Society's Child

South African activists say no to Obama's 'Whitewashing' of Mandela

Telesur
Wed, 27 Jun 2018 11:20 UTC

Professor Oumar Ba said Obama is remembered for the "militarization of U.S. foreign policy on the African continent."

Members of South Africa's Cage Advocacy group and other South African activists are rallying to rescind an invitation extended to former U.S. President Barack Obama to speak at the Nelson Mandela Foundation's 16th annual lecture, which will take place in Johannesburg on July 17.

Comment:

Syria and the major turn of events in the south

Willy B
Sic Semper Tyrannis
Sun, 24 Jun 2018 01:14 UTC

Whoever's making US policy in Syria, it's certainly not Nikki Haley. Despite her rabid statement of Friday, in which she declared that "Russia will ultimately bear responsibility for any further escalations in Syria," Russian war planes joined the battle for Daraa overnight, last night, after having been "conspicuously absent" as Reuters put it earlier on Saturday.

At the same time, the US government informed the southern rebel groups via a letter seen by Reuters that it could expect no US military intervention on their behalf. This may have been the motivation for more units of the FSA to defect to the side of the Syrian army in order to fight against Hayat Tahrir al Sham, the latest incarnation of Al Qaeda in Syria. Were the Russian and US actions coordinated?

Though the evidence is only circumstantial, it would appear that, despite Haley's threats, the Trump Administration is actually in support of the Syrian strategy to pressure any jihadi elements that don't change sides to surrender and evacuate, as was done in Douma in April. No one on either the U.S. or Russian sides has said anything to such effect, of course. There hasn't even been any acknowledgement on the Russian side, as of yet, that Russian warplanes are carrying out air strikes in support of Syrian forces in Daraa.

Comment: Will the US keep its word, not engage and let Russia and Syria handle the reconciliation plan?

US State Dept mulls slapping sanctions if Turkey buys S-400 from Russia

RT
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 19:32 UTC

The US is considering sanctions against Turkey if Ankara goes ahead with plans to purchase S-400 air defense systems from Russia, and may also stop delivery of F-35 jets, a senior State Department official told Congress.

"We made it clear that if Turkey buys S-400s... there will be consequences. We will introduce sanctions within Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA)," Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs A. Wess Mitchell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.

Under CAATSA, passed last year over President Donald Trump's objections, the US is obligated to sanction anyone in the world who engages in a "significant transaction" with Russia's defense industry. Turkey's planned purchase of the S-400 is major test of the law.

Comment: See also:

Trump supporters gather outside the Red Hen restaurant in protest

Rachel Langlitz
WSET
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 18:44 UTC

Protesters gathered outside the Red Hen in Lexington Tuesday afternoon to protest the actions of the restaurant's owner Friday night.

On Friday night White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders was dining at the restaurant when the owner, Stephanie Wilkinson, asked her to leave.

Sanders described the incident in a tweet she sent out Saturday morning.

Since then there has been major outrage online over Wilkinson's actions.

Tuesday, people turned to the street with their signs in hand to protest the restaurant, which has remained closed since the incident.

Twenty-six American diplomats in seven cities in four countries have been affected by mysterious sounds

Bloomberg
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 18:22 UTC

Washington (AP) -- As President Donald Trump was heading to Singapore for a historic summit with North Korea's leader, a State Department diplomatic security agent who was part of the advance team reported hearing an unusual sound he believed was similar to what was experienced by U.S. diplomats in Cuba and China who later became ill.

The agent immediately underwent medical screening - part of a new U.S. government protocol established to respond to such potential health incidents anywhere in the world. And while the president was flying to the Southeast Asian city state, the U.S. delegation preparing for his arrival was exchanging urgent messages with the State Department headquarters back in Washington, including the agency's Diplomatic Security and the U.S. Secret Service.

It turned out to be a false alarm, according to four U.S. officials familiar with the matter, who were not authorized to speak to the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. But the rapid response underscored how seriously the Trump administration views the potential risks at far-flung diplomatic outposts. So far, Americans who have served in at least seven cities in four countries have been tested for possible exposure, with 26 Americans "medically confirmed" to have been hurt.

The incidents have become a new source of anxiety for U.S. officials working overseas and their families - one that remains shrouded in mystery because of investigators' inability to say what or who is responsible for the unexplained incidents that started more than 18 months ago. Cuba patients have been found to have a range of symptoms and diagnoses including mild traumatic brain injury, also known as concussions.

Comment: Previously:

Germany: Asylum seeker investigated for arson throws boiling oil on janitor and policemen

Voice of Europe
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 18:15 UTC

A janitor was badly injured after a Syrian asylum seeker threw hot oil in his face during a house visit in Kassel. The janitor visited the man with two policemen for an arson investigation, 112-magazin reports.

The 30-year-old Syrian asylum seeker, who didn't speak German, was asked to come with the men to meet a translator and answer some questions.

But the man turned around and took a pot filled with boiling oil from the stove and threw the oil on the police officials and the janitor who accompanied the investigators.

After holiday in Canary Islands, man is taken off plane over 'unbearable' stench and dies of necrosis

RT
Wed, 27 Jun 2018 18:03 UTC

A Russian rock guitarist whose illness caused an emergency plane landing last month has died, after multiple surgeries at a hospital in Portugal. He was diagnosed with tissue necrosis after a vacation in Spain.

A Transavia flight from the Canary Islands to the Netherlands was forced to land in Faro, Portugal on May 30, after multiple passengers passed out or vomited citing an "unbearable" smell on board. The pilots of the KLM subsidiary opted for an emergency landing after reportedly trying to isolate the passenger responsible for the odor in one of the plane's restrooms.

One of the passengers, who later spoke to the Daily Mirror, said the smell coming from the unfortunate passenger was "like he hadn't washed himself for several weeks."

Infant mortality in Gaza in sharp decline since 1960s, has stagnated in past decade

Maureen Clare Murphy
The Electric Intifada
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 17:53 UTC

Infant mortality in Gaza, in sharp decline since the 1960s, has stagnated over the past decade, according to a new study.

The estimated infant mortality rate amongst Palestinian refugees in the territory has not declined since 2006. Refugees make up about 70 percent of Gaza's population of two million.

This is an alarm bell about the health of Gaza's whole population, experts say.

The period of stagnation coincides with Israel's ongoing siege on the territory that has hit nearly all aspects of life hard.

Infant mortality - the death of a child within the first year of life - is decreasing in most of the world.

Rasmussen poll: 59% fear violence from Trump haters, 31% predict civil war

Paul Bedard
Washington Examiner
Wed, 27 Jun 2018 10:57 UTC

© Evan Vucci/AP
Interpretive park ranger Caitlin Kostic speaks to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as she gives him a tour at Gettysburg National Military Park Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016, in Gettysburg, Pa.

The division in the United States that has escalated into the organized harassment of presidential aides has six in 10 worried about the violence from anti-Trump advocates and nearly a third fearing it will end in civil war.

The latest survey from Rasmussen Reports found that 59 percent of all voters "are concerned that those opposed to President Trump's policies will resort to violence."

And, added Rasmussen, 31 percent believe "it's likely that the United States will experience a second civil war sometime in the next five years."

The new polling evidence of fear in the country over political division follows the harassment of three top Trump aides, including spokeswoman Sarah Sanders, ordered out of a southern Virginia restaurant, and senior adviser Stephen Miller whose condo drew protests from liberals.

Comment: See also: Has a new American Civil War begun?

Deaths and dumping of nearly 100 baby hammerhead sharks being investigated in Honolulu

Yahoo! News
Wed, 27 Jun 2018 17:21 UTC

Hawaii authorities are investigating after dozens of baby hammerhead sharks were found dead near Keehi Lagoon in Honolulu.

The state Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement has opened an investigation following the discovery of 50 to 100 dead shark pups piled up near La Mariana Sailing Club on Tuesday morning.

The lagoon is a known birthing location for hammerhead sharks, but it not natural for shark pups to be found on shore in large numbers, state officials said.

The sharks may have been netted and dumped on land by a fisherman, said Andrew Rossiter, the director of the Waikiki Aquarium.

Telling the truth? What a fucking joke. Liz Cheney is the spawn of Satan.

tekdude

Why, even Inspector Clouseau could crack this case. His first and most important clue was THE GREAT DECEPTION (CB), from there on out it was an...

Solare

The covid smokescreen is slowly being lifted. This is bad. Really bad. I f the US go for this crap it is just a question of time for Canadians...

Demore

I can see a devious actor impersonating a witless dictator to ridicule and bring down a country. From memory and experience I know that worked...

codis

THE HIGHER LAW I think, for maximum safety and security, all citizens deemed to be of the 'lower type', should have their brains removed and...

nedlud

Society's Child

South African activists say no to Obama's 'Whitewashing' of Mandela

Syria and the major turn of events in the south

US State Dept mulls slapping sanctions if Turkey buys S-400 from Russia

Trump supporters gather outside the Red Hen restaurant in protest

Twenty-six American diplomats in seven cities in four countries have been affected by mysterious sounds

Germany: Asylum seeker investigated for arson throws boiling oil on janitor and policemen

After holiday in Canary Islands, man is taken off plane over 'unbearable' stench and dies of necrosis

Infant mortality in Gaza in sharp decline since 1960s, has stagnated in past decade

Rasmussen poll: 59% fear violence from Trump haters, 31% predict civil war

Deaths and dumping of nearly 100 baby hammerhead sharks being investigated in Honolulu

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