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Venezuela kicks out German ambassador for meddling "in its internal affairs"

Daniel Kriener
© AFP / Federico Parra
German ambassador to Venezuela Daniel Kriener.
The Venezuelan authorities have declared the German ambassador Daniel Kriener persona non grata over what it called "interference into its internal affairs."

Germany's envoy has become the first European diplomat to be expelled from the Latin American state amid the ongoing escalation of tensions between Caracas and Washington and its allies, supporting a self-proclaimed 'interim president' Juan Guaido, who challenges the rule of elected leader Nicolas Maduro.

"Venezuela considers its unacceptable that a foreign diplomat ... plays a public role on its territory, which is more typical for a political leader, who clearly supports the conspiracy agenda of the extremist parts of the Venezuelan opposition," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement explaining its decision.

Comment: The German's are quick to complain when the US meddles in their democracy but apparently see nothing wrong in meddling in Venezuela's: German MPs seek expulsion of recently-appointed US ambassador after he called for 'empowering Europe's conservatives'

See also: And check out SOTT radio's:


Chess

Trump/Kim summit: What really happened in Hanoi?

us and korean flags
While the western media has written off last weekend's summit in Hanoi as a failure, the talks did help to burnish Kim Jong-un's reputation as a sincere statesman committed to peacefully resolving the nuclear issue. This is a significant development for the simple reason that Kim needs to continue to build popular support for his cause if he hopes to prevail in the long-term.

In that regard, the lifting of sanctions is not nearly as important as Kim's broader goal of ending Washington's military occupation of the Korean peninsula and reunifying the country. In order to achieve those objectives, Kim will need the support of his allies in Moscow and Beijing as well as that of the Korean people. His disciplined performance in Hanoi suggests that he is entirely deserving of that support.

There's no way to know whether Kim expected President Trump to put the kibosh on the deal or not. But with uber-hawks like Mike Pompeo and John Bolton at the bargaining table, he must have figured that there was a high probability of failure. Was that why Kim made such a generous offer during the negotiations? Was it part of a plan to make him look good because he knew Trump would throw a wrench in the works?

Bad Guys

Former AG Lynch 'appeared to have amnesia' during December testimony on Carter Page FISA spying application

loretta lynch
Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch told Congressional lawmakers in closed door testimony that despite the DOJ having approved the FBI warrant and renewals to spy on Carter Page, she did not recall the applications, did not remember the details contained in the applications or the circumstances surrounding conversations about the warrant, according to testimony reviewed by SaraACarter.com.

Lynch "appeared to have amnesia" during her testimony that she delivered in December before the House Judiciary and Oversight committees, said one congressional official, who had knowledge of the hearing. The official said Lynch's closed-door testimony on Page, a former Trump campaign volunteer, left lawmakers with more questions than answers.

Lynch's testimony has not yet been made public by the committees.

Comment: There should be little doubt that the NSA, FBI and other agencies have regularly been spying on the American people for a very long time. That said, the infestation of corruption seems to have grown so large that the rats have come out in the daylight, and this is where the Carter Page issue is relevant for the majority of Americans who have placed blind trust in their government as a largely benevolent institution. The reaction to Trump (mainly his position toward Russia) led many visible people to act overtly in the same manner that the Deep State has always acted covertly. Some hefty veils have been more or less lifted for the average person, and that in itself is of great significance.


Chess

Pakistan cracks down on Islamists at the center of Indo-Pakistani tensions

2019 Pulwama attack kashmir
© Reuters / Younis Khaliq
The aftermath of the Jaish-e-Mohammed attack in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir. February 14, 2019.
Islamabad detained close relatives of the leader of an Islamist terror group that was at the center of the dramatic flare-up of Indo-Pakistani tensions. Pakistan denied that the crackdown was initiated by pressure from New Delhi.

Pakistani Interior Minister Shehryar Khan Afridi confirmed that Mufti Abdul Rauf was among the 44 people, belonging to "banned organizations," detained by authorities on Tuesday. Rauf is the brother of Masood Azhar, the chief of the Pakistan-based jihadist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) that had been carrying out terror attacks across the border with India. Azhar's son, Hamad, was also detained.

Speaking to reporters, the minister acknowledged that the names of both men came up on the 'terrorists' dossier', shared earlier with Islamabad by India, but stressed that the crackdown wasn't prompted by it.

Card - MC

Propaganda Alert! Corporation in charge of UK cash system warns said system 'in danger of collapse', recommends cashless solution

Half of people say cashless society would be problematic, while poorer groups would be hit hardest
cashless society
The UK's cash system is "on the verge of collapse" amid thousands of bank branch and ATM closures, according to a major report.

"Sleepwalking into a cashless society" would leave eight million people struggling to manage their finances, the Access to Cash Review suggests.

The report's authors said that the government must step in because market forces will not be enough to ensure that vulnerable people will have continued access to cash.


Comment: 'Sorry folks, it's the market forces wot dunnit!'

This 'Access to Cash Review' was produced by Link Scheme Holdings, a private interbank company that owns almost the entire market of ATMs in the UK! So they would indeed know best what 'the market' wants to do next!

Link Scheme Holdings in turn is owned by VocaLink, the corporation that owns almost the entire UK 'market' for payments processing: >90% of UK salaries, >70% of household bills, 98% of welfare benefits!

And guess who bought out VocaLink in 2016? MASTERCARD!!!

Indeed, the masses are sleepwalking into a cashless society', but only because CorpGov is leading them into it.


Poverty was found to be the biggest predictor of dependence on cash, with lower income groups less likely to have access to the digital alternatives and therefore more likely to experience problems such as accidentally going overdrawn.


Comment: Like this private banking corporation gives a damn about alleviating poverty! What's going on here is that they're hyping the scarcity of cash to leverage political backing for actually making cash more scarce.

They've already convinced governments of old to privatize most of its functions; they've already monopolized those functions into a new form of private, shadow government through 'mergers and acquisitions'; all that's left to do now is 'lock it down' by announcing the Brave New Cashless Society.

It's much easier to control a dependent population when its 'credits' are 100% digitized and managed centrally on CorpGov networks. Want to express dissent over something? One click of a mouse and your credits are zapped...


Comment: 'Oh no, people are struggling (because of us, but hey) - something must be done!'

There are some things evil corporations can't just outright legislate, like mandating the switch to a cashless society.

For everything else (including the bribes to government ministers, newspaper editors, and judges in order to get the deal done), there's MasterCard.


Magnify

The tragedy of Trump's foreign policy

TrumpatCPAC
© Twitter
The U.S. president had some genuine insights about America’s international problems.
In a classic tragedy, the leading figure is usually a person with admirable qualities and even good intentions, drawn inexorably toward disaster by a tragic flaw. Othello is susceptible to jealousy, Macbeth is too ambitious, Hamlet cannot make up his mind, and Faust cannot resist an offer to trade his soul for knowledge and pleasure. In each case, a single flaw overwhelms their positive qualities and places them on the road to destruction.

From that perspective, it's hard to see Donald Trump as a truly tragic figure. Far from being heroic but flawed, he's just the spoiled, self-indulgent scion of a wealthy and odious father, with more deficiencies of character than one can count. Apart from a genuine gift for self-promotion, a decent golf game, and a practiced ability to connive on cue, he's decidedly lacking in other virtues.

Comment: There are other forces at work than just Trump, and, were some commentators to realize that the US President alone doesn't run the country, perhaps the situation would become much clearer: Also check out SOTT radio's:


People

Macron government blames Yellow Vests for rise in 'anti-semitism' and 'fascism' in wake of "dirty Zionist" incident

Yellow vest protesters

After sixteen Saturday demonstrations by the "yellow vests," who began in November by protesting French President Emmanuel Macron's increase in fuel prices, the controversy seems to have taken a darker turn. Pictured: "Yellow vest" protestors near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, on March 2, 2019.
After sixteen Saturday demonstrations by the "yellow vests," who began in November by protesting French President Emmanuel Macron's increase in fuel prices, the controversy seems to have taken a darker turn.

That seems to have come to light on February 13, when a small group of demonstrators started hurling insults at a French Jewish philosopher, Alain Finkielkraut -- who was born in and lives in Paris -- after they spotted him on a sidewalk. One man, shouted, "Shut up, dirty Zionist sh*t," "Go home to Tel Aviv," "France is ours," "God will punish you." A cameraman filmed the incident, then shared the video on social networks. A scandal ensued. The "yellow vests" movement as a whole was immediately accused by the French government of anti-Semitism and "fascism".

Finkielkraut claimed that he had not been attacked as a Jew, but as a supporter of the State of Israel. He then added that the man who had insulted him did not speak like a "yellow vest" and that the words "God will punish you" is an expression from "Islamic rhetoric". Police who watched the video identified the man as a radicalized Muslim, and the next day arrested him.

In the days leading up to that incident, several anti-Semitic acts had taken place in and near Paris. The German word "juden" [Jews] was painted on the front of a Jewish bakery; swastikas were drawn with a black marker on portraits of former Jewish minister Simone Veil; trees that had been planted in memory of Ilan Halimi, a young Jew who had been kidnapped, tortured and murdered in 2006, were destroyed. Investigations have begun but nothing so far has shown any relationship between the "yellow vests" movement and any of these anti-Semitic acts. The French government nevertheless continues accusing the "yellow vests" of being at least partly to blame.

Comment: See also:


Blue Planet

Hillary Clinton: "I'm not running" - rules out 2020 bid for first time on camera

Hillary clinton
Hillary Clinton ruled out a 2020 presidential run for the first time on camera in an exclusive interview with News 12, pledging instead to take an active role by working with the candidates in the crowded Democratic field.

"I'm not running, but I'm going to keep on working and speaking and standing up for what I believe," she told News 12's Tara Rosenblum.

In her first local TV interview since the midterm elections, the former first lady and secretary of state opened up about 2016, 2020 and beyond. She expressed deep concerns about the state of American politics today -- and vowed to be vocal about those concerns.

"I want to be sure that people understand I'm going to keep speaking out," Clinton said. "I'm not going anywhere. What's at stake in our country, the kind of things that are happening right now are deeply troubling to me. And I'm also thinking hard about how do we start talking and listening to each other again? We've just gotten so polarized. We've gotten into really opposing camps unlike anything I've ever seen in my adult life."

Comment: Every now and then, some good news comes along. It appears many agree that she made the right decision:

clinton poll



Bad Guys

Turkey armed terrorists in Syria - Former Turkish FM

turkey syria
© AP Photo / Lefteris Pitarakis
Turkey made a series of political miscalculations during the Syrian crisis, former Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis told Sputnik, adding that Ankara had to deal with the consequences of those mistakes at the present time.

"Turkey committed several mistakes in its policies during the Syrian crisis. One of the mistakes was putting all our eggs in one basket which is something that should be avoided in diplomacy. Turkey did not follow this rule and built its policy based on the assumption that Syrian President Bashar Assad would leave his post soon. However, this assumption was incorrect and now Turkey has to suffer the consequences", the former foreign minister said.

Turkey's second mistake, according to Yakis, was the severing of diplomatic ties and communication channels with Syria.

Comment: In the beginning of the war on Syria, Turkey facilitated the terrorists in a number of ways, thinking it could take a slice of Syria for it's troubles. However on realizing Syria wasn't going to fall into the hands of the US-led coalition, and since becoming a target of US attempts at regime change, it seems to have changed sides, and this hypocrisy says a lot about the competency of those running Turkey: And check out SOTT radio's:


Eye 1

US warns of "grave consequences" for Turkey over purchase of Russia's S-400s

Pentagon Spokesperson Eric Pahon
Turkey's acquisition of the Russian S-400 air defence system will have grave consequences for the United States' defense relationship with Turkey, Pentagon Spokesperson Eric Pahon told Ahval in a written statement on Monday.

The United States government objects to the purchase on several grounds, with defence interoperability issues topping the agenda. U.S. officials and analysts also argue the Russian air defense system along with Russian officials who are almost certain to be stationed in Ankara would pose a significant risk to the new generation F-35s fighter jets set to be deployed in the country.

In an earlier report to the Congress in late November, the Pentagon said Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile systems could result in Ankara's exclusion from the programme to build and operate F-35 advanced fighter jets, as well as affecting its acquisition of other weapons including the Boeing Co.'s CH-47F Chinook helicopter and Lockheed's F-16 fighter and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

Comment: The US has been issuing this thinly veiled threat to Turkey for a while but Erdogan seems to be continuing to play both sides for as long as he can. Although, when it comes down to it, Russia has proven itself to be trustworthy and it has some of the most sophisticated military technology on the planet: Also check out SOTT radio's: