Welcome to Sott.net
Thu, 21 Oct 2021
The World for People who Think

Puppet Masters
Map

Star of David

Foreign interference: Netanyahu to 'press' Pompeo for more pressure on Iran


RFE/RL
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 17:29 UTC
pompeo netanyahu
© AP
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (left) shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in Jerusalem in March.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading to Portugal to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and call for increased pressure on Iran.

"We're seeing the Iranian empire totter," Netanyahu said on December 4 before departing for Lisbon, citing anti-government demonstrations in Iran, Lebanon, and Iraq.

U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed "tremendous" sanctions on Iran, he said. "It's important to increase this pressure against Iranian aggression."

Netanyahu and Pompeo, who will be on his way home from a NATO summit in London, are to meet in the Portuguese capital late in the day, according to the U.S. State Department.

Israel, which has the Middle East's sole but undeclared nuclear arsenal, has accused Tehran of seeking to obtain nuclear weapons and strongly opposed a 2015 deal that gave Iran access to world trade in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.


Comment: Quite surprising to see RFE/RL include this fact... Officially, Israel's illegal nuclear arsenal doesn't exist, and it is U.S. government policy to never bring it up. Doing so would require an end to Israeli aid according to U.S. law, which prohibits giving handouts to rogue nuclear states.


Trump, a strong Netanyahu ally, in May 2018 withdrew the United States from the agreement, and has since reimposed crippling sanctions on the Iranian economy. Meanwhile, Tehran has gradually reduced some of its commitments under the accord.

Comment: Imagine if the headline were "Putin to press Trump for more pressure on Ukraine". Only Israelis are allowed to tell American politicians what to do. It's a national tradition.

      Read More...
Light Sabers

Former prime minister Tony Abbott drops by to see convicted paedophile George Pell in Melbourne prison

Chris Hook
7news.com.au
Mon, 02 Dec 2019 17:20 UTC
abbott pell
© Joel Carrett/ David Crosling/AAP
Tony Abbott was spotted visiting Melbourne Assessment Prison on Monday.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott has been spotted visiting convicted paedophile Cardinal George Pell at his Melbourne prison.

While Abbott did not confirm who he was visiting when he was seen at Melbourne Assessment Prison on Monday morning, the disgraced cardinal is its most high-profile resident.

Abbott and Pell have been close friends for many years.

"Look, I was simply visiting a friend that's all," Abbott told 7NEWS.

Earlier this year, the 78-year-old former archbishop of Sydney turned Vatican adviser was convicted by a jury of the rape of a 13-year-old choirboy and sexual assault of another at St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne in 1996.

He was jailed for six years with a non-parole period of three years and eight months.

Comment: Shades of Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein.

      Read More...
Cow Skull

US Congress condemns China for treatment of Uighurs


DW
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 00:00 UTC
Uighurs
A US bill that describes Beijing's treatment of Muslim minorities as "gross violations" of human rights has been overwhelmingly supported. China has refuted the claims, saying they are merely trying to combat terrorism.

The US House of Representatives approved a bill late on Tuesday aimed at increasing pressure on China over the brutal crackdown on Muslim minorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.

Congress voted 407-1 in favor of the Uighur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019, which has already passed the Senate.

The Act decries China's "gross human rights violations" linked to the maltreatment of more than 1 million Uighurs, Kazakhs and other minorities in so-called reeducation camps.

The minorities at the camps are subjected to political indoctrination, torture, beatings, and food deprivation, as well as denial of religious and linguistic freedom.

Comment: The US Congress loves to get on it's politically-motivated self righteous high horse and condemn powerful countries of what the US itself has been guilty of - through its proxies - many times over.

For a better understanding of this particular bit of propaganda, don't miss:

      Read More...
Star of David

How Israel became one of the world's worst rogue states

Alain Gabon
Middle East Eye
Fri, 29 Nov 2019 12:40 UTC
Netanyahu
© AFP
sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pictured in Jerusalem on 3 September
Despite propaganda to the contrary, Israel is not a democracy and never has been

As an integral part its ongoing propaganda, Israel, along with its fervent supporters and legions of paid and anonymous agents, zealously repeats and disseminates - in the media, on university campuses, in blogs and comment sections, at conferences and more - the same old, tired Zionist myths.

Propaganda guides and tool kits, such as the "global language dictionary", offer ready-made arguments and counter-arguments to sell Israel to journalists and critics. Such talking points come with tips on what tone and rhetorical tactics to use, what words and formulas "work", and how to discuss "sensitive" issues, such as Israel's illegal colonisation and annexation of Palestinian land, Jewish settlements and the killing of civilians.

All of which are now set to get worse since US President Donald Trump has both rewarded and emboldened Israel by recognising its illegal and brutal colonisation (its "settlements"). By the same token he has offered yet another spectacular demonstration of the complete contempt of the United States for the rule of international law.

Setting such an example will only send the message to all the despots, autocrats and tyrants of various stripes around the globe that not only it is ok to steal, colonise, and brutalise weak and defenceless populations, but that you may even be rewarded by the West for adopting the "law of the jungle".
      Read More...
Display

Senate Dem Schumer gets bland FBI letter about FaceApp: In tizzy over 'election meddling', 'Russian tentacles'


RT
Tue, 03 Dec 2019 21:29 UTC
russia flag faceapp
© Reuters / Vasily Fedosenko; AFP / Martin Bureau
Political and media hysteria over FaceApp is back, after the leader of the Democrats in the US Senate made public a letter from the FBI calling any Russian-developed software a "counterintelligence threat" to the US.

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York) shared the letter he received from Assistant Director Jill Tyson, in response to his July request to look into the potential dangers of FaceApp, a program rolled out in 2017 that went viral earlier this year as part of the 'Age Challenge.'

Comment: From Wikipedia:
FaceApp is a mobile application for iOS and Android developed by Russian company Wireless Lab which uses neural network technology to automatically generate highly realistic transformations of faces in photographs. The app can transform a face to make it smile, look younger, look older, or even change gender. FaceApp was launched on iOS in January 2017 and on Android in February 2017.


      Read More...
No Entry

Good riddance! Democrat Kamala Harris withdraws from 2020 presidential run


Sputnik
Tue, 03 Dec 2019 21:19 UTC
Harris
© AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta
The move comes after Politico cited several unnamed officials as saying last month that they were concerned with Kamala Harris' campaign chief's reluctance to clarify what changes have to be made to turn the situation around for the better now that her ratings continue to nosedive.

Democratic Senator Kamala Harris tweeted on Tuesday that she had decided to end her 2020 presidential election race.

During a conference call earlier in the day, she reportedly informed staff she is wrapping up the race because she lacks sufficient funds to compete.
To my supporters, it is with deep regret — but also with deep gratitude — that I am suspending my campaign today.

But I want to be clear with you: I will keep fighting every day for what this campaign has been about. Justice for the People. All the people.https://t.co/92Hk7DHHbR

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) December 3, 2019
"I've taken stock and looked at this from every angle, and over the last few days have come to one of the hardest decisions of my life. My campaign for president simply doesn't have the financial resources we need to continue," she told supporters in an e-mail.

Comment: Harris is a cookie-cutter political hack whose lack of ethical behavior and ideas has been well documented here. But Tulsi Gabbard's scathing critique of her during a debate encapsulates much of Harris's career in a nuthell, and probably had a big influence over potential voters:



      Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Lawfare and the attempted coup: The Democratic party's death wish

James Howard Kunstler
Kunstler.com
Mon, 02 Dec 2019 12:00 UTC
trump
The early winter holidays are notorious for giving people the blues, but as the last Thanksgiving leftovers slide into the stockpot, the Democratic Party was put on suicide watch. Is the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein in charge? It's a little late to call an exorcist. The gun pointed at the Democrats' head now is a stubby little low-caliber weapon in the person of Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who has only grazed the party's skull in two previous misfirings. The third time, the old saying goes, may be the charm.

When Mr. Nadler entertained Special Counsel Robert Mueller in July, he succeeded spectacularly in discrediting Mr. Mueller, and the inquisition he rode in on. It was the worst public demonstration of aphasia since William Jennings Bryan had a stroke at the Scopes Trial in 1925. Mr. Mueller's pitiful performance detached the last sticky tendril of hope that his tortured report might avail to cast out the arch-demon in the White House. Even the Republicans on the dais seemed to feel sorry for him. True to his character as a schoolyard sap wearing a "kick me" sign on his back, Mr. Nadler just waddled away in a fog of bamboozlement, hitching his pants up to his sternum, to plot his next foolish move.

Comment: See also:

      Read More...
Alarm Clock

The Mysterious Death of White Helmets Founder James Le Mesurier

Vanessa Beeley
MintPress News
Mon, 02 Dec 2019 00:00 UTC
le mesurier white helmets

On Her Majesty's Top Secret Service
On November 11, 2019, the British founder of the notorious White Helmets, James Le Mesurier, died in Istanbul, Turkey. The circumstances surrounding his death immediately elicited a flurry of Turkish and corporate media reports, many of them contradictory, as the details of his final hours came to light.

Mark Urban, the diplomatic editor at BBC Newsnight, immediately tweeted that "a former colleague" had told him it was impossible to "fall from that balcony," referencing Le Mesurier's reported cause of death and intimated that there may have been "state involvement." Urban did not identify his mysterious "former colleague" or explain what made him sufficiently qualified to conclude that Le Mesurier's death may have been a state-sanctioned hit.

Urban deleted his tweets soon after, maintaining that "there is a good deal of suspicion it may be murder by a state actor, but others suggest he may have taken his own life." Did Urban jump the gun? Was he instructed to delete the tweets, and if so, by whom?
      Read More...
Newspaper

Corbyn rejects as 'nonsense' claim that Russia is behind controversial UK-US NHS fire-sale dossier leak


RT
Tue, 03 Dec 2019 13:13 UTC
Corbyn
© AFP / Tolga Akmen
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has angrily dismissed suggestions that an unredacted report on UK-US trade discussions he obtained was leaked by Russian 'hackers' - claiming such accusations were a sign of Tory "desperation."

In an interview with Sky News on Tuesday, Corbyn was asked to comment on claims made by Graphika, a social media analytics firm, on Monday night, that the release of the uncensored 451-page document had links to Russia. The dossier was first made available on the discussion site Reddit in October.

"This is such nonsense. Such utter nonsense. This is desperation by the Conservative party... not even the government has claimed they're false documents."

Comment: Further evidence of the Tories' long standing drive to privatize the NHS were exposed during a BBC radio interview where Dominic Raab, UK Foreign Secretary, was confronted with a book he co-wrote in a 2011 where he details how the NHS should be "broken up", and for the pieces to be made available to private companies:
Dominic Raab struggled to affirm he had "never advocated for the privatization of the NHS" in a radio interview after he was confronted with a book he co-wrote which called for "private operators" to enter the healthcare system.

During an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today show, the UK Foreign Secretary attempted to extinguish talk of a Tory government giving the green light to more private companies gaining a bigger foothold in the NHS, in the context of post-Brexit trade negotiations with the US.

"I can tell you categorically I've never advocated privatization of the NHS," Raab claimed.

Raab
© Reuters / Neil Hall
FILE PHOTO: Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab Reuters / Hannah McKay; (R) An NHS logo
However, unfortunately for the foreign secretary, BBC presenter Nick Robinson had a copy of 'After the Coalition,' a 2011 book Raab co-authored with fellow Tories Kwasi Kwarteng, Chris Skidmore, Priti Patel, and Liz Truss.

The 'health' chapter of the book suggests that NHS reforms are necessary and that "the current monolith should be broken up." It then goes on to insist that "private operators should be allowed into the service and, indeed, should compete on price."

"The NHS should take advantage of the extra efficiencies private companies can provide."


Raab, ostensibly ruffled by having the quotes read back to him, attempted to downplay the significance of the remarks, claiming that he and his Conservative colleagues were really referring to services such as coffee shops and florists that operate within the UK healthcare system.

Robinson fired back: "It talked about hospitals being run by private companies, it didn't talk about coffee shops."

The future of the NHS has become a huge issue in the UK general election campaign. The Labour party, led by Jeremy Corbyn, claim that a Tory Brexit risks US pharmaceutical companies coming into the UK market as part of any trade deals with President Donald Trump. PM Boris Johnson has dismissed the concerns as "scaremongering."
See also:

      Read More...
Newspaper

Erdogan tells NATO that being friends with Russia is not contradictory to membership


RT
Tue, 03 Dec 2019 07:39 UTC
Erdogan
© Presidential Press Office via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses lawmakers.
The Turkish president reiterated his demand for NATO allies to support his country's fight against Kurdish militias. Speaking ahead of a NATO gathering, he said Turkey's membership does not mean it can't be friends with Russia.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan found himself at odds with some allies recently when he ordered a military incursion into Syria targeting Syrian Kurdish militias along the border. His French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron cited Ankara's failure to consult with other members as a reason for considering NATO"brain dead."

This week, the two leaders will have the opportunity to discuss their differences in person when NATO convenes for a low-key meeting to celebrate its 70th anniversary. Before departing to London on Tuesday for the two-day event, Erdogan said NATO needs to change with the times, and reiterated his demand for "unconditional" support for Turkey's military action in Syria. The Kurdish militias there are considered terrorists by Ankara.

Comment: Although Putin seems to disagree that new NATO-like military blocs are necessary, and that perhaps they can even play a part in hindering cooperation: Arab media's full interview with Putin: Russia 'does not build alliances against anyone'

More from RT:
Trump says Turkey very good member of NATO... or will be, while Erdogan challenges alliance to keep up with the times

Turkey, which demands "unconditional" support from other NATO members for its fight against Kurdish militias, is a "very good member" of the alliance which "could not have been nicer" to the US, President Donald Trump believes.

The compliment to Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who Trump once cautioned not to be a "fool," came as NATO members are gathering in the UK to mark its anniversary. Sitting alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Trump said as far as he is concerned, Turkey is just fine.
Erdogan
© REUTERS / Joshua Roberts
FILE PHOTO. Donald Trump greets Tayyip Erdogan after a joint news conference at the White House.
"I like Turkey. And I get along very well with the president. He is a very good member of NATO, or will be."

Trump added that Turkey "could not have been nicer" to the US when it went after terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was hiding in the part of Syria largely controlled by Turkish-backed military groups.

"We flew over areas that were totally controlled by the Turks and the Turkish military. We said we were coming. They were very supportive, actually. We didn't tell them what we were doing and where we were going. Turkey could not have been nicer and more supportive," he said.

Trump also addressed Turkey's purchase of Russian long-range surface-to-air missiles. He criticized his predecessor, Barack Obama, for not allowing Ankara to buy the American product instead and seemingly blasted his own administration for punishing Turkey for the Russian purchase by cutting Turkey off the F-35 fighter jet program.

"All they are going to do now is they will go to another country whether it is Russia or China. They don't want to do it. They want to buy the best plane... But they are making it very difficult for them to buy it in Washington," Trump said.


Trump could do with taking some of his own advice regarding sanctions and the trade war: '5G now America-free': China's Huawei assembles latest phones without US parts


Earlier in the day, Erdogan demanded NATO's support for Turkey's military campaign targeting Syrian Kurdish militias, which has been a matter of great controversy for European allies. The Turkish leader demanded NATO renew itself to keep up with the times, and said his country will continue to block NATO's plan for deployment of assets in Eastern Europe, unless his demand is met.

Stoltenberg, during his meeting with Trump, tried to downplay the conflict within the military bloc, saying NATO's strength comes from its ability overcome differences for the sake of fighting for a common security goal.
See also: In related news RT asked people on the streets of the UK what they thought of NATO and its 'accomplishments':



      Read More...
Amazon Smile
Revolt! T-shirts