Society's Child

Adam Schiff and the Democrats try to deny 'Spygate' by playing Orwellian word games

Joel B. Pollak
Breitbart
Fri, 25 May 2018 19:19 UTC

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and the Democrats attempted Thursday to deny President Donald Trump's claims of "Spygate" after they emerged from a bipartisan briefing about the FBI's investigation into his 2016 campaign.

Following their lead, the mainstream media have labeled "Spygate" a "conspiracy theory" - even though Obama administration officials like former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper have admitted to the spying.

Schiff, the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, emerged from Thursday's briefing to read a statement on behalf of the Democratic Party leadership in Congress, attacking Trump's claims:

Today's "Gang of Eight" briefing was conducted to ensure protection of sources and methods. Nothing we heard today has changed our view that there's no evidence to support any allegation that the FBI or any intelligence agency placed a spy in the Trump campaign, or otherwise failed to follow appropriate procedures and protocols.

Comment: See also: SPYGATE: The biggest political scandal in US history since Watergate

Protesters defy 1,500 French riot police in renewed eviction from 'eco-camp'

RT
Fri, 18 May 2018 16:16 UTC

© Pascal Rossignol / Reuters
Tear gas floats in the air as protesters clash with French gendarmes in the zoned ZAD (Deferred Development Zone) in Notre-Dame-des-Landes, near Nantes, France, April 15, 2018.

Police deployed tear gas during clashes with squatters on Friday as they attempted to clear an encampment on what, until recently, was the site of a planned airport in western France.

One person has reportedly been seriously injured in the course of the second deportation wave initiated Thursday morning, a month after the first clearing operation failed to evict the squatters.

The environmental activists of the 'Zone to Defend' (ZAD) in Notre-Dame-des-Landes, say they are committed to protect their barracks and tree houses. The site had been earmarked for the construction of the biggest airport in western France, but the plan was dropped in January. However, the government said it would still evict the ZAD.

AFP journalists confirmed that police deployed tear gas, while the squatters responded by setting their barricades on fire and throwing Molotov cocktails. Dozens of police trucks arrived at the site before 6am, while a helicopter was seen flying over the area.

Yulia Skripal looks so well everything Britain said about poisoning has reason for doubt - Putin

RT
Fri, 25 May 2018 17:07 UTC

The fact neither of those poisoned in Salisbury died and one seems to have recovered well after what Britain called an exposure to a Russian military-grade chemical weapon, casts doubts on London's stance, says Vladimir Putin.

The Russian president made the remarks during a session with journalists from leading world media outlets on Friday, replying to a question by Clive Marshall, the head of UK's Press Association Group. Putin reiterated that despite Britain's initial claim that Russia used a military-grade chemical weapon dubbed Novichok to attack former double agent Sergey Skripal and his daughter, the actual effect of the toxin seems far from lethal.

"I am no expert in military-grade chemical weapons, but as far as I understand if one is deployed the victims are killed on the spot and practically instantaneously. Thank God nothing like that happened,"he said.

Millennials: They hold the keys to freeing Palestine

CJ Werleman
The New Arab
Mon, 28 May 2018 03:18 UTC

The demographic generation born in the period spanning the late 1980s to late 1990s is identified as the millennial generation, and they've been blamed by older generations for everything from destroying the golf industry to killing the movie business; from bad manners to laziness; from ending marathon-running to ending civilization itself.

If the world sneezes, it's because a millennial threw pepper in your face, apparently.

Needless to say, Millennials have received a bad rap. Negative articles and social media memes about them serve as clickbait for blogs and magazines. When it comes to page views and advertising dollars, bashing Millennials is the gift that keeps on giving.

But while the media is busy disparaging twenty-somethings, like a disgruntled old-timer guarding his porch on a wooden rocking chair, it's Millennials who hold the key to Palestinian liberation and human rights.

A study carried out by the Brand Israel Group, a group of former advertising professionals who promote Israel to American audiences, shows that while Israel enjoys a broad base of support among the US public, it's rapidly losing support among Millennials.

"Shared values are the bedrock of our relationship, and young Americans do not believe Israel shares our values," says Fern Oppenheim, one of the group's co-founders. "That's a huge issue. We have to have a narrative about the heart and soul and humanity of the Israelis."

Comment: The tide is turning and Israel is being seen for what it is.

A new airline route delivers Israel's 'apartheid system' to Scotland, critics say

Billy Briggs
The Ferret
Fri, 25 May 2018 00:00 UTC

A pro-Palestinian group has described a new airline route between Israel and Scotland due to launch in June as Israel's "apartheid system pushing a tendril down into Scottish soil".

The new route between Tel Aviv and Edinburgh run by Israir, is due to start on 13 June. But the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) is calling for the airline's authorisation to be suspended because most Palestinians are banned from using Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.

The SPSC says this is discriminatory on grounds of "national origin" adding that Palestinians studying, working or living in Scotland, will be barred from the route.

Scots married to Palestinians are also barred from traveling to Israel via Ben Gurion Airport even though UK citizens are normally permitted entry to Israel without visas.

Any Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza must fly from Scotland to Jordan and enter the West Bank via an Israeli-controlled checkpoint, where people can be kept waiting for up to 12 hours. The only Palestinians who can use Ben Gurion Airport are those resident in Israel with Israeli citizenship.

Comment: Why? Because they can. Israel wants other nations to follow their dictates. If another nation complies, it enlarges the perimeter by which Palestinians are forced to abide.

Gaza boats to attempt to break Israeli Navy siege on Tuesday

Middle East Monitor
Sun, 27 May 2018 03:32 UTC

The Gaza Strip will set off a flotilla of ships on Tuesday in a bid to break the 12-year-long Israeli blockade on the Palestinian territory.

"This trip will carry the hopes and dreams of the Palestinian people for freedom," Salah Abdul-Ati, a member of a Palestinian committee tasked with breaking the siege, told a press conference in the Gaza City on Sunday.

He said the first ship will set sail on Tuesday morning, with a number of injured Gazans and patients aboard.

He, however, did not specify the first stop of the ship.

According to Abdul-Ati, Israeli forces twice attacked boats and ships seeking to break the Israeli siege on Gaza in the past two weeks.

He called on the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority to lift "penalties on the Gaza people to boost their steadfastness and ease the humanitarian crisis caused by the blockade". He also appealed to the international community to pressure Israel to lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip and on international NGOs to provide protection to anti-siege ships.

Comment: The 'breaking of the blockade' is risky and it hasn't worked before.

See also: Israeli airstrike hits Gaza City port boat prepping to meet aid flotilla

Knives are too pointy and filing them round is the solution to soaring violent crime, judge says

Joel Adams
The Telegraph
Sun, 27 May 2018 20:52 UTC

A judge has proposed a nationwide programme to file down the points of kitchen knives as a solution to the country's soaring knife crime epidemic.

Last week in his valedictory address, retiring Luton Crown Court Judge Nic Madge spoke of his concern that carrying a knife had become routine in some circles and called on the Government to ban the sale of large pointed kitchen knives.

Latest figures show stabbing deaths among teenagers and young adults have reached the highest level for eight years, and knife crime overall rose 22 per cent in 2017.

In the past two months, he said, there have been 77 knife-related incidents in Bedfordshire, including three killings.

Comment: See also: Chuck it in the bin: UK police offer 'amnesty' for surrendering knives

While China is locked into trade with the US it may struggle to side with Iran, for now

Mohsen Shariatinia
Al-Monitor
Thu, 17 May 2018 12:00 UTC

rChinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at Diaoyutai state guesthouse in Beijing, China, May 13, 2018.

© REUTERS/Thomas Peter
rChinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at Diaoyutai state guesthouse in Beijing, China, May 13, 2018.

With the United States having withdrawn from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on May 8, a new round of diplomatic efforts has begun to save the deal. To this end, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has recently toured China, Russia and Belgium to meet with the remaining signatories to the accord.

As Iran tries to gain assurances from China that it will remain in the deal, the US Department of Commerce has banned American firms from selling parts to ZTE, one of China's largest IT companies, for seven years and fined the company $1.1 billion for violating sanctions against Iran and North Korea. The need to have American parts for the company's production line has brought it to near bankruptcy. Now, US President Donald Trump is suddenly moving to reach a solution to ZTE's fate. The parallel timing of these events highlights the complicated position Iran is faced with to win China's support.

Comment: The US may hold sway over China now, but the future isn't looking too bright for the American economy so it won't be long till they're released of their death grip. Whether the European powers will continue subservient remains to be seen, and they certainly have a lot to lose if they do, but they have been making motions towards multilateral decision making:

Conflict with Iran - What You're Not Being Told
US And Israel Holding Global Economy Hostage in Showdown With Iran
Iran in The Crosshairs as The Empire Enters Its Mad Dog Days
Pentagon pledges to continue belligerent operations in South China Sea

Also check out SOTT radio's:

Palestine condemns the demolition of the Bedouin village by Israeli authorities in West Bank

teleSUR
Sun, 27 May 2018 18:50 UTC

© Photo: Reuters
A Palestinian Bedouin boy holds a Palestinian flag during a protest against Jewish settlements in Susya village south of the West Bank city of Hebron

Palestine has condemned the 'ethnic cleansing' decision of uprooting the Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar in the Jordan Valley.

According to local news sources, the Israeli High Court of Justice has approved a planned demolition of an entire West Bank Bedouin village, including the village's school made out of tires.

The Israeli authorities who sanctioned the demolition Thursday have not set a timeframe for the demolition at Khan al-Ahmar village of Jordan Valley, located nearly 15 kilometers to the east of Jerusalem so the order can be implemented at any moment, the Palestine News Network has reported.

Comment: See also:

'Beyond insane and vile': Parkland parents lash out at school shooting simulator

RT
Mon, 28 May 2018 15:18 UTC

Parents of students murdered in February at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, have lashed out at a new video game that lets gamers play the role of a school shooter, stalking through classrooms to rack up kills.

"Active Shooter" is billed as a "SWAT simulator', and will be released on Steam, an online games marketplace. Players can assume the role of the shooter himself, or play as an elite SWAT team member tasked with neutralizing him. As the shooter, the game keeps a running count of how many cops and civilians players have killed.

In one scene shown in the game's trailer, the shooter throws a hand grenade into an auditorium, a scene reminiscent of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, in which Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 15 students.

To the parents of the 17 children murdered at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the game crosses a line.

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DeliciousTears

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Society's Child

Adam Schiff and the Democrats try to deny 'Spygate' by playing Orwellian word games

Protesters defy 1,500 French riot police in renewed eviction from 'eco-camp'

Yulia Skripal looks so well everything Britain said about poisoning has reason for doubt - Putin

Millennials: They hold the keys to freeing Palestine

A new airline route delivers Israel's 'apartheid system' to Scotland, critics say

Gaza boats to attempt to break Israeli Navy siege on Tuesday

Knives are too pointy and filing them round is the solution to soaring violent crime, judge says

While China is locked into trade with the US it may struggle to side with Iran, for now

Palestine condemns the demolition of the Bedouin village by Israeli authorities in West Bank

'Beyond insane and vile': Parkland parents lash out at school shooting simulator

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