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Ecuador looking for 'non-traumatic' way out for WikiLeaks' Assange

Julian Assange
© Julian Assange
Julian Assange has been granted political asylum in Ecuador's London embassy since 2012.
Ecuador is negotiating with authorities in the United Kingdom, where Assange has been granted political asylum in Ecuador's London embassy since 2012.

Ecuador is exploring possible ways to resolve the situation of Australian activist and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange that are "not traumatic," Foreign Minister Jose Valencia said on Wednesday.

Valencia said Ecuador is negotiating with authorities in the United Kingdom, where Assange has been granted political asylum in Ecuador's London embassy since 2012, but with increasing restrictions.

Comment: The way Assange is being treated is deplorable. The Australian government should be the ones acting in the interest of their own citizen, not leaving it to Ecuador. What a mess.

See:


Mr. Potato

Trump returns North Korean general's salute - Cue hysteria from US social media

trump general korea
© KCTV / YouTube
Footage of the US President returning the salute of a North Korean general has set off his domestic critics, who have accused Donald Trump of showing respect for a "murderous regime" in Pyongyang.

Video released Thursday by North Korea shows the meeting of the two delegations on Monday in Singapore. As Trump goes down the line and shakes the hands of Kim and his aides, a North Korean general offers a salute - and Trump returns it.

"Trump first extends his hand, to which the General responds with a salute. Trump salutes back, then extends his hand again & the two men shake hands," CNN correspondent Will Ripley tweeted.

Comment: Much a do about a nothing burger. What was news was that Trump is the first president, since the Korean war to ever meet a North Korean head of state, and that Trump was so willing to negotiate a peace agreement: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Trump Ditches Europe, Europe Bluffs, Russia and China Carry on With Eurasian Integration


Blue Planet

Nearly 70% of Germans against political boycott of World Cup in Russia

russia world cup
© REUTERS / Kai Pfaffenbach
A total of 69 percent of Germans consider it inappropriate of German politicians to boycott the FIFA World Cup in Russia, a poll, conducted by German research institute Infratest dimap for ARD broadcaster, revealed on Thursday night.

Only 26 percent of respondents said German politicians should stay away from this summer's tournament.

The opinions on whether FIFA should have chosen Russia as the host nation divided almost equally as 45 percent said they agreed with the decision, while 42 percent did not.

In another question, around 42 percent of Germans hope that their national team, who are the reigning World Cup champions, will defend their title, while 11 percent of respondents said Brazil will claim their record-extending sixth crown. Spain and France were seen as potential champions by 9 and 7 percent of Germans respectively.

Comment: Germany, Austria, Italy, Turkey, India, Egypt, Bulgaria, (the list goes on) - attempts by the corrupt Western establishment to portray Russia as the world's villain have failed. Meanwhile Israel is seeing its credibility on the world stage plummet - and rightly so. It may be too soon to think that sanity is returning to our planet, but it's not a bad start.


Bulb

SA official: Calls to 'kill Boers' in South Africa affect all races, not just whites

land or death
© Gallo Images / Getty Images
Calls to kill Boers in South Africa are directed against farmers of all races, not necessarily whites, according to the head of the agriculture department, Mike Mlengana.

"That is not the stance of our government... by the way if it is 'kill the Boer, kill the farmer,' it's killing me, because I am the Boer," said Mlengana, as quoted by News24 TV channel. "Boer means farmer... When they say kill the Boers, they are not just talking about whites, they are talking about farmers," Mlengana said.

'Boer' is the Dutch and Afrikaans noun for 'farmer' and also denotes the descendants of the then-Dutch-speaking settlers in southern Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, descendants of the Boers are also referred to as 'Afrikaners' - a South African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers.

Attention

Too blatant to ignore? Four human rights groups warn that 'radical groups' have free rein in Ukraine

Defender of Ukraine Day Kiev
© Gleb Garanich / Reuters
Far-right radical groups take part in a rally to mark Defender of Ukraine Day, in Kiev, Ukraine October 14, 2017.
Four human rights groups have issued a joint letter to the Ukrainian government, calling on Kiev to condemn attacks and threats committed by "radical groups" which promote hate and to hold the guilty parties accountable.

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Front Line Defenders, and Freedom House sent a letter to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor General's Office detailing a series of attacks by right-wing groups against minorities and activists that have gone largely ignored by law enforcement.

Arrow Up

Journalist: Majority of Austrians would remove anti-Russia sanctions, hostility comes from political groups

putin kurz
© Sputnik / Alexei Druzhinin
Many Austrian residents want to restore good relations between Russia and Europe, and they would vote in favor of removing sanctions, Austrian journalist and writer Hannes Hofbauer believes.

Hostilities in EU-Russia relations are not beneficial for either party, and Austrian citizens understand that, Hannes Hofbauer said during a presentation of his book, titled "Russia: image of the enemy. History of demonization."

"Most people in Austria want to have better relations with Russia. If there was a referendum in Austria now, the majority would vote for the withdrawal of sanctions," the writer said.

Comment: The realization that anti-Russian sentiment is coming from the political class who are hell-bent on maintaining their ailing hegemony is becoming clear for all to see: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Trump Ditches Europe, Europe Bluffs, Russia and China Carry on With Eurasian Integration


Alarm Clock

California moves closer to abolishing daylight saving time

daylight savings time
California voters may get a chance to weigh in on daylight saving time in November.

The state Senate on Thursday approved a proposal to ask voters to repeal a 70-year-old initiative that set a biannual clock change in California and give lawmakers the power to adjust the time with a two-thirds vote.

"If signed by the governor, the bill will bring California closer to abolishing the outdated practice of switching our clocks in the fall and spring," said Assemblyman Kansen Chu, D- San Jose, who introduced Assembly Bill 807.

Foes of the practice shouldn't celebrate just yet. The state cannot officially end daylight saving time until next year, at the earliest. The process is best described as complicated and would require a second bill and federal approval, according to analysis from the Legislature.

Comment:


Question

Aaron Rich refusing to authorize Wikileaks to reveal info on murdered brother Seth

seth rich deep state

Murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich
Former President Obama's White House Counsel, representing the brother of slain DNC staffer Seth Rich, are "desperately" working to obstruct WikiLeaks from revealing the truth of how it obtained troves of DNC and Clinton campaign emails during the 2016 election, an attorney who's been subpoenaed by Rich's legal team warns.

Aaron Rich, the brother of Seth Rich, filed a lawsuit in April in US District Court in the District of Columbia, against the Ed Butowsky, a wealth management and financial adviser who financed a private investigator to help the Rich family find Seth's killer(s); Butowsky's attorney, Ty Clevenger; Matt Couch and his media company, America First Media; and the conservative-leaning newspaper the Washington Times for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy, among other actions.

Comment: One might ask if anyone is "leaning" on brother Aaron.


Arrow Down

Former prisoner of conscience condemns Amnesty International for its part in worsening Nicaragua's current crisis

Nicaragua
© Reuters
An open letter to Amnesty International by former Prisoner of Conscience Camilo E. Mejia on the violence gripping his native Nicaragua.
Through this letter I express my unequivocal condemnation of Amnesty International with regards to the destabilizing role it has played in Nicaragua, my country of birth.

I open this letter quoting Donatella Rovera, who at the time of speaking had been one of Amnesty International's field investigators for more than 20 years:

"Conflict situations create highly politicized and polarized environments... Players and interested parties go to extraordinary lengths to manipulate or manufacture 'evidence' for both internal and external consumption. A recent - though by no means the only - example is provided by the Syrian conflict in what is often referred to as the 'YouTube war,' with a myriad techniques employed to manipulate video footage of incidents which occurred at other times in other places - including in other countries - and present them as 'proof' of atrocities committed by one or other parties to the conflict in Syria."

Bad Guys

French police claim to have thwarted 5 terrorist attacks this year, including plots against gay and swinger clubs

French DGSI officers
© Vincent Kessler / Reuters
French DGSI officers
French authorities have foiled five terrorist attacks this year, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb revealed, with local media reporting that, in at least two cases, radicalized suspects had plotted to target gay and swinger groups.

Two alleged Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) radicals, aged 21 and 22, were arrested in the eastern Paris suburb of Seine-et-Marne, were indicted on Tuesday by an anti-terror judge for "criminal terrorist conspiracy" and remain in custody, pending trial. France's intelligence service DGSI managed to foil their alleged planned attack by monitoring the online chatter of an alleged jihadist cell, Collomb revealed on Thursday.

"This case began in January, when two individuals exchanged regularly with Daesh [IS]," the Interior Minister explained, speaking at Dinéault gendarmerie school near of Châteaulin. "We listen a lot to what happens on the Internet," he added, praising the use of electronic surveillance.

During the raid on the suspects' apartment, authorities discovered "combat knives and components that would create explosives," as well as IS-related material. "It's the fifth time this year that such a preventive action has permitted security forces to foil what would have been a violent act," the Interior Ministry said, without offering any details.

Comment: Keep in mind though, that most attacks turn out to have been carried out by people who were either on intelligence watch-lists, or were 'radicalized in prison', then let out...