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Black Ops in the Black Sea: British destroyer violates Russia's border, Russian ship & fighter jet respond with warning shots


RT
Wed, 23 Jun 2021 19:44 UTC
HMS Defender
© REUTERS / Sergey Smolentsev
British Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender arrives at the Black Sea port of Odessa, Ukraine
A Russian patrol ship and fighter jet have fired warning shots after the British destroyer HMS Defender violated the country's border in the Black Sea. The UK embassy's defense attaché has been summoned by officials in Moscow.

According to Russia's Ministry of Defense, the British naval ship entered the country's territorial waters at 11:52am local time and traveled 3km inside the frontier, near Cape Fiolent, in Crimea. The peninsula is not recognized by the United Kingdom as Russian land and London believes it to be illegally occupied Ukrainian territory.

"At 12:06 and 12:08, a border patrol ship fired warning shots," the Defense Ministry said. "(And) at 12:19, a Su-24m aircraft performed a warning bombing (4 OFAB-250) ahead of the course of the USS Defender."

Four minutes later, at 12:23, the destroyer left Russian territory.

Comment: The UK MoD claiming that the passage of their vessel was "innocent" is laughably absurd. Even a BBC journalist on the HMS Defender said that the vessel's incursion into Russian waters was "deliberate, to make a point." What the point was is lost on most, since the Brits don't have the military might to stand up against the Russian navy. This isn't 1853 Britain, your boats don't scare.

Craig Murray said it best in his short article on the actions of the British navy:
Sometimes it is worth stating the obvious. The United Kingdom does not have a coast in the Black Sea. British warships are not infesting the Black Sea out of a peaceful intent, and there is no cause for them to be entering disputed waters close to anybody's coast. This is not a question of freedom of navigation under the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea. There is nowhere that a British warship can be heading from the UK under the right of innocent passage that would require it to pass through coastal waters by Crimea. The Black Sea is famously a cul-de-sac.

There is certainly a right to pass to the Ukrainian port of Odessa - but that in now way requires passing close to Crimea. This is therefore not "innocent passage". There is a right of passage through the Kerch strait, which Russia has to date respected. Russia has not just a right but a duty to enforce sea lanes for safe navigation through the strait, exactly as the UK does off Dover.

I expect we will now be in for a mad frenzy of Russophobia, yet again. I shall comment further once I have more details of why and exactly where Russia was firing warning shots. But just remember this, it was not Russian warships near the British coast, it was British warships in an area where they had no business other than ludicrous, British nationalist, sabre-rattling.

The UK needs to lose its imperial delusions. Sending gunboats to the Crimea is as mad as - well, sailing an aircraft carrier expressly to threaten the Chinese. There are those who see this activity as evidence of the UK's continued great power status. I see it as evidence of lunacy.


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Chess

Merkel and Macron to propose revival of EU-Russia relations & meeting with Putin


RT
Wed, 23 Jun 2021 19:28 UTC
merkel and macron
© REUTERS/Axel Schmidt/Pool
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, backed by French President Emmanuel Macron, reportedly wants the EU to consider "selective engagement" with Russia on issues of common interest and inviting President Vladimir Putin to a summit.

French and German diplomats "wrongfooted" other EU member states at a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday by proposing to invite Putin to a summit with the bloc's leaders, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing "people with knowledge of the discussions."

According to FT, Merkel wants to revive EU relations with Russia along the template provided by last week's Geneva summit between Putin and US President Joe Biden. Though she meets and speaks with Putin on a regular basis herself, the German chancellor reportedly wants a format that allows the EU to address Russia "with one voice."
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Stop

Warren Buffett resigns as trustee of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Will Feuer
New York Post
Wed, 23 Jun 2021 08:23 UTC
Buffett
© Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images
Warren Buffet resigns post at Gates Foundation
Warren Buffett announced Wednesday that he's resigning from his position as trustee at the Gates Foundation, as the divorce of its founders, Bill and Melinda, casts uncertainty on the leadership of one of the world's largest charitable organizations.

Buffett, who's the eighth richest person in the world with a net worth of about $105 billion, pledged most of his fortune in 2006 to the Gates Foundation and to four other charitable trusts created by his family.

In a statement, Buffett downplayed the significance of his departure, which represents an about-face for the Gates Foundation. A spokesperson for the foundation told reporters last month after the Gateses announced their divorce that "no changes to their roles or the organization are planned." Buffett said:
"For years I have been a trustee - an inactive trustee at that - of only one recipient of my funds, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMG). I am now resigning from that post, just as I have done at all corporate boards other than Berkshire's."
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People 2

Bill Barr: Public schools are becoming unconstitutional 'secular-progressive madrassas'

Joy Pullmann
The Federalist
Mon, 21 Jun 2021 00:00 UTC
Parade participants w kids
© Elvert Barnes/Flickr.
"The greatest threat to religious liberty in America today," said former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr in a recent speech, is "the increasingly militant and extreme secular-progressive climate of our state-run education system."

Barr, whose high-profile career has demonstrated a deep commitment to the U.S. Constitution as written and intended, spoke to the religious liberty legal defense organization Alliance Defending Freedom. The legal lion put together a strong argument that a half-century of Supreme Court decisions combined with the left's long march through American institutions have pushed U.S. public schools so far from religious neutrality that many now comprise a government-established preference for the atheist religion. Government preferences for some religious views over others are unconstitutional under the First Amendment. Barr said:
"The heavy-handed enforcement of secular-progressive orthodoxy through government-run schools is totally incompatible with traditional Christianity and other major religious traditions in our country. In light of this development, we must confront the reality that it may no longer be fair, practical, or even constitutional to provide publicly-funded education solely through the vehicle of state-operated schools."

Comment: Another screw is being tightened on society - another frog tossed into the tepid pot.

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Bullseye

Chinese defector's identity confirmed, was top counterintelligence official

Jennifer Van Laar
RedState
Thu, 17 Jun 2021 08:00 UTC
Chinese guard
© AP/Andrew Harnik
Chinese guard on patrol
We now know the name of the Chinese defector RedState first wrote about on June 4, who has been working with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) for a few months, and what his position within the Chinese military and government was, among other details.

Matthew Brazil and Jeff Stein at Spy Talk reported on the "rumor," and gave the name and background of the rumored defector:
Chinese-language anti-communist media and Twitter are abuzz this week with rumors that a vice minister of State Security, Dong Jingwei (董经纬) defected in mid-February, flying from Hong Kong to the United States with his daughter, Dong Yang.

Dong is, or was, a longtime official in China's Ministry of State Security (MSS), also known as the Guoanbu. His publicly available background indicates that he was responsible for the Ministry's counterintelligence efforts in China, i.e., spy-catching, since being promoted to vice minister in April 2018. If the stories are true, Dong would be the highest-level defector in the history of the People's Republic of China.
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Mail

Fourteen congressmen send letter demanding to know how Zuckerberg-backed group financed election agencies in 2020

Jack Posobiec
Human Events
Tue, 22 Jun 2021 00:00 UTC
Zuckerberg
© Unknown
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
As we talked about earlier here on Human Events, the House and Senate are working to pass a bill called For the People Act. The bill has nothing to do with the people, however, and everything to do with giving big government more power. With career politicians Pelosi and Schumer running the show, you would think there would be more interest in the efforts to find out about election interference. Such is the case for 14 Republican House Members who have taken it upon themselves to get the answers we need regarding Mark Zuckerberg's involvement.

In last year's tumultuous election, all eyes were on the Democrats as they ranted and raved daily about inequities. How it was unfair to ask for voter ID to elect someone to run our entire country, but ok to ask for ID to enter the Capitol, buy alcohol or cigarettes or board a plane. Perhaps it's time to rethink our priorities. But, putting that aside, certain companies, such as FaceBook put millions of dollars into making sure everyone could cast a vote. Of course, the pandemic added an additional layer of necessity, as many would need to find another way to have their vote counted. Cue the Center for Tech and Civic Life, CTCL, who claim its mission is to:
text insert
© CTCL
The only problem is that Mark Zuckerberg, and his wife Priscilla Chan, who gave $350 million dollars to CTCL, only helped one side of the aisle. Additionally, the parameters around donation allocation and engagement with the public to ensure voting looked a lot more like a GOTV operation. GOTV, or Get Out the Vote, is a Democrat-led effort that pushes voters strictly along party lines. Since CTCL is a 501c3, and its donations were meant to ensure voter access, regardless of party affiliation, it begs the question, where did all the money go?

Comment: View the letter on SCRIBD

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No Entry

Iran: 'Sabotage attack' on civilian nuclear center thwarted

Nasser Karimi, Isabel Debre
AP
Wed, 23 Jun 2021 00:00 UTC
Karaj Agricultural/Medical Center
© ifmat
Karaj Agricultural/Medical Center involved in laser enrichment program.
Iranian authorities have thwarted what they called a "sabotage attack" targeting a civilian nuclear facility near the country's capital, state TV reported Wednesday, as details about the incident remained scarce. The attempted attack against a building belonging to Iran's Atomic Energy Organization "left no casualties or damages and was unable to disrupt the Iranian nuclear program," Iranian state television reported, adding that authorities were working to identify the perpetrators.

Iranian media offered no details on the kind of attack, saying only that the move targeted a sprawling nuclear center located in Karaj city, just some 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Tehran.

When asked for comment, an Iranian official referred to the initial report by Nournews, believed to be close to Iran's Supreme National Security Council. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they did not have authorization to discuss the matter with media.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' body that monitors Tehran's atomic program, did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Iranian authorities did not specify which facility in Karaj had been targeted. There are two sites associated with Iran's nuclear program known to be in the area, including the Karaj Agricultural and Medical Research Center.

Iran's Atomic Energy Organization describes the Karaj Agricultural and Medical Research Center as a facility founded in 1974 that uses nuclear technology to improve "quality of soil, water, agricultural and livestock production."

Comment: If Iran's facilities under guard are this vulnerable, what of those in other countries with less provocation?

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Light Sabers

'Heir of Nazis': Belarus' Lukashenko blasts German foreign minister over call for sanctions on eve of Hitler invasion anniversary


RT
Wed, 23 Jun 2021 19:09 UTC
Lukashenko
© REUTERS
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko
Amid a growing row with the EU over the grounding of a passenger jet carrying an opposition activist last month, Belarus' bombastic leader has launched a new attack on Germany, comparing its sanctions policy to its role in WWII.

Speaking at an event being held to mark the 80th anniversary of the Third Reich's invasion of the Soviet Union, veteran leader Alexander Lukashenko raged about the West's response to the incident. Between a quarter and a third of Belarusians are estimated to have died during WWII, the worst proportionate death toll of any country.

Lukashenko, who has faced long-running protests after declaring victory in last year's disputed presidential election, claimed that sanctions imposed since were part of the West's "hybrid war" against the nation.
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Vader

Tehran blasts US attempt to undermine free speech after Washington's takeover of Iranian news websites


RT
Wed, 23 Jun 2021 19:06 UTC
press tv
© REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has vowed to enact a "double defeat" on Washington after the US authorities seized a number of websites belonging to news agencies from or associated with Tehran.

Speaking on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said Tehran deplores the US' efforts to undermine free speech and silence the voice of Iran's independent media.

"Rejecting this illegal and bullying action, the Islamic Republic of Iran will pursue the issue through legal channels," he stressed, slamming the shameful double standards employed by Washington.

Comment: Previously: The Empire strikes: US government SEIZES website of Iran's Press TV, two other media outlets

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Star of David

How Israel and its allies profit from oppressing Palestinians

Alys Samson Estapé
Portside
Mon, 21 Jun 2021 18:16 UTC
skunk water crowd control israel palestinians
© Jaafar Ashtiyeh/Getty Images
Palestinian protesters throw stones toward an Israeli military vehicle spraying a crowd-control weapon known as "skunk" during clashes following a demonstration in the West Bank in 2014.
Amid the horror of Israel's escalation of violence in May 2021, from bombing in Gaza to lynch mobs of Israeli settlers assaulting Palestinians, there was also coverage of a weapon Israeli forces are currently using for "crowd control", skunk water, developed by the Israeli company Odortec. Palestinian author Yara Hawari detailed how "the skunk" was developed against the popular protests in the West Bank and has been widely used including in the siege off Palestinian families resisting expulsion from Sheikh Jarrah in Jerusalem that sparked the latest round of violence. Skunk water is a concoction of chemicals smelling of sewage and rotting corpses that causes intense nausea, violent gagging and vomiting.

It is also a weapon available in the United States, supplied by the company Mistral Security, which recommends its use at "border crossings, correctional facilities, demonstrations and sit-ins". Several police departments have already bought it, including in Ferguson, Missouri, following the 2014 protests against police brutality and institutional racism. As Hawari puts it,
"Israeli arms manufacturers do not even have to invest in marketing their weapons; news channels running footage of brutal attacks by the Israeli army do the job for them."
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