○ Incoming EU chief von der Leyen says 'we don't want a hard Brexit' | Reuters |
○ Germany's von der Leyen supports Brexit extension | DW |
○ Von der Leyen: EU could trigger emergency funding to protect countries hit by a no-deal Brexit | Politico !

Related reading ...

○ The Free State of Bavaria and its party: the CSU
○ Germany's Greens hit poll high, ahead of Merkel's bloc: survey
○ What Amsterdam's First Green, Female Mayor Means for the City

A Green Wave in Western Europe is only possible by positive economic news ... get rid of Trump and the universal U.S. sanctions and economic warfare to push capitalism of greed.

Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act and Nord Stream II - targeting German firms ...

○ U.S. warns German companies of possible sanctions over Russian pipeline

Let's get rid of all the barriers. Let's open the door. Let's finally complete the Capital Markets Union. Our small and medium-sized businesses deserve it. pic.twitter.com/MdGtjpNfFO

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) July 16, 2019

○ Von der Leyen's Green Deal isn't just a plan for the environment

The Dutch with long-time serving PM Rutte at the helm is missing out on progressive issues and the environment - TIME FOR CHANGE!

The Dutch not meeting the EU standard on emissions and air quality while permitting Schiphol Airport to expand! Not even mentioning the expansion of Lelystad airport for holiday flights.

'Sapere aude'

This looks bad. UK-flagged tanker "Stena Impero" has taken a very sudden turn in to Iranian waters. It is listed as going to Saudi Arabia. @thinkdefence @UKDefJournal @ELINTNews @DefenceSenseUK @air_intel @AuroraIntel pic.twitter.com/1FHg2oc8bh

— The Brit (@TheBrit96) July 19, 2019

Iran claims to have seized British oil tanker in strait of Hormuz | The Guardian |

Iran's Revolutionary Guards claim to have seized a British oil tanker, the Stena Impero, which suddenly veered off course and headed into Iranian waters.

The ship's owners issued a statement saying it had been "approached by unidentified small crafts and a helicopter during transit of the Strait of Hormuz while the vessel was in international waters."

"We are presently unable to contact the vessel which is now heading north towards Iran," the owners, Stena Bulk, and the ship's managers, Northern Marine, said in the statement.

The UK ministry of defence said it was urgently looking into what had happened to the Stena Impero, a 30,000 tonne British-flagged ship, which was heading for Saudi Arabia when it abruptly left the international sea lanes through the strait of Hormuz and tracking data showed it heading north towards the Iranian island of Qeshm, where the Iran's Revolutionary Guard has a substantial base.  

○ British flagged tanker seized by Iran | UK Defence Journal |
○ IRGC says captures British oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz | PressTV - Iran |

Related reading ...

○ Iran nuclear deal at threat over UK seizure of oil tanker in Gibraltar | The Independent |
○ Iran threatens to seize UK ship over Gibraltar incident | DW |

'Sapere aude'

Iran has seized a second tanker, the Liberian-flagged MV Mesdar, according to a US official. The order of seizure of this one and the British-flagged tanker isn't clear at this time. (_link) pic.twitter.com/h7mXiIWTRN

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) July 19, 2019

○ Mesdar Liberia crude oil tanker - tracker

British foreign minister 'extremely concerned' by Iran's seizure of two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz | CNBC |

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he is concerned by the seizure of two ships by Iranian authorities in the Strait of Hormuz, and the U.K. is attempting to resolve the situation in Tehran and with international partners.

"I'm extremely concerned by the seizure of two naval vessels by Iranian authorities in the Strait of Hormuz," said Hunt.

"I will shortly attend a COBRA meeting to review what we know and what we can do to swiftly secure the release of the two vessels -- a British-flagged vessel and a Liberian-flagged vessel."

○ "I like him. I like Boris Johnson. I spoke to him yesterday," Trump.

'Sapere aude'

BREAKING: EU Commission's First Vice-President Frans Timmermans: "UK ministers were running around like idiots" when they arrived to negotiate #Brexit in 2017 (BBC Panorama)

— Antonello Guerrera (@antoguerrera) July 17, 2019

David Lidington revealed that a senior EU official made a secret offer to the UK to put Brexit on hold for five years and negotiate a "new deal for Europe".

We cannot risk giving the keys of the EU's future to a Boris Johnson, or a Michael Gove, the architects of this #Brexit disaster. A long extension would do exactly that. pic.twitter.com/TyFX2lepic

— Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) April 3, 2019

○ EU officials don't relish the idea of no deal - but they are prepared to play hardball | The Guardian Opinion - Charles Grant |
○ EU picks divided how to handle Brexit | FT |

Boris, the Isle of Man is not bound to the #EU 'pointless and damaging' red tape in #foodsafety that we are proud of because it protects consumers.
You omitted to say that the Isle of Man is not in the EU. This packaging - #uk competence.
Yet another smoke. #fakenews (_link)

— Vytenis Andriukaitis (@V_Andriukaitis) July 18, 2019

Boris will lead the UK next week in the North Atlantic aggression against Iran? Circling the wagons with the NATO emblem.

'Sapere aude'

"The posted picture, even more than the bacon and eggs, appeared to be the point of the event." https://t.co/TANz99oNgo

— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) July 11, 2019

The only thing you could see on TV was Trump talking about the Iranians and the tankers. I then idly looked at the flunkies surrounding him and, well, isn't that Mark Rutte on the right? And isn't there a Dutch flag blending in the background (just like the hapless PM)?

This was unlucky timing for Rutte, but had he read Kim Darroch's "6 ways to manipulate Trump"? The D-Day battle flag was way too subtle.

○ British government invites Saudi Arabia to world's largest arms fair despite court ruling sales are unlawful

Piracy on the coast of Gibraltar ...

○ The detention of an Iranian oil tanker is a test case for Western hypocrisy about the global order | SCMP |
○ HM Government of Gibraltar announces the extension of the detained Grace 1 | News GI - July 19, 2019 |

Her Majesty's Government of Gibraltar can confirm that, at a private meeting of the Supreme Court on an application by the Attorney General, the Court has extended the period of detention of the vessel, Grace 1, for a further 30 days and has set a new hearing for 15 August 2019.

The Iranian super tanker Grace 1 carried two million barrels of crude oil when entered by British Marines.

○ How Trump's arch-hawk lured Britain into a dangerous trap to punish Iran | The Guardian Opinion |  

○ Iran official calls tanker seizure 'reciprocal'; FM: Vessel broke maritime rules | Times of Israel |

As expected, the tit-for-tat ...

1/2 Yesterday's action in Gulf  shows worrying signs Iran may be choosing a dangerous path of illegal and  destabilising behaviour after Gibraltar's LEGAL detention of oil bound for Syria.

— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) July 20, 2019

Jeremy Hunt set to freeze Iran assets after it taunts UK over seized tanker | The Telegraph / Reuters |

Ministers are drawing up plans to target the Iranian regime with sanctions after its forces seized a British-flagged tanker in the Gulf.

Jeremy Hunt is expected to use a Commons statement on Sunday to announce a package of diplomatic and economic measures, including possible asset freezes, in response to the capture of the Stena Impero.

The UK could also push for European Union and United Nations sanctions to be reimposed on the regime after they were lifted in 2016 as part of a deal on Iran's nuclear programme, which saw  billions of dollars of assets unfrozen and allowed the country's oil to be sold internationally.

Related reading ...

○ UK Foreign Minister Hunt: Syria's Assad Will Be Around for a While | Jan. 2019 |
○ Jeremy Hunt rebuked by EU after Soviet prison comparison
○ Brexit represents an opportunity for Britain to boost its global military standing and "enhance our lethality"
○ British Royal Navy in ports around the globe, renewal of Empire

'Sapere aude'

○ Britain calls emergency meeting to weigh response to Iran's tanker seizure | France24 |

UK to seek European maritime mission to counter Iran's 'piracy' | The Guardian - 1 hr ago |

The British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has proposed a European-led maritime protection force in the Gulf - spurning separate American plans for a US-led force to protect commercial shipping from Iranian interference.

Speaking to MPs, Hunt said the maritime security force would protect crew and cargo from what he described as "wholly illegal acts of state piracy by Iran".

[...]

In a sign of how the operation has been scrambled together in the past 48 hours, Hunt said he would be speaking to his European allies, and others later in the week to discuss how the operation might work.

Hunt admitted the US had first requested the UK to contribute to a US-led maritime protection force on 24 June leading to a formal request on 30 June.

There were signs that his decision, a big geo-strategic call in favour of Europe's continued support for the nuclear deal, may not prove popular with Atlanticist supporters of the expected incoming prime minister, Boris Johnson.

○ Royal Marines seize Iranian supertanker suspected of carrying oil to Syria | The Guardian - July 4, 2019 |

White House national security adviser John Bolton welcomed the seizure of the ship. "Excellent news: UK has detained the supertanker Grace I laden with Iranian oil bound for Syria in violation of EU sanctions," Bolton tweeted. "America & our allies will continue to prevent regimes in Tehran & Damascus from profiting off this illicit trade."

Over one year ago, Trump and U.S. Congress beating the war drums ...

The Iran Deal is defective at its core. If we do nothing, we know what will happen. In just a short time, the world's leading state sponsor of terror will be on the cusp of acquiring the world's most dangerous weapons.... pic.twitter.com/58qwBLzxIH

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2018

○ Trump's hawks ramp up campaign to shred last part of Iran nuclear deal | Politico - June 27, 2019 |
○ Trump Challenges Europeans Over Iran Deal | Arms Control - Nov. 2018 |
○ Israel's PM Office Claims Victory In Iran Nuclear Deal Defeat linked in diary of May 3, 2018

My earlier diary ...

○ Coalition of the Willing Against Iran: US Justice Dept, Ungar, UANI and Mossad by Oui @EuroTrib on Aug. 2, 2014

Website United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI)

'Sapere aude'

I spoke of Jeroen Dijsselbloem and the IMF vacancy after Lagarde was positioned at the ECB.

○ Dijsselbloem Floated for Top IMF Job by the Dutch Government [cached]
○ Olli Rehn strong candidate for IMF top job

WhoIs Macron's 'compromise' candidate Ms Georgieva from Bulgaria?

○ The Contradictions of Macronism

'Sapere aude'

Israeli group seeks sale of seized Iranian tanker over damages for Hamas attack | Times of Israel |

An Israeli NGO petitioned Gibraltar's top court Tuesday to sell an impounded Iranian oil tanker to compensate parents of an Israeli child allegedly killed by the Iran-backed Palestinian terror group Hamas.

Chaya Zissel Braun, a 3-month-old baby killed in a terrorist attack in Jerusalem on October 22, 2014

Shurat HaDin, which wages legal battles worldwide on behalf of terror victims, won a $178.5 million US court judgement against Iran and Syria in 2017 over the death of an American infant killed in an attack in Jerusalem.

The case was filed in a US court because the baby, her parents and grandparents all hold American citizenship.

Shurat Hadin founder Nitzana Darshan-Leitner [link with Mossad - - WikiLeaks] told AFP that the vessel's sale, if ordered by the Gibraltar Supreme Court, would not raise more than a fraction of the District of Columbia District Court's award, but it could pave the way for the seizure of other Iranian assets.

'The New York Times' throws another sop to lovers of Israel | Mondoweiss - Jan. 2015 |

In selecting and filing stories about the conflict, New York Times reporters have to be as politically sensitive as former members of the old Soviet Writers Union: they have to send the right signals to powerful groups that monitor their every move.

That semi-official role helps explain the long profile of a rightwing Israeli lawyer published by Jerusalem bureau chief Jodi Rudoren [NY Times]. The headline lets you know that Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, 40, who pursues cases against attackers and critics of Israel in international fora is something of a loose cannon: "Crusading for Israel in a Way Some Say Is Misguided."

○ New York Times Caves to Anti-Semitism Police, Censors Cartoon

So, an agent provocateur for Israel ...

Break the Gaza Siege | Tikun Olam - Aug. 6, 2008 |

My good friend and peace ally, Shamai Leibowitz, who has defended human rights cases in Israel, has tangled with the legal brains behind this outfit, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner. He writes of her:

   She's a known right-wing lawyer, and a provocateur-cum-media-darling who enjoys harassing and intimidating human rights activists, and actually makes a living off doing that. I've had the privilege of fighting her in court, and she's as fire-and-brimstone as they get.

    Her letter is so full of crap that it causes me to think its only purpose is to attract media attention. I believe that's exactly what FGM needs right now, don't you think? They would do well to publicize this, with a resounding rejoinder, of course, and saying we are proudly abiding by internaional treaties...

○ Shamai Leibowitz leaked FBI's wiretaps of Israeli embassy in effort to stop Iran strike | Mondoweiss - Sept. 6, 2011 |

Today's article in Tikun Olam ...

○ Former Board of Deputies President Calls for Corbyn Assassination

Recent diary about Shurat HaDin ...

○ A Coordinated Attack On Labour and Corbyn

'Sapere aude'