Puppet Masters

Hypocrisy: UK hosts 'press freedom summit while simultaneously fighting for right to spy on media

Meirion Jones
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
Wed, 10 Jul 2019 18:02 UTC

Jeremy Hunt

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is hosting a Global Conference for Media Freedom in London today. Meanwhile, 400 miles away in Strasbourg UK government lawyers are fighting for the right to continue spying on the press.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism today brings a case to the highest human rights court in Europe against the UK intelligence agencies' mass snooping on press and public and the severe impingement on media freedom that this surveillance entails.

The case is being heard in the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) at the same time as Hunt hosts an event with 1,000 media and civil society representatives from across the world aimed at fighting for the protection of journalism and journalists' sources.

Comment: And from RT, Hunt compounds the hypocrisy by refusing to comment on the silencing and imprisonment of journalist Julian Assange:

What did UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the host of an international media freedom conference, have to say about the controversial arrest and pending extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange? Nothing.

Assange marked his 48th birthday inside a top security British prison last week, where he is awaiting extradition hearings on request from the US, where he is likely to be sentenced to effectively a lifetime behind bars. Critics say he is being punished for revealing embarrassing secrets of the US government and that his expected trial and conviction would set a disastrous precedent for media freedom.

Seems like a thing to be discussed at the Global Conference for Media Freedom currently underway in London? Not really, it's not on the agenda.

So Ruptly, RT's video agency, which was not allowed to take part in the high-profile gathering by the British authorities, tried to get a comment from Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt as he was rushing to the event on Thursday. The official wouldn't say a word about Assange and only muttered that banning Russian media from the conference was "not about freedom."

His nonchalance was caught on camera.

Disgraced billionaire Jeffrey Epstein spread political donations around Washington for years - including to Schumer and Kerry

Kyle Morris
Breitbart
Wed, 10 Jul 2019 18:02 UTC

Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who was arrested in New York on Saturday and later charged with sex trafficking involving dozens of girls, donated thousands of dollars to Democrat candidates and left-leaning committees from 1990 until 2018, according to OpenSecrets.org.

Prominent recipients of Epstein donations include the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), former United States Secretary of State John Kerry (D), former United States Secretary of Agriculture and Rep. Dan Glickman (D-KS), former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT), and Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett.

According to the online data, Schumer received seven $1,000 donations from Epstein between 1992 and 1997. Victory in New York, a fundraising committee established by Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, received a $10,000 donation from Epstein in October of 1998.

In 1998, Epstein also made a $5,000 donation to Win New York, a Schumer-associated committee that helped rake in money for the Liberal Party of New York state.

According to the data, Schumer and Schumer-associated entities received $22,000 from Epstein throughout the 1990s.

Comment: The rats are squirming!

See also:

'Old boys' still live: UK MPs 'grabbed breasts, slapped buttocks and stroked thighs' of staff reports "Pestminster" investigation

Oliver Milne
The Mirror
Thu, 11 Jul 2019 17:31 UTC

MPs behaved in ways which "fall far short of what we should expect of our elected representatives" a damning reporting into bullying and sexual harassment in the House of Commons has said.

The independent inquiry by Gemma White QC found that staff faced an "unacceptable risk of bullying and harassment, including sexual harassment, at work". While it said "most Members of Parliament treat their staff with dignity and respect" it described the problem of bullying and harassment as "sufficiently widespread to require an urgent collective response".

It said it had found evidence of "breasts being grabbed, buttocks being slapped, thighs being stroked and crotches being pressed/rubbed against bodies". Staff who complain risk "career suicide" despite recent changes to the system in the wake of the #MeToo movement and Pestminster scandals.

One staff member quoted in the report described their time working for an MP as "the most stressful and hostile period of my life.

"My entire sense of self was crushed, and by the end, I felt incapable and incompetent, despite all of the work I had done in that office."

Iran to IAEA members: US foreign policy full of double standards, paradoxes - Iran's actions are lawful under terms of nuclear deal

Joaquin Flores
Fort Russ News
Thu, 11 Jul 2019 17:41 UTC

At the meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, Iran's representative condemned the US call for talks with Iran while exercising maximum pressure policy against the country.

Iran's permanent envoy to Vienna-based international organizations, Kazem Gharibabadi, attended a meeting of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors that was held on Wednesday at the request of the United States to discuss the latest developments in Iran's nuclear program.

Gharibabadi said in his address to the meeting that Iran had nothing to hide and that Iran's recent actions in increasing the level of uranium enrichment was permitted under the deal.

The Iran envoy said that the US foreign policy and behavior is full of double standards and paradoxes, which has discredited it on the international stage.

He added that over the last year, the US has imposed 20 rounds of sanctions on Iran in contradiction to international law, saying that the sanctions have affected the humanitarian activities let alone Iran's trade relations.

The United States not only prevented other countries from fully implementing their obligations under the deal, but also prevented Iran from fulfilling its obligations under the agreement, according to the Iranian envoy.

Comment: See also:

Libyan National Army concludes first stage of Tripoli offensive

Sputnik
Thu, 11 Jul 2019 17:30 UTC

The eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has successfully completed the first stage of its operation to capture the Libyan capital of Tripoli, Gen. Ali Saleh Qahtani, the commander of the 73rd infantry brigade of the LNA main command, told Sputnik on Thursday.

"As for the progress of the military operation to liberate the Libyan capital of Tripoli, carried out by the Libyan National Army against the groups [loyal to the western-based Government of National Accord] and terror groups ... and the Daesh terror group, the first stage has been successfully completed," Qahtani said.

The first stage of the operation entailed advancing the LNA forces and taking certain areas, while the second part included exhausting adversaries, taking full control over their positions and avoiding material damage and casualties, Qahtani pointed out.

Qahtani added that the "terrorist groups and gangs" currently occupying Tripoli "are fighting for personal interests for the sake of high positions and benefits."

The LNA was waiting for the command's order to begin the second stage of the operation, aiming to "liberate Tripoli and achieve the final victory," Qahtani pointed out.

Comment: See also:

US official says arms sales to Saudis are manifestation of "exporting human rights"

RT
Thu, 11 Jul 2019 17:17 UTC

It was truly baffling to hear a grilled US official claim during a Senate hearing that the sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia are a 'manifestation' of exporting human rights and open society, an anti-war activist told RT.

R. Clarke Cooper, the US State Department's assistant secretary for political-military affairs, was grilled during a hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. Defending arms sales to Saudi Arabia, he said that the deal itself means more than just selling weapons.

"Our policy is not just limited to arms transfers. It is a manifestation of what else we export: open society, human rights. That is a part of our policy," he said. The official added that Washington does not cut security ties with partners like Riyadh that carry "so much weight for our interests."

Cooper's comments were out of touch and did not make much sense, anti-war activist Medea Benjamin told RT.

It was quite comical... to hear the representative of the State Department to say that the United States is exporting open society and democracy by selling weapons to Saudi Arabia. I don't think any of the senators who were listening could believe that, or any of the people in the audience.

It is "tragic" that high-ranking officials "get away with saying such ridiculous things" in Congress, Benjamin said.

Comment: The U.S. has no problem selling weapons to dictators and terrorists, so long as they're OUR dictators and terrorists. The whole 'human rights' angle is purely for public consumption. In reality, human rights play no role whatsoever in foreign policy.

The government that tortures journalists bans RT and Sputnik from media 'freedom' conference

Caitlin Johnstone
Medium
Tue, 09 Jul 2019 22:59 UTC

The British Foreign Office has banned Russian outlets RT and Sputnik from attending the upcoming Global Conference on Media Freedom in London, citing their predilection for "disinformation".

"We have not accredited RT or Sputnik because of their active role in spreading disinformation," said a Foreign Office spokeswoman.

"It takes a particular brand of hypocrisy to advocate for freedom of press while banning inconvenient voices and slandering alternative media; sadly, the world has learned to expect just that from the UK Foreign Office," RT said in a statement in response.

Klein: Six major problems with Bill Clinton's statement on Jeffrey Epstein

Aaron Klein
Breitbart
Wed, 10 Jul 2019 18:45 UTC

Former President Bill Clinton, previously accused of multiple sexual assaults, has issued a statement claiming that he "knows nothing" about Jeffrey Epstein's alleged crimes involving sex trafficking and minors.

This after the controversial financier, formerly an associate of Clinton, pleaded not guilty to sex-trafficking charges in Manhattan federal court. In the case, Epstein allegedly "sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes" in New York, Palm Beach, and other locations. The indictment also charges that Epstein paid some of his alleged victims to recruit more underage girls.

"President Clinton knows nothing about the terrible crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago, or those with which he has been recently charged in New York," reads the statement, tweeted by Clinton's press secretary Angel Ureña.

Iran is committed to JCPOA and "fully open" to negotiations - Rouhani

Joaquin Flores
Fort Russ
Wed, 10 Jul 2019 12:00 UTC

The relations between Iran and the United States may overcome the crisis only if Washington lifts the sanctions against Tehran, says the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

The Iranian president has expressed hope that the parties to the JCPOA would abide by their commitments, stressing that the door for diplomacy and negotiations is still wide open.

President Hassan Rouhani made the remarks on Wednesday afternoon in a meeting with the visiting French President Emmanuel Macron's top diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne in Tehran.

Comment: Iran has shown quite clearly that it is willing, however there is a faction with great sway in the West that will sabotage any avenue towards a peaceful resolution:

'Stop sucking up to racist EU govts': Corbyn blasts May during feud on anti-Semitism & Islamophobia

RT
Wed, 10 Jul 2019 13:22 UTC

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told Theresa May to stop dishing out "lectures" and "sucking up" to racist European governments, after the Tory PM accused him of ignoring anti-Semitism within his party during a febrile PMQs.

Responding to Corbyn's question in the House of Commons on Wednesday about British citizens who were wrongly deported as part of the Windrush scandal, a fired-up May accused the opposition leader of abandoning his principles on racism and Brexit.

May quipped: "He was an anti-racist. Now he ignores anti-Semitism. He's been a Euroskeptic all his life. Now he backs remain."

The socialist leader, ostensibly riled by May's outburst, fired back at the prime minister, who has days left in office, claiming that she was in no position to give "lectures" on racism and principles.

Comment: Parliament has become the nations longest running pantomime. It serves politicians well by distracting from the dire state of the country.

As for the accusations, Jewish activist Norman Finkelstein points out that Corbyn is not anti-semitic nor is there any evidence of anti-semitism in the Labour party. These are smears concocted by the established powers to discredit Corbyn because he is one of the few politicians openly critical of Israel's genocidal policies against the Palestinian people:

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Puppet Masters

Hypocrisy: UK hosts 'press freedom summit while simultaneously fighting for right to spy on media

Disgraced billionaire Jeffrey Epstein spread political donations around Washington for years - including to Schumer and Kerry

'Old boys' still live: UK MPs 'grabbed breasts, slapped buttocks and stroked thighs' of staff reports "Pestminster" investigation

Iran to IAEA members: US foreign policy full of double standards, paradoxes - Iran's actions are lawful under terms of nuclear deal

Libyan National Army concludes first stage of Tripoli offensive

US official says arms sales to Saudis are manifestation of "exporting human rights"

The government that tortures journalists bans RT and Sputnik from media 'freedom' conference

Klein: Six major problems with Bill Clinton's statement on Jeffrey Epstein

Iran is committed to JCPOA and "fully open" to negotiations - Rouhani

'Stop sucking up to racist EU govts': Corbyn blasts May during feud on anti-Semitism & Islamophobia

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