World Politics

[King Boonen]

Re:

Russian journalist murdered

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/29/russian-journalist-arkady-babchenko-shot-dead-in-kiev

This guy?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44307611

 

[djpbaltimore]

That is insane.

 

[python]

from the kb link above:

Frank Gardner, BBC Security Correspondent:

There can be few more glaring examples of 'fake news' than the deliberate misreporting by a sovereign government of a prominent journalist's death.

THAT sovereign govt was ukraine. several independent western observers had warned that country was turning towards the particularly virulent form of the extreme right nationalism that makes orban in hungary look a kitten...

i often disagree with the british media take, but i give them credit for not embellishing in the bs as many other castrated euro journos.

another example was of course the post i left in the british politics thread recently
https://twitter.com/gullyburrows/status/1001359805624274945/video/1

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Russian journalist murdered

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/29/russian-journalist-arkady-babchenko-shot-dead-in-kiev

This guy?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44307611

Wow. That was unexpected. Even by today's standards..........

 

[python]

may i ask, which today's standards do you refer to ? you dont seem to imply a high standard.... was the skripals case, which frankly had many striking similarities, a guiding standard ? was the killing of several other journos in ukraine or a plain persecution of the alternative a guiding post ?

you're right. as the brit journo i quoted said, it was unexpected for the ukranians, the nation aspiring to join the european family and values, it was a pure abuse of the world's professional news outlets and govts.

or you felt getting suckered, like all of us did, since the news was about the evil russians, it was an acceptable standard ? to your credit, as usual, you did not engage in the 'development' of the fake news..

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

may i ask, which today's standards do you refer to ? you dont seem to imply a high standard.... was the skripals case, which frankly had many striking similarities, a guiding standard ? was the killing of several other journos in ukraine or a plain persecution of the alternative a guiding post ?

you're right. as the brit journo i quoted said, it was unexpected for the ukranians, the nation aspiring to join the european family and values, it was a pure abuse of the world's professional news outlets and govts.

or you felt getting suckered, like all of us did, since the news was about the evil russians, it was an acceptable standard ? to your credit, as usual, you did not engage in the 'development' of the fake news..

So many journalists are killed in this part of the world in that I found the story completely plausible. The Ukrainians are not releasing much information about how this plot was intercepted. Some thought it was a stunt to embarrass the Russians before the World Cup but this could also play into the hands of the Russian propaganda machine as this event will obviously become a reference point in the future whenever Russia is accused of doing something it denies involvement in. But the fact that this journalist had to leave Russia and was also getting harassed in other countries convinces me that he had completely serious reasons for doing what he did. But whether the Ukrainian government is manipulating him for their own reasons who knows ?

As for the Skripal case, the rumors that Mr Skripal was not completely retired from the spy business was interesting. Also the fact that they both survived in relatively good health makes me wonder. If it was just a threat well there are easier ways to threaten someone but if it was a serious attempt to murder them well you wonder at the outcome in light of what happened to Litvinenko and others. As far as fake new goes we probably have the winner for 2018 already..........whether the arrest and plot was also fake is another matter.

 

[python]

...so the us metal tariff went into effect today.

only 3 countries were cowed by the us ultimatums, the rest seem still confused about the trump real arrogance and crudeness (that is, despite all the evidence, still hoping to negotiate exemptions) or counting on some fickle 'countermeasures' wisening the us aggression.

perusing the europeam media this morn, the reactions differ widely in their verbal strength. though a sense of indignation seems as common as almost never.

i am fascinated by the consequences b/c i am curious to learn if an apparent blackmail of smaller allies by a bigger one will eventually result in the cardinal geopolitical changes that were long overdue since the ussr went upside down.

not just the immediate economic us-europe relations are at test, but also the much more important (and wider) concerns of the european identity, independence, unity, sovereignty, defense and whether the new alliances in the east should replace the false one called THE WESTERN WORLD...

 

[Robert5091]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...tle-idUSKCN1IQ1R2?wpisrc=nl_todayworld&wpmm=1

Although Congo may sorely lack infrastructure, it has one of the most successful Ebola response mechanisms in the world, according to researchers and aid workers. Congo is where Ebola is most prevalent, and the current outbreak is the country’s ninth since 1976.
About half of the dozen Mbandaka residents The Washington Post interviewed along the city’s one fully paved road said Ebola was a conspiracy. Before the outbreak, foreigners were exceedingly rare in Mbandaka, and the recent influx of hundreds of aid workers has brought large amounts of cash into the city. That has caused many to believe that Westerners brought Ebola here to make money.

 

[python]

was reading my morning sample of news and, as every morning, the western media repeats one and the same premise for the us-norkor meeting - complete, total and irrecoverable abandonment of their nukes by the north.

not that i disagree with the premise, but something bothers me in such an arrangement - and i am 100% serious b/c i don't see the practicality - the complete one-sidedness. what would north korea get in return for voluntarily disarming ?

strangely or not (i am actually no longer surprised) the western media does not even entertain the very key question. if anyone came across a balanced review of the norkor conditions, pls send the link my way and i will edit this writing !!!

what i did read aplenty was that if kim does not 'denuclearize', he will end up like saddam and qaddafi...in plain english it means he will be killed. a promises NOT by some journo, BUT the official us big wigs like pompeo and mattis.

i said it before and i will say it again, only a complete idiot would agree to meet trump under such a condition...
yet, the meeting seems to go ahead as scheduled on the 12th - i was wrong apparently - and besides the unilateral scenario i have not seen anything.

will kim discuss with trump anything besides his own death ? he may dare, i reckon.

in that regard, i just thought of a great idea for him :idea:

since trump also wants to denuclearize iran, kim can promise to NOT ship his nukes to iran in exchange for staying alive :surprised:

an idea straight from the trump diplomatic art for idiots and thus he must seize on it me thinks..

 

[Robert5091]

"Mr Diplomat" strikes again! Geezus!

https://www.axios.com/giuliani-says...f3c-85fa-0bd2a9d75d00.html?utm_source=sidebar

Rudy Giuliani said today that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un got “on his hands and knees and begged" for President Trump to reverse his decision to cancel their summit, the Wall Street Journal's Felicia Schwartz reports.

 

[Beech Mtn]

Re:

"Mr Diplomat" strikes again! Geezus!

https://www.axios.com/giuliani-says...f3c-85fa-0bd2a9d75d00.html?utm_source=sidebar

Rudy Giuliani said today that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un got “on his hands and knees and begged" for President Trump to reverse his decision to cancel their summit, the Wall Street Journal's Felicia Schwartz reports.

Rudy is apparently senile or something. He and Trump are old friends, but he needs to be fired. As does Bolton and Sessions.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

"Mr Diplomat" strikes again! Geezus!

https://www.axios.com/giuliani-says...f3c-85fa-0bd2a9d75d00.html?utm_source=sidebar

Rudy Giuliani said today that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un got “on his hands and knees and begged" for President Trump to reverse his decision to cancel their summit, the Wall Street Journal's Felicia Schwartz reports.

Rudy is apparently senile or something. He and Trump are old friends, but he needs to be fired. As does Bolton and Sessions.

Trump should use the Special Forces to kidnap him.

 

[Robert5091]

Some good news from Afghanistan -

http://www.scmp.com/news/world/russ...taliban-and-afghan-forces-agree-unprecedented

Taliban and Afghan forces agree unprecedented ceasefire over Eid

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced an unconditional ceasefire with the Taliban on Thursday, until June 20, but excluding other militant groups, such as Islamic State

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced an unconditional ceasefire with the Taliban on Thursday, until June 20, but excluding other militant groups, such as Islamic State.

Ghani’s decision came after a meeting of Islamic clerics declared a fatwa, or ruling, against suicide bombings, one of which, claimed by Islamic State, killed 14 people at the entrance to the clerics’ peace tent in Kabul.

The clerics also recommended a ceasefire with the Taliban, who are seeking to reimpose strict Islamic law after their ouster in 2001, and Ghani endorsed the recommendation, saying it would last until June 20.

 

[Beech Mtn]

Well lookee here. Iran next.

the IAF F-35 “Adir” planes penetrated Iran’s airspace, circled high above Tehran, Karajrak, Isfahan, Shiraz and Bandar Abbas – and photographed Iran’s air defense system.

One of the sources reported that Iran’s air defense system, including its Russian radar, did not detect the entry and exit of the fighter planes, and that Ismaili hid this information from the supreme leader to cover his corps’ failure. However, three weeks ago, Iranian intelligence discovered that the Israeli fighter jets had carried out this sortie as a test of the possibility of an undetected military attack on Iranian outposts and bases, during which they photographed those sensitive bases, evading the Russian S-300 missile system’s radar.

According to Al Jarida, Iranian intelligence received top secret information that the Israeli fighter planes even managed to photograph Iran’s underground bases. Khamenei, who received this information, now suspects a cooperation between Russia and Israel, and that the Russians gave Israel the secret code of the Russian radar in Iran – according to the Kuwaiti newspaper.

http://www.jewishpress.com/news/mid...-35-deep-penetration-of-irans-sky/2018/06/09/

Israel + Saudi + GCC + USA + Russia?

 

[python]

sorry, bm i dont believe a single word of that zionist part bravado part intentional disinformation.

sure, any air force trains to evade the enemy radars and israel has shown being adept at that. but the timing of these verbal salvos is too coincidental to the us/zionists abortion of the iranian nuclear deal. with or w/o russia's help an s-300 can be suppressed or fooled if confronted by a determined effort, w/o listening to the zionist ferry tales....

 

[Robert5091]

More bloodshed & misery for civilians. Good news for armement companies ...
https://www.apnews.com/7dbf0973d01d...s-begin-assault-on-Yemen-port-city-of-Hodeida

A Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s exiled government began an assault Wednesday morning on Yemen’s port city of Hodeida, a crucial battle in the 3-year-old conflict that aid agencies warned could push the Arab world’s poorest country into further chaos.

Iranian-aligned Shiite rebels known as Houthis and their allies for years have held the Red Sea port, crucial to food supplies in a nation on the brink of famine after years of war. The battle for Hodeida, if the Houthis don’t withdraw, also may mark the first major street-to-street urban fighting for the Saudi-led coalition, which can be deadly for both combatants and civilians alike.

Before dawn Wednesday, convoys of vehicles appeared to be heading toward the rebel-held city, according to videos posted on social media. The sound of heavy, sustained gunfire clearly could be heard in the background.

Saudi-owned satellite news channels and later state media announced the battle had begun, citing military sources.

Yemen’s exiled government “has exhausted all peaceful and political means to remove the Houthi militia from the port of Hodeida,” it said in a statement. “Liberation of the port of Hodeida is a milestone in our struggle to regain Yemen from the militias.”

The Houthi-run Al Masirah satellite news channel later acknowledged the offensive, claiming rebel forces hit a Saudi coalition ship near Hodeida with two land-to-sea missiles. Houthi forces have fired such missiles at ships previously.

“The targeted ship was carrying troops prepared for a landing on the coast of Hodeida,” the channel said. The Saudi-led coalition did not immediately acknowledge the incident.

 

[King Boonen]

Seems a fair assessment:

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/editorial/the-irish-times-view-on-the-singapore-summit-a-triumph-for-kim-jong-un-1.3528160

 

[Succomm]

Re:

Seems a fair assessment:

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/editorial/the-irish-times-view-on-the-singapore-summit-a-triumph-for-kim-jong-un-1.3528160

I just read today that the meeting was yesterday - can't wait to watch the video of them talking

 

[Robert5091]

Long article about Trump's "double" Netanyahu (worth a read if you have the time and interest)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/feat...could-be-heading-for-a-fifth-term-or-to-court

If the Israeli leader’s obsession with image, illiberal tendencies, and legal troubles have echoes with those of his American counterpart, they’ve also forced similar reckonings. Prominent Likud members and other would-be Netanyahu allies are asking such questions as: What moral flaws are acceptable in a prime minister whose agenda one otherwise supports? Which institutions must be shielded from partisan attack? When does political combat start to damage the fabric of the democracy?

 

[Robert5091]

Obama loved the drones but Trump has upped the ante.

https://www.axios.com/trump-drone-strikes-iraq-and-syria-8a242b2b-2387-4153-ad9d-68ecda71b344.html

Since President Trump took office, the U.S. has carried out more airstrikes in more places, expanded its use of drones and been increasingly willing to risk civilian casualties.

The bottom line: Under Barack Obama, the U.S. pounded ISIS from the air and made heavy use of drones. Trump seems to have taken those tactics into hyperdrive in pursuit of shock, awe and a quick victory. With a flood of other news to sift through, America has hardly noticed the shift.

By the numbers: The U.S.-led coalition carried out nearly 12,000 airstrikes (manned and unmanned) in Iraq and Syria last year. The uptick, which has since subsided, corresponded with a spike in civilian casualties.

Rachel Stohl of the Stimson Center writes for Axios Expert Voices that Trump has made U.S. drone policy "less restrained, transparent and accountable."

"The administration has reversed course on measures designed to bring drone use out of the shadows, eliminated the requirement that a target pose an 'imminent threat,' and loosened the requirement of 'near certainty' that the target is present — all while refusing to confirm or deny that changes to such policies and procedures have been made."
"It has also increased the frequency and geographic scope of lethal drone strikes, especially in areas where stricter rules around the use of force were previously in place." Those areas include Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.

A recent Amnesty International report, which has drawn vehement objections from the Pentagon, accuses the U.S. of possible war crimes over "indiscriminate" attacks in the battle last year to retake the Syrian city of Raqqa from ISIS.

 

[python]

Trump sets tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods; Beijing strikes back
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-ministry/trump-sets-tariffs-on-50-billion-in-chinese-goods-beijing-strikes-back-idUSKBN1JB0KC?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29

cant wait to see where this goes from here and if china is going to threaten its 'nuclear' option - the huge us debt it owns. saw nowhere good analysis as to how it might play out.

 

[python]

answering my own Q, found this very informative and written w/o a bias...though it is 2 month old article, i find it quite applicable today....
China's $1.2 trillion weapon that could be used in a trade war with the US
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/05/chinas-1-point-2-trillion-weapon-that-could-be-used-in-a-us-trade-war.html

 

[Robert5091]

http://www.france24.com/en/20180617...aab-violence-northern-mozambique-cabo-delgado

Since the end of May, Mozambique’s far northern province of Cabo Delgado has seen a surge in violence perpetrated by a new Islamist group that first came to the fore in October 2017.

Residents of the Muslim-majority Cabo Delgado province have been describing the same situation for several months: Armed men emerge from the forests to wreak havoc on local villages – including looting and decapitation.

Such violence has intensified over recent weeks, prompting around three thousand people to flee Cabo Delgado and leaving 30 people dead since the end of May, according to a provisional count. These killings have been attributed to a jihadist group known as Al Sunnah wa Jama’ah.

The group first appeared in the region in 2014, but stepped up its activities in October 2017 with an attack on a police station and barracks in the city of Mocimboa da Praia, in central Mozambique.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/09/africa/mozambique-us-warning-intl/index.html

The US Embassy in Mozambique has warned of "imminent attacks" against government and commercial centers in a northern province of the southeastern African nation and urged US citizens to leave the area.
The warning, issued Friday, applies to the Palma district of Cabo Delgado province, where a string of beheadings reportedly occurred last month. The government envisions the region as being a major industrial center for mining and the development of liquified natural gas.
"In light of information pointing to the likelihood of imminent attacks on government and commercial centers in the district headquarters of Palma, Cabo Delgado Province in the coming days, we strongly advise American citizens in the district headquarters of Palma to consider departing the area immediately," the US Embassy said.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201806150035.html

The upsurge in violence is also threatening Mozambique's $30 billion gas bonanza, Bloomberg reported last week. It said London-listed explorer Wentworth Resources hadn't been able to gain access to its onshore licences near Moćimboa da Praia due to safety concerns since the attacks. This week Reuters reported that US-based Anadarko Petroleum declined to comment on reports that it had suspended work on its massive natural gas project in Mozambique.

Some observers are suspicious about the coincidence of the upsurge in attacks and the awarding of a $750 million contract for protecting gas fields to a private security consortium. The consortium involves Erik Prince - founder of the famous US private security/military company - and a Mozambique company linked to government intelligence.

Erik Prince, energy resources, Islamic terrorists - have n't we been done this path before? Just send in the drones and Marines now so Trump can preen about on the White House lawn with "Fox & Friends" buddies before the mid-terms and boost about how tough he is.

Edit - more info - http://clubofmozambique.com/news/er...y-in-northern-mozambique-plot-or-coincidence/

A joint venture between ProIndicus, one of the three companies involved in the notorious hidden debts scandal, and Erik Prince’s Lancaster 6 Group, is believed to be about to provide security for the region. One question is whether this cycle of violence been purposely orchestrated by individuals or corporations to take advantage of the country’s resources – or is this just another conspiracy theory?

“We cannot rule out a conspiracy because it is real and exists in other places, and there have already been cases like that,” says Professor Patrick Chabal , who talks about the instrumentalisation of disorder as a political instrument to achieve special economic purposes, economic, geopolitical purposes.
...
A military intelligence and security project called Pro6, SA and valued at about US$750 million, could be implemented over the next five years. But as Mozambique does not have the capital to finance it, Eric Prince has proposed to cover 80 percent of the value, through the L6G, and be repaid with dividends of the country’s natural resources.

In the meantime, the security manager, who already has interests in Proindicus, would set up the joint venture through his L6G company to take advantage of a business opportunity. Or is that he is being opportunistic?
...
Who is Eric Prince?

Erik Prince’s Blackwater provided services to the United States government valued at about US$2 billion dollars during the war in Iraq, but was involved in the deaths of 18 people there.

After the scandal in Iraq, he disbanded Blackwater in 2010 and created Reflex Responses in the same field, and, soon after that, Frontier Services, which operates in different sectors, including logistics, air and security. It is through Frontier Services that Prince entered Mozambique in late 2017, to invest in the now-notorious hidden debt companies.

(The "hidden debt scandal" can be read about here http://clubofmozambique.com/news/no...debt-in-near-future-says-maleiane-aim-report/ )

 

[python]

....the tariff poker with china just went up another notch.

in response to the chinese $50 B mirror tariffs (for american $50B), trump has hiked his threat from an additional tariffs on $100 b chinese goods to $200 b. what makes this latest thump ultimatum different ?

cgtn explained...

1st, china is running out of the symmetrical mirror steps b/c the total american goods destined for china is only $120B,whereas america still has plenty of 'room' with the chinese imports over $500B
2nd, for the 1st times the chinese trade officials not only used a very harsh language within hours of thump opening his mouth ('trade war declared on china'), but also vowed to respond harshly and quickly .

putting aside the poker element, and assuming that by 6 july they wont find a negotiated out, what exactly can china respond with given their lack of purely trading tools ?

will china resort to the 'nuclear option' ? what is the trump next move besides the crude threats ?

me thinks they will likely get back to the original chinese proposal to increase imports by $70B. i doubt china is going to give in much if anything.

in the mean time, kim is back in china. for the 3d time within several weeks !

that he is being briefed on the next norkor 'retreat from the nukes' can be little doubt. the trump gesture of stopping the war games will be met by a blowup of some other remote 'nuclear facility' in the remote norkor country side
'denuclearization'

 

[Robert5091]

http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight...hy-weaker-euro-means-trumps-trade-war-may-not

If a weaker euro again becomes a market trend, it might also mean a lower value for that currency versus the yuan. The Chinese currency might then fall somewhat against the US dollar as a counterweight, in line with the basket of currencies framework of China’s current managed floating exchange rate system.

The net effect would be that the currency market would have delivered a stronger US dollar, which renders American exports more expensive, but imports into the US cheaper.

Winning trade wars may not be quite as easy as Trump first tweeted.

2018 Trump -
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/25/trump-says-dollar-to-get-stronger-and-stronger.html

"The dollar is going to get stronger and stronger, and ultimately I want to see a strong dollar," Trump said in an exclusive interview from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "Our country is becoming so economically strong again and strong in other ways, too."

2017 Trump -
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/12/trump-tanks-the-dollar-after-saying-its-getting-too-strong.html

"I think our dollar is getting too strong, and partially that's my fault because people have confidence in me. But that's hurting—that will hurt ultimately," Trump said in the interview with the WSJ.