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Facebook disables Press TV's page in new attack on free speech


Press TV
Fri, 26 Mar 2021 06:02 UTC
FacebookPressTV
© Facebook/PressTV/KJN
Facebook has once again shut down the page of English-language Press TV news network, this time permanently, in yet another attack by the US-based social media giant on Iranian media outlets.

Without any prior warning, Facebook informed Press TV on Friday that its account had been shut down for what it claimed to be the Iranian news channel's failure to "follow our Community Standards."

"We have already reviewed this decision and it can't be reversed," said Facebook in a note, without specifying the so-called violations of its rules. The social media giant has on a number of occasions attacked Press TV, despite its claim of providing space for freedom of expression.

One such attack took place in mid-January, when Facebook temporarily shut down Press TV's page, which had more than four million followers. The news outlet, however, had its page restored after appealing the platform's decision to remove it.

In June 2020, Facebook labeled Iran's Press TV, Russia's Sputnik, and China's Xinhua news agency as "state-media," saying it would block them from running advertisements in the United States, which views the three countries as its arch-adversaries.

Comment: See also:

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Bad Guys

US-NATO vs Russia-China in a hybrid war to the finish

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
Fri, 26 Mar 2021 00:00 UTC
US flag
The unipolar moment is six feet under, the hegemon will try to break Eurasian integration and there's no grownup in the room to counsel restraint

Let's start with comic relief: the "leader of the free world" has pledged to prevent China from becoming the "leading" nation on the planet. And to fulfill such an exceptional mission, his "expectation" is to run again for president in 2024. Not as a hologram. And fielding the same running mate.

Now that the "free world" has breathed a sigh of relief, let's return to serious matters - as in the contours of the Shocked and Awed 21st Century Geopolitics.

What happened in the past few days between Anchorage and Guilin continues to reverberate. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that Brussels "destroyed" the relationship between Russia and the EU, he focused on how the Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership is getting stronger and stronger.
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Radar

Britain to intensify its activities against Russia

Paul Antonopoulos
AntiWar.com
Thu, 25 Mar 2021 00:00 UTC
UK airforce
A document released by the British Ministry of Defence, titled "Defence in a competitive age", identifies Moscow as its main threat and states that London intends to increase its presence around Russia - specifically in the Black Sea, the Arctic, the Baltic Sea and the Western Balkans. The United Kingdom also plans to invest significant funds into new military equipment so that soldiers can adapt to "the new threat." The document acknowledges Britain's awareness of multipolarity, but also its intentions to still challenge Russia while opening a path of cooperation with China.

The British Strategy for the Western Balkans is mentioned more than any other region in the document, suggesting they want more influence there. However, it is inconceivable that they will be able to bolster their forces in the region. Instead, it is more likely that Britain could be more involved in so-called cyber war. The document has a large part dedicated to cyberspace, and states "Cyberspace espionage can and will be used as part of wider influence and propaganda campaigns, as well as in support of wider hostile activity up to and including conventional warfare."

Comment: Like its larger partner, the US, the UK seems hell-bent on destabilizing Russia and revivifying its ambitions towards global hegemony.

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Eye 2

Matt Hancock's ominous UK Health Security Agency would be the worst April Fool's ever - he may be laughing but he isn't joking

Neil Clark
RT
Sat, 27 Mar 2021 08:01 UTC
Hancock
© Reuters
Matt Hancock said his attitudes towards assisted suicide had been affected by speaking to Sir Paul Cosford, the medical director of Public Health England, who suffered from cancer and died aged 57
The UK Health Secretary confirmed this week that a new 'UK Health Security Agency' was being set up on April 1, thus marking the next stage in Britain's transformation into a repressive bio-security state.

Back in 1957, the BBC's flagship current affairs programme Panorama (well, it was then) showed a short three-minute film of a family in Switzerland harvesting spaghetti from a family 'spaghetti tree.' People rang up the BBC switchboard afterwards for advice on growing their own spaghetti. They should have paid closer attention to the date of the broadcast. The first of April. Yes, it was an 'April Fool.' One of the best in history.

The first of April is also the date that the UK's new 'Health Security Agency' is being established but this time it really is no laughing matter. If only Matt Hancock was joking when he said he was setting up a "dedicated, mission-driven national institution for health security." But, unlike his namesake, the great comedian Tony Hancock, Matt isn't remotely funny. The establishment of the UKHSA should give us all sleepless nights. It's actually more terrifying than the scariest Hammer horror movie. Well, Hancock's video announcing the news was, at any rate.

Comment: See also:

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Bad Guys

US spy agencies warn Biden of possible Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, ahead of withdrawal of troops


Reuters
Fri, 26 Mar 2021 10:47 UTC
US Afghanistan
© REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
U.S. troops stand guard during a handover ceremony of A-29 Super Tucano planes from U.S. to the Afghan forces, in Kabul, Afghanistan September 17, 2020.
U.S. intelligence agencies have told the Biden administration that the Taliban could overrun most of Afghanistan within two to three years if U.S. troops leave before a power-sharing deal is reached between the warring sides, a news report said on Friday.

Such a takeover potentially would allow al Qaeda to rebuild in Afghanistan, the New York Times reported, quoting anonymous U.S. officials.

President Joe Biden is deciding whether to meet a May 1 deadline for the withdrawal of the last 3,500 American troops that was set in a February 2020 accord struck with the Taliban under his predecessor, Donald Trump.

Comment: It seems likely that this 'anonymous' report is intended to extend the nearly 20 year old fruitless and devastating war on Afghanistan, as well as US occupation in the Middle East, for many more years to come:

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Bad Guys

As FBI hits paydirt with program against 'white supremacism,' media call to deradicalize CHRISTIANS, never mind Boulder murders

Helen Buyniski
RT
Thu, 25 Mar 2021 18:42 UTC
white supremacy
© Reuters / Maranie Staab
The FBI continues to warn Americans that herds of domestic extremists are plotting to overthrow the US. But the suspect in the latest gun attack had been known to the agency - which would rather bloviate about conspiracy theories.

Despite its superhuman efforts to tie the violence to domestic extremism - the agency's favorite new bugaboo, supposedly lurking around every corner and under every bed - the Boulder shooting culprit bore not even a passing resemblance to the domestic extremist threat FBI director Christopher Wray has attempted to outline in a manner his agents might be able to understand.

In an intriguing twist, the alleged murder suspect Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa was actually already known to the FBI, having had two run-ins with the agency and racked up a tidy little criminal record to match.

The "metastasizing threat," as Wray describes domestic terrorists (presumably the ones who don't work for his agency), bears no resemblance to "white nationalism," Christian extremism, or even the retro militia groups of the 1990s, all of which have recently been hyped as things right-thinking Americans should fear. But this is an embarrassing little blunder. If the agency wants to gin up some proper fear, they'll have to sync their imaginations hard and get to work.
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Question

A safer pair of hands for Britain's novichok case: New coroner, new inquest for Dawn Sturgess

John Helmer
Dances with Bears
Wed, 24 Mar 2021 19:33 UTC
dawn sturgess
© Adrian Sherratt/The Guardian
Dawn Sturgess died after being poisoned with nerve agent following the Sergei Skripal incident
The British government has selected a new team trusted with state secrets to run the inquest into the alleged Novichok death of Dawn Sturgess three years ago. The appointments of former Court of Appeals judge, Lady Heather Hallett, and Martin Smith as legal advisor will commence at a court hearing in London on March 30.

Hallett and Smith replace the Wiltshire country coroner David Ridley and his police advisor in the ongoing investigation of what caused Sturgess's death.

Hallett has been a specialist judge for sensitive military, intelligence, and police problems under the direction of the Cabinet Office for many years. The Cabinet Office coordinated all security and police operations before, during, and after the alleged Novichok attack on Sergei Skripal in Salisbury on March 4, 2018.

Comment: Unfortunately, Mr. Helmer's prediction is all to likely.

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Mail

Biden fires majority of DHS advisory council members

Celine Castronuovo
The Hill
Fri, 26 Mar 2021 09:25 UTC
Mayorkas
© kabc
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
The Biden administration on Friday fired most members of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) independent advisory board, including those appointed by both Democrats and Republicans.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas sent a letter to the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) announcing that in "the service of an orderly transition to a new model for the HSAC, I have ended the term of current HSAC members effective March 26, 2021."

The letter, which was first obtained by Politico, added that the council, made up of former intelligence and security officials and other experts who advise the secretary on a range of policy matters, will be formed again "in the next few weeks, once the new model has been developed."

Mayorkas thanked the council members for their service, adding,
"I am considering how the HSAC can bring the greatest value to the Department and how the expertise, judgment, and counsel of its members can be harnessed most effectively to advance the Department's mission. I expect to work closely with the HSAC and to rely on its Members to help guide the Department through a period of change."

Comment: HSAC was set up for members, who are unpaid, to use their experience and expertise of Homeland Security issues, like counterterrorism and immigration enforcement, to offer guidance to the secretary. Their skills and insights are no longer needed nor welcomed.


Comment: 'Smarmy' replies and dodgy excuses to Chris Wallace's questions constitute Mayorkas' interview on Fox News Sunday:

HSAC's current membership included Trump-era officials such as former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Chad Wolf, former Deputy DHS Secretary Ken Cuccinelli and former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Thomas Homan -- but include those appointed by secretaries by both Democratic and Republican administrations.


House Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member John Katko, R-N.Y., also criticized the move, saying it was a sign the administration "has no intention of upholding a bipartisan, unifying approach to securing our homeland."
"It's an absolute shame that Secretary Mayorkas has removed these well-respected homeland security leaders who have dedicated their careers to strengthening our homeland security posture. I would urge the Secretary to take a thoughtful approach as he reconstitutes the HSAC and be mindful of the message he intends to send."


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Bad Guys

Long march through the institutions: US Special Operations Command appoints partisan 'Diversity & Inclusion' chief who compared Trump to Hitler


RT
Sat, 27 Mar 2021 18:52 UTC
American Green Beret
© Reuters / Carlo Allegri
American Green Beret special operations troops observe a moment of silence during a ceremony in front the World Trade Center in New York, October 19, 2012.
The US Special Forces have tapped their first-ever "Chief of Diversity and Inclusion," saying the move would strengthen the elite military outfit, but critics have blasted the new pick over blatantly partisan social media posts.


Comment: It's a sure bet that any "Chief of Diversity and Inclusion" would be blatantly partisan. That's literally the job description.


SOCOM took to Facebook and its other social accounts on Thursday to announce that Richard Torres-Estrada had been appointed the new diversity chief, saying he has "nearly two decades worth of experience working diversity and inclusion programs and activities in federal agencies."

While it appended the hashtag "#QuietProfessionals" to the announcement, netizens soon unearthed evidence that the new hire had been anything but, pointing to political and inflammatory Facebook posts from the new hire, one of which compared former President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler.

"Here I leave this and slowly retire (to continue working from home)," Torres-Estrada wrote in Spanish in the June 2020 Hitler post, which itself received a "partly false information" notice and a 'fact check' from Facebook. The platform explained the photo of the Nazi strongman used in the post had been photoshopped to more closely resemble an image of Trump.

Comment: "Quiet professionals" = silent coup. The U.S. is currently in the process of transitioning from identifying as a two-party system to coming out as a one-party system with totalitarian tendencies. The power-elite oligarchy will purge all elements of the establishment that won't get on the critical race theory train. They've already got the executive, the courts, the schools and universities, the corporations, the military.

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Pumpkin 2

Happy CONFEDERATE constitution day! Belarus mercilessly trolls US Embassy after it praised German-backed puppet regime of WW1


RT
Sat, 27 Mar 2021 18:37 UTC
belarus opposition neo nazis
© REUTERS/Stringer
US-backed opposition activists wave banners of the 1918-19 'Belarus People's Republic' during a protest in Minsk, December 13, 2020.
After the US Embassy hailed the 1918 Belarus People's Republic, the government in Minsk fired back by wishing Washington a happy Confederate constitution day and adding choice comments about elections, freedom and democracy.

Wishing Belarus a happy "Freedom Day" on Thursday, the US Embassy expressed support for the "Belarusians' struggle for freedom and democracy" and said that many in the country "pay a heavy price as the regime resorts to intimidation, violence, and lethal force to maintain its grip on power."

Comment: Well-played Minsk!

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