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'Scapegoat framed by US & Mexico': El Chapo's lawyer claims real drug lord walks free & bribes govts


RT
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 13:29 UTC
Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman
© Handout via REUTERS
Drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman had been framed by corrupt US and Mexican officials who let his chief lieutenant remain at large to lead the Sinaloa cartel instead, his defense claimed, at the start of the high-profile trial.

Guzman was made a 'scapegoat' by a corrupt Mexican government in an American drug war, so that the true head of the drug empire, Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, can escape justice, defense attorney for the narcotics baron claimed in his opening statement in Federal District Court in Brooklyn.

"[Zambada] has been allowed to operate for the last 55 years because he pays for it," Jeffrey Lichtman told the court in an unexpected start of the hearing. "He bribes the current president of Mexico and for good measure, the previous one as well."
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No Entry

Political Deadlock: Swedish Parliament rejects center-right PM candidate


RT
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 11:34 UTC
Ulf Kristersson
Sweden's Riksdag has voted against Ulf Kristersson's candidacy for prime minister, after his center-right allies refused to create a future coalition that would rely on support from the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats.

The previously expected result leaves Sweden without a permanent government two months after the election, an unprecedented political stalemate in the country's democratic history.

The Sweden Democrats backed Kristersson's Moderates, but he received the support of only 154 deputies, short of the 175 majority needed. The 195 that voted against included the center-left, green and socialist parties, and the Liberal and Center parties, who campaigned together with Kristersson ahead of September's election.

Comment: Foreign Policy reports more on the political stalemate:
"We essentially have three blocs, and nobody wants to work with one of the other blocs," noted Sven Otto Littorin, a Moderate politician who served as employment minister until 2010. "Now it's down to who blinks first." Getting somebody to blink is the task of the parliamentary speaker, Andreas Norlen, who has already spent more than two months in talks with the party leaders. First, he asked Kristersson to form a government. After a valiant effort, Kristersson failed to achieve the modest goal of proposing a government that would not be opposed by a parliamentary majority. [...]

A snap election faces another, more practical, hurdle: "With the exception of the Sweden Democrats and the Center Party, none of the parties have any money left for another election campaign, and they don't have the energy for one either," the former Moderate Party minister Littorin pointed out.

Yet not even the most skilled speaker of the parliament can change the fact that Swedes are deeply divided about the direction their country should take at a moment when the far-right is on the rise. "We have arrived at the point that other European countries have already reached," Dahlberg said. "The question is, should we do like the Danes and govern with their support, or like the Germans and isolate them? Either way, we have to swallow a bitter pill."


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Handcuffs

More Melbourne terror: Three men found guilty of plotting Christmas Day attacks

Adam Cooper & Erin Pearson
The Age
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 10:48 UTC
melbourne terror plot
© Jeff Hayes
Ally Ackbars Ahmed Mohamed, Abdullah Chaarani and Hamza Abbas in court
Three Melbourne men have been found guilty of plotting a Christmas terror attack at major city landmarks in a jihad-inspired plan to inflict mass carnage.

It can now be revealed Ahmed Mohamed, 26, Abdullah Chaarani, 28, and Hamza Abbas, 23, were on November 2 found guilty of conspiring to plan or prepare for a terrorist act, after a Supreme Court jury deliberated for six days.


Comment: It apparently wasn't cut-and-dried.


The guilty verdicts, which came at the end of a long trial, followed an earlier guilty plea by the fourth member and ringleader of the would-be terror group, Ibrahim Abbas, 24, Hamza's brother.

The verdicts were suppressed from when they were announced, following an application by lawyers for two of the men. Justice Christopher Beale later ruled the verdicts should be reported, however defence lawyers challenged the judge's decision at the Court of Appeal. The reasons behind the suppression cannot be reported.

Comment: They were likely all used as 'instruments'.

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Megaphone

Afghan-led peace process facilitated by Russia exposes billion dollar failure of US in the region

Salman Rafi Sheikh
Near Eastern Outlook
Tue, 13 Nov 2018 12:00 UTC
moscow
On November 9, 2018, Russia hosted the first round of Moscow initiative to resolve the Afghan conundrum, signifying its ever increasing interest in the country that has evolved, over the last 17 years, from a hot-bed of conflict between the US and the Taliban, including Al-Qaeda, to a strategic stalemate between the US and the Taliban, witnessing also the discreet rise of the Islamic State in Khorasan (IS-K) in Afghanistan, threatening the entire Central Asia and Russia with its tendency to reach beyond the land it comes to inhabit. The rising threat of IS-K explains why Russia has become active in initiating a peace process to achieve its settlement, but for the Western officials, Russian initiative is only an attempt on its part to make things 'complicated' for a peace process that must be 'Afghan-led & Afghan owned.' This is not only ironic given that the West, specifically the US, has failed to end the war in the 17 years, but also factually wrong since Moscow initiative doesn't contradict the idea of an 'Afghan-led' peace process.

As such, while the Moscow initiative deepens Russian role in Afghanistan - and there is nothing wrong with deepening ties with one's neighbouring country - it does also compliment the concept of 'Afghan-led' peace process in important ways. In other words, contrary to Western projections, the Moscow initiative is nothing about pushing the US/the West out of the game. First of all, the nature of the summit held itself signifies how it was centred on the idea of 'Afghan-led' peace process. For instance, the Afghan High Peace Council, which attended the event, reiterated in its statement that the purpose of the summit was only to discuss "the subject of direct talks with the Taliban and [they] asked them [Taliban] to choose the place and the starting time." Clearly, this is an Afghan peace council talking to an Afghan militant group, Taliban, asking them to initiate dialogue. Moscow seems only to fit as a facilitator rather than a dictator of peace terms.

Comment: It's very telling that those countries who have suffered US 'liberation' turn to Russia for assistance in ending the bloodshed and rebuilding:

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Eye 1

Merkel joins Macron in call for European army - There's just the small issue of NATO treaties


RT
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 09:43 UTC
trump merkel macron
© Reuters
Trump, Merkel and Macron at the 100th anniversary commemoration of the Armistice, in Paris
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for a "real, true" European army to be created, just days after French President Emmanuel Macron did the same - and received backlash from Donald Trump for doing so.

"We should work on a vision of one day establishing a real European army," Merkel said during an address to MEPs at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Monday.

That statement was an apparent nod of support to Macron, who last week said that Europe has to "protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia, and even the United States of America." Europe cannot do so, he said, "unless we decide to have a true European army."

Comment: Merkel is on her way out, Macron's popularity is tanking, and, what with the mass migration crisis and the bungled monetary union, the current bureaucrats in the EU have proven themselves incapable. However, cooperation on many issues within the EU makes sense because it gives countries more sway on the international stage, including defying the belligerent US.

See also: And check out SOTT radio's:

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Mr. Potato

PM May calls in MPs as Brexit deal "agreed"...except a 'few outstanding issues'


RT
Tue, 13 Nov 2018 16:41 UTC
Theresa May
© REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May
Prime Minister Theresa May is to chair a special cabinet meeting, Wednesday, after a draft deal was reportedly agreed between UK and EU negotiators following intensive talks in Brussels.

According to an unnamed cabinet source, cited in the BBC, the text has been agreed upon at a technical level.


Cabinet ministers are, on Tuesday evening, having one-on-one meetings with the PM as she attempts to win their backing for the deal. Ministers will reportedly be allowed to see the key papers on the deal, but not allowed to take them home.

Comment: Brexit has proven itself a farce from the very beginning, and so the closing scenes promise to be just as tragic: Brexit Has Exposed The Rotten Foundations of Britain's Political System

See also: And check out SOTT radio's:

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Bad Guys

Saudi intelligence, Mossad met with Trump admin to plan sabotage and assassinations in Iran

Whitney Webb
Mint Press News
Tue, 13 Nov 2018 09:54 UTC
Trump Salman
© Evan Vucci | AP
Donald Trump shakes hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, May 20, 2017.
A new report published in The New York Times has revealed that top Saudi intelligence officials with ties to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), in meetings with figures close to the Trump administration and Israel intelligence, expressed interest in using private contractors to "sabotage the Iranian economy" and to assassinate top Iranian officials.

The plan to use private intelligence operatives to sabotage Iran's economy had been developed by George Nader, an American-Lebanese businessman close to Trump and the United Arab Emirates and a convicted sex offender, and Joel Zamel, an Israeli known for his "deep ties" to Israeli intelligence and security agencies. The plan, at the time of the meeting, did not include the assassination component, though the Saudi officials present sought to probe whether such acts could be included in the campaign.

The Times noted that both Nader and Zamel "saw their Iran plan both as a lucrative source of income and as a way to cripple a country that they and the Saudis considered a profound threat." The plan was said to involve operations like "revealing hidden global assets of the Quds Force; creating fake social media accounts in Farsi to foment unrest in Iran; financing Iranian opposition groups; and publicizing accusations, real or fictitious, against senior Iranian officials to turn them against one another." The two met with Saudi officials in early January 2017 in order to secure funding for the plan, which they estimated would cost around $2 billion.

Comment: See also:

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Chess

Acting U.S. Attorney General to consult with ethics officials about involvement in Russia probe


RFE/RL
Tue, 13 Nov 2018 04:08 UTC
Matthew Whitaker

Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker
Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker will consult with ethics officials about whether his past criticism of a special investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election requires him to recuse himself, the Justice Department said.

Whitaker "is fully committed to following all appropriate processes and procedures at the Department of Justice, including consulting with senior ethics officials on his oversight responsibilities and matters that may warrant recusal," department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said late on November 12.

President Donald Trump named Whitaker acting attorney general last week after ousting Jeff Sessions, who Trump had criticized repeatedly for recusing himself from the Russia investigation, which Trump has labeled a "witch hunt."
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Light Sabers

Saudi-led coalition agrees to UN evacuation of injured Houthis in Yemen


Sputnik
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 03:50 UTC
Saudi forces
© AFP 2018 / Saleh Al-Obeidi
The Saudi-led coalition, supporting the Yemeni internationally-recognized government in the civil conflict with the Houthis, has agreed to allow the UN to evacuate up to 50 injured rebels to neighbouring Oman after the visit of UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the UK Foreign Office said.

"The Saudi-led Coalition have agreed to the evacuation of wounded Houthis from Yemen, one of the key stumbling blocks to the UN Geneva talks in September. Subject to final reassurances, Coalition forces will now permit the UN to oversee a Houthi medical evacuation, including up to 50 wounded fighters, to Oman, ahead of another proposed round of peace talks in Sweden later this month," the office said in a statement published on its official website.
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Bad Guys

Behind the Trump 'trade war' lies a military industrial agenda

F. William Engdahl
New Eastern Outlook
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 00:00 UTC
made in china
In geopolitics events are rarely what they seem to be. This is especially true when we look more closely at the otherwise bizarre "war" launched this spring under the guise of trade war, supposedly redressing America's huge annual balance of trade deficits, the most extreme being that with China. The true driver behind Washington's otherwise inexplicable tariff war attacks on especially China make sense when we view them through the prism of a new Administration report on the defense industrial base of the United States.

In early October a US Government inter-agency Task Force, headed by the Department of Defense (DoD) released the unclassified part of a year-long study on the domestic industrial base required to provide vital components and raw materials for the US military. Titled "Report Assessing and Strengthening the Manufacturing and Defense Industrial Base and Supply Chain Resiliency of the United States," the Interagency Task Force document was commissioned a year ago in a little-noted Executive Order 13806 of the US President.

The report is the first such detailed analysis of the adequacy or lack of, of the industrial supply chain that feeds vital components to the US Military in recent years.
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