagos Islands and respect a UN vote calling for the archipelago to be handed back to Mauritius.

In comments that appear to commit Labour to return the Indian Ocean islands, the party's leader said on Friday he intended to "right one of the wrongs of history".

Asked by reporters on the campaign trail in Stoke-on-Trent whether he would accept the international court ruling on sovereignty, Corbyn said: "Yes, absolutely. I've been involved in the Chagos campaign for a very long time.

"What happened to the Chagos islanders was utterly disgraceful. [They were] forcibly removed from their own islands, unfortunately, by this country.

Comment: The U.S. is equally complicit in the crime. Colonial arrogance at its finest.

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Russian Flag

Drones, robots, lasers, supersonic gliders & other high-tech arms: Putin wants Russian military to be up to any future challenge


RT
Fri, 22 Nov 2019 17:31 UTC
russian weaponry
© Sputnik / Russia’s Defense Ministry
Test-launch of Avangard hypersonic glider; A MiG-31 fighter jet with Kinzhal hypersonic missile; Okhotnik heavy drone; Peresvet laser system.
The Russian military will be going all out sci-fi, with Vladimir Putin saying the plan for boosting the Armed Forces until 2033 should focus on AI and weapons based on 'new physical principles.'


Comment: NATO is a tad freaked out already by Russia's military AI capabilities:

With the introduction of a whole range of state-of-the-art arms in recent years, Russia has been "able to make a step forward compared to the world's other military powers," Putin said during a meeting of the Russian Security Council on Friday.

The tally of the newest weapons and hardware in the possession of the country's Armed Forces and Navy is currently over 68 percent, he said, adding that they must be increased to at least 70 percent and maintained at that level.

The program for the development of the Russian military-industrial complex until 2033 will be approved next year for Russia to remain ahead of its rivals, the President said.

The emphasis in the plan must be put on "advanced high-precision weapons and means of aerospace defense; the active use of artificial intelligence in the production of military hardware," the President said.
The line of unmanned reconnaissance and attack aircraft, laser and hypersonic systems, weapons based on new physical principles, as well as robotic systems, capable of performing diverse tasks on the battlefield, should be expanded.
Russia requires these futuristic arms because "the world is facing serious challenges and threats," while military technologies are developing rapidly, providing for tougher competition in the area, Putin explained.
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Bulb

Reps Devin Nunes & Jim Jordan plan to subpoena whistleblower, Hunter Biden

Henry Rodgers
Daily Caller
Fri, 22 Nov 2019 15:45 UTC
devin nunes
Republican California Rep. Devin Nunes on Wednesday wrote a letter to House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff asking Hunter Biden and the whistleblower to be subpoenaed to appear before the committee.

"The American people understand how you have affirmatively prevented Republicans from examining serious issues directly relevant to the issues," Nunes and Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan said in the letter. "Therefore, to provide some basic level of fairness and objectivity to your 'impeachment inquiry,' we intend to subpoena the anonymous whistleblower and Hunter Biden for sworn testimony in closed-door depositions."
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Bulb

Lindsey Graham launches Senate probe into Bidens' Burisma actions


Breitbart
Fri, 22 Nov 2019 15:24 UTC
Tucker Carlson Tonight
© Biden Burisma
Sen. Lindsey Graham on Thursday requested State Department documents related to former Vice President Joe Biden's communications with former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

Graham, R-S.C., sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting the documents to assist in answering questions regarding allegations that Joe Biden was involved in the termination of Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin in order to end an investigation into natural gas company Burisma Holdings, where his son Hunter Biden served on the board.

The senator requested all documents and communications related to Joe Biden's phone calls with Poroshenko on Feb. 11, 18 and 19, and March 22, 2016, citing media reports that they discussed previous demands to dismiss Shokin for alleged corruption before he was removed from office on March 29, 2016.
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Eye 1

DOJ would take halted executions to high court

Michael Balsamo and Colleen Long
ABC News
Thu, 21 Nov 2019 06:19 UTC
Courthouse
© AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
A view of the E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse in Washington. A federal judge in the District of Columbia has temporarily halted the first federal execution in 16 years as a lawsuit on how the government intends to carry it out continues.
Attorney General William Barr told The Associated Press on Thursday that he would take the Trump administration's bid to restart federal executions after a 16-year hiatus to the Supreme Court if necessary.

Barr's comments came hours after a district court judge temporarily blocked the administration's plans to start executions next month. The administration is appealing the decision, and Barr said he would take the case to the high court if Thursday's ruling stands.

He said the five inmates set to be executed are a small portion of 62 death row inmates.

"There are people who would say these kinds of delays are not fair to the victims, so we can move forward with our first group," Barr said aboard a government plane to Montana, after he met with local and federal law enforcement officials in Cleveland.

Comment: See also: Trump Justice Department to resume federal executions

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Bad Guys

Schiff brings lip-reading witnesses and angry bureaucrats into impeachment theater


RT
Thu, 21 Nov 2019 17:53 UTC
Holmes Schiff
© Reuters / Erin Scott, (R) / Reuters / Andrew Harrer (R)
The impeachment circus remains in full swing on Capitol Hill, with the Democrats' latest star witness apparently overhearing an incriminating phone call and raging at Trump daring to set his own foreign policy agenda.

David Holmes, a low-level staffer at the US embassy in Kiev, appeared on Capitol Hill for questioning on Thursday. Holmes provided no direct evidence of a 'quid-pro-quo' arrangement between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but told lawmakers that he managed to overhear Trump demand "investigations" into Joe Biden while in a restaurant in Kiev.

Holmes claimed that on July 26, he overheard an enraged Trump shout down the phone to US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland, demanding that Zelensky investigate the Biden family's business dealings in Ukraine. Though the call took place at an open-air cafe in the busy city, Holmes claimed he could hear Trump perfectly well on the speaker of Sondland's cell phone, and that afterwards, Sondland told him that Trump had specifically asked him to investigate the Bidens.

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