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Skripals likely still in the UK and working with MI5

Skripals restaurant
Sergei and Yulia Skripal are still living in the UK, have contact with friends and may even have been given work by the security services, experts believe.

From the moment they were released from Salisbury District Hospital in April the pair disappeared, becoming invisible not only to the public but to friends and family too, with the careful help of a London-based MI5 team responsible for the security service's secretive resettlement programme.

Well-placed sources have now revealed that far from living in isolation in a far flung country, as many believe, the Skripals likely remain in southern England, under the continuing treatment of the close circle of medical experts who have proven to be utterly discrete.

One security source said that they could "easily fix Yulia up with a job," providing her with her own income and reintegration into society while at the same time, ensuring she remains in a protected, contained environment in which discretion is guaranteed. Her native command of Russian could also prove useful.

Stop

No surprise: Theresa May's Tory govt warned 'UK won't leave EU on March 29'

Theresa May UK parliament
© Reuters / handout
Prime Minister Theresa May addresses UK parliament
Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer has warned Theresa May's Tory government that the UK will not leave the EU on March 29, accusing them of "pushing parliament away," during the first day of debate on the PM's deal.

May called off a vote on her deal in December after admitting that it "would be rejected by a significant margin" if MPs voted on it. She claimed that having listened to concerns from MPs, she would seek the necessary changes in order to get her Brexit plan through Parliament.

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay, opening up the debate, laid out concessions being put forward by the government to address the issue of the backstop. Crucially though, he gave no legal assurances, a prerequisite for the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and many Tory hardline brexiteers.

Comment: Brexit: A Political Farce Based on a Public Lie


Bullseye

Merkel 'inspects the desert she made': Varoufakis slams German chancellor's visit to Greece

greece protests
© Reuters / Alkis Konstantinidis
Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis slammed German Chancellor Angela Merkel, ahead of a two-day visit by Merkel to the austerity-stricken country.

"Mrs Merkel is in Greece to inspect the desert she made and to call it... recovery," Varoufakis tweeted on Thursday. "Ironically, her Greek triumph unleashed deflationary forces that hit Germany (eg -ve interest rates) and wrecked her career. Never before has a German Chancellor wasted so much political capital."

Merkel's visit to Greece is her first since 2014, and the first since left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras took office in 2015. Before arriving on Thursday, Merkel said that Greece can "continue to count on its partnership and friendship with Germany."

Light Sabers

Hungary PM Orban: I must fight French President Macron on immigration

macron and orban
© GEORG HOCHMUTH/AFP/Getty
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Thursday said he considers French President Emmanuel Macron the leader of Europe's "pro-immigration forces", and therefore he had a duty to oppose him.

"There is no denying that Emmanuel Macron is an important figure, moreover, the leader of the pro-immigration forces," Orban told a press conference.

"It is nothing personal, but a matter of our countries' future. If what he wants with regards to migration materializes in Europe, that would be bad for Hungary, therefore I must fight him."

Eye 2

Pentagon denies knowledge of prisoner abuse by US-backed forces in Yemen, but doubts linger

aden yemen
© AFP / Saleh Al-Obeidi
Amid mounting allegations of rape and torture of prisoners in Yemen by US-backed troops, the Pentagon says it's not aware of any cases. That denial may signal Washington's own involvement in the wrongdoing, RT was told.

A recently unclassified version of a report from the US Department of Defense to Congress claims the Pentagon doesn't know anything about the alleged abuse of detainees in Yemen.

The denial contradicts reports from journalists, accounts of former prisoners, human rights groups, and even a UN panel, which allege the existence of a well-established system of torture, including by US-backed forces. This refers particularly to United Arab Emirates troops, which are part of the Saudi-led military campaign in impoverished Yemen.

According to the damning UN report issued last August, an unfortunate individual who ended up in a UAE-controlled prison was subjected to virtually all forms of abuse, including being "beaten, electrocuted" and even"drowned." The UAE denies the allegations and claims it has never run any secret prisons in Yemen.

Gold Seal

Summing up the Official Claims in the Salisbury Poisonings: Weighed in the Balances and Found Wanting

lady justice
As promised, I want to round off my pieces on the Salisbury case by looking at what I consider to be the major issues and flaws with the case presented to the public by the British Government and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the role played by the mainstream media. I have chosen 10 major points (not in any particular order), although there are many more issues than these.

This is a necessarily lengthy piece and I wouldn't blame you if you gave up half way through to go and do something more profitable with your time, such as reading a decent book, cooking a good meal, or horsing around with your children. But on the offchance that you are of a mind to stick it out to the end (or even to split it up in between slices of something more profitable), consider this my attempt to show why any person endowed with powers of reason, logic and a commitment to facts and truth should not believe the case that has been put to the general public as to what happened in Salisbury on 4th March, 2018.

1. Verdict First; Investigation Afterwards


I was bound to be interested in this case from the off, since it took place in the city where I reside, just a few hundred yards from my home. But what really sparked my interest into writing about the case for so long, was the response of the British Government. Within 48 hours of the incident, before the investigation had properly begun, and before any of the facts of the matter had been established, certain Government ministers were already pointing the finger of blame at the Russian state. Too quick. Something's up.

Then on 12th and 14th March, little more than a week after the incident, and still with almost no facts of what actually happened having been established by investigators, the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, not only formally accused the Russian Government in the House of Commons, but also announced a series of responsive measures. Much too quick. Something's definitely up.

Hammer

French govt exaggerates Yellow Vest threat to justify political repression

french police gilets jaunes yellow vests
© AFP / Boris Horvat
The early XX century French monarchist philosopher, Charles Maurras, wrote: "The Republic is bad at governing but good at defending itself." Seldom have these words seemed more true than during the Gilets Jaunes protests.

I live right in the heart of Paris, overlooking the Prime Minister's office, Hôtel Matignon, and a short distance from the scenes of some of the violence witnessed last Saturday. Ever since the Yellow Vests started to demonstrate at the beginning of December, I have seen, just outside my own front door, the massive police presence defending the seat of government while leaving the rest of the city, and indeed the rest of the country, to the mercy of rioters.

Cars were burned only a few streets away from where the serried ranks of the CRS (special police) were scrupulously preventing pedestrians from walking to the shops, while the ministry whose gate was smashed in with a fork-lift truck on Saturday is only five minutes' walk away.

Now, after the eighth series of weekend demonstrations, the French government has announced new laws to prevent demonstrations even before they happen. 80,000 police are to be mobilised for the demonstration expected next Saturday, 12 January, even though last Saturday there were reportedly fewer than 4,000 demonstrators. That would mean 20 policemen for every demonstrator.

Comment:


Sherlock

New Documents Reveal a Covert British Military-Intelligence Smear Machine Meddling in American Politics

Integrity Initiative
The Integrity Initiative has mobilized an international disinformation campaign across Europe. Now, with government and right-wing foundation money, this massive "political smear unit" is infiltrating the US

A bombshell domestic spy scandal has been unfolding in Britain, after hacked internal communications exposed a covert UK state military-intelligence psychological warfare operation targeting its own citizens and political figures in allied NATO countries under the cover of fighting "Russian disinformation."

The leaked documents revealed a secret network of spies, prominent journalists and think-tanks colluding under the umbrella of a group called "Integrity Initiative" to shape domestic opinion-and to smear political opponents of the right-wing Tory government, including the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn.

Until now, this Integrity Initiative domestic spy scandal has been ignored in the American media, perhaps because it has mostly involved British names. But it is clear that the influence operation has already been activated in the US. Hacked documents reveal that the Integrity Initiative is cultivating powerful allies inside the State Department, top DC think tanks, the FBI and the DHS, where it has gained access to Katharine Gorka and her husband, the fascist-linked cable news pundit Sebastian Gorka.

Comment: The Integrity Initiative's tendrils sure seem to reach deep into the shady world of Western politics:


Bad Guys

How Integrity Initiative's German cluster aims to end Berlin's ties with Moscow

Integrity Initiative logo
© Screenshot Integrity Initiative
Integrity Initiative logo
In my previous report on the Integrity Initiative's German cluster, I outlined why the country was a "most important" target for the shadowy information warfare effort. In this article, I discuss the various individuals cluster chief Hannes Adomeit, a political scientist and "cold warrior of the old school", has sought to recruit to the effort.

The Initiative's overseas clusters are networks of politicians, businesspeople, military officials, academics and journalists who "understand the threat posed to Western nations" by Russian "disinformation", and work in support of the "Anglo-Saxon worldview", and a "tougher stance" towards the Russian state.

Its German operation is no different - in fact, its target membership is among the most influential and sizeable of any cluster I've yet come across, perhaps a reflection of the vital significance of Germany to the Initiative's objectives, and the vast scale of the organization's plans for the country.

Comment: For more coverage on the Integrity Initiative:


Attention

Things of questionable value Democrats have funded that cost more than the border wall

democrats border wall funding

Lawmakers have happily funded various projects over the years that cost far more than the border wall — many of which had very questionable or even negative value.
After President Trump requested $5.7 billion to fund the border wall he campaigned on in 2016, Democrats have dug in, refusing to appropriate the funds that the administration says are needed to better manage the flow of immigration across the southern border.

Democrats are not traditionally known for their fiscal rectitude but are particularly parsimonious over what ultimately amounts to a very small percentage of the federal budget. (In 2018, the feds spent $4.173 trillion overall, meaning the border wall would amount to just 1/10th of 1 percent of current annual federal spending.)

Indeed, these lawmakers have happily funded various projects over the years that cost far more than the border wall - and many of which had very questionable value. Below are some examples of wasteful federal spending projects that individually cost more than the proposed border wall (data courtesy of Citizens Against Government Waste):

Comment: Democrat spending bill offers $12 billion more in foreign aid, $0 for Border Wall