Britain’s Political Trajectory

March 2nd, 2020 by True Publica

For years now, as regular readers of Truepublica will know, I have consistently warned that Britain will be moving from a system of liberal democracy towards authoritarianism and that it would only take a few short years to achieve. As we moved through the discord and division of the EU referendum from 2016, I also took the view that a new form of ideology would be looking to usurp Britain’s system of governance, with its constitutional checks and balances, having been vandalised by right-wing autocrats. This might very well end with a form of ‘guided democracy’ – or another way of putting it, a de facto autocracy.’ More qualified people are slowly coming to the same conclusion.

In Britain, we have never had jackboots marching down our high streets and so we are too trusting of events. We Brits do not believe that such extremes could possibly take hold. Authoritarianism has many veils and not all of them come with uniforms and insignia but in the end, with its variances, it amounts to the same. But don’t take my word for it, the experts are more worried than me.

Phil Syrpis is Professor of EU Law at the University of Bristol Law School. He wrote in a recent article for the London School of Economics that:

He (Boris Johnson) has sought, in a range of ways, to minimise Parliamentary scrutiny of his actions. He has plans for the judiciary, both in terms of its composition, and its ability to hold the government to account via judicial review. He attacks the BBC and the civil service. He treats the devolved governments with barely disguised contempt. Institutions which serve as ‘checks and balances’ against executive power are systematically undermined because they might object to things he might want to do. It seems that we are dealing with a Prime Minister who is interested in power for power’s sake.”

Syrpis goes on to say:

We have a Prime Minister who rejects scrutiny and constraint. He is showing himself to be reckless about the consequences of his actions, and uninterested in the people and business groups most affected by his policies. All the while, he is constructing a narrative that he is delivering ‘the will of the people’, standing up for ‘our’ interests in the face of the threats created by others. For now, it appears to be working.”

These thoughtfully measured words demonstrate something that is dawning on many. That Boris Johnson wants to increase executive power in order that he can push through his version of Brexit – whatever that might be. And under the cover of Brexit – most people in Britain are not seeing what else is going on.

Nicholas Reed Langen is a long-established expert on the British Constitution and writes for The Justice Gap and Project Syndicate. He surmises that in one of the world’s oldest democracies, Boris Johnson is moving executive power towards what he terms a ‘constitutional dictator.’ He does, however, go one step further in reviewing the trajectory of Johnson’s ambitions:

In attempting to imbue the executive branch with near omnipotence, both Johnson and Trump are aligning themselves with a view that bears a striking resemblance to that of the twentieth-century German jurist Carl Schmitt.

It shouldn’t be under-estimated what is being said here. Schmitt was a well known, highly respected 20th-century political philosopher – a conservative German political theorist and in the end, a prominent member of the Nazi Party. He wrote extensively about the effective wielding of political power. His work has been a major influence on subsequent political theory, legal theory, continental philosophy and political theology, and remains to this day both influential and controversial due to his close association and juridical-political allegiance with Nazism. I am not suggesting the Boris Johnson is a Nazi – only that many leaders have taken this philosophy and applied it in varying grades of intensity.

Some have argued that neo-conservativism, the same form of economic management brought to us in the UK and USA by Thatcher and Raegan was indeed heavily influenced by Schmitt. It is interesting that the judicial theory espoused by Schmitt during the war years have since led to modern-day ideologies such as the ‘war on terror‘ and substantial interference of international law such as the Geneva Convention. We have all seen this with the introduction of unlawful combatant status, indefinite imprisonment, rendition, torture and mass surveillance programmes – all of which mimic his writings and all of which were practised (wholly or in part, legally or otherwise) in Britain and America.

In both cases, Johnson and Trump are following a Schmittian playbook, defending the constitutional legitimacy of their preferences by claiming that they are channelling the true voice of the people.”

Both Sypris and Langen see the fraudulent alignment of “the will of the people” and gaining executive power to deliver fictitious benefits to them.

I have said for a long time now that the implications of this current political trajectory of the right-wing is really very worrying. Before Brexit, political scandals were pretty much restricted to expenses, corporate corruption and/or sexual indiscretions. Today, no-one cares because the new norm is all of that plus mass propaganda campaigns based around misinformation, breaking electoral laws, soliciting dark money from anonymous sources, raids on judicial and legislative restraints and blatant media coercion and threats. All of that has been proven as the current government strategy of control.

Thomas Piketty’s seminal book ‘Capital in the 21st Century’ states emphatically that “no government programme could be sustained without an apparatus of justification” – this is what we are seeing right now.

At the centre of Boris Johnson’s administration is a desire to take a wrecking ball to the pillars that uphold institutional order in Britain – just as Schmitt would have endorsed. Britain is now gliding down a dangerous and dimly lit tunnel with a T-junction in complete darkness – to be reached (so we are told) on the last day of 2020. Which way will Britain be led – toward liberal democracy with economic restraints via the EU or an illiberal corporatocracy escorted by authoritarianism? It’s extraordinary to think that in this most dangerous of moments we, the public, are not allowed to know.

The latter could easily lead Britain quite rapidly to a dystopian scenario in which a prime minister would be imbued with Schmittian powers such as stripping rights from British citizens and foreign residents and to overthrow and dismantle the UK’s political and economic model of the last five decades – all accompanied by the soundbites of the ‘will of the people.’ To keep up appearances, we would still have elections and courts, national newspapers and broadcasters – but they would be neutered, as is the ongoing battle to achieve just that right now. Public dissent will be policed and controlled and the judiciary’s power to challenge No10 Downing Street completely restrained. Even the resignation of Sajid Javid and his replacement highlights the fact that scrutiny within government is fading quickly.

As Langen says – “Parliament would be relegated to the position of a mere bystander … the implications of this philosophy for the legislature are alarming. But those for the courts are even more distressing.”

German Politician Ralf Fücks warns in an interview that –

The idea that one can separate democracy and freedom from one another has deep roots, precisely in the German history of ideas. In 1923 Schmitt in his famous criticism of parliamentarians attempted to separate out democracy and liberalism. His enemy is liberalism, democracy he abridged down to the rule of the people. Even bolshevism and fascism are for him possible forms of democracy.”

Just type into your web browser the keywords “Boris Johnson dictator” and news articles from all over the UK, Europe, America – even the Middle East and India have already proclaimed the arrival of a quasi- dictatorship in Britain after the proroguing of parliament and subsequent December plebiscite. From the Irish Times to Germany’s Deutsche Welle, the world has gasped in horror as Britain’s characterful and mostly balanced polity has been replaced with an apathetic and disrespectful ringleader surrounded by dubious courtiers of political zealotry.

Philip Sargeant is an applied linguist at The Open University, specialising in the relationship between language, politics and social media. He concludes in an article for Democratic Audit that for all the soundbites, and the campaigns of misinformation that have got us to this moment, populists like Boris Johnson – “have little real interest in engaging with the complexities of the challenges their societies face.” And Britain has a lot of challenges to face, the imminence of Brexit is just one of them.

Make no mistake, Britain has chosen to take a sinister hard-right turn led by a radical faction of ideologues. It’s a trajectory, it’s leading somewhere – that’s the real worry.

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South Carolina Primary: What Does It Mean?

March 2nd, 2020 by Dr. Jack Rasmus

What are the political ‘takeaways’ from yesterday’s South Carolina primary? In just few words: not many.

None that change the fundamental dynamics that have in play throughout the primaries in general thus far to date.

Biden bought himself some time, at the expense of Bloomberg and the other mainstream candidates like Klobuchar, Steyer, and Buttigieg.

Steyer & Buttigieg Drop Out

Although having come in third, Tom Steyer announced first thing next day that he’s dropping out of the race.

Then, in a bombshell of sorts, Buttigieg announced his departure from the race today as well.  It was strange that he reaffirmed early in the day his intent to stay in the race to the end. Then, at day’s end, abruptly announced he was dropping out. What’s behind the about face? Most likely, the dozens of billionaires who began footing Buttigieg’s campaign bill in December decided to pull their funding at mid-day. Was it just because the boy wonder from Indiana had no chance of winning the nomination? That was true from the beginning. It’s always been hard to imagine how a small town Indiana mayor of 38 could ever be a real candidate.

Buttigieg was kept in the race this far, funded by the three dozen or so billionaires, in order to pull the youth vote from Sanders. Or so it was possibly reasoned. Having failed that, the moneybags today, a day after South Carolina, decided to stop writing him checks.  It is likely their decision was also to refocus money to Biden, now that South Carolina injected some life support into his campaign.

The money moves around, as it bets on the next possible long shot, or as the strategy of the moneybag wing of the Democrat Party shifts from splitting Sanders delegate votes in the primaries to concentrating the money game on the horse they think best to beat Sanders.  Bloomberg doesn’t need the funding…yet. So the money shifts from Buttigieg to Biden.

Klobuchar Next!

Expect the same to happen within days, perhaps hours, to the other ‘centrist’ female candidate intended to shift votes from Sanders based on gender, rather than youth. Amy Klobuchar will go next, and quickly. Not much else to say about that.

Biden Taken Off Political ‘Life Support’

Biden had to win by a large margin. He did, with around 48% to Sanders’ 21%. All the rest falling far behind, including Bloomberg and, even further, Warren.

Biden’s last minute surge can be attributed to the ‘pull out the stops’ by the Democratic party leadership and the moneybags behind them. On the surface this was reflected in the various last minute endorsements from the Party elite, from outside the state as well as within by leading black political leaders in state.

Older black voters in South Carolina (and true of much of the South) tend to follow the recommendations of their black politicians, community leaders, and churches. Younger black voters not so much. While that phenomenon is typical of the South, it is less so of other states. It won’t be repeated significantly in California, New York, and elsewhere. Biden won’t have any black vote in his pocket beyond South Carolina.

The important point about the South Carolina black vote, which comprises 60% of all Democrat voters in South Carolina yesterday, is that Biden won most of the over-35 black vote. But Sanders won a clear majority of the under-35 black vote. That youth black vote in South Carolina made up only 18% of the potential black vote. So it was an older generation of blacks that dominated the total black vote and voted for Biden. Sanders reportedly won the 18% under-30 black youth vote.

That divide within the black vote in the state may suggest that the churches, community organizations, and black political elite in the state may be losing hold on the younger voters. That may be the takeaway. (Latinos in the state make up only 3% of all Democrat eligible voters, so Sanders’ support there made little difference).

Another takeaway is that the analysis of the black vote and Biden’s margin of victory shows is that the main dynamic in play throughout the Democratic primary season continued in South Carolina despite Biden’s win: i.e. Sanders continued to rally the ‘youth’ vote behind him–including blacks, Latinos, and others; in contrast, Biden’s support derived from the older crowd. It’s reflective over all of a major youth-not youth division within the Democrat party that may, in the end, sink it. For the party leadership is clearly aligned with the older voter than the younger.

Generation v. Class Divide (Or Both?)

On the other hand, that there is a major ‘generational divide’ within the Democratic Party may be more appearance than essence. The South Carolina black youth v. black elders split—a reflection of a similar generational divide elsewhere in the country—may actually be covering up something more fundamental. It may all appear generational, but the real divide is economic and class. Working class youth, students, and young adults vs. a mix of older, better well off middle age boomers-silent generation voters, many of whom are not working class unlike the youth who are virtually all so.

Black, Latino, or white, the youth movement behind Sanders is overwhelmingly working class: whether low-paid employed, underemployed working multiple jobs, or student.

They are the millennials, the GenXers, and now GenZers, who have been, and continue to be, devastated by economic policies that have been in effect from Obama through Trump, and now intensifying under the latter.

They carry most of the economic burden of low paid, no benefits, no job security service jobs. They are the vast majority of the uninsured, or trying to get by on bare bones Medicaid coverage, or who manage to obtain some lower cost ACA coverage (in some states) albeit with $1,000 or more deductibles. They are the new class of the indentured working class, with student debt totaling more than $1.6 trillion. They are the most heavily burdened with accelerating rental costs, having to triple and quadruple up together to share apartments, or else return home to parents, to secure accommodations. The thought of home ownership isn’t even on their imagination radar. They are the students who are sleeping in their cars, frequenting community food banks, or even ‘dumpster diving’ outside restaurants to make ends meet. They are the hundreds of thousands of ‘Dreamers’ who have virtually given up on either party allowing them US citizenship. They are inner-city youth hustling by whatever means necessary to get by day to day and week to week. They are the millions who have graduated from college and can’t find meaningful work that pays the bills—let alone the exorbitant interest charges on their student loans.

Formerly cynical or hopeless, they are the heart of those flocking to the Sanders movement. And it is not race or gender or other difference—easily manipulated by media and politicians—that drive their attraction to Sanders. It is economic. For them it is about someday maybe getting real affordable medical coverage, or relief from the crushing weight of student debt, or access to affordable education, or ending the prospect of being locked in for a lifetime of minimum or below-minimum wages, or being able to assume an independent adult existence. And Sanders’ ‘Green New Deal’ offers the hope at least of turning around the growing climate crisis and a world in which they and their children will almost certainly have to pay a high price in which to live.

That is the meaning of the fundamental dynamic behind the primaries, and indeed the election of 2020 in general. South Carolina’s primary and the win for Biden hasn’t changed that.

Hey, Red-Baiting Works!

Another immediate ‘takeaway’ from the South Carolina primary is that Democratic Party leadership will now conclude that bashing Sanders as ‘socialist’, unelectable, incapable of ensuring ‘down ballot’ Congressional victories, or similar scare tactics works.  They’ll now conclude such charges helped put Biden over in South Carolina. And those big donors who threatened publicly to vote for Trump if Sanders was the nominee will also believe their threats worked. That means Sanders can expect even more intense bashing during Super Tuesday and after; and we can expect even more threats of big campaign donors bolting from the party in the general election from Super Tuesday contests to the Party convention in June.

Bloomberg Unfazed

Although the immediate fallout from South Carolina is Tom Steyer and Buttigieg,  Bloomberg was only superficially wounded. Mike has billions of bucks to buy the best and quickest political medical repair to his campaign. He’ll conclude that South Carolina is an ‘outlier’ primary with little significance to other state Super Tuesday primaries coming up. In that he’s correct.

It remains to be seen this coming week, and Super Tuesday, how much South Carolina has impact the campaigns of Warren. For reasons having to do with the unique black vote in South Carolina noted previously, South Carolina’s outcome signifies little for her campaigns as well. However, if she doesn’t perform at or near Sanders’ totals—which is highly unlike—she’s the next to go sometime between Super Tuesday and June convention.

Warren vs. Bloomberg (Or Is It Sanders?)

What became very apparent in the pre-South Carolina Primary debate last wing was Warren began attacking Sanders even as she continued her telling critique of Bloomberg. Warren can’t move ‘right’ and peel away votes from either Biden or Bloomberg. She may accrete some votes from Klobuchar but that’s insufficient to make a difference. Watch her therefore turn her critique more toward Sanders during Super Tuesday, especially in states like California. But her problem strategically is she’s like Poland—caught between Russia and Germany. And the battle between the two real contending forces will soon run her over. She may last longer than Pete, Amy and Tom. But not much.

South Carolina: All ‘Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing’

The obvious takeaway always there is that South Carolina means next to nothing for the general election.  The Democrats, whomever their nominate, stand no chance whatsoever in getting the electoral votes in Republican South Carolina.

The same applies to most of the other southern ‘red states’, which are now locked into the Republican camp due to years of successful gerrymandering and voter suppression that went un-confronted by Democratic Party leadership under Obama.  And that means a lock-in for Trump in the electoral college from those states. A couple ‘long-shot’ possible exceptions may be Virginia or Florida (a longer shot). But Democrats can forget North Carolina and Texas where they’ve been dreaming of possible general election upsets.

The election will still come down, as in 2016, to the swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and maybe Arizona. The general election will be determined there, as it was in 2016.  And it was Hillary Clinton’s virtual abandonment of working class voters in these states that ‘turned’ the 70+ electoral votes to give Trump victory in 2016. To repeat that: working class votes.

So the story is who best—Biden, Bloomberg, or Sanders—can turn out enough youth, under-35 working class voters to offset older, more comfortable voters, non-working class and older working class, staying with Trump in 2020. I’m referring to those ‘comfortables’ who have benefitted from Trump’s massive $4 trillion plus business-investor tax cuts, from the record $1.2 trillion a year in stock buybacks and dividend payouts under Trump in both 2018 and 2019, those who shared some crumbs from the lion’s share subsidies from Trump’s $28 billion dollar direct subsidies to big Agribusiness, from Trump’s ‘green light’ to big Pharma to continue to gouge consumers, from the $300 billion increase in defense goods government purchases, and from the deregulation of bankers, insurance, coal, oil and other climate crisis contributing companies.

What matters is who can turn out the working class and youth vote in the swing states? Not in South Carolina. Is it Sanders, or the candidate of the Democrat Party leadership, big donors, and moneybags? That’s still likely Bloomberg, although Biden may surprise now that big money is flowing his way again as well. And the other ‘centrist’ candidates—Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Steyer—are being defunded and pushed out of the race to concentrate votes in favor of Biden or Bloomberg.

But Sanders may not even get the chance. Already pressuring is building within the party to commit the 500 plus Special Delegates held in reserve by the party leaders, to be released on the second ballot of the upcoming party convention in Milwaukee on behalf of the party leadership’s preferred (read: corporate) candidate. That’s still likely to be Bloomberg. Bets are Biden won’t replicate his ‘special case’ South Carolina victory. And, except for Sanders, the rest of the field are already ‘has beens’ and ‘also rans’. They’ll drop like flies, one after the other, in the wake of Super Tuesday and the run-up to the June party convention.

Should Sanders’ momentum continue through Super Tuesday, don’t rule out the party releasing Super Delegates (who are mostly Congressional representatives and Senators) before the convention. But before that we’ll hear the party big guns come out against Sanders—Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and, if necessary, Pelosi and Shumer.

And that will be the death-knell of the Democratic Party as we know it.

So from this point on the race is Sanders vs. whoever prevails in the ‘race within the race’, i.e. between Biden-Bloomberg.

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This article was originally published on the author’s blog site, Jack Rasmus.

Dr. Rasmus is author of the just published book, ‘The Scourge of Neoliberalism: US Economic Policy from Reagan to Trump’, Clarity Press, January 2020. He blogs at jackrasmus.com. His website is http://kyklosproductions.com and twitter handle, @drjackrasmus.

Russia is pushing back the Turkish Army in Idlib. As the Turks broke through the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) defence the latter called for air assistance from Russia. The fighters came and victory was the SAA’s. With that all uncertainty is gone. Russia will keep its promise of maintaining the integrity of the Syrian state, even when an “ally” is attempting to force her to break that promise. Relations with difficult Turkey is no reason for Russia to betray a decades-old major ally inWest Asia.

After all, to all intents and purposes, Ankara is proving to be an unworthy ally irrespective of the benefits given and promised. Appeased many times — including the intentional downing of a SU-24 Russian fighter in 2015 near the Syria-Turkey border; and the assassination of the Russian envoy to Turkey. But Turkey appeared to straddle both East and West. Trump was defied and the purchase of the Russian S-400 air defence system went through. However, many saw that sale as Putin’s foolishness knowing that President Erdogan was not a man of his word. And, it has been reported that apparently, Ankara is threatening to deploy the S-400 against Syria in the current conflagration. Thus proving the skeptics correct.

But if others are suspicious of Erdogan, surely it is safe to assume that President Putin must have taken this into consideration before selling the S-400 to Turkey, especially given the rocky history between these two countries. Surely Putin is not so naive as to think that appeasement and Erdogan’s debt for the rumoured early warning of the American backed coup against Erdogan bought him the latter’s undying loyalty?

Are regional hegemonic ambitions worth the high stakes gamble? If not hegemony, what is the likely cause of Erdogan pushing Moscow to bare its fangs? Are the Kurds such a threat that controlling their territory in Syria is not something that Ankara can compromise on?

The fight is progressively becoming more dangerous — note that Turkey remains a NATO member — and now Ankara has persuaded Washington to back it. As of a week ago the fighting has reached a new intensity as a result.  The Turks are fighting the SAA on the ground and the Russians in the air.  This could further escalate if Ankara can persuade other NATO members that it is being attacked by Russia thus taking the war to a whole new level. History shows that NATO has long looked for war with Russia. In recent years the impression is that NATO is satisfied that Russia has been effectively encircled and can be defeated.

These possibilitiesof escalation, all parties involved are well aware of. Hence the intense diplomacy between Ankara and Moscow. Fact on the ground shows nothing less than the victorious SAA winning back most territories around Idlib held by the terrorists. Nevertheless peace is being denied the Syrians by the unending interference of the US and its allies and Turkey appears nothing less than a staunch US ally in preventing Syria a total victory around Idlib, while the US determinedly occupies the oil rich Syrian territories in Deir Ezzor in far eastern Syria.

It seems ludicrous, therefore, to view Turkey as a Russian ally any longer. Not only has Turkey not delivered her part of the Sochi de-escalationagreement, Ankara has openly threatened Damascus. The Ankara position is one where the invader is wanting the invaded to embrace being invaded. Syria is, at pain of invasion, not allowed to kill the invading soldiers.

Russia was not amused. Not something Ankara expected thinking instead that “neither Russia nor Syria would seek to escalate the fighting in Idlib to include force on force engagements with a NATO member,” writes Scott Ritter.

Erdogan has also been reported as saying ”Turkey will not allow the Syrian government to take control of the province (Idlib). Which is then what the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov described as the “worst case scenario”.

Diplomatically, all this boils down to the “need to implement everything that our leaders (Putin and Erdogan) have agreed upon,” said Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister. Is this possible, when one party has decided to renege on its responsibilities? Ankara has not been coy about its unwillingness to meet its obligations. Rather, Ankara has done a Trump, renege on its obligations.

It is true to say that even a whiff of Syrian victory at reclaiming her territories has brought on tactics to impede a resolution. The US would airlift out terrorist groups friendly to her only to return them to battle. In certain instances the US allies have acted as air cover for the terrorists as in the 2016 Deir Ezzor air raid which killed 50 Syrian Army and allied troops, which the US claimed was accidental. This particular airstrike facilitated the terrorists’ advance on the Syrian position.

Is peace, then, possible for Syria given the powers ranged against her, powers with no compunction to resort to any move, legal or otherwiseto thwart Damascus?Even the battle hardened SAA with years of experience are kept fighting against any number of groups of terrorists acting as proxies. When the SAA wins they are threatened with retaliation.

It would appear that a Russian intervention of the sort that puts paid to any terrorist victory is the only way. But then the armies of other nations will step in to try a push back of the victorious SAA from their ownSyrian territories as if they had no right to them. A total and final victory cannot but come from a determined strike against invading forces. But as Idlib has proven Syria cannot be restored intact without Russian support. The question then is, are the powers, NATO et al, edging towards  a World War? One does get the impression that at this time the US and its NATO allies are erring towards thebelief that they can win such awar.

And, Russia has overtly taken a no-nonsense posture. Is the world walking straight into the perfect storm given adverse global economic conditions compoundedby the impact of the Covid-19 virus now already menacing the world?

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Askiah Adam is Executive Director of the International Movement for a JUST World (JUST).

Analysis of the 2019 Bolivia Election

March 2nd, 2020 by Jack R. Williams

On October 20, 2019, Bolivia held its third general election under its 2009 constitution. Nine presidential candidates competed in the presidential election, but early polling indicated a likely two- way race between President Evo Morales of the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS-IPSP) and former president Carlos Mesa of Comunidad Ciudadana (CC).

On the day of the election, the unofficial, preliminary count (trep) stopped at 7:40 PM, with only around 84% of the tally sheets (actas) that would be counted in the official count (computo) counted. On October 21 at 18:29, after the OAS Electoral Observation Mission in Bolivia requested a resumption of the trep, electoral officials announced updated results with 95 percent of actasprocessed. Morales’ margin in the updated results exceeded 10 percentage points. The OAS releaseda statement expressing concern about a “change in the trend” between results before and after the stopping of the trep on October 20[4].

In the final tally of the computo, Morales’s margin of victory would rise to 10.56 percentage points over CC candidate Mesa. Bolivian presidential elections require a 10 percentage point lead over the runner-up, and the change in the margin of victory in favor of Morales following the trepinterruption was characterized as surprising and of “deep concern” by the OAS, thereby creating theimpression that fraud in favor of MAS-IPSP had likely taken place.

We find that Morales’s victory can be explained by his voter support before the preliminary vote count halted. Through three analyses of the vote prior to the cutoff at 84% of the vote count, we find the final result can be explained by a pattern in the vote count prior to the cutoff of the trep. Therefore, we cannot find quantitative evidence of an irregular trend as claimed by the OAS.

The Trend for MAS-IPSP before the Cutoff Matches the Final Count

Figure 1 plots the margin for MAS-IPSP by the percent of the final vote verified for the presidential and legislative Elections. Earlier in the vote count and prior to the stopping of the trep, there was a trend in the presidential vote count in favor of MAS-IPSP. As seen, despite early results in favor of CC, the margin for MAS-IPSP began to rise as early as 10% of the way through the vote count. Following 20% of the vote, the trend in favor of MAS-IPSP is constant. Further, early vote reporting is highly variable as the number of actas is extremely low.

Further, the results seen in the trep are mirrored in the computo, which saw no interruption in the verification of vote totals. Figure 2 displays how votes in the legislative election and presidential election initially favored CC, but as more votes were counted they began to favor MAS-IPSP.

Precincts with Actas Remaining Favored Morales’s MAS-IPSP

The goal of this study is to determine the extent to which the final vote results for Morales can be explained from analyzing the first 84% of precincts alone. In this analysis, we would expect that the margin of victory for Morales would be similar in actas within the same precinct whether they were verified before or after the closing of the preliminary count.

When the trep halted, precincts with actas remaining to be counted already highly favored Morales. Figure 3 shows that the precincts with actas remaining on average supported Morales by a 19.8 percentage point margin before the cutoff.

The margin in the right column of Figure 3 is an average by precinct and does not account for the varying size of precincts, nor does it account for the small percentage of precincts with no actas counted before the interruption. Given that, we thought it would be useful to see individual trends in reporting for precincts before and after the halting of the trep. 58.11% (N=2805) of precincts reported all actas before the cutoff, 11.29% (N=545) of precincts reported no actas before the cutoff, and 30.59% (N=1477) of precincts reported actas both before and after the cutoff.

Figure 4 analyzes those precincts that reported both before and after the halting of the trep. There is a strong relationship within precincts between voting margins reported before and after the cutoff, with the change in the trend nearly intersecting at zero in the figure. This provides a strong indication that within precincts there was no clear change in favor of a single party after the trep interruption.

Despite no change in the parties’ margins before and after the cutoff, we do see an increase in the overall margin for Morales in this group from 7.29 percentage points before the cutoff to 20.12 percentage points after the cutoff. This results from three trends in the group of precincts that reported before and after the cutoff. First, CC-favoring precincts on average reported 41% more votes than Morales-favoring precincts prior to the cutoff, while those Morales-favoring precincts reported 7% more after the cutoff. Of the 1477 precincts that reported before and after the cutoff, 66% of those precincts favored Morales. Finally, precincts favoring Morales supported him on average by 46 percentage points, while those favoring CC did so only by around 28 percentage points both before and after the cutoff.

Considering the strong relationship between precinct margins, we estimate the margin of votes verified after the interruption based on the actas that were counted before the interruption from the same precincts. We estimate Morales’ margin in the 13.78% of votes in those actas to be 19.12 percentage points. We can therefore estimate an increase in Morales’ margin by 1.59 percentage points, from 7.87 at 84% of final vote counted to 9.46 percentage points at 97.78% of vote counted[5].

Unfortunately, we cannot make this comparison for precincts that had no actas reported at the time the trep stopped. If we isolate the results from precincts that were reported only after the 84% cutoff, we arrive at a dataset that is 2.22% of the vote remaining in the presidential vote. If we add the 2.22% of vote remaining in the final count to our calculated margin, we find that Morales needed a 27.68 percentage point margin over Mesa in that final 2.22% to surpass the 10 percent margin and avoid a runoff[6].

As the precincts that reported only after the cutoff are small and had no more than 2,694 total votes, we subset precincts to the 73.39% (N=3533) of them that reported votes before and had no more than 2,694 total votes. We split the precincts into those that favor Morales or favor Mesa, and impute the total number of votes for both based on the change in the votes cast by precincts from the dataset in Figure 5. Using any precinct with less than the maximum number of votes cast in the last 2.22% of vote remaining, we can predict a 29.42 percentage point margin for Morales in the last 2.22% of the vote and a final margin above the 10 percentage point requirement to avoid a runoff.

Morales Could Expect at Least a 10.5 Percentage Point Margin Based on the Results before the Cutoff

In the figure below, we simulate the final vote margin for Morales given the vote trends that occurred before the trep vote count halted. We run 1000 simulations on what the vote margin between Morales and CC might be, given the vote trends that occurred in the same localities and municipalities as the precincts yet uncounted. We find that Morales could expect at least a 10.5 percentage point lead over the CC, and on average a more than 10.3 percentage point lead over CC.Therefore, the results suggest that Morales’s victory can be explained by his electoral performance before the trep vote count halted.

Following our reproduction of the OAS results and simulations of what the Morales vote share might be given his earlier voter support, we cannot find evidence of an irregular trend. First, there isno actual “drastic jump” in voter support for Morales at the halt in the trep count of the vote. Insofar as the second place winner placed close to Morales, their support spiked only during the very first initial votes counted in the trep. Further, if one estimated the Morales winning margin only given his performance against the other parties prior to the halt in the trep vote count, his victory margin can be entirely explained by how well he did before the halt in the trep vote count.

Conclusion

The OAS’s claim that the stopping of the trep during the Bolivian election produced an oddity in the voting trend is contradicted by the data. While there was a break in the reporting of votes, the substance of those later-reporting votes could be determined prior to the break.

Therefore, we cannot find results that would lead us to the same conclusion as the OAS. We find it is very likely that Morales won the required 10 percentage point margin to win in the first round of the election on October 20, 2019.

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Jack R. Williams and John Curiel are Researchers, MIT Election Data and Science Lab.

Notes

4. Organization of American States (OAS). 2019. “Statement of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission in Bolivia.”https://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_release.asp?sCodigo=E-085/19

5. This is the arithmetic for solving the change in the overall margin: all reported before cutoff (margin = .08853, votes = 1922419) unfinished reported before cutoff (margin = .07288, votes = 3230560) unfinished reported after (predicted margin = 19.12, votes = 845560)

𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑡 97.78% 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 = (. 08853 × 1922419 + . 07288 × 3230560 + 19.12 × 845560) (1922419 + 3230560 + 845560)

𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑡 97.78% 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 = 0.09457

6. This is the arithmetic for solving the required margin to surpass 10 percentage points: all reported before cutoff (margin = .08853, votes = 1922419)

unfinished before cutoff (margin = .07288, votes = 3230560)
unfinished after cutoff (margin = .201184, unfinished after votes = 845560)

all reported after cutoff (margin = ?, votes = 136286)

(𝑎×𝑎𝑛+𝑏×𝑏𝑛 +𝑐×𝑐𝑛+𝑑×𝑑𝑛)=𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛(𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒)

𝑎 = (𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒 × .10−𝑏 ×𝑏𝑛−𝑐 ×𝑐𝑛−𝑑 × 𝑑𝑛)𝑎𝑛

𝑎 = (6134825 × .10 – .08853 × 1922419 − . 07288 × 3230560 − .201184 × 845560) 136286

𝑎 = 0.2768113

MIT Study Finds No Evidence of Fraud in Bolivian Election that Resulted in a Coup

By Dave DeCamp, March 02, 2020

Back in November 2019, former Bolivian President Evo Morales was ousted in a coup after claims of election fraud from the Organization for American States (OAS). A new MIT study into the October 20th presidential election does not support the conclusions of the OAS and casts further doubt on the already flimsy claims. Much damage has already been done, Morales fled the country, members of his Movimento al Socialismo (MAS) party have been arrested, and dozens of his supporters were shot and killed by police in the unrest that followed the coup.

Jeremy Corbyn’s Silence During Julian Assange’s Extradition Hearing

By Chris Marsden, March 02, 2020

Throughout the four-day proceedings in London, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and his closest allies, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott, along with every single Labour MP, have kept their mouths firmly shut. Their silence was tantamount to collusion in a monstrous political show trial, aimed at silencing a publisher and journalist who has exposed US war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Turkey and Syria Are at War Without a Declaration of War

By Paul Antonopoulos, March 02, 2020

Although Turkey has supported anti-Syrian government forces, especially terrorist organizations  like ISIS and the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Nusra and Turkistan Islamic Party, since the very beginning of the Syrian War in 2011, no declaration of war has ever been announced between the two neighboring countries. Russia became militarily involved in 2015 and its intervention saw the quick defeat of ISIS and the recovery of large swathes of the country back into Syrian government control, as well as a partnership emerging with Turkey to discuss the Syrian crisis.

Canadian Media Lies About Venezuela

By Alison Bodine, March 01, 2020

Canada’s public media the CBC long-ago entered the ranks of yellow journalism when it comes to its reporting on Venezuela.  However, two recent reports, in particular, one on CBC radio’s “The Current” and the other a CBC News article by reporter Evan Dyer, weigh heavy on the sensationalism and light on facts. Filled with unsubstantiated claims, right-wing pundits parading as “pro-democracy” advocates and unchallenged declarations by the government of Canada officials, once again, the CBC firmly establishes their role as the mouthpiece of the government Canada.

Why Not Sanders? He’s “Far Too Risky”

By Robert Fantina, March 01, 2020

An article on CNN on February 25 discusses the fear and apprehension of ‘moderate’ Democrats about the possibility of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders winning the Democratic presidential nomination. “This is playing into Trump’s hands!” they lament. “Downstream candidates will be adversely impacted” they moan. They wring their hands and proclaim that “The Party will lose the House!”

They all say that Sanders is far too risky. Democrats must nominate some middle-of-the-road, namby-pamby, white, male candidate to oppose Trump. That, they state, is the only possibility of victory.

Thailand Protests: “Students” Fight to Save Washington’s Billionaire Proxy

By Tony Cartalucci, March 01, 2020

“Long Live Democracy!” cried “student” protesters at Thailand’s Thammasat University as local and Western media organizations reported “hundreds” gathered to decry the disbanding of Thai political party, Future Forward.

However, the Western media’s eager support for the small mob complete with quotes of support from the US Embassy in Bangkok should be the first clue that it has little to do with actual democracy or Thailand’s best interests and more to do with bolstering Western proxies in Thailand and boosting waning Western influence in Thailand, and across wider Asia vis-a-vis China.

China is Confronting the COVID-19 Epidemic. Was It Man-Made? An Act of of Bio-warfare?

By Peter Koenig, February 29, 2020

The new coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, also called COVID19, has as of this date killed about 3,000 people and infected some 87,000 around the globe, the vast majority of them in China. The virus has spread to at least 56 countries.

The new coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, also called COVID-19, has as of this date resulted in more than 3,000 deaths and infected more than 80,000 people Worldwide, the vast majority of them in China.


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Iran: Regime Change by Coronavirus?

March 2nd, 2020 by Andrew Korybko

The consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran will exacerbate the Islamic Republic’s ongoing economic crisis and bring it even closer to political collapse than ever before, the outcome of which is unwittingly being facilitated by the government’s mismanaged response to this disease as a result of the narrative corner that it’s backed itself into for “politically correct” reasons, which worryingly raises the question of whether or not regime change might be just around the corner if this dire situation isn’t soon brought under control.

Iran’s Unprecedented Isolation

Iran is unprecedentedly isolated after all of its neighbors temporarily closed their borders with the Islamic Republic as a result of its COVID-19 outbreak, which is exacerbating the country’s ongoing economic crisis and bringing it even closer to political collapse than ever before. It doesn’t inspire any confidence either that several officials have contracted the disease, including the Deputy Health Minister who earlier assured everyone that the virus was under control. One of its former ambassadors, who was also an influential cleric, even died from it too, and parliament is now suspended for the rest of the week out of an abundance of caution. The very fact that so many government representatives have caught the contagion gave rise to speculation that it’s really a bioweapon that was secretly unleashed against the Islamic Republic in order to carry out regime change there, though while that outcome is certainly possible, it’s less clear whether this would be the result of an “American-Zionist conspiracy” or simply due to the government’s mismanaged response to this disease.

The COVID-19 Crisis In The Islamic Republic

It’s unknown at this time how so many officials got infected, but it wouldn’t be inconceivable that they or those close to them (whether family members or co-workers for example) might have caught it from people who had previously been in the People’s Republic, be they Chinese, Iranian, or third-country nationals (such as businessmen or students). Qoms is, after all, a major pilgrimage site, so it could have been the case that infected Iranians went there to pray for their and their compatriots’ health but inadvertently spread the disease to everyone around them prior to showing any symptoms that would have otherwise convinced them to self-quarantine. However the outbreak ended up transpiring, there’s no question that it’s become extremely severe to the point where it’s one of the worst in the world right now, so much so that Russia became the first country to temporarily restrict the entry of all Iranians except for those with diplomatic, business, humanitarian, and transit visas just as it earlier did in regards to the Chinese. Furthermore, President Putin pledged aid to the Islamic Republic in order to help it contain this crisis, confirming without a doubt that the situation there is very serious.

Backed Into A Narrative Corner

Surprisingly, however, the Iranian government doesn’t officially regard this as a crisis, nor can it without risking a self-inflicted blow to its “political legitimacy”. The Ayatollah earlier blamed “negative propaganda” about the virus for the country’s lowest turnout since the 1979 Islamic Revolution during last month’s parliamentary elections, so acknowledging that there is indeed a problem would confirm that this “negative propaganda” was indeed correct all along. Even in the event that the argument is put forth that the situation didn’t become that dire until recently (thus negating the claim that the “negative propaganda” was accurate at the time), the question then arises of whether or not the government was scapegoating supposed fearmongering about the virus in order to cover up for voters boycotting the polls due to their disagreements with many “reformist” (“moderate”) candidates’ controversial disqualifications in the run-up to the election. Either way, Iran has backed itself into a narrative corner for “politically correct” reasons and is thus unable to adequately confront this contagion without harming its leadership’s interests.

The Political Calculations Behind The “Cover-Up”

Part of the reason why Iran has thus far downplayed the scope and scale of this growing health crisis is because it feared the outcome that’s already been imposed upon it, namely its neighbors shutting down all of their borders with it and therefore exacerbating the ongoing economic crisis. The Iranian economy has never been this weak as a result of the US’ unilateral sanctions and credible threats to impose “secondary” ones upon all those who refuse to comply with its demands, hence why India, hitherto one of Iran’s largest energy partners, dutifully complied with its new military-strategic ally and cut off the Islamic Republic from billions of dollars of much-needed revenue since last year. There might have also been unstated concerns among the ruling elite that doing anything that might be (mis)interpreted as “provoking panic” could worsen the economic crisis through “panic buying” that would leave its shelves bare, possibly generate protests, and overall portray the country as being on the brink of political collapse even more than it already is.

Has The Point Of No Return Been Passed?

Whatever its motivations might have been, it’s becoming increasingly clear that drastic action is needed in order for the country to survive these interconnected crises. The health crisis is worsening the economic one, which is in turn affecting the political crisis, especially since some officials have already contracted the disease, thus creating a circular crisis of sorts that dangerously appears to be self-sustaining. This is made all the more worrisome by the fact that the authorities have backed themselves into a narrative corner for “politically correct” reasons and are thus unable to adequately respond to the health component of this crisis. Nothing can be done for the foreseeable future about the economic dimension since it’s out of Iran’s hands, but improving the health metrics by more effectively containing the virus after finally taking it as seriously as it should have been to begin with might eventually help. As long as the health and economic crises continue to worsen, then it’s almost inevitable that another political one will erupt en masse as well, particularly if more officials fall victim to this virus, thus raising the risk of eventual regime change by coronavirus, not by any “conspiracy”.

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This article was originally published on OneWorld.

Andrew Korybko is an American Moscow-based political analyst specializing in the relationship between the US strategy in Afro-Eurasia, China’s One Belt One Road global vision of New Silk Road connectivity, and Hybrid Warfare. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

Back in November 2019, former Bolivian President Evo Morales was ousted in a coup after claims of election fraud from the Organization for American States (OAS). A new MIT study into the October 20th presidential election does not support the conclusions of the OAS and casts further doubt on the already flimsy claims. Much damage has already been done, Morales fled the country, members of his Movimento al Socialismo (MAS) party have been arrested, and dozens of his supporters were shot and killed by police in the unrest that followed the coup.

The claims of election fraud stem from a 24-hour pause of the preliminary count system on election day. The counting was paused after 84 percent of the votes were tallied, at the time it showed Morales leading his closest opponent Carlos Mesa by just under eight percent. When the counting resumed the next day, Morales’ lead increased to over 10 percent. In Bolivia’s election system, a candidate is required to have over 40 percent of the votes, and a 10 percent lead to their nearest opponent to prevent a runoff vote.

The OAS claims that during this 24-hour pause in the preliminary count, manipulations occurred that resulted in Morales taking a large enough lead to prevent the runoff vote. The new MIT study examined the data and concluded, “The OAS’s claim that the stopping of the trep (preliminary count) during the Bolivian election produced an oddity in the voting trend is contradicted by the data … Therefore, we cannot find results that would lead us to the same conclusion as the OAS. We find it is very likely that Morales won the required 10 percentage point margin to win in the first round of the election on October 20, 2019.”

The MIT study was commissioned by the Center for Economic Policy and Policy Research (CEPR). The CEPR conducted their own study on the election shortly after it happened that found “no evidence that irregularities or fraud affected the official result that gave President Evo Morales a first-round victory.” In a press release that came out with the MIT study, CEPR Co-Director Mark Weisbrot said, “The OAS greatly misled the media and the public about what happened in Bolivia’s elections, and helped to foster a great deal of mistrust in the electoral process and the results.”

The MIT researchers wrote an article in The Washington Post on their findings. The OAS angrily responded to the article and said the researchers ignored the OAS findings in their final report on the election and focused mostly on the preliminary report.

After the OAS released their preliminary report on the election in November 2019, Morales agreed to hold fresh elections and even said he would replace members of the electoral board that were responsible for the alleged fraud. These concessions were not enough for Morales’ opposition, who, along with the military, demand Morales step down. Morales fled to Mexico and eventually ended up in Argentina, where he was granted asylum.

At least 35 people were killed, and 700 were wounded in the post-election day unrest. Most of those killed and wounded were Morales supporters who protested against the coup. Bolivia has a large indigenous population, and Morales being the country’s first indigenous president, has much support in the community.

Morales’ resignation was celebrated in Washington. In a statement, President Trump called it “a significant moment for democracy in the Western Hemisphere.” Florida Senator Marco Rubio also celebrated the news and said, “Morales was illegitimately holding on to power in Bolivia after the recent presidential elections.” Rubio’s statement doesn’t make much sense, considering Morales’ term was not set to end until January.

Rubio, along with the OAS, expressed doubt over Morales’ victory by a ten percent margin before the final votes were tallied. On October 21st, Rubio tweeted,

“In Bolivia all credible indications are Evo Morales failed to secure necessary margin to avoid a second round in Presidential election. However some concern he will tamper with the results or process to avoid this.”

Leaked audio recordings of coup plotters discussing their plans surfaced shortly after election day and was reported on by many Spanish-language media outlets. Among the topics discussed was the support the plotters had from US Senators Marco Rubio, Bob Menendez, and Ted Cruz, who would be willing to push for economic sanctions against Bolivia if Morales stayed in power. A report from The Grayzone shows that some of the military officials involved in these conversations attended WHINSEC, a military training school in Fort Benning, Georgia, formerly known as the School of the Americas (SOA).

The SOA is a notorious training ground for coup plotters and human rights abusers of Latin America. For example, graduates of the SOA took part in the 1981 El Mozote massacre in El Salvador, where a US-backed death squad slaughtered over 800 civilians. After being connected to such atrocities, and years of bad publicity, the SOA changed its name to WHINSEC. Antiwar activists still keep a close eye on the school. SOA Watch is a grassroots organization that publishes data on the school’s graduates.

Morales expelled the US Agency for International Development (USAID) from Bolivia in 2013. US media outlets portrayed it as a paranoid move, but documents released in 2009 show that USAID poured millions of dollars into anti-Morales opposition groups and programs from the time he was a presidential candidate in 2004. After Morales was elected at the end of 2005, those efforts were ramped up, USAID focused on decentralization and separatist projects in Eastern Bolivia. In January, President Trump waived a restriction on US assistance to Bolivia, paving the way for USAID to reenter the country.

The US-government funded National Endowment for Democracy (NED) maintains a strong presence in Bolivia. In 2019, the NED spent nearly one million dollars on programs like, “Monitoring the National Election Process,” “Promoting an Informed Electorate,” and “Providing Independent News and Election Information.”

Like Venezuela, Bolivia is rich in natural resources and sits on one of the world’s largest lithium reserves. As the world becomes more reliable on batteries and electronics, lithium may replace oil as the most sought-after resource. This fact certainly gave Washington some motivation to kick out a leftist president who would likely nationalize lithium.

The OAS also plays its part in advancing Washington’s policies in Latin America. While the OAS consists of 35 member states, it is mostly funded by one member, the US. Since January 2019, the US and its allies have been pushing hard to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Before Juan Guaido declared himself interim president of Venezuela in January 2019, the OAS Permanent Council agreed “to not recognize the legitimacy of Nicolas Maduro’s new term as of the 10th of January of 2019.”

Under Morales, Bolivia remained one of the few OAS countries that still recognized Maduro as president of Venezuela. That changed rather quickly once right-wing Senator Jeanine Anez declared herself acting president of Bolivia. One of Anez’s first moves was to recognize Juan Guaido as the “legitimate” president of Venezuela.

Since Anez took office, many members of Morales’ MAS party have been arrested or are wanted by authorities. The most common charge the party members face is related to claims of election fraud. New presidential elections are set to take place on May 3rd, and the candidate leading the polls is Luis Arce, a member of the MAS party. The government of Jeanine Anez just opened a corruption case against Arce, in a move many see as an attempt to hinder his presidential run. It is tough to say what the future holds for the people of Bolivia, but it looks like the post-coup government is going to make every effort to keep the MAS party from power.

In 2017, Bolivia’s supreme court ruled against term limits, paving the way for Morales to run for a fourth term. The court’s ruling went against a referendum that was held in 2016, where Bolivians voted in favor of term limits in a close vote of 51-49. Whether or not Morales’ bid for a fourth term was legitimate is certainly up for debate, but that is a discussion for Bolivians to have.

It appears Morales was thrown out for false claims of election fraud, and while the post-coup government has the support of the OAS and Washington, it is unlikely much will be done to rectify it. The US has a long bloody history of overthrowing governments in Latin America, and these policies continue today through organizations like the NED and USAID. What President Trump called “a significant moment for democracy” was just the result of modern-day imperialism in Latin America.

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Dave DeCamp is assistant editor at Antiwar.com and a freelance journalist based in Brooklyn NY, focusing on US foreign policy and wars. He is on Twitter at @decampdave.

Last week, Julian Assange was subjected to an extradition hearing brought by the Trump administration to bring the WikiLeaks founder to the United States to face Espionage Act charges carrying a 175-year prison sentence.

Throughout the four-day proceedings in London, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and his closest allies, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott, along with every single Labour MP, have kept their mouths firmly shut. Their silence was tantamount to collusion in a monstrous political show trial, aimed at silencing a publisher and journalist who has exposed US war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Assange’s defence team detailed Washington’s conspiracy to silence him by any means necessary. The proceedings also revealed how the British courts and Boris Johnson’s Conservative government are prepared to trample on basic democratic and legal rights to ensure that Assange is sent to the US and silenced forever.

The extradition hearing had a Kafkaesque character. On February 24, Assange took his seat at Belmarsh Magistrates’ Court in a bulletproof glass box. He could barely hear his legal team outlining his defence against extradition. The bulk of the world’s press, stuck in a porta-cabin grandly described as a “media annexe,” could also barely hear or follow events.

For the defence, Edward Fitzgerald QC made a powerful presentation insisting that the US extradition request was illegal because it was demonstrably politically motivated. He detailed the extraordinary level of criminality involved in the US vendetta against Assange, including the methods employed by Spanish security firm US Global on behalf of the CIA to monitor every movement of the award-winning journalist during his political asylum inside the Ecuadorian Embassy.

Private and privileged conversations between Assange and his lawyers and doctors were filmed, even in the toilet, so that he was forced to sleep in a tent in his bedroom to protect his privacy.

More devastating still were the revelations of an unnamed Spanish whistle-blower, “witness 2,” that the US had plotted to kidnap and possibly kill Assange.

“There were conversations” between the CIA and UC Global head David Morales “about whether there should be more extreme measures contemplated, such as kidnapping or poisoning Julian Assange in the embassy,” Fitzgerald told the court. This included suggesting that the embassy door could be left open to make a kidnapping look like it could have been “an accident.”

Day two began with reports that Assange was handcuffed 11 times and stripped naked twice by prison guards on the opening day of proceedings, while his legal documents were confiscated. He was moved to five different cells. Despite this grotesque interference in the right to a fair trial, presiding judge Vanessa Baraitser declared that she had “no jurisdiction” over Assange’s treatment in detention.

The next day, she informed the court that Assange was “medicated” and might have “difficulty following proceedings.” In response, Assange approached the glass panels separating him from the body of the court, telling the head of his legal team, Gareth Peirce, that he was under constant surveillance: “I cannot communicate with my lawyers or ask them for clarifications without the other side seeing … What is the point of asking if I can concentrate if I cannot participate?”

The defence requested Assange be allowed to sit in the body of the court, but Baraitser rejected their written submissions, ruling on the final afternoon that Assange must remain in a dock encased in reinforced glass when the hearing resumes in May.

Fitzgerald cited the medical opinion of Professor Michael Kopelman that, “I am as confident as a psychiatrist can ever be that, if extradition to the United States were to become imminent, Mr. Assange would find a way of suiciding” and of Doctor Sondra Crosby that, “It is my strong medical opinion that the extradition of Mr. Assange to the United States will further damage his current fragile state of health and very likely cause his death.”

This is the corrupt and depraved British legal system that Corbyn, McDonnell, et. al. refuse to challenge. Their public rationalisations are politically criminal.

On February 20, McDonnell visited Assange at Belmarsh. He called Assange’s plight “the Dreyfus case of our age.” At the same time, he insisted that “when the hearings start they will be sub judice and it will be difficult to raise it in the House of Commons…”

McDonnell was advancing the contemptible rationale which he and Corbyn—and their pseudo-left political allies—would use to justify their own cowardice and lack of political principle.

Jeremy Corbyn is the leader of the Opposition. He could have raised Assange’s fate in Parliament every single day, informing millions that he was being tried in a kangaroo court and that his fundamental democratic rights were being abused by a judge whose verdict has been decided in advance. He should have called for every worker and young person in Britain and internationally to demand an immediate end to the legal travesty at Belmarsh and for Assange to be freed.

What would the courts have done in response? Threaten him with prosecution or arrest? A genuine workers’ leader would have told the judiciary, “Just you dare try it!”

If any action had been taken against Corbyn, this would have been the most incendiary move since Charles I entered Parliament in January 1642 seeking to arrest five members of the Commons and precipitating the English Civil War. It would have unleashed a wave of protest throughout the UK that would have galvanised mass support for Assange’s freedom.

But Corbyn and McDonnell are not only too fond of their own skins to throw down the gauntlet to the judiciary. They are servants of the same capitalist masters as Baraitser and are bitterly opposed to any mobilisation of the working class to thwart the machinations of British imperialism.

Corbyn kept quiet on Assange for years after becoming Labour leader, until April last year when Assange was illegally dragged out of the Ecuadorean Embassy. He briefly opposed extradition to the US, before supporting extradition to Sweden on manufactured sex allegations. He then resumed his silence for 10 months, including during December’s general election campaign, before again breaking it briefly on February 12.

The media barely and selectively reported last week’s trial. Over the weekend, Socialist Equality Party campaign teams in the UK found that many workers and youth did not even know it was taking place. Corbyn is politically responsible for this dangerous situation.

Against the efforts of the official Don’t Extradite Assange campaign, and its political leaders such as John Rees and Tariq Ali, the World Socialist Web Site, the International Committee of the Fourth International and the Socialist Equality Parties have warned repeatedly that Assange’s freedom cannot be won by relying on such false political friends as Corbyn and McDonnell or by extending the slightest confidence to Britain’s courts. As we wrote on February 13:

“Corbyn’s tenure as Labour leader has been an object lesson in the impossibility of fighting for democratic rights and against war by supporting or peddling illusions in the Labour Party and its ‘left’ representatives. It has demonstrated that the fight to block Assange’s extradition, secure his freedom and defend civil liberties requires the development of an independent movement of the working class—the vast majority of the population—directed against the entire official political set-up.”

We appeal to our readers to contact the WSWS and take part in the global campaign to free Julian Assange and heroic whistle-blower Chelsea Manning. Meetings must be called in every workplace, school, college and university demanding Assange’s and Manning’s immediate and unconditional freedom, the withdrawal of the US extradition request and full compensation for the decade-long state vendetta against them. Their lives depend on the intervention of the working class. There is no time to lose.

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Turkey Sacrifices Their Own Troops to Protect Al-Qaeda?

March 2nd, 2020 by Matthew Ehret-Kump

After 33 Turkish troops were killed in a Syrian army offensive on February 27 amidst the current Russia-backed campaign to liberate Idlib, Erdogan responded by laying the blame entirely on Russia and Syria – successfully avoiding all mention of the uncomfortable fact that Turkey has been protecting radical terror networks not only in Idlib but across Syria as a whole for years.

During this time, Islamist forces within Turkey favorable to Assad’s overthrow have been attempting to play a complex game of geopolitics for which they are totally unqualified.

Turkey in over its head

One of the most wild-card members of NATO, Turkey had originally been preparing itself to gain entry into the European Union with the promise of being granted local control across the Middle East as a loyal member of the New World Order. This ambition for a revived Ottoman Empire made Erdogan an enthusiastic proponent of regime change in the Middle East, and as journalist Eva Bartlett has documented for years, resulted in Turkey’s role as supplier of logistics, military hardware, training and monetary support to the various terrorist groups masquerading as anti-Assad regime freedom fighters.

When this policy nearly resulted in Turkey being wiped off the map after shooting down a Russian jet in Syrian airspace on November 24, 2015 (the claims that it had flown into Turkish airspace have long been debunked), Erdogan began to change his tune first sending a letter of apology to Putin on June 27, 2016, whereby it began to change its behaviour dramatically. For this shift in policy, Turkey was thanked by Washington with a nation-wide coup d’etat effort launched by followers of the strange CIA-asset Fethullah Gülen on July 15, 2016.

This hefty serving of humble pie brought a dose of sanity to Turkey which toned down its pro-regime change rhetoric, opened up diplomatic channels with Syria and Russia, cut down many of its ISIS supporting operations (especially its role as primary purchaser of oil stolen by ISIS from Syrian oilfields), and settled with a more benign role in the region… but not entirely.

Part of the 2017 Astana negotiations (and later Russia-Syria-Turkey-Iran negotiations in Sochi) involved Turkey’s establishment of 12 military observation posts in Idlib province which increased Turkey’s already significant Idlib military installations to 29.

What they were doing there was never addressed in the western press but in 2017 Brett McGurk, Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition Against ISIL stated at a Middle East Policy forum that “Idlib province is the largest al-Qaeda safe haven since 9/11.” In a rare moment of cogency in 2014 even rambling Joe Biden admitted that Turkey was a major sponsor of ISIS (for which he was duly slapped and then apologized). All signs of that sort of honesty have long disappeared from Biden’s mind, leaving Tulsi Gabbard as the only presidential figure today who has raised this uncomfortable fact.

In opposition to Ankara’s demands that the current anti-terrorist Idlib operation be halted going so far as to threaten war with Russia, Syrian-Russian forces have continued full speed with great success knowing that if this last zone of insurgents is cleansed then all remaining terrorist threats to the region can be properly addressed and reconstruction can begin. It isn’t a secret that this reconstruction would be guided in large measure by a new partnership with Russia and China in the region which have offered billions of dollars, and engineering assistance for years guided by the Belt and Road Initiative. The BRI’s designs run directly through Iran, Iraq and Syria- all of whom would be transformed by this multi-trillion dollar initiative.

Returning to the crisis today

In response to Ankara’s howling threats, Russia’s Foreign Ministry responded by clearly making two points: 1) Turkey has avoided following through on its part of the 2018 Sochi agreement on Idlib which demanded a separation of terrorists from moderates which it entirely failed to do and 2) Turkish military made no effort to convey their location which is odd considering an active military operation was in place. Either way, as Lavrov stated “the Syria Army certainly has [the] full right to retaliate and suppress the terrorists.”

In response to the Turkish deaths, Ankara invoked Article 4 of NATO convening a meeting of all 29 Ambassadors of NATO allies which he hoped would result in a no-fly zone over Idlib and Patriot air defence backing. To increase the pressure, Erdogan even tried to blackmail NATO allies by playing the immigrant card by permitting for the first time in four years an opening of their northern frontier to the millions of Syrian refugees who wish to go to Europe by land and sea. After the 2015-2016 immigration crisis that saw millions of refugees flood into Europe from war-torn nations of Syria and Libya, Turkey agreed to close its northern frontier in resulting in 3.7 billion Syrian refugees in camps suffering through cold winters, low sanitation levels and often food scarcity.

Erdogan’s threats didn’t result in his desired outcome as NATO merely released a written message of condemnation of the offensive, but nothing more. To this point, military analyst Scott Ritter commented that “At a time when NATO is focused on confronting Russia in the Baltics, opening a second front against the Russians in Syria is not something the alliance was willing to support at this time.”

It is unknown how Europe will respond to this new onslaught of refugees, but the fact is there isn’t much they can do to turn back Russian and Syrian forces or sabotage the success of the Idlib operation at this point in the game. If European countries wish to get the best results to this long drawn out game, the best thing they could possibly do is accept the flux of immigrants with open arms and ignore Ankara’s cries of indignation. By giving Russia and Syria the space to properly extinguish terrorism from Idlib, the Middle East will come that much closer to genuine stabilization and full reconstruction can begin. This in turn would create a positive dynamic of growth and stability that would usher in a homecoming of Syrian refugees living abroad who would proudly take part in their nations’ rebirth.

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End Torture and Medical Neglect of Julian Assange

March 2nd, 2020 by Doctors for Assange

On Nov 22, 2019, we, a group of more than 60 medical doctors, wrote to the UK Home Secretary to express our serious concerns about the physical and mental health of Julian Assange.1

In our letter,1 we documented a history of denial of access to health care and prolonged psychological torture. We requested that Assange be transferred from Belmarsh prison to a university teaching hospital for medical assessment and treatment. Faced with evidence of untreated and ongoing torture, we also raised the question as to Assange’s fitness to participate in US extradition proceedings.

Having received no substantive response from the UK Government, neither to our first letter1 nor to our follow­up letter,2 we wrote to the Australian Government, requesting that it intervene to protect the health of its citizen.3 To date, regrettably, no reply has been forthcoming. Meanwhile, many more doctors from around the world have joined us in our call. Our group currently numbers 117 doctors, representing 18 countries.

The case of Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, is multifaceted. It relates to law, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, journalism, publishing, and politics. It also clearly relates to medicine. The case highlights several concerning aspects that warrant the medical profession’s close attention and concerted action.

We were prompted to act following the harrowing eyewitness accounts of former UK diplomat Craig Murray and investigative journalist John Pilger, who described Assange’s deteri­ orated state at a case management hearing on Oct 21, 2019.4,5 Assange had appeared at the hearing pale, underweight, aged and limping, and he had visibly struggled to recall basic information, focus his thoughts, and articulate his words. At the end of the hearing, he “told district judge Vanessa Baraitser that he had not understood what had happened in court”.6

We drafted a letter to the UK Home Secretary, which quickly gathered more than 60 signatures from medi­ cal doctors from Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Sri Lanka, Sweden, the UK, and the USA, concluding: “It is our opinion that Mr Assange requires urgent expert medical assessment of both his physical and psychological state of health. Any medical treatment indicated should be administered in a properly equipped and expertly staffed university teaching hospital (tertiary care). Were such urgent assessment and treatment not to take place, we have real concerns, on the evidence currently available, that Mr Assange could die in prison. The medical situation is thereby urgent. There is no time to lose.”1

On May 31, 2019, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, reported on his May 9, 2019, visit to Assange in Belmarsh, accom­ panied by two medical experts: “Mr Assange showed all symptoms typical for prolonged exposure to psychological torture, including extreme stress, chronic anxiety and intense psychological trauma.”7On Nov 1, 2019, Melzer warned, “Mr. Assange’s continued exposure to arbitrariness and abuse may soon end up costing his life”.8 Examples of the mandated communications from the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture to governments are provided in the appendix.

Such warnings and Assange’s presentation at the October hearing should not perhaps have come as a surprise. Assange had, after all, prior to his detention in Belmarsh prison in conditions amounting to solitary confinement, spent almost 7 years restricted to a few rooms in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Here, he had been deprived of fresh air, sunlight, the ability to move and exercise freely, and access to adequate medical care. Indeed, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had held the confinement to amount to “arbitrary deprivation of liberty”.9

The UK Government refused to grant Assange safe passage to a hospital, despite requests from doctors who had been able to visit him in the embassy.10 There was also a climate of fear surrounding the provision of health care in the embassy. A medical practitioner who visited Assange at the embassy documented what a colleague of Assange reported: “[T]here had been many difficulties in finding medical practitioners who were willing to examine Mr Assange in the Embassy. The reasons given were uncertainty over whether medical insurance would cover the Equadorian Embassy (a foreign jurisdiction); whether the association with Mr Assange could harm their livelihood or draw unwanted attention to them and their families; and discomfort regarding exposing this association when entering the Embassy. One medical practitioner expressed concern to one of the interviewees after the police took notes of his name and the fact that he was visiting Mr Assange. One medical practitioner wrote that he agreed to produce a medical report only on condition that his name not be made available to the wider public, fearing repercussions.”11

Disturbingly, it seems that this envi­ ronment of insecurity and intimi­ dation, further compromising the medical care available to Assange, was by design. Assange was the subject of a 24/7 covert surveillance operation inside the embassy, as the emergence of secret video and audio recordings has shown.12 He was surveilled in private and with visitors, including family, friends, journalists, lawyers, and doctors. Not only were his rights to privacy, personal life, legal privilege, and freedom of speech violated, but so, too, was his right to doctor–patient confidentiality.

We condemn the torture of Assange. We condemn the denial of his fundamental right to appropriate health care. We condemn the climate of fear surrounding the provision of health care to him. We condemn the violations of his right to doctor–patient confidentiality. Politics cannot be allowed to interfere with the right to health and the practice of medicine. In the experience of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, the scale of state interference is without precedent: “In 20 years of work with victims of war, violence and political persecution I have never seen a group of democratic states ganging up to deliberately isolate, demonise and abuse a single individual for such a long time and with so little regard for human dignity and the rule of law.”7

We invite fellow doctors to join us as signatories to our letters to add further voice to our calls. Since doctors first began assessing Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy in 2015, expert medical opinion and doctors’ urgent recommendations have been consistently ignored. Even as the world’s designated authorities on arbitrary detention, torture, and human rights added their calls to doctors’ warnings, governments have sidelined medical ethics, medical authority, and the human right to health. This politicisation of foundational medical principles is of grave concern to us, as it carries implications beyond the case of Assange. Abuse by politically moti­ vated medical neglect sets a dangerous precedent, whereby the medical profession can be manipulated as a political tool, ultimately undermining our profession’s impartiality, commit­ ment to health for all, and obligation to do no harm.

Should Assange die in a UK prison, as the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has warned, he will effectively have been tortured to death. Much of that torture will have taken place in a prison medical ward, on doctors’ watch. The medical profession cannot afford to stand silently by, on the wrong side of torture and the wrong side of history, while such a travesty unfolds.

In the interests of defending medical ethics, medical authority, and the human right to health, and taking a stand against torture, together we can challenge and raise awareness of the abuses detailed in our letters. Our appeals are simple: we are calling upon governments to end the torture of Assange and ensure his access to the best available health care before it is too late. Our request to others is this: please join us.

We are members of Doctors for Assange. We declare no competing interests. Signatories of this letter are listed in the appendix.

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Notes

1. Doctors for Assange. First letter to the UK Government. Concerns of medical doctors about the plight of Mr Julian Assange. Nov 25, 2019. https://medium.com/p/ ffb09a5dd588 (accessed Feb 13, 2020).

2. Doctors for Assange. Second letter to the UK Government. Re: medical emergency –
Mr Julian Assange. Dec 4, 2019. https://medium.com/p/d5b58bca88 (accessed Feb 13, 2020).

3. Doctors for Assange. First letter to the Australian Government. Re: medical emergency – Mr Julian Assange. Dec 16, 2019. https://medium.com/p/e19a42597e45 (accessed Feb 13, 2020).

4. Murray C. Assange in court. Nov 22, 2019. https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/ archives/2019/10/assange­in­court/ (accessed Feb 13, 2020).

5. Pilger J. John Pilger Julian Assange could barely speak in court! Oct 23, 2019. https://youtu.be/ GLXzudMCyM4 (accessed Feb 13, 2020).

6. Agence France Presse. Julian Assange’s health is so bad he ‘could die in prison’, say 60 doctors. Nov 25, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/ media/2019/nov/25/julian­assanges­health­is­ so­bad­he­could­die­in­prison­say­60­doctors (accessed Feb 13, 2020).

7. UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. UN expert says “collective persecution” of Julian Assange must end now. May 31, 2019. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews. aspx?NewsID=24665 (accessed Feb 13, 2020).

8. UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. UN expert on torture sounds alarm again that Julian Assange’s life may be at risk. Nov 1, 2019. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews. aspx?NewsID=25249 (accessed Feb 13, 2020).

9. UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention deems the deprivation of liberty of Mr Julian Assange as arbitrary.

Feb 5, 2016. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews. aspx?NewsID=17012 (accessed Feb 13, 2020).

10. Love S. Access to medical care, a human right, must also be guaranteed to Julian Assange. June 22, 2018. https://blogs.bmj.com/ bmj/2018/06/22/sean­love­access­medical­ care­must­guaranteed­julian­assange/ (accessed Feb 13, 2020).

11. Dr [Redacted]. Medical report, evaluation of Mr Assange. Nov 10, 2015. https://file. wikileaks.org/file/cms/Psychosocial%20 Medical%20Report%20December%202015. pdf (accessed Feb 13, 2020).

12. Irujo JM. Russian and US visitors, targets for the Spanish firm that spied on Julian Assange.
Oct 9, 2019. https://english.elpais.com/elpais/ 2019/10/04/inenglish/1570197052_180631. html (accessed Feb 13, 2020).


Appendix – Signatories

Dr Victoria Abdelnur MD Specialist in Integrative Trauma Therapy (Germany and Argentina)

Dr Mariagiulia Agnoletto MD Specialist in Psychiatry ASST Monza San Gerardo Hospital, Monza (Italy)

Dr Vittorio Agnoletto MD Università degli Studi di Milano Statale, Milano (Italy)

Dr Talal Alrubaie Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist MBChB MSc MD (Austria)

Dr Sonia Allam MBChB FRCA Consultant in Anaesthesia and Pre-operative Assessment, Forth Valley Royal Hospital, Scotland (UK)

Dr Norbert Andersch MD MRCPsych Consultant Neurologist and Psychiatrist, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (retired); Lecturer in Psychopathology at Sigmund Freud Private University, Vienna-Berlin-Paris (Germany and UK)

Dr Marianne Beaucamp MD Fachärztin (Specialist) in Neurology & Psychiatry Psychoanalyst and Psychotherapist (retired), Munich (Germany)

Dr Thed Beaucamp MD Fachärztin (Specialist) in Neurology, Psychiatry & Psychosomatic Medicine Psychoanalyst and Psychotherapist (retired), Munich (Germany)

Dr Margaret Beavis MBBS FRACGP MPH General Medical Practitioner (Australia) Dr David Bell Consultant Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst, London (UK)
Dr Wilfried Benik, General Medical Practitioner (Germany)

Dr Ernst Berger MD Univ. Prof., Specialist for psychiatry and neurology, Specialist for child psychiatry, Psychotherapist, Former head of Human Right Commission of Austrian Ombudsman Board MUW Klinik f. Kinder- u. Jugendpsychiatrie (Austria)

Dr Brenda Bonnici, B Pharm (Hons), M Pharm (Regulatory Affairs), PhD (Neuropharmacology); Consultant Patient Information (Switzerland)

Mr Patrick John Ramsay Boyd (signed John Boyd) MRCS LRCP MBBS FRCS FEBU Consultant Urologist (retired) (UK)

Dr Hannah Caller MBBS DCH Paediatrician, Homerton University Hospital, London (UK)

Dr Franco Camandona MD Specialist in Obstetrics & Gynaecology E.O. Ospedali Galliera, Genova (Italy)

Dr Stephen Caswell Clinical Psychologist BSc (Hons) MSc PGDip DClinPsych (UK)
Dr Sylvia Chandler MBChB MRCGP BA MA General Medical Practitioner (retired) (UK)

Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans M.B., B.S., F.R.C.S.(Eng.), M.Appl.Sci.(OHS), M.Pol.Econ., Former CEO of the Sydney Peace Foundation (Australia)

Dr Marco Chiesa MD FRCPsych Consultant Psychiatrist and Visiting Professor, University College London (UK)

Dr Carla Eleonora Ciccone MD Specialist in Obstetrics & Gynaecology AORN MOSCATI, Avellino (Italy) Dr C Dassos General Practitioner M.B., B.S. (Australia)
Dr Richard Davies MPsych (Clinical)/PhD, Clinical Psychologist (Australia)
Dr Chrissa Deligianni MD Pediatrician (Greece)

Dr Owen Dempsey MBBS BSc MSc PhD General Medical Practitioner (retired) (UK)

Dr H R Dhammika MBBS Medical Officer, Dehiattakandiya Base Hospital, Dehiattakandiya (Sri Lanka)

Dr Peter Diamond M.D. Anesthesiologist, Connecticut (United States)

Dr Flavia Donati MD Specialist in Psychiatry and Psychoanalyst (Rome, Italy)

Dr Tim Dowson MBChB MRCGP MSc MPhil Specialised General Medical Practitioner in Substance Misuse, Leeds (UK)

Dr Donal Duffin MB MRCP (London) MRCGP Consultant Physician NHS (retired) (UK) Dr Iris Eggeling, Specialist in Diagnostics (Radiology and Nuclear Medicine) (Germany)

Miss Kamilia El-Farra MBChB FRCOG MPhil (Medical Law and Ethics) Consultant Gynaecologist, Essex (UK)

Dr Leif Elinder, Medical Doctor, Specialist in Paediatric Medicine (Sweden and New Zealand) Dr Beata Farmanbar MD General Medical Practitioner (Sweden)
Dr Brian Foresman MD, Board certified, General Surgery (United States)

Dr Tomasz Fortuna MD RCPsych (affiliated) Forensic Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Adult Psychotherapist and Psychoanalyst, British Psychoanalytical Society and Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, London (UK)

Dr C Stephen Frost BSc MBChB Specialist in Diagnostic Radiology (Stockholm, Sweden) (UK and Sweden)

Dr Peter Garrett MA MD FRCP Independent writer and humanitarian physician; Visiting Lecturer in Nephrology at the University of Ulster (UK)

Dr Martin Gelin, Dental Surgeon, (Sweden and Australia)

Dr Rachel Gibbons MBBS BSc MRCPsych. M.Inst.Psychoanal. Mem.Inst.G.A Consultant Psychiatrist (UK)

Dr Bob Gill MBChB MRCGP General Medical Practitioner (UK)

Elizabeth Gordon MS FRCS Consultant Surgeon (retired); Co-founder of Freedom from Torture (UK)

Professor Derek A. Gould MBChB MRCP DMRD FRCR Consultant Interventional Radiologist (retired): BSIR Gold Medal, 2010; over 110 peer-reviewed publications in journals and chapters (UK)

Dr Jenny Grounds MD General Medical Practitioner, Riddells Creek, Victoria; Treasurer, Medical Association for Prevention of War, Australia (Australia)

Dr Andrew Gunn MBBS BA MAPhil FRACGP, General Medical Practitioner, Senior Lecturer at University of Quensland, Former Editor of New Doctor, National Treasurer of the Doctors Reform Society (Australia)

Dr Sonia Henry BPhty MBBS, General Medical Practitioner, Published Author (Australia)

Dr Barbara Hinkelmann, Pediatrician, Neonatologist, Senior Consultant (Germany and Sweden)

Dr Paul Hobday MBBS FRCGP DRCOG DFSRH DPM General Medical Practitioner (retired) (UK)

Dr William Hogan MD, Specialist in Internal Medicine (United States)

Dr Richard House, Psychotherapist (retired), Chartered Psychologist, AFBPsS Cert.Couns (UK)

Dr Vivek Jain, Primary Care Physician, Clinical Instructor, (Psychiatry residency training graduate) (United States)

Mr David Jameson-Evans MBBS FRCS Consultant Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon (retired) (UK)

Dr Bob Johnson MRCPsych MRCGP Diploma in Psychotherapy Neurology & Psychiatry (Psychiatric Institute New York) MA (Psychol) PhD (Med Computing) MBCS DPM MRCS Consultant Psychiatrist (retired); Formerly Head of Therapy, Ashworth Maximum Security Hospital, Liverpool; Formally Consultant Psychiatrist, Special Unit, C-Wing, Parkhurst Prison, Isle of Wight (UK)

Dr Lissa Johnson BA BSc(Hons, Psych) MPsych(Clin) PhD Clinical Psychologist (Australia) Dr Anna Kacperek MRCPsych Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, London (UK)

Dr Kerstin Käll, MD, PhD, specialist in psychiatry, working mainly in addiction medicine at the Psychiatric Clinic, University Hospital, Linköping (Sweden)

Dr Sujeewa Indrajith Karunananda, MBBS, MD (Psychiatry) Acting Psychiatrist, District Base Hospital, Medirigiriya (Sri Lanka)

Dr Ove Johansson, Chief Medical Doctor (Överläkare), formerly at the Karolinska University Hospital (Sweden)

Dr Cath Keaney BSc MBBS DCH FRACGP (Australia)

Dr Jessica Kirker MBChB DipPsychiat MRCPsych FRANZCP MemberBPAS Psychoanalyst and Consultant Medical Psychotherapist (retired) (UK)

Dr Anne Lemaire General Medical Practitioner (Belgium and Portugal)

Dr Alberto Gutiérrez Mardones, PhD, Chief Medical Doctor (Överläkare), Karolinska University Hospital (Sweden)

Dr Robert Marr MD, MBBS, Master of Public Health, FFPHM, General Medical Practitioner and Public Health Doctor (Australia)

Dr Willi Mast MD Facharzt für Allgemeinmedizin, Gelsenkirchen (Germany)

Dr Daniel McQueen, MRCPsych, Consultant Psychiatrist, Child and Family Department, The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust Tavistock Centre (UK)

Dr Janet Menage MA MBChB General Medical Practitioner (retired); qualified Psychological Counsellor; author of published research into Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (UK)

Professor Alan Meyers MD MPH Emeritus Professor of Paediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts (United States)

Dr Salique Miah BSc MBChB FRCEM DTM&H ARCS Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Manchester (UK)

Dr Carine Minne FRCPsych Consultant Psychiatrist in Forensic Psychotherapy; Psychoanalyst, London (UK)

Dr David Morgan DClinPsych MSc Fellow of British Psychoanalytic Society Psychoanalyst, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Consultant Psychotherapist (UK)

Dr Helen Murrell MBChB MRCGP General Medical Practitioner, Gateshead (UK)

Professor Marcello Ferrada de Noli, Med Dr (Psychiatry, PhD), Professor Emeritus. Former head of Research group on International and Cross-Cultural Injury Epidemiology, Karolinska Institute, Sweden. Formerly Research Fellow, Harvard Medical School. Chair, Swedish Doctors for Human Rights -SWEDHR (Sweden)

Dr Alison Anne Noonan MBBS (Sydney) MD (Rome) MA (Sydney) ANZSJA IAAP AAGP IAP Psychiatrist, Psychoanalyst, Specialist Outreach Northern Territory, Executive Medical Association for Prevention of War (NSW) (Australia)

Dr Maria Ntasiou, MD, Pulmonologist, director in primary health (Greece)

Dr Michael Orgel MD, Specialist in Addiction (retired), former Chief of Medical Services, Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic Drug Detox and Aftercare Project, San Francisco, US; former Medical Director, Community Drug Dependency Services, Bay Community NHS Trust, Lancaster, England; former Consultant in Substance Abuse NHS Lothian, Edinburgh Community Drug Problem Service and Edinburgh Harm Reduction (UK and United States)

Dr Lena Oske, Medical Doctor, Specialist in General Medicine, Skåne Health Services (Sweden)

Dr Alison Payne BSc MBChB DRCOG MRCGP prev FRNZGP General Medical Practitioner, Coventry; special interest in mental health/trauma and refugee health (UK)

Dr Peter Pech MD Specialist in Diagnostic Radiology (sub-specialty Paediatric Radiology), Akademiska Sjukhuset (Uppsala University Hospital), Uppsala (Sweden)

Dr Tomasz Pierscionek MRes MBBS MRCPsych PGDip (UK)

Professor Allyson M Pollock MBChB MSc FFPH FRCGP FRCP (Ed) Professor of Public Health, Newcastle University (UK)

Dr Efstratios Prousalis General Dental Practitioner, DDS 2008, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki (Greece)

Dr Joseph M. Pullara MD Hospitalist Physician Olympic Medical Center and Emergency Medicine Physician Forks Community Hospital Washington (United States)

Dr Luc Quintin MD PhD, Staff Anesthesiologist-Intensivist (retired), Senior Investigator (retired) Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France)

Dr Abdulsatar Ravalia FRCA Consultant Anaesthetist (UK)

Dr. med. Ullrich Raupp MD Specialist in Psychotherapy, Child Psychiatry and Child Neurology; Psychodynamic Supervisor (DGSv) Wesel, Germany (Germany)

Professor Anders Romelsjö, Med Dr (PhD), Professor Emeritus. Formerly at the Department of Social Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Sweden. Vice-Chair, Swedish Doctors for Human Rights -SWEDHR (Sweden)

Dr Maria Rossi MD Specialist in Nephrology San Gerardo Hospital Monza (retired) (Italy)

Professor Andrew Samuels Professor of Analytical Psychology, University of Essex (recently retired); Honorary/Visiting Professor at Goldsmiths and Roehampton (both London), New York and Macau City Universities; Former Chair, UK Council for Psychotherapy (2009–2012); Founder Board Member of the International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy; Founder of Psychotherapists and Counsellors for Social Responsibility (UK)

Dr Stephanus Schmiedel, Neurologic Rehabilitation (Germany)

Professor Thomas G. Schulze MD, Institute of Psychiatric Phenomics and Genomics (IPPG), University Hospital, LMU Munich; President of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics; Member of Executive Committee of the World Psychiatric Association; former President of the American Psychopathological Association (Germany)

Mr John H Scurr BSc MBBS FRCS Consultant General and Vascular Surgeon, University College Hospital, London (UK)

Dr Peter Shannon MBBS (UWA) DPM (Melb) FRANZCP Adult Psychiatrist (retired) (Australia) Dr Walter Siegrist, FMH, Specialist in Internal Medicine (Switzerland)

Dr Gustaw Sikora MD PhD F Inst Psychoanalysis Fellow of British Psychoanalytic Society Specialist Psychiatrist (diploids obtained in Poland and registered in the UK); Psychoanalyst; currently in private practice (UK and Poland)

Dr Lars Sjöstrand, Consultant Psychiatrist, Addiction Center Stockholm (Beroendecentrum Stockholm) (Sweden)

Dr Wilhelm Skogstad MRCPsych BPAS IPA Psychiatrist & Psychoanalyst, London, United Kingdom (UK and Germany)

Dr John Stace MBBS (UNSW) FRACGP FACRRM FRACMA MHA (UNSW) Country Doctor (retired), Perth (Australia)

Dr Jill Stein M.D., Internist, Lexington, Massachusetts, Green Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 and 2016 elections (United States)

Dr Derek Summerfield BSc (Hons) MBBS MRCPsych Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer, Institute ofPsychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London (UK)

Dr Rob Tandy MBBS MRCPsych Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy & Psychoanalyst; Unit Head, Psychoanalytic Treatment Unit, Tavistock and Portman, London; City & Hackney Primary CarePsychotherapy Consultation Service, St Leonard’s Hospital, London (UK)

Dr Noel Thomas MA MBChB DCH DobsRCOG DTM&H MFHom General Medical Practitioner; homeopath; has assisted on health/education projects in six developing countries Maesteg, Wales (UK)

Dr Philip Thomas MBChB DPM MPhil MD Formerly Professor of Philosophy Diversity & Mental Health, University of Central Lancashire; Formally Consultant Psychiatrist (UK)

Dr Gianni Tognoni MD Istituto Mario Negri, Milano (Italy)

Dr Jean-Pierre Unger MD DTM&H MPH PhD, Associate Professor Emeritus at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Visiting Professor at the University of Newcastle (Belgium and UK)

Dr Sebastião Viola Lic Med MRCPsych Consultant Psychiatrist, Cardiff (UK)

Dr Peter Walger MD Consultant, Infectious Disease Specialist, Bonn-Duesseldorf-Berlin (Germany)

Dr Sue Wareham OAM MBBS General Medical Practitioner (retired) (Australia)

Dr Elizabeth Waterston MD General Medical Practitioner (retired), Newcastle upon Tyne (UK)

Dr Victor John Webster, Surgeon (Upper GI laparoscopic) MB BS (Adel) FRCS(Eng) FRACS (gen surg) Cert HST (RACS Eng) (retired) (Australia)

Dr Steinar Westin MD PhD, Professor of Social Medicine and former General Practitioner (Norway) Dr Eric Windgassen MRCPsych PGDipMBA Consultant Psychiatrist (retired) (UK)
Dr Pam Wortley MBBS MRCGP General Medical Practitioner (retired), Sunderland (UK)

Dr Matthew Yakimoff BOralH (DSc) GDipDent General Dental Practitioner (Australia)

Dr Rosemary Yuille BSc (Hons Anatomy) MBBS (Hons) General Medical Practitioner (retired), Canberra (Australia)

Dr Jelena Zagorcic MD, General Medical Practitioner (retired) (Serbia)

Dr Felicity de Zulueta Emeritus Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy, South London andMaudsley NHS Foundation Trust; Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer in Traumatic Studies, King’sCollege London (UK)

Dr Paquita de Zulueta MBBChir MA (Cantab) MA (Medical Law & Ethics) MRCP FRCGP PGDipCBT CBT Therapist and Coach; Senior Tutor Medical Ethics; Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer, Dept of Primary Care & Population Health, Imperial College London (UK)

Whitewashing the West’s Disastrous War in Libya

March 2nd, 2020 by Ted Galen Carpenter

A new report from the United Nations bluntly conveys the extent of the continuing chaos in Libya and the suffering it has caused. Yacoub El Hillo, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Libya, stated that the impact on civilians of the country’s nine-year internecine war “is incalculable.” That horrible situation is the long-term outcome of U.S. and NATO actions, and it is well past time that guilty officials are held accountable for their disastrous policies.

Libya has been an arena of strife ever since the United States and its NATO allies helped insurgents overthrow Moammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011. But the U.N. report suggests that matters have grown noticeably worse over the past year. In the spring of 2019, the Benghazi-based Libyan National Army (LNA), led by one-time CIA asset Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar (sometimes spelled Hifter), launched a military offensive against the U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), based in Tripoli. Haftar’s attack initially seemed likely to prevail, but it soon bogged down and a bloody stalemate ensued.

The Libya conflict has increasingly become a proxy war involving Middle Eastern powers and Russia. Haftar receives weapons, funds, and other backing from several countries, most notably Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. In addition to the diplomatic and financial support it gets from the U.N. and most Western governments, the GNA is obtaining ever-stronger backing from Turkey. Earlier this month, Ankara significantly escalated its involvement when its parliament authorized the deployment of Turkish forces to Libya. Russian mercenaries are already fighting there on behalf of Haftar.

The stakes are higher than just a mundane struggle for political power. Libya sits atop Africa’s largest supply of oil and natural gas, worth tens of billions of dollars. Both the LNA and GNA have maneuvered to use that oil as a weapon against the opposing side.

U.S. policy seems muddled and ambivalent. Washington still recognizes the GNA as Libya’s “legitimate” government, but the Trump administration has sent mixed signals. After a telephone call between Trump and Haftar in April 2019, the U.S. seemed implicitly to back the LNA’s offensive against Tripoli. More recently, U.S. officials called on Haftar to halt the offensive. Yet when peace talks between the GNA and LNA broke down, the administration sent U.S. Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland to meet with Haftar even before contacting the Tripoli regime it officially recognizes.

There is little question that today’s Libya is a chaotic mess. Once again, however, Western news outlets are trying to portray a complex foreign conflict as a contest between good and evil. Journalists are intensifying their hostility towards Haftar, designating him as the villain. The Guardian warns that Libya’s ugly violence will continue so long as outside governments continue to back Haftar. (Apparently, external meddling on behalf of the GNA and its allied, often Islamist militias does not have a similar effect.) The New York Times appears to have seized the lead in the media campaign to discredit Haftar. In recent weeks, several prominent stories in the Times have highlighted his authoritarianism and brutality.

The one thing most members of the Western media establishment remain unwilling to do, however, is explain how the current chaos in Libya began—much less who was responsible for the tragedy. Such convenient amnesia continues a long-standing pattern.

In late 2017, Western reporters belatedly discovered that a slave trade of captured black Africans had become a feature of “liberated” post-Gaddafi Libya. A devastating account by Ben Norton, an analyst with Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), documented the mainstream media’s ongoing willingness to minimize American and NATO responsibility. In particular, Western journalists largely ignored that war’s connection to the resumption of slave trading. “The American and British media have awakened to the grim reality in Libya, where African refugees are for sale in open-air slave markets,” Norton observed. “Yet a crucial detail in this scandal has been downplayed or even ignored in many corporate media reports: the role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in bringing slavery to the North African nation.”

NATO supported an array of rebel groups in Libya, Norton noted, “many of which were dominated by Islamist extremists and harbored violently racist views.” Yet journalists “have largely forgotten about the key role NATO played in destroying Libya’s government, destabilizing the country and empowering human traffickers.” Moreover, even the few news reports that acknowledge NATO’s complicity “do not go a step further and detail the well-documented, violent racism of the NATO-backed Libyan rebels who ushered in slavery after ethnically cleansing and committing brutal crimes against black Libyans.”

Norton singled out a 2017 CNN report for criticism. Despite the flashy multimedia features, he noted, “something was missing: The 1,000-word story made no mention of NATO, or the 2011 war that destroyed Libya’s government, or Muammar Qadhafi, or any kind of historical and political context whatsoever.” The same omission occurred in a series of subsequent CNN news stories about human trafficking in Libya, as it did in plenty of stories in other publications.

Recent news accounts about instability and repression in Libya show a similar desire to avoid discussing the destructive impact that NATO’s policies have had. The otherwise excellent, detailed article in the February 20, 2020 New York Times, which documented the oppression of Haftar’s forces, devoted only one sentence to NATO’s role: “[Libya] has been in turmoil since an Arab Spring revolt and NATO’s intervention toppled Colonel el-Qaddafi nine years ago.” And that was in a nearly 2,000-word article.

When they participate in this conspiracy of silence, journalists shirk their duty as watchdogs alerting the public to government incompetence and misconduct. Whatever the Obama administration’s motives and goals in launching the military intervention that ousted Gaddafi, the results have been indisputably catastrophic. Yet Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and key advisers such as Susan Rice and Samantha Power still refuse to acknowledge their blunders or apologize to the suffering Libyan people. It is time for the media to stop aiding and abetting such an evasion of responsibility. Stories about the current turmoil in Libya need to provide a clear picture of the shameful historical context.

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Ted Galen Carpenter, a senior fellow in security studies at the Cato Institute and a contributing editor at The American Conservative, is the author of 12 books and more than 850 articles on international affairs. His 2019 book, Gullible Superpower: U.S. Support for Bogus Foreign Democratic Movements, contains a chapter on the 2011 U.S.-led regime-change war in Libya and its consequences. 

Turkey and Syria Are at War Without a Declaration of War

March 2nd, 2020 by Paul Antonopoulos

Although Turkey has supported anti-Syrian government forces, especially terrorist organizations  like ISIS and the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Nusra and Turkistan Islamic Party, since the very beginning of the Syrian War in 2011, no declaration of war has ever been announced between the two neighboring countries. Russia became militarily involved in 2015 and its intervention saw the quick defeat of ISIS and the recovery of large swathes of the country back into Syrian government control, as well as a partnership emerging with Turkey to discuss the Syrian crisis.

However, this now appears to be well and truly over. Oleg Zhuravlyov, chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, said on Sunday that the Syrian government was forced to declare the closure of airspace over Syria’s northwest Idlib province. However, it was his following comment that sent social media into a frenzy with speculation that Russia would begin attacking jets illegally operating in Idlib.

“In such conditions, the command of the Russian taskforce cannot guarantee safety of flights by Turkish planes over Syria,” said Zhuravlyov.

Many people have interpreted this as Russia threatening Turkish jets. This is not the case, and rather, Russia is warning Turkey that it will not restrain the Syrian Army in attacking the Turkish military, especially after Turkey downed two Syrian jets yesterday. It was a tense day, even though no Syrian pilots were killed.

The day saw six Turkish drones downed and then in the early morning, Turkish ambulances were seen at the Syrian-Turkish border point to retrieve dead and wounded Turkish soldiers after a Syrian Army attack on a military convoy at Qamenas near Sarmin in Idlib countryside. All this happened yesterday on the first day after a deadline set by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ended which demanded the Syrian Army to withdraw to positions it held earlier in the year.  Although Turkey has not declared war on Syria, there is little doubt that the two countries are now at war and Russia will do little to restrain the Arab country from defending its territory.

The Syrian army command announced on Sunday that the airspace over the northwestern part of the country is now closed. The situation in Idlib escalated after Turkish-backed and Al-Qaeda affiliated Hayyat Tahrir al-Sham launched a large-scale attack on Syrian government forces on February 27, with the Syrian army striking back in retaliation and killing 36 Turkish soldiers and wounding another 30. Immediately afterwards, Russia took steps to ensure a short ceasefire to enable Turkey to recover the bodies of their fallen and wounded.

Moscow has expressed concern over Ankara’s support for terrorist organizations in Idlib. In addition, Russian President Vladimir Putin first conducted trilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and then with Erdoğan, who described the implementation of the agreement with Sochi as the main condition for the settlement in Idlib. This has been problematic as Erdoğan has refused to stop supporting terrorist organizations in Idlib as set out by the Sochi agreement. In turn, Putin expressed concern over the increase in terrorist activity in the province, while also noting the need for unconditional respect for Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Turkey has blamed Russia for the at least 50 Turkish soldiers killed in February alone, testing Moscow’s patience with Ankara, especially with Erdoğan showing his arrogance after asking Russia to step aside and allow Turkey to engage against Russia’s Syrian allies directly. Although Ankara has received verbal backing from Washington, it is unlikely that Turkey would receive backing from NATO because of the asymmetric weaponization of illegal migrants that Erdoğan unleashed against Greece.

Greece on Friday blocked a joint communique from NATO being announced on Friday night that intended to support Turkey in its war against Syria. This came to the anger of the U.S., UK, Germany and France, pushing the case further that Russia needs to prioritize Greece as relations rift with Turkey. This is especially necessary as relations have broken down so badly that the Turkish military are writing “With Love for Putin” on Turkish bombs destined for Syria.

Although NATO wanted to show a united front against Russia and support Turkey against Syria, it was unable to do it because of Greece’s veto. Despite not having international legitimacy or making a declaration of war, there is little doubt that Turkey is at war with Syria directly now, rather than in an indirect manner like in previous years.

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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Paul Antonopoulos is a Research Fellow at the Center for Syncretic Studies.

Third Israeli Election Heading for Impasse Again?

March 2nd, 2020 by Stephen Lendman

On Monday, Israelis are voting for the third time since last April, impasse occurring twice before, what may happen again this time.

According to the latest pre-election polls, Netanyahu’s Likud party and lead challenger Benny Gantz’s Blue and White each are predicted to win 33 of 120 Knesset seats.

A 61-seat majority coalition is required to form a government. What neither leading party achieved twice before may be repeated a third time following voting on Monday.

Likud and Blue and White each appear a few seats short of cobbling together a ruling majority.

Anti-Gantz mudslinging defined Netanyahu’s campaign. After voting on Monday, Gantz slammed his chief rival saying:

“I hope that today will be the day that we change the tune, stop the mudslinging (and) stop the lying,” adding:

“Hopefully on this day we will begin the process of healing and begin living together with each other.”

Voting in Occupied Jerusalem, Israeli president Rivlin said “(t)his is normally a festive day, but the truth is that I don’t feel celebratory.”

“I only feel a sense of deep shame…We don’t deserve another awful and grubby election campaign like the one that ends today, and we don’t deserve this never-ending instability.”

“We deserve a government that works for us.” Like the US and other Western countries, it only “works” for Israel’s privileged class.

The vast majority of its Jewish citizens have no say over how they’re governed.

Israeli Arabs and Occupied Palestinians are ill-served and abused by ruling authorities controlling their lives.

Gantz earlier and ahead could easily cobble together a ruling coalition by including Joint (Arab) List Knesset members in it.

Instead he refused to ally with Arab representatives twice before — supporting apartheid rule like all Israeli regimes from inception.

Joint List leader Ayman Odeh said governance serving all Israeli citizens equitably is impossible “without a partnership between Arabs and Jews.”

According to polls, his party is projected to win a record-high 14 or 15 seats — making him a potential kingmaker if Gantz agreed to included Joint List in a ruling coalition with portfolios for the first time in Israeli history.

The Times of Israel cited unnamed analysts who believe that Gantz “may try to mold a minority coalition backed by the Joint List from the outside,” how this might work not explained.

Odeh said for Gantz to have Joint List ruling coalition support, he must “change direction” — what never happened before in Israel politically.

Arab Knesset members are treated like potted plants — with no power to serve their constituents.

Opening Monday at 7:00 AM local time, over 10,000 polling stations will stay open until 10:00 PM, 6,453,255 registered voters eligible to cast ballots.

On Sunday, Haaretz editors slammed Netanyahu. Calling him Israel’s “mudslinger-in-chief,” they “demand(ed) that he retire from public life,” adding:

“It’s hard to find words to describe the toxic stink that wafts from the political sewage Netanyahu, his associates and his family are channeling into the public fields.”

“There is not enough space to cover the entirety of mudslinging in Netanyahu’s sewer politics.”

“In the battle for the premiership, Netanyahu has stopped at nothing in demeaning his political rivals, delegitimizing them to the point of dehumanizing anyone perceived as standing in his way to another term.”

“That includes methodical, consistent incitement against Israel’s Arab citizens, Arab lawmakers and the legitimacy of the Arab vote.”

“How many more shovelfuls of muck must Israelis endure…from the messiah of hatred, incitement and lies…”

More the same filled the strongly worded denunciation of Netanyahu by Haaretz editors, wanting an end to his “poisonous rule on Monday.”

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Award-winning author Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG)

His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Muslim Haters Flock Together

March 2nd, 2020 by Eric Margolis

President Donald Trump’s 36-hour whirlwind visit to India this past week was designed to show Americans just how adored abroad their president really is.

Unluckily for Trump, his campaign stop at this behemoth nation of 1.3 or 1.4 billion proved a fiasco.

First came the terrifying Chinese coronavirus that so far has killed less people than the weekly toll on China’s dangerous roads, but the whole world went into a panic. The US stock market, the underpinning of Trump’s popularity at home, took a crash dive even though the all-knowing president-physician assured Americans that the Wuhan virus was only a cold.

VP Mike Pence, who believes in Adam and Eve and Noah’s Ark, was put in charge of combating the new virus.

Next, anti-Muslim riots led by Hindu fanatics in India left large numbers of mostly Muslims dead or injured. A not very well briefed Trump had just lauded India for its harmonious communal relations. The riots were sparked by a virulent anti-Muslim immigration bill enacted by hard-line Hindu Prime Minister Narendra Modi that has caused distress across the nation.

But all was not lost. Trump signed a deal to sell $3 billion of US arms to India and got a visit to the Taj Mahal. He will very likely want a copy built in Washington. The parade-loving president also viewed a fine display in Delhi of Indian martial prowess.

The latest US military helicopters will be sold on credit to India. They could be particularly useful in the high mountain regions along India’s tense northern borders with Pakistan and China.

US President Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi are both flaming populist leaders who play to two popular passions: hatred of Muslims and fear of China. Muslims make up roughly 14% of India’s billion-plus population, or some 172 million people.

Trump and American hawks dream of unleashing India against China. India and China have a long, disputed, ill-demarcated border across the high Himalayas and Karakoram mountains that divide them. They are rivals over Tibet, Ladakh and Burma, and Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan. India and Pakistan have already fought three wars over Kashmir. But Indians are clever and cautious and will not allow the US to push them into a big war against China.

For more on this topic, my geopolitical analysis of the region, ‘War at the Top of the World,’ is available through Amazon and used by general staffs, intelligence agencies, and universities.

As I’ve long warned, this little-known but highly strategic Himalayan region, the source of India’s and Pakistan’s major rivers, could well spark nuclear war between them – possibly joined by China. Many Americans could not even find Kashmir on a map and care nothing about a war there that could ignite a nuclear conflict and contaminate the entire globe.

But none of this matters at election time. Trump wants to show he is beloved by the outside world.

He has now forged a very close alliance with the Muslim-hating PM Modi, who is the front man for India’s powerful Hindu fundamentalist organization, the RSS, which was modeled in the 1920’s after Mussolini’s Fascists. Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is denounced as a ‘Jewish fascist’ by many on Israel’s left, has joined Trump and Modi in a de facto anti-Muslim rightist alliance.

At the same time, India has drawn very close to Israel, its principal supplier of arms and nuclear technology. Israel has opened doors for India across Washington. Interestingly, in a quid pro quo almost totally ignored by US media, the Trump White House has allowed massive Indian immigration to the US. There are now an estimated four million Indian immigrants in the US. Most are Hindus. They are designed to offset Muslim immigration and sway US politics in Trump’s favor.

There is nothing new in his immigration game. The Democrats encouraged large numbers of Latino and Irish immigrants who reliably voted for them. Many of the Indian immigrants are educated and fairly well-off. They cluster in IT, banking and journalism, bringing much value to both fields.

Instead of heightening tensions between India, Pakistan and China, the US should be helping calm India’s ethnic riots and promoting a fair settlement over the Kashmir dispute that has dragged on since 1947. Photo ops of the Taj Mahal are not going to help.

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Bad Medicine: Symbolic of the moral and intellectual decay at the White House, a photo shows Vice President Mike Pence and his team trying to pray away the coronavirus.

On social media, conservative Christians cheered at the embarrassing photo showing Vice President Pence and his coronavirus team wallowing in ignorant superstition and willful ignorance.

For example:

And:

According to EurAsia Review, the official White House photo by D. Myles Cullen depicts Vice President Mike Pence meeting with the President’s Coronavirus Task Force earlier this week in the West Wing of the White House.

Commenting on the story, Hemant Mehta at Friendly Atheist notes:

It’s not a joke when people say these Republicans are trying to stop a virus with prayer. What else did anyone expect? Science? Reason? Something sensible? Of course not.

While it is disturbing and heartbreaking to know that the man in charge of protecting the nation from the coronavirus would resort to something as useless as prayer, it is not surprising. In fact, it is no secret that Pence is a radical religious extremist.

Indeed, Pence is a terrible choice to lead any scientific or medical endeavor. The man is a dangerous Christian extremist who rejects science in favor of religious superstition.

Pence believes that creationism should be taught in public schools.

When serving as a congressman, Pence made it clear that he opposes evolution, and believes that only creationism (intelligent design) provides a “rational explanation for the known universe.”

Pence thinks the government should pay for gay conversion therapy.

In 2015, as Governor of Indiana, Pence allowed an HIV outbreak to spread, choosing prayer over a clean needle exchange. As a result of Pence taking the time to “pray on it,” citizens of his state suffered and died.

In addition to rejecting evolution, promoting gay conversion therapy, and allowing a deadly HIV epidemic to spread by choosing prayer over science, Pence has also claimed that condoms are “too modern and too liberal.”

Bottom line: Conservative Christians cheer while reasonable people are horrified at the sight of Pence’s team trying to pray away the coronavirus.

Weep for the nation.

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Featured image: Photo Shows Pence Team Trying To Pray Away Coronavirus (Image via Facebook)

The Federal government wants Canadian corporations to profit from Ethiopia’s minerals.

During his recent trip to the Horn of Africa country Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced negotiations on a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA). As I detailed in this article, bilateral investment treaties with African countries are overwhelmingly designed to solidify the position of Canadian mining interests.

Alongside the Prime Minister, the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) deployed a week-long “Business Mission to Ethiopia.” Mining was one of three industries cited in their release about the mission. TCS officials regularly assist mining firms with market assessments, problem-solving, contacting local officials, etc. “The TCS plays a pretty big role,” explained Ben Chalmers, senior vice‑president Mining Association of Canada in April. Trade commissioners “stand behind us and give us the additional credibility that being associated with the Government of Canada abroad brings.”

On other occasions in recent years Ottawa has shown interest in shaping Ethiopia’s burgeoning mining sector. International trade minister Jim Carr met Ethiopia’s Minister for Mining at the 2019 Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada conference in Toronto. In 2016 Global Affairs Canada launched a $12.5 million “Strengthening Education in Natural Resource Management in Ethiopia”, which was designed “to improve the employability of people … in natural resource fields like geology, mining and engineering. It works through universities and technical institutes to improve the quality of programs, align them more closely with the needs of the private sector.”

Concurrently, Global Affairs put up $15.3 million for a unique five-year collaboration between the Canadian International Resources and Development Institute (CIRDI) and Ethiopia’s Ministry of Mines. That initiative was to modernize licensing system and includes support for a geological survey. CIRDI and the Ministry of Mines also collaborated on a short marketing booklet titled “5 reasons Ethiopia is the mining investment destination you’ve been looking for”, which describes “Ethiopia’s virtually untapped, diverse and vast mineral resources.” It also lauds “improving government policies and regulations” that have put Ethiopia “on the radar screen of international mining investors.”

Two weeks ago, CIRDI Director Isabeau Vilandre and Ethiopia’s Minister for Mining participated in the African Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town, South Africa. According to the event publicity, it was a “presentation on opportunities in the Ethiopian mining sector and its critical role in the country’s home-grown economic reform.”

Housed at the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and Polytechnique Montréal, CIRDI was established by the Stephen Harper government to advance Canada’s massive international mining sector. In 2012 the Canadian International Development Agency put up $25 million for CIRDI, which then International Development Minister Julian Fantino told a Mining Association of Canada meeting would “be your biggest and best ambassador.”

At the end of November Ethiopia announced new mining regulations. A Financial Post story headlined “Ethiopia vows to remove barriers to investment in mining” lauded the Canadian backed mining legislation. The story noted, “Ethiopia’s current law guarantees the government just a 5% minimum equity stake in projects – less than in many African countries.”

Canadian companies have shown interest in Ethiopia. The President & CEO of the Canadian Council on Africa(CCAfrica), a corporate lobby group, visited Addis Ababa recently to meet the Minister of Mines. Ethiopia’s state-owned airline sponsored and participated in CCAfrica’s “Unleashing Canadian Mining Ecosystem” conference in January, marketing a regular flight between Toronto and Adidas Ababa to the extractivist crowd. (At the start of the month CCAfrica and CIRDI announced a “Strategic Partnership”.)

Canadian firms are exploring a number of projects in a country that’s begun to throw its territory open to foreign mining firms. Vancouver based East Africa Metals has three gold and precious polymetallic licenses in the country.

On its site CIRDI lists “Who Benefits” from its project in Ethiopia. It claims the “Ultimate” beneficiaries are “the citizens of Ethiopia.” Justin Trudeau would make a similar claim about his push for a bilateral investment treaty and Ottawa’s mining projects in Ethiopia. It wouldn’t be true. He wants corporate Canada to profit from Ethiopia’s resources.

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Canadian Media Lies About Venezuela

March 1st, 2020 by Alison Bodine

Canada’s public media the CBC long-ago entered the ranks of yellow journalism when it comes to its reporting on Venezuela.  However, two recent reports, in particular, one on CBC radio’s “The Current” and the other a CBC News article by reporter Evan Dyer, weigh heavy on the sensationalism and light on facts. Filled with unsubstantiated claims, right-wing pundits parading as “pro-democracy” advocates and unchallenged declarations by the government of Canada officials, once again, the CBC firmly establishes their role as the mouthpiece of the government Canada.

CBC’s Lies and Manipulations Against Venezuela

The January 28 report on Venezuela on The Current could have been shortened to the 30 second sound clip from the Foreign Affairs Minister of Canada François-Philippe Champagne that was played near the beginning of the report –

“You have to look at the economic hardship that people are living. You have to look at the environmental disaster that is going on now with the illegal mining of gold. You have to look at the humanitarian crisis that is going on. We think that there will be about six million displaced by the end of the year. So everything that we’re seeing suggests that we should redouble our efforts. The solution needs to come from the region. We will work with the region, but I think the president would tell you that with Canada’s support, we’re going to look ahead to restore democracy in Venezuela.”

The economic and humanitarian crisis, environmental disaster, restoring democracy, Minister Champagne said them all. The other 16 minutes of the program had nothing further to offer, in terms of reporting or analysis because these are the buzzwords that mark the depth of mainstream media coverage on Venezuela.

Minister Champagne also fails to mention one word, one which the mainstream media has also willfully neglected to include in any of their reporting – sanctions. Neither he nor the entire episode of The Current bothers to mention that the governments of Canada, the United States, and the European Union have all imposed illegal and immoral sanctions and blockade on the people of Venezuela. So much for an objective discussion on the government of Canada’s Venezuela policies and actions.

And who the CBC invite to the program to comment on the government of Canada’s foreign policy with Venezuela?

First, Mr. Galloway welcomed Yvon Grenier, as a “professor of political science at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia”. Supposedly presenting him as an intellectual authority figure, with an objective point of view, the CBC neglected to mention the title of his most recent book – “Culture and the Cuban State, Participation, Recognition, and Dissonance under Communism (2017),” or his position as a fellow at the right-wing Brian Mulroney Institute of Government, which recently hosted Stephen Harper’s former Chief of Staff as a “honoured guest speaker.”

Cleary, his position on the government of Venezuela, which continues to allocate a large part of its budget to social programs, is not the kind of government Mr. Grenier would support.

The Current did play the words of the NDP deputy foreign affairs critic, Heather McPherson, including her comment that “What concerns me most is the idea that by meeting with Guaidó that the prime minister is taking a side and is putting his nose where it doesn’t belong” (which he clearly is).

However, Matt Galloway allowed Professor Grenier to dismiss her statement with a mere one-sentence repetition of what he had already said – that Guaidó is a legitimate President and the government of Canada is right to intervene – in so many words. Yet again, the pundits go unchallenged, and an audio clip that could have led to critical thought and discussion about Canada’s warmongering foreign policy was cut off before it could begin.

Next, Mr. Galloway welcomed Maryhen Jimenez, as a “lecturer in political science at the University of Oxford who has studied the Venezuelan opposition movement,” to the program. Her introduction was slightly more revealing of her bias, but it omitted the focus of her research “explore uneven patterns of opposition coordination in autocracies…” Of which, her biography continues, Venezuela is one of her countries of study. Matt Galloway started the report on Venezuela with “It was just over a year ago that Juan Guaidó declared himself interim president following national elections widely considered to be fraudulent,” so inviting Ms. Jimenez, who bases her research on the idea that Venezuela is an “autocracy” is fitting.

It’s almost as if the producers for The Current looked for two guest speakers with the most similar perspective as possible – if it was a position against the government of President Maduro.

CBC Silences the Voices of Those Who Acknowledge the Legitimacy the May 2018 Presidential elections o

Now, it might be considered understandable that former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who declared the election system in Venezuela the “best in the world,” might have been hard to reach for comment. However, there are many people from Canada, including the author of this article, that was in Venezuela as elections observers when President Maduro was re-elected in May of 2018.

It seems out of the question that the CBC would ever get comments from any of the millions of people in Venezuela that support the Bolivarian revolutionary process and President Maduro. However, there are journalists, academics, unionists, students, and workers right here in Canada that could attest to how the United Nations and 75% of countries around the world recognize President Maduro, not the U.S. puppet Guaidó, as the President of Venezuela. People who could talk about how President Maduro received 68% of the vote, which represented a higher percentage of votes from the entire electorate, then either Trudeau or Trump received in their last election. Venezuelan Canadians who could comment on how the government of Canada refused to let them vote from within Canada in the Venezuelan Presidential election. Even someone that could remind the CBC and their “expert” guests that Guaidó never ran in any election to be President of Venezuela. Undoubtedly, one of us would have been available, had anyone from the CBC asked.

If The Current and the CBC intended to discuss the government of Canada’s foreign policy towards Venezuela – they indeed should have reached out to someone directly impacted by Canada’s sanctions against Venezuela. Only a week before this report, Venezuela Olympic athlete Alejandra Benítez was denied a visa to Canada under these cruel and arbitrary sanctions. Alejandra Benítez’s had hoped to compete in the Montreal Grand Prix, a fencing competition that is a qualifying event for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. But, her chances of making it to the Olympics were quashed because she was Venezuela’s Minister of Sports from 2013-2014. Indeed, she would have been happy to share her story with people in Canada.

Instead, The Current didn’t even bother to pretend that they are providing balanced reporting that is in opposition to the line of the Liberal government. The Trudeau government’s policy towards Venezuela is a playbook lock in step with the United States’ objective to bring about the overthrow of the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. For all intents and purposes, the CBC is in support of these anti-democratic and anti-human policies.

CBC Ignores U.S. and Canada Sanctions on Venezuela

Now, undoubtedly, the CBC would work harder to present more than rhetoric on Venezuela in their articles. Well, not if the article “Canada considers new international push to oust Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro,” by veteran CBC journalist Evan Dyer is of any indication. This 1500-word article could also be summed with a short quote from the government of Canada.  Justin Trudeau’s, “I commend Interim President Guaidó for the courage and leadership he has shown in his efforts to return democracy to Venezuela, and I offer Canada’s continued support. Canadians stand with the people of Venezuela in their pursuit of free and fair elections, and basic human rights” would do just fine.

In 1500 words, Mr. Dyer managed to parrot nearly every lie about the government of President Maduro that has become the mainstay of the mainstream media war against Venezuela, especially when it comes to the election of Luis Parra as the President of the National Assembly in Venezuela on January 5. Guaidó is not President of the National Assembly anymore. Yet, Mr. Dyer continues the CBC’s shameful trend of presenting the point of view of Venezuela’s counter-revolutionary opposition as objective fact – all the while presenting the government of Canada’s intervention in the internal affairs of Venezuela as a foregone conclusion that is immune to any critical thought.

Much the same as The Current, Mr. Dyer couldn’t be bothered to mention U.S., Canada, and European Union sanctions in his article. How could he dare bring up the words “humanitarian crisis” without referencing a report by economists Mark Weisbrot and Jeremy Sachs of the Center for Economic Policy Research, which documented the deadly impact of the over 350 sanctions since 2015. According to their findings, these sanctions killed an estimated 40,000 people from 2017-2018. As Alfred de Zayas, a United Nations Independent Expert, wrote in his 2018 report from his mission to Venezuela to the UN Human Rights Council, “Modern-day economic sanctions and blockades are comparable with medieval sieges of towns with the intention of forcing them to surrender. Twenty-first-century sanctions attempt to bring not just a town, but sovereign countries to their knees.” It appears these types of reports are of no use to the CBC.

This pro-war, “news” article, would be a much better fit in the opinion page of any major corporate newspaper or website.

With manipulative coverage such as this, how is it that the CBC can continue to claim that they operate on the principle that “All employees of CBC News, as well as the content they create, must respect the principles of accuracy, fairness, balance, impartiality, and integrity as expressed through the Journalistic Standards and Practices”?

The Media War Against Venezuela Continues

It is not just the CBC, major corporate media in the U.S. and Canada is decidedly attempting to manufacturer consent for the pro-intervention stance of Trump and Trudeau through lies and manipulations. A study by the non-profit organization FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) found that in the three months between January 15 and April 15, 2019, there were “no voices in elite corporate media that opposed regime change in that country… zero opinion pieces in the New York Times and Washington Post took an anti-regime change or pro-Maduro/Chavista position. Not a single commentator on the big three Sunday morning talk shows or PBS NewsHour came out against President Nicolás Maduro stepping down from the Venezuelan government.”

Is it a mere coincidence that the CBC upped its slanderous coverage about the democratically elected government of Venezuela just as Guaidó was about to touch down in Ottawa? No way.

The CBC is a crucial part of maintaining the dog and pony show that Prime Minister Trudeau created around the arrival of Juan Guaidó to Canada on January 27, 2020. They made sure that people in Canada were unprepared to question the perfect selfie and the friendly exchange between Trudeau and Guaidó. Their profoundly inadequate, one-sided and manipulative coverage on Venezuela has silenced millions of people in Venezuela that support the Bolivarian revolutionary process and the democratically elected President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro.

U.S./Canada Hands Off Venezuela!

The CBC has proven time and time again that they are unwilling to question the government of Canada’s sanctions and intervention in the internal affairs of Venezuela. They have refused to introduce even a shred of critical thought against the campaign led by the United States to overthrow the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, and reverse the tremendous gains of the last 20 years of the Bolivarian revolutionary process.

This professional neglect by the CBC, and other mainstream, capitalist media, elevates our responsibility as poor, working and oppressed people in Canada and the United States. We must unite together to create our own media and use all the means at hand to end U.S.-led intervention, blockade, and threats against the sovereign and independent country of Venezuela!

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Originally published: Volume 14, Issue 2 of Fire This Time newspaper (www.firethistime.net)

Alison Bodine is a social justice activist, author and researcher in Vancouver, Canada. She is the author of “Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Venezuela” (Battle of Ideas Press, 2018). Alison is coordinator of the Fire This Time Movement for Social Justice Venezuela Solidarity Campaign in Vancouver and is also a founding member of the Campaign to End U.S./Canada Sanctions Against Venezuela. @alisoncolette. She is a frequent contributor to Global Research. 

Why Not Sanders? He’s “Far Too Risky”

March 1st, 2020 by Robert Fantina

An article on CNN on February 25 discusses the fear and apprehension of ‘moderate’ Democrats about the possibility of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders winning the Democratic presidential nomination. “This is playing into Trump’s hands!” they lament. “Downstream candidates will be adversely impacted” they moan. They wring their hands and proclaim that “The Party will lose the House!”

They all say that Sanders is far too risky. Democrats must nominate some middle-of-the-road, namby-pamby, white, male candidate to oppose Trump. That, they state, is the only possibility of victory.

Perhaps not. In 2008, the Party stepped outside of its old, white, male box and nominated Illinois Senator Barack Obama. He galvanized the party, motivating millions to volunteers to work on his campaign, and generating excitement for a candidate not seen in decades. He defeated an aging, white, middle-of-the-road senator (John McCain of Arizona). How excited do the current Democratic Sanders-naysayers think anyone is going to get about, say, Joe Biden? Will his crowded rallies be energized by feelings of electrified excitement? Will his venues be filled with the young and old, and racially-mixed throngs who are excited just to be in his presence? When pigs fly.

Perhaps a better alternative is billionaire and former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg. He could, the pundits say, go head-to-head with the (alleged) billionaire Trump. But Bloomberg carries his own racist, sexist and elitist baggage. The ‘stop and frisk’ policies instituted when he was mayor, and his clear statements that, as mayor, he had to put most of the police in minority neighborhoods, because that’s where most of the crime occurs, will not sit well not only with minority voters, but with any voters who believe in equality and justice. He also blamed the 2008 economic melt-down at least partly on the end of redlining, the illegal practice of denying housing loans to people in minority neighborhoods. And his blatantly sexist statements to female co-workers, suggesting that they provide oral sex to a male co-worker who was soon to marry, as a ‘gift’ to him, and commenting ‘kill it’ when one woman announced her pregnancy, border on the behaviors for which Trump has been criticized. So, maybe Bloomberg isn’t the right alternative to Sanders.

Popular these days is former South Bend Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg. He is about as middle-of-the-road as Biden, but young enough to be his grandson, so less entrenched in the ‘swamp’ than Grandpa Biden. Perhaps passion, which Sanders demonstrates with every statement and Buttigieg seems not to have at all, isn’t necessary to be president; the facts, figures and statistics that Buttigieg is fond of discussing are, of course, of vital importance in running any government. But they don’t motivate voters. And, of course, like Biden, Buttigieg is a Zionist, so his disdain for international law and human rights should automatically disqualify him.

Trying to bridge the gap between revolutionary change and centrist is Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren. She has moved far to the left to be seen as an alternative to Sanders, but her campaign seems to be dying a slow and painful death.

And then we have the proud Zionist, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. She had an ‘impressive’ (?) third-place showing in New Hampshire, which she had seized upon as the beginning of the end for Sanders, Warren, Buttigieg, etc. Unfortunately for her but for no one else, she slipped into sixth place in Nevada, garnering less than 9% of the number of votes Sanders received.

There are a few important lessons to take from the 2016 election. First, people wanted change, and that was hardly represented by Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Second, polarizing candidates with trainloads of baggage are not viable alternatives to even the most reprehensible opponents. Third, Democratic voters do not like to see their party behaving in a most un-democratic way, as it did in 2016 when it cooked the books in a variety of ways to ensure that Clinton was the nominee.

What can be learned from this? Well, let’s write off Bloomberg right now. His racist and sexist statements and policies should automatically disqualify him. And we have already seen the ‘wonders’ that an (alleged) billionaire businessman can do as president. Does anyone really want more of the same?

We also learn that Democrats want an honest primary season, where candidates are given the same level of support by the Democratic National Committee, and where the DNC doesn’t manipulate things to favor one or the other (yes, we are talking about you, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz).

Mostly, we learn that Democrats want change. How much change Sanders actually represents remains to be seen (like most elected officials, he has seldom seen a U.S. war he hasn’t liked, Iraq being an exception, but his reasoning for voting against that war was hardly a denunciation of it; that is a topic for a different essay). But they are excited about a candidate who talks about universal health care, protecting the environment, establishing an almost-livable minimal wage, cutting aid to Israel and giving it to Palestine. They feel a sense of refreshment that, perhaps, they can vote for a candidate for president who knows, and perhaps even cares, that people like them – working class, struggling – exist.

Some pundits look back to 1972 and the disastrous landslide victory of incumbent Richard Nixon over South Dakota Senator George McGovern. But one must remember that, going into that election, Nixon was a popular president; no poll ever showed McGovern even close to him in the race, let alone defeating him. Such is not the case today, when Trump’s popularity is hovering around 50%, the highest of his entire term, and head-to-head matchups between him and Sanders consistently show Sanders as victorious.

The next series of primaries will indicate whether or not Sanders maintains his front-runner status, and if those would-be candidates who drop out will endorse him. And while a Sanders presidency would certainly not institute the level of change that his most ardent supporters hope for, it would represent a significant redirection of U.S. foreign and domestic policy. And that is something that every Democrat should support.

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Bernie Sanders and the Resurrected Russiagate Smear

March 1st, 2020 by Adeyinka Makinde

Even after the “Russiagate” claim of supposed Russian interference in the last US Presidential Election was irrefutably debunked, members of the Democratic Party elite and sections of the US “Deep State” of National Security/Intelligence in alliance with sections of the mainstream media continue to peddle this asinine and tiresome trope that posits certain American politicians as collaborators, assets or useful idiots of the Russian state. Hillary Clinton used it against US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and now the same ploy of projecting a political figure as being Russia’s “favoured candidate” is being used against another presidential aspirant US Senator Bernie Sanders.

The 2019 report into “Russiagate” by Robert Mueller turned up no credible evidence to back up the narrative that the Russian state orchestrated a powerful and effective campaign to influence the presidential race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. The core narrative of “Russiagate” lacked solid evidence. Right from the beginning, astute commentators such as Emeritus Professor Stephen Cohen, an expert in Russian affairs for decades, pronounced the two central documents on which the whole Russiagate sage relied as “impotent”. If anything the real interference which inspired “Russiagate” had to do with the State of Israel attempting to fix a vote in the United Nations in regard to which the Israelis hoped that Russia would refrain from exercising its right of veto in a UN Resolution concerning the Palestinian issue. It speaks volumes that the mainstream media and the politicians of the world’s most powerful nation are fearful of speaking out about the power of the Israel Lobby in US domestic politics and foreign policy.

It is important to explain the motivation behind “Russiagate” and the actors who perpetrated the myth. “Russiagate” is simply the fruit of an alliance between the Democratic Party elite and members of the military-security establishment. The former wished to exact revenge on Trump for inflicting an unexpected defeat on their candidate, while the latter have a financial interest in prolonging a Cold War with Russia because peace or rapprochement would effectively mean the extraordinary levels of money spent by the United States on defence in terms of manufacturing weapons, maintaining bases around the globe and justifying its vast intelligence network would be rendered redundant.

The Russia smear is thus a political weapon directed at any politician who speaks out against American militarism, whether as pertaining to the manufactured Cold War against the Russian Federation or to the unchanging policy of instigating overt and covert wars of regime change.

Those who threaten the interests composed of defence contractor companies such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Raytheon along with serving and former serving officials of the Pentagon imperil the continuation of an extremely lucrative trade in arms, ammunition and miscellaneous weapons of war.

Thus, when Trump promised during the presidential election campaign of 2016 to leave NATO, as well as his description of Russia as not an enemy, he was inviting the wrath of a amalgam of powerful interests. The same may be said of Tulsi Gabbard and her campaign against the American policy of regime change wars, and of Bernie Sanders and his perennial anti-war stance.

This powerful and malevolent interest group wields considerable clout in American politics through the control and influence exercised on political representatives in both houses of the United States Congress. It is a group which President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned the American public to be wary of, when giving his farewell address to the nation. Eisenhower described this burgeoning interest group, in his words “an immense military establishment and large arms industry” as the “Military Industrial Complex”. He prophesied that it would threaten American democracy in the future.

The “unwarranted influence” acquired by the Military Industry has come to pass.

Tufts University Professor Michael J. Glennon in his lengthy paper cum book “National Security and Double Government” identified what he termed the “Trumanite” institutions (in contrast to the “Madisonian” institutions of state governance prescribed by the American Constitution), an unaccountable collection of former military, intelligence and law enforcement officers whose influence has been strong enough to ensure that America’s national security policy, one of consistent militarism, has essentially remained unchanged through the administrations of George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

The Military Industry has its tentacles in politicians whose payoffs are enabled by laws which allow unlimited electoral spending. It also has a pervading influence on the mainstream media regardless of the ideological designation of “liberal” or “conservative”. Thus we see Democratic Party Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who tore up President Trump’s State of the Union address, rise up to applaud Trump’s expression of support for the US puppet Juan Guaido, the man being used by the US National Security State to overthrow the legitimate government of Venezuela.

It also explains the pro-war sentiments of supposed liberal media figures such as  Rachel Maddow and Anderson Cooper, both of whom are emblematic of the sort of liberal political and media figures who subscribe to “Humanitarian Wars” which fulfill the war agenda of the Military Industry and its perennial allies associated with the neoconservative agenda and the Israel Lobby.

The “Russiagate” smear is a disinformation exercise geared to denigrate and to discredit politicians. It is not limited to effecting the derailment of political campaigns, it also serves as a tool to be used to control the policy of a successful candidate in terms of their conduct of relations with Russia.

The reactions of those targeted has been varied. While Trump and Gabbard have actively fought against it, Sanders has unwisely played into the narrative by accepting the intelligence services claim that Russia has habitually interfered with the US electoral process and by referring to Vladimir Putin as an “autocratic thug”.

Many unfortunately are still unable to ascertain the obeisance to the dictates of the Military Industry as being at the root of the attacks and smears mounted against the likes of Gabbard and Sanders, and as a result the mainstream media is able to revive the canard of the Kremlin-orchestrated undermining of American democracy.

The question now is how much longer will the insouciant masses keep falling for the same old ruse?

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This article was originally published on the author’s blog site, Adeyinka Makinde.

Adeyinka Makinde is a writer based in London, England. 

Featured image: Newspaper opinion piece by Stephen Kinzer  acknowledging the debunking of “Russiagate” (Boston Sunday Globe, April 7th 2019)

The notion that America is democratic is a colossal hoax — falsely claimed by the US political establishment and press agent media.

Reality is vastly otherwise. Powerful interests run the country. Ordinary people have no say whatever.

If elections changed anything for the better, they’d be banned. The US political system is manipulated to assure continuity.

Monied interests are served exclusively, the vast majority of Americans exploited so they benefit, the way it’s always been from inception, notably since the neoliberal 90s.

On MSNBC, former Obama regime official Anton Gunn bluntly said “(t)he party decides its nominee. The public doesn’t really decide the nominee.”

Things are decided out of public view, voters deluded to believe otherwise, why elections when held are farcical.

Both right wings of the US one-party state operate the same way, by their own rules to assure no change in dirty business as usual.

In its Thursday edition, updated on Friday, the NYT reported that Speaker Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Schumer, and Bill Clinton warned about Sanders emerging as party presidential nominee in July — falsely claiming Dems could be wiped out in November.

According to the Times, Dem leaders are “willing to risk intraparty damage to stop his nomination at the national convention in July if they get the chance.”

The Times interviewed 93 out of 771 unelected superdelegates, comprised of high-level current and former Dem officials.

They expressed “overwhelming opposition to handing the Vermont senator the nomination if he arrived with the most delegates but fell short of a majority.”

Claiming he’d lose to Trump and hand both houses to GOP candidates defies reality, polls showing otherwise.

According to Real Clear Politics, an average of polls conducted from February 14 – 27 showed Sanders is heavily favored to be Dem nominee with an 11.1 point edge over Biden, other Dem aspirants trailing him by wider margins.

An average of national general election polls conducted this month show Sanders defeating Trump handily by a 49.4 – 44.5 margin.

He may be more likely to defeat Trump than other Dem presidential aspirants, his rhetoric notably appealing to young and working-class voters.

If he fails to win a majority of delegates before the July Dem convention, superdelegates will likely choose an aspirant other than him as party standard bearer.

Wanting his chances undermined, anonymous US intelligence sources falsely claimed Russia is helping his campaign to “sow division” in the country — despite no evidence suggesting it because none exists.

Aspirant Tulsi Gabbard slammed the above rubbish, saying it “seek(s) to do two things:

“1. Create enough suspicion around Sanders, by falsely tarnishing him as a puppet of Russia, that he loses the election.

2. Or, at the very least, if Bernie wins the (Dem) nomination, force him to engage in inflammatory anti-Russia rhetoric and perpetuate the New Cold War and nuclear arms race, which are existential threats to our country and the world.”

Addressing her own campaign, Gabbard added:

“Am I going to allow myself to be manipulated and forced into a corner by overreaching intelligence agencies and the corporate media where, in order for me to win the presidency, I’m going to have to do what I know is not in the interests of the American people and world peace?”

“Or will I stand up to the corrupt neocon and neoliberal establishment, condemn their lies and smears, and act with the integrity and foresight necessary to forge a rational policy that will serve all our interests?”

She’s the only aspirant in the race worthy of public support because of her anti-war/progressive agenda, shown by her voting record, much different from Sanders, voting along Dem party lines most of the time.

It’s why party bosses and supportive media either smear or ignore her, assuring her marginal support as shown in polls, keeping her out of most debates to deny her a public platform for voters to know what she stands for.

Aspirants for the nation’s highest office aside, polls show most voters oppose same old/same old. Yet party bosses assure that’s what they get every time.

Candidate Trump pretended to be different. His record in office showed otherwise, exceeding the worst of his predecessors.

If Sanders becomes Dem nominee and defeats Trump in November, a long shot on both counts but possible, will he live up to his lofty campaign promises or follow in the footsteps of his predecessors?

It’s highly unlikely that he’d be permitted to become Dem standard bearer and president without having sold his soul to the system.

The only way he can win over powerful interests that run the country and be elevated to the nation’s highest office is by assuring that he’ll guarantee continuity.

That’s the price to become president or hold high-level congressional positions.

Throughout his near-40 years in politics, largely in Congress, he’s gone along to get along.

If elevated to the nation’s highest office, it’s virtually certain that he’d operate the same way — with a little wiggle room to throw crumbs at supporters, short of major policy changes like Medicare for all and other social justices programs.

While he’s not Trump, he’s part of the same dirty system that won’t change with him or anyone else as president.

That’s the disturbing reality of how the US is run — by the people who own the country, what John Jay, the first Supreme Court chief justice, long ago explained.

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Award-winning author Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG)

His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Featured image is from The Unz Review

“Long Live Democracy!” cried “student” protesters at Thailand’s Thammasat University as local and Western media organizations reported “hundreds” gathered to decry the disbanding of Thai political party, Future Forward.

However, the Western media’s eager support for the small mob complete with quotes of support from the US Embassy in Bangkok should be the first clue that it has little to do with actual democracy or Thailand’s best interests and more to do with bolstering Western proxies in Thailand and boosting waning Western influence in Thailand, and across wider Asia vis-a-vis China.

The recent ruling by Thailand’s Constitutional Court regarding Future Forward and its dissolution is indeed not an attack on “democracy” but rather the confronting of an overtly corrupt party led by an equally corrupt billionaire, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit.

Thanathorn has in the past openly received the support of the US and other Western embassies amid his multiplying and increasingly overt legal transgressions. His Future Forward political party is comprised of members drawn from US and European-funded fronts posing as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

In his latest legal transgression – Thanathorn “loaned” his own party millions of dollars. Of course, Future Forward has no means or intention of ever paying back this “loan,” meaning that it was instead in all actuality a donation – one made in direct and complete violation of Thai election laws.

The BBC would note in its article, “Future Forward: Thai pro-democracy party dissolved over loan,” that:

The constitutional court ruled a loan of around $6m (£4.6m) to Future Forward from Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit was a donation, and therefore illegal. 

The BBC would – however – attempt to present the party’s dissolution as a setback for “democracy,” claiming that the party had garnered “more than six million votes.” Of course the BBC conveniently omits that it came in distant third, with its political allies from Thailand’s Pheu Thai Party (PTP) led by exiled and likewise corrupt billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra coming in second and Thailand’s Palang Pracharat Party coming in first regarding popular vote.

Thus Future Forward not only represents a minority (16%) of Thai voters – it represents the interests of a corrupt billionaire who openly violated Thai laws in his bid to seize political power. If this is the case, what are these “student” protesters at Thammasat University actually fighting for?

More Western “Pro-Democracy” Chaos 

The protests of course have nothing to do with “students” and are instead led by openly foreign-funded fronts merely posing as “students” and “pro-democracy activists.” Many of them are directly tied to Thanathorn’s corrupt and now disbanded Future Forward political party – while others literally donned the red shirts of Pheu Thai’s violent street mobs, the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) – notorious for widespread arson and armed terrorism which paralyzed Bangkok in 2009 and 2010.

The Western media and local media funded-by and eagerly reflecting foreign interests attempted to portray Future Forward’s dissolution as a clear bid by the ruling government to eliminate the “pro-democracy” opposition.

Articles like the Bangkok Post’s “Hundreds rally for justice at Thammasat,” would quote protesters from the minuscule mob, claiming:

“It doesn’t matter who the people elect — Thai Rak Thai, People Power Party or Future Forward — they all ended up being disbanded. Maybe we should try electing Palang Pracharath so it too is dissolved,” a speaker said, referring to the main party in the governing coalition.

Again – omitted is the fact that Palang Pracharath not only won the popular vote – far outperforming Future Forward at the polls by several million votes – it also formed the largest functional political coalition with smaller parties than Future Forward and its Pheu Thai allies did.

Thus “students” at Thammasat are not rallying for “democracy” or “justice,” they are rallying against justice served to an overtly corrupt and unpopular political party in an attempt to undermine the ruling government voted into power by the majority of Thai voters.

In other words – Western and pro-Western local media articles spun an anti-democratic mob organized by a corrupt billionaire and his foreign sponsors as a “pro-democracy” rally.

No Future for Future Forward’s Mobs  

Despite the optimistic delusions of protesters who believe the Thammasat mob is the beginning of a larger scale anti-government movement in Thailand – it should be remembered that Future Forward is less popular than its Pheu Thai allies were at the height of their political power in 2009-2010 where even massive and extremely violent mobs were unable to reverse their declining political fortunes, leading to their eventual dislodging from power and even the flight of senior leaders overseas where they remain in exile.

Pheu Thai had in the past easily manipulated the Thai electoral system and delivered victory at the polls. In 2019 it failed to do so and Future Forward performed even worse. Their combined political power after the 2019 Thai general election was still unable to match that won at the polls by the military-linked Palang Pracharath Party and its political allies.

A political movement led by corrupt, exposed, and unpopular billionaires with waning power and influence does not a revolution make.

There is no doubt that Future Forward and the mobs it has funded and organized with the help of foreign interlopers will nonetheless attempt to portray street chaos as a popular uprising despite having openly failed at the polls in 2019 and having nothing even close to resembling popular public backing.

With the help of a dishonest Western media, US and European-funded local media fronts, and an army of US and European-funded meddlers posing as NGOs headlines will continue to present Thanathorn and Thaksin’s struggle for relevance and leverage as a “pro-democracy struggle.”

As these so-called “pro-democracy” forces fade further from power and popularity inside Thailand – the wider influence of the West whom sponsors them wanes across wider Asia. It overall reflects the decline of the West’s so-called “soft power” – a geopolitical tool blunted by a lack of alternatives to those used by the West’s competitors – namely Beijing – who offer political, economic, and military ties whose tangible benefits far exceed those – if any – offered by Washington, London, or Brussels.

As the US continues to focus on building dishonest and disruptive political movements led by corrupt billionaires, China is laying down physical infrastructure and contributing to regional trade producing mutually beneficial economic progress for the region.

Fake “Progressives” Threaten Real Regional Progress 

Future Forward will no doubt manage to move bodies into the streets – just as its Pheu Thai allies did in 2009-2010. With many of the so-called “students” literally wearing Pheu Thai’s UDD “red” shirts – it is clear that recent rallies are little more than a repeat of the 2009-2010 protests – led by the same circles of political agitators as in 2009-2010 – minus the somewhat wider support Pheu Thai once had at the time.

They do so at the risk of upsetting not only political and economic stability in Thailand, but all the benefits derived from both – including monetary incentives by various shareholders foreign and domestic who will undoubtedly counter-rally any gains made by Thanathorn and his Future Forward political party in the streets.

The capacity for Future Forward to disrupt political and economic stability in Thailand exists – but to a lesser extent than past foreign-backed chaos. The hopelessness of Future Forward’s self-made political crisis and its insistence on still hiding behind “democracy” and “human rights” nonetheless will only help further expose both as the facades they truly are within the construct of Western-backed political meddling both within Thailand and across the wider Asian region.

Thanathorn and others like him in Thailand and across Asia will have one less rock to hide under as the sun of multipolarism and national sovereignty chases away the remaining shadows of Western colonialism cast across Asia.

The so-called opposition in Thailand represents the West’s bid to counter growing Thai-Chinese relations that are further eroding Western primacy across Asia and the globe.

The BBC, other Western media organizations, and local media fronts mindlessly echoing their sentiments will continue to howl about “injustice” against billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and his Future Forward political party in a bid to bolster the opposition – but fewer and fewer are listening with fewer still, believing.

Continuous lies buttressed by increasingly feeble “pro-democracy” narratives are unsustainable in and of themselves – but when compared to efforts by China and others to actually drive local, regional, and global development through tangible means – the West’s “pro-democracy” game appears to have fully run its course.

For Thailand and the Thai people – it can only be hoped that these “flash mobs” fail to gain traction and those paying into Thanathorn, Future Forward, and the wider “pro-democracy” movement the West has created as a vector to project power and influence across Thailand see it as the poor investment it truly is.

The continued carrot and stick method used by the ruling government luring local and foreign shareholders seeking to stir up street chaos away their machinations and toward a more constructive role regarding national and regional development must continue while security forces and government media remain vigilant and prepared for the sort of disinformation, provocations, and violence that almost always accompany the sort of Western-sponsored political unrest this recent mob in Thailand represents.

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Tony Cartalucci is a Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher and writer, especially for the online magazine New Eastern Outlook” where this article was originally published. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from NEO

Please try this experiment for me.

Try asking this question out loud, in a tone of intellectual interest and engagement: “Are you suggesting that the two have the same effect?”

Now try asking this question out loud, in a tone of hostility and incredulity bordering on sarcasm: “Are you suggesting that the two have the same effect?”

Firstly, congratulations on your acting skills; you take direction very well. Secondly, is it not fascinating how precisely the same words can convey the opposite meaning dependent on modulation of stress, pitch, and volume?

Yesterday the prosecution continued its argument that the provision in the 2007 UK/US Extradition Treaty that bars extradition for political offences is a dead letter, and that Julian Assange’s objectives are not political in any event. James Lewis QC for the prosecution spoke for about an hour, and Edward Fitzgerald QC replied for the defence for about the same time. During Lewis’s presentation, he was interrupted by Judge Baraitser precisely once. During Fitzgerald’s reply, Baraitser interjected seventeen times.

In the transcript, those interruptions will not look unreasonable:

“Could you clarify that for me Mr Fitzgerald…”

“So how do you cope with Mr Lewis’s point that…”

“But surely that’s a circular argument…”

“But it’s not incorporated, is it?…”

All these and the other dozen interruptions were designed to appear to show the judge attempting to clarify the defence’s argument in a spirit of intellectual testing. But if you heard the tone of Baraitser’s voice, saw her body language and facial expressions, it was anything but.

The false picture a transcript might give is exacerbated by the courtly Fitzgerald’s continually replying to each obvious harassment with “Thank you Madam, that is very helpful”, which again if you were there, plainly meant the opposite. But what a transcript will helpfully nevertheless show was the bully pulpit of Baraitser’s tactic in interrupting Fitzgerald again and again and again, belittling his points and very deliberately indeed preventing him from getting into the flow of his argument. The contrast in every way with her treatment of Lewis could not be more pronounced.

So now to report the legal arguments themselves.

James Lewis for the prosecution, continuing his arguments from the day before, said that Parliament had not included a bar on extradition for political offences in the 2003 Act. It could therefore not be reintroduced into law by a treaty. “To introduce a Political Offences bar by the back door would be to subvert the intention of Parliament.”

Lewis also argued that these were not political offences. The definition of a political offence was in the UK limited to behaviour intended “to overturn or change a government or induce it to change its policy.” Furthermore the aim must be to change government or policy in the short term, not the indeterminate future.

Lewis stated that further the term “political offence” could only be applied to offences committed within the territory where it was attempted to make the change. So to be classified as political offences, Assange would have had to commit them within the territory of the USA, but he did not.

If Baraitser did decide the bar on political offences applied, the court would have to determine the meaning of “political offence” in the UK/US Extradition Treaty and construe the meaning of paragraphs 4.1 and 4.2 of the Treaty. To construe the terms of an international treaty was beyond the powers of the court.

Lewis perorated that the conduct of Julian Assange cannot possibly be classified as a political offence. “It is impossible to place Julian Assange in the position of a political refugee”. The activity in which Wikileaks was engaged was not in its proper meaning political opposition to the US Administration or an attempt to overthrow that administration. Therefore the offence was not political.

For the defence Edward Fitzgerald replied that the 2003 Extradition Act was an enabling act under which treaties could operate. Parliament had been concerned to remove any threat of abuse of the political offence bar to cover terrorist acts of violence against innocent civilians. But there remained a clear protection, accepted worldwide, for peaceful political dissent. This was reflected in the Extradition Treaty on the basis of which the court was acting.

Baraitser interrupted that the UK/US Extradition Treaty was not incorporated into English Law.

Fitzgerald replied that the entire extradition request is on the basis of the treaty. It is an abuse of process for the authorities to rely on the treaty for the application but then to claim that its provisions do not apply.

“On the face of it, it is a very bizarre argument that a treaty which gives rise to the extradition, on which the extradition is founded, can be disregarded in its provisions. It is on the face of it absurd.” Edward Fitzgerald QC for the Defence

Fitzgerald added that English Courts construe treaties all the time. He gave examples.

Fitzgerald went on that the defence did not accept that treason, espionage and sedition were not regarded as political offences in England. But even if one did accept Lewis’s too narrow definition of political offence, Assange’s behaviour still met the test. What on earth could be the motive of publishing evidence of government war crimes and corruption, other than to change the policy of the government? Indeed, the evidence would prove that Wikileaks had effectively changed the policy of the US government, particularly on Iraq.

Baraitser interjected that to expose government wrongdoing was not the same thing as to try to change government policy. Fitzgerald asked her, finally in some exasperation after umpteen interruptions, what other point could there be in exposing government wrongdoing other than to induce a change in government policy?

That concluded opening arguments for the prosecution and defence.

My Personal Commentary

Let me put this as neutrally as possible. If you could fairly state that Lewis’s argument was much more logical, rational and intuitive than Fitzgerald’s, you could understand why Lewis did not need an interruption while Fitzgerald had to be continually interrupted for “clarification”. But in fact it was Lewis who was making out the case that the provisions of the very treaty under which the extradition is being made, do not in fact apply, a logical step which I suggest the man on the Clapham omnibus might reason to need rather more testing than Fitzgerald’s assertion to the contrary. Baraitser’s comparative harassment of Fitzgerald when he had the prosecution on the ropes was straight out of the Stalin show trial playbook.

The defence did not mention it, and I do not know if it features in their written arguments, but I thought Lewis’s point that these could not be political offences, because Julian Assange was not in the USA when he committed them, was breathtakingly dishonest. The USA claims universal jurisdiction. Assange is being charged with crimes of publishing committed while he was outside the USA. The USA claims the right to charge anyone of any nationality, anywhere in the world, who harms US interests. They also in addition here claim that as the materials could be seen on the internet in the USA, there was an offence in the USA. At the same time to claim this could not be a political offence as the crime was committed outside the USA is, as Edward Fitzgerald might say, on the face of it absurd. Which curiously Baraitser did not pick up on.

Lewis’s argument that the Treaty does not have any standing in English law is not something he just made up. Nigel Farage did not materialise from nowhere. There is in truth a long tradition in English law that even a treaty signed and ratified with some bloody Johnny Foreigner country, can in no way bind an English court. Lewis could and did spout reams and reams of judgements from old beetroot faced judges holding forth to say exactly that in the House of Lords, before going off to shoot grouse and spank the footman’s son. Lewis was especially fond of the Tin Council case.

There is of course a contrary and more enlightened tradition, and a number of judgements that say the exact opposite, mostly more recent. This is why there was so much repetitive argument as each side piled up more and more volumes of “authorities” on their side of the case.

The difficulty for Lewis – and for Baraitser – is that this case is not analogous to me buying a Mars bar and then going to court because an International Treaty on Mars Bars says mine is too small.

Rather the 2003 Extradition Act is an Enabling Act on which extradition treaties then depend. You can’t thus extradite under the 2003 Act without the Treaty. So the Extradition Treaty of 2007 in a very real sense becomes an executive instrument legally required to authorise the extradition. For the executing authorities to breach the terms of the necessary executive instrument under which they are acting, simply has to be an abuse of process. So the Extradition Treaty owing to its type and its necessity for legal action, is in fact incorporated in English Law by the Extradition Act of 2003 on which it depends.

The Extradition Treaty is a necessary precondition of the extradition, whereas a Mars Bar Treaty is not a necessary precondition to buying the Mars Bar.

That is as plain as I can put it. I do hope that is comprehensible.

It is of course difficult for Lewis that on the same day the Court of Appeal was ruling against the construction of the Heathrow Third Runway, partly because of its incompatibility with the Paris Agreement of 2016, despite the latter not being fully incorporated into English law by the Climate Change Act of 2008.

Vital Personal Experience

It is intensely embarrassing for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) when an English court repudiates the application of a treaty the UK has ratified with one or more foreign states. For that reason, in the modern world, very serious procedures and precautions have been put into place to make certain that this cannot happen. Therefore the prosecution’s argument that all the provisions of the UK/US Extradition Treaty of 2007 are not able to be implemented under the Extradition Act of 2003, ought to be impossible.

I need to explain I have myself negotiated and overseen the entry into force of treaties within the FCO. The last one in which I personally tied the ribbon and applied the sealing wax (literally) was the Anglo-Belgian Continental Shelf Treaty of 1991, but I was involved in negotiating others and the system I am going to describe was still in place when I left the FCO as an Ambassador in 2005, and I believe is unchanged today (and remember the Extradition Act was 2003 and the US/UK Extradition Treaty ratified 2007, so my knowledge is not outdated). Departmental nomenclatures change from time to time and so does structural organisation. But the offices and functions I will describe remain, even if names may be different.

All international treaties have a two stage process. First they are signed to show the government agrees to the treaty. Then, after a delay, they are ratified. This second stage takes place when the government has enabled the legislation and other required agency to implement the treaty. This is the answer to Lewis’s observation about the roles of the executive and legislature. The ratification stage only takes place after any required legislative action. That is the whole point.

This is how it happens in the FCO. Officials negotiate the extradition treaty. It is signed for the UK. The signed treaty then gets returned to FCO Legal Advisers, Nationality and Treaty Department, Consular Department, North American Department and others and is sent on to Treasury/Cabinet Office Solicitors and to Home Office, Parliament and to any other Government Department whose area is impacted by the individual treaty.

The Treaty is extensively vetted to check that it can be fully implemented in all the jurisdictions of the UK. If it cannot, then amendments to the law have to be made so that it can. These amendments can be made by Act of Parliament or more generally by secondary legislation using powers conferred on the Secretary of State by an act. If there is already an Act of Parliament under which the Treaty can be implemented, then no enabling legislation needs to be passed. International Agreements are not all individually incorporated into English or Scottish laws by specific new legislation.

This is a very careful step by step process, carried out by lawyers and officials in the FCO, Treasury, Cabinet Office, Home Office, Parliament and elsewhere. Each will in parallel look at every clause of the Treaty and check that it can be applied. All changes needed to give effect to the treaty then have to be made – amending legislation, and necessary administrative steps. Only when all hurdles have been cleared, including legislation, and Parliamentary officials, Treasury, Cabinet Office, Home Office and FCO all certify that the Treaty is capable of having effect in the UK, will the FCO Legal Advisers give the go ahead for the Treaty to be ratified. You absolutely cannot ratify the treaty before FCO Legal Advisers have given this clearance.

This is a serious process. That is why the US/UK Extradition Treaty was signed in 2003 and ratified in 2007. That is not an abnormal delay.

So I know for certain that ALL the relevant British Government legal departments MUST have agreed that Article 4.1 of the UK/US Extradition Treaty was capable of being given effect under the 2003 Extradition Act. That certification has to have happened or the Treaty could never have been ratified.

It follows of necessity that the UK Government, in seeking to argue now that Article 4.1 is incompatible with the 2003 Act, is knowingly lying. There could not be a more gross abuse of process.

I have been keen for the hearing on this particular point to conclude so that I could give you the benefit of my experience. I shall rest there for now, but later today hope to post further on yesterday’s row in court over releasing Julian from the anti-terrorist armoured dock.

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Freedom of the press is on trial right now in London, as the Assange case has now gone 3 days. As this massive case begins, Julian Assange has been subjected to yet more intimidation, depravation and abuse. In just the first 2 days, Assange had been stripped naked and searched 2 times, handcuffed 11 times and locked up in different holding cells 5 times.

In addition, all of his court documents were taken from him by the prison wardens, including privileged communications between himself and his lawyers, leaving him with no ability to prepare to participate in the proceedings. As journalist Taylor Hudak, who is covering the event, said, this is a “selective prosecution and also a political persecution.”

Learn below why the courageous Assange, due to his extremely extensive efforts in exposing governmental war crimes and corruption, is not only morally in the right, but also very much lawfully in the right. It is no exaggeration to say that this is a landmark and unprecedented case on freedom of the press which has colossal implications for the future of free speech and journalism.

Freedom of the Press and the UK Kangaroo Court

Before we begin, let’s examine whether this is really a fair trial or not. Prima facie, one would expect that a courtroom trial involving the UK and the US would be just, given that the Magna Carta and the the US Bill of Rights sprung from those 2 liberal, freedom-upholding nations respectively. You would expect that a UK court would uphold the value of the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. However, don’t count on it; there are very ominous signs that this UK court is more of a kangaroo court. The supervising judge Lady Emma Arbuthnot is riddled with conflicts of interests.

WikiLeaks itself has exposed some of the dealings of Lord James Arbuthnot, Emma’s husband, who is a former Conservative defense minister with extensive links to the British military and intelligence community! Arbuthnot is overseeing the district judge Vanessa Baraitser who is presiding over the Assange trial right now. Former UK ambassador Craig Murray has been one of the few who was able to get a seat (limited to 16 members of the public). He reports:

“James Lewis QC made the opening statement for the prosecution. It consisted of two parts, both equally extraordinary. The first and longest part was truly remarkable for containing no legal argument, and for being addressed not to the magistrate but to the media … I am frankly astonished that Baraitser allowed this. It is completely out of order for a counsel to address remarks not to the court but to the media, and there simply could not be any clearer evidence that this is a political show trial and that Baraitser is complicit in that.”

To her credit, the magistrate Baraister actually asked a pertinent question to the prosecution:

“Lewis then proceeded to read out a series of articles from the mainstream media attacking Assange, as evidence that the media and Assange were not in the same boat. The entire opening hour consisted of the prosecution addressing the media, attempting to drive a clear wedge between the media and Wikileaks and thus aimed at reducing media support for Assange.”

“In particular, the claim that newspapers were not in the same position because Assange was charged not with publication, but with “aiding and abetting” Chelsea Manning in getting the material, did not seem consistent with Lewis’ reading of the 1989 Official Secrets Act, which said that merely obtaining and publishing any government secret was an offence. Surely, Baraitser suggested, that meant that newspapers just publishing the Manning leaks would be guilty of an offence … Lewis appeared to come to a decision. Yes, he said much more firmly. The 1989 Official Secrets Act had been introduced by the Thatcher Government after the Ponting Case, specifically to remove the public interest defence and to make unauthorised possession of an official secret a crime of strict liability – meaning no matter how you got it, publishing and even possessing made you guilty … Lewis had thus just flat out contradicted his entire opening statement to the media stating that they need not worry as the Assange charges could never be applied to them.”

Yet the MSM didn’t report this:

“Yet remarkably I cannot find any mention anywhere in the mainstream media that this happened at all. What I can find, everywhere, is the mainstream media reporting, via cut and paste, Lewis’s first part of his statement on why the prosecution of Assange is not a threat to press freedom; but nobody seems to have reported that he totally abandoned his own argument five minutes later. Were the journalists too stupid to understand the exchanges?”

For the most part not too stupid – just too lazy, too complicit, too scared about their job security, too attached to career climbing and too comfortable pandering to the Establishment to do real journalism, think for themselves and report what the public needs to know.

1. The Public Has the Right to Know

The first reason why Assange is lawfully in the right is that he was using the freedom of the press to perform a public service. The people have the right to know what their governments are doing in their name. The public’s right to know is based on the fundamental truth that the public at large are the source of legal power in a society. The people are sovereign, and so when politicians and government represent them, they are borrowing the people’s power, and may only do so with the consent of the governed. When a government uses the hackneyed excuse of national security to hide war crimes, it is unlawful. When a government classifies secrets to hide criminality (rather than to legitimately protect a field agent’s safety), it is unlawful. Exposing governmental criminality is not unlawful.

2. USG Used CIA-Hired Spanish Security Company to Spy on Assange and His Defense Lawyers

This next point is a key point on which the entire case could already have been thrown out and summarily dismissed. The USG (US Government) was caught using its notorious spying agency the CIA to hire the Spanish security company UC Global to spy on Assange during his time in lockdown at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Every room was bugged, so Assange had no privacy as he met with his lawyers to discuss his defense strategies. One of Assange’s lawyers, Edward Fitzgerald QC, has claimed the defense will produce evidence showing that the CIA actively considered kidnapping or poisoning Assange! Murray reports:

“On abuse of process, Fitzgerald referred to evidence presented to the Spanish criminal courts that the CIA had commissioned a Spanish security company to spy on Julian Assange in the Embassy, and that this spying specifically included surveillance of Assange’s privileged meetings with his lawyers to discuss extradition. For the state trying to extradite to spy on the defendant’s client-lawyer consultations is in itself grounds to dismiss the case.”

Clearly, there is no commitment to proper rule of law in this case. This egregiously and blatantly violates Assange’s rights and is a clear abuse of process. It is fair to say that a non-biased judge would have summarily have throw the case out of court on this point alone.

3. Political Extradition is Illegal

At this stage in the hearing, the crux of the case will probably come to hinge on this key point. The US and UK have a 2003 Extradition Treaty which was ratified in the US in 2007, but never ratified in the UK. Article 4.1 of this US-UK Extradition Treaty forbids the political extradition of people. Espionage is considered a prime example of a purely political offense; Jen Robinson, one of Assange’s lawyers, stated that “espionage is the traditional and typical political offense. However, here’s the catch – magistrate Baraitser, who almost appeared to be working for the prosecution with this comment, dropped a bombshell. She stated that although the US-UK Extradition Treaty forbade political extraditions, this was only in the Treaty, and that this particular exemption did not appear in the UK Extradition Act, which is a UK domestic political act that differs from the Treaty. She therefore claimed that political extradition was not illegal in the UK, since the Treaty had no legal force in this court.

This is an interesting plot twist which, you can be sure, will be fiercely debated in the days to come. In general, political extradition is illegal in UN Treaties and other US Treaties, so it remains to be seen whether the prosecution can use this legal loophole to make the charges on Assange stick or not.

4. Assange Didn’t Reveal Agents’ Names

The Establishment has been working overtime to pin smears on Assange, and the prosecution is using this one big time. They are claiming that Assange put lives at risk by carelessly publishing classified documents which contained the names, locations and other identifying pieces of data of or on US agents – which meant an enemy group or nation of the US could use that information to kill those agents.

This is a giant lie.

Assange was very careful to not release any names or information that could put people in danger. He carefully redacted them. In fact, Wikileaks’ redaction was so thorough that it exceeded that of the Pentagon and other MSM organizations. There is no evidence of harm to agents or informants, a fact which the USG had confirmed in other fora like the trial of whistleblower Chelsea Manning. What happened was that 2 journalists who worked at The Guardian, David Leigh and Luke Harding, published their book Wikileaks in February 2011, and one of the chapters (Chapter XI) was entitled with the exact password to the unredacted collection of 250,000+ files. The German news outlet Die Freitag publicized this. Once Assange found out, he and his assistant Susan Harrison frantically called the White House to warn them that people’s lives were at risk. Guess what? The White House put them off for a few hours and downplayed the problem. Several journalists who worked with Assange attested (on Twitter) to the fact that Assange deeply cared about agents’ names and not putting anyone in harm’s way with WikiLeaks revelations, e.g. Iain Overton.

Besides, as Murray writes, the USG “had been actively participating in the redaction exercise on the cables. They therefore knew the allegations of reckless publication to be untrue … Assange and Harrison attempted to convince US officials of the urgency of enabling source protection procedures – and expressed their bafflement as officials stonewalled them. This evidence utterly undermined the US government’s case and proved bad faith in omitting [this] extremely relevant fact.”

Assange also pleaded with Die Freitag not to publicize the information.

Meanwhile, look at the gross double standard: the USG claims it’s worried about potential harm to its agents in leaked documents, while the US war machine murders foreign civilians and Reuters journalists in cold blood (see Collateral Murder)! This is on top of its regime-change wars in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and more, which have easily killed way over 1,000,000 people.

5. Assange Didn’t Hack Any US Computers, and Neither Did Manning

Another false claim leveled at Assange is that either he himself hacked into US Military computers, helped Chelsea (then Bradley) Manning do it or encouraged Manning to do it.

It’s another lie.

Chelsea Manning was already acquitted on the charge of conspiracy to hack computers. The truth is that Manning already had access (just as other soldiers of her rank did) to sensitive and classified documents, so there was no need to hack and there was no password to share. Another of Assange’s lawyers, Mark Summers QC, walked through the facts of the case. Murray reports on day 2:

“He said the charges from the USA divide the materials leaked by Manning to Wikileaks into three categories:

1) Assange helped Manning to decode a hash key to access classified material.
Summers stated this was a provably false allegation from the evidence of the Manning court-martial.

2) Assange solicited the material from Manning
Summers stated this was provably wrong from information available to the public

3) Assange knowingly put lives at risk
Summers stated this was provably wrong both from publicly available information and from specific involvement of the US government.

a) Diplomatic Cables
b) Guantanamo detainee assessment briefs
c) Iraq War rules of engagement
d) Afghan and Iraqi war logs

Summers then methodically went through a), b), c) and d) relating each in turn to alleged behaviours 1), 2) and 3), making twelve counts of explanation and exposition in all.

The bottom line here is that the prosecution deliberately misconstrued the “hacking” since Manning already had access as did many other military members – purportedly to access high-bandwidth videos.

6. Does Dual Criminality Exist?

In order to prove their case, the prosecution must prove that there is double or dual criminality. What is this? It is a common requirement in the extradition law of many countries. It means that a suspect can only be extradited from one country to stand trial for breaking a second country’s laws if a similar law exists in the extraditing country. Murray reports that Assange’s defense have already brought up some case law showing examples where a defendant was not extradited because dual criminality was not proven:

“He pointed to three examples in case law—most notably Castillo vs. Kingdom of Spain—where precedent gave the judge the ability to determine a more accurate picture of the facts in the case when the court has been severely misled. The new facts can then be used to determine whether dual criminality exists, a requirement of extradition.”

7. Assange is a Publisher – Not a Whistleblower, Leaker or Hacker

It’s important to define who Julian Assange is in this case. He is a publisher – not a whistleblower, leaker, hacker or hactivist. As a publisher, he is a member of the media or press. Under US law, he is specifically and specially protected by the First Amendment, which states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” This protection is so important that the media is the only class/profession singled out. This is how important freedom of the press is to the functioning of a free society. Now, Assange is not a US citizen (see #8 below), but the prosecution is arguing that Assange should be subject to US jurisdiction (which itself is a matter of debate), so as long as they argue that, they need to concede that Assange is entitled to certain rights enshrined in US law.

Assange has won many awards for being a journalist and publisher. Here are some of his credentials:

– He has been a member of the Australian Journalists Union since 2009;

– He is a member of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) (a trade union for journalists in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland);

– He is a member of the European Federation of Journalists;

– He has won numerous media awards including being honored with the highest award for Australian journalists;

– His work has been recognized by the Economist, Amnesty International and the Council of Europe;

– He is the winner of the Martha Gelhorn prize;

– He has been repeatedly nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, including both last year (2019) and this year (2020);

– He has written or produced many books, articles and documentaries;

– His articles have been published in The Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post and the New Statesman.

8. Assange is Not a US Citizen!

One highly contentious and important legal matter here, which has thus far been sidestepped, is whether Assange can even be charged by the USG at all, given that he is not and was not on US soil and is not a US citizen. Lawfully, how can he possibly be considered as subject to US jurisdiction? How can he even be charged under US law when he’s not an American – he’s an Australian? Again, this case is unprecedented, since we are now living in a globally connected society where it is apparently possible to commit high crimes against the government of a nation – in the cyber world – without ever setting foot in their geographical jurisdiction. But, can this really be lawfully or legally justified? How can USG lawfully chase journalists all over the world and claim they have magical extra-territorial reach? Is this law or is this intimidation and bullying?

9. Impossibility of a Fair Trial in the US

Just like Edward Snowden, Julian Assange is rightfully worried that he will not get a fair trial if he is extradited to the US. His lawyer Fitzgerald referred in court to the shocking conditions of US prisons and the impossibility of a fair trial for Assange in the US. Knowing this, this lawfully puts the burden on the UK to not extradite a defendant, since it would be exposing him to injustice and serious danger.

10. Trump Administration Denies Foreign Nationals First Amendment (Freedom of the Press) Protections

As covered in the article WikiLeaks Editor: US Is Saying First Amendment Doesn’t Apply To Foreigners In Assange Case, former CIA Head and now Secretary of State under Trump, Mike Pompeo, said in 2017 that “Julian Assange has no First Amendment freedoms. He’s sitting in an embassy in London. He’s not a US citizen.” As a reminder, this is the very same Pompeo who confessed that at the CIA that “we lied, we cheated, we stole.”

However, this is a serious perversion and misunderstanding of the First Amendment – or any of the Ten Amendments of the Bill of Rights. Everyone, not just Americans or US citizens, is endowed with inherent, natural, God-given rights, including life, freedom, the pursuit of happiness, free speech and the right to choose or not choose a religion. That means everyone. It includes people who are citizens of other countries. Citizenship has nothing to do rights that are vested in everyone by nature and God. The above mentioned article quotes journalist Glenn Greenwald, who is also being harassed by the USG even though he lives in Brazil:

““To see how false this notion is that the Constitution only applies to U.S. citizens, one need do nothing more than read the Bill of Rights,” Greenwald argued in 2010. “It says nothing about ‘citizens.’  To the contrary, many of the provisions are simply restrictions on what the Government is permitted to do (‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion . . . or abridging the freedom of speech’; ‘No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner’). And where rights are expressly vested, they are pointedly not vested in ‘citizens,’ but rather in ‘persons’ or ‘the accused’ … “The U.S. Supreme Court, in 2008, issued a highly publicized opinion, in Boumediene v. Bush, which, by itself, makes clear how false is the claim that the Constitution applies only to Americans,” Greenwald wrote. “The Boumediene Court held that it was unconstitutional for the Military Commissions Act to deny habeas corpus rights to Guantanamo detainees, none of whom was an American citizen(indeed, the detainees were all foreign nationals outside of the U.S.). If the Constitution applied only to U.S. citizens, that decision would obviously be impossible.””

In a nutshell, we all have the right to free speech and freedom of the press, and the USG cannot lawfully deny this to Assange.

The Assange Case is a Retaliation by President Trump

According to Kit Dotcom, Trump was well aware of the meeting between Assange and Rohrabacher. This case is retaliation by Trump against Assange because Assange refused to reveal his sources. Trump clearly wanted this so he could have more proof that the whole RussiaGate fiasco was a hoax, but what is strange is that:

– The Mueller Report has already exposed the fact that there was “no collusion”; and

– Assange had already clearly said in 2016 that Russia was not responsible when he said that Wikileaks DNC source was “a non-state actor” and also when he said that the material from the DNC was “leaked, not hacked” which means it must have come from an insider.

As a true journalist, Assange refused on principle to reveal his sources. Here is Suzie Dawson’s take:

Independent journalist Cassandra Fairbanks has released a call between her and a senior Republican operative by the name of Arthur Schwartz. In the call (dated September 2019), Schwartz begs Fairbanks to delete a tweet (from September 10th, 2019) where she refers to this ABC story that reports that Richard (Rick) Grenell (Trump’s new DNI) was instrumental in persuading Ecuador to let British police into its London embassy. The report alleged that Grenell promised Quito that the US would not pursue the death penalty for Assange if it gave him up. This is yet more proof that Trump has the whole time been directing the prosecution of Assange. Assange inadvertently got Trump elected, yet Trump went from “I love Wikileaks” to conducting his own witch-hunt against Assange.

This is an absolutely disgusting betrayal of freedom of the press by Trump, who has yet again shown his true tyrannical colors. At the time of the Chelsea Manning trial and again in 2013, the Obama Administration decided not to prosecute Assange for the Manning leaks, presumably because they knew the case was so weak. Trump has reversed this decision for completely political reasons. I point this out not because I like Obama more than Trump – I reject the entire ruling class. This has nothing to do with the fake left-right paradigm and everything to with freedom and justice.

Conclusion: What is the Future of Freedom of the Press Worldwide?

Assange is on trial for telling the truth. He is being attacked for embarrassing the New World Order US Empire. He is morally and lawfully right in every way. His only crime is telling the truth in a world of lies.

The question is: will they find a legal loophole to capture Assange and destroy freedom of the press? We shall see.

Hat tip to Craig Murray, Taylor Hudak, Cassandra Fairbanks, Tareq Haddad, Kevin Gosztola and all the other independent reporters, citizen journalists, activists and concerned members of the public who are paying attention to this historic case and reporting the truth to the public – because the MSM sure isn’t.

Biggest hat tip of all to you Julian: you have done so much for freedom of speech and freedom of the press. So many people admire your guts and determination. May truth start peace, as you say, and as we say in Australia, you’re a bloody legend mate.

*

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This article was originally published on The Freedom Articles.

Makia Freeman is the editor of alternative media / independent news site The Freedom Articles and senior researcher at ToolsForFreedom.com. Makia is on Steemit and FB.

Sources

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWDWJV_mr4w

*https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-02-21-revealed-chief-magistrate-in-assange-case-received-financial-benefits-from-secretive-partner-organisations-of-uk-foreign-office/

*https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2020/02/your-man-in-the-public-gallery-assange-hearing-day-1/

*https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2019/09/25/inenglish/1569384196_652151.html

*https://twitter.com/iainoverton/status/1231948664584704000?s=20

*https://collateralmurder.wikileaks.org/

*https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2020/02/your-man-in-the-public-gallery-assange-hearing-day-2/

*https://thefreedomarticles.com/curious-case-edward-snowden-permanent-record/

*https://thefreedomarticles.com/wikileaks-editor-usg-first-amendment-doesnt-apply-foreigners/

*https://www.pscp.tv/w/1ZkKzLgobAyJv

*https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-gave-verbal-pledge-death-penalty-assange-sources/story?id=62414643

*https://www.pscp.tv/w/1YpJkQadPAVKj

The media is doing its best to make the Seth Rich story go away, but it seems to have a life of its own, possibly due to the fact that the accepted narrative about how Rich died makes no sense. In its Iatest manifestation, it provides an alternative explanation for just how the information from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) computer somehow made its way to Wikileaks. If you believe that Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide and that he was just a nasty pedophile rather than an Israeli intelligence agent, read no farther because you will not be interested in Rich. But if you appreciate that it was unlikely that the Russians were behind the stealing of the DNC information you will begin to understand that other interested players must have been at work.

For those who are not familiar with it, the backstory to the murder of apparently disgruntled Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich, who some days before may have been the leaker of that organization’s confidential emails to Wikileaks, suggests that a possibly motiveless crime might have been anything but. The Washington D.C. police investigated what they believed to be an attempted robbery gone bad but that theory fails to explain why Rich’s money, credit cards, cell phone and watch were not taken. Wikileaks has never confirmed that Rich was their source in the theft of the proprietary emails that had hitherto been blamed on Russia but it subsequently offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to resolution of the case and Julian Assange, perhaps tellingly, has never publicly clarified whether Rich was or was not one of his contacts, though there is at least one report that he confirmed the relationship during a private meeting.

Answers to the question who exactly stole the files from the DNC server and the emails from John Podesta have led to what has been called Russiagate, a tale that has been embroidered upon and which continues to resonate in American politics. At this point, all that is clearly known is that in the Summer of 2016 files and emails pertaining to the election were copied and then made their way to WikiLeaks, which published some of them at a time that was damaging to the Clinton campaign. Those who are blaming Russia believe that there was a hack of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) server and also of John Podesta’s emails that was carried out by a Russian surrogate or directly by Moscow’s military intelligence arm. They base their conclusion on a statement issued by the Department of Homeland Security on October 7, 2016, and on a longer assessment prepared by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on January 6, 2017. Both government appraisals implied that there was a U.S. government intelligence agency consensus that there was a Russian hack, though they provided little in the way of actual evidence that that was the case and, in particular, failed to demonstrate how the information was obtained and what the chain of custody was as it moved from that point to the office of WikiLeaks. The January report was particularly criticized as unconvincing, rightly so, because the most important one of its three key contributors, the National Security Agency, had only moderate confidence in its conclusions, suggesting that whatever evidence existed was far from solid.

An alternative view that has been circulating for several years suggests that it was not a hack at all, that it was a deliberate whistleblower-style leak of information carried out by an as yet unknown party, possibly Rich, that may have been provided to WikiLeaks for possible political reasons, i.e. to express disgust with the DNC manipulation of the nominating process to damage Bernie Sanders and favor Hillary Clinton.

There are, of course, still other equally non-mainstream explanations for how the bundle of information got from point A to point B, including that the intrusion into the DNC server was carried out by the CIA which then made it look like it had been the Russians as perpetrators. And then there is the hybrid point of view, which is essentially that the Russians or a surrogate did indeed intrude into the DNC computers but it was all part of normal intelligence agency probing and did not lead to anything. Meanwhile and independently, someone else who had access to the server was downloading the information, which in some fashion made its way from there to WikiLeaks.

Both the hack vs. leak viewpoints have marshaled considerable technical analysis in the media to bolster their arguments, but the analysis suffers from the decidedly strange fact that the FBI never even examined the DNC servers that may have been involved. The hack school of thought has stressed that Russia had both the ability and motive to interfere in the election by exposing the stolen material while the leakers have recently asserted that the sheer volume of material downloaded indicates that something like a higher speed thumb drive was used, meaning that it had to be done by someone with actual physical direct access to the DNC system. Someone like Seth Rich.

What the many commentators on the DNC server issue choose to conclude is frequently shaped by their own broader political views, producing a result that favors one approach over another depending on how one feels about Trump or Clinton. Or the Russians. Perhaps it would be clarifying to regard the information obtained and transferred as a theft rather than either a hack or a leak since the two expressions have taken on a political meaning of their own in the Russiagate context. With all the posturing going on, the bottom line is that the American people and government have no idea who actually stole the material in question, though the Obama Administration was extraordinarily careless in its investigation and Russian President Vladimir Putin has generally speaking been blamed for what took place.

The currently bouncing around the media concerns an offer allegedly made in 2017 by former Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher to imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. According to Assange’s lawyers, Rohrabacher offered a pardon from President Trump if Assange were to provide information that would attribute the theft or hack of the Democratic National Committee emails to someone other than the Russians. He was presumably referring to Seth Rich.

Assange did not accept the offer, but it should be noted that he has repeatedly stated in any event that he did not obtain the material from a Russian or Russian-linked source. In reality, he might not know the original source of the information. Since Rohrabacher’s original statement, both he and Trump have denied any suggestion that there was a firm offer with a quid pro quo for Assange. Trump claims to hardly know Rohrabacher and also asserts that he has never had a one-on-one meeting with him.

The U.S. media’s coverage of the story has emphasized that Assange’s cooperation would have helped to absolve Russia from the charge of having interfered decisively in the U.S. election, but the possible motive for doing so remains unclear. Russian-American relations are at their lowest point since the Cold War and that has largely been due to policies embraced by Donald Trump, to include the cancellation of START and medium range missile agreements. Trump has also approved NATO military maneuvers and exercises right up to the Russian border and has provided lethal weapons to Ukraine, something that his predecessor Barack Obama balked at. He has also openly confronted the Russians in Syria.

Given all of that back story, it would be odd to find Trump making an offer that focuses only on one issue and does not actually refute the broader claims of Russian interference, which are based on a number of pieces of admittedly often dubious evidence, not just the Clinton and Podesta emails. Which brings the tale back to Seth Rich. If Rich was indeed responsible for the theft of the information and was possibly killed for his treachery, it most materially impacts on the Democratic Party as it reminds everyone of what the Clintons and their allies are capable of. It will also serve as a warning of what might be coming at the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee in July as the party establishment uses fair means or foul to stop Bernie Sanders. How this will all play out is anyone’s guess, but many of those who pause to observe the process will be thinking of Seth Rich.

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This article was originally published on American Herald Tribune.

Philip M. Giraldi is a former CIA counter-terrorism specialist and military intelligence officer who served nineteen years overseas in Turkey, Italy, Germany, and Spain. He was the CIA Chief of Base for the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and was one of the first Americans to enter Afghanistan in December 2001. Phil is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a Washington-based advocacy group that seeks to encourage and promote a U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East that is consistent with American values and interests. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: Seth Rich, Julian Assange and Dana Rohrabacher. Credit: Public domain/ Gage Skidmore/ Flickr

Having been hit by the Syrian Air Force in Idlib, Turkey has called on NATO’s protection, but as much as the alliance would like a fight with Assad and his ally Russia, it’s refused to back Ankara’s questionable adventure.

Turkey engaged NATO in Article 4 consultations, seeking help regarding the crisis in Syria. The meeting produced a statement from NATO condemning the actions of Russia and Syria and advocating for humanitarian assistance, but denying Turkey the assistance it sought.

The situation in Idlib province has reached crisis proportions. A months-long military offensive by the Syrian Army, supported by the Russian Air Force and pro-Iranian militias, had recaptured nearly one-third of the territory occupied by anti-Assad groups funded and armed by Turkey. In response, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dispatched thousands of Turkish soldiers, backed by thousands of pieces of military equipment, including tanks and armored vehicles, into Idlib to bolster his harried allies.

The result has been a disaster for Turkey, which has lost more than 50 soldiers and had scores more wounded due to Syrian air attacks. For its part, Russia has refrained from directly engaging Turkish forces, instead turning its attention to countering Turkish-backed militants. Faced with mounting casualties, Turkey turned to NATO for assistance, invoking Article 4 of the NATO charter, which allows members to request consultations whenever, in their opinion, their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened.

Dangerous precedents

Among the foundational principles of the NATO alliance, most observers focus on Article 5, which declares that an attack against one member is an attack against all. However, throughout its 75-year history, Article 5 has been invoked only once – in the aftermath of 9/11 – resulting in joint air and maritime patrols, but no direct military confrontation. The wars that NATO has engaged in militarily, whether in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Libya or Iraq, have all been conducted under Article 4, when NATO made a collective decision to provide assistance in a situation that did not involve a direct military attack on one of its member states.

With that in mind, Turkey’s decision to turn to Article 4 was a serious undertaking. For additional leverage, Ankara linked the NATO talks with a separate decision to open its borders to refugees seeking asylum in Europe, abrogating an agreement that had been reached with the European Union to prevent uncontrolled migration into Europe through Turkish-controlled territory and waters. Through this humanitarian blackmail, Turkey sought to use the shared economic and political costs arising from the Syrian situation as a bargaining chip for NATO support.

A failed gamble

The best Turkey could get from its Article 4 consultation, however, was a lukewarm statement by Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary general, condemning Syria and Russia while encouraging a diplomatic resolution to the fighting in Syria that focused on alleviating the unfolding humanitarian crisis regarding refugees. This is a far cry from the kind of concrete military support, such as the provision of Patriot air defense systems or NATO enforcement of a no-fly zone over Idlib, Turkey was hoping for.

The provision of military support under Article 4 is serious, involving as it does the entire weight of the NATO alliance. This was underscored by recent comments made by the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, US General Tod Wolters, which linked NATO’s nuclear deterrence posture to current Article 4 NATO operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. At a time when NATO is focused on confronting Russia in the Baltics, opening a second front against the Russians in Syria is not something the alliance was willing to support at this time.

While the US was vocal in its desire to support Turkey at the consultations, NATO is a consensus organization, and the complexities of Turkey’s Syrian adventure, which extend beyond simple Russian involvement to include issues involving the legality of Turkey’s presence inside Syria, and the fact that many of the armed groups Turkey supports in Idlib are designated terrorist organizations, precluded a NATO decision to intervene on Turkey’s behalf. Having failed in its effort to get NATO support in Syria, Turkey is now left with the Hobson’s choice of retreating or doubling down. Neither will end well for Turkey, and both will only further exacerbate that humanitarian disaster taking place in Idlib today.

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Scott Ritter is a former US Marine Corps intelligence officer. He served in the Soviet Union as an inspector implementing the INF Treaty, in General Schwarzkopf’s staff during the Gulf War, and from 1991-1998 as a UN weapons inspector. Follow him on Twitter @RealScottRitter

The media hype and disinformation campaign regarding the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus have created a Worldwide atmosphere of fear and uncertainty following the launching of  a global public health emergency by the WHO on January 30th. 

The fear campaign is ongoing.  Panic and uncertainty. National governments and the WHO are misleading  the public.

“About 84,000 people in at least 56 countries have been infected, and about 2,900 have died” says the New York Times. What they fail to mention is that 98% of those cases of infection are in Mainland China. There are less than 5000 confirmed cases outside China. (WHO, February 28, 2020)

While COVID-19 is a matter of Public Health concern, at the moment, there is no real pandemic outside Mainland China. Look at the figures.

At the time of writing, the number of  “confirmed cases” in the US was 64.

A low number and the media is spreading panic.

Meanwhile, there are  15 Million Cases of Influenza in the USA.

The latest FluView surveillance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that as of January 18, 2020, there have been 15 million cases of flu, 140,000 hospitalizations, and 8200 deaths in the US this influenza season. (emphasis added)

Data on the COVID-19 pandemic: 

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on February 28, 2020 83,652 confirmed cases of COV-19 of which 78,961 are in Mainland China. Outside China, there are 4691 “confirmed cases” (WHO, February 28, 2020, See table on right).

The WHO has also reported 2,791 deaths of which only 67 have occurred outside Mainland China.

These figures confirm that the pandemic is largely limited to Mainland China.

Moreover, recent data suggests that the epidemic in China is firmly under control. On February 21, 2020, China’s National Health Commission reported that 36.157 patients were designated as cured and discharged from hospital. (see graph below).

Chinese reports confirm that people have received treatment and are recovering from the virus infection. Concurrently, the number of infected patients is declining.

According to the National Medical Products Administration of China, hospitals are  using Favilavir, an anti-viral drug, “as a treatment for coronavirus with minimal side effects”.

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Lets Crunch the Numbers  

The World Population is of the order of  7.8 billion.

The population of China is of the order of 1.4 billion.

The World population minus China is of the order of 6.4 billion.

4691 confirmed cases and 67 reported deaths (outside China) out of a population of 6.4 billion does not constitute a pandemic. 4691/6,4oo,ooo,ooo =0.00000073 = 0.000073 %

64 cases in the US which has a population of approximately 330 million is not a pandemic. (Feb 28 data): 64/330,000,000 = 0.00000019 = 0.000019 %

Why the Propaganda? Racism directed against Ethnic Chinese

A  campaign against China was launched, a wave of racist sentiment against ethnic Chinese is ongoing largely led by the Western media.

The Economist reports that “The coronavirus spreads racism against—and among—ethnic Chinese”

Fear of covid-19 makes people behave badly, including some Chinese

“Britain’s Chinese community faces racism over coronavirus outbreak” according to the SCMP

“Chinese communities overseas are increasingly facing racist abuse and discrimination amid the coronavirus outbreak. Some ethnic Chinese people living in the UK say they experienced growing hostility because of the deadly virus that originated in China.”

And this phenomenon is happening all over the U.S.

Economic Warfare against China

US strategies consist in using COVID-19 to isolate China, despite the fact that the US economy is heavily dependent upon Chinese imports.

The short-term disruption of the Chinese economy is largely attributable to the (temporary) closing down of the channels of trade and transportation.

The WHO Global Public Health emergency is coupled with media disinformation and the freezing of air travel to China.

Panic on Wall Street 

Spearheaded by media disinformation, there is another dimension. Panic in the stock markets. 

The Coronavirus fear has triggered the drop of financial markets Worldwide.

According to reports, roughly $6 trillion have been wiped off the value of stock markets Worldwide. The decline in stock market values so far is of the order of “15 percent or more”.

Massive losses of personal savings (e.g. of average Americans) have occurred not to mention corporate failures and bankruptcies.

It’s a bonanza for institutional speculators including corporate hedge funds. The financial meltdown has led to sizeable transfers of money wealth into the pockets of a handful of financial institutions.

In a bitter irony, analysts in chorus have casually linked the market collapse to the escalation of the coronavirus at a time when there was less than 64 confirmed cases in the US.

It’s not surprising that the market went down because … the virus has gotten so expanded. … ‘

Was it Possible to “Predict” the February Financial Crash?  

It would be naive to believe that the financial crisis was solely the consequence of spontaneous market forces, responding to the COVID-19 outbreak. The market was carefully manipulated by powerful actors using speculative instruments in the market for derivatives, including “short-selling”.  Media disinformation on the “escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic certainly played a role.

The unspoken objective is the concentration of Wealth. It was a financial bonanza for those who had “inside information” or “foreknowledge” leading up to the WHO’s decision to declare a Worldwide public emergency on January 30.

Was there Foreknowledge of the COVID-19 (nCoV-2019) Pandemic? And of its Likely impacts?

On October 18, 2019, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Baltimore undertook a carefully designed simulation of a coronavirus epidemic entitled nCoV-2019.

In the Event 201 Simulation of a Coronavirus Pandemic, a 15% collapse of financial markets had been “simulated”. It was not “predicted” according to the organizers and sponsors of the event, which included the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as well  the World Economic Forum.

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Screenshot, 201 A Global Pandemic Exercise

The simulation conducted in October entitled nCoV-2019 was undertaken barely 2 months prior to to the outbreak of COVID-19.

The  John Hopkins Pandemic Exercise simulated a stock market decline of  “15% or more” (Video section 0.0 – 1’2″) which largely corresponds to the real market decline registered in late February 2020.

(See video below)

Many features of the “simulation exercise” do in fact correspond to what actually happened when the WHO Director General launched a global public health emergency on January 3o, 2020.

What must be understood is that the sponsors of the John Hopkins “simulation exercise” are powerful and knowledgeable actors respectively in the areas of “Global Health” (B. and M. Gates Foundation) and “Global Economy” (WEF).

It is also worth noting that the WHO initially adopted a similar acronym (to designate the coronavirus) to that of the John Hopkins Pandemic Exercise (nCoV-2019) before it was changed to COVID-19. 

Corruption and The Role of the WHO

And what motivated WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to declare the coronavirus nCoV-2019  as a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)” on January 30 when the epidemic was largely confined to Mainland China? 

The evidence suggests that WHO Director-General Tedros was serving the interests of powerful corporate sponsors.

According to F. William Engdahl, Tedros had established a long lasting relationship with the Clintons and the Clinton Foundation. He had close ties to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Together with the Davos World Economic Forum (WEF) The Gates Foundation were the sponsors of the October John Hopkins 2019 nCoV-2019 “simulation exercise”. 

As health minister, Tedros would also chair the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria that was co-founded by the Gates Foundation. The Global Fund has been riddled with fraud and corruption scandals.

“During Tedros’ three year campaign to win the WHO post he was charged with having covered up three major epidemics of cholera while health minister in Ethiopia, mislabeling the cases as “acute watery diarrhea” (AWD)—a symptom of cholera—in an attempt to play down the significance of the epidemics, charges he denied.”(Engdahl, op. cit.)

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A massive vaccine campaign has been ordered by the Director General of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Numerous pharmaceutical companies are already working on the development of a vaccine.

In this regard, it is worth recalling the WHO scam during the mandate of his predecessor Dr. Margaret Chan, who stated in relation to the 2009 H1N1 Swine Flu Pandemic that:

“Vaccine makers could produce 4.9 billion pandemic flu shots per year in the best-case scenario”,Margaret Chan, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO), quoted by Reuters, 21 July 2009, emphasis added)

There was no H1N1 pandemic in 2009. It was a money making scam as revealed by the European Parliament.

What’s the Next Phase of COVID-19 Pandemic? Is it Fake or is it Real?

  • The propaganda campaign against China is not over.
  • Neither is the “fear pandemic” outside China despite the exceedingly low number of “confirmed cases”.
  • The financial crisis is ongoing, supported by media disinformation and financial meddling.
  • If normal US-China trade (and transportation) relations fail to be duly restored, the shipping of  “Made in China” consumer goods exported to America could be affected.
  • This in turn could potentially trigger a major crisis in retail trade in the US, i.e “Made in China” commodities constitute a large share of monthly household consumption.
  • From a public health point of view, there are favorable prospects for eliminating the COVID-19 in China. Progress has already been reported.
  • For the rest of the World (which currently has approximately 3000 confirmed cases, 28 February 2020 ) the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing coupled with propaganda in favor of a Worldwide vaccination program.
  • Without a fear campaign coupled with fake news, the incidence of COVID-19 would not have made the headlines.
  • From a health/medical standpoint is a Worldwide vaccination required?
  • 43.3 percent of the “confirmed cases” in China are now categorized as “recovered” (See graph above). Western reports do not make the distinction between “confirmed cases” and “confirmed infected cases”. It is the latter which is relevant. The trend is towards recovery and decline of the “confirmed infected cases”.

The massive WHO vaccination campaign (referred to above) was duly confirmed by Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on February 28: 

“…work is also progressing on vaccines and therapeutics. More than 20 vaccines are in development globally, and several therapeutics are in clinical trials. We expect the first results in a few weeks” (emphasis added)

Needless to say this WHO decision is another financial windfall for the Big Five Vaccine producers: GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Merck & Co., Sanofi,  Pfizer, which control 85% of the vaccine market. According to CNBC:  (emphasis added)

These companies have jumped into the race to combat the deadly coronavirus, working on vaccine or drug programs.  …  Sanofi is teaming up with the U.S. government to develop a vaccine for the new virus, hoping its work on the 2003 SARS outbreak could speed up the process. Merck’s vaccine business generated $8.4 billion of revenues in 2019, the segment has been growing at an annual rate of 9% since 2010, according to Bernstein. 

GlaxoSmithKline said this month it is partnering with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations [CEPI] for a vaccine program. … CEPI was founded at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2017.

Of significance, CEPI was founded in Davos in 2017 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,  the Wellcome Trust (A British Multibillion Humanitarian Foundation), and the World Economic Forum (WEF). The governments of Norway and India are members, largely providing funding to CEPI.

Timeline

October 18, 2019: The B. and M. Gates Foundation and the WEF were partners in the John Hopkins National Security October 2019  nCoV-2019 Pandemic “Simulation Exercise”.

December 31, 2019  China alerted WHO to several cases of “unusual pneumonia” in Wuhan, Hubei province.

January 7, 2020 Chinese officials announced they had identified a new virus, The novel virus was named by the WHO 2019-nCoV  (exactly the same name as the virus pertaining to the John Hopkins simulation exercise, with the exception of the placement of the date).

January 24, 25, 2020: Meeting at Davos, under the auspices of CEPI which is also a WEF-Gates partnership, the development of a 2019 nCoV vaccine was announced. (2 weeks after the January 7, 2020 announcement, and barely a  week prior to the launching of the WHO’s Worldwide Public Health emergency).

January 30th, 2020, WHO Director General announces the “Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

And now a Worldwide vaccination campaign has been launched to curb the COVID-19 under the auspices of CEPI in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline. 

Concluding Remarks

While COVID-19 (alias nCoV-2019) constitutes a multi-billion corporate bonanza for Big Pharma, it has also contributed to precipitating humanity into a dangerous and unfolding global process of economic, social and geopolitical destabilization.

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The new coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, also called COVID19, has as of this date killed about 3,000 people and infected some 87,000 around the globe, the vast majority of them in China. The virus has spread to at least 56 countries. 

The new coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, also called COVID-19, has as of this date resulted in more than 3,000 deaths and infected more than 80,000 people Worldwide, the vast majority of them in China

The epidemic is largely confined to Mainland China. 

While the virus has spread to at least 56  countries according to the WHO, the numbers of confirmed cases are low: 4691 confirmed  cases outside Mainland China. (See table right) 

Source: WHO, February 28, 2020. 51 countries according to WHO

What the western media fails to address is that there is the possibility that the virus could have been “man-made” in one or more of the numerous US bio-warfare laboratories.

Western media also are silent about the fact that the virus appears to be largely affecting ethnic Chinese, meaning, it targets specifically Chinese DNA. Almost all of the deaths and confirmed cases in the 51 countries and territories to which the virus has spread, are of Chinese origin.

The virus appears to be strengthening, as it mutates over time, making its control even more difficult. Will it eventually break the “Chinese DNA boundaries” and affect also other DNA types, i.e. western “Caucasian” people.

But the west also expects Chinese scientists and bio-researchers to overcome the epidemic and stop the virus from further mutating, therefore reducing the western infection risk.

Despite early hopes that a vaccine may be found soon – until now there has been little progress in this direction. However, Cuba’s antiviral Recombinant Interferon Alpha 2B (IFNrec) was chosen by Chinese medical and bio-researchers to combat the coronavirus.

Interestingly, Interferon had been discovered in Cuba 39 years ago, at the very onset of Cuba’s biotechnology programme in 1981. But it is not widely used in the world, even though it could save countless lives and cure countless patients (mainly diabetics), simply because of the US boycott that does not allow marketing of medication Made in Cuba.

Nevertheless, the COVID19 infection rate seems to have been gradually declining in the last three weeks. And there is no doubt that China will overcome this epidemic. Yet, the world must wake up to the fact that this could be an act of biological warfare.

Precedents: Bird Flu, African Swine Flu affecting China

In the last two years, since 2018 alone, China was hit by several types of bird flu (H7N4 and H7N9) in 2018 and yet another strain just in January 2020 which was overshadowed by the more serious COVID-2019.

There was also an outbreak of the African swine Flu (2018), killing millions of pigs. And there was a massive food crop destruction (2019 – mostly corn and soybeans) by the so-called “armyworms”.

Compensating for the impacts on the supply of pork, corn and soybean, China resorted to importing theses commodities– and most of the imports came from the US.

Were these ‘outbreaks’ which  had destructive impacts on China’s economy coincidental? They have created instability, food price inflation and a dependence on imported agricultural products from the US.

The western media has been playing up the so-called Trump tariff war with China, while hidden from the limelight and in parallel, more serious warfare – bio-warfare – was going on.

In fact, little is known in the west about these previous biological attacks by the US-led west, aiming at damaging massively China’s economy – as well as heightening China’s dependence on imports from the US; in addition to damaging China morally, thereby, they, the west, believe (wrongly), weakening the level of resistance. A real war with bombs and guns, maybe nuclear, aiming at total destruction, cannot be ruled out.

Let’s remember the Big Picture – namely that this is in whatever way you want to turn it, a bio-war against China, and perhaps the first step of an all-out war against China’s rising economic power, and foremost against China’s solid currency, the yuan which may soon take over as the world’s chief reserve currency.

This would mean the fall of the US-dollar hegemony, the only force that keeps the empire alive and kicking, other than its military strength which is non-sustainable, as it aims only at destruction abroad – but leaving behind a rapidly faltering economy at home. Precisely the same pattern brought down the Roman Empire some 2000 years ago.

Too Many “Coincidences”: The October 2019 Simulation of a High Level Pandemic 

There are too many “coincidences” to conclude that this strengthened coronavirus – considerably stronger than SARS, the one of the 2002 / 2003 epidemic – ‘escaped’ a Wuhan lab by accident, or as the west would like to present it: by negligence.

 

First, there were the Military Olympics in October in Wuhan (18 – 27 October 2019), where about 200 American soldiers participated; the first cases of 2019-nCoV fever were discovered about two weeks later – two weeks is the average gestation period from infection to outbreak.

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Event 201

Second, there was Event 201, on October 18, 2019, at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, in Baltimore, Maryland, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Economic Forum (WEF – the corporatocracy representing Big Weapons, Big Pharma and Big Money), and the John Hopkins Institute.

The theme was simulating a High-Level Pandemic Exercise – and yes, the simulation produced 65 million deaths. Just a couple of weeks before the first COVID-19 victims were identified.

Curiously, in their defense the sponsors of Event 201, now say,

“We are not now predicting that the nCoV-2019 (which was also used as the name of the simulation) outbreak will kill 65 million people. Although our tabletop exercise included a mock novel coronavirus, the inputs we used for modeling the potential impact of that fictional virus are not similar to nCoV-2019.

One doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist to conclude that the simulation and actual outbreak is a very strange coincidence. (See below)


To consult the 201 videos, click here

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Lunar New Year: The Year of the Rat 

And third – the timing, hitting China right on their most important Holiday, the Lunar New Year, when people are traveling, uniting with family and friends, when there are usually huge festivities with lots of people – an event of celebrating happiness – all cut short by the outbreak that put Wuhan and portions of Hubei Province, and a total of about 50 million Chinese in quarantine; and more – no shopping, no exchange of presents, no celebrations – a huge economic loss.

Circumstantial gut-feeling tells me, this is not a series of three coincidences. This could be (yet to be confirmed) a maliciously planned disaster.

Is this a sinister plan (coupled with media propaganda) carried out by a western elite to attack China’s rapidly growing economy, outpacing that of the United States?

Is it an attack on the Yuan which is also gradually replacing the US dollar as a world reserve currency?

When that happens the US-empire which essentially relies on dollarization is doomed.

The build-up to more harm and destruction, possibly a hot war?

In late January,  the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director General (DG) said that the new coronavirus, COVID-19, also called 2019-nCoV, was not a pandemic. On January 30, probably on instructions from Washington, he declared the outbreak of a Global Emergency, but added on his own initiative that there were no reasons for countries to ban travel of their citizens to China.

In contradiction to WHO’s recommendation, Washington immediately issued a travel warning for US citizens not to travel to China. Many other countries followed their master, especially Europeans.

Another hit on the Chinese economy. Cruise ships with Chinese on board are not granted docking rights. Merchandise vessels are in many countries not allowed to enter international harbors to unload their goods.

On 28 February 2019, Dr. Tedros, Director General of WHO, said that “more than 20 vaccines are in development globally, and several therapeutics are in clinical trials.” This is more than an insinuation that massive government directed – and possibly forced – vaccination programs will be implemented. In other words, the health predicament, misery and scare imposed on people will translate into a multi-multi-billion (if not trillion) bonanza for the pharma industry. And people innocently will go along with it – and who knows, if they won’t, they may be forced at gun point.

Now, let’s look at this in perspective. Worldwide, as of this date, 87,000 infections were reported (latest figures), the vast majority of them from mainland China. The total death rate is somewhere about 3,000. This corresponds to an infection to death rate of 3.4%. Far from a pandemic. Compare this with the Spanish flu from 1918 to 1920: About 50 million died, corresponding to a death rate of more than 20%, so far, the worst pandemic in the history of humanity.

The Recovery Rate of COVID-19

Another factor, hardly taken into account by the Western media, is the recovery rate of COVID-19. Of the 87,000 infected, 42,500 – almost half – fully recovered and were released from hospital. From these 42,500, the recovery in China alone was 36,000, and rapidly increasing.

China is increasingly on top of the disease and estimates that at the latest by beginning to mid-April is in full control of COVID19. Again, there is no COVID19 pandemic. But there is a panic-making pandemic rushing around the globe – an artificially media-imposed panic (paid for by Big Pharma and Big Finance), that will move again huge amounts of accumulated capital from the common people to the top, to the upper-upper echelon billionaires’ elite.

Another hit on the Chinese economy. Cruise ships with Chinese on board are not granted docking rights. Merchandise vessels are in many countries not allowed to enter international harbors to unload their goods.

Media Propaganda

The media propaganda drums proclaim that the virus is spreading fast and will soon engulf the entire world. The culprit is China, where the virus originated. That’s what western propaganda wants you to believe.

Nobody mentions that the COVID-19 virus appears to be focusing on the Chinese genome (yet to be confirmed) and that almost no westerners are affected.

Well, if the media would talk about it, it would become clear for the entire world that the virus could not have been created or originated in China, as China would not infect her own people, and that the virus was most likely man-made and somehow transported into Wuhan. Could it be that it was brought to Wuhan by one or more of the American participants in the military games?

The death to infection rate is about 3% in China, but has been steadily declining in the past week. The ratio is less than  1% in the several countries outside of China, where the virus was detected. Italy and Iran seem to be exceptions. In Italy, as of this date, the official number of infected people has jumped to 400 with 12 confirmed deaths, also a death rate of 3%.

Iran with about 140 cases and 20 deaths, a 14% death rate, the highest in the world. Why? Faulty reporting, or do those who died in Iran have Chinese DNA?

In Italy, a country in the midst of the European flu season, most diseased people are elderly, according to the Health Ministry. But how precise are the tests? This is important since most symptoms of COVID-19 are very similar to those of the common flu, especially for elderly people vulnerable to respiratory diseases and pneumonia. By comparison, US deaths from in the 2019 / 2020 flu season so far are estimated at about 34,200 (CDC). Figures in Europe are probably proportionately similar. But these figures are silenced by the media.

And now Italy is building up the propaganda drama, discussing border closing, but not yet deciding, and so are France, Germany and Switzerland – the discussion is a big media hype – but so far to the question – “Shall we ban entry to travelers from Italy?” –  They decided up to now, to leave borders open, as closing them would be bad for business. Though, that’s what they don’t say.

 To add spice to the drama, Italy has also canceled the Venice Carnival and other public events, even closed church service and tourist attractions and monuments.

The point is tremendous fear mongering, propagating fear from China. People in fear can easily be manipulated. It’s always been the case. Planting fear into a docile and even placid and peaceful population has always been the precursor to a call for war. Fear, in a first round also helps isolating China, to cause as much economic damage as possible (weakening China to the point of ‘least resistance’).

Public consent for the second round, namely the possibility of a hot war, would be easier. There is not much time, as the Chinese economy is advancing rapidly and along with it – the possible displacement of the dollar system. Which, once recognized by the majority of the world, means the dollar hegemony is broken, and through that the US empire is broken. For sure the US would not shy away from military action, resulting in civilian deaths, just to preserve their dollar hegemony.

Washington also realizes that the east, China, Russia and the rest of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is no longer dependent on the west, but could carry on with an autonomous “eastern” economy – which in itself would be an incentive for other countries in defiance of the US dictate to join the east.

The China – Russia – Iran alliance is one of the strongest “eastern axis” – which also provides full energy self-sufficiency to the eastern countries, i.e. the Shanghai Cooperation Organization or SCO. The association of SCO and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) comprises today about half of the world’s population and controls about a third of the world’s economic output (GDP).

Economic Damage

Nevertheless, China’s economic damage is considerable – work stoppages, limited consumption at home and in many countries a virtual ban on Chinese imports. The stock market has dropped tremendously due to the Coronavirus outbreak and its economic consequences. The worst may not yet be over, even if it doesn’t come to a ‘hot’ war – which we profoundly trust it will not.

To counteract this economic calamity, the People’s Bank of China (PBC – China’s Central Bank) may consider injecting quickly important amounts of money into China’s economy, especially targeting small and medium size enterprises, both public and private, through China’s public banking system and other means of direct economic support – to cut short losses caused by the western-imposed epidemics. The immediate and medium-term objectives may be reducing the risk of economic stagnation and un- or under-employment – and – to achieve food self-sufficiency, as well as to diversify China’s suppliers and supply-chains away from the US and western US-allies. The accent is on food self-sufficiency.

For international trade and transfer payments, Chinas Interbank Payment System (CIPS) and the crypto-yuan is expected to gradually increase its acceptance around the world and outrank the western transfer system SWIFT and the US-dollar hegemony which are key instruments the United States uses to impose totally illegal economic sanctions upon countries that dare insisting on their sovereignty and refuse to submit to Washington’s pressure. Cases in point are Russia, China, North Korea, Venezuela, Iran, Cuba, Syria, Sudan – and many more.

These US-led western efforts to weaken China’s economy are also meant to send a discouraging message to all those countries that are planning to divest their reserves and international payment methods away from the US-dollar. The west will not succeed.

Even with the massive damage caused by the recent coronavirus, China’s economy is steadier and stronger than that of most western countries, especially the US.

China’s non-confrontational approach to resolve these social – health – and economic issues, will help China to overcome and isolate her aggressive adversaries. That’s part of the 5000-year old Tao philosophy.

As the US is increasing her aggressive stance against China (and Russia) – Washington appears and acts more and more like a dying beast, lashing out around itself, trying to bringing down and destroying as much as possible, while steadily digging itself deeper into its own (economic) grave.

Sanctions left and right and bio-wars on China – threatening China by surrounding her with some 400 military bases and nuke-equipped warships and planes, will not create more confidence in the US, rather the contrary. Countries and people realize that being aligned and allied with the US of A, is dangerous, can be deadly. So, they are driven away and towards the east, rather than being attracted by the western sinking ship.

Amazingly, western aggressions will falter confronting China’s robust social and economic system, and more so, China’s peaceful plan to connect and build bridges between the world’s people, nations and cultures, through the socioeconomic development scheme of the 21st Century spanning the globe – the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), also called the New Silk Road. A way Towards a Shared Future for Mankind.
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Peter Koenig is an economist and geopolitical analyst. He is also a water resources and environmental specialist. He worked for over 30 years with the World Bank and the World Health Organization around the world, including in Palestine, in the fields of environment and water. He lectures at universities in the US, Europe and South America. He writes regularly for Global Research; ICH; RT; Sputnik; PressTV; The 21st Century; Greanville Post; Defend Democracy Press, TeleSUR; The Saker Blog, the New Eastern Outlook (NEO); and other internet sites. He is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed – fiction based on facts and on 30 years of World Bank experience around the globe. He is also a co-author of The World Order and Revolution! – Essays from the Resistance.

Peter Koenig is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization.

 First published by the New Eastern Outlook – NEO

As a mid March deadline approaches, the mad scramble is on for Congress to  rubber stamp  a ‘clean’ renewal of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISC)  without amendment. 

At every opportunity since 2001, Congress has used the re-authorization process to expand both the Patriot Act and the FISA Court’s authority in a further erosion of American civil liberties. 

Over the years, Fourth Amendment protections have been eviscerated allowing government access into every nook and cranny of American life.


Read Part I here:

Why Renew the “Ultra Secret” Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court?

By Renee Parsons, February 21, 2020


Those expansions of authority with bipartisan Congressional support who claim to value liberty and freedom except when it comes to conducting widespread surveillance of Americans.  The Court has functioned unscathed as the Dems historically split 50-50 in their support for civil liberty and surveillance votes while almost 100% of Republicans have supported the mass surveillance of the American people under the illusion of a national security threat. It is worth noting that the US is the world’s leader in surveillance of its own citizens.

It might be expected that any politician who wraps themselves in the American flag would find US surveillance repugnant but that has not been the case as the House Freedom Caucus’s avid support for the Surveillance State has demonstrated.

The following are recent Congressional roll-call votes reauthorizing the FISA Court:

Despite its original intent in 1978 to provide oversight into government surveillance on American citizens, the FISA Court has remained super secret and obscure from public awareness, resistant to meaningful Congressional oversight and largely immune from real accountability while unilateral in its authority.  In other words, hands off the Court while the black-robed wizards labor in dark places about mysterious matters delving into the lives of anonymous Americans who remain unaware of the intrusion – and Congress has dutifully obeyed.

As a result of the IG Report on FISA Abuses revealing the FBI’s egregious misconduct and the Court’s unwillingness to protect its jurisdiction, there is a bit of groundswell in Congress demanding ‘significant’ amendments to the Court’s authority. Whether that groundswell materializes or evaporates into obscurity, remains to be seen.

The question remains whether any amount of ‘reform’ can make the FISA Court acceptable from a Constitutional perspective or whether continued existence of the Court is necessary given its unabashed record of  facilitating near-unanimous approval to conduct surveillance, in other words, the Court is needed for the mindless approval of surveillance applications to create the false impression for a gullible public that there is an independent Constitutionally-valid process at work.

No matter what changes are made to the Court, the process approving surveillance will always be subservient to the political whim of the day.  It is essential to recognize that automatic approvals are indicative of a judicial system complicit with a rigged law enforcement agency more committed to increased surveillance as a means to justify its existence as well as to assure budget and staff increases. The ease with which the Bureau manipulated the moribund Court (FISC) into approving flawed applications suggests that unless profound changes are made to the FBI/DOJ, the current  crisis is doomed to repeat itself.

With the Russiagate fiasco and the IG Report on FISA leading to Spygate, an impeachment charge depending on a covert whistleblower of suspect intentions and origin, it might be expected that the upcoming Court re-authorization ought to, especially for House Republicans, be a subject of fierce debate who have learned first hand, in a way that the Dems did not, that surveillance is a nasty business fraught with  unintended consequences.  

While Attorney General Bill Barr favors a ‘clean’ renewal bill with reforms being enacted at the Department level,  Sen Lindsay Graham (R-SC) who is more focused  on his re-election, agrees to postpone any substantive changes to some future time. However, on the House side, it is an entirely different scenario with sleeping bi-partisan tigers finally awakened to the implications of how the FISA Court process does  not serve the American people and how easily it can be manipulated.

Judiciary Committee member Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif) has five amendments to further strengthen ‘reforms’ to the Committee’s bill,  all of which were rebuffed  by Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler at the urging of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Intel Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif).    Scutlebutt says that the House Judiciary bill is more of a Schiff ‘wish list’ with watered down civil liberty tokens.

It is essential to recognize that government surveillance; that is, to secretly spy into another’s private life is never done with good intentions or with the innocence of a harmless outcome.  As the American Empire struggles to survive, spying, in all its nefarious forms, is a gross violation of elementary principles of fairness and ethics in a moral, just and civil society.  It is ironic that Americans, as the most surveilled people on the planet, also pay for their own surveillance through their tax dollars.

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Renee Parsons  has been a member of the ACLU’s Florida State Board of Directors and President of the ACLU Treasure Coast Chapter.   She has been an elected public official in Colorado, an environmental lobbyist with Friends of the Earth and staff member in the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC. Renee is also a student of the Quantum Field.  She can be reached at #reneedove31. She is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

Members of al-Qaeda-linked groups embedded with Turkish troops have reentered the town of Saraqib in eastern Idlib following the collapse of the Syrian Army defense northwest of the town.

The attack was backed by Turkish artillery strikes on positions of the Syrian Army. Al-Qaeda members were actively using Turkish-supplied armoured vehicles and even MANPADs.

Since the evening of February 26, government troops have lost the villages of Salihiya and Afis and been forced to retreat towards the eastern and southern vicinities of Saraqib. Turkish forces reportedly captured three battle tanks, including a Russian-supplied T-90, in the course of the attack. Several other military vehicles were destroyed. Earlier, Syrian troops withdrew from Nayrab leaving behind 2 battle tanks, 4 amoured vehicles and 2 bulldozers as well as other weapons and equipment.

The Turkish Defense Ministry reported on February 26 that 2 Turkish soldiers were killed and 2 others injured in a Syrian airstrike. This became another official confirmation of the participation of Turkish troops in the fighting.

The fall of Saraqib is a major blow to the plans of the Damascus government to reopen the M5 highway and to threaten Idlib city with a possible offensive operation.

Local sources name the Syrian Army overcommitment to the advance south of the M4 highway as one of the causes  of the recent setbacks in Saraqib. According to them, a large number of trained and experienced units, including the 25th Special Forces Division and the 4th Division, were redeployed from Saraqib to southern Idlib. Other issues are the lack of coordination among pro-government units and close-air-support.

According to pro-government sources, on the morning of February 27 army troops regrouped and launched a counter-attack. Clashes are ongoing.

The setbacks of government forces in Saraqib came amid the ongoing army advance in the southern part of the Idlib zone. Syrian troops have cleared another dozen villages of militants and reached the administrative border with the province of Hama. Now, the militant strongholds of Sahn and Barah are the two main obstacles in the way of the Syrian Army towards the M4 highway.

However, if government forces are not able to stabilize the frontline in the area of Saraqib and put an end to advances by Turkish-led forces, the gains in southern Idlib may not be enough to achieve a strategic victory over al-Qaeda in Idlib.

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Last Thursday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) took the highly unusual step of declining to move forward on permits for the proposed Jordan Cove LNG export terminal in Coos County, Oregon. If built, the $10 billion Jordan Cove project would become the largest source of global warming pollution in the state.

FERC commissioners voted 2 to 1 to postpone a decision on federal approvals for the project after a string of permit denials from the state of Oregon. Commissioner Bernard McNamee said he needed an additional week to review the latest denial, issued by the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) one day prior to FERC’s vote.

In their February 19 letter, sent to Jordan Cove, FERC, the Army Corps of Engineers and others, Oregon’s land conservation officials wrote that approving Jordan Cove would “negatively impact” resources relied on by the state’s coastal tourism, fishing, shipping, and other industries, as well as endangered and threatened wildlife, “among other sectors critical to the state.”

After long deliberation and review of the record before the department, it is clear that there is no reasonable assurance that the proposed project is or will be consistent with the laws, regulations, and policies that continue to maintain the Oregonian way of life,” the LCDC said in a statement announcing its decision. “Overall, the issuance of this decision protects the interests of the State of Oregon and those who call Oregon home.”

Without the state’s sign off, called a “consistency certification,” federal agencies including FERC and the Army Corps of Engineers “cannot authorize this project,” the Oregon commissioners wrote.

The next day, February 20, one Jordan Cove backer abruptly resigned from the state’s land conservation commission, citing the commission’s February 19 letter. Coos County commissioner Melissa Cribbins — whose contacts with Jordan Cove backers during the time that the project’s county-level permits were pending were at the center of a recent DeSmog investigation — penned a letter to Oregon’s governor.

I am tendering my resignation from the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) effective immediately,” Cribbins, who is currently running for state office, wrote in a letter posted to Facebook by her campaign. She cited the timing of the land conservation permit decision, calling it “purely political.”

Clearly, this is not the Oregon way,” the letter concludes, “and I will not lend my credibility to this process any longer.”

Cribbins retains her seat as a Coos County commissioner. She was also recently appointed to a federal Environmental Protection Agency advisory committee on local government, which advises Trump-appointee Andrew Wheeler.

The land conservation commission had emphasized the significance of the negative impacts on Oregon and its coast that Jordan Cove construction would have as it issued its state permit denial.

After careful review of the proposed project, in conjunction with receiving extensive public comment, and coordination with coastal partners, [Department of Land Conservation and Development] has determined that the coastal adverse effects from the project will be significant and undermine the vision set forth by the [Oregon Coastal Management Plan] and its enforceable policies,” the commission wrote in their February 19 letter (emphasis in original). “Coastal effects analyses show that the project will negatively impact Oregon’s coastal scenic and aesthetic resources, a variety of endangered and threatened species, critical habitat and ecosystem services, fisheries resources, commercial and recreational fishing and boating, and commercial shipping and transportation, among other sectors critical to the state.”

The Jordan Cove project would export U.S. and Canadian fossil fuels — enough to fill roughly 120 liquefied natural gas tankers a year.

Project opponents say that without permits from the state of Oregon, the Jordan Cove fossil fuel export project cannot be built. “Oregon has concluded that the Jordan Cove LNG project would have significant adverse effects on the state’s coast and without permits from the state of Oregon, Jordan Cove LNG cannot move forward,” Courtney Johnson, attorney and executive director at Crag Law Center, said in a statement following the LCDC’s permit denial.

Jordan Cove has 30 days from the LCDC’s denial to appeal the state’s decision.

On Monday, Jordan Cove representatives urged FERC to approve the project over Oregon’s rejection. “A [Coastal Zone Management Act] consistency determination ‘is a permit issued under federal law,’ and state [Coastal Zone Management Act] objections are subject to plenary federal administrative override,” David Owens, an attorney representing the Jordan Cove Energy Project and the Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline wrote in a February 24 letter to FERC.

The FERC commissioner who cast the deciding vote to delay a decision cited the state’s permit denials at the hearing last week. “I want to see what the State of Oregon said, and I need that information to inform my decision, whether I’m ultimately going to vote for or against Jordan Cove,” McNamee said.

The land conservation permit is not the only permit that the Jordan Cove project currently lacks.

In January, Oregon’s Department of State Lands detailed over a half dozen categories of “critical information” that the Jordan Cove project had not yet provided to state officials after the company’s permit application was first deemed incomplete in November 2017. Days later, Jordan Cove withdrew its application for that permit.

And in May 2019 state officials denied a required Clean Water Act permit for Jordan Cove, citing concerns about the hazards posed to the state’s waters.

State officials predict a legal battle may be on the horizon. “I think the evidence is very clear that the strategy now for this project is to wholly ignore Oregon and its requirements and to have the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approve it, and somehow have the courts rule that that Oregon law, that quite clearly can’t be preempted by the federal government, can be,” State Sen. Jeff Golden said in early February after Jordan Cove withdrew its land permit application. He described a “legal fight that almost certainly is coming, to uphold the law of the land and tell the Trump administration you don’t get to cancel environmental safeguards all over this country on behalf of the fossil fuel industry.”

Oregon’s governor Kate Brown has also said the state “would consider all available options” if FERC attempted to override the state’s permit processes.

It’s not clear when FERC will reconvene to consider the Jordan Cove project. Legal experts have said that the law also allows Jordan Cove to appeal to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, currently Trump appointee Wilbur Ross, to approve the project without the state’s sign off. Ross has previously expressed support for the Jordan Cove project.

Environmentalists called on FERC to reject the permit when it does reconvene.

Tens of thousands of people across the region have spoken out against this Jordan Cove LNG for over a decade,” Allie Rosenbluth, campaign director of Rogue Climate, said in a February 20 statement. “It’s time to put an end to Jordan Cove LNGfor good this time so our communities can focus on creating local jobs in clean energy instead.”

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Featured image: Coos Bay, Oregon, in 2012. The proposed Jordan Cove LNG export terminal site is in the lower left. Credit: RBrittsanCC BYSA 3.0

With Russia delivering another round of the Pantsir S1 anti-missile defense system to Serbia on Tuesday, EU and U.S. officials have reacted. Both Brussels and Washington have sent their warnings to Serbia, with Washington even threatening sanctions against the Balkans country. For the U.S., they are hoping to prevent Serbia from acquiring the Russian made S-400 missile defense system as it will severely restrict American hegemony over the Balkans. While Brussels expects Serbia to comply with the commitments it made when it entered the EU’s strategic priority, the U.S. State Department urged countries to abandon purchases from Russia as it could lead to sanctions.

“In discussions with senior government officials, we have repeatedly expressed concern that Serbia is buying Russian military equipment, including the purchase of the Pantsir system,” a State Department spokesman said.

The European Union previously said that in order to progress on the road to European integration, “Serbia needs to align its foreign policy with the EU’s foreign policy, in accordance with the negotiating framework.” Although Brussels is not making threats of sanctions against Serbia, it is leveraging a potential Serbian admission into the EU. This leverage would not be effective however as only 42% of people in Serbia are in favour of EU membership.

However, this is not the first time that U.S. administration officials are threatening to activate Section 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017, which deals with the possibility of imposing sanctions on individuals and legal entities having business cooperation with the security and intelligence sectors of Russia, Iran and North Korea. In November last year, Thomas Zarzecki, director of the U.S. State Department’s Task Force 231, arrived in Belgrade immediately after it was announced that Serbia had purchased the Pantsir system. Even before the arrival Zarzecki, it was announced by Matthew Palmer, U.S. Secretary of State’s representative for the Balkans, that sanctions may be imposed against Serbia.

Zarzecki left Belgrade last November and no sanctions were imposed on Serbia. Now, after Serbia acquired the Pantsir and they have begun arriving in the country, the possibility of imposing U.S. sanctions is being activated again. This becomes difficult as there is no doubt that the State Department will be pushing to punish Serbia for acquiring Russian weaponry. However, it is still within easy living memory that the U.S. led a NATO campaign of destruction against Serbia in 1999, killing over 500 civilians and destroying vital civilian infrastructure like bridges, industrial plants and private businesses. This campaign of destruction has left widespread anti-American sentiment that still persists to this day. Paradoxically, most NATO members today, with the exception of the U.S., has a more positive attitude towards Serbia and would accept that the purchase of military equipment from Russia is a national decision of Serbia and that Belgrade is entitled to that decision.

The President of the Foreign Policy Committee of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress, Eliot Engel, publicly rebuked one of the U.S. generals serving in NATO over the Alliance’s stance on Serbia. Engel criticized the position on Serbia’s military neutrality and intensive cooperation with Russia. As the Pantsir system is arriving in Serbia, interests for the S-400 system will intensify. Other states have received threats of sanctions if they purchase the S-400, such as India, and it can only be expected that Serbia will receive such warnings, too. Therefore, these discussions of sanctions because of the Pantsir system is a preventative warning for Serbia not to purchase the S-400.

However, the Serbia of the 1990’s is drastically different to the Serbia of today. Today, Serbia is making a recovery from the 1990’s and both Russia and China have achieved Great Power status and are willing to oppose Western interventionism and support independent states such as Serbia.

The U.S. State Department’s position certainly has elements of dissatisfaction over Serbia’s co-operation with Russia and China. NATO, on the other hand, praises the level of co-operation with Serbia and is ready, at least in words, to respect military neutrality. With the 1990’s remembered for the collapse of the Soviet Union and the advent of the U.S. dominated unipolar world, things have changed so much in the world that a once weak Russia and China who were, now are capable of maintaining their own positions.

With Russian and Chinese support, Serbia has enough strength to resist U.S.-led pressures that imposed sanctions could have minimal impact on the country, and rather create opportunities to push towards financial independence away from the U.S. dollar. It is for this reason that even Washington will be contemplating whether imposing such sanctions would be worth the risk of pushing another country towards financial independence as has happened in Iran and Venezuela.

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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Paul Antonopoulos is a Research Fellow at the Center for Syncretic Studies.

Turkey’s Losing Bet in Syria

February 28th, 2020 by Tony Cartalucci

Turkey has allegedly lost another 33 troops in Syria this week amid its refusal to withdraw from Syrian territory amid Syrian government gains in the northern governorate of Idlib. 

The BBC in its article, “Syria war: 33 Turkish troops killed in air strike in Idlib,” would report:

At least 33 Turkish soldiers have been killed in an air strike by Syrian “regime forces” in north-western Syria, a senior Turkish official has said.

More were hurt in Idlib province, said Rahmi Dogan, the governor of Turkey’s Hatay province. Other reports put the death toll higher.

Turkey later retaliated against Syrian troops government targets.

The US-led proxy war against Syria is all but over. It is just a matter of time before Damascus and its allies restore control over the entire nation and begin rebuilding.

The US-armed and funded terrorists that have ravaged the country since 2011 have been exposed, depleted, and cornered. So desperate is the state of this proxy war that in recent years the US and its allies including Turkey and Israel have resorted increasingly to direct military action against Damascus itself as their proxies are no longer capable of carrying out sustained military operations themselves.

And despite brazen aggression against Damascus and its forces – the combined military might of the US, Turkey, and Israel have failed to produce any noteworthy or sustainable gains in contrast to Damascus’ imminent victory.

Giving Up a Graceful Exit 

Turkey has been a NATO member since the 1950’s and was an eager participant in Washington’s proxy war on Syria allowing its territory and resources to be used to flood Syria with terrorists, weapons, equipment, and money to fuel the destructive 9 year conflict.

Despite Turkey’s integral role in facilitating Washington’s malice and destructive proxy war, Syria’s allies – seeing the conflict as ending in Damascus’ favor – attempted to create a graceful exit for Turkey and the possibility of playing a more constructive role in the region they – not Washington – would now be shaping.

This included economic and military ties with Russia and Iran to help ease pressure from Washington who was attempting to cut both to punish and increasingly uncompliant Ankara.

However, recent events appear to indicate that Turkey has rejected this graceful exit. Turkish forces find themselves increasingly escalating directly against Syrian forces and now even their nuclear-armed Russian allies.

Nothing Turkey can do short of total war in northern Syria will reverse their flagging fortunes.

The occupation of northern Syria through the use of depleted proxies is no longer sustainable. The invasion and occupation of northern Syria by Turkish forces capable of repelling Syrian government forces backed by nuclear-armed Russia is also not a viable policy.

Discovering whatever Ankara is still being promised – or threatened with – by Washington to continue its policy of belligerence and disruption in northern Syria will be key to dissuading Turkish cooperation with the US – or formulating a strategy to frustrate and defeat the lingering machinations of Washington and its two chief partners – Turkey and Israel.

Turkey now finds itself in the unenviable position of having all but abandoned promising ties with the winners of the Syrian conflict and a constructive role in reorganizing the region in the conflict’s aftermath – and now also doubling down on a clearly lost war that will cost Turkey not only blood and treasure, but also its standing in the region in the near to intermediate future.

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This article was originally published on the author’s blog site, Land Destroyer Report.

Selected Articles: Assad’s Victory in Syria War?

February 28th, 2020 by Global Research News

A future without independent media leaves us with an upside down reality where according to the corporate media “NATO deserves a Nobel Peace Prize”, and where “nuclear weapons and wars make us safer”

 

If, like us, this is a future you wish to avoid, please help sustain Global Research’s activities by making a donation or taking out a membership now!

Click to donate or click here to become a member of Global Research.

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Capture of M5 Hama-Aleppo Highway: One of the Most Celebrated Prizes in Damascus’ Campaign to Regain Territory

By Michael Jansen, February 28, 2020

As soon as the Syrian government announced that the north-south highway was open last weekend, my courageous friend Jamil drove from Damascus to Aleppo and back. “The road was fine and very quick,” he told me on the phone on his return to the capital. The Hama-Idlib-Aleppo sector of the highway, the M5, is known as the “international road” because it begins on the Jordanian border and runs to the Turkish border. The highway was closed by conflict for eight years, forcing travellers to take a detour in the desert over rough roads. This route was 90 kilometres longer than the M5 and consumed six hours rather than four and a half, as well as more petrol.

Video: “Fake News”: “The Shining Forces of Idlib Democracy” = Al Qaeda Terrorists backed by Turkish Army

By South Front, February 27, 2020

The shining forces of Idlib democracy are crushing the Assad regime’s brutal aggression in eastern Idlib dealing blow after blow to the pro-government sectarian militias so cynically backed by Teheran and Moscow… at least according to mainstream media.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Turkistan Islamic Party and other peaceful al-Qaeda groups backed by the Turkish Army entered Nayrab on the evening of February 24th and consolidated control over the village on February 25th. Since then, they’ve made hundreds of selfies and proclamations of victory. Pro-Turkish sources even claimed that the rebels advanced towards Saraqib.

Syria: “Moderate Rebels” or “Intelligence Assets”?

By Mark Taliano, February 27, 2020

The fabricated narratives were and are a smokescreen to conceal the fact that the West supports all of the terrorists, covertly and overtly, and always did.

Forget Bana Alabed, an icon of both child abuse and war propaganda, in which innocent children are weaponized to advance imperial projects.

Evidence on Continuing US-NATO Media Lies About the War in Syria

By James ONeill, February 26, 2020

One of the clearest indicators of the legitimacy or otherwise of Western military actions is the coverage that is given to it by the western media. When evidence emerges that the given military action was at best ill-founded and more often blatantly illegal under international law, then the western media is silent as to any criticism. Alternatively, it gives undue prominence to self-serving and frequently blatant falsehoods about the actions in question.

Turkey’s War on Syria: Erdogan Sponsored Terrorists Cut Drinking Water off Al-Hasakah, Two Million People Affected, an Explicit War Crime

By Arabi Souri, February 26, 2020

Terrorists loyal to Erdogan along with Turkish Army forces cut the drinking water off more than 2 million people in the city of Hasakah and its suburbs yesterday.

The terrorists infested the Alouk Water Station, the main source for drinking water for the people of Hasakah city and the towns around it and immediately cut off the water pumps, a war crime by all definitions.

Turkey’s Request for U.S. Patriot Missiles to Pressure Russia in Syria Will Not Work

By Paul Antonopoulos, February 26, 2020

With Turkey supporting and backing jihadists against the Syrian Army in Idlib, the situation in Syria is becoming increasingly hostile as Erdoğan has threatened to directly go to war at the end of the month if Syria does not reverse the gains it made in previous weeks. There is a certain danger for war that could drag Russia as it is the main backer of the Syrian Army. Turkey has not shied away that it is increasingly getting frustrated with Moscow as it has unrelentingly backed its Syrian allies against Turkish-backed forces. This becomes complicated as not only Turkey and Russia have interests in Idlib, but so do the U.S. and Iran, however, Russia and Turkey are not going to war as many have speculated.

The Syrian Arab Army’s Victorious Liberation of Aleppo. Historical Comparisons

By Andrew Korybko, February 23, 2020

While there are certainly some structural similarities between the Syrian Arab Army’s ongoing liberation offensive in Northwestern Syria and Saakashvili’s previous desire to restore Georgia’s full sovereignty over Abkhazia and South Ossetia in 2008, the international legal and situational differences between the two are much too important to ignore and thus make these two cases morally incomparable, though some significant strategic insight can nevertheless be gained by studying both of them together.

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It’s quite fitting that the – imperially pre-determined – judicial fate of Julian Assange is being played out in Britain, the home of George Orwell.

As chronicled by the painful, searing reports of Ambassador Craig Murray, what’s taking place in Woolwich Crown Court is a sub-Orwellian farce with Conradian overtones: the horror…the horror…, remixed for the Raging Twenties. The heart of our moral darkness is not in the Congo: it’s in a dingy courtroom attached to a prison, presided by a lowly imperial lackey.

In one of Michel Onfray’s books published last year, “Theorie de la Dictature” (Robert Laffont) – the top dissident, politically incorrect French philosopher starts exactly from Orwell to examine the key features of a new-look dictatorship. He tracks seven paths of destruction: to destroy freedom, impoverish language, abolish truth, suppress history, deny nature, propagate hate, and aspire to empire.

To destroy freedom, Onfray stresses, power needs to assure perpetual surveillance; ruin personal life; suppress solitude; make opinion uniform and denounce thought crimes. That sounds like the road map for the United States government’s persecution of Assange.

Other paths, as in impoverishing language, include practicing newspeak; using double language; destroying words; oralizing language; speaking a single language; and suppressing the classics. That sounds like the modus operandi of the ruling classes in the Hegemon.

To abolish truth, power must teach ideology; instrumentalize the press; propagate fake news; and produce reality. To propagate hate, power, among other instruments, must create an enemy; foment wars; and psychiatrize critical thinking.

There’s no question we are already mired deep inside this neo-Orwellian dystopia.

John “Paradise Lost” Milton, in 1642, could not have been more prophetic, when he wrote “Those that hurt the eyes of the people blame them for being blind.” How not to identify a direct parallel with Le Petit Roi Emmanuel Macron’s army, month after month, willfully blinding protesting Gilets Jaunes/Yellow Vests in the streets of France.

Orwell was more straightforward than Milton, saying that to talk about freedom is meaningless unless it refers to the freedom to tell people what they don’t want to hear. And he put it in context by quoting a line from Milton: “By the known rules of ancient liberty.”

No “known rules of ancient liberty” are allowed to penetrate the heart of darkness of Woolwich Crown Court.

A Spy at the Service of the People

Juan Branco is arguably the most brilliant young French intellectual – heir to a fine Sartre/Foucault/Deleuze tradition. The French establishment detests him, especially because of his best-seller “Crepuscule,” where he dissected Macronism – branded as a thuggish regime – from the inside, and the French president as a creature and instrument of a tiny oligarchy.

He has just published Assange: L’Antisouverain” (Les Editions du Cerf), an absorbing, erudite study that he defines as “a philosophy book about the figure of the Anti-Sovereign.” The Sovereign is of course the state apparatus.

Here (in French) is an excellent interview with Branco about the book. There’s nothing even remotely comparable to it in the Anglosphere, which has treated Assange essentially as an unpleasant freak, oozing pedestrian slander and piling up sub-ideology tirades disguised as facts.

The book is essentially structured as a seminary for the hyper-selective Ecole Normale Superieure, the august school in the Latin Quarter here that shapes French elites, a privileged nest of power institutions and reproduction of privileges. Branco takes the reader to the heart of this universe just to make him or her discover Assange from the point of view of one of those students.

Branco was privileged to profit from the interaction between the Ecole Normale Superieure and Yale. He met Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in January 2014, “in a state of radical confinement,” and then followed him as a juridical consultant, then lawyer, “day after day,” until meeting him again in September 2016, “getting ready to no less than change the course of the American presidential election and engineer the fall of the one who had sworn to crush him, one Hillary Rodham Clinton.”

Branco is fascinated by Assange’s “scientific journalism,” and his capacity to “intervene in the political space without occupying a determined place.” Assange is painted as a contemporary oracle, a maniac for free access to information, someone who “never looked for a reward, or insertion, or juridical protection,” which is a totally different modus operandi from any media.

Branco shows how WikiLeaks “allowed whistleblowers to act,” by growing an archive parallel to the “production of data related to the mechanism of contemporary power apparatuses.” Under this framework “every citizen is able to become a researcher.”

So, Assange’s work has been about redistributing power. It’s as if Assange had become a “spy at the service of the people.” And that leads Branco to draw the connection with the Gilets Jaunes/Yellow Vests. WikiLeaks releasing the “Macron Leaks” in 2017 legitimized the Yellow Vest struggle for direct democracy.

Branco describes Assange as “a strange figure, a bridge between the pre-history of digital civilization and its definitive penetration as a primordial, structural element of political and social space.”

But arguably his best appraisal is of Assange as “a dissident of his own internal space, mostly interested by the sphere of cultural, economic and social domination in which he was born, that of the American imperium, of which his native Australia is one of the most dedicated allies, and that dominates this cyber-space where he constituted himself as a political actor.”

In what could be construed as the top reason for the United States government’s unbounded thirst for vengeance against Assange, he challenged the fact that “American acts have a natural regulatory function for the rest of the world, a result of their over-dominance of the contemporary geopolitical space.”

It’s All in the Algorithm

And that brings us to the heart of the matter: algorithms. As Branco synthesizes it, the “revelation of raw documents aims at reinvesting in the political space those that have been discarded because of their submission to a word of authority whose algorithms have been masked.”

Onfray had already warned about “destroying words,” “impoverishing language” and clinging to newspeak  – but Branco takes it to a new level. Because “the word of power is a word assimilated to the algorithm, in the sense that it benefits from a presumption of truth, it does not reveal, to remain effective, any of its assets, settling to enounce a reality impossible to contest.”

Branco is careful to explain that, “Algorithm would not have become a social power without the support of an ethical presupposition (the consecration of Homo Economicus), a postulation towards scientificism (thus to universality) and a technological rupture (big data).”

Branco breaks it down to the formula “Algorithmization is the foundation of sovereignty.” And that’s exactly what Assange challenged. And that’s why he’s such a divisive, eternally controversial figure, unlike Edward Snowden, who’s basically an average guy – with a sterling IQ – who simply wants to reform a system.

A Chance for Liberty, Equality and Fraternity?

When he worked on behalf of Assange, Branco essentially coordinated a team of lawyers responding to star judge Baltasar Garzon, who was present at Woolwich Crown Court earlier this week. Last week, Assange’s legal team said they would apply for asylum in France. Branco can’t possibly be part of the team because of “Crepuscule” – which eviscerates Macron.

Le Petit Roi, for his part, may now be presented with the ultimate global reach P.R. opportunity. Ending a ghastly neo-Orwellian charade, offering asylum to Assange, and ridiculing Trump and Boris Johnson at the same time would enhance his status in myriad European latitudes and all across the Global South.

Yet there should be no illusions. On July 3, 2015, advised by his legal team, Assange wrote an op-ed for Le Monde asking about the possibility of asylum. Only one hour after publication the Elysee Palace – under Francois Hollande – issued a firm denial. There were no leaks on what kind of pressure was applied by the U.S. Deep State.

Assange lawyer Geoffrey Robertson is under no illusions: “He won’t be pardoned by President Trump, although [a future] President Sanders might do so. I think that’s the objective of the Pentagon — to put him in prison for the rest of his life.”

A measure of the cowardice of all those established newspapers who profited handsomely from the work of Assange and WikiLeaks is this despicable Le Monde editorial that half-heartedly pretends to defend him as a journalist and publisher.

It’s idle to expect from Anglo-American corporate media even a modicum of decency to admit that journalists must not be treated as spies and dangerous criminals. Criminalization of critical thinking – capable of provoking, unmasking and denouncing raw power — is a key plank of the new dictatorship examined by Onfray, and already in effect. Now it comes down to Onfray and Branco not to be lost in translation – and forcefully demonstrate to the Anglosphere that the heart of darkness must not be allowed to prevail.

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This article was originally published on Consortiumnews.

Pepe Escobar, a veteran Brazilian journalist, is the correspondent-at-large for Hong Kong-based Asia Times.  His latest book is “2030.” Follow him on Facebook. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from Snopes.com

The Canadian state today is in the throes of a historic crisis of its own making, as it stands off against the Wet’suwet’en Nation, an Indigenous nation in northern British Columbia (BC) that is blocking construction of the Coastal GasLink (CGL)1 pipeline through their land (called the Yintah). The CGL pipeline would bring fracked gas from northwestern British Columbia to a planned LNG Canada liquid natural gas terminal on the BC coast at Kitimat that is to be built by an international fossil fuel consortium.Condensate, a byproduct of the fracking, will also be used as diluent needed to send tar sands oil through another planned pipeline, the TransMountain Expansion pipeline.

On February 5, after Canada and BC would not concede on any point, talks with the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs broke down, and the following day, heavily armed RCMP were sent in. Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and their supporters were arrested and violently removed from their lands. In the run-up, the RCMP had imposed an unprecedented and unconstitutional “media exclusion zone” in an attempt to prevent incendiary images of the violent police action from getting out, an attempt that ultimately failed. Solidarity actions erupted across Canada, encompassing road and rail blockades, occupations and sit-ins, and blocking off the BC legislature. Solidarity from the Mohawk nation at Tyendinaga resulted in Canada’s busiest passenger rail corridor being shut down.

In many locations, standing injunctions and preemptive injunctions have been used to clear protests, but these have continued to be organized. Early on February 22, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) moved in on the Tyendinaga railside encampment, but in response, a number of other blockades and occupations sprouted across the country. The mobilizations show no sign of ending soon.

Seeking to discredit the Wet’suwet’en traditional government and their supporters, the coordinated messaging of colonial governments and ruling class media has centred on disingenuous arguments that the Wet’suwet’en are “divided” – therefore the colonizer must decide! Some Indian Act bands on the pipeline route have consented to the project, but the traditional government of the Wet’suwet’en has not. And while the Ottawa-imposed Indian Act administration of the Wet’suwet’en may support the pipeline, its remit does not run to title and rights, which are the purview of the hereditary chiefs, a fact that Canada and BC know well. Nevertheless, despite lacking consent, the NDP-Green government of the province of British Columbia decided to plough ahead with the project, issuing all permits required and ante-ing up $5.35-billion in direct subsidies alongside a federal tax break of $1-billion. Courts granted injunctions against the Wet’suwet’en, once again deeming resource extraction of greater importance than the well-being and wishes of Indigenous communities.

For fractions of Canada’s ruling class, this carbon extraction project is a matter of economic and political urgency. In elite political circles, Alberta’s perennially offside politics are suddenly being framed as a national unity crisis of the highest importance, allegedly requiring both the federal government and Alberta to desperately expand Alberta’s carbon export capacity at any cost in order to address Alberta’s economic crisis, which is largely the result of collapsing demand for its expensive and dirty petroleum output. Large sums of money, including public pension fund monies and private capital, have already been committed to these heavily subsidized fossil fuel projects.

Canada’s Stubborn Unwillingness to Deal with Indigenous People’s Title and Rights

Yet the deeper challenge to Canada’s wholeness in this crisis lies in the in-built contradictions of the colonial Canadian state that Wet’suwet’en resistance has made concrete and highly visible. Central to Canada’s extractivist political economy is “Crown title,” the claim of jurisdiction over Indigenous lands. The supposed legitimacy of Crown title rests on two half-inconsistent principles. The first is the “doctrine of discovery,” by which European colonizers arrogated to themselves the right to claim as their own any lands where there were no Christian inhabitants. The second is the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which requires the Crown to negotiate treaties with Indigenous Peoples before settling their lands. Into the mix is a growing body of Canadian and international law that recognizes the continuity and priority of Indigenous rights and land title where these have not been truly consensually ceded in Treaty.

The Wet’suwet’en have not signed any treaty with Canada. Their title in the land has never been removed, and this is a fact that will not go away, yet a fact that Canada cannot properly reconcile itself to without fundamentally changing laws on resource and land development and governance, and abandoning its policy toward Indigenous Peoples that goes back 170 years. Far from being caught unawares, the Canadian state apparatus knows what changes need to be made to truly achieve the “reconciliation” it preaches, as can be shown by a brief history of Canada’s refusal to budge on the core issue of recognizing Indigenous title.

In 1996, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP)3 as part of its comprehensive recommendations called for an overhaul of government policy on Indigenous land rights and jurisdiction. In particular, they called for an approach that recognized Indigenous title and did not make title claims prohibitively expensive and burdensome for Indigenous Peoples. It also argued for interim relief based on title without this depending on title being proved in court. And it called for policy alternatives that would allow Indigenous Peoples to retain title, and to ensure that any negotiated extinguishment of title would truly involve informed consent and deliver additional benefits – rather than merely the necessary baseline of viability that governments have withheld as a pressure tactic.

In 1997, the Delgamuukw decision of the Supreme Court, specifically in relation to the Wet’suwet’en Nation, recognized that Indigenous Peoples had retained title unless explicitly extinguished. (Bear in mind that in historic as opposed to modern treaties, the validity of cession and surrender clauses is dubious as there is multiple reinforcing evidence – oral tradition, treaty commissioner diaries in Treaty 9, eyewitness testimony, and the Paypom treaty record – across numbered treaties these clauses were not in the oral agreements but were tacked on in Ottawa after signatures had been collected or in some cases forged.)

In 2007, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was passed at the UN. Its bedrock principle is Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) for development on Indigenous lands. In subsequent years one federal government has signed on to the treaty, and several provincial governments have passed aspirational motions declaring their respect for the principles of UNDRIP. Most recently, British Columbia passed legislation implementing UNDRIP in law, and the federal government has promised to do the same. Yet none of these has given effect to the core principle of FPIC. BC claims UNDRIP is equivalent to the much weaker “duty to consult” under which Indigenous Peoples do not have a “veto” on development on their lands.

In 2015 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), formed to address the causes and long-term consequences of Canada’s genocidal residential schools system, released its final report. Among its calls was recognizing Indigenous title by default and reversing the burden of proof onto those who would seek to limit title. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to fully implement the TRC recommendations.

Despite this history, no government has recognized Indigenous title, and Canada’s policy on Indigenous lands has not been changed.4 The RCAP recommendations were shelved in toto, UNDRIP’s bedrock principle of FPIC was slipped out of implementing legislation, and the TRC call for default recognition of title and reversing the burden of proof was simply ignored.

De Facto Extinguishment of Indigenous Title, By Hook and By Crook

Instead, the federal government has stuck to its policy which in its modern form dates back to the 1970s, but which is a direct continuation of the approach taken to Indigenous title since the mid-19th century. This contemplates as the only viable policy the de facto extinguishment of Indigenous title everywhere, by hook and by crook. The contemporary incarnation of this policy is the Comprehensive Claims Policy, which is the umbrella framework for modern treaty processes whose core policy goal and non-negotiable precondition for agreement is extinguishment of title, in contravention of UNDRIP and against the calls of RCAP and the TRC.

For Indigenous Peoples who enter it, the modern treaty process is a long drawn-out affair of many-year negotiations, with government providing money to pay Indigenous-side negotiators and consultants who have a vested interest in continuing the process. Despite this, the final agreements all conform to a template – extinguishment of title, the ending of distinct “Indian” status for individuals and communities, the municipalization of communities and their subordination to provincial regimes rather than being recognized as a third order of government, and the retention of a small fraction of their territory (5%) as their municipal land base, with a retained economic interest in an additional small sliver of their original territory. (In the Orwellian language of Indian Affairs bureaucrats, extinguishment today is camouflaged as “modified rights.”)

Out of final settlement monies lawyers (who have a vested interest in the process) take a huge chunk. In the approvals process, government rather than playing a neutral role actively intervenes by funding and supporting the Yes side with intelligence and PR money. If the vote says No this is never final – they push for do-overs until they get a Yes, but there is no do-over allowed on a Yes. At the local level this can involve brutal intimidation campaigns toward those dissenting from a Yes. Yet these agreements are so inherently unappealing that Canada has succeeded in getting a Yes from only very few communities.

The only option that Canada officially contemplates for Indigenous Nations wishing to retain title is litigation. Title cases require years of evidence collection, tens of millions of dollars and a decade or more in court – because the government’s strategy (as most defendants’ – but the government is supposed to have a ‘trust relationship’ toward Indigenous people!) is to appeal everything it can, including procedural issues, and drag it out as long as possible. There are 200 Bands in BC alone. The BC Courts told one community in the pipeline for a title case that the courts can manage at most two simultaneous title cases because of their size and complexity. This means that it would take up to 1000 years for the courts to deal with all title cases in BC. Meanwhile, Bands are not provided with litigation budgets to fight Ottawa (Ottawa sets the budgets for most Bands) except in limited circumstances where government is compelled, and unlike the extinguishment processes, no help is forthcoming for title cases. The government strategy is one of attrition, part of which is literally “waiting for the evidence to die,” that is, elders and their often distinctive knowledge of land use and occupancy. Another part is willfully denying Indigenous communities adequate services, and engineering poverty conditions that are intended as a pressure pump to drive outmigration and encourage bendability to Canada’s will.

Canada and the provinces are not good faith actors. All the words about reconciliation and recognition are fake, for non-Indigenous public consumption. This is not a policy that seriously contemplates Indigenous people retaining title. There has been absolutely no change by any government, Conservative, Liberal, or NDP on this core aspect of Indigenous-Canada relations, which underpins and motivates all other colonial policy and action. Allowing Indigenous Peoples the possibility of a “no” on development is so far anathema to governments that they could not even contemplate the suggestion of alternative pipeline routes from the Office of the Wet’suwet’en. Consent is not consent when “yes” is the only answer allowed. Consent is not “try for consent, otherwise do it anyway.” The possibility of a “no” is essential to informed consent.

Recognizing Indigenous Title and Rights – and upholding FPIC – are Canada’s only way out

Yet despite all Canada’s attempts and its endemically Orwellian rhetoric on Indigenous rights, Indigenous Peoples are still here. Today as a result of the internet and social media, Indigenous people and nations are networked across Canada and North America. Decades of movement building and grassroots education and organization have laid the groundwork for today’s resistance. Indigenous intellectuals and journalists can now disseminate their message through social media and independent media, even while mainstream media continue to reflect the blinkered perspectives of their tiny social world. Younger generations who are cutting their teeth on climate change activism also understand solidarity more fluently, and are very conscious of Indigenous rights and the colonial character of the settler state.

This has resulted in an uprising that is the nightmare of Canada’s security state and political and economic elites, one they cannot get out of until they own up to the choice before them and reckon with what they have so far willfully postponed. There can be no “reconciliation” until Canada “gets over it” and breaks with colonial domination and theft as its core policy toward Indigenous people by recognizing Indigenous title and fully implementing UNDRIP, including the essential principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent.

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Corvin Russell is a longtime Indigenous solidarity activist, writer, and translator based in Toronto.

Notes

  1. CGL’s major investors are KKR, an American investment firm that has partnered with NPS, a Korean public sector pension fund; and AIMco, which manages public sector funds in the province of Alberta, where the bulk of Canada’s dirty tar sands oil is mined.
  2. Shell (40%), Petronas (25%), PetroChina (15%), Mitsubishi (15%), and KOGAS (5%).
  3. Formed after the Kanehsatake resistance of 1990, and Canada’s militarized response to it.
  4. For more information on this issue, see “150 Years of Canadian Colonization.”

Featured image is from The Bullet

Brexit: Devastating Impacts on Employment

February 28th, 2020 by True Publica

It seems every day brings news of the crisis of daily life for millions in the sixth wealthiest country on earth. Even if the government was unexpectedly gifted a trillion or two, it would take a decade or more to right the wrongs when it comes to the social policies that has led to such widespread injustice. And more than anything it is injustice that people despise the most.

The number of working-age adults trapped on zero-hours contacts has reached a new record high, with close to one million people aged 16 and over counting a “zero-hour contract” as their main job, official figures reveal.

Figures published by the Office National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday show a record 970,000 people in employment on a zero-hour contract as their main job between October to December 2019 – up from 896,000 in the previous quarter.

The proportion of working-age adults in zero-hours employment has increased significantly since 2012 when around 252,000 workers were on this type of contract as their main job – equivalent to just 0.8% of the workforce.

By the end of December 2019, this number had increased to 3% of the workforce and looks set to continue rising without action from government and businesses.

This news comes just as we find out that the new daily allowance for the “unelected and unaccountable” House of Lords is set to rise to £323, whereas the monthly allowance for a single person over 25 on Universal Credit is £317.82.

In addition, millions of the UK’s most vulnerable adults are at risk of being locked out from claiming vital welfare support, due to mind-bending complexities surrounding the Government’s new Universal Credit system, a leading charity has warned.

Research by the Salvation Army found that up to two million people suffering from mental health problems or learning difficulties could be left struggling to navigate the new benefits system, despite promises from Government ministers that Universal Credit will simplify the application process. Researchers found that 85% of clients experienced difficulties in making a claim, with around two-thirds of these (60%) citing a lack of computer access or problems in understanding the claims process.

The Salvation Army says there is overwhelming evidence that unless the Government provide more support immediately for people to apply, vulnerable people will struggle to access their benefits.

Millions could be left unable to buy food, pay their rent, and take care of their children, the charity warns.

In the meantime, the proportion of people living in poverty who are in a working family has hit a record high, according to a report that shows rising levels of employment have failed to translate into higher living standards.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation said that while paid employment reduces the risk of poverty, about 56% of people living in poverty in 2018 were in a household where at least one person had a job, compared with 39% 20 years ago.

The NHS crisis has got worse with waiting times in A&E hitting an all-time record in January with the Society for Acute Medicine saying urgent action was needed, warning the system was “imploding“. The Nuffield Trust said this was “one of the bleakest winters in the NHS’s history”.

From all this news comes the result – the latest report on health in England shows that life expectancy has ‘flatlined’ in the last 10 years with austerity taking ‘a significant toll on equity and health’, according to an expert report. Professor Sir Michael Marmot said worsening health inequalities between the most and least deprived parts of the country have resulted in a ‘lost decade’.

The equation is really quite simple and pretty much sums up where the country is right now. Prof Marmot said: ‘England is faltering. From the beginning of the 20th century, England experienced continuous improvements in life expectancy but from 2011 these improvements slowed dramatically, almost grinding to a halt.’ He added: ‘England has lost a decade. ‘Pretty much – with a few dips and bounces – life expectancy improved about one year every four years from the end of the 19th century until 2010, then it slowed down dramatically. ‘If health has stopped improving, that means society has stopped improving and if health inequalities continue and in fact increase, that means inequalities in society have been increasing.”

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The Center for Biological Diversity sued the Trump administration today for failing to decide whether 241 plants and animals across the country — from the Midwest’s golden-winged warbler to Venus flytraps in the Carolinas — should be protected under the Endangered Species Act.

The lawsuit, filed in district court in Washington, D.C., is one of the largest ever under the Act and seeks to undo years of illegal inaction by the Trump administration.

Among the species in today’s suit are spotted turtles in the Great Lakes and on the Eastern Seaboard, moose in the Midwest, a western bumblebee that has declined by 84%, and a tiny freshwater fish in Chesapeake Bay that flips stones with its nose to find food. (A full list is below. An interactive map here shows which species are living in each state.)

“As moose and golden-winged warblers and hundreds of other species fight the rising tide of the extinction crisis, Trump officials won’t lift a finger to help,” said Noah Greenwald, the Center’s endangered species director. “This administration’s ugly contempt for wildlife and the Endangered Species Act threatens our country’s entire web of life. Every day of delay brings these incredible, irreplaceable plants and animals one step closer to extinction.”

In 2016 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service developed a workplan to address a backlog of more than 500 species awaiting protection decisions, including those in today’s lawsuit, but the Trump administration has kept the agency from completing decisions for dozens of species every year.

Today’s suit seeks to ensure that all the remaining species awaiting protection in the workplan get decisions as soon as possible. Under the Endangered Species Act, decisions about species’ protection are supposed to take no more than two years, but most of the species in today’s lawsuit have been waiting 10 years or more.

So far the Trump administration has protected only 21 species under the Endangered Species Act — the lowest of any administration at this point in the presidential term. By comparison, during the Obama administration, 360 species were protected under the Endangered Species Act. Under Clinton 523 species were protected, while 232 species were protected under George H.W. Bush, 62 species under George W. Bush and 254 under Reagan.

“The extinction crisis gets worse by the day, but Trump officials are twiddling their thumbs as plants and animals fade away,” said Greenwald. “It’s a moral failure of epic proportions. And it’s hurting future generations in ways that can never be undone.”

Earlier this year the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, known as IPBES, warned governments around the world that 1 million species are now at risk of extinction because of human activity. IPBES scientists said that urgent actions are needed to avert mass extinction in the coming decades.

In January the Center released a plan for Saving Life on Earth. The plan calls for the United States to become a global leader in protecting wildlife by declaring the extinction crisis a national emergency, creating new protected areas, and prioritizing wildlife protection over other uses of public lands.

The 241 species occur across the lower 48 states and include birds, amphibians, insects, fish and mammals. All of the species face serious threats to their survival ranging from habitat destruction to climate change to disease.

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A Week in Tory Britain

February 28th, 2020 by Jack Peat

On 11th May this year it will be ten years since the Conservatives started an administration which has survived three leaders, a shaky coalition and a divorce from the country’s biggest trading power.

A decade may not seem a long time in the grand scheme of things, but few parties have ever managed to leave a mark as big as the Tories over that period – and this week proved to be a stark reminder of that.

Deaths of homeless people sleeping in bins

On Monday a new report found that – in the fifth biggest economy in the world – the number of deaths of homeless people sleeping in bins has soared.

Increasing levels of homelessness in the UK was blamed for the rising number of deaths by crushing and near-misses while containers are being emptied.

At least seven people are known to have been killed in the last five years, according to the Health and Safety executive.

From April to December 2019, Biffa employees also recorded 109 “near-misses” or encounters with people either sleeping in or near its bins.

Life expectancy stalls

With the dust barely settled on the distressing findings, another report was released showing life expectancy had stalled for the first time in more than 100 years and even reversed for some as austerity takes its toll on society.

Sir Michael Marmot’s landmark review shows the gap in health inequalities is growing even wider than it did a decade ago, in large part due to the impact of government cuts.

The public health expert had warned ten years ago that growing inequalities in society would lead to worse health, and his predictions bore out in the latest study.

It shows the government has not taken the opportunity to improve people’s lives and life chances over the last ten years, with average lifespans stalling and people living for more years in poor health.

Rough sleeping five times higher than official figure

And then came new BBC research which suggested rough sleeping is five times higher than the official figure being peddled by the government.

New official figures will be released on Thursday but the data for 2018 showed 4,677 people slept rough in England on the one night the snapshot survey was taken, down 2% on the year before but 165% up on 2010.

However council responses showed nearly 25,000 people were recorded sleeping rough at least once in England during the latest year on record.

Blue Wall

Perhaps the most upsetting trend is that most of these societal ills seem to be happening in places where the Conservatives took seats from Labour in the December election.

Sir Michael’s report certainly found those areas were the hardest hit, yet when flooding blighted many of the same areas the Prime Minister was nowhere to be seen.

Jeremy Corbyn was right to brand Johnson a “part time PM” during PMQs yesterday.

“You can’t give local authorities the clear message you support them and then turn your back on them”, one Conservative Councillor is reported to have said.

Too little too late, unfortunately, and we have five more years to come.

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Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE).He has contributed articles to The Sunday Telegraph, BBC News and writes for The Big Issue on a weekly basis.Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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On February 26th,  Turkey’s President, told his Islamist political party that Idlib, which is the most heavily jihadist of all of Syria’s provinces and the province where Syria had been sending jihadists who had been defeated but not killed by the Syrian army elsewhere in the Syrian war, is now permanently under Turkey’s protection, and belongs to Turkey — Turkish territory. Russia’s RT news headlined on the 26th, “‘We’re the hosts there’: Erdogan says Turkey won’t pull back from Syria’s sovereign territory, gives Assad ultimatum to retreat”, and reported that, 

The Turkish leader has ruled out withdrawal from Idlib, where his forces are backing militants fighting the Syrian Army. He also gave Damascus an ultimatum to retreat beyond Turkey’s observation posts placed on Syrian soil.

“We will not step back in Idlib. We are not the guests in this realm, we are the hosts,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a meeting of his AK party on Wednesday. Vowing to bring “the regime’s attacks” to an end, Erdogan said Ankara is giving Damascus time to pull forces back from Turkish observation posts.

The very next day, on the 27th, the Turkish English-language newspaper Yeni Safak bannered “Situation in Syria’s Idlib ‘in favor of Turkey’: Turkish president says Turkey has also reversed situation in Libya, which was previously in favor of Libyan warlord Haftar” and they reported that Erdogan saw signs that Turkey was introducing new international realities in both Syria and Libya.

Later on the 27th, RT headlined “33 Turkish soldiers confirmed killed in Idlib airstrike as Erdogan chairs emergency meeting on Syria” and reported that “Turkish officials attributed the strike to the Syrian military.” However, any Turkish retaliation against Syrian forces would not only be met by Russian defense of Syrian forces but would be clearly a Syrian response to Turkish aggression and therefore any U.S. involvement supporting Turkey in this matter would be America’s participating in Turkey’s blatantly illegal grab for Idlib. Even America’s allies in Europe and elsewhere might then turn away from the U.S., and away from Turkey.

This extraordinarily assertive position by Erdogan results from the sequence of events that will be described here: 

U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. allies made unequivocally clear in late August and early September of 2018 that if Syria and Russia would try to restore Syrian Government control over Syria’s Idlib Province, then the U.S. and its allies would greatly escalate their war against Syria’s Government. For example, on 3 September 2018, Trump tweeted, “President Bashar al-Assad of Syria must not recklessly attack Idlib Province. The Russians and Iranians would be making a grave humanitarian mistake to take part in this potential human tragedy. Hundreds of thousands of people could be killed.” South Front reported, the following day, that, 

Trump’s tweet comes as Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the start of his visit to Damascus said that “terrorists must be purged” from the province and Idlib in its entirety must be returned under government control.

“Syria’s territorial integrity should be safeguarded and all tribes and groups, as one society, should start the reconstruction process, and the refugees should return to their homes,” Mr Zarif said.

Zarif met with President Assad and the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem. They mostly discussed the expected September 7th summit, which will happen in Tehran. Russian, Turkish, Syrian and Iranian leaders are supposed to meet and discuss the situation in Idlib.

A statement from Assad’s office said that Iran and Syria “had similar views on the different issues” that are to be discussed.

On 10 September 2018, I wrote that “Unless Syria will simply hand its most heavily pro-jihadist province, Idlib, to adjoining Turkey, which claims to have 30,000 troops there and is planning to add 20,000 more,” there would be a war between NATO member Turkey, which has invaded there, versus Russia, which — at Syria’s request — has been assisting Syria’s Government to conquer all of Syria’s jihadists. Syria’s Army has gradually liberated and retaken most of Syria’s territory from jihadists, but had been using Idlib Province as a collection-area for the ones who were holding Syrian civilians as human shields. Syria was bussing into Idlib the tens of thousands of jihadists that surrendered. This was being done so as to minimize the numbers of civilians who would be killed when Syria’s army would retake an area, under Russian air-cover. This would allow the civilians there to escape to Syrian-Government-held territory, and the armed forces of Syria and Russia then to move in and slaughter the jihadists who remained there, so that Syria would retake that area from the U.S.-backed jihadists

Then, seven days later, I headlined “Putin and Erdogan Plan Syria-Idlib DMZ as I Recommended”, and reported that,

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan jointly announced on September 17th in Tehran, “We’ve agreed to create a demilitarized zone between the government troops and militants before October 15. The zone will be 15-20km wide,” which compares to the Korean DMZ’s 4-km width.

Though the understanding that Erdogan had reached with Iran’s President Rouhani and with Russia’s President Putin was that this would be only a temporary measure in order to get the U.S. and its allies to cease threatening World War III if Syria and Russia promptly let loose and slaughtered the ‘rebels’ in Idlib (Americas’s previous main fighters to defeat and replace Syria’s Government), Erdogan soon presented clear indications that he actually wanted to seize Syrian territory and to get as much of it as he could — that his goal in Syria included expanding Turkey into Syria. His temporary policing function, as agreed-to by Russia, to isolate and not allow to escape the defeated jihadists who had become trapped there, turned out to be far more than that: it turned out to be Erdogan’s protection of those jihadists.  

On September 25th of 2018, I bannered “Turkey Now Controls Syria’s Jihadists”, and presented the historical background behind this. Then, on 14 July 2019, I headlined “Turkey Will Get a Chunk of Syria: An Advantage of Being in NATO”, and explained that because of NATO’s backing of Turkey’s seizure of Syrian territory, Turkey was already committed to the construction of Syrian branches of Turkey’s Gaziantep University and of Turkey’s Harran University, as well as of building supportive infrastructure for those facilities — absorbing portions of northern Syria into Turkey. 

So, this has been a gradual process, and now Erdogan, backed by U.S.President Trump and by NATO, will be saving the lives of the tens of thousands of jihadists (plus their families) who had been defeated elsewhere in Syria, and who thus will avoid what the U.S. and its allies had warned would be a ‘humanitarian crisis’ of mass-slaughtering those defeated jihadists (which the U.S. and its allies still call ‘Syrian rebels’ — even though most of them aren’t even Syrian).

As I noted in the 14 July 2019 article:

At that time, just prior to the Tehran conference — and this was actually the reason why the conference was held — the U.S. and its allies, and the U.N., were demanding that an all-out invasion of Idlib, which had been planned by the Governments of Syria and of Russia, must not take place, for ‘humanitarian’ reasons. There was all that ‘humanitarian’ concern (led by the United States) for the world’s biggest concentration of Nusra and Nusra-led jihadists — and for Syria’s most jihadist-supporting civilian population. So much ‘kindness’, such ‘admirable’ ‘humanitarianism’. Furthermore the U.S. Government was threatening to greatly increase its forces against Syria if that invasion by Syria and by Russia into Idlib (which is, after all, part of Syria — so, what business is it, even of the U.N., at all?) were to be carried out. The Tehran conference was meeting in order to resolve that emergency situation (mainly America’s threats of a possible war against Russia), so as to forestall this attack.

Trump’s backing of Turkey’s aggression was taking the United States even deeper into his predecessor, Barack Obama’s, support of jihadists in order to overthrow Syria’s non-sectarian Government and install one that would be acceptable to the fundamentalist-Sunni Saud family who own Saudi Arabia.

And now Erdogan again is threatening Russia with WW III if Russia continues to defend Syria’s sovereignty over Idlib — Syria’s most-jihadist province.

On February 26th, Yeni Safak bannered “Turkey will never compromise on Sochi deal for Syria, says Erdoğan”; so, Erdogan is openly threatening WW III if Russia and Syria resist Turkey’s seizure of Idlib and protection of its many thousands of jihadists.

Although the U.S. has led this apparent victory for jihadists and for international aggression, Turkey’s Erdogan has been its spearhead. Russia and Iran had not agreed to this. Certainly, Syria’s leader, Bashar al-Assad, hadn’t agreed to anything like this outcome.

Turkey, in its 10 September 2018 agreement with Russia and with Iran, had committed itself to separating-out and killing the jihadists; but, instead, Turkey has been protecting them, and now will be absorbing them, and taking Idlib Province from adjoining Syria. As recently as 22 October 2019, Erdogan had promised Putin in Sochi that “The two sides reiterate their commitment to the preservation of the political unity and territorial integrity of Syria,” and that, “They emphasize their determination to combat terrorism in all forms and manifestations and to disrupt separatist agendas in the Syrian territory.” Yeni Safak’s February 26th article opened “Turkey will never compromise on the Sochi deal on embattled Idlib, Syria and it expects the deal to be implemented, said the country’s president on Wednesday.” Turkey “expects the deal to be implemented” while blatantly violating it.

Brett McGurk, a leading neoconservative in the Administrations of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, admitted, on 27 July 2017, that “Idlib Province is the largest Al Qaeda safe-haven since 9/11, tied directly to Ayman al-Zawahiri,” and that “to send in tens of thousands of tons of weapons and looking the other way as these foreign fighters come into Syria, may not have been the best approach,” but yet the U.S. regime continues that approach, and backs Turkey’s grab of Idlib and protection of those jihadists.

Previously, McGurk had been U.S. President Barack Obama’s special envoy for the anti-Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) coalition. He had supported jihadists led by al-Nusra (Syrian branch of Al Qaeda) and supported separatist Kurds in Syria, to overthrow Syria’s Government. Even the liberal (or Democratic Party, pro-Obama) neoconservative Washington Post  had not hidden the fact that “The U.S. team, headed by senior White House adviser Robert Malley and State Department envoy Brett McGurk” had informed the newspaper that “Russia was said to have rejected a U.S. proposal to leave Jabhat al-Nusra off-limits to bombing as part of a cease-fire” — the fact that Obama was actually protecting those jihadists (though not protecting ISIS or ‘ISIL’). Obama backed al-Qaeda there, and so does Trump. However, when Trump ran for the Presidency in 2016, he promised to reverse Obama’s obsession to overthrow Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad. That, and similar promises he made, were antithetical to the most-basic commitments of the U.S. Establishment. They became his implacable enemies.

Finally, on 10 November 2016, right after Trump’s election, that same newspaper, the WP, bannered “Obama directs Pentagon to target al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, one of the most formidable forces fighting Assad” and, without noting that Obama had supported that “al-Qaeda affiliate” until then, but instead falsely reporting that “the administration had largely ignored until now” it, said: “While Obama, White House national security adviser Susan E. Rice, Secretary of State John F. Kerry and special presidential envoy Brett McGurk agreed with [the super-neoconservative Obama Secretary of Defense Ashton] Carter on the need to keep the focus on the Islamic State, they favored shifting resources to try to prevent al-Nusra from becoming a bigger threat down the road.” That was extreme euphemism, coming from this extremely neoconservative liberal newspaper. Actually, Obama had built his overthrow-Assad operation mainly upon al-Nusra, to train and lead the tens of thousands of foreign jihadists who had been pouring into Syria. The Washington Post was one of the most lying, deceptive, newspapers reporting anywhere in the world about international relations, very heavily slanted neoconservative — in favor of expanding the U.S. mega-corporate empire. Whereas the separatist Kurds were America’s main proxy-army fighting in Syria’s northeast, al-Nusra led America’s proxy-armies everywhere else in Syria. That 10 November 2016 WP article also asserted “But aides say Obama grew frustrated that more wasn’t being done by the Pentagon and the intelligence community to kill al-Nusra leaders given the warnings he had received from top counter­terrorism officials about the gathering threat they posed.” That’s another lie, because Secretary of State John Kerry had actually fought inside the Administration against Obama’s policy on that, and the policy came from Obama himself — and NOT from his subordinates (such as Ashton Carter), as that lying newspaper alleged. The article referred to “the expanded push against al-Nusra” — but here is the reality: by no later than December 2012 Obama had settled upon al-Nusra to lead America’s overthrow-Assad campaign inside Syria. And the reason for that has very deep historical roots — all hidden from the American public. Instead of such realism, that propaganda-organ, in its article on 10 November 2016, wrote:

A bitterly divided Obama administration had tried over the summer to cut a deal with Moscow on a joint U.S.-Russian air campaign against al-Nusra, in exchange for a Russian commitment to ground Syrian government warplanes and to allow more humanitarian supplies into besieged areas. But the negotiations broke down in acrimony, with Moscow accusing the United States of failing to separate al-Nusra from more moderate rebel groups and Washington accusing the Russians of war crimes in Aleppo.

‘Humanitarian’. How stupid does the owner of the Washington Post think that the American public is in order for it still to believe that its Government really cares about being “humanitarian” around the world — especially in countries it’s trying to conquer, such as Iraq, Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Bolivia …? Really? He thinks it’s that stupid? Or, does he think his newspaper can help to make them so misinformed?

That rabidly anti-Russian newspaper continued there:

Russia had accused the United States of sheltering al-Nusra, a charge repeated Thursday in Moscow by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“The president doesn’t want this group to be what inherits the country if Assad ever does fall,” a senior U.S. official said. “This cannot be the viable Syrian opposition. It’s al-Qaeda.”

Officials said the administration’s hope is that more-moderate rebel factions will be able to gain ground as both the Islamic State and al-Nusra come under increased military pressure.

The article also featured a headline and link to their 9 November 2016 news-story, “Intelligence community is already feeling a sense of dread about Trump”. Even back then, the Democratic Party’s billionaires were pumping their agents’ allegations which would lead to Russiagate, the Mueller Report, and ultimately to Ukrainegate and Trump’s impeachment for being insufficiently supportive of President Obama’s 2014 coup and conquest of Ukraine, which Obama had started planning by no later than 2011. All of that was a warning to any current or future U.S. President, that to buck the collective will of America’s billionaires is to commit political suicide. It doesn’t make any difference what the President’s Party is — the dictate, from the billionaires, applies to any U.S. President. This ‘restored Cold War’ is nothing of the sort — on the U.S. side, the war secretly continued uninterrupted, even after the Soviet Union ended its communism, and its Warsaw-Pact mirror of America’s NATO military alliance.

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Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of  They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of  CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

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On February 28, federal prosecutors will announce whether they plan to retry four people who spent 37 days in the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, D.C., in the spring of 2019 to protect it from an illegal invasion by the U.S. government. The first trial of Adrienne Pine, Margaret Flowers, Kevin Zeese and David Paul, who were charged with “interfering with the protective functions” of the State Department, ended in a hung jury on February 14.

The Trump administration has been trying to engineer a coup d’état against the lawfully elected Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro and install the U.S. puppet Juan Guaidó. To that end, Washington continues to impose unlawful, punishing sanctions against Venezuela that have contributed to “the largest economic collapse in a country outside of war since at least the 1970s,” according to The New York Times. The sanctions have led to the deaths of at least 40,000 Venezuelans. On February 13, Venezuela filed a complaint against the United States in the International Criminal Court, claiming that the sanctions constitute crimes against humanity.

Pine, Flowers, Zeese and Paul, who are members of the Embassy Protection Collective, stayed in the embassy with permission of the Venezuelan government until U.S. law enforcement illegally evicted them on May 16, 2019. They were part of a group of 70 people. The rest had left after the U.S. government cut off water and electricity and refused to allow food into the embassy.

The embassy raid violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which forbids U.S. agents from entering the Venezuelan embassy without the consent of the Maduro government. The raid also violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR), which requires that the U.S. government “respect and protect the consular premises,” including the property therein. The VCCR provides that if diplomatic relations between Venezuela and the United States are broken, they could agree to entrust the custody of the embassy to a third country. Although such a protecting power agreement was being negotiated by the United States, Venezuela, Switzerland and Turkey, the U.S. government opted instead to storm the embassy and arrest the protectors.

At trial, Chief Judge Beryl Howell refused to admit significant relevant evidence. She limited what the jury heard to events that took place between May 13, when a trespass notice was served on the protectors in the embassy, through their May 16 arrest. Flowers spoke to two jurors after the trial — the foreperson who voted to convict and a lawyer who voted to acquit. “They were very curious about the facts of the case. They were totally confused,” Flowers told Truthout. “When I explained that Maduro is the president, not Guaidó, and that this is a failed U.S. coup and the U.S. violated international law by raiding the embassy, the foreperson said she would have voted to acquit us in two minutes if she had known the full story.” The judge excluded that evidence because she thought “it would confuse the jury,” Flowers said. “In the end, it was the absence of those facts that created confusion. The jury said that the case didn’t make sense to them.”

The judge advised the jury that Guaidó was president of Venezuela because of a law that says the U.S. president decides whom to recognize as the leader of a foreign government. For more than a year, Trump has been trying to carry out illegal regime change in Venezuela. In a moment of rare (but shameful) bipartisanship, Trump was given a standing ovation by Democratic as well as Republican members of Congress during his 2020 State of the Union address when he introduced Guaidó as the president of Venezuela.

Trump’s federal prosecutors will in all likelihood retry the four embassy protectors. “A second trial raises the stakes for the Trump administration,” Ajamu Baraka, co-chair of the Venezuelan Embassy Protectors Defense Committee, said in a statement. “The world is seeing the charade of a trial based on the false claim that Guaidó is president when he has not been president for one nanosecond and is no longer even the president of the National Assembly. A second prosecution will look vindictive and a second mistrial or an acquittal will be a blow to the failed coup which is already on its last legs.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. government continues to mount a campaign of aggression against Venezuela. Frustrated with its inability to execute regime change, the Trump administration is reportedly considering a naval blockade to overthrow the Maduro government. A military blockade would violate the United Nations Charter, which forbids the use or threat of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of another country. And the Charter of the Organization of American States prohibits a nation from intervening in the internal or external affairs of another country.

Whether the four protectors are ultimately retried, the Embassy Protection Collective has focused international attention on the Trump administration’s illegal attempts to change Venezuela’s government and punishment of its people with unlawful sanctions. The Embassy Protectors Defense Committee is calling for all charges to be dropped against the four protectors and is seeking support for their legal defense. Both the White House and members of Congress should be confronted over the illegal and immoral aggression that the U.S. is perpetrating against the people of Venezuela.

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Copyright Truthout. Reprinted with permission.

Marjorie Cohn is professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, former president of the National Lawyers Guild, deputy secretary general of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers and a member of the advisory board of Veterans for Peace. Her most recent book is Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral, and Geopolitical Issues. She is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

US Losing Its Naval Supremacy

February 28th, 2020 by Lucas Leiroz de Almeida

The science of geopolitics commonly makes use of the geographical dualism “land and sea”. The great world powers are thus classified as land-based powers or sea-base powers, according to their attitudes. A country that chooses to develop on land has a focus on regional growth, demarcated by the land borders of the continent, seeking to affirm a zone of influence in a given location. The powers that choose to develop by the sea tend to expand outside their continental zones, creating zones of influence on any continent they reach by sea.

Traditionally, Russia and China are classified as land powers and the United States of America as a sea power. The American nation is a historical heir to England, which for a long time reigned sovereign over the oceans. American geopolitics, therefore, is based on tactics of expansion by the sea, allowing this country to act in areas outside its continent, influencing the whole world and thus guaranteeing its global hegemonic power.

It turns out, however, that the advancement of the Chinese Navy may definitively end this American naval supremacy. This week the Chinese fleet in training returned to its base, ending a long and daring journey of more than 40 days across different regions of the Pacific Ocean, an area over which the United States has for long claimed to maintain supremacy. The mission was a complete and extremely advanced military exercise, with rescue training, cannon fire, missile launch, and ship refueling. In their fleet, the Chinese carried several equipment, such as the guided missile destroyer Hohhot, the Xianning missile frigate, the electronic surveillance vessel Tianshuxing and the refueling vessel Chaganhu.

With the exercise, China crossed the International Date Line, which delimits the West and East zones of the globe. “Crossing the International Date Line means that the Chinese Navy is active not only in the Western Pacific Ocean, but that it will gradually advance in the Central and Eastern Pacific”, said Beijing naval expert Li Jie. According to this expert, China has demonstrated that it has sufficient capacity to end American naval supremacy in the oceans in the coming years, being able to freely sail through any area, including the Atlantic Ocean.

At first, some may think that China is provoking the US with these acts. However, in reality, it is a response. For a long time, American naval supremacy created the false idea that these areas of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans were some kind of “American territory”. This is a myth to be debunked. The oceans have their own legal status, which places them as “international territories” – areas over which no state can claim sovereignty. In addition, Washington’s maritime policies are becoming increasingly aggressive in the last years.

Not long ago, the US launched two MQ-4C Triton reconnaissance drones to the Andersen Air Force base, in Guam. The purpose of the American military with these drones is to publicly spy on the military activities of China and North Korea, capturing surveillance information that is immediately passed on to the Pentagon. “The introduction of the MQ-4C Triton in the area of ​​Seventh Fleet operations increases the scope of maritime patrol and the reconnaissance capabilities of the US Navy in the western Pacific,” said U.S. Navy Commander Peter Garvin. These drones have a range of 13,000 kilometers and can fly for up to 24 hours, according to data from the Military Watch. Its relentless work in the peaceful zone will collect more intelligence information about China and North Korea than any other technology used so far for the same function.

Also this year, the United States sent a warship to the Spratly Islands, a disputed territory in southern China, in response to the installation of Chinese military bases in the region. The Americans call these maneuvers “freedom of navigation operations” and claim they are peaceful maritime movements. However, what would be the “peaceful interest” in sending highly equipped battleships to areas occupied by a regional power in its continental surroundings?

The distinction between a sea-based potency and a land-based potency can be clearly seen here. China claims sovereignty over a series of islands close to its territory, which make up its subcontinent. The USA, however, with its maritime geopolitics, tries to intervene in areas completely outside its continental territory and acts as a global police, monitoring the military operations of any country in the world.

At the end of last year, Beijing officially demanded that the United States cease its “freedom of navigation operations” on islands in the sea of South China, classifying such operations as provocative. Washington has arbitrarily ignored the Chinese requirement and is now dealing with a simple response from the Asian country, which, for the first time, carried out maritime operations of the same content.

What we are witnessing is the change in China’s attitude towards its geopolitics, from a terrestrial program to a program of greater attention to the seas. It is likely that in a short time Beijing will be disputing the sovereignty of the oceans with the USA and this will allow other countries to undertake projects of the same nature, creating a truly multipolar sea.

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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Lucas Leiroz is a research fellow in international law at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Punishing the Free Speech of Julian Assange

February 28th, 2020 by Judge Andrew P. Napolitano

“Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech.” — First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

In the oral argument of the famous U.S. Supreme Court cases known collectively as the Pentagon Papers Case, the late Justice William O. Douglas asked a government lawyer if the Department of Justice views the “no law” language in the First Amendment to mean literally no law. The setting was an appeal of the Nixon administration’s temporarily successful efforts to bar The New York Times and The Washington Post from publishing documents stolen from the Department of Defense by a civilian employee, Daniel Ellsberg.

The documents were a government-written history of the Vietnam War, which revealed that President Lyndon B. Johnson and his secretaries of defense and state and the military’s top brass materially misrepresented the status of the war to the American people. Stated differently, they regularly, consistently and systematically lied to the public and the news media.

Though LBJ was retired, Nixon did not want this unvarnished version of the war he was still fighting to make its way into the public arena. The Nixon DOJ persuaded a federal district court judge to enjoin the publication of the documents because they contained classified materials and they had been stolen.

In a landmark decision, the court ruled that all truthful matters material to the public interest that come into the hands of journalists — no matter how they get there — may lawfully be disseminated. That does not absolve the thief — though the case against Ellsberg was dismissed because the FBI committed crimes against him during his prosecution — but it does insulate the publisher absolutely against civil and criminal liability.

The Pentagon Papers Case is a profound explication of one of the great values underlying the freedom of speech; namely, the government cannot lawfully punish those who publish truths it hates and fears.

After his administration lost the case and the Times and the Post published the documents, Nixon attempted to distinguish his presidency and administration of the War from LBJ’s, but he did not challenge the truthfulness of the publications.

Regrettably, the Trump administration is pretending the Pentagon Papers Case does not exist. It is manifesting that pretense in its criminal pursuit of international gadfly and journalist Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks.

Sometime in 2010, Assange and his colleagues began receiving classified U.S. Department of Defense materials from an Army intelligence officer now known as Chelsea Manning.

Manning committed numerous crimes, for which she pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to 45 years in prison. Her sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama, whose Department of Justice publicly declined to prosecute Assange in deference to the once universal acceptance of the Pentagon Papers Case and the numerous court rulings that have followed it.

The Trump DOJ, however, sought and obtained two indictments of Assange, who is now charged with 17 counts of espionage and faces 175 years in prison. Assange is currently being held in a maximum-security prison outside of London. The U.S. has sought his extradition at a proceeding that began in a London courtroom this week.

When lawyers blatantly reject well-accepted law for some political gain, they violate their oaths to uphold the law. When government lawyers do this, they also violate their oaths to uphold the Constitution. For them, there is no escaping the Pentagon Papers Case. While the case turned on the concept of prior restraint of speech, it clearly reflects the views of the court that it matters not how the publisher obtained the secrets that he published.

WikiLeaks revealed — in partnership with major international publications, including the two involved in the Pentagon Papers Case — videos of American troops murdering civilians and celebrating the murders (a war crime) as well as documentary proof of American complicity in torture (also a war crime).

Just as in the Pentagon Papers revelations, neither the Obama nor the Trump administration has questioned the truthfulness of the WikiLeaks publication — even though they revealed murderous wrongdoing, duplicity at the highest levels of government and the names of American intelligence sources (which some mainstream publications declined to make known).

Assange fears that he cannot get a fair trial in the United States. The government says he can and will. When the government suddenly became interested in fair trials remains a mystery. Yet, arguments about fairness miss the point of this lawless prosecution. A journalist is a gatherer and disseminator of facts and opinions. The government’s argument that because he communicated with Manning and helped Manning get the data into WikiLeaks’ hands, Assange somehow crossed the line from protected behavior to criminal activity shows a pitiful antipathy to personal freedom.

Democracy dies in darkness. The press is the eyes and ears of an informed public. And those eyes and ears need a nose, so to speak. They need breathing room. It is the height of naivete to think that Ellsberg just dropped off the Pentagon Papers at the Times and the Post, without some coordination with those publications — coordination that the courts assume exist and implicitly protect.

Might all of this be part of the Trump administration’s efforts to chill the free speech of its press critics — to deny them breathing room? After all, it has referred to them as “sick,” “dishonest,” “crazed,” “unpatriotic,” “unhinged” and “totally corrupt purveyors of fake news.”

Yet the whole purpose of the First Amendment is to assure open, wide, robust debate about the government, free from government interference and threats. How can that debate take place in darkness and ignorance?

If “no law” doesn’t really mean no law, we are deluding ourselves, and freedom is not reality. It is merely a wished for fantasy.

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Andrew P. Napolitano [send him mail], a former judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, is the senior judicial analyst at Fox News Channel. Judge Napolitano has written nine books on the U.S. Constitution. The most recent is Suicide Pact: The Radical Expansion of Presidential Powers and the Lethal Threat to American Liberty. To find out more about Judge Napolitano and to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit creators.com.

While they raise the greatest alarm for the coronavirus, they hide the fact that seasonal flu, a much more deadly epidemic, has caused in Italy during the 6th week of 2020 – according to the Higher Institute of Health – an average of 217 deaths per day, also due to pulmonary and cardiovascular complications related to the flu. They hide the fact that -according to the World Health Organization- more than 700 people die in Italy in one year from HIV/Aids (an average of two a day), out of a world total of about 770,000.

Regarding the alarmist campaign on the coronavirus, Maria Rita Gismondo – director of clinical macrobiology, virology and bio-emergency diagnostics at the laboratory of the Sacco Hospital in Milan, where samples of possible contagions are analyzed – says:

“It’s madness. We’ve turned an infection that is little more serious than influenza into a lethal pandemic. Look at the numbers. It’s not a pandemic”.

But her scientific voice does not reach the general public, while every day, from the Rai service, which should be public, to the Mediaset channels, and not only, Italians are spreading fear among Italians about “the deadly virus that is spreading from China to the world”. A campaign in fact corresponding to what US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said in an interview with Fox Business: “I think that the coronavirus will contribute to the return of jobs from China to the USA. In China there was first SARS, then swine fever and now coronavirus. So, comments the New York Times, “China’s loss could be America’s gain. In other words, the virus could have a destructive impact on the Chinese economy and, in a chain reaction, on the economies of the rest of Asia, Europe and Russia, already affected by the fall in trade and tourism flows, to the benefit of the economically unscathed USA.

Global Research, the research centre on globalization headed by Professor Michel Chossudovsky, is publishing a series of articles by international experts on the origin of the virus. They argue that “it cannot be excluded that the virus was created in a laboratory”. This hypothesis cannot be regarded as “conspiracy” and exorcised as such. Why not? Because the United States, Russia, China and other major powers have laboratories where research is conducted on viruses that, when modified, can be used as biological warfare agents, including on targeted sectors of the population. This is an area surrounded by the greatest secrecy, often under the guise of civilian scientific research.

But some facts are emerging: the presence in Wuhan of a bio-laboratory where Chinese scientists, in collaboration with France, conduct research on lethal viruses, including some sent by the Canadian Microbiology Laboratory. In July 2015, the British government’s Pirbright Institute patented an “attenuated coronavirus” in the USA. In October 2019, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security conducted a coronavirus pandemic simulation in New York City, forecasting a scenario that, if it became a reality, would result in 65 million deaths [1]. But we are not simulating the pandemic of the fear virus, which is spreading with destructive socio-economic effects.

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This was originally published in Italian on Il Manifesto.

Manlio Dinucci is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization.

Featured image is from EWAO

Thursday, February 27, Woolwich Crown Court.  The first round of extradition hearings regarding Julian Assange’s case concluded a day early, to recommence on May 18th.  It ended on an insensible note very much in keeping with the woolly-headed reasoning of Judge Vanessa Baraitser, who is of the view that a WikiLeaks publisher in a cage does not put all heaven in a rage.  On Wednesday, Assange’s defence had requested whether he would be able to leave the confines of his glass cage and join his legal team. As Assange had explained in response to his nodding off during proceedings, “I cannot meaningfully communicate with my lawyers.”  There was little point in “asking” if he could follow proceedings without enabling his participation.

This was not a point that fell on reasonable ears.  The judge felt it came too close to a bail application, and was initially refused as posing a potential risk to the public.  Gibberish was duly thrown at counsel for both sides, with “health and safety”, “risk assessment” and “up to Group 4” featuring as meaningless terms on the obvious: that Assange could pose no threat whatsoever, as he would be in the continuous company of security guards.  As former UK diplomat Craig Murray observed, “She started to resemble something worse than a Dalek, a particularly stupid local government officer of a very low grade.”

According to the judge, to permit such a measure of access between Assange and his team effectively constituted a departure from court custody, a striking nonsense of Dickensian dimensions.  Not even the prosecution felt it unreasonable, suggesting that one need not be so “technical” in granting such applications.

Thursday’s proceedings reaffirmed Judge Baraitser’s stubborn position.  Her first gesture was to permit Assange a pair of headphones to better enable him to hear the proceedings, followed by a brief adjournment to see if his hearing had, in fact, improved.  Assange was unimpressed, removing them after 30 minutes.

Her stretched reasoning found Assange sufficiently accessible to his lawyers despite his glassed surrounds; he could still communicate with them via notes passed through the barrier.  “It is quite apparent over the past four days that you have had no difficulty communicating with your legal team.”  The judge was willing to permit Assange a later start in proceedings to enable a meeting with the legal team and adjourn should the defence wish to meet their client in a holding cell.

That so complex a case as extradition can be reduced to sporadic notes passed to legal counsel and staggered adjournments suggests the continued hobbling of the defence by the authorities. Its invidiousness lies in how seemingly oblivious the judicial mind is to the scope of the case, complexity reduced to a matter of meetings, small points of procedure and law.

The defence team submitted that the process of consultation suggested by the judge unduly prolonged proceedings, rendering them cumbersome and insensible.  The court might have to adjourn ever three minutes for a 20-minute break.  To constantly take Assange to and from his holding cell was would unnecessarily lengthen proceedings and complicate matters.  Judge Baraitser was dismissive of such argument, claiming that the defence was merely exaggerating.

The legal issues discussed on the fourth day centred on quibbling over the issue of espionage and its nexus with political activity.  Espionage, suggested James Lewis QC for the US-driven prosecution, need not be political.  Nor did it seem that Assange was intent on bringing down the US government.  “It can’t possibly be said that there is a political struggle in existence between the American government and opposing factions.”

Lewis, as has been  his approach from the start, preferred a more restrictive interpretation about what a “political” offence might be, notably in connection with extradition.  “Extradition is based on conduct, it is not anymore based on the names of offences.”  In a rather crude, end-of-history line of thought, Lewis argued that political offences were “dated” matters, hardly applicable to modern societies which no longer see dissidents upholding the values of liberal democracy. (It seems that the tree of liberty, according to the US prosecution, no longer needs urgent refreshment.)

Besides, argued Lewis, the court did “not need to resolve these issues, but they demonstrate that any bare assertion that Wikileaks was engaged in a struggle with the US government was in opposition to it or was seeking to bring about a policy change would need to be examined far more closely.”

That is exactly what the defence contended.  Assange’s core activities in publishing had been based on altering US policy, with Iraq and Afghanistan being key theatres.  “Why was he seeking to publish the rules of engagement?”, posed the defence.  “They were published to show that war crimes were being committed, to show they breached their own rules of engagement.”  Ditto the publication of the Guantanamo files, an act done to reveal the extent of torture being undertaken during the course of the “war on terror”.  All these, contended Edward Fitzgerald QC for the defence, did change government policy. “WikiLeaks didn’t just seek to induce change, it did induce change.”

The documentary record on Assange’s political activity in this regard is thick, much of it from the contentions of US officials themselves.  The US State Department preferred to see him, as former spokesman PJ Crowley did in 2010, a “political actor” with “a political agenda”, rather than being a journalist.

Incidentally, Crowley’s link with WikiLeaks has a curious end, with his resignation in 2011 following comments made about the treatment of Chelsea (then Bradley) Manning at the Quantico marine base in Virginia.  “What is being done to Bradley Manning,” he claimed at an MIT seminar that March, “is ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid on the part of the department of defence.”  Not an entirely bad egg, then.

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Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge.  He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research and Asia-Pacific Research. Email: [email protected]

Belgium caved into Israeli pressure to disinvite me from the Security Council. In doing so, they helped undermine human rights work for Palestinian children.

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Last week, the government of Belgium caved in to intense Israeli government pressure and effectively disinvited me from briefing the UN Security Council in New York today.

Ironically, the decision to exclude my voice as a representative of Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP), a Palestinian human rights organization, exemplifies and reinforces the message I had prepared to deliver before the Council.

I was invited by Belgium’s Permanent Mission to the UN in late January to brief members of the Security Council on violations of children’s rights in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

Belgium, which holds the rotating Security Council presidency for this month, is a leader of the UN’s global agenda on children and armed conflict, and as such wanted to highlight these specific themes during the Council’s monthly meeting on the Middle East and Palestine Question. The Belgians wrote in their invitation that this focused discussion would help “to enrich the debate” on the Palestinian issue.

I gladly accepted. The fact that Belgium was willing to invite a local Palestinian human rights organization like DCIP to brief the Council was commendable, as civil society space at the UN has been shrinking for years. While they urged me to be “balanced” in my statement (which I had shared with them for feedback), they understood that Palestinian children overwhelmingly and disproportionately bear the brunt of the kinds of violations they sought to highlight.

Then the troubles began.

The UN Security Council, December 18, 2015 (United Nations Photo)

The UN Security Council, December 18, 2015 (United Nations Photo)

As soon as Israeli diplomats were informed of my attendance, Emmanuel Nahshon, the Israeli Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg, reportedly asked the Belgian government in early February to cancel the invitation. The Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry summoned Belgium’s Deputy Ambassador to Israel, Pascal Buffin, on two separate occasions to formally object to the invitation. These requests were initially rejected.

Israeli officials and right-wing organizations, like NGO Monitor, and their affiliates subsequently mounted a well-orchestrated political and media disinformation campaign to press the Belgians to capitulate.

Then, four days ago, I received an early morning phone call informing me that Brussels had decided to change the Security Council event from an open meeting to a closed meeting — meaning that I was no longer a participant.

Targeted defamation campaigns

Belgium’s acquiescence to Israel’s demands is a frustrating and devastating blow. Not only is it a shameful act of censorship, but it also boosts longstanding efforts to delegitimize human rights work and basic tenets of international law when it comes to Palestinians.

Over the past two weeks, I have falsely been called everything from an “extreme anti-Israel activist” and “minor American propogandist,” to a “terror supporter” and “diplomatic terrorist.”

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, even wrote a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres calling DCIP “an arm of the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) in order to enact diplomatic terror against Israel,” adding, “A place that promotes peace and security in the world has no room for people like Parker.”

DCIP and other civil society organizations in Palestine and Israel have been increasingly targeted and attacked by Israeli officials, government ministries, and a rising network of right-wing and nationalist social forces in Israel, the U.S., the U.K., and across Europe. A key strategy of these forces is to launch targeted and organized defamation campaigns, based on a range of allegations that try to link us to national counter-terrorism legislation in order to undercut our work.

For DCIP specifically, officials like Ambassador Danny Danon, the Israeli Strategic Affairs Ministry, NGO Monitor, and UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) are alleging that we support and further terrorist acts. They amorphously claim that DCIP board and staff members are “affiliated,” “linked,” or have “alleged ties” to the PFLP.

Yet, no evidence is presented on how DCIP’s work — our field research, documentation, legal services, and advocacy — is in any way involved in supporting terrorist acts. Moreover, no trials or indictments have been initiated by Israeli authorities against DCIP board or staff members on such accusations during their time with the organization.

Rather than demand Israeli authorities stop unlawfully killing Palestinian child protesters in Gaza with live ammunition, or end ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian child detainees, or hold perpetrators accountable, these actors are disseminating misinformation aimed at silencing, defunding, and eliminating legitimate human rights work and criticism of illegal Israeli policies toward Palestinians. And unfortunately — wittingly or unwittingly — governments like Belgium are helping them.

Exempted from UN blacklist

So, if Belgium had not crumbled to the pressure, what did the Israeli government not want me to tell the UN Security Council today?

First, using largely UN-verified information, I would have explained how Palestinian children are disproportionately affected by armed conflict at the hands of Israeli forces. Second, I would have highlighted how the persistent failure of the UN Secretary-General to hold Israel accountable has fostered impunity for such grave violations against children.

My planned statement offered a solution. Each year the UN Secretary-General submits a report to the Security Council detailing the situation of children’s rights in specific situations of armed conflict, including Israel and the State of Palestine.

Security Council Resolution 1612, adopted in 2005, formally established a UN-led, evidence-based monitoring and reporting mechanism on grave violations against children during armed conflict. The six violations include killing and maiming; child recruitment; sexual violence; attacks on schools or hospitals; denial of humanitarian access for children; and abduction.

Where armed forces or groups are found to commit such violations against children, the Secretary-General is obligated to list them in the annex of his annual report. This list has become known as the UN’s child rights “blacklist” or “list of shame.”

The mechanism has proven to be a strong tool to bolster protections for children during armed conflict over the past decade. But despite persistent reports by UN agencies like UNICEF and local groups like DCIP, both Guterres and his predecessor Ban Ki-moon refused to include Israeli armed forces on the blacklist.

Secretary-General António Guterres during press conference on the theme on violence against women in conflict. 25 February 2019. (UN Photo/Jean Marc Ferré)

This was despite the fact that Ban Ki-moon, for example, noted in his 2014 report that there had been a “dramatic increase in the number of children killed and injured, especially in Gaza,” with at least 557 Palestinian children and four Israeli children killed, and 4,249 Palestinian children and 22 Israeli children wounded.

While he expressed alarm at the “unprecedented and unacceptable scale” of destruction and harm caused by Israel’s military operation that year, he still omitted Israel’s forces from the annex. Reportedly, he caved in to significant pressure from the U.S. and Israel.

Defending international law

Ban Ki-moon’s decision, and Guterres’ continuation of that decision, has effectively transformed a strong accountability mechanism into a politicized process where powerful governments can exempt themselves from scrutiny and the rules of international law.

As I wrote in my planned statement to the Security Council, Israel’s absence from the blacklist essentially gives it “tacit approval to continue committing grave breaches of international law with impunity. We are still, today, dealing with the impact of this decision.”

Today, I had hoped to reaffirm a message that Hagai El-Ad, Executive Director of the human rights organization B’Tselem, had brought to the Council in 2018: a rules-based international order will not defend itself.

If the UN’s children and armed conflict agenda is to remain relevant and credible, it is imperative that the listing process does not give an exception to Israel for its grave violations. Year after year, Palestinian children must deal with the compounded failures of these policymakers, and without accountability, these violations will continue bleeding from one year to the next.

Given the attacks and campaigns against Palestinian human rights defenders and civil society, Belgium’s actions are entirely irresponsible. When a supposed champion of these values lifts you up, knowing full well that it may place a target on you, it is disheartening to seem them give in to such pressure. This lack of political will all but ensures systemic impunity will remain the norm for Palestinian children.

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Brad Parker is a Senior Adviser for Policy and Advocacy at Defense for Children International – Palestine. Follow him @baparkr.

Despite the presence of multiple military actors in West Africa’s Sahel region, a steady growth in jihadi activity seems to thrive in the presence of foreign military operations. With their focus on fighting cross-border terrorism and reconstructing ‘failed states’, while failing to adequately address local grievances, these military operations risk producing the danger they aim to abate.

On January 10, 2013, as jihadist factions advanced south and threatened to attack Mali’s capital, Bamako, France launched its ‘relatively small-scale expeditionary operation’ Serval, at the request of Mali’s interim President, Diocounda Traoré . At the peak of Serval’s initial combat operations, close to 4,000 French troops were present in Mali.  While the French government declared operation Serval a success, jihadist groups had not in fact been defeated. Thus, to replace Serval, in July 2014 France expanded its presence throughout the region with the deployment of operation Barkhane. Consisting of 4,500 French soldiers with operational headquarters in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, Barkhane is now operating in the former French colonies of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. As jihadist violence is increasing and spreading across the region, with the deployment of Barkhane any immediate exit-strategy for France has evaporated. Thus, to sustain its anticipated long-term regional presence, France has turned to a strategy of alliance-making with regional states as well as other Western security actors. Furthermore, tasks related to addressing the complex set of internal and regional conflict drivers and so-called root causes of instability have been outsourced to other actors in the field.

The framing of the Sahel as a new frontier in the global ‘War on Terror’ predates the deployment of Opération Serval. In fact, both France and the US have been involved in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel for decades. After  September 11, 2001, the US introduced new security measures to monitor ‘Al Qaeda in Africa’, which, in addition to surveillance programmes, included security cooperation instruments such as the Trans-Sahara Counter Terrorism Partnership, initiated in 2005 to train and equip regional security forces, as well as give intelligence and logistical support to US’ allies, such as France.  After 2017, US deployment in the Sahel – and Niger in particular – has expanded. According to the US Department of Defense, in 2018 800 US troops were operating in Niger as part of the French-led counterterrorism efforts. In October 2017, the Tongo Tongo ambush, in which four US soldiers were killed, created heated public debates about American ‘secret wars’ in Africa, while the US was granted authority to arm its drones in Niger. Though in late 2018 Pentagon announced that it would step down its engagement in the Sahel, there are still no signs on the ground of American troop withdrawal.

With the deployment of Serval, a broad range of international intervention actors have stepped up their security engagements according to the perception that transnational threats of terrorism, irregular migrations and organized crime, deriving from ungoverned weak Sahelian states, could directly affect Europe’s security. However, in a context of scrutinized budgets, a history of failed interventions in the global South and popular sensitivity to direct military engagements, there are a number of constraints that shape how Western actors can and will deploy. As such, similar to how the US deployed militarily in Afghanistan and Iraq, security and development interventions in the Sahel are increasingly characterized by having limited boots on the ground, using drones and transferring risks to proxy forces while increasing intelligence, financial and political support to regional states, border reinforcement and outsourced aid.

The launch of Serval also accelerated the deployment of the AU-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) consisting of 6,200 African troops. Until then, both the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and African Union (AU)-led forces had been at a halt due to lack of capabilities and insufficient support. The precarious security situation in Mali called for a counterterror intervention that the UN had, so far, been reluctant to undertake. Regardless of initial hesitation, MINUSMA (United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali) deployed to replace AFISMA in April 2013 alongside a French counterterrorist force authorized to intervene at the request of the Secretary General.

The establishment of MINUSMA in April 2013 also marked the return of Europe to UN peacekeeping. Nevertheless, African countries still provide more than half of the mission’s troops. In January 2019, around 7,000 MINUSMA troops were from Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Senegal, Togo, and Guinea. Most of these countries are struggling with deep poverty, state fragility and increasing threats from jihadist groups. The return of European soldiers with highly specialized capabilities and combat experience from Iraq and Afghanistan contributed to a militarization of MINUSMA. However, partly due to caveats regarding where and how European soldiers deploy in the mission, the highly specialized Western military capabilities have not adequately benefitted the African soldiers. Meanwhile, countries like Niger, Guinea and Chad do not have the same restrictions as the European soldiers as to where they can operate and the conditions for their deployment. Consequently they are often posted in the most exposed areas of the mission to carry out the most dangerous tasks without adequate training, equipment and support to meet the dangers they encounter. This observation is reflected in the fact that, in total, African soldiers constitute more than 80% of the 202 UN soldiers who have lost their lives in Mali. MINUSMA’s modest results in peace and conflict resolution have undermined its legitimacy, and neighbouring countries have lost trust in the mission’s ability to impact positively on regional stability.

In response to the precarious security situation in Central Mali, where inter and intra-communal conflicts are fuelling due to the dynamics of terrorism and counter-terrorism, UN renewed the mandate of MINUSMA from June 29, 2019, giving priority to “protect civilians, reduce intercommunal violence and re-establish State authority, State presence and basic social services in Central Mali”.  Furthermore, MINUSMA is under pressure to extend its support to the regional G5 Sahel Joint Force (JF-G5S) beyond Mali.

Other actors in the field struggle to fill the gap that both the UN and French counterterror operations have left behind.

Before the 2012 security crisis, the EU’s engagement in the Sahel was mainly focused on development cooperation. In 2011, the launch of a new ‘Sahel Strategy’ accentuated the fact that the EU had been advocating for a ‘Comprehensive Security and Development Approach’ in the region since 2008. Thus, under the auspices of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), the EU deployed its training mission to Mali (EUTM) in 2013 to support the rebuilding of the Malian forces and security sector reform.

The EUTM’s third (2016-2018) and fourth (2018-2020) mandate have included supporting the regional joint force as part of the European regionalized approach in the Sahel. Since the EU only has status of forces agreement (SOFA) with Mali, there are limitations to the operationalization of EUTM’s regional support. Furthermore, its civilian missions, EUCAP Sahel Niger (2012) and EUCAP Sahel Mali (2014), were deployed to sustain internal security forces including the police, the gendarmerie, the national guard, to strengthen their capacity to fight terrorism and organised crime. The mission in Niger has also assisted central and local authorities, as well as security forces in developing measures to better control irregular migration.

A priority, which since the so-called ‘migration crisis’ in 2015 has been a major driver for European security and defence engagements in the Sahel. Despite the strategic importance of the EU showing its ability to provide security in its own backyard, these initiatives have been widely criticised. Mainly for being insufficient, unaligned with local realities and caught up in a frictional relationship with the state, and consequently failing to deliver tangible results for peace and justice.

In addition to the CSDP mission, over the past few years, individual member states have also stepped up their presence in the Sahel to strengthen their partnerships and showing ability to curb migration. Since 2014, Germany has demonstrated increasing political and military engagement in the Sahel through the support to multilateral initiatives, such as MINUSMA (1100 troops) and EUTM (350 troops), the latter which came under German leadership in 2018.

Moreover, German air bases in Niger also provides logistical support to Operation Barkhane. Managing and shaping migration is a core objective of Western actors’ engagement in the region. While the deployment of Italian troops in Niger has been presented as an instrument to support the G5 Sahel initiative, observers find it to be more of a continuation of Italy’s anti-migration policy as the Sahel, and northern Niger in particular, continue to be considered as an important transit hub for mixed-migration flows. Italy has positioned itself as a relevant EU security actor, in order to gain influence on the strengthened EU security and defence agenda.

Since the ‘bold and dramatic’ deployment of operation Serval, the Sahel has turned into an arena for international security actors with different mandates, rules of engagement and conflicting objectives of intervention (fighting terrorism, stemming migration, stabilization, etc.). In their responses to the expanding security threats in the Sahel, international and regional actors often emphasize synergy and cooperation between multidimensional and comprehensive approaches and counterterror operations. However, so far, the focus on rebuilding states and countering cross-border terrorism tends to overlook the complex set of internal and external conflict dynamics. As such, the presence of foreign military operations seems to strengthen the jihadists’ narratives of a neo-colonial occupation by Western powers that they use to win local support. If Western security actors fail to address local grievances and build long-term relationships with local populations, their engagements in the Sahel have few chances of succeeding.

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Switzerland is reeling from the shock caused by revelations last week that Crypto AG, the world’s leading manufacturer or cryptologic equipment during the Cold War, whose clients included over 120 governments around the world, was a front company owned by the United States Central Intelligence Agency.

The revelation, published last Tuesday by The Washington Post and the German public broadcaster ZDF, confirmed rumors that had been circulating since the early 1980s, that Crypto AG had made a secret deal with the US government. It was believed that the Swiss-based company had allowed the US National Security Agency to read the classified messages of dozens of nations that purchased Crypto AG’s encoding equipment. These rumors were further-substantiated in 2015, when a BBC investigation unearthed evidence of a “gentleman’s agreement”, dating to 1955, between a leading NSA official and Boris Hagelin, the Norwegian-born founder and owner of Crypto AG.

But the reality of this alleged secret pact appears to have been even more controversial. According to last week’s revelations, the CIA and West Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) secretly purchased the Swiss company and paid off most of its senior executives in order to buy their silence. The secret deal allegedly allowed the US and West Germany to spy on the classified government communications of several of their adversaries —and even allies, including Italy, Spain and Greece, as well as Austria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

What is more, the secret CIA/BND partnership with Crypto AG was known to senior British and Israeli officials, and information derived from it was routinely shared with them. Government officials in Switzerland and even Sweden were aware that Crypto AG had been compromised, but remained silent.

American and German authorities have not commented on the revelations. But the story has monopolized Swiss media headlines for several days. Some news outlets have opined that the traditional Swiss concept of political neutrality has been “shattered”. Meanwhile, a Swiss federal judge has opened an investigation into the revelations, as the Swiss parliament is preparing to launch an official inquiry. Switzerland’s Prime Minister, Simonetta Sommaruga, said on Sunday that the government would discuss the issue “when we have the facts”.

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In the dark early morning on February 6, 2020, the RCMP violently raided Wet’suwet’en territory in Northern British Columbia, Canada.

“They’re invading our people again, starting in the wee hours of the morning, arresting people who have been providing food and medical supplies to our camps, who are camped out along the side of the road doing amazing and righteous work. And right now, they’re being arrested, and they’re being removed,” –Sleydo’ (Molly Wickham), spokesperson for the Gidimt’en land defenders camp, reported through a video on Facebook.

The people arrested that morning are supporters of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs who are opposed to the construction of the Coastal GasLink (CGL) natural gas pipeline on their territory.

Over the next five days, the RCMP continued to send heavily armed officers, supported by RCMP tactical teams dropped from helicopters, to arrest and forcibly remove peaceful, unarmed land-defenders. This was an armed invasion of unceded, sovereign Wet’suwet’en territory by the Canadian state.

The brutal invasion was an escalation of the ongoing RCMP occupation of Wet’suwet’en territory that intensified at the beginning of January 2020.  At that time, the RCMP increased their presence on the territory to attempt to enforce an injunction order against peaceful land defenders who had set up camps along the Morice Forest Service Road. These camps were organized by Wet’suwet’en people and their allies to prevent CGL from access to Wet’suwet’en territory without the permission of the hereditary chiefs, who, under Wet’suwet’en law, have the right to control access to their lands.

With this occupation came continuous harassment and aggression by the RCMP. This includes the imposition of an arbitrary and ever-expanding exclusion zone which the RCMP uses to control the entry of supplies, media, lawyers, doctors, and Wet’suwet’en people into their own territory and the support camps. This RCMP blockade, as well as the brutal raids beginning in February all go far beyond the boundaries of the injunction.

The shamefulness of this attack on the land defenders is further intensified because the CGL pipeline project does not have all the permits that they need to proceed with the project. They are missing one permit from BC’s Environmental Assessment Office. The question is if the project is still delayed, then why the violent urgency?

However, in the face of this violence by the RCMP, Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and their supporters have continued to oppose the CGL pipeline project and defend their rights and sovereignty – simply put, their right to decide if, how and when the CGL pipeline project can proceed.

Who Defines “Rule of Law”?

The Premier of British Columbia, John Horgan, has justified this continuing RCMP occupation and brutality by claiming the supposed necessity to uphold the “rule of law.” Of course, the “rule of law” that Horgan is referring to is the enforcement of the injunction and the construction of the CGL pipeline without the consent of the Wet’suwet’en heredity chiefs. However, this is not the only law that must be considered in any honest discussion about resource extraction and development projects in Canada.

Wet’suwet’en territory, as with over 95% of land in British Colombia, was never surrendered by Indigenous people to the government of Canada. Therefore, Indigenous nations have rights and title to their traditional territories, as has been proven in the Supreme Court of Canada case of Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa.

In their “Open Letter to Prime Minister Trudeau and Premier Horgan Re: Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs’ Opposition to Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project,” 40 lawyers and academics from across Canada explained about this landmark case, which happened in 1997:

“The Hereditary Chiefs, not the band councils, were the plaintiffs in the landmark Delgamuukw Gisday’wa case before the Supreme Court. The Court confirmed that the Wet’suwet’en never surrendered title to their ancestral lands, and accepted extensive evidence outlining their hereditary governance system. The fact that band councils have signed benefit agreements with Coastal GasLink cannot justify the erasure of Indigenous law or negate the Crown’s obligation to meet with the Hereditary Chiefs.”

If the government of Canada’s “rule of law” therefore recognizes the territory of Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, certainly it would be logical for there also to be the understanding that Wet’suwet’en laws are to be followed on Wet’suwet’en territory.  Therefore, Anuc’nu’at’en (Wet’suwet’en law) is the law that applies on Wet’suwet’en territory. It is clear that John Horgan does not believe in this law, which existed long before the colonization of Canada.

Another “rule of law” that Horgan and the government of Canada are willfully ignoring is Indigenous rights, which are fundamental human rights. The United Nations has created a framework for these laws with the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP). UNDRIP calls for “free, prior and informed consent” of Indigenous nations regarding development projects on their territories. It also speaks against the forceable removal of Indigenous people from their land. The federal government of Canada claims to be currently working on UNDRIP legislation, while legislation to implement UNDRIP in B.C. passed in 2019.

Fundamental human rights must form the basis of any just law, and it is clear the laws that the federal and provincial governments attempting to impose are trampling all over Indigenous rights. This should not come as too much of a surprise as this is the same “rule of law” that colonial settlers have imposed on Indigenous people for 500 years and especially after the formation of Canada in 1867. This is the same so-called rule of law that facilitated and facilitating stealing Indigenous lands, and their children from their families, installed torture and brainwashing camps called residential schools, and attempting to erase language and culture, as well as exterminating millions of Indigenous people in Canada. This is the “rule of law” that is useless when it comes to the over 100 Indigenous reserves in Canada that don’t have access to clean drinking water, sanitation or basic health care and housing.

As recently uncovered by the Narwhal, this is also the same “rule of law” that tried undermine the Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa decision almost immediately after it was released over 20 years ago. Provincial negotiators for benefit agreements between development projects and Indigenous nations suggested “using federal funds intended for the healing of residential school survivors to advance treaty negotiations,” in desperation to “sweeten the deal” so that Indigenous people wouldn’t be tempted to invoke the Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa decision in defense of their rights.

Indigenous Rights Are Human Rights

According to the Yellowhead Institute, LNG Canada, of which the CGL pipeline is one component, received $5.35 billion in subsidies from the provincial government and an estimated $1 billion from the federal government.

As Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief Dsta’hyl explained in a press release on January 15, 2020 – “The problem we are faced with is that the Horgan government has invested billions of dollars of taxpayer’s money to subsidize the CGL project. This investment is being used to undermine Wet’suwet’en authority and empower CGL to proceed using the full force of the RCMP and judicial system.”

The struggle of the Wet’suwet’en has once again laid bare the empty claims of “truth and reconciliation,” spoken by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Although the federal government attempted to shuffle the responsibility for the CGL pipeline off to the provincial government, Trudeau can call the RCMP off Wet’suwet’en land and put an end to the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline.

What this comes down to is that once again, the government of Canada is putting the interest of capitalist profits ahead of fundamental Indigenous rights. Chief Dsta’hyl has rightfully placed the responsibility for the current violence, and any economic impacts from ongoing solidarity actions, squarely where it belongs, on the shoulders of the provincial and the federal government of Canada. Trudeau and Horgan alike continue to promote, subsidize and approve mass resource extraction projects with no regard for Indigenous rights and Mother Earth.

Coast to Coast Action is Growing!

In response to the attack on Wet’suwet’en land defenders, there have been hundreds of actions organized calling for RCMP out of Wet’suwet’en and in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs fight for their sovereignty. This struggle is much bigger, and more fundamental to the colonial foundations of the state of Canada then a struggle against a dirty, climate killing pipeline alone.

Across Canada, there have been rallies and marches, street and intersection protests and blockades, rail blockades, occupations in government offices, and fundraisers. Most of these actions have been Indigenous-led solidarity actions, including a strong rail blockade by the Mohawk nation at Tyendinaga.

However, these actions for Wet’suwet’en are as powerful, spontaneous, independent, and continuous as they are because they are not only about Wet’suwet’en rights or the CGL fracked-gas pipeline. This is about 500 years of colonialism, colonial settlement, genocide, and 150 years of repression since 1867 by the settler state of Canada.

As Sleydo’ (Molly Wickham) said in an interview on the Los Angeles-based radio show Sojourner Truth with Margaret Prescod, on January 16, 2020, “We see this fight as bigger than just us as one nation within so-called Canada. This is really a struggle for Indigenous sovereignty and Indigenous rights globally.”

Keep Building the Movement for Indigenous Rights & Climate Justice

In the face of the oppression and racism Indigenous people confront every day, the struggle of the Wet’suwet’en for sovereignty and their rights has reached a critical point, one that threatens “business as usual” in Canada. The climate justice movement must recognize this and join in the struggle for   Indigenous rights.  Poor, working and oppressed people must unite to demand that the RCMP end their occupation of Wet’suwet’en territory immediately and stand with the Wet’suwet’en nation in its fight to assert its rights against the government of Canada, TC Energy and the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline.

Whether it is the struggle in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en, or the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion (TMX), which is planned to bring toxic tar sands oil from Alberta to the coast of B.C., what the government of Canada is most afraid of is our unity as poor, working and oppressed people.

Mass media, the RCMP and government officials initiated their campaign of lies and manipulations about Wet’suwet’en and the actions to defend Indigenous rights as soon as this struggle began. What they are most afraid of is that Indigenous and non-Indigenous workers, students, and immigrants, will unite in defense of Indigenous rights. The capitalist ruling class in Canada is fully aware that our unity for Indigenous rights is a further expansion of rights for all oppressed people in Canada. This unity has the potential of developing the mass of working class and oppressed people into people who think socially and act politically for change. And this will be a fundamental change, nothing short of dismantling capitalism.

The government of Canada has spent untold millions of tax-payer dollars occupying and invading Wet’suwet’en to try to teach Indigenous people in Canada a lesson about that what will happen if they assert their fundamental human rights. This violence and intimidation are not only used to target Wet’suwet’en land defenders and their allies, but also to try to convince non-Indigenous people in Canada that Indigenous people are against the rest of Canada – that they are against our jobs, against our comfortable life, and they are violent and dangerous and must be suppressed with a great force. The capitalist ruling class in Canada is reinforcing the law of the jungle, which exists only for animals; that means comfort for one must mean inconvenience and an insubordinate life for others. We must remind all these capitalist thinkers and politicians that human rights are based on equality in fundamental rights, law, and life.

To build a movement for Indigenous rights, we need sustained campaigns and mass actions based on the demand for self-determination for all Indigenous nations and Indigenous rights in Canada. All this means constant and consistent coordination and mobilization between Indigenous people and climate justice organizations and activists. Together we are stronger, and we will win.

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Originally published: Volume 14, Issue 2 of Fire This Time newspaper (www.firethistime.net)

Alison Bodine is a social justice activist, author and researcher in Vancouver, Canada. She is central organizer with the grassroots climate justice coalition Climate Convergence in Vancouver, Canada. Alison is also on the Editorial Board of the Fire This Time newspaper. 

The lies are unravelling, aren’t they? We’ve had so many from this government it’s time someone in the UK got a Johnson-lie-tracker online. Unfortunately, Peter Oborne’s effort, which was excellent to start with, has fallen behind having not been updated since the 9th December. Of course, the biggest lie of all is that Johnson will get Brexit done. And here is just one reason.

Boris Johnson’s Brexit team has been “ordered” to come up with plans to “get around” the Northern Ireland protocol in the Brexit withdrawal agreement, the Sunday Times newspaper has reported.

Officials in Taskforce Europe, which is run by David Frost, the prime minister’s European Union negotiator, are seeking to evade Irish Sea checks on goods passing from Britain to Northern Ireland.

The officials believe that Suella Braverman, the new attorney-general, may need to give fresh legal advice to justify the move. Sources told the Sunday Times that Braverman was appointed because her predecessor Geoffrey Cox was not willing to take such action.

Johnson’s cabinet will meet on today to sign off on the proposals, which will then be presented in parliament and published online on Thursday, the report added.

France reiterated once again that it was imperative that negotiations over a future trade relationship between Britain and the EU included customs checks in the Irish Sea. That was the deal Johnson signed up to and sold to everyone.

Johnson struck a divorce deal with the EU last October that leaves the United Kingdom’s province of Northern Ireland inside the UK customs area but all EU procedures will apply to goods arriving there.

It should be noted that the Protocol is an integral part of the Withdrawal Agreement and, as such, has the status of an international treaty. Conformity, under international law, is embodied in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (Article 26), which states: “every treaty in force is binding upon the parties to it and must be performed by them in good faith”. This is the doctrine of pacta sunt servanda, translated as “agreements must be kept”. If the agreement is not kept – then the EU will rightly lose all faith that the UK is capable of sticking to any other agreement it may put its signature to in future.

It’ll be interesting to see what Braverman comes up with, what the Johnson team agree to, how the EU will react and how the newspapers will let everyone know just how awful those EU negotiators are for keeping to their side of the bargain!

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Pentagon Papers Case Vindicates Julian Assange

February 28th, 2020 by Stephen Lendman

On June 30, 1971, the US Supreme Court ruled that the NYT and Washington Post were legally permitted to publish what’s known as the Pentagon Papers — material leaked by Daniel Ellsberg.

Six justices concurred, a per curiam statement saying the following:

“Any system of prior restraints of expression comes to this court bearing a heavy presumption against its constitutional validity.”

The government “thus carries a heavy burden of showing justification for the imposition of such a restraint.”

A federal district and appeals court held that government did not have just cause to impose restraint.

The Supreme Court agreed, affirming that “Congress shall make no law (that) abridg(es) the freedom of speech, or of the press” — upholding the Constitution’s First Amendment without which all other freedoms are jeopardized.

During oral arguments, Justice William O. Douglas asked a government lawyer if the Department of Justice views the First Amendment’s “no law” language to literally mean no law.

In their majority ruling, the Supreme Court held that the press has a right to publish truthful information in the public interest no matter how it was obtained.

Under the First Amendment, affirmed by the Supreme Court in the Pentagon Papers case, analogous to the Trump regime v. Assange, no one may be lawfully punished for truth-telling — not journalists or anyone else.

In wanting Julian Assange extradited to the US for prosecution under the long ago outdated Espionage Act relating to WW I, the Trump regime aims to reverse the landmark Supreme Court Pentagon Papers ruling.

Arguing to uphold speech and press freedoms when the case was heard by the High Court, Justice Hugo Black said the following:

The government’s injunction to prohibit publication by the NYT and Washington Post “should have been vacated without oral argument when the cases were first presented,” adding:

“(E)very moment’s continuance of the injunctions…amounts to a flagrant, indefensible, and continuing violation of the First Amendment.”

“The press was to serve the governed, not the governors. The government’s power to censor the press was abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the government.”

“The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people.”

“Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.”

“And paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people and sending them off to distant lands to die of foreign fevers and foreign shot and shell.”

“(W)e are asked to hold that…the executive b ranch, the Congress, and the judiciary can make laws…abridging freedom of the press in the name of ‘national security.’ ”

“To find that the president has ‘inherent power’ to halt the publication of news…would wipe out the First Amendment and destroy the fundamental liberty and security of the very people the government hopes to make ‘secure.’ ”

“The word ‘security’ is a broad, vague generality whose contours should not be invoked to abrogate the fundamental law embodied in the First Amendment.”

“The guarding of military and diplomatic secrets at the expense of informed representative government provides no real security.”

“The framers of the First Amendment, fully aware of both the need to defend a new nation and the abuses of the English and colonial governments, sought to give this new society strength and security by providing that freedom of speech, press, religion, and assembly should not be abridged.”

Justice William O. Douglas concurred, arguing that press freedom is a check on government, constitutionally protected from restraint by the nation’s ruling authorities.

Citing Near v. Minnesota (1931), a landmark case at the time that upheld press freedom against government restraint, Justice William Brennan argued that publication of the Pentagon Papers was a First Amendment right.

Three other justices agreed, notably Thurgood Marshall. He argued that the term “national security” is too broad and ill-defined to be used as justification to restrain publication of information in the public interest.

He also stressed that it’s not the High Court’s right to create laws in cases where Congress has not acted.

The right of speech, press, and academic freedoms are upheld in other Supreme Court decisions.

In USA v. Julian Assange, the Trump regime wants the First Amendment abrogated.

He considers the press “the enemy of the people.” His regime argues that Australian national Assange isn’t entitled to US constitutional protections.

During his extradition hearing in London’s Belmarsh Magistrates Court, prosecutors claimed he’s “not a journalist,” and that material he published endangered the lives of Americans — false on both counts.

Attorney representing Assange Mark Summers explained that he and WikiLeaks “worked tirelessly” with news outlets to redact information that potentially might put US government and other sources at risk, adding:

“The state department was also part of the process. They gave numbers to (the media collaboration to) redact, which WikiLeaks did, knowing the requests were coming from the US government.”

US officials in Washington were and remain fully aware of the above. “The notion that Assange deliberately published unredacted information is knowingly false,” Summers stressed.

The Trump regime’s case against Assange is political, unrelated to wrongdoing.

Asked during day three proceedings if he was well enough to remain in court, Assange said he’s prevented from participating in the hearing nor permitted to communicate privately with his lawyers, adding:

“There is already enough spying on my lawyers as it is. There are a number of unnamed embassy officials here.”

“There are two microphones in here. What’s the point of asking if I can concentrate if I can’t participate?”

Assange committed no crimes, nothing warranting imprisonment in London, extradition to the US, and prosecution.

With ample evidence supporting them, his legal team maintains that Trump regime charges used by prosecutors are “lies, lies, and more lies.”

Truth-telling journalism is on trial in London. The Trump regime’s case against Assange is all about silencing it — ignoring the Constitution’s First Amendment, upheld by the Supreme Court in the Pentagon Papers case and other landmark rulings.

A Final Comment

James Goodale was general counsel for the NYT when the Supreme Court ruled on the Pentagon Papers case.

In April 2019, he said the following:

“If Assange is found guilty of conspiring with (Chelsea) Manning under (his) indictment, which incorporates the Espionage Act, this will be a blow to the First Amendment.”

“It will criminalize the news-gathering process and will be a precedent for future cases concerning leaks.”

“This will be particularly so since substantially all leaks in the future will be computer-generated.”

“And so, while the indictment by itself is bad enough, there still is more to come, such as further indictments of Assange,” other journalists, and others revealing information US authorities want suppressed.

“All we are seeing now is the tip of the legal iceberg.”

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Award-winning author Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG)

His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

This article was originally published in 2016.

In order to receive development assistance, Tanzania has to give Western agribusiness full freedom and give enclosed protection for patented seeds. “Eighty percent of the seeds are being shared and sold in an informal system between neighbors, friends and family. The new law criminalizes the practice in Tanzania,” says Michael Farrelly of TOAM, an organic farming movement in Tanzania.

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In order to get developmental assistance, Tanzania amended its legislation, which should give commercial investors faster and better access to agricultural land as well as a very strong protection of intellectual property rights.

‘If you buy seeds from Syngenta or Monsanto under the new legislation, they will retain the intellectual property rights. If you save seeds from your first harvest, you can use them only on your own piece of land for non-commercial purposes. You’re not allowed to share them with your neighbors or with your sister-in-law in a different village, and you cannot sell them for sure. But that’s the entire foundation of the seed system in Africa’, says Michael Farrelly.

Under the new law, Tanzanian farmers risk a prison sentence of at least 12 years or a fine of over €205,300, or both, if they sell seeds that are not certified.

‘That’s an amount that a Tanzanian farmer cannot even start to imagine. The average wage is still less than 2 US dollars a day’, says Janet Maro, head of Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT).

Under pressure of the G8

Tanzania applied the legislation concerning intellectual property rights on seeds as a condition for receiving development assistance through the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition (NAFSN). The NAFSN was launched in 2012 by the G8 with the goal to help 50 million people out of poverty and hunger in the ten African partner countries through a public-private partnership. The initiative receives the support of the EU, the US, the UK, the World Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

© Ebe Daems

Companies that invest in the NAFSN are expected to pay attention to small-scale farmers and women in their projects, but sometimes little of that is noticed. As a result, the NAFSN receives a lot of criticism from NGOs and civil-society movements. Even the European Parliament issued a very critical report in May this year to urge the European Commission to take action.

With the changes in the legislation, Tanzania became the first least-developed country to join the UPOV 91-convention. All countries that are members of the World Trade Organization must include intellectual property rights on seeds in their legislation, but the least-developed countries are exempt from recognizing any form of intellectual property rights until 2021. After that, the issues would be reviewed.

‘In practice, it means that the fifty million people that the New Alliance wants to help can escape from poverty and hunger only if they buy seeds every year from the companies that are standing behind de G8,” says Michael Farrelly.

‘As a result, the farmers’ seed system will collapse, because they can’t sell their own seeds”, according to Janet Maro. ‘Multinationals will provide our country with seeds and all the farmers will have to buy them from them. That means that we will lose biodiversity, because it is impossible for them to investigate and patent all the seeds we need. We’re going to end up with fewer types of seeds.’

‘I have seeds of my family, because my great-grandmother used them. She gave them to my grandmother, who gave them to my mother and my mother then gave them to me. I’ve planted them here in the demonstration garden in Morogoro and that’s why very rare plants now grow here’, says Janet Maro. ‘Local farmers find it hard to understand the idea that you can patent and own a seed. Seed should simply be something that is easily available”, says Janet Maro.

Ownership for investments

‘Intellectual property rights ensure that farmers have better access to technology’, claims Kinyua M’Mbijjewe, head of Corporate Affairs in Africa for Syngenta. Syngenta is a Swiss company that produces seeds and agrochemicals alongside Yara, one of the two largest players in the private sector in the NAFSN.

‘A company that wants to invest wants to be sure that its technology is protected. African farmers have been sharing, bartering and trading their seeds as a form of tradition. For farmers who want to continue to do so, it is important that they have that choice.’ Kinyua M’Mbijjewe claims not to be aware that the Tanzanian legislation no longer allows that freedom of choice. This is strange, since Syngenta is one of the companies that is part of the leadership council of the NAFSN, meaning that they negotiate directly with the partners about the changes in legislation which must be met in exchange for aid.

Nevertheless, according to the Tanzanian Government, the legislation never intended to penalize small-scale farmers, only to protect their property rights – that is, if they patent their own seeds.

‘But who’s going to sell non-certified seeds? Small-scale farmers do not have the means to get a patent for their seeds’, says Janet Maro.

“The government is working on a revision of the seed legislation. We hope that they will add an exception for small-scale farmers and will expand the Quality Declared Seed System,” says Michael Farrelly.

The Quality Declared Seed System gives quality guarantee for seed. It is a kind of compromise, because quality is cheaper and easier to obtain than a patent.

Currently, a farmer is allowed to sell recognized seeds in only three surrounding villages, but the government says it wants to expand this at the district level with the new legislation. ‘That way, the seeds could be sold in seventy villages, which is economically viable,” says Farrelly.

Removal of trade barriers

An additional problem is that the seeds of foreign companies are not always adapted to the local climate. ‘What works in Utrecht doesn’t necessarily work in Zanzibar,’ says Michael Farrelly. Tanzania alone has five different climate zones. ‘Even the region of Morogoro has different climate zones,” says Janet Maro.

Yet soon it will be easier for seeds from different regions to enter the country, and other African countries are on the way to follow Tanzania’s example. In 2015, eighteen African countries signed the Arusha Protocol for the protection of new plant varieties.

The purpose is that all countries would try to work on eliminating the trade barriers and incorporate intellectual property rights on seeds in their legislation, in order to achieve a harmonized regional system. Among others, the Community Plant Variety Office, an EU agency for the protection of plant varieties as intellectual property, invariably takes part in all meetings related to the Protocol.

Syngenta believes that these measures will help advance Africa: ‘We are pleased that it is finally going in the right direction after years of negotiations,’ says Kinyua M’Mbijjewe. ‘The EU has a harmonized policy regarding the seeds that are allowed to be brought into another country. In Africa this doesn’t exist. You could not bring seeds from Kenya over the border to Tanzania, an area with the same climate zone. Africa’s trade barriers have not pushed forward the farmers and the economy.’

More intensive farming?

In order to feed the world population by 2050, the World Bank and FAO (the UN food agency) state that food production must increase by half. A figurative war is fought regarding the approach to increase production, but there will likely be many victims among the small-scale farmers.

According to the business world, Africa needs more agricultural inputs: fertilizers, hybrid seeds, pesticides… But is the commercial approach best suited to help the poorest segment of the population?

All the development initiatives of the NAFSN in Tanzania focus exclusively on the most fertile part of the country. The Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) covers much of the southern half of the country. Fertile soil easily attracts investors. But what about the farmers who are located in less-than-ideal regions? Or what about the statement by the World Bank (2008 report) that input subsidies for fertilizer in Zambia were beneficial mainly for relatively rich farmers rather than for the small-scale farmers whom the subsidies were meant to benefit? Another essential fact: this type of intensive farming is one of the biggest causes of global warming.

Syngenta itself has admitted that it is logical that they, as a company, have little concern for the less successful farmers. ‘We are a commercial company and therefore we invest in Africa. We believe that Africa is done with development aid and that it is now all about trade,” concludes Kinyua M’Mbijjewe. ‘The small-scale farmers are not our target. We focus on small-scale farmers trying to grow businesses and we are happy to work with NGOs that have a commercial approach. Farmers who merely try to survive or operate in an unfavorable climate are left out.’

Agro-ecological alternative

Many farmer organizations and FAO have more faith in ecological methods. Particularly the smaller-scale farmers would benefit from it, because they usually cannot afford the expensive inputs for conventional agriculture.

Janet Maro, on the other hand, works in challenging rural areas. Together with SAT, she trains small-scale farmers in agro-ecological farming methods. SAT teaches farmers to do farming with what is available in their surroundings.

‘Our training center is located in the dry areas of Vianze, which most people would claim to be impossible to farm,’ says Janet Maro. ‘If we can do it there, we can do it anywhere. We plant additional trees that hold back the water when it rains, so that it is incorporated into the soil, and we have an irrigation system with water bottles, so we consume less water.’

‘We teach small-scale farmers how to make compost with the plants they cut in their fields. We also teach them to do mixed cropping and to make extracts from plants that grow in their surroundings in order to control crop pests and diseases. The most common pest, for example, is the aphid. You can make an extract of Lantana camara, a shrub that grows in almost every village in Tanzania, to control the aphids,’ says Janet Maro.

‘We also trained farmers in a region where they were given government subsidies to purchase fertilizer. After our training, there were many farmers with good results who questioned why they should still go into town to buy expensive synthetic fertilizer, as they can have a good harvest and can fight pests with resources that are available in their own fields. Those farmers returned their vouchers for subsidized fertilizer to the government. The government has now also come knocking on our door, asking us to train farmers.’

Choosing between grandmother and industry

‘Doing nothing and thinking that you can continue with what your grandmother grew, is a guaranteed catastrophe’, says Kinyua M’Mbijjewe from Syngenta. ‘The reason we have hunger in Africa is that there are insufficient agricultural inputs.’

© Ebe Daems

Abel Lyimo, the CEO of the Tanzanian Rural Urban Development Initiatives, a NGO that focusses on the development of small-scale farmers through the private sector, thinks the same: ‘Tanzania is one of the countries with the lowest use of farm inputs and the lowest productivity in the world. There is a link between proper use of inputs and productivity. Use only half, and you’ll produce only half.’

Janet Maro contradicts that. ‘In the Mlali Region, there were projects in which they gave the farmers parcels of land to grow tomatoes. It went really well for a while and they produced a huge quantity of tomatoes, but this year things went wrong. The price of a bucket of tomatoes ranged between two and three Euros. Nowadays, because of the overproduction, you have to consider yourself lucky if you get 40 cents. Now, the farmers can no longer afford those expensive fertilizers and chemicals.’

‘And I haven’t even started to mention the environmental damage and the deterioration in soil fertility that these projects cause. The government has asked us to train farmers because the quality and quantity of the water from the Mzinga and Ruvu Rivers have considerably worsened because of the government’s agricultural projects. They want to save the situation before it is too late and have seen that the projects of SAT have a much better impact on the environment.’

Even the United Nation’s former Special Rapporteur for the Right for Food, Olivier De Schutter, stresses the importance of more research and investment in agro-ecological methods in a report in 2011.

According to FAO figures, more than 80 percent of the food in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa is produced by small-scale farmers. If they cannot afford commercial inputs, they can still make progress with agro-ecological methods. The methods are not immediately patentable and therefore the industry treats them shabbily. An unfortunate consequence of this is that insufficient research is being done into such methods.

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All images in this article are from MN

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As soon as the Syrian government announced that the north-south highway was open last weekend, my courageous friend Jamil drove from Damascus to Aleppo and back. “The road was fine and very quick,” he told me on the phone on his return to the capital. The Hama-Idlib-Aleppo sector of the highway, the M5, is known as the “international road” because it begins on the Jordanian border and runs to the Turkish border. The highway was closed by conflict for eight years, forcing travellers to take a detour in the desert over rough roads. This route was 90 kilometres longer than the M5 and consumed six hours rather than four and a half, as well as more petrol.

The return of the M5 should lower costs of shipments of goods between Aleppo and Hama, Homs and Damascus at a time the Syrian economy is in crisis due to nearly nine years of warfare and US and European sanctions. Jamil’s journey shows that travel has been eased for civilians who save time as well as rationed petrol.

The capture of the M5 by the Syrian army is one of the most celebrated prizes in Damascus’ campaign to regain territory lost to takfiris and rebels since unrest erupted in 2011. The 450-kilometre M5 links Syria’s main cities, Deraa, Damascus, Homs, Hama and Aleppo, and was the main artery for both commercial and personal travel before the war. The government began to lose control of the highway when diverse rebel and takfiri groups seized different sectors.

Before the war, the highway carried on a daily basis $25-million-worth of commercial traffic to and from Aleppo and Homs, the country’s chief industrial hubs. Syria’s cotton, grain, pharmaceuticals and export goods travelled along this route, which passes through the rich pistachio-growing region north of Hama and the now devastated towns of Khan Shaikhoun, visited by this correspondent in early September, Maarat Al Numan and Saraqeb, where the M5 meets the M4, the main highway from Aleppo to the port of Latakia on the coast. The western sector of the M4 is the next objective of the Syrian army and its Russian ally as it is the main route for raw material imports and exports.

After government forces recaptured takfiri-held Eastern Ghouta and areas in Deraa province in 2018, the army prepared for the long-awaited campaign in Idlib, the final bastion of anti-government takfiri and Turkish-sponsored militias. However, under Turkish and Russian pressure, this was postponed due to the presence of three million civilians, half of them displaced from elsewhere, amongst thousands of anti-government fighters.

Idlib province and adjacent slices of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia provinces were declared a “de-confliction zone”. A ceasefire was meant to be imposed and the M5 and M4 highways were to open and be put under the protection of Russia and Turkey. A 15-20 kilometre buffer zone was to be established around the “deconfliction” area, from which takfiris and heavy arms were to be excluded. Turkey was permitted to plant 12 “observation posts” in the “de-confliction zone” to monitor the ceasefire. Ankara was also tasked with separating takfiris from “rebels” (although there was no real difference) and disarming and isolating the takfiris. Turkish and Russian military police were supposed to patrol the area.

There was no ceasefire because the leading takfiri group, Al Qaeda-affiliated Ha’yat Tahrir Al Sham, and its allies refused to halt anti-government operations. Since they have been branded “terrorists” by the UN, they have been formally excluded from the ceasefire and continued to mount attacks on Syrian soldiers and civilians.

Since Idlib never became a “de-confliction zone”, the Syrian army launched its delayed offensive in 2019, seizing Khan Shaikhoun in late August, pausing to see what would happen, and then in December resuming its advance along the M5 to Aleppo. During the M5 campaign, the Syrian army had the full support of Russian air power and the backing of Iran-deployed Shia militiamen.

It is significant that the Russian military, as well as the Syrian Transport Ministry, simultaneously announced the M5 victory, making it clear that Moscow was prepared to defend the M5 highway and, perhaps, the M4, if and when the Syrian army manages to capture the western sectors of this strategic asset.

Last December, the Syrian army took control of the eastern sector of the M4 which links Aleppo in the north-west to Qamishli in the north-east. The Syrian army’s advance along this route appears to have been agreed between Russia, Turkey, the US and the Syrian Kurds. Since taking up positions, the army has not only regained Syrian territory, but has also acted as a buffer force between Turkish and Kurdish fighters.

Following Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops deployed with the Kurds, the Turkish army and client militiamen seized from the Kurds a 120-kilometre stretch of territory south of the Turkish-Syrian border. This created a casus belli for the Kurds who were determined to recapture territory lost, or granted by Trump, to Turkey.

Although the US declared a troop withdrawal from Syria, up to 600 US soldiers remain in the northeast, allegedly, to protect the oil fields. The US troops, however, have also interfered with Russian military police patrolling the M4 near Qamishli, risking clashes and creating instability in an already unstable region of Syria.

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The War Scenario Between Israel and Hezbollah

February 28th, 2020 by Elijah J. Magnier

Notwithstanding the increase in power of the “Axis of the Resistance”, with its precision missiles and unrivalled accumulated warfare experience, the possibility of war is still on the table. The “Axis of the Resistance” is increasing its readiness based on the possibility that Israel may not tolerate the presence of such a serious threat on its northern borders and therefore act to remove it. However, in any future war, the “Axis of the Resistance” considers the consequences would be overwhelmingly devastating for both sides and on all levels if the rules of engagement are not respected. Notwithstanding Israel’s superior air firepower, its enemy Hezbollah has established its own tremendous firepower, and its experience in recent wars in Syria, Iraq and Yemen is an important asset.

Sources within the “Axis of the Resistance” believe the next battle between Hezbollah and Israel, if ever it takes place, would be “controlled and not sporadic, with a focus on specific military objectives without damaging the infrastructure, on both sides”.

The sources consider Gaza as a precedent. In Gaza Palestinians and Israelis have fought many recent battles that lasted only a few days in which the objectives bombed were purely military. This is a new rule of engagement (ROE) regulating conflict between the belligerents. When Israel hits a non-military target, the Palestinian resistance responds by hitting a similar non-military target in Israel. The lesson extracted from the new ROE between Israel and the Palestinians is that every time exchanges of bombing go out of control, both sides understand they have to bring it back to an acceptable and equitable level, to limit damage and keep such mutual attacks from targeting civilians.

The “Axis of the Resistance” therefore considers that the probability is high that the next battle would be limited to military objectives and kept under control. If one side increases the bombing, the other will follow. Otherwise, both sides have the capability to cause total destruction and go on to uncontrolled bombing. In the case of an out-of-control war, allies on both sides would become involved, which renders this scenario less likely.

Hezbollah in Lebanon is said to have over 150,000 missiles and rockets.

Israel might suppose that a limited attack could destroy tens of thousands of Hezbollah’s missiles. Is it worth it? “From Israel’s view, Israel may think it is worth triggering a battle and destroying thousands of missiles, thinking that Israel has the possibility to prevent Hezbollah from re-arming itself. But even in this case, Israel doesn’t need to destroy villages or cities or the Lebanese infrastructure, instead, it will limit itself to selective targets within its bank of objectives. However, we strongly doubt Israel could succeed in limiting Hezbollah’s supply of missiles and advanced weapons. Many of these missiles no longer need to be close to the borders with Israel, but can be deployed on the Lebanese-Syrian borders in safe silos”, said the sources.

However, Israel should also expect, according to the same sources, that Hezbollah will respond by bombing significant Israeli military targets within its bank of objectives. “There is no need to bomb airports, power stations, chemical industries, harbours or any highly significant target if Israel doesn’t bomb any of these in Lebanon. But if necessary Hezbollah is prepared to imitate Israel by hitting back without hesitation indiscriminately and against high-value targets, at the cost of raising the level of confrontation to its maximum level. Hezbollah and Israel have a common language in warfare. If the bombing is limited, no side interprets the others’ actions as a sign of weakness”, said the sources.

“Hezbollah doesn’t want war and is doing everything to avoid it. This is why it responded in Moawad, in the suburb of Beirut, when Israeli armed drones failed to reach their objectives. By responding, Hezbollah actually prevented a war on a large scale because it is not possible to allow Israel to get away with any act of war in Lebanon, violating the ROE” said the sources.

Last September, Hezbollah targeted an Israeli vehicle in Avivim with a laser-guided missile in daylight after forcing the Israeli Army to hide for a week and retreat all forces behind civilians lines, imposing a new ROE. The Israeli army cleared the 120 km borders with Lebanon (5 km deep) to avoid Hezbollah’s revenge retaliation for violating the 2006 cessation of hostility’s agreement. Israel refrained from responding and swallowed the humiliation due to its awareness of Hezbollah’s readiness to start a devastating war if necessary.

Israeli officials used to threaten Hezbollah and Lebanon to take the country “back to the stone age”. This is indeed within the reach of Israel’s military capability. However, it is also within Hezbollah’s reach to bring Israel back to the stone age, if required. Hezbollah’s precision missiles can hit any bridge, airport, gasoline deposit containers, power stations, Haifa harbour, oil and gas rig platforms, any infrastructure and military and non-military objectives if Israel attempts to target similar objectives in Lebanon first. Hezbollah’s new missile capability is not new to Israel, who is observing the latest technology Iran’s allies are enjoying and “testing,” mainly in Yemen. The recent bombing of Saudi Arabia oil facilities and the downing of a Saudi Tornado in Yemen revealed that Iran’s HOT missiles are capable of downing jets at medium height and any helicopter violating Lebanese airspace.

Hezbollah’s latest version of the Fateh precision missile, the supersonic anti-ship missiles and the anti-air missiles can prevent Israel from using its navy, stopping any civilian ship from docking in Haifa, thwarting the use of Israeli Helicopters and precision bombing attacks- as in Iran’s latest confrontation with the US at Ayn al-Assad base in Iraq.

Hezbollah’s missiles are unlikely to cause simple traumatic brain injuries – as per the Iranian missile at Ayn al Assad – when hitting targets in Israel in case of war. They can avoid missile interception systems. This increase of capability is a game-changer, and Hezbollah believes it is already decreasing the chances of war. Arming itself with precision missiles and armed drones and showing these capabilities to Israel is Hezbollah’s way to avert a war and protect the equation of deterrence.

In its 2020 security assessment, the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman) unwisely evaluated the assassination of the Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani as a “restraining factor”. Aman’s report, showing astonishing ignorance, stated that Soleimani was responsible for Hezbollah’s missile projects. This lack of understanding of the Hezbollah-Iran relationship and dynamic is quite surprising. Sayyed Ali Khamenei told Hezbollah’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah decades ago that he knows what he needs and what to do and doesn’t need to fall back on Iran. The IRGC and Hezbollah have set up a collaboration engine that won’t stop even if half of the IRGC leadership is killed. The possession of the feared Iranian precision missiles is no longer a secret: all Iran’s allies have these deployed, in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Yesterday is unlike today: the power of destruction now belongs to all parties, no longer to Israel alone. War is no longer an option. US/Israeli aggression will be limited to an economic war, so long as the “Axis of the Resistance” continues updating its warfare capability to maintain deterrence parity.

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Those hapless individuals who run the United States are again slipping into a fantasy world where Americans are besieged by imaginary threats coming from both inside and outside the country. Of course, it is particularly convenient to warn of foreign threats, as it makes the people in government seem relevant and needed, but one might recommend that the tune be changed as it is getting a bit boring. After all, there are only so many hours in the day and Russian President Vladimir Putin must pause occasionally to eat or sleep, so the plotting to destroy American democracy must be on hold at least some of the time.

Yes, anonymous sources and the guys and gals who made the Iraq war a reality are now claiming that the Kremlin is at it again! Hints over the past year that Putin might try to replay 2016 in 2020 only do it better this time have now been confirmed! Per one news report the enemy is already at the gates: “U.S. intelligence officials told lawmakers last week that Russia is interfering in the 2020 election campaign by aiming to cast doubt on the integrity of the vote and boost President Donald Trump’s re-election.”

And there’s more! In a New York Times article headlined “Same Goal, Different Playbook: Why Russia Would Support Trump and Sanders: Vladimir Putin is eager both to take the sheen off U.S. democracy and for a counterpart who is less likely to challenge his territorial and nuclear ambitions,” it was revealed that the Kremlin is intending to also help Bernie Sanders, so whichever way the election goes they win.

According to the Times Bernie has been “warn[ed]… of evidence that he is the Russian president’s favorite Democrat.” The article then goes on to explain, relying on its anonymous sources, that “…to the intelligence analysts and outside experts who have spent the past three years dissecting Russian motives in the 2016 election, and who tried to limit the effect of Moscow’s meddling in the 2018 midterms, what is unfolding in 2020 makes perfect sense. Mr. Trump and Mr. Sanders represent the most divergent ends of their respective parties, and both are backed by supporters known more for their passion than their policy rigor, which makes them ripe for exploitation by Russian trolls, disinformation specialists and hackers for hire seeking to widen divisions in American society.”

The Times article was written by David Sanger, the paper’s venerable national security correspondent. He is reliably wedded to Establishment views of the Russian threat, as is his newspaper, and strikes rock bottom in his assessment when he cites none other than “Victoria Nuland, who in a long diplomatic career had served both Republican and Democratic administrations, and had her phone calls intercepted and broadcast by Russian intelligence services.” Nuland, clearly the victim of a nefarious Russian intelligence operation that recorded her saying “fuck the EU,” opined that “Any figures that radicalize politics and do harm to center views and unity in the United States are good for Putin’s Russia.” Nuland is perhaps best known for her role in spending $5 billion in U.S. taxpayer money to overthrow the legitimate government of Ukraine. She is married to leading neoconservative Robert Kagan, which Sanger fails to mention, and is currently a nonresident fellow at the liberal interventionist Brookings Institution. She also works at former Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s consultancy, presumably for the Benjamins. Albright, one might recall, thought that killing 500,000 Iraqi children through U.S. sanctions was “worth it.”

Given the fact that Russia will have very limited resources in their effort to corrupt American democracy, which is, by the way, doing a very good job of self-destruction without any outside help, how exactly will they do it? Sanger explains “As they focus on evading more vigilant government agencies and technology companies trying to identify and counter malicious online activity, the Russians are boring into Iranian cyberoffense units, apparently so that they can initiate attacks that look as if they originate in Iran — which itself has shown interest in messing with the American electoral process… And, in one of the most effective twists, they are feeding disinformation to unsuspecting Americans on Facebook and other social media. By seeding conspiracy theories and baseless claims on the platforms, Russians hope everyday Americans will retransmit those falsehoods from their own accounts. That is an attempt to elude Facebook’s efforts to remove disinformation, which it can do more easily when it flags ‘inauthentic activity,’ like Russians posing as Americans. It is much harder to ban the words of real Americans, who may be parroting a Russian story line, even unintentionally.”

So those wily Russians are making themselves look like Iranians and they are planning on “feeding disinformation” to “unsuspecting Americans” consisting of “conspiracy theories” and “baseless claims.” Sounds like a plan to me as the various occupants of the White House and Congress have been doing exactly that for the past twenty years. That we had a national election in 2016 in which a reality television personality ran against an unindicted criminal would seem to indicate that the effort to brainwash the American people has already been successful.

The usual bottom feeders are also piling on to the Russian interference story. Jane Harman, former congresswoman who once colluded with Israeli intelligence to lobby the Department of Justice to drop criminal charges against two employees of AIPAC in exchange for Israel’s support to make her chair of the House Intelligence Committee, warns “How dangerous it would be if we lose the tip of the spear against those who would destroy us.”

Former CIA Director John Brennan also has something to say. He is “very disturbed”by his conviction that Russia is actively meddling in the 2020 campaign in support of President Trump. He said “We are now in a full-blown national security crisis. By trying to prevent the flow of intelligence to Congress, Trump is abetting a Russian covert operation to keep him in office for Moscow’s interests, not America’s.” Brennan is best known for having orchestrated the illegal campaign to vilify Trump and his associates prior to, during and after the 2016 election. He also participated in a weekly meeting with Barack Obama where he and the president would add and remove names from a “kill list” of U.S. citizens residing overseas. He and his boss should both be in prison, but they are instead fêted as American patriots. Go figure.

Time to take a step back from the developing panic. As usual, the U.S. government intelligence agencies have produced no actual evidence that Moscow is up to anything, and there are already reports that the Office of National Intelligence briefer “overstated” her case against the Kremlin in her briefing of the House Intelligence Committee. Sure, the Russians have an interest in an American election and will favor candidates like Trump and Sanders that are not outright hostile to them, but to claim as the NY Times does that Russia has incompatible “territorial and nuclear interests” is a stretch. And yes, Moscow will definitely use its available intelligence resources to monitor the nomination and election process while also clandestinely doing what it can to improve the chances of those individuals they approve of. That is what intelligence agencies do.

In American Establishment groupthink there is one standard for what Washington does and quite a different standard for everyone else. Does it shock any American to know that the United States has interfered in scores of elections all over the world ever since the Second World War, to include those in places like France and Italy well into the 1980s? And in somewhat more kinetic covert actions, actually removing Mohammed Mossadeq in Iran, Salvador Allende in Chile, Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala and Mohamed Morsi in Egypt just for starters, not even considering the multiple plots to kill Fidel Castro. And it continues to do so today openly in places like Iran and Venezuela while also claiming hypocritically that the U.S. is “exceptional” and also a “force for good.” That anyone should be genuinely worrying about Russian proxies buying and distributing a couple of hundred thousands of dollars’ worth of ads in an election in which many billions of dollars’ worth of propaganda will be on the table is ridiculous. It is time to stop blaming Russia for the failure of America’s ruling class to provide an honest and accountable government and one that does not go around the world looking for trouble. That is what the 2020 election should really be all about.

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Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation (Federal ID Number #52-1739023) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is [email protected]. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

The COVID-19 outbreak in China has begun to decline outside Hubei Province, meanwhile in some countries it is on the rise. This fully shows that the epidemic is a challenge faced by all humanity and needs to be addressed by all countries. China’s experience in combating the outbreak shows that timely, accurate and authoritative information disclosure is crucial. However, “negative energy” arguments in the public opinion field, which undermines the solidarity and cooperation between human beings and even creates panic out of nothing, will harm the efforts to fight the epidemic and can be called a “tumor” in the public opinion field during the epidemic.

Here, we summarize eight typical “negative energy” arguments in international public opinion and reveal their absurdities, hoping to provide a “mirror” on the information field in the epidemic.

1. ‘Economic fall’ ignores the complete picture

Under the coronavirus epidemic, the streets in Chinese cities were empty for a time, and there is no doubt the economy will be affected to some extent. However, to claim that the fundamentals of the Chinese economy have changed and that growth will plummet from mid-high speed to zero or negative is an overstatement. For example, the New York Times published an article on February 11 entitled “Like Europe in Medieval Times’: Virus Slows China’s Economy” saying that the epidemic has made China stay in low gear.

This coronavirus epidemic has been widespread, and many industries, such as catering, tourism and film and television, have been severely impacted. However, it should be noted that the impact of the epidemic on China’s economy is mainly reflected in the restriction of the demand side, resulting in a short-term structural imbalance between supply and demand. In the long run, the means of production are still there, and production equipment and technology have not been affected by the outbreak. So the outbreak will not dent the internal dynamics of the Chinese economy. International Monetary Fund (IMF) spokesman Gerry Rice said at a regular press conference on February 13 that “over the medium to long term we remain confident that China’s economy is resilient.” The IMF expects a V-shaped recovery for Chinese economy, in which sharp decline in economic activities would be followed by a rapid recovery. With improvements in containing the epidemic, the supply side will gradually return to normal, and at the same time the potential demand suppressed during the epidemic will be released, and there will be a large rebound in future economic growth.

Structural transformation has given China a strong and resilient economy. First, consumption has become the primary driver of growth. In 2019, consumer spending contributed 57.8 percent to economic growth. Second, the proportion contributed by the service industry keeps rising, and the proportion of value added by the tertiary industry to GDP in 2019 is 53.9 percent. The third is to shift from an excess of savings to an absorption of savings, which has led to a continuous increase in disposable household consumption. Fourth, from the introduction of innovation to independent innovation, the current digitization and intelligent transformation of various industries has led to the rapid development of online business. Although the epidemic outbreak has increased short-term downward pressure on the economy, the long-term positive trend of the Chinese economy has not changed.

2. ‘China-US decoupling’ farfetched

Under the coronavirus epidemic, the resumption of work in many factories in China has been delayed, which has affected the global supply chain. But it may be delusional to talk about “international companies fleeing China” and to think that the US and Chinese economies will “decouple” as a result of the outbreak. For example, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross told Fox Business Channel on January 31 that the novel coronavirus epidemic helps “accelerate the return of jobs to North America, some to US and probably some to Mexico as well,” adding that factors such as this will prompt US companies to reevaluate risks, such as the supply chain of China-related businesses.

It should be noted that in the face of the epidemic, the Chinese government has demonstrated its firm belief in winning the battle against the epidemic. It is believed that the outbreak will not last long, nor will it cause lasting damage to the economy. Business confidence in the future has not disappeared. The experience of the SARS epidemic in 2003 also shows that after the epidemic, people’s desire for consumption will erupt and the economy will see rapid growth.

Compared with the US, where the tertiary industry accounts for 85 percent of the total economy, China’s tertiary industry only accounts for just over 50 percent. There is still more room for development. Naturally, companies will not lose sight of this, and abandon huge development space to go to a place where competition is fierce.

The US government’s push for the return of manufacturing is not new. It began during the Obama administration, but the real results have been poor. This is because China is the world’s largest manufacturing base with a more complete upstream and downstream industry chain and a large and diversified consumer market. Only by being close to the Chinese market can companies feel the cutting-edge demand, have faster production speed and ensure more reliable product quality.

Of course, China’s industry is in a period of transformation and upgrading, and some enterprises that can no longer adapt to China’s market will leave. This is the natural law of economic development, and it is by no means the exodus that Ross is talking about.

3. ‘China image collapse’ baseless

Under the coronavirus epidemic, some voices in the international public opinion have tarnished the image of China.

For example, on February 6, under the headline “This is not a coronavirus, it is an official virus”, a Deutsche Welle report in Putonghua claimed that China’s governance system is not a modern governance system, so it was vulnerable in the face of the epidemic. On some overseas social media, some people have hyped up argument that “China’s national image has collapsed”, in order to disparage China’s image as a responsible power. They even claimed that China would not be able to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects as planned.

It is clear that the above slander is groundless and based on a play of words. The “China threat theory” is a virus in the field of international public opinion.

After the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic, the Chinese government quickly set up a special team to deal with the outbreak, deployed them extensively throughout the country, and assisted relevant countries in evacuating personnel. These things could only be achieved by an excellent modern governance system and governance capabilities, and they have been widely praised internationally.

Compared to the performance of some advanced economies, China has also done a much better job of reducing the risk of the disease spreading globally. On February 16, in response to the shortcomings and deficiencies exposed in the response to the epidemic, the Chinese government again made a “two-handed” deployment, including improving the biosafety law, the national emergency management system, and the distribution of production capacity of key materials. China’s epidemic prevention measures have been praised by the international community. French President Macron expressed admiration for China’s effective measures and the country’s openness and transparency in fighting the epidemic. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised China for taking many prevention and containment measures that go far beyond the relevant requirements for responding to emergencies. This has set a new benchmark for epidemic prevention in all countries. The speed, scale and efficiency of China’s actions reflect the strengths of its system.

4. ‘Sick man of Asia’ rekindles century of discrimination

Amid the outbreak of the COVID-19, governments, enterprises and people from dozens of countries have donated humanitarian aid to China to support the country’s fight against the epidemic. Meanwhile, some people have maliciously taken the opportunity to spread discrimination against China – the Wall Street Journal published an article under title “China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia” on February 3, hurting Chinese people’s feelings. We should not only refute such absurdity with a comprehensive win over the epidemic but also continue increasing China’s public health services and national capabilities, throwing the discriminatory tone into the junk heap of history for good.

China was once weak due to its seclusion and was taken advantage of by Western powers, which derogatorily called China the “sick man of Asia.” Such contemptuous words have been a scar on Chinese people’s mind. With unremitting efforts of more than 100 years, China is much stronger than it was, with people’s general health status reaching a new high.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the country has been improving its public health status, eliminating malignant infectious diseases such as smallpox and cholera, and developing a cure for schistosomiasis which once threatened Chinese people for a long time.

A comprehensive medical system has been established in China, covering all rural areas. China has also sent medical teams to help African countries battle against epidemics such as Ebola. As China is completing the building of a moderately prosperous society, the country is rapidly increasing the budget for medical treatment and public health, assuring residents in cities and towns have basic medical insurance.

Currently, Chinese people’s average life expectancy, which continues to grow, has surpassed that of Americans. Through international medical and health cooperation including the building of a Health Silk Road, China’s experience in medical treatment and public health has been widely recognized and accepted.

5. Yellow Peril hysteria pure racism

On February 1, German weekly magazine Der Spiegel had a cover headline saying the novel coronavirus was “Made in China.” At a crucial time when the world is jointly fighting the epidemic, the German magazine inhumanly spread the Yellow Peril hysteria, the core of which is the West’s fear of the East.

The Western world regards the Eastern world as a threat, and fears itself will lag behind the latter, and thus refuses to accept the fact that the Eastern world has become more developed and much stronger than it once was. The West wants to safeguard its dominance in the world.

With this being the case, some nationalists in the West have taken advantage of the COVID-19 epidemic to spread this hysteria.

In the era of globalization, human civilization should no longer engage in zero-sum games between the East and West and between races, but rather in building a community of shared future, where people can co-exist and jointly develop. In the face of this public health emergency, no one can really escape and remain isolated. Only cooperation, solidarity and mutual help can help people win the fight against the virus.

It is high time to put an end to the farce of Yellow Peril hysteria that encourages people to play a “hunger game.”

6. 1984 metaphor obscures reality

To fight against the COVID-19, China has adopted various high-tech measures, such as Big Data and artificial intelligence, to control population flow and reduce cross-infection risks. However, some Western media outlets seem to have been frightened by China’s governance capability.  Real Clear Politics published an article on Thursday saying, “China’s government is like something out of ‘1984.'” There are two reasons such viewpoint can echo in the West.

First, people are more likely to believe stories they are familiar with. George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 is well known, but not many people know the real China. Therefore, Chinese people find it hard to persuade their Western friends that China is not something out of 1984. This is like giving a friend, who has never seen a real panda, a toy of panda, the next time you mention panda, this friend would probably call to mind the toy rather than a real panda.

Second, the media always caters its subscribers with reports that draw attention, even though their viewpoints are abnormal. For those media outlets, a frightening China is obviously more effective than a normal China at attracting an audience.

Using 1984 as a metaphor, those Western media outlets can spread fear of China among Westerners and thus make more profit. This is why a very ordinary story with an eye-catching headline can be forged into something that is scary and strange about China. As many Western media outlets are driven by business interests, it is not hard to understand Western people’s stereotype of China.

What 1984 describes can happen anywhere people live. The novel was supposed to be a warning not an instruction manual. George Orwell’s masterpiece is not banned in China. Instead, his books have been among the best sellers in China since the country’s reform and opening-up. China is moving forward in a broad way using Chinese people’s accumulated experience rather than something out of a novel.

7. ‘Biochemical weapon’ conspiracy pure fantasy

Conspiracy theories are a constant reality in the international public opinion field. Once there is a disturbance, they will surface.

On January 31, US senator Tom Cotton tweeted that “it’s more urgent than ever to stop travel between China and US,” and sent a “MESSAGE TO ALL AMERICANS IN CHINA: Get out – now.” He also claimed that the virus might have originated in a “super laboratory” in Wuhan.

The Ministry of Heath of Russian Federation on January 29 published a guidance for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of new coronavirus infection. According to this document, COVID-19 was found to be recombined from a bat coronavirus and another coronavirus from unknown origin, triggering speculation that the virus had been developed by the US as a biological weapon.

Although such arguments have been prevalent, but even in the mainstream Western public opinion, there are few experts who agree.

The Washington Post on January 29 published an article entitled “Experts debunk fringe theory linking China’s coronavirus to weapons research,” with interviews from five experts from prestigious US universities and research institutes. All of them “rejected the idea that the virus could be man-made.”

An expert on chemical weapons said he and other analysts around the world “had discussed the possibility that weapons development at the Wuhan lab could have led to the coronavirus outbreak in a private email chain,” but none of them “had found convincing evidence to support the theory.”

A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology also pointed out that “a good bioweapon in theory has high lethality but low, not [high], communicability,” and spreading such “misinformation” is “incredibly irresponsible.”

The Lancet, the world’s leading general medical journal, released on February 19 a “Statement in support of the scientists, public health professionals, and medical professionals of China combatting COVID-19” signed by 27 top public health scientists around the world.

The statement “strongly condemn[s] conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin” and shows that scientists from multiple countries “overwhelmingly conclude that this coronavirus originated in wildlife.” It also calls on the World Health Organization (WHO) “to promote scientific evidence and unity over misinformation and conjecture.”

8. Questioning WHO’s impartiality destructive

China’s efforts and achievements in fighting the epidemic are obvious to all. Everyone with a realistic attitude will make a fair evaluation. However, some in the international community have been looking at China through colored spectacles, and even slander those entities and individuals who have praised China.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ affirmation of China’s performance has been described by certain media outlets as “skewed in China’s favor.”

Tedros was asked on February 12, if “Chinese government approached the WHO to ask it to stand up and say that China is doing a good job? Was there pressure put on this organization to say those sorts of things… because I know how important it is saving face in China.” He refuted, “China doesn’t need to ask to be praised… because we have seen these concrete things that should be appreciated.”

He has seen clearly China’s tremendous efforts to stop the virus from spreading to the rest of the world, including notifying other countries of those confirmed cases with outbound travel history.

State leaders and public health experts of various countries have applauded China’s efforts and transparency. Tedros has also called on the international community to stop “stigmatizing a country” and stand “in solidarity in fighting against the common enemy, COVID-19.”

Similarly, former WHO director-general Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun was also criticized in 2015 for “taking sides” with South Korea in combating MERS.

WHO’s remarks and actions are all based on information reported by the government at the epicenter, latest data generated by the organization, and suggestions given by the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee. Clarifying and dispelling rumors and misinformation is also part of its job.

Along with China, the Singaporean government is also urging citizens to stop spreading rumors. Moreover, the WHO has already taken action to prevent the coronavirus epidemic from triggering “a dangerous social media ‘infodemic’ fueled by false information,” and appealed for the curbing of rumors, lies and misinformation.

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The article is written by Wang Wen, Jia Jinjing, Bian Yongzu, Cao Mingdi, Liu Ying, Liu Yushu, Yang Fanxin, Guan Zhaoyu, Wang Peng, Liu Dian, Chen Zhiheng, Zhang Tingting, Zhang Yang from Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China. [email protected]

In yesterday’s proceedings in court, the prosecution adopted arguments so stark and apparently unreasonable I have been fretting on how to write them up in a way that does not seem like caricature or unfair exaggeration on my part. What has been happening in this court has long moved beyond caricature. All I can do is give you my personal assurance that what I recount actually is what happened.

As usual, I shall deal with procedural matters and Julian’s treatment first, before getting in to a clear account of the legal arguments made.

Vanessa Baraitser is under a clear instruction to mimic concern by asking, near the end of every session just before we break anyway, if Julian is feeling well and whether he would like a break. She then routinely ignores his response. Yesterday he replied at some length he could not hear properly in his glass box and could not communicate with his lawyers (at some point yesterday they had started preventing him passing notes to his counsel, which I learn was the background to the aggressive prevention of his shaking Garzon’s hand goodbye).

Baraitser insisted he might only be heard through his counsel, which given he was prevented from instructing them was a bit rich. This being pointed out, we had a ten minute adjournment while Julian and his counsel were allowed to talk down in the cells – presumably where they could be more conveniently bugged yet again.

On return, Edward Fitzgerald made a formal application for Julian to be allowed to sit beside his lawyers in the court. Julian was “a gentle, intellectual man” and not a terrorist. Baraitser replied that releasing Assange from the dock into the body of the court would mean he was released from custody. To achieve that would require an application for bail.

Again, the prosecution counsel James Lewis intervened on the side of the defence to try to make Julian’s treatment less extreme. He was not, he suggested diffidently, quite sure that it was correct that it required bail for Julian to be in the body of the court, or that being in the body of the court accompanied by security officers meant that a prisoner was no longer in custody. Prisoners, even the most dangerous of terrorists, gave evidence from the witness box in the body of the court nest to the lawyers and magistrate. In the High Court prisoners frequently sat with their lawyers in extradition hearings, in extreme cases of violent criminals handcuffed to a security officer.

Baraitser replied that Assange might pose a danger to the public. It was a question of health and safety. How did Fitzgerald and Lewis think that she had the ability to carry out the necessary risk assessment? It would have to be up to Group 4 to decide if this was possible.

Yes, she really did say that. Group 4 would have to decide.

Baraitser started to throw out jargon like a Dalek when it spins out of control. “Risk assessment” and “health and safety” featured a lot. She started to resemble something worse than a Dalek, a particularly stupid local government officer of a very low grade. “No jurisdiction” – “Up to Group 4”. Recovering slightly, she stated firmly that delivery to custody can only mean delivery to the dock of the court, nowhere else in the room. If the defence wanted him in the courtroom where he could hear proceedings better, they could only apply for bail and his release from custody in general. She then peered at both barristers in the hope this would have sat them down, but both were still on their feet.

In his diffident manner (which I confess is growing on me) Lewis said “the prosecution is neutral on this request, of course but, err, I really don’t think that’s right”. He looked at her like a kindly uncle whose favourite niece has just started drinking tequila from the bottle at a family party.

Baraitser concluded the matter by stating that the Defence should submit written arguments by 10am tomorrow on this point, and she would then hold a separate hearing into the question of Julian’s position in the court.

The day had begun with a very angry Magistrate Baraitser addressing the public gallery. Yesterday, she said, a photo had been taken inside the courtroom. It was a criminal offence to take or attempt to take photographs inside the courtroom. Vanessa Baraitser looked at this point very keen to lock someone up. She also seemed in her anger to be making the unfounded assumption that whoever took the photo from the public gallery on Tuesday was still there on Wednesday; I suspect not. Being angry at the public at random must be very stressful for her. I suspect she shouts a lot on trains.

Ms Baraitser is not fond of photography – she appears to be the only public figure in Western Europe with no photo on the internet. Indeed the average proprietor of a rural car wash has left more evidence of their existence and life history on the internet than Vanessa Baraitser. Which is no crime on her part, but I suspect the expunging is not achieved without considerable effort. Somebody suggested to me she might be a hologram, but I think not. Holograms have more empathy.

I was amused by the criminal offence of attempting to take photos in the courtroom. How incompetent would you need to be to attempt to take a photo and fail to do so? And if no photo was taken, how do they prove you were attempting to take one, as opposed to texting your mum? I suppose “attempting to take a photo” is a crime that could catch somebody arriving with a large SLR, tripod and several mounted lighting boxes, but none of those appeared to have made it into the public gallery.

Baraitser did not state whether it was a criminal offence to publish a photograph taken in a courtroom (or indeed to attempt to publish a photograph taken in a courtroom). I suspect it is. Anyway Le Grand Soir has published a translation of my report yesterday, and there you can see a photo of Julian in his bulletproof glass anti-terrorist cage. Not, I hasten to add, taken by me.

We now come to the consideration of yesterday’s legal arguments on the extradition request itself. Fortunately, these are basically fairly simple to summarise, because although we had five hours of legal disquisition, it largely consisted of both sides competing in citing scores of “authorities”, e.g. dead judges, to endorse their point of view, and thus repeating the same points continually with little value from exegesis of the innumerable quotes.

As prefigured yesterday by magistrate Baraitser, the prosecution is arguing that Article 4.1 of the UK/US extradition treaty has no force in law.

The UK and US Governments say that the court enforces domestic law, not international law, and therefore the treaty has no standing. This argument has been made to the court in written form to which I do not have access. But from discussion in court it was plain that the prosecution argue that the Extradition Act of 2003, under which the court is operating, makes no exception for political offences. All previous Extradition Acts had excluded extradition for political offences, so it must be the intention of the sovereign parliament that political offenders can now be extradited.

Opening his argument, Edward Fitzgerald QC argued that the Extradition Act of 2003 alone is not enough to make an actual extradition. The extradition requires two things in place; the general Extradition Act and the Extradition Treaty with the country or countries concerned. “No Treaty, No Extradition” was an unbreakable rule. The Treaty was the very basis of the request. So to say that the extradition was not governed by the terms of the very treaty under which it was made, was to create a legal absurdity and thus an abuse of process. He cited examples of judgements made by the House of Lords and Privy Council where treaty rights were deemed enforceable despite the lack of incorporation into domestic legislation, particularly in order to stop people being extradited to potential execution from British colonies.

Fitzgerald pointed out that while the Extradition Act of 2003 did not contain a bar on extraditions for political offences, it did not state there could not be such a bar in extradition treaties. And the extradition treaty of 2007 was ratified after the 2003 extradition act.

At this stage Baraitser interrupted that it was plain the intention of parliament was that there could be extradition for political offences. Otherwise they would not have removed the bar in previous legislation. Fitzgerald declined to agree, saying the Act did not say extradition for political offences could not be banned by the treaty enabling extradition.

Fitzgerald then continued to say that international jurisprudence had accepted for a century or more that you did not extradite political offenders. No political extradition was in the European Convention on Extradition, the Model United Nations Extradition Treaty and the Interpol Convention on Extradition. It was in every single one of the United States’ extradition treaties with other countries, and had been for over a century, at the insistence of the United States. For both the UK and US Governments to say it did not apply was astonishing and would set a terrible precedent that would endanger dissidents and potential political prisoners from China, Russia and regimes all over the world who had escaped to third countries.

Fitzgerald stated that all major authorities agreed there were two types of political offence. The pure political offence and the relative political offence. A “pure” political offence was defined as treason, espionage or sedition. A “relative” political offence was an act which was normally criminal, like assault or vandalism, conducted with a political motive. Every one of the charges against Assange was a “pure” political offence. All but one were espionage charges, and the computer misuse charge had been compared by the prosecution to breach of the official secrets act to meet the dual criminality test. The overriding accusation that Assange was seeking to harm the political and military interests of the United States was in the very definition of a political offence in all the authorities.

In reply Lewis stated that a treaty could not be binding in English law unless specifically incorporated in English law by Parliament. This was a necessary democratic defence. Treaties were made by the executive which could not make law. This went to the sovereignty of Parliament. Lewis quoted many judgements stating that international treaties signed and ratified by the UK could not be enforced in British courts. “It may come as a surprise to other countries that their treaties with the British government can have no legal force” he joked.

Lewis said there was no abuse of process here and thus no rights were invoked under the European Convention. It was just the normal operation of the law that the treaty provision on no extradition for political offences had no legal standing.

Lewis said that the US government disputes that Assange’s offences are political. In the UK/Australia/US there was a different definition of political offence to the rest of the world. We viewed the “pure” political offences of treason, espionage and sedition as not political offences. Only “relative” political offences – ordinary crimes committed with a political motive – were viewed as political offences in our tradition. In this tradition, the definition of “political” was also limited to supporting a contending political party in a state. Lewis will continue with this argument tomorrow.

That concludes my account of proceedings. I have some important commentary to make on this and will try to do another posting later today. Now rushing to court.

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The shining forces of Idlib democracy are crushing the Assad regime’s brutal aggression in eastern Idlib dealing blow after blow to the pro-government sectarian militias so cynically backed by Teheran and Moscow… at least according to mainstream media.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Turkistan Islamic Party and other peaceful al-Qaeda groups backed by the Turkish Army entered Nayrab on the evening of February 24th and consolidated control over the village on February 25th. Since then, they’ve made hundreds of selfies and proclamations of victory. Pro-Turkish sources even claimed that the rebels advanced towards Saraqib.

However, no gains were made in this direction. Multiple reports of brutal Assad strikes on schools and hospitals also appeared. It remains somewhat unclear how the Syrian Air Force is capable of striking so precisely such targets in an area, where, according to the same sources, these had already been destroyed. In all likelihood, Turkish-led forces employ some kind of self-propelled civilian targets that they bring to the combat zone together with their own media teams.

On the morning of February 26th, fighting between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and government forces erupted near the villages of Jubas and Turunbah.

However, something went unnoticed by the cameras of both Turkish and Western media. In southern Idlib, Syrian troops took control of Hass, Kafr Nabl, Bisaqla, Ba’rabu, Qiratah, Sahab, Qa’uri and Deir Sunbol. Kafr Nabl was the main strong point of Turkish-backed forces on this part of the frontline. Its fall marks the collapse of the group’s defences in the area.

According to pro-government sources, in the coming days Syrian troops are planning to clear the area of Zawiyah Mountain and to shorten the frontline on the administrative border between the provinces of Idlib and Lattakia. When this is done, the Syrian Army and its allies will be able to advance further towards the M4 highway.

The Syrian Army also shot down an unmanned combat aerial vehicle belonging to the Turkish Air Force over the Dadikh area. The downed drone was identified as a TAI Anka. This is a family of unmanned aerial vehicles developed for the Turkish Armed Forces. Pro-Assad sources brazenly claimed that the drone was used to support members of al-Qaeda. However, all Turkish outlets clearly knew that it was there to deliver humanitarian aid.

Meanwhile, Turkish state media has finally come up with an explanation for how Turkish military equipment could appear in the hands of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. So, now we know that Turkey does not deliver equipment to the terrorist group. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham members just accidentally “jump in” to it prior to battle.

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Google is planning to move its British users’ accounts out of the control of European Union privacy regulators, placing them under US jurisdiction instead, the company confirmed on 19 February. The shift, prompted by Britain’s exit from the EU, will leave the sensitive personal information of tens of millions with less protection and within easier reach of British law enforcement. But it won’t end there.

Alphabet Inc’s Google intends to require its British users to acknowledge new terms of service including the new jurisdiction.

Nothing about our services or our approach to privacy will change, including how we collect or process data, and how we respond to law enforcement demands for users’ information,” Google said in an emailed statement. “The protections of the UK GDPR will still apply to these users.” If that was true, they would leave it where it was and not go to the expense. This is just the start of much more to come.

Unsurprisingly, a spokesman declined to answer questions.

Mission creep

The British state is the West’s worst offender for breaches of privacy, mass surveillance and using its secretive 360-degree architecture of civilian supervision and control. For the government, more surveillance and gathered data is better, not worse. But Google’s announcement will be followed by the other big tech firms and digital startups will look upon the UK as an increased opportunity to make money from fewer safeguards.

It was only a two months ago that the Times reported that a leading British trade economist had warned that NHS patient data will be exploited by US technology companies under a trade deal with America. Alan Winters, director of the Trade Policy Observatory at Sussex University, said clauses on data sharing and algorithms that US negotiators want inserted into a deal will be used to capture the value in NHS patient records, estimated at £10 billion a year.

Last month, it was reported that the Department of Health and Social Care has been selling the medical data of millions of NHS patients to American and other international drugs companies having misled the public into believing the information would be “anonymous.”

Then just a few days ago it was reported that a US healthcare firm (praised by Donald Trump) has been handed £millions of taxpayers money to help the NHS identify its most “expensive” patients. The programme will rank people according to their risk of illness and has rightly sparked fears more could be turned down for operations because of a myriad of factors like age or weight. And, of course, it raises yet more fears the NHS could be on the table in a trade deal despite PM Boris Johnson’s claims it is not for sale.

The contract was agreed between NHS England and Optum – which assesses patients for America’s privatised insurance-led system. It divides NHS patients into high, medium and low risk groups and identifies “rising risk groups” such as those at risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Crimes

Optum is part of the United Healthcare Group who was fined just last month for defrauding its insured customers. It was also fined $2.5m for ‘insurance violations.‘ So bad is United Healthcare’s fine record they have their own ‘violations tracker‘ that shows it has been fined over $200million in 35 cases it lost, just in the USA. Their crimes include false claims, consumer protection violations, price-fixing, insurance fraud, pension violations, employee discrimination to name just a few.

The company is ranked 6th on the 2019 Fortune 500.

Anything goes policy

Moving UK users’ data to the USA makes bulk surveillance easier, and data protection much harder. The US and UK have an agreement on data, whereby the UK uses the US to use data in such a way as would be illegal in the UK. In addition, it makes it much harder to locate those breaches and then prosecute them.

Jim Killock, Executive Director of Open Rights Group, said:

Moving people’s personal information to the USA makes it easier for mass surveillance programmes to access it. There is nearly no privacy protection for non-US citizens.

“We have no reason to trust a Donald Trump government with information about UK citizens. The possibilities for abuse are enormous, from US immigration programmes through to attempts to politically and racially profile people for alleged extremist links.

“Data protection rights will also become more fragile, and are likely to be attacked in trade agreements pushing ‘data flows’.

“Google’s decision should worry everyone who think tech companies are too powerful and know too much about us. The UK must commit to European data protection standards, or we are likely to see our rights being swiftly undermined by ‘anything goes’ US privacy practices.”

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New Delhi, the capital of the self-professed “World’s Largest Democracy”, has turned into a dystopia after anti-government protests during the time of Trump’s geostrategically pivotal visit quickly descended into Islamophobic attacks and a state-backed killing spree as a direct result of the latest iteration of Prime Minister Modi’s infamous “Gujarat model” of state-on-citizen Hybrid War.

Dystopia In The Capital Of The Self-Professed “World’s Largest Democracy”

The Self-Professed ‘World’s Largest Democracy’ Is Experiencing A Real Uprising” as the author wrote late last year in response to the nationwide protests that erupted there against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which expedites the granting of this political privilege to religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who moved to India in order to supposedly flee persecution for their beliefs but which adds an overtly religious element to what’s constitutionally supposed to be the secular nature of the Indian state. Last month’s “Jawaharlal Nehru University Attack Showed Just How Fascist The ‘Modi Mob’ Is“, with the author using the neologism “Modi Mob” to describe the nationwide network of BJP supporters that actively works to intimidate all who are opposed to them on social media and increasingly in the streets. Seeing as how “India’s Building A ‘Hindu Rashtra’ Through Large-Scale ‘Demographic Engineering’“, it’s conceivable that a large-scale massacre against the Muslim minority had been planned for some time, especially since “India’s Doing Everything That Israel Wishes It Could Do, But Few Seem To Care” following its de-facto annexation of Kashmir last August. That’s exactly what’s happening in New Delhi nowadays after anti-government protests during the time of Trump’s geostrategically pivotal visit quickly descended into Islamophobic attacks and a state-backed killing spree as a result of the latest iteration of Prime Minister Modi’s infamous “Gujarat model” of siccing Hindutva paramilitary death squads against Indian Muslims for political-religious purposes.

The Modi Mob Might Be Planning A Massive Anti-Muslim Massacre

The capital of the self-professed “world’s largest democracy” is in such a state of dystopia at the moment that a so-called “prohibitory order” has just been imposed by the police. According to Sputnik, “Carrying weapons or any incendiary material is prohibited. Printing, circulation or dissemination of communally sensitive, provocative material even on social media is prohibited. Assembly of more than four persons and any kind of demonstration without any permission of competent authority is prohibited.” Upping the ante to unprecedentedly dangerous levels, the police have been ordered to shoot on sight in one of New Delhi’s districts, with the city’s Chief Minister calling for a military intervention and a citywide curfew. For all intents and purposes, that would amount to martial law and the possible imposition of the feared “Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act” (AFSPA) that’s been abused to carry out arbitrary detentions and even extrajudicial killings for over the past half-century. The state might predictably “justify” this move on the basis of its unproven claims that “the violence in some parts of Delhi appears to be orchestrated so that those involved in it get wide publicity” during Trump’s visit, something that new RT contributor and senior Indian journalist Ashish Shukla speculatively claimed beyond all reason is proof of a “time-tested Western modus operandi” in spite of India nowadays being one of the US’ main military-strategic (“junior”) partners anywhere in the world whose stability is central to achieving America’s grand strategic objectives in the New Cold War.

Tricky Infowar Tactics

The narrative that the Indian government, its Mainstream & Alternative Media supporters like Shukla, and the Modi Mob are propagating is heavy with innuendo that the latest events might part of a “terrorist conspiracy” that might have even been “plotted in Pakistan” (given their propensity to paint their neighboring rival as the bogeyman anytime anything whatsoever at all goes wrong inside their country), hoping that this will earn them the “international community’s” sympathy which could then be exploited as a “carte blanche’ for carrying out a massive anti-Muslim massacre. Should any criticism arise during the course of that killing campaign, then it can be expected that India will simply blame “liberals” like new RT contributor Sanjay Patrakar preemptively did last month in his op-ed titled “Protests over citizenship law in India prove liberal elites only like democracy if they agree with the results“. Shukla, for his part, titled his previously cited article “Sorry, Western Media: Delhi violence is unlikely to upset Trump or Modi”, confirming that there’s indeed a visible trend of pro-government commentators using publicly financed Russian international media as a means for covering their government’s tracks in advance of what the author strongly suspects is a preplanned massacre, taking advantage of RT’s editorial policy of criticizing liberalism and the Western media to trick this globally respected and extremely reputable outlet into publishing their discredited infowar pieces.

Debunking The Modi Mob’s Narrative

The problem, however, is that there’s credible evidence that the “official narrative” of implying a “terrorist conspiracy” is entirely fraudulent. A mosque was set ablaze by the Modi Mob and members of this death squad even torched the homes of several Muslim families according to the online Indian media outlet Scroll.in. “The Caravan”, an Indian magazine, also published a piece headlined “Delhi violence: Cops shouted “Jai Shri Ram” with armed Hindu mob, charged at Muslims“. It’s for this reason why Udit Raj, a politician from the Congress opposition party, told India’s ANI that “The Police, RSS and BJP have orchestrated the riots in Maujpur, Jaffrabad and Karawal Nagar”. The three aforementioned news reports are from Indian media, not the foreign press, and ANI is known to be close to the BJP. This “politically inconvenient” fact immediately discredits Shukla’s completely unsubstantiated infowar claim that there’s an “international conspiracy” brewing against India since the dystopia that’s taken over New Delhi in the past few days is a natural outcome of the country’s preexisting identity differences that were deliberately exacerbated by the ruling party per its unstated but heavily implied envisaged goal of creating a “Hindu Rashtra” (Hindu fundamentalist state) at the expense of the hundreds of millions of its non-Hindu people.

State-On-Citizen Hybrid Warfare

Pakistani Prime Minister Khan tweeted that “Today in India we are seeing the Nazi-inspired RSS ideology take over a nuclear-armed state of over a billion people. Whenever a racist ideology based on hatred takes over, it leads to bloodshed. As I had predicted in my address to UN GA last yr, once the genie is out of the bottle the bloodshed will get worse. IOJK was the beginning. Now 200 million Muslims in India are being targeted. The world community must act now.” Truth be told, he’s absolutely correct, having presciently predicted this development last September during his keynote speech at the UN General Assembly that the author analyzed at the time in his piece about how “Pakistan Just Warned The World About The 21st Century’s Munich Moment“. Going even further, considering that the author is literally an internationally recognized expert on Hybrid Warfare (having even been cited twice by the NATO Defence College on page 2 of their November 2015 research paper on “Russia’s Renewed Military Thinking: Non-Linear Warfare and Reflexive Control” and page 10 of their December 2015 book about “NATO’s Response To Hybrid Threats“), he can confidently assert that the latest events in New Delhi bear all the hallmarks of state-on-citizen Hybrid Warfare per a variation of the model that he elaborated on in his August 2015 book titled “Hybrid Wars: The Indirect Adaptive Approach To Regime Change” (available on Kindle here and as a free PDF here) and its follow-up e-book “The Law Of Hybrid Warfare” (available in full on Kindle here and for free on a chapter-by-chapter basis here).

Concluding Thoughts

As it stands, the capital of the self-professed “world’s largest democracy” is sliding faster than ever into dystopia, with Modi Mob violence completely out of control as the state sits back, stokes the flames, and signals to its death squads that an anti-Muslim massacre might be the most “patriotic” thing that any “true believer” in Hindutva could do at the moment to show their support for India’s goal of transforming into a “Hindu Rashtra”. The situation is extremely disturbing but wasn’t at all unpredictable since it was only a matter of time before Modi’s “Gujurat model” of state-on-citizen Hybrid Warfare spread to New Delhi, having been inspired by his forerunners’ killing campaign against the Sikhs of Punjab in 1984 and then recently “perfected” by the man himself against the Muslims of Kashmir in 2019 like the author wrote in his analysis last September about how “1984 Punjab Was The Template For 2019 Kashmir“. Prime Minister Khan made an important point in saying that “the world community must act now” because the scale and scope of the potentially imminent massacre that might take place in New Delhi could set the entire subcontinent of over 1,5 billion people ablaze, though it’s entirely foreseeable that the Modi Mob will disingenously rebuke this principled call for a diplomatic intervention as nothing more “Western” and “liberal” meddling despite it being an issue of serious concern for the whole world.

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This article was originally published on OneWorld.

Andrew Korybko is an American Moscow-based political analyst specializing in the relationship between the US strategy in Afro-Eurasia, China’s One Belt One Road global vision of New Silk Road connectivity, and Hybrid Warfare. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

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Boeing’s appointment last week of Kenneth Feinberg to administer the aerospace giant’s $50 million Community Investment Fund to compensate the communities affected by the two 737 Max 8 crashes and the resulting 346 deaths leaves little doubt that the account will be used to defend the airplane manufacturer’s multi-billion-dollar profits.

Feinberg played a similar role when he was selected in July 2019 to head the $50 million Boeing Financial Assistance Fund. In that role, he oversaw payments of a mere $144,500 to each family that lost a loved one on either the crash of Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 outside of Jakarta, Indonesia or Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019 near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

In total, Boeing has pledged only $100 million to compensate the crash victims’ families and neighborhoods for putting their friends and relatives on the deadly Max 8 jets. For comparison, the company reported revenues of $76.6 billion in 2019 and has pledged to pay airlines at least $5 billion for their lost profits resulting from the two crashes. To date, no executives at the company or regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration, which were all aware of the deadly flaws in the Max 8, have been prosecuted or even charged for the murder of the 346 men, women and children who were killed.

The selection of Feinberg to oversee both funds was approved by Boeing’s executives with good reason. As Wall Street’s preeminent corporate “fixer,” he has repeatedly been called upon to protect the interests of the country’s corporate and political elite. In recent times, he has chaired an escrow account to minimize compensation to victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US. He was also chosen by the Obama administration as its “pay czar” to ensure that the heads of bailed-out Wall Street banks received multi-million-dollar bonuses in the wake of the 2008 financial crash.

Feinberg’s chief responsibility will be to ensure that whatever money Boeing does eventually pay out is vetted in such a way that the corporation will ultimately be absolved for manufacturing lethal airplanes. While Tim Keating, the Boeing executive who is overseeing the funds, has stated that Boeing is “empower[ing] the [crash victims’] families to decide how to allocate these funds,” a press release on the Community Investment Fund makes clear that “governments and other interested parties” will have the final say.

This is not the first time Feinberg’s services have been employed to minimize damage to major manufacturers in the wake of their criminal negligence. He was hired by General Motors in 2015 after it was exposed that the automaker hid an ignition switch fault in low-end GM vehicles that killed at least 169 people. Under rules set by the Obama administration, Feinberg rejected 90 percent of the claims submitted against GM for the company’s criminal negligence, saving GM several billion dollars in liability costs.

The fixer is playing a similar role for Boeing. The payouts that Boeing gave directly to its victims’ families amounted to less than what ex-CEO Dennis Muilenburg averaged in a month. The company is also using the fund, and Feinberg’s skills, in an attempt to stave off other lawsuits. So far only 50 families have come forward with additional claims, which Boeing has settled out of court for $1.2 million for each life lost. If Feinberg is able to convince the other 296 families that they should accept Boeing’s payout and not seek further damages, it will save Boeing an estimated $355.2 million.

Other cases in which Feinberg has saved giant corporations or the federal government hundreds of millions or billions of dollars include suits by Vietnam citizens and US soldiers against Dow and Monsanto for supplying Agent Orange to the American military, and ensuring that BP paid only a quarter of what it originally claimed it would pay to people devastated by the ecological catastrophe caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion.

Feinberg, who emerged as a political figure as chief of staff for Senator Ted Kennedy in the late 1970s, was also appointed trustee of the victim compensation fund for the notoriously dangerous Dalkon Shield, a birth control device made by A.H. Robins. It was established that Robins knew of the dangers the device posed to women’s health, including causing death, and suppressed and destroyed such information where and whenever it could.

The Dalkon Shield ultimately caused life-threatening pelvic infections in more than 200,000 women, with side effects including complete hysterectomy, chronic pelvic pain and/or permanent infertility. Feinberg ensured that each woman injured would receive money from the fund only if she forfeited her right to sue outside of the settlement. Those who accepted the deal received an average of $725.

Boeing is eager to receive similar windfalls. Over the past year, Boeing’s total stock value has fallen more than $72 billion. It has been forced to pay nearly $19 billion as a result of the grounding of its 737 Max fleet, including compensation to airlines for canceled flights and maintenance costs.

Feinberg is being used to minimize the money going to the company’s victims and to silence criticism so the aerospace giant can get back to business as usual as soon as possible.

It is still unclear, however, when or even if the Max 8 will ever fly again. Since its grounding last March, a steady stream of internal leaks, news reports, interviews with former employees and congressional hearings have provided a mountain of evidence that the plane is fundamentally unsafe and should remain grounded indefinitely.

Just last week, in a report to the FAA, Boeing revealed that it found trash and debris in the fuel tanks of 35 of 50 inspected Max 8s that were being reviewed in preparation for the plane’s reintroduction into service. Objects that were discovered in the fuel tanks included tools, rags, shoe covers and other detritus, all of which can cause fires, block fuel lines and trigger other potentially catastrophic problems.

The planes that were reviewed are among the nearly 400 Max 8s that were made after the jets’ grounding, which are all now being inspected. According to company spokesman Bernard Choi, “It’s still undecided,” if Boeing will mandate the inspection of the other 385 jets that have been delivered to customers. He claimed, despite the past year’s evidence to the contrary, that, “Obviously, we’ll do what’s right for safety.”

Both Boeing and the FAA also missed a fault in the electrical wiring related to the aircraft’s horizontal wing, which can create a short and cause an unrecoverable, uncontrolled dive similar to the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes. Boeing argues that because the same wiring configuration was authorized for use on the older 737 NG model, it shouldn’t need to inspect the wiring for the Max 8, basing itself on safety regulations from the early 1990s.

It is likely, however, that the FAA will force Boeing to resolve the fault, pushing back the relaunch of the Max 8 by months, in order to relieve pressure from other regulatory agencies, particularly the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Even if the FAA approves the Max 8 to fly, it is now a given that other countries will not allow the Max 8 to fly unless also approved by the EASA, meaning that the Max 8 must satisfy two sets of regulators if Boeing is to have any hope of pushing its flagship aircraft into international aviation markets.

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