Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.

A Final Warning: Rise of Fascism

by Oui Fri Jan 10th, 2020 at 08:59:56 PM EST

How Journalists Covered the Rise of Mussolini and Hitler | Smithsonian |

Reports on the rise of fascism in Europe were not the American media's finest hour

How to cover the rise of a political leader who's left a paper trail of anti-constitutionalism, racism and the encouragement of violence? Does the press take the position that its subject acts outside the norms of society? Or does it take the position that someone who wins a fair election is by definition "normal," because his leadership reflects the will of the people?

These are the questions that confronted the U.S. press after the ascendance of fascist leaders in Italy and Germany in the 1920s and 1930s.

Continued below the fold ...

Benito Mussolini secured Italy's premiership by marching on Rome with 30,000 blackshirts in 1922. By 1925 he had declared himself leader for life. While this hardly reflected American values, Mussolini was a darling of the American press, appearing in at least 150 articles from 1925-1932, most neutral, bemused or positive in tone.

Under fascism, the Nazi boot tore apart human beings. The faces of Germany in 1930s leading up to genocide ...

Joseph Goebbels                           Hermann Göring

       

The Axis Powers based on military superiority and an awful doctrine leading to mass killings and genocide of Jews in 20th Century Europe.

○ US rolls out new Iran sanctions after airstrikes | DW |

Under neo-fascism. murderous sanctions are trampling human kind and killing women and children. The faces of rightwing America that bullies and does NOT stand for Freedom ...

A last warning, the Anglo-Saxon Axis of unipolar power in the Western hemisphere, if left unchecked, will lead to mass killings and genocide in the Muslim world. Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria of today are the countries under the Nazi boot for expansion of Lebensraum by the Nazis: Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.

After the devastation across the globe, justice will be done - a final judgement [END OF TIMES]

The Nuremberg Trials of Nazi crimes - McArthur and the Tokio Sentencing

How to unite a nation and an Axis of Power into a mode of fascism ...

Van der Lubbe and the Reichstag Fire

Soleimani assassination, controversy, cover-up of crime

Calling Iranians vermin or the state a cancer leads to genocide ... ALWAYS!

Display:
A Final Warning: Rise of Fascism | 113 comments (113 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
UN Guterres, A Voice of Hope (none / 0)
by Oui on Fri Jan 10th, 2020 at 10:46:10 PM EST
Re: A Final Warning (none / 0)
EU needs to take a stand against a bully, otherwise Freedom will be compromised. There is no middle ground to adhere to International Law and the Geneva and The Hague conventions. Fascist policy has reared its ugly head in America ever since the 9/11 attacks.

Germany urges EU unity at Middle East crisis meeting | DW |

Western powers with NATO and US leadership have made an ugly mess of the MENAT region. End the sale of weaponry to wealthy authoritarian states in the Gulf region. One reaps what one sows ... blowback.

Get a backbone Heiko ... take a position on the moral high ground, not according to economic advantage for the German car industry! #bayern

by Oui on Fri Jan 10th, 2020 at 11:04:35 PM EST
"EU needs to take a stand" (none / 1)
That's not going to happen. The "invisible government," to borrow a phrase from BERNAYS has not yet identified value in the "stand" business. Besides, the council's about to climb on board the next US sanctions train out of JCPOA.

Skim the headlines on development of the Turkey-Libya "maritime treaty". EU27 can't even pick a horse--psycho Haftar or failed GNA--in the abattoir of their making. What's worse, eurativ is already goading the Comish.

Closely-held prejudices are difficult to abandon.

by Cat on Sat Jan 11th, 2020 at 12:56:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 1)
German Chancellor urges all parties to back [JCPOA]
nuclear weapon deterrence? GTFO. That train left the station decades ago,  y'all fucked it up, and you know, beneath all the bullshit, exactly why you did.
"For this reason we will continue to employ all diplomatic means to keep this agreement alive, which is certainly not perfect but it is an agreement and it comprises commitments by all sides," Merkel said.

Unlike the United States, which on Friday imposed new economic sanctions on Iran, the Europeans have given Tehran more time to avoid nuclear proliferation rather than begin a process that could lead to a reimposition of U.N. sanctions.

NATO loves them some sanctions*.
--
*euphemism for blockade; and, yes, embargo is not a synonym of blockade, just as monopoly is not a synonym of monopsony.
by Cat on Sat Jan 11th, 2020 at 07:54:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 0)

  • Hong Kong-based Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd
  • Ali Bayandrian, Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd
  • Sage Energy HK Limited
  • Jiaxiang Industry Hong Kong Limited
  • China-based Peakview Industry Co Ltd
  • Zhiqing Wang, Shandong Oiwangwa Petrochemical Co. Ltd
  • United Arab Emirates-based Beneathco DMCC
by Cat on Thu Jan 23rd, 2020 at 09:57:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 0)
U.S. officials see EU, British trade deals in 2020, not India
by Cat on Thu Jan 23rd, 2020 at 10:06:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
"ever since the 9/11 attacks" (none / 0)
If your identity is invested in a lie, you can reject the truth every day, all day, and you will.
~ Yvette Carnell
by Cat on Sat Jan 11th, 2020 at 08:58:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: "ever since the 9/11 attacks" (none / 1)
No president in recent history has been despised more viscerally by the Beltway press corps than Trump. Nearly everything he says is met with disdain and suspicion, even when he is telling the truth.

But when Trump and his administration attempt to lie the public into war against a designated evildoer, a swath of the corporate media responds with reflexive trust, then shrugs when the lie is exposed in broad daylight.
~ Blumenthal

by Cat on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 05:27:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: "ever since the 9/11 attacks" (none / 0)
It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.
~ Upton Sinclair
by Cat on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 05:34:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: "ever since the 9/11 attacks" (none / 1)
One of my all time favorite quotes.


"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 06:02:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Name one of my all time favorite quotes (none / 1)
Martyr?

Have you lost your mind? I mean, how is it that you can disrespect a man's ethnicity when you know we've influenced nearly every facet of white America. From our music to our style of dress, not to mention your basic imitation of our sense of cool; walk, talk, dress, mannerisms. We enrich your very existence, all the while contributing to the gross national product through our achievements in corporate America. It's these conceits that comfort me when I'm faced with the ignorant, cowardly, bitter and bigoted who have no talent, no guts. People like you who desecrate things they don't understand when the truth is you should just say "thank you, man," and go about your way. But, apparently, you're incapable of doing that. So.

by Cat on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 08:25:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: "ever since the 9/11 attacks" (none / 0)
Then when do you say it is better to do these things? Tell me where you draw the line.
by Cat on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 07:22:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 0)
WAR HAS CONSEQUENCES -- CIVILIANS DIE!!

Assessing the Impact of War | UNDP |

It's time for America to reckon with the staggering death toll of post 9/11 wars | The Intercept |

by Oui on Sat Jan 11th, 2020 at 07:51:07 AM EST
Re: A Final Warning (none / 0)
Murtaza Hussain must be new here.

Most Americans oppose reparations for slavery. FUIGM is an "American" tradition.

by Cat on Sat Jan 11th, 2020 at 08:00:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Steve Pinker Porn Warning (none / 1)

ACLED, acleddata.com

Niger army base attack death toll rises to at least 89: security sources

The death toll from Thursday's attack by suspected jihadists on a Niger army base has risen to at least 89, four security sources said, surpassing a raid last month that killed 71 soldiers as the deadliest against Nigerien forces in years.
[...]
One of the sources said the actual death toll could be higher because a number of soldiers were buried immediately on Thursday in Chinagodrar. Defence Minister Issoufou Katambe said that an updated death toll would be announced after a national security council meeting on Sunday.

The Chinagodrar attack, coming a month after the raid in nearby Inates by fighters from an ["]Islamic State affiliate["] that killed 71 soldiers, highlights the deteriorating security situation near Niger's borders with Mali and Burkina Faso.
[...]
French fighter jets were scrambled on Thursday to scare off the attackers, France's regional taskforce said, possibly averting an even heavier casualty count.

"precious body fluids"
Roadside bomb kills two U.S. personnel, wounds two more in Afghan south
The deaths brought to at least four the number of U.S. service personnel killed in hostile action in Afghanistan since Dec. 12, when the United States declared a "brief pause" in talks with the Taliban on a U.S. troop pullout, according to iCasualties, a website that tracks U.S. military casualties.
[...]
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the attack. He said the blast killed all the soldiers in the vehicle. The Taliban usually claim casualties and inflate figures when targeting Afghan and foreign troops.
"compensation"
Ukraine PM says state, airline will give money to families of Iran crash victims
200,000 hryvnia ($8,350) each to the families of those who died in a plane crash in Iran this week.

[PM Oleksiy Honcharuk] said Ukraine International Airlines would make payments to the families of the crew members who died in the crash. The airline's spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment. Honcharuk also said Ukrainian diplomats were working on how to receive compensation from the Iranian authorities.

circumventing US "sanctions"
by Cat on Sat Jan 11th, 2020 at 09:35:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Steve Pinker Porn (none / 0)
Steven Pinker: This Is History's Most Peaceful Time, cue Pax Americana fablists
In his 2011 book The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, Harvard University ["]psychologist["] and famed intellect Steven Pinker argues humans are now living in the most peaceful era in the history of our species....
In case you've forgotten how liars operate propaganda publishing, there's also the spectacular success of Guns, Germs, and Steel, a tract on natural selection, by JARED DIAMOND, "physiologist".
by Cat on Mon Jan 13th, 2020 at 06:54:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Steve Pinker Porn Warning (none / 0)
les enfants terribles
The third problem with this notion is that it mixes in unsavoury depictions of the past - such as in the 'Middle Ages' in Europe, and the beginnings of Industrialisation - as if it was always like this. In his book, 'Better Angels,' Steven Pinker, for example, snobbishly objects to the Middle Ages in Europe on the grounds that "habits of refinement, self-control, and consideration that are second nature to us had to be acquired", and that people then, "were, in a word, gross." How we all lol-ed at that clever quip during the university cocktail party.
by Cat on Thu Jan 16th, 2020 at 05:49:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 1)
by Cat on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 01:24:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 1)
They asked if our own nation wasn't using massive doses of violence to solve its problems, to bring about the changes it wanted. Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today: my own government. For the sake of those boys, for the sake of this government, for the sake of the hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I cannot be silent.
~ text | audio

Yes. 예. Oui. Sí. أيوه. Awɔ. Да. დიახ. Ja. Ναι. はい. Bẹẹ ni. आम्. Evet. Yebo. 是的. This I will not do.

by Cat on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 07:55:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Seriously, It's 2020 (4.00 / 2)
A military scholar Ingo Piepers, from Clingendael Institute, a think-tank in The Hague

2020 Warning -- patterns in war dynamics reveal disturbing developments

Social integration and expansion in anarchistic systems: how connectivity and our urge to survive determine and shape the war dynamics and development of the system In this study, complexity and network science are applied to the dynamics and development of the (International) System. The study provides fundamentally new insights in the workings of the System.

This study shows that the System periodically becomes critical, and produces 'systemic wars'. The typical dynamics that are revealed in this study are a consequence of physical laws that apply to the System. Systemic wars are instrumental in rebalancing the System, and in periodically producing 'upgraded' international orders, that allow for further growth and development. The patterns that can be observed in the war dynamics of the System, make it possible to predict these dynamics and the System's direction of development. Data-analysis shows that the System will again become critical around 2020. This study shows that intensifying war dynamics pose an existential threat to humankind: (systemic) wars will cause increasing damage and suffering and will put our climate system at (additional) risk. Fundamental change is a prerequisite for our survival.  

Key word | END OF TIMES |

by Oui on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 06:00:39 AM EST
Tehran: UK Envoy Held Inciting Student Protests (none / 1)
Dominic Raab warns: "You don't want to be named a "pariah state".

Dominic Raab warns Iran of 'pariah' status after ambassador arrest | The Guardian |

The foreign secretary has condemned the arrest of Britain's ambassador in Iran during anti-government protests as a "flagrant violation of international law" and said the country was marching towards "pariah status".

Dominic Raab's strongly worded statement came after the ambassador, Rob Macaire, was arrested on Saturday during demonstrations near Amirkabir University in Tehran for "inciting" the protesters..

Raab said in a statement: "The arrest of our ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law.  

○ JCPOA: Role played by Oman's ruler Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said

○ Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who modernized Oman and welcomed Israel ties, dies at 79

    The departure of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Sa'id, may God have mercy on him, is a loss for the region, but hope is ascribed to the ruling like him and we, as we comfort our dear neighbor, Oman, with this affliction.
by Oui on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 11:30:16 AM EST
Utter Disgust and Cowardice (none / 1)
It requires human intelligence NOT to play these kind of wargames. THE END OF TIMES

Soleimani was to deliver Tehran's reply to Saudi de-escalation letter when killed: Iraqi PM | NBC News |

Legality of Targeted Killing Program under International Law

"The vehicles were engulfed in a fireball."

Haspel, Trump, Netanyahu: Airport informants, overhead drones

The targeted killing is the latest demonstration of how, two decades after the CIA spotted but was unable to kill a man they believed was al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, the U.S. has become adept at hunting and killing its enemies, particularly in the troubled regions of the Middle East, South Asia and Africa.

"In less than a generation, we went from something that was abnormal and maybe even science fiction, to the point where it's the new normal," Peter Singer, an expert on future warfare at the New America Foundation, said. "Both leaders and the public don't even blink an eye."

Targeted strikes like the one that killed Soleimani represent a fundamental change in warfare, said Anthony Cordesman, who studies military trends at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

"It requires a truly immense intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance effort -- one which basically no other country in the world can match, and which is vastly expensive, time-consuming and requires lot of expertise."

○ Targeted killing of Soleimani a boost for Benjamin Netanyahu - analysis | JPost |

○ Saudi Prince Salman and the Khashoggi Torture | Al Jazeera |

by Oui on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 12:43:09 PM EST
"targeted killing" (none / 0)
assassination
by Cat on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 03:09:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: "targeted killing" (none / 1)
murder


She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
by ATinNM on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 06:04:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: "targeted killing" (none / 0)
Shooting an enemy soldier in an on going war.

-----
sapere aude
by Number 6 on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 10:13:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: "targeted killing" (none / 0)
a distinction without difference to the dead
by Cat on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 05:20:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: "targeted killing" (none / 1)
thank goodness revenge is with the living ... how a dreadful world it would be!
by Oui on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 05:25:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]
another memorable quote (none / 0)
"it had to be that almost everybody resisted, and that only an elite collaborated."
by Cat on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 05:32:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: another memorable quote (none / 0)
The "Vichy Syndrome" Problem In History

French vs France: Vichy Government Attempts to Save the Empire

Europe is suffering more than ever from the heritage of 20th century colonies ...

○ Europe and the Sahel-Maghreb Crisis
○ Military Intervention in Africa - French and US Approaches Compared

by Oui on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 06:15:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: "targeted killing" (none / 0)
We're not at war with Iran.

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
by ATinNM on Sat Jan 18th, 2020 at 06:19:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 1)
The Nazi Hydra in America: Suppressed History of a Century
A piercing study of the tenacious roots of American fascism in our plutocracy, from robber baron days to Reichstag fire to the WTC atrocity and "Homeland Security." This sweeping, 700-page documentary of the American oligarchy's century-long project for world dictatorship is bound to be a landmark in the writing of American history. Includes a blow-by-blow account of the successful fascist assault and takeover of America's media.

Read the history of Prescott Bush's work with the Sullivan and Cromwell law firm, along side John Foster Dulles and Alan Dulles, funneling investments and technology to Hitler's government in the '30s. Henry Ford, Pierre DuPont, Harvey Firestone, Thomas Watson and others strongly supported Hitler and eagerly participated in the creation of his war machine. Ford's industrial engineer designed Auschwitz for Hitler. Etc.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 06:23:48 PM EST
Re: A Final Warning (none / 1)
Nazi Hydra In America ... the title doesn't resonate with me. Nazi crimes cannot be conflated with rightwing conservative ideology and US corporations in support of German fascist state during the Depression Years.

Nazi crimes are quite specific. Not all Nazi war criminals faced punishment as the sciences were usable in the new confrontation of the West with Communism. We have returned to the mode of propaganda warfare of the Cold War 2.0.

by Oui on Sun Jan 12th, 2020 at 08:18:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (4.00 / 3)
Read some of the book. It was available on Google in facsimile for free. The heads of corporate America were entheusiastic supporters of Hitler. They admired how he dealt with unions and socialists. Read Kalecki as to why. First published in 1943, when full employment was not a problem, the analysis holds strong today. The psychology of businessmen in the majority of US corporations has hardly changed since then. If you are allergic to socialism then Kalecki might not make sense. See Upton Sinclair quote.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Mon Jan 13th, 2020 at 06:16:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (4.00 / 3)
And then there was the attempted coup when Wall Street guys tried to recruit General Smedley Butler:  - Wikipedia:
The Business Plot


"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Mon Jan 13th, 2020 at 06:23:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 1)
Glen Yeadon (2008?) and John Hawkins (2003?), The Nazi Hydra In America, How America's Right Wing Politicians Are Plunging The Country Into A Fascist Police State (HTML), pdf, 545 pp.
The author if forced to define fascism in a single sentence or phrase would label fascism as a totalitarian government with extreme nationalism tendencies in which the government is controlled and operated for the benefit of a few elite. [p 13]
where any joint-stock company, except the first 13 US colonies and Federalist Papers, represents "a few elite". intellectually problematic propaganda ensues, proliferates with Smedley and Altman over next decade net. cf. LIVING ON NEOLOGISM

Kalecki: "The fascist system starts from the overcoming of unemployment [?!], develops into an armament economy of scarcity, and ends inevitably in war." I read that some years ago, before I gave up monitoring Monthly Review. Editorial is strong on *-marxist theory, very weak on practice--empirical research, or fed reporting period on finance or GNP in any year, any "race or ethnicity," any sex--which is understandable but not instructive. "Full employment" measurement is NAIRU.

to Oui's point: US national security interests ("fascist" enterprise) eclipse US American "rightwing conservative ideology" (organizational hygiene). Wernher von Braun in Operation Paperclip is a notorious beneficiary of unscrupulous fed gov "Diversity in Employment" policies.

by Cat on Mon Jan 13th, 2020 at 06:20:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
errata (none / 0)
s/b Altmeyer, Rbt. --psychemeister of AUTHORITARIAN adolescent minds
by Cat on Mon Jan 13th, 2020 at 06:22:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (4.00 / 3)
Hitler overcame unemployment by government programs, by controlling wages strictly, which business loved, and by coercion to have a job, ending in slavery for the out groups and critics. Most corporations could only dream of having it so good.

Kalecki is not, properly, a Marxist. Call him a neo-Marxist. He took what he liked from Marx. He was not doctrinaire. If you are allergic to Marxism and/or the Monthly Review there are other sources, including facsimile of the original journal article from 1944. It is just that the MR source is the easiest to read. Sorry.  

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Jan 14th, 2020 at 08:12:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]
"Hitler overcame unemployment" (none / 0)
like a "Keyensian," eh?
by Cat on Wed Jan 15th, 2020 at 07:17:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (4.00 / 3)
If you read some of the book you will see meticulous schlorship with footnotes for almost every statement. It is very well documented. It is hardly surprising that it has not been widely hailed. it implicates a large part of corporate America and a large number of prominent US politicians, including the Bush family, John Foster Dulles and his brother Allen.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Jan 14th, 2020 at 08:17:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 1)
You are "corporate America." So what distinguishes Bush, and what criticism obscured Hawkins and Yeardon's celebrity? Perhaps POLLING OPINION?

I don't doubt OPIUM-partical sources of Roosevelt family wealth. Nor NAZI-particular sources of Bush family wealth and monumental perfidy. However, a 550 pp struggle to re-animate a tale your parents should have shared with you is not unlike mold growth. Others crawled out of the woodwork with this and other "scandal" during campaign 2000. Their family like so many other of Europe's and America's filthy politicians obtained and control money--be that legal tender or "morality"--by unscrupulous and certainly ethical means: NOT news to me. Their forebears seized those means by choice just as other of their peers traded chattel slaves, seized real estate by war with natives, and speculated with such currency and credit with impunity.

An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States, unabridged

What, friend, is this disease? Is it contagious?

Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1789-2012, Congressional Research Service (CRS), Washington DC, United States (Sep 2012) 33 pp, single-spaced

et cetera.

I skimmed the first fifty (intro, Ch.1, plus a few KEY WORD searches) seeking a thesis statement, an unusual observation--a "hook" as the children now say--to propel me into the story of CORPORATE THEFT. (I'm always ready to learn something I don't know.) The citations (chapter endnotes, bibliographic) are not meticulous, and they all, at a glance, are secondary sources--none providing geopolitical context for personal detail. I call this the Cokie Roberts Method of Hagiography, because, well, the singular style of her "authoritative" prose most impressed me. Always read the footnotes, if one can find them, I should add. Concealment has been a trivial exercise for generations of US historians; In my experience, a startling number of these amateur and expert author-"creators" have amassed ideal biographies sui generis, in isolation from "foreign" events, "foreign" cultures, "foreign" political strife.

Is this not our wheelhouse in the age of NAZI Reincarnations by Republican Party Hacks?

Fair enough: lots of people can't afford time to locate and "analyze" primary sources, digitized, memorialized philosophies and seminal constitutional code of The Founders, by the LOC
as well as case law and, gosh darn it, the trash buried by the US Congress. Bush BFFs, Obama BFFs, Eisenhower BFFs. But you can afford it. So make it make sense of self-servin' politics which you might have been led to believe is not idolatry.

by Cat on Tue Jan 14th, 2020 at 05:25:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
You are "corporate America." (none / 1)
Amazon to seek order to block Microsoft from working on DoD's JEDI contract
Where do you draw the line?
by Cat on Tue Jan 14th, 2020 at 06:49:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You are "corporate America." (none / 0)
The line should be drawn somewhere before 9/11.
by Oui on Tue Jan 14th, 2020 at 07:32:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]
archived pay checks (none / 0)
"ever since the 9/11 attacks"
Then when do you say it is better to do these things? Tell me where you draw the line.
~ westworld secular bibble, Plat. Gorg. 470b
by Cat on Tue Jan 14th, 2020 at 07:57:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You are "corporate America." (none / 0)
Job security and churn rates at AMZN are the worst--ok, probably safer than poultry "processing". This story is wonderfully poignant and courageous for a handful of US Americans.
Amazon Warehouse Workers Deliver Christmas Walkout
Big picture: 1 hr delivery is convenient, right? Replicating "delivery center" nodes in air and ground logistics worldwide portends AMZ systematic dilution of employer liability by subcontracting, externalizing costs.

archived
German Amazon workers take pre-Christmas strike action
retail or logistics wages

by Cat on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 02:34:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 1)
As Oui noted specifics are important. 'The Nazi Hydra' is practically one long list of specifics, few of which are taught in standard US high school or college courses and rarely mentioned in the public media. If we continually assume an air of disdainful superiority we are unlikely to learn anything new.

The USA did not become a fully fascist state in the '30s more by accident than any other factor. Fascist ideology had wide support among our corporate elites and, as The Business Plot shows, some were prepared to act.

WW II did have the effect of normalizing a military Keynesian state and economy which reached its apogee during the Cold War. Wars and revolutions have dynamics of their own. Craine Brinton analyzed the dynamics of revolutions in 'The Anatomy of Revolution'. He surveyed three major revolutions: the English, French and Russian. Others have since applied his analysis to the Iranian and other revolutions. Much of it applies.

The USA has been an oligarchy since before its founding, flirting with fascism since the '70s, but has not quite fully embraced a fascist dictatorship - yet. Our governance, such as it is, is more like unto a cabal of competing factions, one faction gaining control for a while and using the state for its benefit, only to be replaced by an opposing faction for a while. In my youth most still saw this dynamic as a sign of 'PROGRESS'. Progress towards what? Within a year we will know whether Trump has tipped the country over into a full fledged fascism or if we remain on the knife's edge.  

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Jan 14th, 2020 at 07:49:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 0)
flirting with 'fascism' since the '70s

No.
since the morning Europeans stepped into the North American wilderness, dragging their peculiar 'institutional knowledge'.

Colonial Charters, Grants and Related Documents

With which part of  "Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad" do you disagree? The part before 2012? Or the part after 2012? Or the proposition, fascismo is alien, foreign, to US American "fascist principles" (fascio, fascismo) opposed by christ Jackson?

THE DOCTRINE OF FASCISM, BENITO MUSSOLINI (1932)

archived amirite
The Dictator and the Decider
The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World by G. E. M. de Ste. Croix

by Cat on Tue Jan 14th, 2020 at 09:20:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 0)
Yeah, I read what I post in its entirety.
by Cat on Tue Jan 14th, 2020 at 09:21:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 0)
by Cat on Wed Jan 15th, 2020 at 10:07:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 0)
"NATOME" growth

Army May Send Missile-Defense Systems to Middle East to Counter Future Iran Strikes, 15 Jan

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said Wednesday that the Pentagon is considering deploying additional enabling capabilities to the region to counter any future strikes from Iranian forces.
[...]
"They are a very capable enemy; they have capabilities that can strike and hit Americans, so we are looking at additional capabilities that we could send to the region," he told defense reporters Wednesday at a Defense Writers Group breakfast. "It could be a variety of enablers like missile defense, so we are looking at that." ... Army Special Operations Command also deployed a company-sized element of the 75th Ranger Regiment with other special operations forces [2 Jan].
by Cat on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 12:33:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 1)
Talbot's "The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government" mentions the early fascists connections well.

An interesting episode:

Gangsters vs. Nazis: How the Jewish mob fought American admirers of the Third Reich

by das monde on Thu Jan 16th, 2020 at 04:12:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 0)

Anonymous IP "share". Untitled topical "meme". 12 Jan 2020

"National security interests" is a ubiquitous phrase and rests more comfortably than any foreign slogan for sovereignty, belligerence, or human capital. It categorically can express any and all inspection and preservation of political boundaries between nations, some nations. Venturers to the united states are no strangers to propositions of war. Yet cultural  functions and prerogatives which constituents produce for this attendant bureaucracy, cultivating prosperity, generally, remain obscure. Until domestic dissatisfaction with industrial policy erupts from their empty pockets with suspicions of fascist principles and faintly communist lint. How might one read, or interpret, the image repertoire of this anonymous constituent? A trivial display of prestige, a digital grafitti, tuned by intimacy with patriotic enterprise at home and abroad.

by Cat on Mon Jan 13th, 2020 at 11:22:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 1)
We conclude that the President possesses constitutional authority for ordering the use of force against Iraq to protect our national interests. This independent authority is supplemented by congressional authorization in the form of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution, Pub. L. No. 102-1, 105 Stat. 3 (1991), which supports the use of force to secure Iraq's compliance with its international obligations following the liberation of Kuwait, and the Authorization for Use of Military Force, Pub. L. No. 107-40, 115 Stat. 224 (2001), which supports military action against Iraq if the President determines Iraq provided assistance to the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In addition, using force against Iraq would be consistent with international law, because it would be authorized by the United Nations ("U.N.") Security Council, or would be justified as anticipatory self-defense.
~ Jay S. Bybee, U.S. Assistant Atty. General

archived
"He's doing our work for us, in a certain respect," said the speaker of the House.

by Cat on Mon Jan 13th, 2020 at 03:18:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 0)
Publication Tehran Times -- Jan. 2, 2020

U.S. taking revenge on Hashd al-Shaabi for Daesh

NOT an imminent threat .,,

by Oui on Mon Jan 13th, 2020 at 10:24:54 PM EST
Uniting the Resistance Against America (none / 0)
Iraq Is the Next Battleground

Iraqi groups who fought against al-Qaeda and ISIS in Syria and Iraq visited the newly appointed Iranian General head of the IRGC-Quds brigade Ismail Qaani who replaced Sardar Qassem Soleimani. They asked for military and financial support to fight the new "occupation forces". The Iranian General promised to assist in implementing the parliament, government and people's decision to fight the US occupation forces. Qaani is expected to visit Iraq, where over 100 Iranian advisors work in Baghdad security and command Control Base along with Syrian and Russian counterparts to fight ISIS.

America's Failed Strategy in the Middle East: Losing Iraq and the Gulf | CSIS |

It is all too tempting for the United States to focus on the current crisis over the clash between Iran and the United States in Iraq. Events have steadily escalated since late December. Iranian has sponsored attacks by Iraqi Popular Militia Forces on U.S. forces and facilities. The U.S. has launched retaliatory attacks on these PMFs. This has been followed by well-organized demonstrations and attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and then by U.S. drone strikes that killed Qasem Solemani, the head of Iran's Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the head of Al-Hashd al-Shaabi, an Iraqi militia group tied to Iran that had been linked to attacks on U.S. targets.

Moreover, the Iraqi central government had virtually collapsed even before these events. Its corruption, ineffectiveness, and failed economic policies had led to massive popular demonstrations. Its legislature virtually disbanded, and legislation was passed calling for a different, locally elected and more representative system. Prime Minister Mahdi had resigned and then stayed on in an uncertain "acting' capacity. The Kurdish regional government remained divided, and the government failed to effectively aid the Sunni cities in the West that had been shattered in the fight with ISIS.

The central government's Army and Air Force remained largely separate from. the Kurdish forces in the north, and efforts to integrate the various Shi'ite and Sunni Popular Militia Forces that had helped fight ISIS into the central government's forces resulted in an unworkable system where these deeply divided PMFs - many with close ties to Iran - reported directly to a Prime Minister with no real authority and who had lost his popular mandate.

○ Iran and Qatar to expand ties, says Rouhani

○ JCPOA: Role played by Oman's ruler Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said

by Oui on Mon Jan 13th, 2020 at 11:17:32 PM EST
Re: A Final Warning (none / 0)
UIA752 Victims: Alberta Community Suffers

Without recent escalations, Iran plane crash victims would be "home with their families": Trudeau

by Oui on Tue Jan 14th, 2020 at 08:48:02 AM EST
JCPOA Breaking Apart as E3 Bows to US (none / 0)
.

.
Boris Johnson sides with the concept of the "Trump deal".

"Trump is a great dealmaker ... let's work together to replace the JCPOA and get the Trump deal instead."

After Trump dealt the Iran nuclear deal a fatal blow, the White House will be delighted its "sustained pressure" had paid off.

European EU3 trigger the dispute mechanism in Iran nuclear deal

by Oui on Tue Jan 14th, 2020 at 11:55:38 AM EST
Imminent Threat Another Crucial Trump Lie (none / 0)
Ryabkov: US policies, European dependency main reason for probable JCPOA death | Mehr News - Dec. 26, 2019 |

Russian FM Lavrov calls US demands from Iran 'nonsense' | Mehr News - Dec. 22, 2019 |

The days ahead of the Qassem Soleimani assassination is a provocation ...

There was NO imminent threat, just White House bullying tactics ... and the BIGGER strategy of war with Iran.

Painful not to see human rights criminal Kissinger in the Pompeo team photo-op.

by Oui on Tue Jan 14th, 2020 at 12:18:44 PM EST
Doomsday Postponed by Heavy Flood in Israel (none / 0)
There must be a God or Jahweh to keep the chosen people out of harm's way ...

by Oui on Tue Jan 14th, 2020 at 12:26:38 PM EST
Trump Ordered Death of Soleimani in June (none / 0)
Remember John Bolton and his vicious doctrine vs. Iran?

The Commander-in-Chief acted last June after the US drone was taken out. REVENGE is the term used.

Donald Trump authorized the killing of Soleimani seven months ago | JPost |

The report also indicated that the presidential directive was issued in June, on the condition that he would sign off on any specific operation to kill Soleimani.

The alleged prior knowledge Trump had may undermine the official claim that Soleimani was planning imminent attacks on Americans. "There have been a number of options presented to the president over the course of time," according to a  senior administration official said, who noted it was "some time ago" that the president's aides discussed assassinating Soleimani on a list of potential retaliatory responses to Iranian aggression.

The report also noted that US intelligence have been tracking Soleimani for many years, and with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's urging, discussed the possibility of retaliating against Soleimani after Pompeo revealed intelligence that showed the existence of "very serious threats that didn't come to fruition."

Moreover, talks of killing Soleimani were also brought up in 2017 between Trump and then national security adviser Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, later becoming more serious upon John Bolton taking over the position, the latter of whom resigned following policy disagreements between him and the Trump administration.

Under Bolton's advice, Trump declared the entire IRGC organization as a terrorist group, equivalent to organizations such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

My earlier diaries ...

○ United States of America Declared a Bandit State
○ Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani Martyred In Baghdad

by Oui on Tue Jan 14th, 2020 at 12:50:43 PM EST
Re: A Final Warning (none / 1)
Do you have the faintest fucking idea what consent US fed gov wants from peoples of India that it cannot obtaine by "diplomatic" negotiation with Modi?
by Cat on Tue Jan 14th, 2020 at 09:53:28 PM EST
Europe Has Lost All Leverage in Iran (none / 0)
○ Has Europe's Iran policy failed? | Al Jazeera |

'Trump deal' could replace 2015 Iran nuclear accord, Boris Johnson says | CNBC |

Johnson said the U.K. would come under pressure to jettison the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran - signed between Iran and the U.S., U.K. Germany, France, Russia and China - but said the deal, known formally as the JCPOA (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) should be replaced in order to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

"We're going to come under pressure, everybody will say, `well you've got to get rid of this nuclear deal, the JCPOA,' that's what Trump wants. My point to our American friends is, look, somehow or other we've got to stop the Iranians acquiring a nuclear weapon, that's what the JCPOA does, but if we're going to get rid of it, then we need a replacement," Johnson told BBC Breakfast on Tuesday.

○ US killing of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani is merely its latest affront to international law and order

○ Trump administration's re-establishment of deterrence in its policy toward Iran, and how it correlates to America's overarching national security strategy | Hoover Inst. - Pompeo speech |

by Oui on Tue Jan 14th, 2020 at 10:03:11 PM EST
Re: Europe Has Lost All Leverage in Iran (none / 0)
Europe's dangerous irrelevance in Washington and the Middle East | Carnegie Europe |
by Oui on Tue Jan 14th, 2020 at 11:19:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe Has Lost All Leverage in Iran (none / 0)
The European plan seems to be to let Iran rebuild it's military capacity, so Yes, not a great strategy.

-----
sapere aude
by Number 6 on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 10:57:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Bipartisan Unity to Obliterate the People of Iran (none / 0)
Clinton says U.S. could "totally obliterate" Iran | Reuters 2008 |

Clinton said the question of Iran merited an hypothetical discussion because a nuclear Tehran would require straightforward Cold War-style deterrence. "It's a question not of what might be on or off the table," she said.

Meanwhile, Obama said he would respond 'forcefully and swiftly' to an Iranian attack against Israel or any U.S. ally, whether conventional or nuclear.

In 2015: Hillary Clinton: "If I were President ...."

by Oui on Tue Jan 14th, 2020 at 10:47:27 PM EST
Re: Bipartisan Unity to Obliterate the People (none / 1)
Paul Krugman in Imperial Fantasy Land
Every time the United States does something vicious, stupid or both, a great chorus erupts from the American choir: "This is not who we are." The sound is defiant, heroic and ridiculous, like hearing "Ode to Joy" sung by a thousand synthetic, smart-speaker voices and backed by an orchestra of slide whistles. ...


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 03:09:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Bipartisan Unity to Obliterate the People (none / 0)
Creating CHAOS

Selling state-of-the-art weapons to authoritarian regimes which have played a major role in Middle East unrest and regime change with mercenary armies. See the build-up of Abu Dhabi, KSA and Qatar.

At this moment 3000 Sudanese (funded by Saudis of 9/11 infamy) and some 3000 Syrians (jihadists armed and transported by Turkey) are fighting on different sides in Libya. Remember Hillary and Musmmar in 2011 ... and Brown/Cameron and Sarkozy?

Wars of choice are ugly and very stupid. The Shia/Sunni divide and the Muslim Brotherhood. More blowback and terror across an unruly world as Planet Earth and Human rights are completely forgotten. The revenge of Nature cannot be stopped, the critical moment has passed.

by Oui on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 04:30:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Bipartisan Unity to Obliterate the People (none / 1)
There are no events in US American history to demonstrate that its government has ever cultivated respect for "domestic tranquility" or international law and order. There are centuries of lip service, however, given to principles of "peace in our time".
These are noble sentiments that have the disadvantage of being completely wrong. American forces have acted to secure commercial interests since Thomas Jefferson decided to fight the "Barbary pirates." ...

Me: How many times have I posted to the innerboobs Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1789-2012, in order to dispel lies in which your identities are invested?
Conscience of a Liberal: "I'm not going to answer this; truly, I don't know. But it's important. ...

To some extent we may be looking at reverse causation, with troubled economies forced into harsh austerity while those doing well can keep expanding spending. ... We accept a system with considerable inequality because systems without any inequality profit or arbitrage don't work."
by Cat on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 03:21:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]
US Commerce Threat to UK PM Johnson (none / 1)
Join us in war on Iran or else ...

UK-US trade deal under threat unless Iran stance changes, says Trump ally | The Guardian |

Boris Johnson risks jeopardising a free-trade deal with the US unless he pulls the UK out of the Iran nuclear deal, a leading Republican voice on Iran has said.

The warning by Richard Goldberg, until last week a member of the White House national security council (NSC), highlights the dilemmas UK foreign and defence policymakers will face as Britain tries to steer its own course between Washington and Brussels after Brexit.

Goldberg told the BBC: "The question for prime minister Johnson is: `As you are moving towards Brexit, as your supporters of Brexit really do not like the nuclear deal, want you to get out of the nuclear deal ... what are you going to do post-31 January as you come to Washington to negotiate a free-trade agreement with the United States?'"

Goldberg, who was in charge of countering Iranian weapons of mass destruction at the NSC, said: "It's absolutely in his interests and the people of Great Britain's interests to join with President Trump, with the United States, to realign your foreign policy away from Brussels, and to join the maximum pressure campaign to keep all of us safe."

'Regime instability' in Iran is aim of leading Israel advocate's memo to White House | Mondoweiss - Sept. 27, 2017 |

After meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu today in New York, Donald Trump told the press, "You'll see very soon" what he will do with the Iran deal. Meantime, neoconservatives are lobbying the president to decertify Iran's compliance with the deal, and launch a new era of sanctions against Iran.

A leader of this effort is a young operative from the heart of the Israel lobby, Richard Goldberg, who has worked with Stand With Us  and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and is now pushing "regime instability" in an influential confidential document. [This is part of a long-standing Israeli strategy to fragment and destabilize countries in the region.]

A report at Foreign Policy by Jana Winter and Dan De Luce, which of course says little to nothing about the Israel lobby, says that opponents of the Iran nuclear deal in Congress and the Trump administration are relying on a Goldberg memo that calls on the president "to threaten an unprecedented economic embargo designed to rattle the regime."

The memo demands access to Iranian "military sites"- something that has nothing to do with nukes, and something Iran would never agree to.

○ Netanyahu hails Trump's 'courageous' UN speech blasting Iran | Times of Israel - Sept. 19, 2017 |

Who is the new member of the U.S. National Security Council? | Mher News - Jan. 9, 2019 |

Richard Goldberg | Militarist Monitor |

After Goldberg joined FDD in 2017, he quickly established himself as an outspoken advocate of military action against Iran. In February 2018, for instance, he urged the Trump administration to attack Iranian targets after Israel shot down an Iranian drone that had entered Israeli airspace. Although he had less of a spotlight than some of his more publicly vocal colleagues at FDD, he worked effectively behind the scenes to scuttle the Iran nuclear deal and promote a hostile policy toward the Islamic Republic. According to one writer, Goldberg urged Trump to wage war on Iran in Syria and to sanction U.S. allies complying with the Iran nuclear deal. He also worked behind the scenes to sabotage Trump administration officials who didn't want the president to kill the Iran deal.

After the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi embassy in Turkey in late 2018, Goldberg defended the Trump administration's understated response to the incident. He tweeted that Trump's reaction was necessary because Saudi Arabia "is a critical part of Iran strategy: using its market leverage for sanctions compliance AND oil production to offset lost Iranian crude."

Related reading ...

○ EU Takes Measures to Protect Business with Iran (July 2018)
○ Iran slams 'genocidal taunts' by US, increases uranium production | Al Jazeera - May 2019 |

A Chamberlain moment as the European powers bow to a tyrant in Washington DC. The Iraq War started by Bush/Blair at the behest of Ariel Sharon and Israel. Marching towards war with Iran, another barrier has been taken. Rightwing politicians in the US are in lockstep with the Israel lobby and PM Netanyahu.

○ Israel To U.S.: Don't Delay Iraq Attack | CBS News - Aug. 2002 |

by Oui on Wed Jan 15th, 2020 at 03:01:25 PM EST
Welcome to the Moulin Rouge (none / 1)
Lady Marmalade
Why spend mine / When I can spend yours?
Quote Investigator
She: What kind of woman do you think I am?
He: We've already established that. Now we're just haggling over the price.
Propaganda
Ideas are sifted and opinions stereotyped in the neighborhood bridge club. Leaders assert their authority through community drives and amateur theatricals.
Oklahoma!
Thousands of women may unconsciously belong to a sorority which follows the fashion set by a single society leader.
Kamala?!
"Life" satirically expresses this idea in the reply which it represents an American as giving to the Britisher who praises this country for having no upper and lower classes or castes:
"Yeah, all we have is the Four Hundred, the White-Collar Men, Bootleggers, Wall Stree Barons, Criminals, the D.A.R., the K.K.K., the Colonial Dames, the Masons, Kiwanis and Rotarians, the K. of C., the Elks, the Censors, the Cogniscenti, the Morons, Heroes like Lindy, the W.C.T.U., Politicians, Menckenites, the Booboisie, Immigrants, Broadcasters, and--the Rich and Poor."

Yet it must be remembered that these thousands of groups interlace. John Jones, besides being a Rotarian, is member of a church, of a fraternal order, of a political party, of a charitable organization, of a professional association, of a local chamber of commerce, of a league for or against prohibition or of a society for  or against lowering the tariff, of a golf club. The opinions which he receives as a Rotarian, he will tend to disseminate in the other groups in which he may have influence.
[...]
This practice of creating circumstances and of creating pictures in the minds of millions of persons is very common. Virtually no important undertaking is now carried on without it, whether that enterpise be building a cathedral, endowing a university, marketing a moving picture, floating a large bond issue, or electing a president. Sometimes the effect on the public is created by a professional propagandist, sometimes by an amateur deputed for the job.
[Bernays: 17-25]

DICTION CORNER: moulin
by Cat on Wed Jan 15th, 2020 at 06:59:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]
reference (none / 1)
"Knowledge management"
wikiwtf
Life was an American magazine published weekly until 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, Life was a wide-ranging weekly general interest magazine known for the quality of its photography. ...
LIFE 1883-1936
Few people know that the true FIRST "Life Magazine" was a weekly humor publication created by the Life Publishing Company of Manhattan, New York City. It was known for its cartoons, art, amusement, news, personalities, sport, theater reviews, and more. The magazine seems like a predecessor of The New Yorker, with similar use of cartoons, poetry, jokes, cover art, and insights into culture, politics, and high society. ....
Knowledge management
Knowledge management (KM) is the process of creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of an organisation.[1] It refers to a multidisciplinary approach to achieving ["]organisational objectives["] by making the best use of knowledge. ...

archived "professional propaganda"
Fri Sep 28th, 2007 at 10:11:03 AM EST
by Cat on Wed Jan 15th, 2020 at 10:25:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: reference (none / 0)
by Cat on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 03:26:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Welcome to the Moulin Rouge (none / 1)
Grayzone | Under US pressure
In 2018, when Facebook removed the pages of alternative media outlets that challenged Washington's narratives, Jamie Fly, a US government-backed neoconservative operative, promised that it was "just the beginning." (Fly soon after became the president and CEO of the US government's propaganda arm Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, or RFE/RL.)

Fly's vow came true in the early weeks of 2020, as the US military-intelligence apparatus pushed social media giants to suppress the viewpoints of millions of people across the globe, especially those living in designated enemy states.

This is government censorship by proxy, demolishing civil rights in order to conceal inconvenient facts from the public.

by Cat on Thu Jan 16th, 2020 at 10:07:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Welcome to the Moulin Rouge (none / 1)
Channeel 4 News | Britain bans Iran's Press TV (A/V), 2012

Google deletes Press TV UK's YouTube account, 14 Jan 2020
Keeping with its Crackdown on Alternative Voices, Google Deletes Press TV from YouTube, 15 Jan
"British-Sudanese journalist Ahmed Kaballo accused Google of acting like the "judge jury and executioner" for his employer's channel, expressing his great disappointment..."

archived
A Trip to the Woodshed
31 October 2017, the US Senate Judiciary Committee, Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee ...

by Cat on Sun Jan 19th, 2020 at 02:16:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: US Commerce Threat to UK PM Johnson (none / 1)
["]Huawei critics["] must come up with an alternative, says Boris Johnson - video
< pick teeth, suck vigorously >
Buy Polish, my dude.
by Cat on Thu Jan 16th, 2020 at 12:17:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]
E3 Endangers Middle East - Abandons JCPOA (none / 1)
Rouhani to US: Leave our region for your own benefit

European troops may be at risk as E3 negate obligations to Iran: JCPOA

by Oui on Wed Jan 15th, 2020 at 06:57:45 PM EST
Re: E3 Endangers Middle East - Abandons JCPOA (none / 1)
by Oui on Wed Jan 15th, 2020 at 07:01:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
This or That - EU3 Abandons JCPOA (none / 0)

archived EU to Iran, Iraq, Libya, Africa, S.A., China ...
France, Germany, Britain trigger Iran dispute mechanism: statement
That's not going to happen.
Can't help themselves
by Cat on Wed Jan 15th, 2020 at 07:29:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Extortion: Threat to Impose 25% Tariffs on EU Cars (none / 1)
Days before Europeans warned Iran of nuclear deal violations, Trump secretly threatened to impose 25% tariff on European autos if they didn't | WaPo |

A week before Germany, France and Britain formally accused Iran of breaching the 2015 nuclear deal, the Trump administration issued a private threat to the Europeans that shocked officials in all three countries.

If they refused to call out Tehran and initiate an arcane dispute mechanism in the deal, the United States would impose a 25 percent tariff on European automobiles, the Trump officials warned, according to European officials familiar with the conversations.

Within days, the three countries would formally accuse Iran of violating the deal, triggering a recourse provision that could reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran and unravel the last remaining vestiges of the Obama-era agreement.

The U.S. effort to coerce European foreign policy through tariffs, a move one European official equated to "extortion," represents a new level of hardball tactics with America's oldest allies, underscoring the extraordinary tumult in the transatlantic relationship.

○ Iran: Europeans cannot invoke nuclear deal dispute mechanism | France24 - Nov. 2019 |

○ JCPOA Dispute Mechanism Already Used by Iran, Spokesman Tells EU3

    Mousavi said, "First of all, it is necessary to explain that the measure by the three European countries is deemed to be a totally passive action taken from the position of weakness. The process of settlement of disputes over the JCPOA was triggered by the Islamic Republic of Iran more than a year ago with the formal letters that our country's Minister of Foreign Affairs has sent to the JCPOA Joint Commission's coordinator. Thus, nothing new has happened, be it in terms of the processes or in operational terms."

Trump threat has been hanging over relations with Europe for over a year ...

○ Trump expected to delay European auto tariff decision: EU officials | Reuters - Nov. 11, 2019 |

    The Trump administration has a mid-November deadline to decide whether to impose threatened "Section 232" national security tariffs of as much as 25% on imported vehicles and parts under a Cold War-era trade law.
by Oui on Wed Jan 15th, 2020 at 08:27:33 PM EST
archived (none / 0)
Sun Jan 5th, 2020 at 10:21:26 PM EST
"NATO-insured rigs"
by Cat on Wed Jan 15th, 2020 at 08:43:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Extortion (none / 1)
"US-CHINA trade deal"
How a Hidden Parliamentary Session Revealed Trump's True Motives in Iraq
Iraq's caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi gave a series of remarks on January 5, during a parliamentary session that received surprisingly little media attention. During the session, which also saw Iraq's Parliament approve the removal of all foreign (including American) troops from the country, Abdul-Mahdi made a series of claims about the lead-up to the recent situation that placed Iraq at the heart of spiking U.S.-Iran tensions.
[...]
After the feed was cut, MPs who were present wrote down Abdul-Mahdi's remarks, which were then given to the Arabic news outlet Ida'at. Per that transcript, Abdul-Mahdi stated that:
...The Americans are the ones who destroyed the country and wreaked havoc on it. They have refused to finish building the electrical system and infrastructure projects. They have bargained for the reconstruction of Iraq in exchange for Iraq giving up 50% of oil imports. So, I refused and decided to go to China and concluded an important and strategic agreement with it. Today, Trump is trying to cancel this important agreement.
[...]
After my return from China, Trump called me and asked me to cancel the agreement, so I also refused, and he threatened [that there would be] massive demonstrations to topple me. Indeed, the demonstrations started and then Trump called, threatening to escalate in the event of non-cooperation and responding to his wishes, whereby a third party [presumed to be mercenaries or U.S. soldiers] would target both the demonstrators and security forces and kill them from atop the highest buildings and the US embassy in an attempt to pressure me and submit to his wishes and cancel the China agreement....
After six weeks of intense protests, Abdul-Mahdi submitted his resignation on November 29, just a few days after Iraq's Foreign Minister praised the new deals, including the "oil for reconstruction" deal, that had been signed with China. Abdul-Mahdi has since stayed on as Prime Minister in a caretaker role until Parliament decides on his replacement.
[...]
Indeed, according to news reports, Zhang Yao -- China's ambassador to Iraq -- "conveyed Beijing's readiness to provide military assistance" should Iraq's government request it soon after Soleimani's assassination. Yao made the offer a day after Iraq's parliament voted to expel American troops from the country. Though it is currently unknown how Abdul-Mahdi responded to the offer, the timing likely caused no shortage of concern among the Trump administration about its rapidly waning influence in Iraq.
[...]
Russia is also playing a role in the current scenario as Iraq initiated talks with Moscow regarding the possible purchase of one of its air defense systems last September, the same month that Iraq signed eight deals, including the oil deal with China. Then, in the wake of Soleimani's death, Russia again offered the air defense systems to Iraq to allow them to better defend their air space.
WSJ News Exclusive | U.S. Warns Iraq It Risks Losing Access to Key Bank Account..., 12 Jan
by Cat on Sun Jan 19th, 2020 at 01:51:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Trump Puts Max Pressure On Ally PM Rutte (none / 0)
Even a Rutte promise to help bomb Iran, won't cut dice in today's dilemma ...

Chinese ambassador warns Dutch government against restricting ASML supplies | Nasdaq / Reuters |

Trade relations between China and the Netherlands would be damaged if Dutch semiconductor equipment supplier ASML is not allowed to ship its newest machines to China, Beijing's ambassador to the Netherlands was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Reuters reported last week that the Netherlands had withheld the licence ASML needs to export its newest machines to China following pressure from the U.S. government. .

ASML, one of the Netherlands' largest companies, is a near monopolist in lithography, an essential step in the manufacture of computer chips. China has invested billions to develop its burgeoning semiconductor industry, but needs ASML equipment if its chipmakers are to compete with the best in Taiwan, South Korea and the United States.

"We are concerned that the Netherlands is politicizing our trade relationship under American pressure," Chinese ambassador Xu Hong was quoted as saying in the Het Financieele Dagblad newspaper.

○ H.E. Dr. Xu Hong is the new Chinese Ambassador in The Hague | Diplomat Magazine |

Dutch company caught in crossfire of Sino-US feud for tech supremacy ...

Exclusive: ASML chip tool delivery to China delayed amid US ire | Nikkei Asian Review - Nov. 6, 2019 |

Europe's largest manufacturer of specialized chipmaking machines, has fallen prey to Washington's desire to curb Beijing's technological ascent and delayed shipment of a crucial tool needed to develop China's semiconductor industry, the Nikkei Asian Review has learned.

ASML's move comes as the U.S. carefully scrutinizes all major companies in Chinese tech supply chains, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest chipmaker, which supplies chips to Huawei, the Chinese tech company that the U.S. has accused of spying.

China's biggest maker of computer chips, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., placed the order with ASML in April last year for its cutting-edge machine, which is needed to produce the latest, most powerful chips. But that shipment is now "pending later notice," three people close to the situation said.

As the world's sole supplier of the so-called extreme ultraviolet lithography chip tool, or EUV, the delayed shipment is a blow to Beijing's aspirations to achieve self-sufficient, technological supremacy. However, ASML's use of the word "delay" suggests that eventual shipment has not been ruled out.

A sound investment from the Dutch company ...

○ ASML acquires SVG, becomes largest litho supplier | EE Times - Feb. 2000 |

○ ASML of the Netherlands reached an agreement with the U.S. government to try and sell the lens-polishing operation SVG's Tinsley Unit

    Dutch chipmaking equipment manufacturer ASM Lithography said it received approval from the U.S. government to go ahead with its bid for California-based Silicon Valley Group Inc.

    ASML said in a statement it will try to sell Silicon Valley Group's optical unit, Tinsley Laboratories, which was the source of concerns on the part of the U.S. Defense Department.

    Military officials feared the technology, used for making lenses for spy satellites, could fall into the hands of countries the U.S. does not like.

by Oui on Wed Jan 15th, 2020 at 11:04:41 PM EST
Relentless War: Fighting Fascism (none / 0)
Minorities banding together to fight fascist right ... what has happened in the American 21st Century? A long recovery of the Republican rightwing extremism after McCarthyism and Barry Goldwater ... and Hillary Rodham was a supporter? Just as the Kennedy's were. Fighting Communism with FBI's J. Edgar Hoover.

When Jewish WWII vets pulverized postwar UK fascists to tamp down rising racism | Times of Israel |

Six months after the end of World War II, Britain's fascist leader, Sir Oswald Mosley, attended a Christmas party. He was given a rapturous reception by 1,000 stalwart supporters -- complete with raised-arm salutes. Despite the defeat of the Third Reich which he had so admired, Mosley remained convinced that Britain's fascist moment was still to come.

But the former head of the British Union of Fascists would also face a group of equally committed opponents -- mainly Jewish ex-servicemen -who fought, spied upon and, ultimately, helped to defeat Mosley's much hoped-for return to the political stage.

As Daniel Sonabend brilliantly captures in his new book, "We Fight Fascists: The 43 Group and Their Forgotten Battle for Post-war Britain," this was a tale of often bloody, and occasionally terrifying "organized chaos."

○ The Rise and Fall of the Liberal International Order | MIT Press Dec. 2019 - John J. Mearsheimer |

Against all odds after the creation of the State of Israel, socialism, a turn to the right with emigration of Soviet Jews. Now PM Netanyahu has become part of rightwing extremism and religious intolerance ... once again, it fits well. Just unbelievable!

Related reading: alliance between Trump and Netanyahu ...

○ New Fascist Pariah States America and Israel Lashing Out
○ Seychelles Back-channel Leads to Abu Dhabi
○ Rise of Populism Based on Terror and Islamophobia

by Oui on Thu Jan 16th, 2020 at 07:31:35 PM EST
Re: A Final Warning (none / 0)

No surprise who the reader was ...

IHRC - origin of award

The Annual Islamophobia Awards is the name if a spoof awards ceremony held by the IHRC, Islamic Human Rights Commission based in London.

IHRC - twitter

Islamophobia Awards 2018

Islamophobe of the Year - Tory Conservatives

Related reading ...

○ Social-Democrats and Leftists Need to Fight Back
○ Israel Lobby is Leading in Attack on Corbyn

by Oui on Thu Jan 16th, 2020 at 07:46:41 PM EST
Boasting About Getting Rid of Beast Corbyn (none / 0)
by Oui on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 04:42:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Trump's Pride - June 2019 (none / 0)
The decision to assassinate Qassem Soleimani was taken in June 2019 - John Bolton's doctrine ...

○ Trump's Pride Shot Out of the Air by Iran

○ Trump's Iran tweet could have caused a deadly miscalculation | Vox - June 2019 |

    Tensions skyrocketed after President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal last year and reimposed tough sanctions on the country. The situation has only grown worse since early May when the US warned Iran might attack Americans in the Middle East. In response, Iran downed a valuable US military drone and has been blamed for attacks on six oil tankers.

    Those actions have led many to worry that a full-blown US-Iran war could be on the way. At a time like this, it's paramount that the leaders of the two countries be extremely clear in their statements so that there is no possibility of misunderstanding.

    Which is what makes Trump's June 20th tweet so damn troubling.

Related reading ...

○ 'Regime instability' in Iran is aim of leading Israel advocate's memo to White House | Mondoweiss - Sept. 27, 2017 |

by Oui on Thu Jan 16th, 2020 at 08:07:55 PM EST
From the Bench @Nuremburg to the Accused Today (none / 0)
Losing the air of impartiality after 1945 with the horror of wars and the use of atomic bombs to end all wars.

Why the United States Rejects International Criminal Justice: Looking Back at Nuremberg | Global Policy Journal |

    Today is my second happiest day in government.

With these words, Donald Trump's national security advisor, John R. Bolton, hailed the decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to abandon its inquiry into possible breaches of international human rights laws in Afghanistan, The New York Times reported on April 12, 2019.

And the "happiest" day of his career, according to Bolton? It occurred 15 years earlier, working for then-president George W. Bush, when he persuaded the US government to withdraw its signature from the Treaty of Rome, which established the International Criminal Court.

The ICC judges in charge of the Afghanistan case considered that such an investigation would not be possible without US cooperation, but the prosecutor of the Court, Gambia's Fatou Bensouda, has stated that she will appeal. Her request includes not only an investigation into Afghanistan but also allegations of torture in the secret prisons of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Poland, Romania and Lithuania.

Faced with US neoconservatives' uncompromising, blanket rejection ofinternational criminal justice, supporters of the ICC usually invoke the precedent of the Nuremberg Trials. They highlight the active role taken by the United States in the creation of the International Military Tribunal (IMT), which tried the 21 most senior leaders of the Nazi regime between November 1945 and October 1946.

However, the call for a return to American leadership of international criminal justice is based on a problematic historical narrative that doesn't stand up to closer examination.

Invoking the "spirit of Nuremberg"

Two weeks prior to the ICC decision, Chile Eboe-Osuji, the Nigerian judge and president of the ICC, was in Washington, DC, to see one of the last living Nuremberg prosecutors, Benjamin Ferencz (born 1920), receive the Anne Frank Award from the Dutch government.

Eboe-Osuji hailed Ferencz as a tireless American fighter for the cause of international criminal justice. Two days later, he paid a glowing tribute to Robert H. Jackson (1892-1954), chief US prosecutor at the main Nuremberg trial, recalling "America's contributions to international criminal justice".

Failure in acting responsibly ...

US Leaders Can Now Be Prosecuted for Illegal War

War is gathering around the world, and autocratic leaders are undermining the legal checks on their discretion to launch attacks abroad. With the rule of law under threat, the International Criminal Court recently defined and activated for prosecution a new crime called the "crime of aggression." The crime of aggression -- leadership responsibility for planning, preparing, initiating or waging illegal war -- has begun to permeate international, regional and national legal systems around the world. But in an age of drones, cyberattacks, insurgents and autocrats, is it too little, too late?

Noah Weisbord -- an associate professor of law at Queen's University and the author of The Crime of Aggression: The Quest for Justice in an Age of Drones, Cyberattacks, Insurgents, and Autocrats -- served on the International Criminal Court's working group that drafted the crime of aggression.

In the exclusive Truthout interview that follows, Weisbord discusses the legacy of the Nuremberg trials and the ways in which Donald Trump may have already violated international law by engaging in crimes of aggression.

Assassination of Qassem Soleimani was a violation of International Law

The US assassination of General Qassem Soleimani on the orders of President Donald Trump was an "immoral action" and a "clear violation of national and international law," according to an editorial in The New York Times.

    "The administration recently announced that, on orders of the president, the United States had `taken out' (which really means `murdered') an important military leader of a country with which we were not at war," the Times article said, which was written by Benjamin Ferencz, a Hungarian-born American lawyer.

    "As a Harvard Law School graduate who has written extensively on the subject, I view such immoral action as a clear violation of national and international law," Ferencz wrote in his op-ed.

    "The public is entitled to know the truth. The United Nations Charter, the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice in The Hague are all being bypassed. In this cyberspace world, young people everywhere are in mortal danger unless we change the hearts and minds of those who seem to prefer war to law," he added.

    Ferencz, 99, said he "cannot remain silent" anymore over US war crimes.

by Oui on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 01:53:27 PM EST
Re: From the Bench @Nuremburg to the Accused Today (none / 0)
○ About Benjamin Ferensc

The Holocaust as a Call to Conscience

In 1945, Ferencz was a 25-year-old American soldier when he was transferred to the army's newly created War Crimes Branch, where he was asked to gather evidence of Nazi atrocities. What he witnessed on this assignment changed him and defined his life's work. He writes:

    Indelibly seared into my memory are the scenes I witnessed while liberating these centers of death and destruction. Camps like Buchenwald, Mauthausen, and Dachau are vividly imprinted in my mind's eye. Even today, when I close my eyes, I witness a deadly vision I can never forget--the crematoria aglow with the fire of burning flesh, the mounds of emaciated corpses stacked like cordwood waiting to be burned. . . . I had peered into Hell.
 

Ferencz graduated from Harvard Law School in 1943, before he joined the army. After the war, he was asked to join the team of prosecutors at the Nuremberg trials. At age 27, he was the chief prosecutor for the United States in the Einsatzgruppen Case, in which 22 leaders of the Nazi mobile killing units were charged with murdering more than a million people. Using evidence Ferencz had gathered while working for the army's War Crimes Branch, the tribunal convicted all of the defendants and sentenced 13 to death.

○ Poland cancels Israeli officials' trip over Holocaust property restitution row | Times of Israel |
○ Yad Vashem invites Polish president to Auschwitz liberation event | JPost |

by Oui on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 02:17:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: From the Bench @Nuremburg - Today's War Crimes (none / 0)

by Oui on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 03:16:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Acting As Goebbels, Brasil's Culture Minister Fire (none / 0)

Roberto Alvim voois discurso do nazista Joseph Goebbels e causa onda de indignacao | O Globo |

by Oui on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 05:13:12 PM EST
Help me. (none / 0)
I have difficulty identifying any other personnage in the annals of European history who performed identical or even similar duties to those entrusted to the fiend Goebbels by his liege and state.

Why is that?

by Cat on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 05:25:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Help me. (none / 0)
Goebbels and propaganda is a connotation in a period of dark history. Made use of modern technological advances as radio to broadcast to the masses. Dark companion of Der Führer.

    Russian theorist of Marxism Georgy Plekhanov and later elaborated upon by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin in a pamphlet What Is to Be Done? (1902), in which he defined "propaganda" as the reasoned use of historical and scientific arguments to indoctrinate the educated and enlightened (the attentive and informed publics, in the language of today's social sciences); he defined "agitation" as the use of slogans, parables, and half-truths to exploit the grievances of the uneducated and the unreasonable.

○ The American Century of Mass Manipulation and New Propaganda

by Oui on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 06:32:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
It ain't "dark" history, as such. (none / 0)
Now is it. ppl been telecommunicating for millennia. You've heard about them cuniform tablets at least, haven't you?

alrighty then. I don't suppose the "propagandist" Goebbels genii sprung from Zeus's forehead or BERNAYS's 79 pp monograph, do you? I don't suppose ppls of Europe had never before uttered a word to one another, attended a sermon, hanging, or visitation of teh king.

So. Why do I have difficulty identifying any other personnage in the annals of European history who performed identical or even similar duties to those entrusted to the fiend Goebbels by his liege and state?

by Cat on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 07:02:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning - Policing Extremist Groups (none / 0)

Full article about "inclusiveness" ...

Greenpeace, Eco protest groups included with neo-Nazis on UK counter-terror list

A police document distributed to medical staff and teachers as part of anti-terrorism briefings included Greenpeace, Peta and other non-violent groups as well as neo-Nazis, Combat 18 and National Action.

The guide has been pulled after criticism grew louder.

by Oui on Fri Jan 17th, 2020 at 10:01:58 PM EST
NY Times Says 'Not Sanders' (none / 0)
by Oui on Mon Jan 20th, 2020 at 09:21:50 PM EST
Re: NY Times Says 'Not Sanders' (none / 0)
Variety magazine: The New York Times' Made-for-TV Endorsement Missed the Mark (Column)
"The Times editorial board seems to want less to be a traditional media force than to have the new-media power of a decade and a half ago, to decide which Democratic candidate will be 'The Apprentice.'"
by Cat on Tue Jan 21st, 2020 at 12:38:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]
MLK Day: African Americans More Abandoned (none / 0)

Holocaust Centers made the use of "Wiesenthal" commercial for far-right issues.

by Oui on Mon Jan 20th, 2020 at 09:30:06 PM EST
Re: MLK Day: African Americans More Abandoned (none / 0)
heavens-to-betsy: Someone woke up feeling militant today.
by Cat on Tue Jan 21st, 2020 at 12:33:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: MLK Day: African Americans More Abandoned (none / 0)
by Cat on Tue Jan 21st, 2020 at 01:12:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Netanyahu: A Final Warning (none / 0)
by Oui on Tue Jan 21st, 2020 at 10:10:24 AM EST
More on Saudi Salman Hack of Bezos (none / 0)
Salman's What's App to Jeff Bezos infected phone for a hack | The Guardian |

Earlier I have written about the suspected ties UAE (Erik Prince) - Saudi Arabia monarchy - Israel (Netanyahu) - Trump billionaire supporters to steal presidential election 2016. Add Steve Bannon - Cambridge Analytica - Facebook Zuckerberg - rightwing crazies in the US and UK ... what is the result of US Congress oversight and intelligence arm :: Putin did it!

by Oui on Tue Jan 21st, 2020 at 10:13:57 PM EST
Re: A Final Warning (none / 1)
In 2011, Putin had stepped aside and Medvedev was President of Russia.

Russian PM accuses NATO of cynically deceiving UNSC ahead if attacks on Syria

After invoking Article 5 on NATO partners after 9/11 for participating in Afghanistan, the military intervention in Libya was a test case for military partnership of European nations.

The Kosovo intervention was a trial and illegal by standards of International Law and UN Charter. Lessons learned by FLOTUS under husband Bill.

by Oui on Tue Jan 21st, 2020 at 10:55:23 PM EST
Re: A Final Warning (none / 0)
by Oui on Tue Jan 21st, 2020 at 10:57:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 0)
by Oui on Tue Jan 21st, 2020 at 11:00:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]
US Hostages: The Shah's Banker David Rockefeller (none / 0)
Loyalty (to oil) has its price. Damn democracy, damn elections and the Will of The People.

David Rockefeller & October Surprise Case

From the Archive: David Rockefeller's death at age 101 brought effusive eulogies, but no recollection of his mysterious role in the Iran hostage crisis of 1980, which helped sink President Carter's reelection, writes Robert Parry.

By Robert Parry (Originally published April 15, 2005)

On March 23, 1979, late on a Friday afternoon, Chase Manhattan Bank Chairman David Rockefeller and his longtime aide Joseph Verner Reed arrived at a town house in the exclusive Beekman Place neighborhood on New York's East Side. They were met inside by a small, intense and deeply worried woman who had seen her life turned upside down in the last two months.

Iran's Princess Ashraf, the strong-willed twin sister of the Iran's long-time ruler, had gone from wielding immense behind-the-scenes clout in the ancient nation of Persia to living in exile - albeit a luxurious one. With hostile Islamic fundamentalists running her homeland, Ashraf also was troubled by the plight of her ailing brother, the ousted Shah of Iran, who had fled into exile, first to Egypt and then Morocco.

Now, she was turning for help to the man who ran one of the leading U.S. banks, one which had made a fortune serving as the Shah's banker for a quarter century and handling billions of dollars in Iran's assets. Ashraf's message was straightforward. She wanted Rockefeller to intercede with Jimmy Carter and ask the President to relent on his decision against granting the Shah refuge in the United States.

A distressed Ashraf said her brother had been given a one-week deadline to leave his current place of refuge, Morocco. "My brother has nowhere to go," Ashraf pleaded, "and no one else to turn to." [See David Rockefeller, Memoirs]

Spurned Appeals

Carter had been resisting appeals to let the Shah enter the United States, fearing that admitting him would endanger the personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Teheran and other U.S. interests. In mid-February 1979, Iranian radicals had overrun the embassy and briefly held the staff hostage before the Iranian government intervened to secure release of the Americans.

○ Islamic Republic of Iran: Role Giuliani and the MEK Terrorists

○ After 35 Years, Iran Liquidates MKO Terrorist near Amsterdam

○ The White House Once Labeled Them Terrorists. Now They're Being Called Iran's Next Government | Haaretz |

○ National Archive: U.S. Policy toward Iran: From the Revolution to the JCPOA, 1978-2015

by Oui on Wed Jan 22nd, 2020 at 04:33:08 AM EST
Facebook Censors Criticism Soleimani Murder (none / 0)
by Oui on Wed Jan 22nd, 2020 at 07:16:47 AM EST
Re: Facebook Censors Criticism Soleimani Murder (none / 0)
by Oui on Wed Jan 22nd, 2020 at 11:43:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Facebook Censors Criticism Soleimani Murder (none / 0)
by Oui on Fri Jan 24th, 2020 at 10:21:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
CREEP Officer Rewarded with Ambassadorship (none / 0)
by Oui on Wed Jan 22nd, 2020 at 10:56:14 PM EST
Re: CREEP Officer Rewarded with Ambassadorship (none / 0)
It can be revealed!

[INCONTINENCE ALERT]

I did not know this. Poor, suffering Martha, tossed like a bale of hay on the bonfire.

by Cat on Wed Jan 22nd, 2020 at 11:41:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: A Final Warning (none / 0)
Egypt Independent | Masked gunmen kill local commander of Iran's security forces
"The slain commander, Abdolhossein Mojaddami, headed the Basij forces, a paramilitary wing of the Revolutionary Guard used for internal security and other tasks, in the town of Darkhoein. He was gunned down in front of his home in the town in the country's oil rich Khuzestan province."
RFERL/VOA | Iran's Basij Force -- The Mainstay Of Domestic Security, 2008 propaganda
by Cat on Thu Jan 23rd, 2020 at 03:32:00 PM EST
Sanders-Biden In Lead: An Election Poll Update (none / 0)
Which Democratic candidates are receiving the most support from prominent members of their party?

The 2020 Endorsement Primary

○ Election Update: It's Cherry-Picking Season | FiveThirtyEight |

by Oui on Thu Jan 23rd, 2020 at 07:57:40 PM EST
Closer Than Ever: 100 Sec to Midnight (none / 0)
Doomsday Clock suggests the end is closer than ever | DW News |

The Most Dangerous Situation That Humanity Has Ever Faced | Common Dreams |

by Oui on Thu Jan 23rd, 2020 at 08:36:31 PM EST
Re: A Final Warning (none / 1)
US hits Iran with new sanctions, keeps some waivers in place
Brian Hook, U.S. envoy to Iran, said the U.S. would renew for 60 days sanctions waivers that permit Russian, European and Chinese companies to continue to work on Iran's civilian nuclear facilities without running afoul of U.S. sanctions.
[...]
Iran hard-liners in Congress, including Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, have argued that the waivers should be revoked because they give Iran access to technology that could be used for weapons.
[...]
Separately, Treasury announced that a new financial channel for humanitarian goods has been created with Switzerland to benefit medical patients in Iran. Hook said four shipments of cancer and transplant drugs have already been delivered to Iran.

"Iranian cancer and transplant patients are receiving treatments through this channel, which is subject to strict due diligence measures to avoid misuse by the Iranian regime," Treasury said in a statement.

by Cat on Thu Jan 30th, 2020 at 10:00:51 PM EST
A Final Warning: Rise of Fascism | 113 comments (113 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)


Display:
Go to: [ European Tribune Homepage : Top of page : Top of comments ]

Top Diaries

The depolarization of Northern Ireland

by Frank Schnittger - Dec 3
14 comments

Macron Rebooting Alliances Middle East

by Oui - Dec 5
8 comments

Latest Data Omicron Variant

by Oui - Nov 30
53 comments

Sweden almost has a new PM

by fjallstrom - Nov 26
9 comments

They think it's about Northern Ireland

by Frank Schnittger - Nov 11
27 comments

Dutch Tax Authorities Algorithm Unjust and Unlawful

by Oui - Nov 23
2 comments

Rightwing Protest Rotterdam Turns Violent

by Oui - Nov 19
36 comments

City Agriculture - November 14, 2021

by gmoke - Nov 14
2 comments

Recent Diaries

Israel's IDF Gaza Bombing in Dutch Court

by Oui - Dec 8

Macron Rebooting Alliances Middle East

by Oui - Dec 5
8 comments

The depolarization of Northern Ireland

by Frank Schnittger - Dec 3
14 comments

Climate Gloom A New Age of Nihilism?

by Oui - Dec 3
1 comment

ANAI: 40 Years of Ecological Development in Costa Rica

by gmoke - Dec 2

Blinken and NATO in Latvia for Pow-Wow

by Oui - Dec 1
16 comments

Latest Data Omicron Variant

by Oui - Nov 30
53 comments

Honduras: First woman president?

by Oui - Nov 28
15 comments

Medical Oath of Hippocrates

by Oui - Nov 28
5 comments

Living In Two Worlds

by Oui - Nov 26
8 comments

Sweden almost has a new PM

by fjallstrom - Nov 26
9 comments

Dutch Tax Authorities Algorithm Unjust and Unlawful

by Oui - Nov 23
2 comments

A Nuclear Iran: Full Court Press and Warmongering

by Oui - Nov 21
46 comments

Rightwing Protest Rotterdam Turns Violent

by Oui - Nov 19
36 comments

Rise In Covid Infections and False QR Passes

by Oui - Nov 16
60 comments

City Agriculture - November 14, 2021

by gmoke - Nov 14
2 comments

Ten Days That Redefined PM Johnson

by Oui - Nov 14
37 comments

Nuclear Arms Race Negates Goal of Green Energy Transition

by Oui - Nov 12
39 comments

They think it's about Northern Ireland

by Frank Schnittger - Nov 11
27 comments

NATO's Battleground Ukraine v. Russia

by Oui - Nov 8
55 comments

More Diaries...