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Poll surge for Brexit party sparks panic among Tories and Labour

Toby Helm
The Guardian
Sun, 12 May 2019 09:55 UTC
Theresa May
© House of Commons/PA
Theresa May is to resume talks on Monday with Labour over a Brexit deal.
Support for the Conservatives at the European elections slumps to 11%, less than a third of what the Farage's party is polling.

Senior Tory and Labour politicians have issued frantic calls to their voters to back them in next week's European elections after a new poll showed support for Nigel Farage's Brexit party had soared to a level higher than for the two main parties put together.

The Opinium survey for the Observer places the Brexit party on 34%, when people were asked how they intended to vote on 23 May, with Labour slipping to 21% and the Conservatives collapsing to just 11%. Ominously for Theresa May, support for the Tories at the European elections is now less than a third of that for Farage's party, and below that for the Liberal Democrats, who are on 12%.

The poll suggests the Brexit party, launched only last month, is now on course for a thumping victory that Farage will, MPs fear, use to back his argument that the UK must leave the EU immediately without a deal.

Comment: The traditional parties have proven that they won't execute the legitimate vote for Brexit and so the electorate are left with little choice but to vote for the only party that has claimed it will. Political commentator and former Labour MP George Galloway seems to speak in terms that reflect the current sentiment: vote for the Brexit party this one time to overcome the "obfuscators":



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Bad Guys

Pakistan tells Iran pipeline project 'impossible' under current US sanctions


Arab News
Mon, 13 May 2019 20:44 UTC
Rouhani Imran Khan
© AFP
In this April 22, 2019 file photo, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan are addressing a joint press conference in Tehran. Pakistan has informed Iran in writing that it cannot execute the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project as long as Tehran is under a United States sanctions regime.
Pakistan has informed Iran in writing that it cannot execute the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project as long as Tehran is under a United States sanctions regime, a top official at Pakistan's state-owned Inter State Gas Systems said on Friday, driving a final nail in the coffin of a project that was conceived in the 1990s to connect Iran's giant South Pars gas field to India via Pakistan.

The US has steadfastly opposed Pakistani and Indian involvement in the $7 billion project, saying it violates sanctions. India quit the project in 2009, citing costs and security issues, a year after it signed a nuclear deal with Washington.

US sanctions against Iran are a major hindrance for most gas pipeline projects in the region. The President Donald Trump administration has warned countries around the world to stop buying Iranian oil or face sanctions of their own. Washington's European allies have tried and failed to come up with ways to blunt the economic impact of the US move.
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Telescope

Satellite images of 'Russian S-300 in US' spark guessing game


RT
Mon, 13 May 2019 01:48 UTC
S-300
© Reuters / Vasily Fedosenko
Belarusian S-300 mobile missile systems in Minsk, July 3, 2013
Satellite photos that purport to show Soviet-made S-300PT air defense systems at a US military site have surfaced online, prompting various theories about how and why they ended up there.

The speculations began after an image of what appear to be two 5P85PT launchers on semi-trailers and a 30N6 fire control system were posted online by a military enthusiast. The installations are an integral part of the S-300PT surface-to-air missile systems.

The blogger, who says he is "geolocating all sort of military stuff" in his profile description, has since deleted the post but not before it gained traction online and attracted the attention of Russian media and the Defense Blog online magazine.

Comment: While the US attempts to figure out the S-300s and why its F-35s are so faulty Russia is way ahead working on much more advanced tech:

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Telephone

WH provided a phone number for Iran to reach Trump during a week of soaring tensions


Sputnik
Sat, 11 May 2019 16:30 UTC
1Trump2phones
© Electrospaces
US President Donald Trump
Tensions between Iran and the US escalated to their highest level in recent memory this week, with the US deploying a carrier strike group and nuclear-capable bombers near Iran's borders and warning that the navy may sail the ships into the Strait of Hormuz.

The White House gave authorities from Switzerland a phone number which Iranian leaders can use to reach President Donald Trump, an unnamed diplomatic source has told CNN.

According to the source, Swiss authorities will pass the number over to Tehran only if the Iranian government requests it, which is thought to be unlikely. Switzerland's embassy in Tehran is tasked with representing US interests in the Islamic Republic, with the two countries breaking off relations in 1980 after the revolution against the Shah.

On Thursday, Trump urged Iran's leaders to phone him up to discuss the tensions between the two countries, saying he "would like to see them call" him, and that the US was "open to talk to them."

Earlier, Yadollah Javani, deputy commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, said that Iran had no plans to talk to the US and saw Washington as an "unreliable" negotiating partner. He added that the US was mistaken if it felt it could intimidate Iran into negotiations with a combination of military threats and sanctions.

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Attention

Gulf tensions rising: UAE claims commercial ships targeted by 'sabotage'


RT
Sun, 12 May 2019 21:22 UTC
Emirati man Fujairah
© AFP/Karim Sahib
An Emirati man stands at the oil terminal of Fujairah.
The United Arab Emirates has said that four commercial ships were hit by "sabotage" in its waters, hours after denying reports of explosions at an oil tanker terminal. The incident comes as US/Iran tension ratchets up.

The four vessels were targeted by "sabotage operations" in waters near the emirate of Fujairah, the country's foreign ministry said on Sunday. The exact nature of the sabotage was not revealed, nor were the nationalities of the ships. There were no reported casualties.

"Subjecting commercial vessels to sabotage operations and threatening the lives of their crew is considered a dangerous development," the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that it is investigating the alleged incident.

Fujairah/UAE map
© GlobalSecurity.org
The statement came hours after Fujairah's government denied reports that an explosion had rocked an oil terminal at the emirate's port. Lebanese broadcaster Mayadeen first reported the explosion, before the story was picked up by Iran's Press TV. Officials in Fujairah called on the media to "investigate accurately and rely on official sources."

Although the exact events are unknown, Iranian lawmaker Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh tweeted that "the explosions of Fujairah showed that the security of the south of the Persian Gulf is like glass."

Should the security situation in the region deteriorate, much is at stake. Fujairah backs on to the Gulf of Oman on the south side of the Strait of Hormuz. With the UAE and Saudi Arabia on one side and Iran on the other, one-third of the world's oil at sea transits the strait, which is only 39 kilometers wide.

Comment: More from RT:
One of the two vessels was on its way to pick up crude for delivery to the US when it was hit, according to a statement by Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, carried by state broadcaster SPA.

While much of what could happen outside Fujairah Port remains unknown, the timing for the alleged "sabotage attack" is particularly notable. Just recently, the Pentagon dispatched a carrier strike group and a bomber force, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vaguely citing some "escalatory actions" by Iran as a pretext for the deployment.

Iran's top military commanders, among them the head of the Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Gen Hossein Salami, said the deployments were part of a US plan to intimidate Iran. The IRGC commander said it was unlikely that the US wants a war against Iran as Washington lacked adequate military resources to do so.
In addition, Iran issued a warning of 'conspiracy by ill-wishers' and urges a probe into the 'sabotage attack':
Sunday's incident at Fujairah port was "alarming and regrettable," a spokesman for Iranian Foreign Ministry, Abbas Mousavi, said in a statement on Monday. He cautioned against "adventurism by foreigners," which could undermine the region's stability and security, saying shipping and maritime safety is of paramount importance to Tehran.

Iran wants to know "the exact dimensions" of what happened at the UAE's port, Mousavi continued. Until all details of the incident are found out, it is crucial to be wary of attempts by "ill-wishers" to disrupt regional security.

Tehran itself is in no position to provoke confrontation in the Gulf but the US and its regional allies may feel free to pin the blame for the "sabotage operation" on Iran, believes Irina Fedorova, a senior fellow with Russia's Institute for Oriental Studies.

A real armed conflict against Iran "would require sizable financial and human resources," she explained, adding that this is why Washington isn't interested in going too far. Meanwhile, the US will ensure that its key ally Israel "doesn't make any provocative actions" against Iran.
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Oil Well

Venezuela unrest used to roil oil markets...but this time it's different

Michael Bastasch
The Daily Caller
Sat, 04 May 2019 08:10 UTC
Guaido/Ivan Duque
© Reuters/Luisa Gonzalez
Pretender Juan Guaido and Colombia's President Ivan Duque, Meeting of Lima Group in Bogota Feb.25, 2019.
When Juan Guaido launched his coup attempt, oil markets didn't do what they typically do in the face of supply threats. Instead, markets largely shrugged off Venezuelan unrest instead of sending prices soaring. That's because of two factors: mismanagement by Venezuela's socialist government and the U.S. energy boom.

At the turn of the century, Venezuela's daily oil production was around 3 million barrels per day, but output dramatically declined during the reign of former President Hugo Chavez, a former military officer who took control in 1999. Venezuela sits atop the world's largest proven oil reserves.

"Venezuela's oil production has collapsed in recent years," Juan Carlos Hidalgo, a policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute who specializes in Latin America, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. "Years of mismanagement, corruption and underinvestment are taking a toll," Hidalgo said. "Oil has long been a terribly distorting factor in Venezuela's political system."
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Fire

Pompeo in meltdown over the arrest of Venezuelan coup-backer Zambrano

Joaquin Flores
FRN
Fri, 10 May 2019 00:00 UTC
Zambrano/Guaido
© picture-alliance/dpa/AP/F.Liano
Former VP of Venezuelan National Assembly, Edgar Zambrano with Pretender Juan Guaido
US State Department head Mike Pompeo has suffered a public meltdown, reacting forcefully that the constitutional government of Venezuela actually arrested a key member of the upper house of parliament (AN) - Edgar Zambrano - who was actively engaged in the treasonous coup, and openly called for the military to violate their sworn oaths. Pompeo reached out to world media, announcing that the Venezuelan courts moves were an "Unacceptable and illegal step."

Mike Pompeo denounced the detention by Venezuelan authorities of the now-former Vice-Speaker of the National Assembly, Edgar Zambrano. In a statement released last night, Pompeo describes as an "arbitrary" and "unacceptable and illegal act" the arrest of the politician, first vice president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, which took place this Wednesday night in Caracas, at the hands of SEBIN agents.

Despite Pompeo's public tantrum, widely viewed as hypocritical, there are no signs that Venezuelan authorities are prepared to release an accused coup-planner and traitor on his own recognizance.

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Stock Down

Trump's chief economist, Larry Kudlow: 'Both sides will suffer' by US companies paying Chinese tariffs


RT
Mon, 13 May 2019 07:44 UTC
Larry Kudlow
© Reuters
President Donald Trump • Chief Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow
In a remarkable break from his boss' rhetoric, President Donald Trump's chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow conceded that US businesses and consumers are the ones who have to pay up for the hike in Chinese import taxes.

Pressed by Fox News' Chris Wallace, Kudlow appeared to contradict Trump's recently adopted mantra that an increase in tariffs on Chinese goods is entirely beneficial to the US. Before confronting Kudlow, Wallace ran a clip of Trump brushing off claims that his trade policies will backfire against US citizens and companies.

"Paid for mostly by China, by the way, not by us. A lot of people try and steer it in a different direction. It's really paid, ultimately, it's paid for largely by China," Trump said.

While economists outside the Trump administration have long disputed the US president's underlying premise, Kudlow is an insider who seemed to have agreed with Wallace that import tariffs are just tax increases in disguise.

"It is not China that pays tariffs, it's the American importers, the American companies that pay what in effect is a tax increase and oftentimes pass it onto US consumers," Wallace said, prompting Kudlow to agree, albeit with a reservation. "Fair enough. In effect, both sides will pay," Kudlow said.

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Target

Campaign pivot? Beto O'Rourke hires Obama strategist who lobbied for SeaWorld, Keystone XL, private prisons

Clio Chang
The Intercept
Sat, 11 May 2019 09:00 UTC
BetoO'Rourke
© Washington Post
Beto O'Rourke
Beto O'Rourke's Thursday hiring of Jeff Berman, a Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton veteran, is the latest step his presidential campaign has taken away from the insurgent energy of his Senate run and toward a more centrist and corporate strategic direction.

Berman, who is joining O'Rourke's campaign as senior adviser for delegate strategy, is perhaps most well known for his expertise in the arcane system of delegate selection, which he used to help Barack Obama win the Democratic nomination in 2008. An often overlooked part of his record, though, is his stint at law and lobbying firm Bryan Cave, a position for which he was hired immediately after Obama's presidential campaign. (As reporter Ken Silverstein remarked in Harpers at the time: "That was fast.") According to the federal lobbying registry, between 2009 and 2011 Berman's clients on behalf of Bryan Cave included the private prison company GEO Group; TransCanada, the company behind the Keystone XL pipeline; and SeaWorld, which was then owned by massive private equity firm Blackstone.

Many of these clients are ostensibly on the opposite side of many of the issues that O'Rourke is campaigning on. Take, for example, immigration, a central theme of O'Rourke's presidential run: He launched his campaign in the border town of El Paso, Texas, railing against Donald Trump's immigration policies and stating, "For more than 100 years, this community has welcomed generations of immigrants from across the Rio Grande." Yet the GEO Group, for which Berman's work (along with other lobbyists) made Bryan Cave $60,000 in 2010, has profited handily from its business of running private prisons, including immigrant detention centers.

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Footprints

UN: Withdrawal of Houthi rebels from Yemeni port facilities on course


Reuters
Sun, 12 May 2019 13:34 UTC
Houthis shakehands
© Abduljabbar Zeyad/Reuters
Coastguard officer shakes hands with Houthi members as they withdraw from Hodeidah port.
The United Nations says the first day of the withdrawal from western Yemen of Iranian-backed Houthi rebels from two of the three Red Sea port facilities they've vowed to evacuate under a peace deal has gone according to plan.

The UN has been monitoring the withdrawal from the Red Sea port facilities of Saleef and Ras Isa, which the rebels have held since 2014. The UN monitors plan to report to the Security Council about the situation on May 15. "All three ports were monitored simultaneously by United Nations teams as the military forces left the ports and the coast guard took over responsibility for security," a UN statement on May 12 said.

The UN statement comes a day after the Yemeni government accused the rebels of "staging a new ploy" by faking the withdrawal. Provincial Governor Al-Hasan Taher told AFP the rebels were handing the ports "to themselves without any monitoring by the United Nations and the government side."

The UN says the Houthi rebels announced late on May 10 that they would unilaterally redeploy their forces out of three Red Sea port facilities over four days beginning on May 11 - potentially opening the way for the delivery of humanitarian aid needed to prevent a famine that threatens millions of people.

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