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SOTT Focus: Ten Years On, Putin Told Them So

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Putin first articulates the term 'multipolar world' at the Munich Security Conference in 2007. US Senators John McCain, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham look on in disgust
You can hardly blame Russian President Vladimir Putin for enjoying a "told you so moment". He lately reminded European leaders that their all-out spat with the United States is what happens when you are too deferential to American hegemonic ambitions.

This predicament is just what the Russian leader had warned against almost 10 years ago in a famous speech he delivered in Munich on growing global disorder.

Last week, during his nationally televised marathon Q and A with Russian citizens, Putin referred to the unprecedented trade tariffs that President Trump is slapping on European states.

Rightly, Putin said those penalties were effectively a form of economic sanctions imposed by Washington on its supposed allies.

Putin hinted that the Europeans were now getting a taste of the noxious medicine that has been doled out to Russia by Western powers which have inflicted sanctions on Moscow over dubious allegations concerning the nearly four-year-old Ukraine conflict.


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SOTT Focus: Syria War Diary: Eva Bartlett Speaks With Ghouta Civilians About Life Under Terrorist Rule

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© Eva BartlettThe author with Douma residents
Last week I wrote about what civilians from Ghouta told me regarding unverified claims of the Syrian Army attacking them with chemicals, but they also talked about crimes committed by terrorists and the White Helmets' role.

Although benignly dubbed "rebels" by corporate media, the Salafist terrorist group Jaysh al-Islam are not fighting for freedom or human rights in Syria, nor are the other terrorist groups who formerly ruled in eastern Ghouta.

It was Jaysh al-Islam which imprisoned Syrian civilians in cages, using them as human shields against potential bombing, and Jaysh al-Islam was among the terrorist groups firing missiles and mortars onto civilians in Damascus, killing over 10,000.

They, Faylaq al-Rahman, and the other terrorist factions occupying the region reigned with terror, beheading men and women and starving the people.

Hellish rule of Jaysh al-Islam: Starvation and executions by sword

When I visited eastern Ghouta and the Horjilleh center for displaced people just south of Damascus-people mostly from Ghouta now-I asked about their lives under the rule of Jaysh al-Islam and others, including why they had been starving in the first place. The reply was, as I and others heard in eastern Aleppo, Madaya, and al-Waer, the terrorists stole aid and controlled all food, only selling food at extortionist prices which ordinary people could not afford.

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SOTT Focus: Behind the Headlines: Trump Ditches Europe, Europe Bluffs, Russia and China Carry on With Eurasian Integration

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Big things are happening in the arena of global power politics. The USA under Trump fears that it will be unseated as global hegemon by the looming threat of Eurasian integration. To forestall such an unpleasant situation, Trump and Co. have decided to 'reset the clock' on the way the US does business in the world and how it runs its empire. The first order of business is kicking Europe and any other 'lackeys' to the kerb, cutting them off from the 'favorable' trade deals they have enjoyed with the USA. The Europeans, Canadians, Japanese etc. are understandably not happy with this flagrant attempt to, in their words, destroy the "global order" that was built by the US itself.

Will Trump prevail in his ham-fisted attempts to Make America Great Again at the expense of long term "partners"? Will America remain on top in the face of major moves by Russia and China to create a 'New World Order'? Will the EU survive it all? Find out on this week's show with Joe and Niall.


This show aired live Sunday 10th June, from 12-1.30pm EST / 6-7.30pm CET

Running Time: 01:23:57

Download: MP3


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SOTT Focus: The Truth Perspective: Atheism vs. Religion: Is God a Cosmic King, Or Criminal? - Part 2

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© Desconocido
In Part 2 of our discussion on religion, God and atheism, we dive deeper in why belief in God might be rational - contrary to what atheists believe. But there are many conceptions of God, some more rational than others. Traditional monotheism - taken literally - can't withstand the assault of its critics. The atheists have that going for them. But a naturalistic theism arguably can. And the atheists don't have anything to say about that. In fact, there are some things that probably cannot be accounted for without some sort of divinity: truth, values, even math.

Tune in Saturday, 12:00 pm EDT, as we begin to flesh out what a naturalistic God might be like.

Running Time: 01:26:46

Download: MP3


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SOTT Focus: An Australian Adventures into the Dark Heart of Russia: Part 1

The Cathedral of Saint Vasily the Blessed, Moscow
The Cathedral of Saint Vasily the Blessed, Moscow
Привет друзья! Hello friends! As many of you will undoubtedly know by now, Russia is, among other things, the centre of evil in the world. Their insidious hacking knows no limits, their masterful geopolitical strategies have led them to the brink of completely conquering the West once and for all. With their ubiquitous and omnipotent propaganda playing us all continuously like salivating dogs at a Pavlovian bistro, the question for all of us - especially for the dozens of highly-paid patriots in our security agencies - is: how are we to effectively defend ourselves against a scheme that would make Machiavelli blush? Oh, to be sure, there are those out there who would question this "enemy" status, propounding that such realities are the paranoid delusions of schizophrenic madmen, attempting to cajole us into thinking that Russia only desires friendly, mutually beneficial relations, but as I'm sure you're aware, the facts of the matter are plain for all to see.

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SOTT Focus: The Health & Wellness Show: More Than Meets the Eye: Interview with Optometrist Reshma Seth

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It's said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. And truly, the eyes can communicate a great deal - emotional state, intention, health, attention - we can tell a lot about a person by looking them in the eye. But unless something has gone wrong, we don't tend to think much about our eyes. What should we be doing to maintain the health of our eyes? Are the supplements said to be good for the eyes actually any good? Are glasses good for the eyes? What about contact lenses? Is it possible to correct vision without lenses? Why do some people need glasses and some maintain perfect vision all their lives? How does staring at digital screens affect our eyes?

Join us on this episode of the Health and Wellness Show as we interview Optometrist Reshma Seth, B.Optom (Hons), and we'll explore the many facets of ocular health.

And stay tuned for Zoya's Pet Health Segment, where she explains how animals see in the dark.

Running Time: 01:19:21

Download: MP3


Here's the transcript of the show:

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SOTT Focus: Rambouillet ruse? Why Trump could be setting up his North Korea talks to fail

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President Trump has set the bar of success so high for his forthcoming meeting with Kim Jong-un, it is difficult to see how it could possibly be met.

As the New York Times noted last month, "To meet his own definition of success, Mr. Trump will have to persuade Mr. Kim to accept 'complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization' of North Korea - something that Mr. Kim has shown no willingness to accept in the past, and few believe he will accede to in the future."

Such denuclearization would involve "the actual dismantlement of weapons, the removal of stockpiled uranium and plutonium bomb fuel from the country and a verification program that will be one of the most complex in history, given the vastness of North Korea's mountains." Furthermore, Trump has suggested that the North Koreans will gain nothing in return for this one-sided destruction of their defenses, until the process is all-but-complete; as one Trump official told the Wall Street Journal, "When the president says that he will not make the mistakes of the past, that means the U.S. will not be making substantial concessions, such as lifting sanctions, until North Korea has substantially dismantled its nuclear programs".

In other words - give up your leverage first; then we'll see. What Trump appears to seek is nothing less than a completely disarmed Korea that will pave the way for the "Libya solution" his people have openly suggested is the goal.

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SOTT Focus: The Death of Razan al-Najjar and Israel's Culture of Impunity

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As Palestinians mourn the death of 21-year-old medic, Razan al-Najjar, Israel continues its bombardment of the Gaza Strip

Razan was a 21-year-old from Khuzaa, a small Palestinian village located near Khan Yhunis in the southern Gaza Strip. On June 1st she was shot through the heart by an IDF sniper as she tended to others shot by IDF snipers at the marathon protests held along the Gaza concentration camp perimeter fence since late March. Her story - and thus the story of what is happening there in Gaza - has received negligible coverage in the Western media. And when it is covered, it is covered only sentimentally, without any real context.

In July 2014, Israel initiated another barbaric onslaught on the Gaza strip. Justified by the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens, a gag order was placed on the media in order to prevent them from detailing the boys' fate while the IDF initiated a massive campaign of terror on the Palestinian people, and religious leaders whipped Israeli public opinion into a frenzy for blood.

Bad Guys

SOTT Focus: George Galloway: The NATO virus is spreading

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg
© Francois Lenoir / ReutersNATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg poses next to a world map, Brussels, Belgium, May 7, 2018
Like a geographical virus the spread of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has broken all natural boundaries. It is immune to any antibiotic of logic and poses a deadly threat to the health, peace and stability of the world.

For decades in the West, NATO was believed to have been a defensive response to the creation of the Warsaw Pact - despite the fact that it was formed long before the treaty, which has in turn been nearly 30 years dead. Nonetheless, like death and taxes, membership of NATO has been assumed to be one of life's few certainties with an increasing share of national wealth going to pay for it.

This might have gone on unquestioned but for the multiple East-West crises of the last few years and the bizarre inclusion of, brothers-in-arms and non-North Atlantic states, Colombia and Israel in recent NATO activity.

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SOTT Focus: Keto Kontroversy: Australian Medical Assn. Puts Pressure on Netflix to Remove 'The Magic Pill' Paleo-Keto Documentary

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Oooh, controversy is afoot down under in Australia, where celebrity chef Pete Evans is taking criticism for a documentary he co-produced and narrates, called 'The Magic Pill', extolling the virtues of the paleo-ketogenic diet. Cuz the good lord knows nothing ignites the public more than a good old fashioned argument about food! As the great Spam debates at the turn of the century or the Pepsi challenge disceptation of the 1980s show, human beings love fighting over what everyone else should be eating. It seems we're simply not happy unless everyone is eating what we say is right for them to eat. Or maybe we're just happy fighting about it.

The current controversy erupted when Australian Medical Association (AMA) president Dr. Tony Bartone publicly stated that Netflix Australia, which is currently streaming the documentary, should "do the responsible thing" by removing the film from its programming. From Buzzfeed:
"People out there are vulnerable to the messaging," Bartone told The Sydney Morning Herald, explaining that decades of research currently existed to back up the healthy eating guidelines.

"I respect Pete Evans' ability and expertise in the kitchen, but that's where it begins and ends."
The film was released in 2017, and then president of the AMA Michael Gannon tweeted his nomination for the film to the Flakeys "annual awards for the Film/TV least likely to contribute to the #publichealth #prevention". He also compared it to 'Vaxxed' (which should be taken as a compliment by anyone with two firing neurons). Pete Evans has been engaged in a social media verbal war ever since, posting from his popular Instagram and Facebook accounts, accusing these doctors and journalists of having ulterior motives in trying to maintain the status quo in dietary advice in the public sphere (because crying conspiracy always goes over well with the public).