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May to give MPs free vote on delaying Brexit, and the four amendments - UPDATE: Surprise! MPs delay Brexit deadline till end June

Theresa May
© REUTERS / Christopher Furlong
PM Theresa May will allow UK MPs a free vote on extending Article 50 and delaying Brexit beyond the current March 29 deadline. It comes as the Tory government have been left reeling after two days of heavy defeats in parliament.

Tonight's vote represents day three of a series of Brexit votes that has seen May's deal inflicted with the fourth biggest defeat (149) in parliamentary history and MPs comprehensively instruct the government to rule out a no-deal scenario.

Brexit delay vote

The government motion to extend Article 50 beyond the official Brexit deadline day, seeks a delay until June 30, on the condition MPs back May's negotiated deal by March 20.

Comment: So the progress report is that there is no real progress, just more self-indulgent politicking and kicking the can down the road: British parliament nullifies Brexit referendum result by voting for UK to remain in EU

See also: And check out SOTT radio's: UPDATE 14 March 2019 - 21:30 CET

3 more months of Brexit: British MPs vote for delay

Which means the British will be contesting the European Parliament elections in May.

Which means Brussels is ok with British voters returning a phalanx of anti-EU candidates.

Which means, again, the UK isn't leaving the EU.


Handcuffs

Message to IDF: Irish prosecutor charges British soldier for killing unarmed protesters 47 years ago

Bloody Sunday protest
© EPA
Familles and friends of those killed on Bloody Sunday in 1972 march in Derry in 2010.
Today there was solemn news on the BBC. The prosecutor in Northern Ireland is going to charge a British soldier with murder for two of the 14 killings on Bloody Sunday in Londonderry.

Bloody Sunday was January 1972. Forty-seven years ago.

The families of the victims have never forgotten the fallen. They marched through the streets yesterday. The arc of history is long but sometimes it really does bend toward justice.

The Guardian reminds us that the victims were unarmed protesters. Though there were also militants in the crowd.
The inquiry found the killings were unjustified and that none of the 14 dead was carrying a gun, no warnings were given, no soldiers were under threat and the troops were the first to open fire.
Wikipedia says that the British had a reason to suppress the protests.
The authorities expected that [the plans for the march] would lead to rioting.
You know just where this story is going. Since last March 30th, Israeli soldiers have shot thousands of unarmed Palestinian protesters before the eyes of the world. Or the eyes that aren't blinded anyway. Some 256 Palestinians have died. Thousands more have been wounded, many of them maimed.

Folder

Lisa Page transcripts reveal details of anti-Trump 'insurance policy', i.e. Russiagate

Lisa Page
© Leah Millis / Reuters
Former FBI lawyer Lisa Page arrives for her House Judiciary Committee deposition
House Judiciary Committee Republicans on Tuesday released hundreds of pages of transcripts from last year's closed-door interview with ex-FBI attorney Lisa Page, revealing new details about the bureau's controversial internal discussions regarding an "insurance policy" against then-candidate Donald Trump.

Page first entered the spotlight in December 2017, when it was revealed by the Justice Department inspector general that she and then-FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok exchanged numerous anti-Trump text messages. The two were involved in the FBI's initial counterintelligence investigation into Russian meddling and potential collusion with Trump campaign associates during the 2016 election, and later served on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team.

Among their texts was one concerning the so-called "insurance policy." During her interview with the Judiciary Committee in July 2018, Page was questioned at length about that text -- and essentially confirmed this referred to the Russia investigation while explaining that officials were proceeding with caution, concerned about the implications of the case while not wanting to go at "total breakneck speed" and risk burning sources as they presumed Trump wouldn't be elected anyway.

Further, she confirmed investigators only had a "paucity" of evidence at the start.

X

Former head of state-run Iranian TV and radio reveals government blacklist on filmmakers, actors, other artists

Mohammad Sarafraz

Mohammad Sarafraz is the former head of the state-run entity that runs all radio and TV broadcasting in Iran. (file photo)
Mohammad Sarafraz is the former head of the state-run entity that runs all radio and TV broadcasting in Iran.
Thousands of Iranian filmmakers, actors, and other artists are on a secret government blacklist that bans them from working or having their work shown in public.

That is the startling revelation made by the ex-head of Iran's state-run TV and radio, the first time a former official has disclosed the existence of such a list.

Mohammad Sarafraz, the former head of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the state-run entity that runs all radio and TV broadcasting in the Islamic republic, also revealed that the country's notorious intelligence services are involved in the crackdown.

Speaking to the pro-reformist Shargh daily on March 12, Sarafraz said "intelligence organizations" had "insisted that thousands of people engaged in arts, drama, and making films and TV series should be banned from presenting their works through IRIB."

Sarafraz also said the "interference and meddling of intelligence organizations in IRIB's internal affairs" was one of the reasons he abruptly resigned in May 2016, just 18 months into a five-year term as chief.

Sarafraz's brief term was marred by scandals and controversies, including an outcry over an alleged ethnic slur against the country's ethnic Azeri minority during a children's TV show in November 2015.

Comment: One of the downsides to living in a theocracy. One of the lessons Iran has learned over the past 30+ years is that the West wants its destruction and can't be trusted. One of the lessons its leadership hasn't learned is that coarse censorship and outdated religious morality laws aren't necessary in order to be sovereign and anti-empire.


Snakes in Suits

Rebuke to Trump: US Senate clears Yemen War Powers Resolution

Bernie Sanders
© Zach Gibson/Getty Images
Senator Bernie Sanders
The Senate voted Wednesday to curtail US military support for a Saudi-led war in Yemen, which has created a humanitarian crisis in that country, a vote seen as a rebuke of President Donald Trump's Middle East policies.

The vote was 54 to 46 with seven Republicans voting with Democrats.

The measure now goes to the House, which approved a very similar measure earlier this year, to be passed again. It's expected to be vetoed by Trump. Supporters of the War Powers Resolution argued the US shouldn't be involved in the war without explicit permission from Congress.

Opponents argued the US does not have "boots on the ground" and is offering noncombat technical assistance to Saudi Arabia, an ally. Several supporters made clear their votes were also aimed at expressing their frustrations with Trump's continued support for Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been implicated in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Comment: More from Sputnik, 3/13/2019:
The Trump administration opposes a Senate joint resolution to end the US role in the Yemeni war and the president's advisers recommend vetoing the measure, the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said in a notice released on Wednesday.

"The Administration strongly opposes passage of S. J. Res. 7, a joint resolution that purports to direct the President to remove United States forces from hostilities in or affecting the Republic of Yemen, with certain exceptions", the notice said. "If S. J. Res. 7 were presented to the President, his senior advisors would recommend he veto the joint resolution".

The White House said the resolution would have a negative effect on bilateral relations in the region as the United States seeks to prevent the spread of violent extremist groups like al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Daesh terrorist group in Yemen.

The OMB notice said the resolution would raise serious constitutional concerns because it seeks to override the US president's constitutional powers as commander in chief. In addition, the notice said the measure would establish a bad precedent by defining defence cooperation, including aerial refueling, as "hostilities".
See also:


Footprints

US diplomats on final countdown: Given 72 hours to get out of Venezuela

Jorge Arreaza
© Carlos Garcia Rawlins /Andrew Kelly/Reuters
US Embassy in Caracas • Venezuelan FM Jorge Arreaza
US diplomats are undermining Venezuelan peace and stability, the nation's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said, setting a deadline for them to vacate the embassy in Caracas. Washington vowed to hurry the evacuation of its mission.

American diplomats must "abandon Venezuelan territory in the next 72 hours," with the countdown starting at the "zero hour" on Tuesday, Arreaza wrote on Twitter.


Attention

Secretary of Defense Shanahan faces ethics complaint over Boeing promotion

Shanahan
© AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
Acting Secretary of Defense, Patrick Shanahan
A government watchdog group has asked the Department of Defense Inspector General to investigate whether Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan violated ethics rules by promoting Boeing weapons systems while serving as a government official.

Shanahan, 56, worked at Boeing for more than 30 years prior to being tapped by President Donald Trump to serve as deputy secretary of defense under former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. When Mattis submitted his resignation in December, Shanahan was named by Trump as acting defense secretary.

Since coming to the Pentagon, Shanahan has faced criticism over reports that he has touted Boeing's line of aircraft over rival Lockheed Martin. In the fiscal year 2020 budget released Tuesday, the Air Force is set to purchase up to 80 F-15Xs over the next five years - a system, made by Boeing, that the Air Force has said it does not want.

Comment: More on Shanahan's response from The Washington Times, 3/14/2019:
Mr. Shanahan...said Thursday he's had no contact with his former employer about the incidents and has not been briefed - but he stressed that he believes a full investigation is necessary and appropriate.

"I've not spoken to anyone regarding the 737 Max," Mr. Shanahan told the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he and other military officials answered questions Thursday about the Defense Department's fiscal year 2020 budget.

"I firmly believe we should let the regulators investigate the incidents," he added. "I would just say my heart goes out, my condolences to the families and the employees involved in the Lion Air incident and the Ethiopian Air incident."

Mr. Shanahan told lawmakers he backs that investigation and will cooperate. Defense officials have said the acting secretary is following all appropriate ethics guidelines and has recused himself from matters directly involving Boeing.
See also:


Attention

Manafort's double hit: 7 years in federal prison and a new state indictment

Manafort/Judge Jackson
© Dana Verkouteren/AP
Courtroom sketch of Paul Manafort and US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson.
In a day of bitter setbacks for President Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort was excoriated by a federal judge, sentenced to another 3 ½ years in prison in the Russia investigation and then swiftly indicted for mortgage fraud in New York.

The rapid-fire developments Wednesday boosted the time Manafort is slated to serve in prison for tax evasion, bank fraud and an illegal lobbying campaign on behalf of Ukraine's former government, crimes prosecuted by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

But the abrupt announcement of a 16-count indictment by the Manhattan district attorney's office, less than an hour after Manafort was sentenced in Washington, could pose a bigger danger to the former globetrotting political consultant. A presidential pardon cannot apply to state charges.

Trump briefly weighed in on the fate of the veteran Republican operative who helmed his presidential campaign for several months in the summer of 2016, including the tumult preceding the Republican National Convention. "I feel very badly for Paul Manafort," Trump told reporters at the White House, calling it "a very sad situation." The president said he had "not thought about" issuing a pardon, and he once again slammed the Mueller investigation as a "hoax."

Comment: See also:


Jet1

Pentagon to spend $2.6B on developing hypersonic weaponry

USAF B-52/ X-51 Hypersonic Vehicle
© Reuters/Handout
A US Air Force B-52 carries the X-51 Hypersonic Vehicle
The US defense budget proposal for FY 2020 boasts a record-breaking research and development request, as the Pentagon seeks to get its hands on all the shiny new things, such as artificial intelligence and hypersonic weaponry.

The US Department of Defense has rolled out the proposal for its budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The Pentagon needs even more funds compared to the massive $716 billion budget in 2019 and now wants it to grow by some five percent - to a whopping $750 billion.

A significant part of the funding is needed to run multiple research and development programs, as the US military is keen to get new weapons and technologies - such as hypersonic missiles, already successfully tested by Russia and China.

Attention

Foreign interference! Saudi rights official dismisses Khashoggi inquiry

Bandar bin Mohammed Al-Aiban
© Arab News/AFP
President of the Human Rights Commission of Saudi Arabia, Bandar bin Mohammed Al-Aiban
The head of the state-backed Saudi human rights commission dismissed an international investigation into the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi as interference on Thursday, and said everyone accused was already facing justice in the kingdom.

Bandar bin Mohammed al-Aiban said those on trial for what he described both as an "unfortunate accident" and a "heinous crime" had attended three hearings so far with their lawyers present - but he gave no names or other details.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, provoking an international outcry.

Three dozen Western countries, including all 28 European Union members, called on the kingdom last week to cooperate with a U.N.-led investigation.

Comment: The US State Department, as well, has questions.

More from Sputnik, 3/13/2019:
Saudi Arabia has not provided pertinent details of its investigation into last year's killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, the State Department said on Wednesday in its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.

"At year's end the [Public Prosecutor's Office (PPO)] had not named the suspects nor the roles allegedly played by them in the killing, nor had they provided a detailed explanation of the direction and progress of the investigation", the report stated.

Last November, the Saudi PPO announced the indictment of 11 suspects in Khashoggi's murder, and later stated that 10 more individuals were under investigation.

The State Department noted that in the past, Saudi Arabia did not punish officials accused of committing human rights abuses.