Puppet Masters
The UK would agree to set free the Iranian tanker the British marines seized in Gibraltar if Tehran reassures it that the vessel will not go to Syria, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt told Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif in a phone conversation.
"The Trump administration is seeking to open channels of communication with Hezbollah via intermediaries," Nasrallah said, as quoted by Al-Manar broadcaster.
Previously, Hezbollah's leader cautioned the US against striking Iran. He insisted that if Washington attacks the Islamic Republic, the whole region will rise against it and its interests in the Middle East.
The Guatemala deal would create a legal wall on the U.S. border that would prevent migrants from asking for asylum or getting released into the United States, according to the outlet:
According to a draft of the agreement, which The New Yorker has obtained, asylum seekers from any country who either show up at U.S. ports of entry or are apprehended while crossing between ports of entry could be sent to seek asylum in Guatemala instead ... Under this new arrangement, most of these migrants will no longer have a chance to make an asylum claim in the U.S. at all. "We're talking about something much bigger than what the term 'safe third country' implies," someone with knowledge of the deal told me. "We're talking about a kind of transfer agreement where the U.S. can send any asylum seekers, not just Central Americans, to Guatemala."Pro-migration advocates are appalled because they are concerned the agreement might effectively bar the catch and release of the many economic migrants who ask for asylum at the U.S. border.
Comment: See also:
- Mexico claiming some migrant caravan funding came from U.S., England - freezes assets of entities believed involved
- Trump says US has signed 'another very important part' of immigration deal with Mexico - tariffs averted for now
- US-Mexico border sees illegal immigrants from 52 countries attempting to cross this year
- Guatemala intel head says migrant caravans are 'well-planned,' not spontaneous
The political turmoil comes at a critical stage in the U.S. commonwealth's historic bankruptcy and as its officials seek billions of dollars in funding from the federal government for healthcare and for recovery efforts following devastating hurricanes in 2017.
It also follows a 32-count federal indictment and arrests on Wednesday of six people, including two former high-ranking Puerto Rico government officials, who were charged with conspiracy and other crimes in connection with millions of dollars in federal Medicaid and education funds.
Two of the 12-member group chat - Secretary of State Luis Rivera Marin and Christian Sobrino, the island's chief financial officer and Rossello's representative on Puerto Rico's federally created fiscal oversight board - left the government following Saturday's release by Puerto Rico journalist group Centro de Periodismo Investigativo of 889 pages of text messages.
Comment: See also:
- Puerto Rico to privatize 'crippled' public energy company
- Administration of Trump-bashing Puerto Rican mayor facing FBI corruption probe for obstructing supplies to hurricane victims
- Puerto Rico files for historic $70bn bankruptcy
- Puerto Rico: 'Disaster capitalism', privatization on the rise
- Vulture capitalism: On eve of default, Puerto Ricans are broke and feel out of luck
Ecology Minister Francois de Rugy often campaigns for government transparency and has criticized other politicians involved in financial scandals. He got a taste of his own medicine earlier this week when investigative website Mediapart alleged that he hosted more than 10 luxurious dinner parties in which the guests enjoyed lobster, as well as fine wine and champagne - all paid for with taxpayer money. This reportedly took place when de Rugy was the head of the lower house of the French parliament, the National Assembly.
The scandal prompted calls for de Rugy to resign, which he refused to do. He dismissed the story as a "grotesque" smear, claiming he does not eat lobster due to a "shellfish allergy" and avoids champagne because it gives him "a headache."
Comment: If the minister did claim these items on his expenses then they'll appear in his accounts, and, if he is lying found to be lying, then he should be sacked immediately. This kind of outrageous, oblivious behaviour is commonplace in Western governments these days and it's no wonder populist and protest movements are erupting throughout Europe:
- Political Ponerology: A Science on The Nature of Evil adjusted for Political Purposes
- Details of MEPs' €4,416-a-month expenses to remain secret, court rules
- UK MPs award themselves above inflation pay rise
- UK MPs claiming expenses for 'dependent' children who are actually adults
Hollywood Producer & Israeli Spy Arnon Milchan
Last week I wrote about how Israeli spies operating more-or-less freely in the U.S. are rarely interfered with, much less arrested and prosecuted, because there is an unwillingness on the part of upper echelons of government to do so.
I cited the case of Arnon Milchan, a billionaire Hollywood movie producer who had a secret life that included stealing restricted technology in the United States to enable development of Israel's nuclear weapons program, something that was very much against U.S. interests. Milchan was involved in a number of other thefts as well as arms sales on behalf of the Jewish state, so much so that his work as a movie producer was actually reported to be less lucrative than his work as a spy and black-market arms merchant, for which he operated on a commission basis.
That Milchan has never been arrested by the United States government or even questioned about his illegal activity, which was well known to the authorities, is just one more manifestation of the effectiveness of Jewish power in Washington.
Comment: See also:
- Is there something larger afoot with the arrest of Jeffrey Epstein?
- Epstein tells judge he wants mysterious finances kept secret
- Epstein case has the potential to be the biggest scandal in American history
- Why is no one talking about Barry Krischer, the Florida prosecutor who let Epstein get away?
Any Assange supporter active on Twitter will be familiar with the Unity4J account, which originated to help boost the wildly successful Unity4J online vigils in which well-known Assange defenders would appear to speak out against his persecution. As of this writing, the account has been gone for a day and a half.
Comment: See also:
- The economic entrails at the heart of the 'deal of the century'
- Starvation sanctions are worse than overt warfare
- Iran squeezed between imperial psychos and European cowards
- The Real Story Behind Israel's Attack on "Iranian" Targets in Syria and Trump's Abandonment of the Iran Deal
- 'Not urgent': US facing tough sell on anti-Iran Arab coalition
Under the US proposal, a coalition of nations would patrol the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, near Iran, as well as the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait that separates Yemen from Africa.
"We're engaging now with a number of countries to see if we can put together a coalition that would ensure freedom of navigation both in the Straits of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab," Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday, Sputnik reported.
Comment: Sputnik also reports neighbouring, neutral Oman actually intends to boost trade:
Oman's Commerce and Industry Minister Masoud Sunaidi and his Iranian counterpart, Reza Rahmani, met for trade talks in Muscat on Wednesday, local media reported.
The Oman newspaper said the two ministers discussed ways of boosting trade and cooperating on the exploration of mineral resources.
Rahmani arrived in the Omani capital for a series of high-profile meetings. Iran's ISNA state news agency said the visit aimed to prepare for this October's joint economic commission.
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that sanctions on Iran would be increased "substantially" soon. His administration has been building an alliance in the Persian Gulf with the stated goal of securing shipping lanes.
Oman has remained neutral as tensions between the two world powers escalated last year. It has stepped in to mediate between Iran and its Arab neighbours as well as the United States.
On Friday, an Italian court in Pavia passed its judgment in the high-profile case of Vitaly Markiv. He was found responsible for the May 2014 killings of Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli and Russian human rights activist Andrei Mironov, who served as an interpreter for a group of journalists covering the civil war in Eastern Ukraine.
Markiv, who has Italian citizenship, was a member of one of Ukraine's volunteer battalions that sided with Kiev in the conflict. A squad under his command marked the journalists' car as a target for fellow troops, who fired mortar shells at it, the prosecution said.
Comment: See also:
- From joker to peacemaker? Zelensky needs to follow his words with actions to end Ukraine's conflict
- Western media silent on illegal detention of Russian journalist Kirill Vyshinsky, imprisoned without fair trial in Ukraine
- Far-right protesting military corruption clash with police in Ukraine, 'You have 7 days!' - UPDATE
















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