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Russian prosecutors: 'Highly likely' that Magnitsky was poisoned by toxic chemicals on Bill Browder's orders


RT
Mon, 19 Nov 2018 09:16 UTC
Magnitsky Browder
© HO / HERMITAGE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT / AFP; GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP / Drew Angerer
(L) Sergei Magnitsky ; (R) William 'Bill' Browder
Russian accountant Sergey Magnitsky may have been poisoned and his former employer, financier Bill Browder, is possibly behind the murder, prosecutors revealed. Now, Moscow will place Browder on the international wanted list.

UK businessman Browder had much interest in the death of Sergey Magnitsky after receiving what he wanted from the accountant, an adviser to the Russian Prosecutor General, Nikolay Atmonyev, told the briefing.

"Based on the documents that were shown, an obvious conclusion can be made that, having received a false statement from Magnitsky that was used for provocation, Browder was interested in Sergey Magnitsky's death more than anyone else in order to avoid exposure," Atmonyev said.


Comment: See also:

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Passport

Asia Bibi and the case that makes a mockery of Britain's asylum laws

Douglas Murray
The Spectator
Sat, 17 Nov 2018 10:00 UTC
Asia Bibi protest
© Getty Images
Pakistani supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), a religious political party, chant slogans and gestures while waving the party flag during a protest following the Supreme Court decision to acquit Christian woman Asia Bibi of blasphemy, in Karachi.
In between the small amount of other news this week there has been a certain amount of attention on the plight of the Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi and her family. Bibi has spent most of this decade on death-row in Pakistan. Her crime is that a bigoted Muslim neighbour of hers made up a crock accusation against her and said she had blasphemed against Islam.

In the last week there has been some attention on the fact that various countries are looking into giving asylum to Bibi and her family - Britain among them. But it appeared earlier this week that the UK would not be offering this genuine asylum seeker any asylum because there were concerns about - ahem - 'community' relations within the UK should she be allowed to move here. There could be few greater demonstrations of what a mess this society has become than if the dynamics of the situation are indeed this way around.

Comment: See also:

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Broom

Theresa May becomes the great unifying prime minister of the modern era


RT
Thu, 15 Nov 2018 18:15 UTC
AFP / Philippe Huguen
© Theresa May
Theresa May is fast becoming the great unifying prime minister of our era; her handling of Brexit has managed to unite almost the entire British political establishment against her. It's an impressive achievement.

As all sides of Parliament turned against May in the debate on the withdrawal deal she has brought back from Brussels, Tory MP Mark Francois succinctly summed up how the prime minister has become a rallying point for all sides: "The Labour party have made plain today that they will vote against this deal, the SNP will vote against it, the Liberals will vote against it, the DUP will vote against it, our key ally in this place will vote against it, over 80 Tory backbenchers, well it's 84 now and it's going up by the hour, will vote against it."

It's taken two years of negotiations for May to reach a point where she can stand up in Parliament and be faced with as much hostility from her own benches as from the opposition. She won't push for a new vote, she won't back a hard Brexit, and she can't call a general election. On the plus side, she may have an opportunity for a long holiday in the near future, because the coup is happening right now.


Comment: Meanwhile in Europe, Macron and Merkel are calling for an EU army - imagine a country trying to extricate itself from that nightmare.

See also: And check out SOTT radio's:

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Bad Guys

Macron says only Franco-German union may stop global 'chaos' - that they helped create


RT
Sun, 18 Nov 2018 18:20 UTC
Macron merkel
© REUTERS / Fabrizio Bensch
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel shake hands ahead of their meeting in Berlin, Germany, on November 18, 2018.
French President Emmanuel Macron has embarked on a charm offensive at the German parliament, hailing cooperation between Paris and Berlin as a protective force against global chaos and foes beyond Europe's borders.

France and Germany are facing the task of making Europe more "resilient" in these times of a renewed rise of nationalism and "opening a new chapter in European history," Macron told German MPs on Sunday, adding that the two countries "owe this to Europe." He then apparently decided to think big, proclaiming that "Europe and the Franco-German pair within it" have to do no less than "not let the world slip into chaos."

And to do that the French leader suggested quite a traditional recipe, saying that "Europe must be stronger" as well as more independent and sovereign, while European nations have to actually give up on quite significant parts of their own sovereignty.

Comment: With both Macron and Merkel enjoying pitiful support at home, what dangerous arrogance makes them think they can speak for their countrymen, let alone the whole of Europe: Also check out SOTT radio's:

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Russian Flag

The Russians are coming! Canadian defense minister says watch out for fake news and election hacking

Michael MacDonald & Keith Doucette
CP24
Mon, 19 Nov 2018 02:45 UTC
The Russians are coming
With a federal election less than a year away, Canada's defence minister is warning voters they will be targeted by online cyber-attacks and fake news as Russia steps up its efforts to undermine western democracies.

"We have taken this into account very seriously in our defence policy," Harjit Sajjan said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

"We need to further educate our citizens about the impact of fake news. No one wants to be duped by anybody."

Comment: When the current government is ousted during the next election, instead of blaming themselves for pushing ideological doctrine on the rest of the country, they'll most likely blame Russia.

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Binoculars

Whose money instigated religious conflict in Ukraine - and who tried to steal it?

James George Jatras
Strategic Culture Foundation
Sat, 17 Nov 2018 00:00 UTC
poroshenko

Was $25 million in American tax dollars allocated for a payoff to stir up religious turmoil and violence in Ukraine? Did Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (unsuccessfully) attempt to divert most of it into his own pocket?

Last month the worldwide Orthodox Christian communion was plunged into crisis by the decision of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I in Constantinople to recognize as legitimate schismatic pseudo-bishops anathematized by the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is an autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church. In so doing not only has Patriarch Bartholomew besmirched the global witness of Orthodoxy's two-millennia old Apostolic faith, he has set the stage for religious strife in Ukraine and fratricidal violence - which has already begun.

Starting in July, when few were paying attention, this analyst warned about the impending dispute and how it facilitated the anti-Christian moral agenda of certain marginal "Orthodox" voices like "Orthodoxy in Dialogue," Fordham University's "Orthodox Christian Studies Center," and The Wheel. These "self-professed teachers presume to challenge the moral teachings of the faith" (in the words of Fr. John Parker) and "prowl around, wolves in sheep's clothing, forming and shaping false ideas about the reality of our life in Christ." Unsurprisingly such groups have embraced Constantinople's neopapal self-aggrandizement and support for the Ukrainian schismatics.

Comment: Yet another reminder that the western-led and pathological war against Russia is also - among many other things - cultural.

See also:

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Newspaper

Prosecution of Assange bodes grave threats to freedom of the press - Obama DOJ consensus

Glenn Greenwald
The Intercept
Fri, 16 Nov 2018 08:26 UTC
Assange
© Dandelion Salad-WordPress.com
Julian Assange
The Trump Justice Department inadvertently revealed in a court filing that it has charged Julian Assange in a sealed indictment. The disclosure occurred through a remarkably amateurish cutting-and-pasting error in which prosecutors unintentionally used secret language from Assange's sealed charges in a document filed in an unrelated case. Although the document does not specify which charges have been filed against Assange, the Wall Street Journal reported that "they may involve the Espionage Act, which criminalizes the disclosure of national defense-related information."

Over the last two years, journalists and others have melodramatically claimed that press freedoms were being assaulted by the Trump administration due to trivial acts such as the President spouting adolescent insults on Twitter at Chuck Todd and Wolf Blitzer or banning Jim Acosta from White House press conferences due to his refusal to stop preening for a few minutes so as to allow other journalists to ask questions. Meanwhile, actual and real threats to press freedoms that began with the Obama DOJ and have escalated with the Trump DOJ - such as aggressive attempts to unearth and prosecute sources - have gone largely ignored if not applauded.

But prosecuting Assange and/or WikiLeaks for publishing classified documents would be in an entirely different universe of press freedom threats. Reporting on the secret acts of government officials or powerful financial actors - including by publishing documents taken without authorization - is at the core of investigative journalism. From the Pentagon Papers to the Panama Papers to the Snowden disclosures to publication of Trump's tax returns to the Iraq and Afghanistan war logs, some of the most important journalism over the last several decades has occurred because it is legal and constitutional to publish secret documents even if the sources of those documents obtained them through illicit or even illegal means.

Comment: There is a gross difference between a media source that fairly seeks and reports actual events in a truth-abiding rendition, versus those whose dictates shape and contort the facts to match a narrative, a protocol or a propaganda agenda. Trump has repeatedly called out MSM for their contortions, subversions, remakes of the news. Obama supported and protected the reporting corruption networks because they served his purposes - especially after he left office. At the end of the day, there is not a standard 'truth meter' that defines what reporting is to be allowed or not allowed. This is the freedom of the press - with honor and integrity or not. Greenwald has laid out the fallacy in criminalizing Assange and Wikileaks as both are well within the parameters of Freedom of the Press and common constitutional legalities.

See also: Prosecutor accidentally reveals the US has 'secretly charged' Assange

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Star of David

Ghana's support brings Israel one step closer to African Union seat

Azad Essa
Middle East Eye
Thu, 15 Nov 2018 15:13 UTC
Nana Akufo-Addo/Netanyahu
© Twitter
Ghana's president, Nana Akufo-Addo • Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu
On a recent visit to Israel, Ghana's foreign minister confirmed that her government would be assisting Israel to gain observer status at the African Union (AU).

Accra [Ghana] becomes the latest African nation to publicly back Israel for a spot at the continental body. Kenya and Ethiopia have already endorsed Israel's bid to join as an an observer member when the vote takes place in February.

Members with observer status at the AU have the opportunity to access all member states as well as address them as a bloc. This serves as an opportunity to strengthen political ties with the continent. One of the reasons why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing for observer status is to counter Palestine's influence to the AU which has consistently taken a more pro-Palestine stance.

Palestine was granted observer status in 2013, while Turkey was granted the same in 2005.

Comment: Insidious persuasion. The Israeli standard template in motion.

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Light Sabers

Trump 'awaits full report' as CIA pins Khashoggi murder on MBS


RT
Sun, 18 Nov 2018 00:02 UTC
Trump/MbS
© Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman • President Donald Trump
The US government has yet to reach a "final conclusion" on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and until then won't undermine the strategic relationship with Riyadh, amid reports the CIA has linked the murder to the Saudi Crown Prince.

"We'll be having a very full report over the next two days," Trump said, acknowledging having discussed Khashoggi's murder with CIA Director Gina Haspel. Calling media reports about the CIA's conclusions "very premature," Trump stressed that "they haven't assessed anything yet." But at the same time, Trump stopped short of explicitly rejecting the idea that the Crown Prince might have been linked to the murder, saying anything was "possible."
"We're going to come up with a report as to what we think the overall impact was and who caused it. And who did it. We're talking about the killing. We are not talking about anything else. "
Trump did not touch the question of who was preparing the report or whether it would assess who might have ordered the assassination. Earlier, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert also avoided directly rejecting reports that the CIA had somehow implicated Mohammed bin Salman: "There remain numerous unanswered questions with respect to the murder of Mr. Khashoggi."

Comment: MbS' authority and control have taken a severe hit - instant vulnerability on the world stage. Whether he was involved, or (unlikely) not, he has been damaged. Does the CIA have a stake in the outcome of the investigation? Trump does.

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Headphones

Trump won't listen to Khashoggi 'suffering tape'


Sputnik
Sun, 18 Nov 2018 21:27 UTC
Khashoggi poster
© Reuters/Osman Orsai
Riyadh has denied claims that the Saudi crown prince or any other member of the royal family was involved in Khashoggi's murder amid media reports that the CIA suspects otherwise. The White House insists that a thorough investigation needs to be concluded before making any claims as to who is responsible.

President Donald Trump has confirmed that the US has an audio recording that allegedly sheds light on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist, in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2. At the same time, Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday that he hadn't heard the recording himself, but had been briefed on its contents.

"I don't want to hear the tape. No reason for me to hear the tape, because it's a suffering tape. I've been fully briefed on it. There's no reason for me to hear it," he said. He described the tape's contents as "very violent, very vicious and terrible," judging by what he had been told in the briefing.

Comment: See also:
'Sawed alive?' Gruesome 'taped' details of Khashoggi's alleged murder surface

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