[Majorityrights News] KP interview with James Gilmore, former diplomat and insider from first Trump administration Posted by Guessedworker on Sunday, 05 January 2025 00:35.
[Majorityrights News] Trump will ‘arm Ukraine to the teeth’ if Putin won’t negotiate ceasefire Posted by Guessedworker on Tuesday, 12 November 2024 16:20.
[Majorityrights News] Alex Navalny, born 4th June, 1976; died at Yamalo-Nenets penitentiary 16th February, 2024 Posted by Guessedworker on Friday, 16 February 2024 23:43.
[Majorityrights Central] A couple of exchanges on the nature and meaning of Christianity’s origin Posted by Guessedworker on Tuesday, 25 July 2023 22:19.
[Majorityrights News] Is the Ukrainian counter-offensive for Bakhmut the counter-offensive for Ukraine? Posted by Guessedworker on Thursday, 18 May 2023 18:55.
Posted by DanielS on Saturday, 10 December 2016 14:15.
Reuters, “The CIA has concluded that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help President-elect Donald Trump win the White House, and not just to undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system, the Washington Post reported on Friday.” 9 Dec 2016:
Citing U.S. officials briefed on the matter, the Post said intelligence agencies had identified individuals with connections to the Russian government who provided thousands of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and others, including the chairman of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, to WikiLeaks.
The officials described the individuals as people known to the intelligence community who were part of a wider Russian operation to boost Trump and reduce Clinton’s chances of winning.
“It is the assessment of the intelligence community that Russia’s goal here was to favor one candidate over the other, to help Trump get elected,” the Post quoted a senior U.S. official as saying. “That’s the consensus view.”
The Post said the official had been briefed on an intelligence presentation made by the Central Intelligence Agency to key U.S. senators behind closed-doors last week.
The CIA, in what the Post said was a secret assessment, cited a growing body of evidence from multiple sources. Briefers told the senators it was now “quite clear” that electing Trump was Russia’s goal, the Post quoted officials as saying on condition of anonymity.
In October, the U.S. government formally accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential election.
President Barack Obama has said he warned Russian President Vladimir Putin about consequences for the attacks. But Russian officials have denied all accusations of interference in the U.S. election.
A CIA spokeswoman said the agency had no comment on the report.
Trump has said he is not convinced Russia was behind the cyber attacks. His transition team issued a statement on “claims of foreign interference in U.S. elections” on Friday but did not directly address the issue.
The hacked emails passed to WikiLeaks were a regular source of embarrassment to the Clinton campaign during the race for the presidency.
The CIA presentation fell short of a formal U.S. assessment by all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies, the Post said. A senior U.S. official said there remained minor disagreements among intelligence officials about the assessment because some questions are unanswered, it said.
Intelligence agencies did not have specific intelligence showing the Kremlin directed the individuals to pass the hacked emails to WikiLeaks, another senior official told the Post. The actors were “one step” removed from the Russian government rather than government employees, the official said.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said in a television interview that the Russian government was not the source of the emails, the Post said.
The British reporter, Luke Harding, who revealed “the dossier” which alleged Trump campaign ties to Russia. Harding discusses the disposition of Russian ‘Active Measures’ to influence the US election and White Nationalist politics in Europe - such as with Marine le Pen (Russia gave her a 10 million dollar loan). He also talks about the brutal treatment of dissenters from Putin’s regime and how that reflects Putin’s long term goal for the Russian Federation to be one of only a few grand players in the world, expanding its reach well beyond ethno-national borders.
Posted by DanielS on Thursday, 08 December 2016 09:10.
Israeli missile attack on the Al-Mezzeh Airport, west of Damascus.
TNO, “Israeli Attack as Aleppo End-Game Nears”, 7 Dec 2016:
Israel has launched another devastating airstrike in Damascus in a desperate attempt to thwart the final defeat of the terrorist “rebels” in the Syrian city of Aleppo.
The latest Israeli attack took place on an airport in Damascus near Syrian President al-Assad’s personal home on Wednesday morning.
The Syrian Arab News Agency reported that the “Israeli enemy launched at 3:00 a.m. Wednesday a number of surface-to-surface missiles from inside the occupied territories to the west of Tall Abu al-Nada (hill) that landed in the surroundings of al-Mezzeh Airport west of Damascus.”
The attack was part of the “desperate attempts of the Israeli enemy to support the terrorist groups and raise their deteriorating morale,” SANA added.
“This attack will only make the Syrian Arab Army even more determined to cut off the hands of the terrorist agents of the Zionist entity, which should be held fully responsible for the repercussions and consequences of these criminal attacks.”
SANA concluded that the attack “came a week after the air force of the Israeli army fired from the Lebanese airspace two missiles on al-Sabboura area in the western countryside of Damascus, in an attempt to divert attention from the successes which the Syrian army has been making against the terrorist organizations.”
The Israeli attack came as Syrian army forces, backed by ground units from Hezbollah and Iran, ousted the ISIS and other U.S., U.K., French and E.U.-backed “rebel” terrorists from Aleppo’s Old City area.
After terrorizing inhabitants of the city for years with torture, and murders of the most demented kind, the terrorists have now played a “humanitarian” card, asking for a five-day “ceasefire” to allegedly allow remaining civilians to be evacuated.
This cynical ploy—clearly aimed at seeking “world sympathy”—is an attempt by the shrinking terrorist forces to shore up their collapsing front line by seeking time to bring up reinforcements.
More than 30,000 civilians had already crossed over into safe areas set up by the Syrian government-held west Aleppo.
For two months, using marinetraffic.com, we have been monitoring the movements of ships owned by a couple of NGOs, and, using data from data.unhcr.org. We have kept track of the daily arrivals of African immigrants in Italy. It turned out we were witness of a big scam and an illegal human traffic operation.
NGOs, smugglers, the mafia in cahoots with the European Union have shipped thousands of illegals into Europe under the pretext of rescuing people, assisted by the Italian coast guard which coordinated their activities.
Human traffickers contact the Italian coast guard in advance to receive support and to pick up their dubious cargo. NGO ships are directed to the “rescue spot” even as those to be rescued are still in Libya. The 15 ships that we observed are owned or leased by NGOs have regularly been seen to leave their Italian ports, head south, stop short of reaching the Libyan coast, pick up their human cargo, and take course back 260 miles to Italy even though the port of Zarzis in Tunis is just 60 mile away from the rescue spot.
The organizations in question are:MOAS, Jugend Rettet, Stichting Bootvluchting, Médecins Sans Frontières, Save the Children, Proactiva Open Arms, Sea-Watch.org, Sea-Eye and Life Boat.
The real intention of the people behind the NGOs is not clear. Their motive can be money, we would not be surprised if it turned out to be so. They may also be politically driven; the activities of the Malta-based organisation, MOAS, by trafficking people to Italy is the best guarantee that migrants will not show up on the Maltese shore. MOAS is managed by an Maltese Marine officer well known in Malta for his maltreatment of refugees 1). It is also possible that these organisations are managed by naive “do-gooders” who do not understand that offering their services they are acting like a magnet to the people from Africa and thus they are willy-nilly causing more fatalities, not to mention that their actions are destabilizing Europe.
How high-minded the intentions of these organisations might be, their actions are criminal as most of these migrants are not eligible for being granted asylum and will end up on the streets of Rome or Paris and undermine Europe stability raising racially motivated social tensions.
Brussels has created particular legislature to protect people traffickers against prosecution. In a dedicated section of an EU resolution entitled On Search and Rescue, the text states that “private ship masters and non-governmental organisations who assist in sea rescues in the Mediterranean Sea should not risk punishment for providing such assistance.”2)
During the two months of our observation, we have monitored at least 39,000 Africans illegally smuggled into Italy, which was done with the full consent of the Italian and European authorities.
* * *
Ships permanently used by NGOs off the Libyan coast
The Phoenix is one of the two MOAS vessels. The ship is regularly spotted in the territorial waters of Libya. It is registered in Belize, South America. However, the ship is owned and operated by the Maltese to bring the immigrants to Italia. Website: MOAS
The Topaz Responder, a 51-meter custom-made emergency response vessel, which hosts two high-speed rescue launches. The ship is managed in combination with MSF. This is one of the three ferries that can transport hundreds of people at one go. The ship is registered at the Marshall Islands. Website: MOAS
Iuventa is registered under the flag of the Netherlands and owned by the German NGO Jugend Rettet. Website: Jugend Rettet.
The Golfo Azzurro is used by the Dutch ‘Boat Refugee Foundation’. Golfo Azzurro operates under the Panama flag. The Boat Refugee Foundation charters the vessel for a symbolic price. Website: Bootvluchteling.
Dignity 1 is registered under the flag of Panama. We believe the ship belongs to Médecins Sans Frontières. Website: MSF
The Bourbon Argos, a ship of Médecins Sans Frontières. It is one of the three ships used to ferry people from the smaller vessels to Italy. The vessel is currently registered under the flag of Luxembourg. MSF.
The Aquarius is one of the many ships managed by Médecins Sans Frontières. It is registered under the flag of Gibraltar. Website: MSF.
The Vos Hestia search and rescue ship, chartered by the charity Save The Children, like many of the NGO vessels it is under the supervision of the Italian Coast Guard Website: Save the Children.
Proactiva Open Arms operates the Astral. We spotted the Astral many times in Libyan territorial waters. The ship disappeared on a regular basis from the AIS tracking websites. Website: Proactiva Open Arms.
The MS Sea-Watch I is owned by a Berlin-based organisation. It works closely with Watch The Med, a transnational network of people that fight against the European border regime, and demand a free and safe passage to Europe. Website: Sea-Watch.
The MS Sea-Watch II is owned by a Berlin-based organisation. It works closely with Watch The Med a transnational network of people that fight against the European border regime, and they demand a free and safe passage to Europe. Website: Sea-Watch.
The Audur is registered under the Netherlands’ flag. We do not know to whom this ship belongs.
The MS Sea-Eye is owned by Sea-Eye-eV. Michael Buschheuer from Regensburg, Germany, and a group of family and friends founded the non-profit sea rescue organisation Sea-Eye e.V. Website: Sea-Eye.
The Speedy is a speedboat owned by Sea-Eye-eV. The ship is confiscated by the Libyan government. Website: Sea-Eye.
Minden is owned by the German organisation LifeBoat. The vessel is currently registered under the flag of Germany. Website: Lifeboat.
More information:
In October we discovered that four NGOs picked up people in the Libyan territorial waters. We have proof that these smugglers communicated their action in advance with the Italian authorities. Ten hours before the immigrants left Libya, the Italian coast guard directed the NGOs to the “rescue” spot: Full account “Caught in the act: NGOs deal in migrant smuggling”
The Center for Political Beauty is an assault team that establishes moral beauty, political poetry and human greatness while aiming to preserve humanitarianism. The group’s basic understanding is that the legacy of the Holocaust is rendered void by political apathy, the rejection of refugees and cowardice. It believes that Germany should not only learn from its History but also take action.
The Center for Political Beauty engages in the most innovative forms of political performance art- an expanded approach to theatre: art must hurt provoke and rise in revolt. In one basic alliance of terms: aggressive humanism.
Posted by DanielS on Tuesday, 06 December 2016 10:09.
Sun: “Britain to send hundreds of soldiers to Poland to ward off Russian troops, as UK looks to Warsaw as a key Brexit ally”
Prime Minister hoping to cement relations with her Polish counterpart ahead of fraught EU negotiations
BRITAIN will send 150 troops to help protect Poland from Russian aggression as Theresa May looks to secure Warsaw’s backing in Brexit talks.
A summit between the PM and her Polish counterpart Beata Szydlo [was held] in an effort to stand up to bolshie Putin and allay Polish fears about its citizens remaining in the UK after Britain leaves the EU.
Theresa May is trying to cement ties with Polish counterpart Beata Szydlo ahead of Brexit negotiations
The deployment of troops from the Light Dragoons will be based in the northeastern town of Orzysz, just 100km from the key Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, from April.
It is here that Russia is planning to base Nuclear-capable missiles posing a major threat to cities in northern Europe.
While the deployment is small compared to Russia’s vast military, the gesture is intended to be symbolic of the UK’s commitment to her NATO allies and Britain’s ties to Poland.
Theresa May said on Sunday: “We share a clear commitment to take our co-operation to the next level and to firmly establish the UK and Poland as resolute and strategic allies.
“We will never forget the Polish pilots who braved the skies alongside us during World War Two … nor the valuable contribution made by so many Poles in our country today.
“I am determined that Brexit will not weaken our relationship … rather it will serve as a catalyst to strengthen it.”
Deployment of 150 troops will be stationed near the border with Kaliningrad, a key Russian enclave
Brexit-related talks will likely rile EU leaders after Brussels banned member states from formal negotiations with Britain before Article 50 is triggered in March next year
While the British deployment will be small the symbolic gesture is intended to help secure Anglo-Polish ties
Posted by DanielS on Sunday, 04 December 2016 07:58.
Visigrad Post, “Slovakia Prevents Islam From Becoming A State Religion”, 1 Dec 2016:
That’s the way to do it: make Islam illegal.
Slovakia – On Wednesday 30 November the Slovak parliament passed a law proposed by members of the coalition of Prime Minister Robert Fico to prevent Islam from gaining official status in Slovakia.
The Slovak National Party (SNS) proposed that, in order for a religion to be formally recognized by the State, it should have at least 50,000 members -instead of the 20,000 members before that law- and so to have State grants and run its own schools.
For the time being according to the latest statistics Slovakia has 2,000 Muslims, 5,000 according to the Slovak Islamic Foundation. On the 5.4 million inhabitants in Slovakia, 62 per cent declare themselves Roman Catholics.
The president of the Slovak National Party Andrej Danko said on this subject that “Islamization begins with a kebab and this is what happens in Bratislava, we must be aware of what we could face in 5 or 10 years … We must do everything in our power to ensure that no mosques are built in the future.”
The law was approved by two-thirds of the Slovak parliament, including the ruling coalition headed by left-wing prime minister Robert Fico and opposition parties. The Nationalist Party The SNS then proposed that not 50,000 but 250,000 should compose an official religion, which was immediately rejected.
NPR, “Trump’s Potential Conflicts Of Interest: ‘They’re Everywhere”:
Donald Trump tweeted that he will be taking himself out of his business operations and will announce the detail his plan on Dec. 15th. But that hasn’t eliminated concerns that the trump organization’s business interests in the US and in at least twenty countries around the world could lead to conflicts of interest when Trump becomes president.
In response to Trump’s tweets yesterday, the office of government ethics tweeted that - as we discussed with your council - divestiture is the way to resolve these conflicts.
As we are about to hear, “divestiture” is different from Trump taking himself out of his business operations.
16 democratic members of the house judiciary requested that the committee hold hearings to discuss conflict of interest provisions that might apply to Trump when he becomes president.
New York Times investigative reporter Eric Lipton tells Fresh Air’s Terry Gross that because of a “quirk in the law,” American presidents are not mandated to separate themselves from their businesses.
“He could legally continue to operate them and even take actions as president that would benefit those businesses, and it wouldn’t be a formal ethics violation,” Lipton says.
Trump’s business entanglements and the complication of his potential conflicts of interest as president are unprecedented. It’s worth a listen - NPR, 1 Dec 2016
Israeli missile attack on the Al-Mezzeh Airport, west of Damascus.
Ivanka’s simple presence as part of the entourage of the Trump administration is