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EU aims at improving EU - Russia Relations to solve Ukraine Crisis | nsnbc international - 0 views

nsnbc.me/...ations-to-solve-ukraine-crisis war & peace economic-warfare EU-defection France Russia sanctions
shared by Paul Merrell on 15 Jan 15 - No Cached
  • The European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief, Federica Mogherini, argued that the EU should improve its ties to Moscow and re-engage in diplomacy and trade as gradual steps to ease tensions and toward resolving the crisis in and about Ukraine. The EU’s Foreign Ministers will convene on January 19 to discuss the normalization of EU – Russian relations and relations between the EEU and the EU. Mogherini‘s statement followed one week after French President Francois Hollande made a similar statement on France-Inter which was drowned by the media spectacle created due to the attack on the French cartoon magazine Charlie Hebdo and related incident which occurred less than 48 hours after Hollande’s landmark statement.
  • Hollande stressed that the regime of sanctions against Moscow must end, and be disbanded as progress on Ukraine is being made within the Normandy Framework. That is, without direct participation of the United States and the UK. A meeting of EU foreign ministers on January 19 in Brussels will reportedly focus on a more positive approach toward Moscow and a more proactive approach with regard to solving the crisis in and about Ukraine. Mogherini said that taking into consideration a common aim of a free trade from Lisbon to Vladivosok, the EU should study the possibility of expanding trade with Russia as well as with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) which came into effect on January 1, 2015. Mogherini reportedly that: “There are significant interests on both sides, which may be conflicting but could serve as a basis for trade-offs and could imply a give and take approach.”
  • The EU Foreign Policy Chief also noted that the EU should consider reviewing joint efforts between the EU and Russia to solve problems pertaining Syria, Iraq, Libya, Iran, North Korea (DPRK) and Palestine. The Russian News agency Tass reports that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, for his part, stated at the Gaidar Economic Forum on Wednesday, that he hopes Moscow would be able to return relations with the European Union to normal soon. It is noteworthy that Hollande’s, during his statement on France-Inter, last week, stressed that Russian President Vladimir Putin had personally assured him that Moscow has no plans, whatsoever, to annex any part of Ukraine’s Donbass region. Russia does, however, consider the predominantly Russian-speaking regions in southern and eastern Ukraine as its sphere of interests and perceives NATO’s eastwards expansion as a threat to Russia’s security.
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  • The sanctions which were implemented against Russia in July 2014 include selected Russian citizens, the Russian military sector and industries involved in dual-use products and services, the Russian oil and the financial sectors. It is noteworthy that the regime of sanctions against Russia was predominantly promoted by the administrations of the United States and the United Kingdom. In response, Russia, in August 2014, imposed a one-year-long ban on imports of beef, pork, poultry, fish, cheeses, fruit, vegetables and dairy products from Australia, Canada, the European Union, Norway, and the United States. It is noteworthy that German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on Monday, January 7, received his French, Ukrainian and Russian counterparts in the German Foreign Minister’s guest house. The quartet agreed to continue discussions on how to break the stall-mate between the conflicting parties in Ukraine within the Normandy Framework. It was this framework, with participation of the OSCE and the EU, that led to the Minsk Accord and the ceasefire agreement in Ukraine on September 5, 2014.
  • Paul Merrell on 15 Jan 15
     
    Seems that the EU may be beginning a transition from U.S. rule to embrace trade with Russia. 
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Ukraine Finance Minister's American 'Values' | Consortiumnews - 0 views

consortiumnews.com/...ance-ministers-american-values war & peace U.S.-foreign-policy Ukraine Finance-Minister Jaresko USAID
shared by Paul Merrell on 19 Feb 15 - No Cached
  • Ukraine’s new Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko, who has become the face of reform for the U.S.-backed regime in Kiev and will be a key figure handling billions of dollars in Western financial aid, was at the center of insider deals and other questionable activities when she ran a $150 million U.S.-taxpayer-financed investment fund.Prior to taking Ukrainian citizenship and becoming Finance Minister last December, Jaresko was a former U.S. diplomat who served as chief executive officer of the Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF), which was created by Congress in the 1990s and overseen by the U.S. Agency for International Development (U.S. AID) to help jumpstart an investment economy in Ukraine.
  • Paul Merrell on 19 Feb 15
     
    A very large whiff that Ms. Jaresko should be doing time in federal prison for insider trading and fraud upon the federal government.
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Top US and Saudi Officials responsible for Chemical Weapons in Syria | nsnbc international - 0 views

nsnbc.me/...-for-chemical-weapons-in-syria war & peace Syria WMD sarin Damascus whodunnit Saudis
shared by Paul Merrell on 14 Nov 15 - No Cached
  • On 21 August 2013, the Syrian Arab Army launched a major military campaign in Damascus. The campaign, called “Operation Shield of the Capital”, was the largest military operation of the Syrian Arab Army in the Damascus region since the beginning of the war in 2011.
  • Although U.S. Intelligence reports repeatedly stressed that the opposition was incapable of launching a major, well coordinated attack, the Syrian Army in Damascus was confronted with an organized fighting force of 25.000 men under arms. The Saudi Arabia backed Jihadist front had amassed 25.000 fighters, organized in 13 battalions or kitab, to to launch a major assault against the capital Damascus. Most of the battalions belonged to Jabhat al-Nusrah and Liwa-al-Islam. The other battalions that took part in the campaign, were the Abou Zhar al-Ghaffari, al-Ansar, al-Mohajereen, Daraa al-Sham, Harun al-Rashid, Issa bin Mariam, Sultan Mohammad al-Fatih, Syouf al-Haqq, the Glory of the Caliphate, the Jobar Martyrs. During the night of 20 to 21 August and during the early morning hours of 21 August, the Syrian Arab Army broke through the insurgent lines in the area near the Jobar entrance. The breakthrough resulted in a collapse of the jihadists defensive positions and to a crushing and decisive strategic defeat of the Jabhat al-Nusrah led brigades.
  • Loosing Jobar effectively cut off the insurgents connection to the Jordanian border town of Al-Mafraq, the most important logistical base for the insurgents as well as for Saudi Arabia and the United States in Jordan. Al-Mafraq was already used as a major staging ground for the two failed attempts to conquer the city of Homs in June and July 2012. In 2012 al-Mafraq became the staging ground for some 40.000 fighters; more than 20.000 of them fought under the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which was under the command of Abdelhakim Belhadj and his second in command, Mahdi al-Harati. The CIA maintains a station, US Special Forces (JSOC) train insurgents, and several other US institutions are present in al-Mafraq. The point is of particular importance with regards to the visit of the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to Jordan, which will be detailed below. Al-Mafraq has been the major transit point for Saudi and U.S. arms shipments since 2012, and the delivery of advanced Saudi and U.S. weapons to the insurgents since early August 2013.
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  • The collapse of the insurgent front prompted the front commanders, most of which work in liaison to U.S. Special Forces, to deploy an elite force that should prevent the Syrian Army, at all costs, from gaining access to the Jobar Entrance, and from gaining control over the Jobar area. The majority of the insurgent crack forces came from Liwa-al-Islam with some additional troops from Jabhat al-Nusrah. The commanding officer of the elite forces was a Saudi national who is known by the name Abu Ayesha, whom eyewitnesses from Ghouta later identified as Abu Abdul-Moneim. Abdul-Moneim had established a cache of weapons, some of which had a tube-like structure, and others which looked like big gas bottles. The cache was located in a tunnel in the Eastern Ghouta district of Damascus. Reports about this tunnel and the weapons cache emerged in international media, after the son of Abdul-Moneim and 12 other fighters lost their lives there, because they mishandled improvised chemical weapons and caused a leak in one of them. Besides Abu Abdul-Moneim, the supreme leader of the Liwa-al-Islam and commander of their chemical weapons specialists, Zahran Alloush took personal charge of the elite troops and chemical weapons specialists who were operating under his direct command. Liwa-al-Islam has, along with other al-Qaeda brigades, the capability to manufacture and launch primitive, but none the less very deadly chemical weapons. The chemical weapons which Zahran Alloush had delivered to Damascus were most likely from al-Qaeda’s (ISIL) chemical weapons stockpiles in Iraq.
  • In early September 2013, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stated, that Iran had sent a memo to the White House via the Swiss Embassy in Tehran. Tehran had reportedly informed the USA that handmade articles for chemical weapons, including Sarin gas, were being transferred to Syria. The White House failed to respond. Having to hold the Jobar Entrance and the Jobar district of Damascus “at any cost to maintain any hopes of launching a successful, major military assault on Damascus”, the insurgent commanders decided to launch a chemical weapons attack to halt the advance of the Syrian Arab Army. The political and military opposition and core members of the international alliance behind them had already decided that chemical weapons should be used in August – September. The large scale use of chemical weapons should justify renewed calls for a military intervention. Intelligence about this decision transpired in June.  nsnbc international issued several reports in late June and early July, warning that the insurgents would use large scale chemical weapons attacks in August or September.
  • The decision to launch the chemical weapon on 21 August was most likely based on two considerations. That the use of chemical weapons was already planned. That the Jobar Entrance should be defended at all costs. The final decision, made by Zahran Alloush may in fact have been predetermined together with his U.S. – Saudi liaison officers. Launching a chemical weapons attack would allow the USA, UK and France, to call for military strikes against Syria and to turn the tide. Also, Russian and Syrian intelligence sources described the weapons which were used in the attack as rockets which were altered so as to carry chemicals, launched by Liwa-al-Islam. The projectiles were most likely fired from a flatbed.
  • There is a growing and substantial amount of evidence that indicates direct U.S. and Saudi involvement in the chemical weapons attack. To begin with one merely has to answer the fundamental question “Who Benefits”, and the answer is definitely not “the Syrian government”. In fact, the  Federal German Intelligence Service (BND) claims that it has intercepted phone calls between Syrian officers and the Syrian High Command. The BND is convinced that none of the Syrian forces have used a chemical weapon. Leaving alone any moral considerations, the domestic and international repercussions were foreseeable and there would not have been any strategic benefit for the Syrian Army or the government.
  • Also, the involvement of Saudi Arabia ultimately points towards Washington and the White House. The involvement of Liwa-al-Islam in the chemical weapons attack establishes a strong chain of circumstantial evidence to the Saudi Intelligence Chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan. The supreme leader of Liwa-al-Islam and commander of the groups’ chemical weapons specialists, Zahran Alloush, has been working for the then Saudi Intelligence Chief Prince Turki al-Faisal in both Afghanistan and Yemen in the 1980s. Since the 1990s, Alloush was involved in the Salafist – Wahabbist terrorist networks in Syria which led to his arrest by Syrian intelligence. He was released in early of 2011, when the Assad administration granted a general amnesty. Immediately after his March 2011 release from prison, Zahran Alloush began receiving substantial funds and weapons from Saudi intelligence, which enabled him to establish Liwa-al-Islam as a de facto Saudi Arabia sponsored mercenary brigade under the auspices of the Saudi Interior Ministry.
  • Saudi funding enabled Alloush to establish the Liwa-al-Islam as a major fighting force in Syria. The group gained fame due to risky, high-profile attacks. On 8 July 2012, the group carried out a bomb attack against the headquarters of Syria’s National Security Council in Rawda Square, Damascus. The group succeeded in assassinating several high profile members of Syria’s security establishment, including the Deputy Minister of Defense and brother-in-law of President Bashar al-Assad, Assaf Shawkat, Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Hassan Turkmani, a former Defense Minister and military adviser to then Vice-President Farouk al-Sharaa.
  • Paul Merrell on 14 Nov 15
     
    One I had missed before. Whodunnit on the Ghouta, Syria sarin gas attack, right down to the unit commander, a Saudi intelligence asset working with a U.S. Special Forces unit, both controlled by the U.S.-led command and control center in Jordan.   
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Orange's pullout from Israel gives lift to boycott movement - 0 views

www.mail.com/...-lift-to-boycott-movement.html war & peace Israel Palestine BDS Orange
shared by Paul Merrell on 24 Nov 15 - No Cached
  • French telecom giant Orange SA's declaration that it wants to cut business ties with Israel has given a boost to the burgeoning anti-Israel boycott movement while also drawing a sharp rebuke from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. The Orange company logo is seen covered with an Israeli flag at the "Partner Orange" Communications Company's offices in the city of Rosh Haain, Israel, Thursday, June 4, 2015. An Israeli Cabinet Minister has called on the French president to fire the chief executive of French telecom giant Orange. Culture Minister Miri Regev issued her appeal on Thursday, a day after Orange's CEO announced in Cairo that he would like to sever his company's ties to Israel as soon as possible.
  • The move bodes poorly for Israel at a time of growing international anger over its West Bank settlements and could potentially put almost any Israeli company in the crosshairs of the boycott campaign. It also has illustrated just how deeply intertwined Israeli settlements are with the rest of the country. Netanyahu responded angrily on Thursday, calling on "the French government to publicly repudiate the miserable statement and miserable action by a company that is under its partial ownership." The remarks came a day after Orange's chief executive Stephane Richard said he would end his company's relationship with Partner Communications Ltd. "tomorrow" if he could, but that he was bound by a contract for the time being. He cited the company's sensitivity to Arab countries. Partner licenses the Orange brand name in Israel. Richard's announcement caused uproar in Israel. "The absurd drama in which the democracy that observes human rights — the state of Israel — and which defends itself from barrages of missiles and terrorist tunnels, and then absorbs automatic condemnations and attempted boycotts, this absurd drama will not be forgiven," Netanyahu also said. Pro-Palestinian activists in France have been pushing for Orange to end the relationship over Partner's activities in Israeli settlements. The settlements, built on land the Palestinians want for a future state, are seen as illegitimate by the international community.
  • With Richard's comments, Orange appeared to becoming the largest and best-known company to yield to pressure from a global movement calling for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel. Israeli officials say the so-called BDS movement is not out to promote peace, but instead aims to "delegitimize" the country's very existence as a Jewish state. They point to the grassroots BDS movement's support for millions of Palestinian refugees to return to ancestors' homes in what is now Israel. Israel rejects the "right of return," saying it would end the country's character as a Jewish and democratic state. In a statement issued in Paris, Orange said it sought to clarify that it wants to pull out of Israel for business reasons, not political ones. The company said it doesn't want to maintain a presence in countries where Orange itself is not a phone provider, and that the move is "in conformity with its brand policy." Orange said it "has no reason to take part ... in a debate of a political nature." Other Israeli officials also denounced Richard's comments. Culture Minister Miri Regev called on the French government to "show zero tolerance for anti-Semitism." She also urged Jewish customers of Orange in France and around the world to drop their service and switch carriers.
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  • Orange, one of the world's largest telecom companies, provides mobile phone services in about 30 countries. It says it has about 200 million customers worldwide, and declared revenue last year of 39 billion euros ($44 billion). The French government holds a roughly 13.5 percent stake in Orange. The BDS movement has been showing increasing signs of traction. Several high profile artists have canceled performances in Israel and the movement has also become increasingly popular on U.S. college campuses.
  • U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro told Israel's Army Radio on Thursday that Washington would continue to oppose "inappropriate one-sided criticism against Israel." But he said this job would be harder to do because peace negotiations are not taking place. "Talks were always the most effective tool to beat these efforts," he said. "So if we don't have any talks now, and most of the world doesn't think they will take place anytime soon, how can we fight boycott, sanctions and delegitimization, and how can we keep two state solution realistic?"
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Israel Retaliates over EU's Directive on Labeling Goods from Occupied Arab Territories ... - 0 views

nsnbc.me/...from-occupied-arab-territories war & peace Israel colonies EU labeling
shared by Paul Merrell on 04 Dec 15 - No Cached
  • The administration of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the recently adopted EU directive on labeling goods from occupied Arab territories by suspending the Israeli – European Union dialog over the Israeli – Palestinian peace process. 
  • In November the EU adopted a directive that prescribes the labeling of Israeli products and goods from Israeli occupied Arab territories, which are, occupied territories in the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Israeli occupied Syrian Golan Heights, and the Israeli occupied Lebanese Sheba Farm area. The EU stressed that the adoption of the directive was not a hostile act against Israel. Instead, noted the EU, the directive aimed at providing consumers correct information about the origin of goods.
  • Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Cabinet plans reportedly to implement additional measures against six specific countries, which are Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxemburg, Malta and Sweden. The measures are likely to include the suspension of cooperation with regard to rehabilitation projects in the Palestinian Gaza Strip and projects aimed at strengthening the Palestinian Authority (PA).
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  • On Wednesday, December 2, the Speaker of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset), Yuli Edelstein commented on the EU directive during a special session of the German Bundestags (Parliamentary) Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Defense Committee. Edelstein denounced the EU directive as “unfortunate” and complained that the EU provides fertile ground for the international Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) campaign. Edelstein especially denounced measures such as economic and academic boycotts as “improper”. Israel has occupied large swaps of the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Syrian Golan Heights and the Lebanese Sheba Farm Area since the 1967 “six days war”. Israel continues the occupation in defiance of multiple UN resolutions as well as international and humanitarian law. Israel has officially stated that it plans to permanently annex the Syrian Golan Heights. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, for example, stated that Israel and the Golan are part and parcel, and that the international community should accept the annexation as a fact. It is noteworthy that there has been a discovery of major Syrian oil resources in the Golan Heights. Entrepreneurs with vested interests include the US-based Genie Energy. Members of the “think tank” are, among others, Dick Cheney, James Woolsey, Bill Richardson, Jacob Lord Rothschild, Rupert Murdoch, Larry Summers and Michael Steinhardt who all are members of the Strategic Advisory Board of a Newark, New Jersey-based oil and gas group with the name, Genie Energy.
  • Late November, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel would not concede one meter of the occupied Palestinian West Bank’s Area C. Israel is providing support for the Syrian Al-Qaeda franchise Jabhat al-Nusrah and other jihadist mercenary forces via the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. Al-Nusrah insurgents are also known for using the Israeli occupied Lebanese Sheba Farms area to infiltrate into Lebanon, and especially Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.
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Donald Trump to postpone Israel trip until 'after I become US president' | US news | Th... - 0 views

www.theguardian.com/...r-i-become-president-of-the-us Auction 2016 Trump Israel-trip Netanoyahu
shared by Paul Merrell on 12 Dec 15 - No Cached
  • Donald Trump has said he will “postpone” a trip to Israel and a meeting with the country’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, until “after I become president of the US”.
  • Netanyahu had on Wednesday confirmed he would meet the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination to succeed Barack Obama in the White House despite an international outcry over his suggestion that Muslims should be banned from entering the US. Several hours after confirming the meeting, Netanyahu’s office tweeted that the prime minister rejected Trump’s comments about Muslims but had agreed to meet any US presidential candidate who visited Israel.
  • Trump’s visit had been opposed by dozens of Israeli MPs – both Jews and Arabs – after his remarks drew condemnation across the Israeli political spectrum. The cancellation also followed reports in the Israeli media that Trump had requested a visit to the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount religious site, revered by Muslims and Jews alike, and home to the al-Aqsa mosque – one of the most important sites in Islam. Some 37 Israeli MPs had signed a letter asking that Trump not be allowed to visit in light of his remarks. The letter, drafted by MP Michal Rozin, and mainly signed by opposition lawmakers, said that, “while leaders around the world condemn the Republican presidential candidate’s racist and outrageous remarks, Netanyahu is warmly embracing him” and any meeting would “disgrace Israel’s democratic character and hurt its Muslim citizens”. Equally damaging for Trump was the fact that Israel’s rightwing energy minister, Yuval Steinitz, one of Netanyahu’s closest political allies, had weighed in, criticising Trump’s remarks. “I recommend fighting terrorist and extremist Islam, but I would not declare a boycott of, ostracism against, or war on Muslims in general,” Steinitz told Israel’s Army Radio.
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  • Netanyahu’s office insisted it had not intervened over the cancellation and had not spoken to Trump about his decision. Trump’s proposed visit had clearly created problems for Netanyahu, whose office had declined to comment on Tuesday about the billionaire’s intended trip, then said he was still welcome on Wednesday. By Wednesday evening, however, Netanyahu was seeking to distance himself more forcefully from Trump. A statement released by the prime minister’s office said: “The State of Israel respects all religions and protects stringently the rights of all its citizens. At the same time, Israel is struggling with extremist Islam that is attacking Muslims, Christian and Jews as one and is threatening the entire world.” The cancellation is a blow to Trump, with Israel treated as a regular campaign stop for many US presidential candidates.
  • As Noah Pollak, the executive director for the Emergency Committee for Israel said: “Israelis appreciate American moral support and will always give our politicians a gracious reception. For the candidates, visiting is an easy way to be seen showing support for a close ally and gaining exposure to Middle East policy issues.” However, Pollak pointed out “trashing anyone who disagrees with him works for Trump domestically, but it won’t work with the prime minister of a close ally who is especially beloved by Republicans. Netanyahu criticized Trump, and Trump can’t attack him. The trip would have been humiliating, so he bailed.” Underlining the hints of difficulties and tensions around his proposed trip, Trump – in yet another of the brazen untruths that have become the hallmark of his campaign – had on Wednesday attempted to deny he had said he would be meeting Netanyahu despite the fact that the comment had been recorded.
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In Dramatic Reversal, US Vice President Biden Calls On Turkey To Withdraw Its Troops Fr... - 0 views

www.zerohedge.com/...key-withdraw-its-troops-turkey war & peace Biden Iraq Turkey invasion
shared by Paul Merrell on 18 Dec 15 - No Cached
  • Here is the full readout of Vice President Biden’s Call With Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi The Vice President spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi yesterday following his December 14 call with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. The Vice President noted the recent deployment of Turkish forces into northern Iraq had occurred without the prior consent of the Iraqi government. Both leaders welcomed initial indications of the withdrawal of some Turkish forces and agreed this should continue, reiterating that any foreign forces can only be present in Iraq with the coordination and permission of the Iraqi government. The Vice President reaffirmed the United States' commitment to Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity and called on Turkey to do the same by withdrawing any military forces from Iraqi territory that have not been authorized by the Iraqi government. The Vice President encouraged continued dialogue between Iraq and Turkey to address any outstanding grievances in the spirit of mutual cooperation. Both leaders reaffirmed their continued commitment to the fight against ISIL in Iraq. So first the US backtracks on its core long-running demand that "Assad must go", and now it has just turned its back on a key NATO-member ally and what is allegedly the biggest provider of funding and supplies (including Ford F250 pick up trucks) to the Islamic State, Turkey.
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Afghan defense minister says Taliban hid in bombed hospital - 0 views

bigstory.ap.org/...ys-taliban-hid-bombed-hospital war & peace Afghanistan Konduz hospitals war crimes U.S.-foreign-policy
shared by Paul Merrell on 20 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • Afghanistan's acting defense minister said Monday that the Doctors Without Borders hospital bombed by U.S. forces in the northern city of Kunduz was being used by insurgents as a "safe place." The hospital was bombed by a U.S. AC-130 gunship in the early hours of Oct. 3, killing at least 22 people and wounding many more. The main building was destroyed and the hospital has been shut down. "That was a place they wanted to use as a safe place because everybody knows that our security forces and international security forces were very careful not to do anything with a hospital," Defense minister Masoom Stanekzai told The Associated Press, adding that a Taliban flag had been mounted on one of the hospital's walls.
  • Paul Merrell on 20 Oct 15
     
    That's a public relations defense, not a legal defense to a war crime. Hospitals with staff and patients are strictly off-limits as targets during wartime. Notably, even if one took what Stanekzai said at face value, it constitutes an admission that the Taliban were using the hospital as a safe harbor, not as a fortification from which to direct fire. But he could also be sweeping in wounded Taliban who were among the patients being treated. Would the fact that American troops are being treated for wounds in an Afghan hospital be viewed as making it permissible for the Taliban to target the hospital for rocket fire? Hardly. 
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Russia Finance Minister: We May Abandon Dollar In Oil Trade As It Is Becoming "Too Risk... - 1 views

www.zerohedge.com/...il-trade-it-becoming-too-risky war & peace economic-warfare Russia de-dollarization
shared by Paul Merrell on 13 Aug 18 - No Cached
  • One month ago, the bond market and political pundits did a double take when according to the latest Treasury International Capital report, Russia had liquidated virtually all of its US Treasury holdings, selling off the bulk of its US government bonds in just two months, March and April.
  • And with the US threatening to impose a new set of "crushing" sanctions on Russia, including in retaliation for the alleged Novichok nerve gas attack in the UK, Russia not only intends to continue liquidating its US holdings, but to significantly reduce its reliance on the US Dollar. Speaking in an interview for the Rossiya 1 TV channel, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that Russia "aims to keep reducing its investments in American securities" following new U.S. sanctions and said that the "US dollar is becoming an unreliable tool for payments in international trade." The Minister also hinted at the possibility of using national currencies instead of the dollar in oil trade. "I do not rule it out. We have significantly reduced our investment in US assets. In fact, the dollar, which is considered to be the international currency, becomes a risky tool for payments," Siluanov noted.
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Obama's pledge of US troops to Sinai next week won Israel's nod for ceasefire - 0 views

www.debka.com/...el%E2%80%99s-nod-for-ceasefire war & peace Obama war crimes U.S. foreign policy Israel Egypt Gaza
shared by Paul Merrell on 24 Nov 12 - No Cached
  • sraeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu agreed to a ceasefire for halting the eight-day Israeli Gaza operation Wednesday night, Nov. 21, after President Barack Obama personally pledged to start deploying US troops in Egyptian Sinai next week, debkafile reports. The conversation, which finally tipped the scales for a ceasefire, took place on a secure line Wednesday morning, just hours before it was announced in Cairo.
  • When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Jerusalem from Bangkok Tuesday, she tried assuring Netanyahu that President Obama had decided to accelerate the construction of an elaborate US system of electronic security fences along the Suez Canal and northern Sinai. It would also cork up the Philadelphi route through which arms are smuggled into the Gaza Strip.
  • US security and civilian units will need to be deployed in Egyptian Sinai to man the fence system and operate it as an active counter-measure for obstructing the smuggling of Iranian weapons supplies. The prime minister said he welcomed the president’s proposal to expedite the fence project, but it would take months to obtain Egyptian clearance. Meanwhile, the Palestinians would have plenty of time to replenish their weapons stocks after Israel’s Gaza campaign. It was therefore too soon to stop the campaign at this point or hold back a ground incursion. Clinton was sympathetic to this argument. Soon after, President Obama was on the phone to Netanyahu with an assurance that US troops would be in place in Sinai next week, after he had obtained President Morsi’s consent for them to go into immediate action against Iranian smuggling networks. Netanyahu responded by agreeing to a ceasefire being announced in Cairo that night by Clinton and the Egyptian foreign minister, and to holding back the thousands of Israeli reservists on standby on the Gaza border. debkafile’s military sources report that the first air transports carrying US special forces are due to land at Sharm el Sheikh military airfield in southern Sinai in the next 48 hours and go into action against the arms smugglers without delay.
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  • Indeed, Gaza’s Hamas rulers will be forced to watch as US troops in Sinai, just across its border, break up the smuggling rings filling their arsenals and most likely laying hands on the reserve stocks they maintain under the smugglers’ guard in northern Sinai, out of reach of the Israel army. This means that the blockade on Gaza has been extended and the focus of combat has switched from Gaza to the Sinai Peninsula.
  • Paul Merrell on 24 Nov 12
     
    So according to this article, the U.S. will be conducting  combat operations in the Sinai Peninsula sometime this weekend. 
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Fars News Agency :: Iraqi PM Rejects Biden's Offer for Deployment of US Troops in Kirkuk - 0 views

english.farsnews.com/newstext.php Obama war & peace Iraq
shared by Paul Merrell on 19 Nov 12 - No Cached
  • Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki rejected a proposal by US Vice-President Joe Biden for the deployment of the US forces in Iraq's Northern province of Kirkuk. Biden in a telephone conversation with Iraqi prime Minister Saturday night asked for Maliki's consent to the deployment of the US troops in Kirkuk, but the premier rejected the US vice-president's offer, an informed source told FNA in Baghdad on Sunday. The source, who asked to remain unnamed due to the sensitivity of his information, said during the phone talk, Biden voiced concern about a recent clash between the Pishmerga forces of the Iraqi Kurdistan region - who are the local law enforcement troops of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) - and Iraq's Federal Police troops, and said the US troops should be deployment in the oil rich Kirkuk province in a bid to prevent the outbreak of a civil war. "But the Iraqi Prime Minister strongly rejected Biden's proposal," the source added.
  • Paul Merrell on 19 Nov 12
     
    Obama wants to send U.S. combat troops back to Iraq, according to this Iranian news agency report. 
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US demands Russia and Syria ground all aircraft as five medical charity staff killed in... - 0 views

www.telegraph.co.uk/...f-killed-in-airstrike-in-syria war & peace Syria U.N. Kerry Lavrov U.S.-foreign-policy no-fly-zone Assad-must=-go
shared by Paul Merrell on 24 Sep 16 - No Cached
  • The United States has called for an effective no-fly zone over Syria after a spate of airstrikes on humanitarian convoys by Russian and Syrian aircraft left the country’s future “hanging by a thread.” John Kerry, the US Secretary of State told a session of the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday that only a grounding of all aircraft could protect civilians from Bashar al-Assad’s regime and said Vladimir Putin must face a “moment of truth” over the bombing of a UN aid convoy on Monday. “The future of Syria is hanging by a thread,” Mr Kerry said. “We cannot go back to business as usual.” Halting flight would offer a “chance for humanitarian assistance to flow unimpeded," he added.
  • However, Mr Kerry did not use the term "no-fly zone", and his demand is unlikely to lead to formal air policing. 
  • Russian and regime forces have also resumed their bombardment of the rebel-held eastern half of Aleppo, with dozens of airstrikes pummelling the city.  “It is unbelievable the number of airstrikes that are targeting Aleppo neighbourhoods”, said Abdelkafe al-Hamdo, an opposition activist in the city.        Western diplomats said they were urgently trying to revive the ceasefire agreement with Russia, which they see as the only real path to slowing the violence in Syria and trying to restart political negotiations to be bring the five-year war to an end.  The chances for a renewed deal appeared slim after a furious exchanges between the US and Russia at the Security Council on Wednesday. Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, ruled out a fresh ceasefire unless “all sides” agreed, saying rebel groups had used previous truces as an opportunity to rearm and that the US had failed to use its influence with militants to persuade them to respect the ceasefire.
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  • Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, said a genuine ceasefire would depend on transition away from the Assad government. “It is a conflict that is being fed and nourished and armed and abetted and protracted and made more hideous by the actions and the inactions of governments in this room,” he said at the Security Council Session. Theresa May said “there can be no military solution to the conflict in Syria” in a speech in New York. Speaking to President Barack Obama’s US refugee summit, the prime minister said: “We must all put our weight behind efforts in New York to agree a ceasefire and reopen space UN-led negotiations, leading to real political transition away from Assad to a new, inclusive government that governs for all Syrians.
  • Mr Kerry replied that his colleague was living in “a different universe” and accused Russia of deliberately obfuscating about the aid convoy bombing. “This is not a joke,” he said after listing several conflicting accounts of the attack put forward by Russia. Russia’s defence ministry claimed on Wednesday to have spotted a US Predator drone over the UN convoy attacked on Wednesday. It did not directly accuse the US of carrying out the attack, however. In earlier statements, Russian officials variously said the convoy had caught fire spontaneously and that drone footage had spotted a group of militants driving a pick-up truck with a mortar alongside it.
  • Russia dispatched an aircraft carrier to reinforce its flotilla off the Syrian coast on Wednesday, in a deepening of its military commitment there.    The Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia’s only carrier and the flagship of the Russian navy, will join an existing flotilla of six war ships and  four support vessels, Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defence minister, said.   The Soviet- built vessel carries MiG-29 jets and Ka-52 attack helicopters that are expected to take part in combat operations over Syria. 
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TASS: Russian Politics & Diplomacy - Russia does not rule out strikes against Jaysh al-... - 0 views

tass.com/901445 war & peace Syria cease-fire targets
shared by Paul Merrell on 24 Sep 16 - No Cached
  • Russia does not rule out strikes against groups that have merged with the terrorist organization Islamic State (outlawed in Russia), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters on Thursday. "We are witnesses to the continuing merger of these groups [Jaysh al-Islam and Ahrar Al-Sham - TASS] with the organizations that have been universally recognized as terrorist. It goes without saying that the task of struggle against terrorism remains a key one for us," he said, when asked if these groups might now be regarded as legitimate targets for the Russians Aerospace Force. "I would not rule out any options in that sphere. But normalization of the situation requires implementation of what has been agreed on." 
  • The diplomat reminded reporters about statements from the US side, including from Pentagon, that the US allegedly had confirmation of Russia’s involvement in an attack on a humanitarian convoy near Aleppo. "We utterly and completely deny it and say that such far-reaching statements without analysis of objective facts, without a bid to look into other versions.... it is simply inadmissible to speak like this," the top diplomat said. "We should not put the carrier before the horse, but sit down calmly and look what has to be done to keep the agreements afloat, how to give them a new lease of life, as we see no alternative in this sphere," the high-ranking diplomat told reporters.
  • At a session of the UN Security Council on Syria at the level of the heads of delegations taking part in the 71st session of the UN General Assembly, US Secretary of State John Kerry said facts furnished by Russia as to an attack on a humanitarian convoy at Aleppo on September 19, were allegedly contradicting one another. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia had presented all available information on the attack. The Minister said Russia urged a thorough and professional investigation into that. Since the news on an attack on the convoy came, the Russian Defense Ministry has stressed in its statements that Russian and Syrian warplanes conducted no strikes on the convoy. An attack drone Predator, capable of hitting targets on the ground, was registered in the area where the UN humanitarian convoy came under attack near Aleppo in the evening of September 19, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said after the ministry analyzed objective air situation monitoring data. "In the evening of September 19 an attack drone of the international coalition was registered in that area at an altitude of 3,600 meters. It was flying at a speed of about 200 kilometers per hour. The drone had taken off from Turkey’s Incirlik air base. Our air situation monitoring means identified the drone as Predator," Konashenkov said.
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  • Ryabkov pointed out that Russia was not walking out of the agreement with the United States on Syria. "We are not about to quit that agreement. On the contrary, we believe that the events of the past few days have underscored its super-relevance," he said. "Regrettably, the agreement has too many opponents, if not foes. We cannot but feel concern and alarm as we see this agreement defied by a number of actors - anti-government forces in Syria and their foreign sponsors." "Regrettably, the US Administration is still unable to do what is required for the full implementation of the agreement," Ryabkov said. "To be more precise, to bring about the separation of the moderates and the terrorists. Nor can the United States guarantee the implementation of a number of other components of this agreement which we’ve been witnesses to over the past few days." Ryabkov said he was referring to several incidents, including the strike against Syrian government troops. "It is not a tragedy, it is a very dramatic development regarding the agreement as such. It is a heavy blow on its groundwork," he said.
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Baghdad and Ankara Agree to Withdraw Turkish Troops from Iraq - How Did They Get There?... - 0 views

nsnbc.me/...om-iraq-how-did-they-get-there war & peace Iraq Turkey Turkish-withdrawal ISIL ISIL-support ISIL-funding
shared by Paul Merrell on 08 Jan 17 - No Cached
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  • Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, on Saturday, said that Iraq and Turkey had reached an agreement on the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Iraq. Turkish troops have been in the country without authorization from the Iraqi federal government or a UN Security Council mandate since December 2015.
  • raq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, on Saturday, said that Iraq and Turkey had reached an agreement on the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Iraq. Turkish troops have been in the country without authorization from the Iraqi federal government or a UN Security Council mandate since December 2015.
  • The announcement about the agreement was made on Iraqi State television after a meeting between Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Abadi and his Turkish counterpart Binali Yildirim in Baghdad. Very few details about the agreement were announced to the public or made available to the press. However, Turkey reportedly agreed to the Iraqi demand to withdraw Turkish forces from the town of Bashiqa near Mosul in northern Iraq. Turkish troops have been stationed there since December 2015, purportedly as part of the war against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh). However, as a source close to the recently reelected Lebanese PM Saad Hariri revealed to nsnbc international, Turkish government circles have been actively involved in stating the invasion of Iraq by ISIL. The very well connected Lebanese source met nsnbc international editor-in-chief Christof Lehmann and provided evidence that underpinned that the final green light for the war on Iraq with ISIS or ISIL brigades was given behind closed doors, at the sidelines of the Atlantic Council’s Energy Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, on November 22 – 23, 2013. Al-Abadi was quoted by State media as saying that Turkey pledged to “respect the sovereignty of Iraq” and that Baghdad and Ankara agreed not to interfere in each other’s domestic affairs.
  • Turkish troops never actively participated in military ground campaigns against ISIL in Iraq.
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  • Paul Merrell on 08 Jan 17
     
    The article goes in depth into the plotting that led to the ISIL invasion of Iraq including U.S. leadership of ISIL, quoting a source that was there when the decision was made by neocon leadership to have ISIL invade Iraq.
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Russia & US Could Reach Understanding About Aleppo as Situation for "Rebels" Deteriorat... - 0 views

nsnbc.me/...uation-for-rebels-deteriorates war & peace U.S.-foreign-policy Syria Aleppo Russia Kerry Lavrov Al-Nusrah
shared by Paul Merrell on 09 Dec 16 - No Cached
  • Following the meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in the German city of Hamburg on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that “an intense exchange of documents” had taken place and that c a compromise could possibly be reached. The statement comes amidst latest reports about Al-Nusra possibly agreeing to an evacuation from Aleppo and the possible deployment of special forces from Chechnya for anti-terrorism operations in Syria.
  • Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the press that Russia and the United States are close to reaching an understanding on Aleppo. Rybakov said: “In the past several days an intensive document exchange on the situation in Aleppo has taken place…We are close to reaching an understanding, but I want to warn against high expectations.”
  • Ryabkov noted that the meeting between Lavrov and Kerry on Wednesday was an indicator of the intensive communications between the two sides, particularly because it was the second of its kind within the past few days. Ryabkov expressed hope that eventual new agreements between Moscow and Washington on Syria would be firmer compared to the previous agreement that collapsed last September. The previous agreements collapsed when Washington insisted that Russia stops targeting “moderate opposition fighters”, while Moscow blamed Washington for not assuring that the “moderate rebels” disengage and separate from Jabhat Al-Nusra (a.k.a. Jabhat Fatah Al-Sham). Both parties agree that Al-Nusra’s re-branding as Al-Sham hasn’t changed its status as a terrorist organization.
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  • On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed support to the initiative proposed by his US counterpart John Kerry on Aleppo on 2nd of the current month before the latter withdrew it later. Lavrov said that Kerry’s initiative failed after he withdrew his proposals that stipulated for the exit of terrorists from the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo, clarifying “the same thing happened with our agreement of September 9… They have withdrawn their document and have a new one. Our initial impression is that this new document backtracks, and is an attempt to buy time for the militants, allow them to catch their breath and resupply”. Meanwhile, a Lebanese source close to Hezbollah informed nsnbc that back channel talks could result in Al-Nusra agreeing to evacuate from Aleppo. No formal statement in that regard has been issued by any of the conflicting parties.
  • The evacuation of Al-Nusra from Aleppo could make it more easy for Moscow and Washington to reach an agreement, the source added. Another, not yet officially confirmed development is the possible deployment of the Vostok and Zapad special forces units from the Russian Federation’s Republic of Chechnya to Syria for “anti-terrorism operations”. The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and allied forces  today continued  operations to evacuate citizens from the remaining “rebel-held” eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo while continuing rapid advances. The SAA noted that it “is doing its best to allocate safe corridors to the locals and transport them to makeshift centers established by authorities in Aleppo governorate in the Jibrin and Hanano Housings neighborhoods”. In the Hanano Housings, families started to return to their homes, provided that they haven’t been destroyed during the intense fighting.
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Israel Approves 2,500 Additional Settlement Units in the Occupied West Bank - nsnbc int... - 0 views

nsnbc.me/...nits-in-the-occupied-west-bank war & peace Israel Palestine Settlements Trump
shared by Paul Merrell on 25 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • The Israeli Cabinet, led the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, on Tuesday, agreed to approve the construction of 2,500 additional housing units in Jewish-only settlements in the occupied Palestinian West Bank.
  • In a separate statement, Israeli prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented: “We construct and we will continue to construct”. Netanyahu also reiterated that his government will assure “Israeli sovereignty over Ma’aleh Adumim,” another major West Bank settlement. However, he pleaded with other members of his Cabinet “to postpone the annexation”, as suggested by the Jewish home party, citing a request by the Donald Trump admiration “not to make surprise moves but to draft a joint policy.”
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Brazil's Fabiano Silveira quits over corruption probe - AJE News - 0 views

www.aljazeera.com/...ion-probe-160531033257572.html Brazil corruption car-wash-investigation Rousseff-impeachment Silveira resignation
shared by Paul Merrell on 31 May 16 - No Cached
  • Leaked recordings of heavyweight politicians discussing Brazil's sprawling kickback scandal caused more headaches for acting President Michel Temer, with a new tape forcing his anti-corruption minister to quit.
  • Transparency Minister Fabiano Silveira was the second member of the interim administration to leave in only 16 days on Monday because of recorded conversations about the investigation into corruption at the state oil company Petrobras and the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. The new turmoil started when TV Globo broadcast a recording of Silveira giving legal advice to the Senate president, who is under investigation for links to corruption at Petrobras. The recording also shows Silveira criticising the investigation itself, which has implicated some of Brazil's most prominent politicians and businessmen. In its report late on Sunday, TV Globo said Silveira had repeatedly contacted investigators in the Petrobras case to seek information on the accusations against Senate chief Renan Calheiros, but he did not succeed in getting any details. The conversation was recorded at Calheiros' residence some time before the Senate voted to suspend Rousseff pending an impeachment trial and put the government in Temer's hands.
  • Brazilian media had said Temer met with Cabinet ministers in the afternoon and decided to keep Silveira on the job for now, with Silveira saying he was not involved in any wrongdoing. But later Silveira sent a letter of resignation, saying it was best that he leave the job "despite the fact that nothing is hitting my behaviour". Temer did not announce any pick to succeed Silveira, who came under intense criticism from Brazilians and international groups following the TV Globo report. According to the union for workers at the Transparency Ministry, about 200 officials of the anti-corruption body offered their resignations to protest against Temer's initial decision to keep Silveira in the job.
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Brazil: The Provisional Banana Scoundrel Republic - 0 views

sputniknews.com/...zil-latam-banana-republic.html Brazil corruption car-wash-investigation coup Rousseff-impeachment Temer
shared by Paul Merrell on 31 May 16 - No Cached
  • Every political junkie on the planet has to be glued to the ongoing Brazilian House of Cards, consistently offering an unparalleled feast of cheap thrills.The latest cliffhanger was the leak of a conversation between one of the key operators involved in the oil giant Petrobras corruption scandal and a senator and short-lived Minister of Planning in the usurper interim government currently replacing President Dilma Rousseff while she is undergoing an impeachment trial by the Senate.  Call the leak a short autopsy of what from the beginning should have been defined as golpeachment; a mix of coup (“golpe”, in Portuguese) and impeachment, which took place in a one/two sequential vote in the Brazilian Congress and Senate, as a notorious congregation of crooks investigated for myriad offenses and crimes seized power in Brasilia in a full-fledged Buffon’s Opera. I call their scam Provisional Banana Scoundrel Republic (PBSR).  
  • The leak/autopsy duly unveiled how the PBSR cancer progressed.  One of the key plotters outlines the coup; stresses how it should protect Brazilian plutocracy/kleptocracy from unintended consequences of the ongoing, two-year-old Car Wash corruption investigation; and how the Left – from President Rousseff to Lula and the Workers’ Party – should be criminalized for good. 
  • The rest would be history, including the demolition of recently acquired social and workers’ rights via the imposition of a neoliberal restoration; total reversion in foreign policy, with geopolitical and geoeconomic relations back to a colonized mindset; and the reestablishment of a conservative, neoliberal, rentier hegemonic class lording over a socially-oriented, democratic society. That fits in with the current Brazilian Congress and Senate dominated by “BBB” interests. “BBB” stands for Beef (the powerful agribusiness lobby); Bullet (the weapons and private security complex); and Bible (evangelical fanatics), all supported by corporate media. Many of these unsavory characters are connected and/or represent the toxic Brazilian rural aristocracy – which are in fact heirs to nobility titles handed over to slave owners. It was going all so swell after only a few days – even with the former head of the lower house, notorious crook Eduardo Cunha, temporarily sidelined; Cunha – the ringleader of a campaign financing scam inside Congress – de facto had become the Prime Minister of the puppet former Vice-President and current, interim President Michel Temer. 
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  • The key variable from now on is how the PBSR gang will maneuver – possibly illegally — to cling to power. The Public Ministry and the Federal police are totally politicized. Increasingly there are no mediation powers. The PBSR gang will take no prisoners. The Public Ministry will go after Lula while the attorney general will try to block any chance of Rousseff being reinstated. Meanwhile, the social democrats turned neoliberal enforcers – key associates of the PBSR — will keep advancing their own agenda; hardcore privatizations; handing over the exploration of the pre-salt oil deposits to US Big Oil; and dutifully prostrating as Washington vassals. One just needs to examine the extreme interest by the US Department of Justice on all things related to the Car Wash investigation to infer how Washington is deeply involved in smashing leading Brazilian corporations.   
  • Washington has not had the balls to do it directly – relying on minions such as the State Department spokesman and the interim ambassador to the OAS. But the message is unmistakable; golpeachment is legal, and Washington trusts Brazilian “democratic institutions”. Compare it to the Russian Foreign Ministry, which alerted to “foreign interference” in Brazilian affairs. The new Brazilian Foreign Minister – a sore loser (twice) in presidential elections won by the Workers’ Party – took no time to launch his glorious Vassal of Washington/US Big Capital policy. He already issued a veiled “threat” to Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador and El Salvador. Mercosur will be sidelined to the benefit of the Pacific Alliance – where Mexico, Peru and Colombia are under Washington’s wings. Unasur will be ditched.
  • And then there’s the stale ice cream in the scoundrel’s tart; the “B” in BRICS is now dormant. This means the role of Brazil in the BRICS bank will be seriously compromised. Granted, the BRICS were never a homogenous group and have been riddled with conflicting interests. For instance, India’s nuclear-sharing agreement with the US effectively ties it up with Washington. The next BRICS summit is in India, in October. Brazil risks the ignominy of being represented by the PBSR gang.  Meanwhile, make no mistake; as much as the Car Wash investigation was revealed to be a totally politicized drive – where fighting corruption was just a convenient cover – the PBSR gang and their allies will do everything to get rid of the 2018 direct presidential elections. So here’s the sorry Brazilian road map up to 2018; total political, economic, social and juridical chaos. 
  • Paul Merrell on 31 May 16
     
    Pepe Escobar, himself a Brazilian expatriate journailist, riffs on the Brazilian coup-gone-sour-by-discllosure-of-plans. If you have a browser extension to do translations, read the article linked from the "U.S. Department of Justice" text. It seems that the U.S. played a part in setting the coup in motion. Surprise, surprise. A very fun read. 
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Anurag Kashyap picks squabble with modi fans after comment on PM - 0 views

newsdoctrine.com/-modi-fans-after-comment-on-pm Prime Minister Narendra Modi Anurag Kashyap Padmavati Karan Johar Rajput Karni sena
shared by sandy0988 on 01 Feb 17 - No Cached
  • sandy0988 on 01 Feb 17
     
    Producer Anurag Kashyap faces the music of bulling Prime Minister Narender Modi
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Yair Lapid - Wikipedia - 0 views

en.wikipedia.org/Yair_Lapid Israel politicians Lapid
shared by Paul Merrell on 04 Feb 17 - No Cached
  • Yair Lapid (Hebrew: יאיר לפיד‎‎, born 5 November 1963) is an Israeli politician, former Finance Minister and former journalist who is the Chairman of the Yesh Atid Party. He served as the Israeli Minister of Finance between 2013 and 2014. Prior to his entry into politics in 2012, he was a journalist, author, TV presenter and news anchor. The centrist Yesh Atid Party, which he founded, became the second largest party in the Knesset by winning 19 seats in its first election in 2013. The greater than anticipated results contributed to Lapid's reputation as a leading moderate. In March 2013, following his coalition agreement with Likud, Lapid was appointed as the Israeli Minister of Finance. In May 2013, Lapid ranked first on the list of the "Most Influential Jews in the World" by The Jerusalem Post
  • Paul Merrell on 04 Feb 17
     
    Mentioned as possible successor to Netanyahu if the latter is removed from office because of corruption charges.
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