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Julian Assange, a modern Prometheus Bound

Pepe Escobar
The Strategic Culture Foundation
Wed, 09 Sep 2020 15:51 UTC
assange protest
© Flickr/John Englart
He is being punished not for stealing fire - but for exposing power under the light of truth and provoking the god of Exceptionalism.

This is the tale of an Ancient Greek tragedy reenacted in AngloAmerica.

Amid thundering silence and nearly universal indifference, chained, immobile, invisible, a squalid Prometheus was transferred from the gallows for a show trial in a faux Gothic court built on the site of a medieval prison.

Kratos, impersonating Strength, and Bia, impersonating Violence, had duly chained Prometheus, not to a mountain in the Caucasus, but to solitary confinement in a high-security prison, subject to relentless psychological torture. All along the Western watchtowers, no Hephaestus volunteered to forge in his smithy a degree of reluctance or even a sliver of pity.
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Network

China and India agree to disengage at disputed border


The Guardian
Sat, 12 Sep 2020 10:15 UTC
Ladakh
© Dar Yasin/AP
An Indian army convoy moves along the Srinagar- Ladakh highway. China and India have been engaged in a tense standoff in the Ladakh region since May but have since agreed to de-escalate.
India and China have agreed to "disengage as soon as possible" after troops were involved in a series of clashes at their disputed Himalayan border, according to a joint statement from the two countries.

The nuclear-armed neighbours accused each other this week of firing shots across the contested border in Ladakh, known as the line of actual control (LAC), intensifying a months-long standoff that has already claimed at least 20 lives.

After a meeting on Thursday between Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in Moscow, a joint statement said the two sides had agreed to de-escalate.

Comment: Hindustan Times reports on the agreed upon 5-point plan:
India and China agreed on five points to guide their approach to the situation on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), including the disengagement of troops and easing of tensions, following talks between external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on the margins of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet in Moscow on Thursday. Here are the five points

1. Both sides should take guidance from the consensus of the leaders on developing India-China relations, including not allowing differences to become disputes.

2. The current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side and therefore the border troops of both sides should continue their dialogue, quickly disengage, maintain proper distance and ease tensions.

3. The two sides shall abide by all the existing agreements and protocols on China-India boundary affairs and maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas and avoid any action that could escalate matters.

4. The two sides will continue communications through the Special Representatives mechanism, and meetings of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on border affairs will continue.

5. As the situation eases, the two sides should expedite work to conclude new confidence-building measures to maintain and enhance peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
See also:

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Chess

Why Navalny was handed over to Germany

Gambit Veprya
Stalker Zone
Mon, 07 Sep 2020 12:00 UTC
Merkel
© Getty Images/Maja Hitij
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
I happened to take a taxi home yesterday. The taxi driver, with an appearance of Bill Murray, was very sociable: during the trip, as is often the case, we touched on all topics - from the weather to blondes at the wheel.

At some point, the news was playing in the background on the radio.

After the story about the poisoning of Aleksey Navalny, Nord Stream 2, and possible EU sanctions, the taxi driver shook his head and said thoughtfully: "Yes, mother got ensnared..."

"What mother?" I asked.

Comment: See also:

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Bizarro Earth

'The Age of Disorder' is coming - Deutsche Bank


RT
Thu, 10 Sep 2020 10:02 UTC
apocolypse
© Getty Images / Ig0rZh
The four-decade era of globalization may be coming to an end, and we could be entering "The Age of Disorder," which will reshape both economies and politics, Deutsche Bank analysts have said in a new research note.

One of the key characteristics of the new era will be the reversal of unfettered globalization, a team of analysts led by strategist Jim Reid predicted. While we saw "the best combined asset price growth of any era in history, with equity and bond returns very strong across the board" since 1980, "the Age of Disorder" is likely to break this trend.

Deteriorating US-China relations is another theme (out of eight) that will define the next distinct era of modern times, "which is hastened, but not caused by, the pandemic." The analysts note that the Chinese economy will be closing the gap with the US and could finally outperform it by the end of the decade.

Comment: It would appear that the 'Age of Disorder' has already begun: Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal #26: Globalization vs Nationalism - The Hidden Causes of The Yellow Vest Protests in France

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Attention

Trump nominated for SECOND NOBEL PRIZE for 'historic Kosovo-Serbia' peace agreement


Hannity.com
Sat, 12 Sep 2020 19:14 UTC
DJT trump

Comment: For the news of Trumps first nomination, see: Trump basks in praise as right-wing Norwegian lawmaker nominates him for 2021 Nobel Peace Prize


President Trump was nominated for a second Nobel Peace Prize Friday for the "Historic Kosovo-Serbia" peace agreement brokered by the United States Government.


Comment: It's hard to deny, Trump is on fire these last few weeks! It would be hilarious to watch the left melt down if he actually wins.

See also:

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Star of David

Israel, Bahrain fully normalize diplomatic relations


The New Arab
Fri, 11 Sep 2020 00:00 UTC
Bahrain
© Getty Images
Bahrain
Bahrain has become the latest Arab nation to agree to normalise ties with Israel as part of a broader diplomatic push by President Donald Trump and his administration to fully integrate the Jewish state into the Middle East.

Trump announced the agreement on Friday, following a three-way phone call he had with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The three leaders also issued a brief six-paragraph joint statement, attesting to the deal.

"Another HISTORIC breakthrough today!" Trump tweeted.
The announcement on the 19th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 extremist attacks came less than a week before Trump hosts a White House ceremony to mark the establishment of full relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Bahrain's foreign minister will attend the event.

It represents another diplomatic win for Trump less than two months before the the presidential election and an opportunity to shore up support among pro-Israel evangelical Christians. Just last week, Trump announced agreements in principle for Kosovo to recognize Israel and for Serbia to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Comment: As the sands shift in the Middle East, rapid change is upon them...a sandstorm ahead?
10 commenters
© The New Arab
Following the normalization of relations between Israel and Bahrain, Palestine's ambassador to Manama was recalled to Ramallah on Friday.

On Friday, just weeks after its Persian Gulf neighbor the United Arab Emirates extended recognition and full diplomatic relations to Israel, the Kingdom of Bahrain did the same. In response, the Palestinian Authority has ordered its diplomatic envoy to the island nation to return home and threatened to do the same to any other Arab nation that recognizes Israel.
After the Israel-UAE deal, Palestinian leaders denounced Abu Dhabi's actions as "stabbing them in the back."
Few Muslim nations have been willing to recognize Israel since its creation in 1948, after which it fought a war against Syria, Jordan, and Egypt, as many other Arab nations sent troops or material to support the struggle. Israel triumphed, and in doing so, forced out nearly 700,000 Palestinian Arabs - nearly half the territory's population - in an event Palestinians refer to as "al-Nakba," or "the catastrophe."

The latest agreement was finalised during a telephone call between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, according to a joint US-Bahrain-Israel statement published on Twitter by US President Donald Trump.

The statement hailed the agreement as a "historic breakthrough" that it said would further peace in the region.



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MIB

Ex-Zelensky chief of staff faces questioning over allegations Kiev has secret 'normalization' deal with Moscow

Jonny Tickle
RT
Fri, 11 Sep 2020 14:30 UTC
zelensky putin
© REUTERS/Charles Platiau/Pool; Sputnik / Mikhail Klimentyev
Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation has summoned President Volodymyr Zelensky's former administration head for questioning, after suggesting that the government has a secret agreement with Russia to normalize relations.

Speaking to journalist Dmitry Gordon, ex-chief of staff Andrey Bogdan said that the Zelensky administration, under current head Andrey Ermak, had made a number of promises to Russia, including dealing with Crimea's status, re-starting flights between Ukraine and Russia, and prisoner exchanges. Although he did not claim to have seen the promises himself, Bogdan said that he heard about the document from a number of diplomats and intelligence officials.

"The agreement is some kind of algorithm. We give you ships, you give us water in Crimea. We give you prisoners, you give us direct flights," he said.

Comment: If true a deal would be good news for Ukrainians but bad news for the nefarious, international, players intent on profiting from the continued bloodshed in Ukraine:

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Star of David

Syria repels Israeli attack on Aleppo as missiles shot down before reaching their targets


RT
Fri, 11 Sep 2020 00:42 UTC
sunrise Aleppo
© Reuters/Omar Sanadiki
Sunrise Aleppo
Syria's air defenses thwarted an Israeli attack on Aleppo city early Friday morning, as multiple missiles were intercepted before reaching their targets, Syrian state-run television reported.

The strikes occurred around 1:30am local time on Friday, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported, citing a military source who noted the country's air defenses had repelled "most of the enemy missiles." The source pinned the attack on Israel, however Tel Aviv has yet to comment on the incident. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The news agency shared footage of the blast on social media, while an unconfirmed photo purporting to show smoke rising from an area around al-Safirah, a town in Aleppo's countryside, also made the rounds online.

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Attention

The US Is doing far worse than what it accuses China of doing to the Uighurs

Caitlin Johnstone
Medium
Thu, 10 Sep 2020 00:00 UTC
Fire explosion
© Unknown
Disney is the subject of controversy in mainstream circles again, not because it is a sprawling monopolistic media megaconglomerate whose giant Mickey head is devouring the world like Galactus, but because parts of its live-action version of Mulan were filmed in Xinjiang province.

Vox reports:
"Some viewers who paid to stream the movie on Disney+ last weekend found something troubling in the credits: Disney thanked eight government bodies in Xinjiang, a western province in China where around 2 million Uighur Muslims have been forced into concentration camps by the Chinese government. It turns out parts of Mulan were filmed in Xinjiang two years ago, well after the world knew about Beijing's plan to 'reeducate' Uighurs with Communist Party doctrine."
Now it is worth pointing out at this point that there is no reason to accept on faith the claim that two million Uighur Muslims have been forced into concentration camps in Xinjiang. The US-centralized empire is ramping up a propaganda campaign against China to manufacture support for cold war escalations with the goal of preventing the emergence of a true multipolar world, and that empire has an extensive history of lying about these things. There are massive, gaping plot holes in the Xinjiang narrative we're being fed by the State Department stenographers in the mass media, and its key points of evidence always trace back to extremely dubious sources like the odious fanatic Adrian Zenz.
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Propaganda

MSM's attempts to spin Trump's attacks on senseless wars as disrespect for military are a dismal distortion of reality

Tony Cox
RT
Fri, 11 Sep 2020 12:06 UTC
trumpsalute
© Getty Images/David Dee Delgado
US President Donald Trump salutes the military
The New York Times and CNN are desperate to paint Donald Trump as an enemy of the military, due to his desire not to get involved in pointless wars. But this is simply not true, and Trump has the backing of many soldiers.

Someone should tell the New York Times, CNN and other mainstream media outlets that soldiers don't actually like getting killed or maimed for no good reason. Nor do they like generals and presidents who spill their blood in vain.

Alas, ignorance of these obvious truths probably isn't the issue. This is likely just another case of the biggest names in news pretending to not get the point so they can take the rest of us along for a ride in their confidence game of alternative reality.

The latest example is the New York Times spinning President Donald Trump's critique this week of Pentagon leadership and the military industrial complex as disrespect for the military at large. "Trump has lost the right and authority to be commander in chief," the Times quoted retired US Marines General Anthony Zinni as saying. Zinni cited Trump's alleged "despicable comments" about the nation's war dead - reported last week by The Atlantic, citing anonymous sources - as one of the reasons Trump "must go." Never mind that Trump and all on-the-record administration sources denied The Atlantic's report.
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