Last year the trade grew by more than 40%, Russian investments in the Austrian economy reached 23 billion dollars, Austrian investments in the Russian economy - 5 billion dollars.
Puppet Masters
In making their rulings, British judges use a guidance manual named the 'Equal Treatment Bench Book', which is published by the Judicial College, a body responsible for training all UK judges. The manual was just updated with a very pro-feminist, anti-male worldview taking hold. Judges are now being advised to avoid offending any of the snowflakes that might appear in their courtroom:
"Judges are now being urged to refrain from using certain words, including 'ethnic minorities,' 'afro-Caribbean' and 'transsexual,' while 'postman' should be replaced by 'postal operative'."But the politically correct language doesn't stop there. It gets much worse:
"The guidelines also call for judges to be "slow" when it comes to jailing women, as imprisonment is believed to be more damaging to females than males. Going against the long-standing social norm whereby all are treated equally before the law, the guidelines suggest the opposite. "True equal treatment may not always mean treating everyone in the same way," the new version reads."It's hard to imagine a more ludicrous statement. Equal treatment absolutely means treating everyone equally. Anything else is unequal treatment, plain and simple. This cannot be denied, yet the wizards at the Judicial College somehow have convinced themselves of something that is completely at odds with both the function of the English language and observable reality. Welcome to the liberal feminist ideology, where black is white and unequal treatment is fair if it benefits those poor victims of the patriarchy.
© Reuters
Western media is heaping scorn on Syria for using 'excessive force' in its effort to liberate Ghouta from militant control. But where was that same concern when Mosul was being pulverized by US-led forces?
The Syrian government's liberation efforts in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta have deteriorated into a media circus where truth has taken a back seat in the clown car. As was the case in the liberation of Aleppo, the government of President Bashar Assad - as opposed to the militant groups wreaking havoc in his country - has borne the main brunt of criticism from the Western world.
Due to the conditions on the ground in Ghouta, it is virtually impossible to get a clear picture of the situation there. What we do know, however, is that Damascus is being hit by approximately 70 missiles daily from militant positions inside Ghouta. The Western media would rather ignore that fact, speculating instead that "more than 500 people" have been killed by the Assad "regime" since efforts to retake the city began last month.
© Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Andrew McCabe
Andrew McCabe
McCabe authorized the leak to the Wall Street Journal for a story about an ongoing investigation into the Clinton Foundation scandal in 2016, according to The New York Times and the Washington Post, who cited several sources familiar with the upcoming report. McCabe also misled the DOJ watchdog investigators about his improper media disclosure.
McCabe stepped down from his position as the FBI Deputy Director in January, amid concerns over a review by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
The report is part of Horowitz's review on how the FBI and Justice Department handled the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was serving as secretary of state. The Justice Department is investigating why McCabe took three weeks to act on a request to examine Clinton's emails, which were discovered during the 2016 US presidential election. The Wall Street Journal revealed a dispute between the FBI and the Justice Department over how to address the probe into the financial dealings of the Clinton Foundation.
It probably sounds absurd the first time that the average person hears it, but Presidents Trump and Assad are on the same side in Afrin in spite of the legacy of 7 years of Hybrid Warfare that the US has been waging against Syria. As the saying goes, "there are no friends or enemies in international politics, just interests", and nowhere is this more self-evident than Washington and Damascus' similar interpretation of how UNSC Res. 2401 relates to Turkey's anti-terrorist "Operation Olive Branch" against the "federal" Kurds.
© Toru Hanai / Reuters
"All the damage that would come from a war would be worth it in terms of long-term stability and national security," the Republican senator from South Carolina told CNN. "I'm completely convinced that President Trump and his team reject the policy of containment... They've drawn a red line here and it is to never let North Korea build a nuclear-tipped missile to hit America."
Graham's comments come as the US is reportedly considering military action against North Korea, should Pyongyang build a nuclear missile capable of striking the US, according to multiple sources, CNN reports.
Comment: Graham will never let peace have a chance in the Koreas. Got to keep feeding the military-industrial complex.
© Frank May / Global Look Press
In the wake of the Westminster sex scandal, a confidential survey was sent to the entire office in Holyrood. The survey came back with shocking results: 30 percent of women had experienced sexual harassment while working at the parliament.
Of the 137 people who said they had been sexually harassed, 45 percent reported that the perpetrator was a Member of Scottish Parliament (MSP). The majority of incidents happened since the 2016 election.
The findings come only months after MSP Mark McDonald was expelled from the Scottish National Party in November. McDonald resigned as children's minister last November following a series of sexual harassment allegations.
© Vasily Pindyurin / Getty Images
In a written statement to Parliament, May mentioned a direction which instructed the Investigatory Powers Commissioner to "keep under review the application of the Security Service guidelines on the use of agents who participate in criminality and the authorisations issued in accordance with them." Such comments offer the public a rare glimpse into MI5's potential involvement in crime.
MI5 describes its own agents as "one of the most significant information gathering assets we have." According to MI5's website, agent operations are run by specially trained officers and can continue for long periods - with some missions taking years to complete.
Comment: See also:
- Origins of the anti-Russia sanctions: The CIA-MI6 plot to corrupt Russia, recruit Navalny, murder Magnitsky, and blame Putin (VIDEO)
- MI5, MI6, GCHQ in court for mass surveillance practices
- Former MI6 spy who compiled 'Golden Showers' report on President-elect Donald Trump was FBI source for FIFA scandal
Vice-President Mike Pence
In November 2015, Pence was part of a group of 16 governors who announced plans to block Syrian refugees from settling in their states in the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris. All but one of the governors were Republicans.
The Indiana policy prevented state agencies from making payments to a nonprofit that helped resettle Syrian refugees.
I kid you not: he hasn't been idle.
His latest scheme is launching a "shadow" National Security Council, called "National Security Action," co-chairing the operation with Jake Sullivan. Showing that he was always the one running things in the Obama White House, he's herded a whole slew of top Obama-era national security officials, including former national security adviser Susan Rice, former national security adviser Tom Donilon, former United Nations ambassador Samantha Power, and socialist former Defense Department official Rosa Brooks, into his little shadow operation. As if these people somehow had a divine right to control national security and President Trump's current officials are somehow illegitimate. And this, despite his creative writing major, his past career as a failed novelist, and his lack of national security experience, he's now their leader. He's also thrown in Ben Wikler, director of MoveOn.org, which gives a whiff just how political and dirty tricks-oriented this "national security" operation is going to be. Creepy, indeed.
Comment: Putin took the occasion to discuss the economic benefits of the Nord Stream 2 project while making pointed remarks that the continuing sanctions 'visibly harm' EU interests.