by Oui
Wed Jan 2nd, 2019 at 07:49:39 PM EST
Positioned in the Trump Administration on the post of "civil rights" ... tearing down basic laws of humanity and civility in a New Era of distortion of facts, selling snake oil New Style and pure rightwing propaganda for political goals.
The U.S. Senate approved bigot Kenneth Marcus as Trump's Civil Rights Czar for Education in the reign of Betsy DeVos.
○ Ken Marcus Confirmed to Lead U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights
○ Senate approves controversial Jewish rights activist for top civil rights post | Times of Israel |
"No Democrats voted for Kenneth Marcus, who backs a definition of anti-Semitism that includes some forms of Israel criticism."
More below the fold ...
by Oui
Wed Jan 2nd, 2019 at 12:53:05 PM EST
After Brexit the United Kingdom will be open for global trade deals. Their favorite partnership will be with the nations united in the Five Eyes as security is imperative. The UK will exert its forces across the globe to protect [?] trade routes and alliances. PM Theresa May would love to reach a deal with the New World, especially with Trump's America. World's number One leader in economic strength, digital technology, financials, banking, stock markets and ownership of the Internet.
As the 21th Century Empire, one needs to own its very exceptional wall. The Chinese in ancient times had theirs. It still exists and is one of few man-built structures seen from outer space on planet Earth.
The Soviets had their Iron Curtain which fell in 1989.
Trump is hastily looking for funds, let's say $5bn, for a lasting achievement along the border with Mexico. Is Donald worried the Mexicans want the stolen lands returned from the Gringos? Looking for an adequate new name for Trump's fence or wall. The Bamboo Curtain was not available, perhaps the Cactus Curtain as tribute to the locals suffering from the migrants moving North across the Rio Grande river.
○ The protected areas on the border harbor an incredible array of wildlife and plants
Trump's America is quite eager to make a deal with great ally, the British conservatives to differentiate with Labour's Corbyn. Heaven forbid.
More below the fold ...
by Oui
Mon Dec 31st, 2018 at 12:14:49 PM EST
SYRIA THE AFTERMATH - A REVIEW
Pax Americana - the years of the Bush/Cheney wrecking ball in the Middle East completed under the Obama administration. What has the 21st century wrought with the War on Terror after the 9/11 attacks by Saudi led Al Qaeda jihadists. Hundreds of thousands died, the majority innocent civilians and hardship for most in decades to come. The world has NOT become a safer place, when will Western politicians realize cause and effect of their policy and deeds. The United Kingdom and France have played a key role in the development around the Arab Spring in North Africa and the Middle East (MENA). The military aggression to solve conflicts must be broken down. Europe should respect the promises made and goals set with he founding of the EEC in 1957.
The financial crisis of the banking mafia has brought hardship and was a stimulant for a populist revolt in European countries. The crisis of inequality should be tackled and the basic needs of all should be met: income, healthcare and a pension. Priorities should be set and there should be a focus on the real issues and avoid bureaucracy and over-regulation that hits business and citizens. Hopefully Brussels will reform with the exit of Jean-Claude Juncker.
More below the fold ...
by Oui
Fri Dec 28th, 2018 at 11:08:22 PM EST
Music's Mystery Mogul: Len Blavatnik, Trump and Their Russian Friends | Hollywood Reporter - Oct. 2018 |
In May 2013, Martin Scorsese went to the Cannes Film Festival -- not to be feted but to pitch a project: Silence, his not-exactly-commercial saga of two priests in 17th century Japan. The director had dinner aboard billionaire Len Blavatnik's 164-foot yacht, Odessa, named for his birthplace in Ukraine. Scorsese and Blavatnik then headed to a lavish party hosted by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, owner of the English Premier League's Chelsea F.C., who, like Blavatnik, had made his fortune following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Abramovich was hosting director Baz Luhrmann, whose The Great Gatsby was having its premiere at the festival. One observer was struck by the scene: "Len got to arrive with his prestigious guest and Abramovich was there with his, so it was oligarchs showing their connections." Now, sources say, Blavatnik is negotiating a major multiplatform deal with Luhrmann, and Warner Bros. plans to make a long-gestating Elvis Presley film with the Australian director, presumably with Blavatnik's backing.
The use of the O-word would annoy Blavatnik, 61. The press-shy billionaire has long maintained that he's not an oligarch but a naturalized American citizen who emigrated from the Soviet Union [Ukraine] as a young man of 21 in 1978. Nonetheless, he has found himself on the radar of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, according to ABC News. Amid the drumbeat of the probe of Russian interference with the 2016 U.S. election, Blavatnik is on a quest to achieve his stated goal of building a "media platform for the 21st century."
Continued below the fold ...
by Oui
Thu Dec 27th, 2018 at 10:32:40 AM EST
Parliamentarians call emergency session "to discuss blatant violation of Iraq's sovereignty and to stop these aggressive actions by Trump"
Iraqi politicians criticise Donald Trump's visit to country | The National UAE |
President Donald Trump's surprise visit to American troops in Iraq was criticised by political and militia leaders as a violation of the country's sovereignty.
Iraqi parliamentarians also revealed that a meeting between the US president and Iraqi prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi had to be cancelled due to a disagreement over venue.
Sabah al Saadi, the leader of the Islah parliamentary bloc, called for an emergency session of parliament "to discuss this blatant violation of Iraq's sovereignty and to stop these aggressive actions by Trump who should know his limits: the US occupation of Iraq is over."
Continued below the fold ...
by Oui
Wed Dec 26th, 2018 at 08:30:44 AM EST
Put the first comments in the December thread together in a diary ...
Re: December Open Thread (none / 1)
I have somewhat been following the fall-out of the Integrity Initiative documents.
The short version is that somebody put up their documents - hacked or leaked - and the picture have emerged of a US/UK/NATO funded organisation with ties to intelligence services that under the cloak of a charity has been "countering Russian propaganda" by propaganda of their own.
So far their accomplishments appear to be getting a volunteer into the Sanders campaign, stopping an appointment in Spain, writing all kinds of "Russians are coming" articles and dissing Corbyn on Twitter.
The most comprehensive write-up I have found is this: http://syriapropagandamedia.org/working-papers/briefing-note-on-the-integrity-initiative
Anyone noticed any traditional media coverage of it yet?
by fjallstrom on Tue Dec 25th, 2018 at 03:10:57 PM PDT
Worthwhile to put contents in a diary for some visibility as this is not the end of debate ...
Continued below the fold ...
by Oui
Tue Dec 25th, 2018 at 10:48:31 PM EST
The Israeli assassin who teamed up with Mohammad Dahlan | Ynet News - Oct. 2018 |
Israeli-American Abraham Golan was hired by the UAE and Mohammed Dahlan, former head of Palestinian Preventive Security, to head a team of mercenaries tasked with killing a Yemeni Islamist leader, according to a Buzzfeed report.
The popular American news and entertainment website Buzzfeed published an investigative report of a mercenary operation in Yemen that entailed an unusual collaboration between an Israeli-American assassin, the United Arab Emirates and the former head of the Palestinian preventive security forces Mohammad Dahlan.
Former head of security for the Palestinian Authority Mohammed Dahlan (left) and Spear Operations Group founder Abraham Golan
More below the fold ...
by Oui
Tue Dec 25th, 2018 at 09:49:34 AM EST
SEASON'S GREETINGS TO ALL
In the media some attention given to Apollo 8 travel to the moon and the spectacular Earthrise photo taken by man ...
Christmas 1968 - A Reflection On Fragility
Planet Earth's sliver of sustainability - the fragile atmosphere measuring infinitesimally small in size.
The Apollo 8 voyage 50 years on: reflecting on our common humanity and fragility
Despite everything in 1968, the Earth was good, and the astronauts closed by wishing everyone: "good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas and God bless all of you -- all of you on the good Earth". Good, and fragile, and it required keeping, far better than had been done with war or racial discrimination or environmental pollution. A small planet, insignificant in size compared to the galaxy, but still our home and one perfectly suited for life, with water and air and soil and a sun nearby to give warmth.
(Credit NASA)
More below the fold ....
by Oui
Sun Dec 23rd, 2018 at 07:29:46 PM EST
The Myth of Rome, Athens and Trump
Enlightened by a Israeli news article about Trump in comparison with Roman emperor Caligula, I thought to frame Trump newest careless endeavor to get rid of Mattis and assign the Pentagon job to his man from Boeing - well a winged type anyway.
○ Trump taps Boeing executive Pat Shanahan for deputy secretary of defense | Seattle Times |
More below the fold ...
by Oui
Fri Dec 21st, 2018 at 11:30:39 AM EST
More below the fold ...
by Oui
Thu Dec 20th, 2018 at 09:59:43 AM EST
As the World Turns ...
○ BoE warns EU that £41tn of derivatives at risk after Brexit | FT - Oct. 9, 2018 |
Europe makes contingency plans for clearing-houses after Brexit | The Economist - Nov. 29, 2018 |
AS THEY PREPARE for Brexit, many of London's financial firms have begun to move some staff, or operations, to the continent. But financial contracts, notably derivatives, are difficult to uproot. London's clearing-houses, which ensure that a contract is honoured even if one side goes bust, are globally important. As fears of an acrimonious Brexit have risen, so too have those of havoc. Now European Union regulators have unveiled contingency plans.
Continued below the fold ...
by Oui
Fri Dec 14th, 2018 at 12:17:49 PM EST
I listened to and watched the brief press conference late last night of Tusk and Juncker. There were some words of annoyance, a personal grievance. I estimate Juncker was irritated by UK media and Tory criticism of his person. In addition, I do think PM Theresa May has never understood the internal workings of the Brexit negotiations and the EU. Last summer May went around Michel Barnier to talk to heads of state. On het way to Brussels, May talked to Dutch PM Rutte and German chancellor Angela Merkel. In the UK negotiation tactics, Theresa May changed her team leader as often as a FA Club releases a manager. These are not good signs of a well thought out process to get to a clearly defined goal. At this late stage, the EU 27 are really fed up with the shenanigans of UK politics at Westminster. Time has run out. The no-deal contingency plans are rolled out in a manner there will be no possibility to get the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement through the House of Commons in time. May has not delivered. What she promised in her cabinet and in Parliament were no-go proposals for the EU. She should have known.
More below the fold ...
by Oui
Wed Dec 12th, 2018 at 08:04:33 AM EST
UK Government with PM Theresa May in shutdown due to hurdle brought by her own Tory party members.
No PMQ today in Parliament, no Minister's meeting to discuss her escape to the EU for one day and no meeting with DUP's Arlene Foster. UK and the EU heading for a no deal to be decided by the Tory party members tonight whether Theresa May survives or is set aside. Great dissatisfaction may trump the nation's interest and push May out!
Brexit in chaos as Tory MPs trigger vote of no confidence in May | The Guardian |
Conservative MPs have triggered a vote of no confidence in Theresa May, plunging the Brexit process into chaos as Tory colleagues indicated they no longer had faith in the prime minister to deliver the deal.
Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 Committee, has received at least 48 letters from Conservative MPs calling for a vote of no confidence in May. Under party rules, a contest is triggered if 15% of Conservative MPs write to the chair of the committee of Tory backbenchers.
A ballot will be held on Wednesday evening between 6pm and 8pm, Brady said, with votes counted "immediately afterwards and an announcement will be made as soon as possible".
In a press release, he said: "The threshold of 15% of the parliamentary party seeking a vote of confidence in the leader of the Conservative party has been exceeded."
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by Oui
Sat Dec 8th, 2018 at 02:31:03 PM EST
"It took 15 years for the UK to be admitted because the French saw it was the English intention to compromise that plan."
[Comment by oldremainmer48]
To be specific, it were French president Charles de Gaulle and Dutch FM Joseph Luns (1956-1971) who kept the British out. They envisioned the British as troublemakers for the European Economic Community. Joseph Luns became NATO SG from 1971-1984.
With authority and a keen sense of humour, Luns chaired Council meetings rather informally compared to his predecessors. He called Ambassadors by their first name and put on slippers during lengthy Council discussions. However, Luns could become rather confrontational with those he felt were not supportive of the American view. High-minded yet visionary, he made it clear that staunch Atlanticism and a united Europe were complementary and expected others to get on board.
○ 1967: De Gaulle pulls France out of NATO's integrated military structure
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by Oui
Fri Dec 7th, 2018 at 09:24:42 PM EST
Currente headlines in news media and blogs expressing opinions and analysis I have done for many years.
Thanks to US billionaires supporting rightwing political causes in the Republican party and fusing with Israel's crime family headed by PM Netanyahu. In the meantime the Democrats were defeated by a common cause: the next war on Iran.
Just a few short headlines, for some this will make sense ... where to start?
Revealed: the hidden network behind Tommy Robinson| The Guardian |
The British far-right activist Tommy Robinson is receiving financial, political and moral support from a broad array of non-British groups and individuals, including US thinktanks, rightwing Australians and Russian trolls, a Guardian investigation has discovered.
Robinson, an anti-Islam campaigner who is leading a "Brexit betrayal" march in London on Sunday, has received funding from a US tech billionaire and a thinktank based in Philadelphia.
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by Oui
Tue Dec 4th, 2018 at 09:59:59 PM EST
In my lifetime I envisioned the Arab peninsula to become a modern state with equal rights for women. Instead we are witness to mass failure of Emirati leaders on human rights issues. Twice an Emirati princess attempted to escape from the authoritarian rule of their father and twice the women were abducted and returned to the Emirate. The world watches and does nothing ... selling your soul for a few bucks.
Human rights on the back burner as the Arab states slaughter the opposition rebels and civilian population in Yemen.
Not just the two principal Arab partners the United Kingdom and the United States of America are guilty of support in these war crimes.
○ Yemen: The devastating war waged with European weapons | DW |
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by Oui
Sat Dec 1st, 2018 at 06:02:28 AM EST
No comment - a life in service of the CIA from the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961. A direct link to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
More below the fod ....
by Oui
Mon Nov 26th, 2018 at 10:34:13 AM EST
See also fjallstrom’s new diary - Comedian frontrunner in Ukrainian presidential election.
Embattled president of Ukraine attempt to get in favor with the political leadership in the White House after two difficult years under Republican leadership and a surprise president Trump election in 2016. Could Poroshenko under guise of martial law postpone the next elections he is about to lose? Of course he is our [the Western alliance] culprit so the EU, US and NATO will stick with him and his cronies.
Crimea: Three Ukraine navy boats captured by Russian forces following firefight | The Independent |
Russia has seized three Ukrainian navy vessels following a shoot-out in the Black Sea near the Crimean peninsula, prompting the UN Security Council to call an emergency meeting.
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by Oui
Thu Nov 22nd, 2018 at 10:05:11 AM EST
Due to FOIA requests by media Nieuwsuur/Trouw, the Dutch government published documents on their website for a number of hours which contained top secret names of jihadists groups supported with supplies in military action and human rights abuse.
○ Foreign Ministry accidentally releases names of supported Syrian groups | Dutch News | [EN]
More below the fold ... a rant!
by Oui
Wed Nov 21st, 2018 at 11:05:46 PM EST
There are multiple ways to theorize the growth of populist parties across the Western world, including the North Atlantic allied countries.
Yesterday I read an extensive article in The Guardian ...
○ Why is populism suddenly all the rage?
My take on the rise of populist parties. There have always been elements present in political parties based on nationalism, anti-immigration and so-called culture of the fatherland. By the turn of the century, I felt an restlessness in the community and in the Netherlands. After the 9/11 attacks on America and the following War on Terror by the Bush/Cheney administration there was an inevitable series of events. General hatred for Muslims became the discourse in the media and between political parties. Xenophobia reared its ugly head and turned into anti-immigration policy by leading nations. A right-wing movement had a rapid growth and with the financial crisis the populists gained votes by putting blame on "the establishment".
More below the fold ...
