"‘It could have been any of us’: Disdain for Trump runs among ambassadors" by David E. Sanger New York Times, July 10, 2019
WASHINGTON — Ask members of the Washington diplomatic corps about the cables that Sir Kim Darroch, the British ambassador who resigned Wednesday, wrote to London describing the dysfunction and chaos of the Trump administration, and their response is uniform: We wrote the same stuff.
“Yes, yes, everyone does,” Gérard Araud, who retired this spring as the French ambassador, said Wednesday morning of his own missives from Washington. “But fortunately I knew that nothing would remain secret, so I sent them in a most confidential manner.”
Must have been by something other than electronic then.
So did Darroch, who alone and with Araud, tried to navigate the minefield of serving as the chief representative of longtime US allies to a president who does not think much of the value of alliances.
With a few exceptions — including the ambassadors from Israel and the United Arab Emirates, who have supported Trump’s every move — foreign diplomats in Washington these days describe living in something of a black hole.
Decisions that directly affect their nations’ trade relationships or troops are delivered with no notice. Their contacts inside the State Department, the Treasury, and Congress freely tell them they have little idea what decisions Trump may make, or what he may reverse, and the Trump administration has almost reveled in keeping foreign diplomats in the dark.
I suspect that part of that is the wish to avoid leaks to the pre$$, especially having the diplomatic immunity. The other factor is obviously Kushner and the JQ.
While Darroch, following in the tradition of his predecessors, hosted receptions in the British Embassy’s grand ballroom and weekend cocktail parties under tents on the lawn overlooking Embassy Row, few administration officials have attended.
There were occasional appearances by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the president’s elder daughter and son-in-law, who also serve as the president’s senior advisers and live just a few blocks from the embassy with their children. A few other officials, like Kellyanne Conway, the counselor to the president, showed up at Darroch’s famous New Year’s parties, held amid the embassy’s stunning art collection, but those were rare occasions. Trump’s secretaries of state, Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo, did not appear to nurture the “special relationship.” Nor did Vice President Mike Pence, who lives next door to the British Embassy.
Well, Tillerson said Kushner left him in the dark and, according to the Washington ComPost:
"Senior Trump officials regularly party at the embassy, and a coterie — including Kellyanne Conway, Stephen Miller, Mick Mulvaney, Sarah Sanders and ally Chris Ruddy — have all been guests for private dinners, where they share about the president and his decision making. Matt Whitaker, as attorney general, was seen dancing there after midnight on New Year’s Eve, and Darroch himself frequently meets with John Bolton and had early morning breakfast meetings with John Kelly, the former chief of staff, according to people familiar with the matter. He has been key in working with Trump’s aides behind the scenes to arrange visits to Britain in a way that would avoid angering the president, White House and embassy officials say."
Well, which is it?
Depends on which pos paper you want to believe, I gue$$.
Back to Sanger's s**t-slinging:
In December, when Trump announced via Twitter that the United States was withdrawing forces from Syria — where both the British and the French have deployed troops, some of them dependent on US forces for transportation and intelligence — Darroch was given no notice. To be fair, Trump’s own national security team was also taken aback, and the defense secretary, Jim Mattis, resigned in protest. (Trump later insisted Mattis was fired.)
Yeah, he took back his Christmas gifts like some sort of grinch, although he did give out one present (just kicking around few things from last year before voting and catching the bus back home).
The Syria decision was quietly reversed, in part, but it was another example of the chaos that Darroch had described to his successor as national security adviser, Mark Sedwill, in a 2017 memorandum that leaked Saturday, leading to Trump’s declaration that the ambassador to America’s longtime ally was, in effect, persona non grata.
This is become much ado about nothing, and its deeper purpose seems to be pressuring Trump; otherwise, it wouldn't even be in my pre$$.
Similarly, the White House barely gave allies notice of Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear agreement last year, even though Britain, France, and Germany had helped negotiate it. As one NATO ambassador noted, it took weeks for the administration to gather them and describe its new Iran strategy, which was composed largely of a series of 12 demands that Pompeo also announced in a speech.
Traditionally, the British ambassador would be brought in for consultations with senior US officials about major decisions under consideration in the Middle East, or in dealing with Russia, where Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters, the British equivalent to the National Security Agency, often takes the lead in gathering intelligence, but not in the Trump era.
Yeah, the GCHQ spies on Americans and then turns the information over to the NSA, thereby helping them skirt the law regarding spying on American citizens. Then the U.S. returns the favored if asked.
There will be a new British ambassador, presumably appointed after Parliament selects a new prime minister to replace the departing Theresa May, and seats a new government, but under current conditions it is unclear whether that diplomat’s access will be much better.
A comment from the State Department about Darroch’s departure on Wednesday blandly repeated its commitment to the “special relationship” between the United States and Britain.
The two nations “share a bond that is bigger than any individual,” the statement said, “and we look forward to continuing that partnership.”
The partnership is nothing more than an Anglo-American front for Zionist Jewry and Israel!
“For me, as a foreigner, it was fascinating,’’ said Araud, who now looks back at his tenure as French ambassador as a grand political science experiment. “It’s what happens when a populist leader takes command in a liberal democracy. These people don’t recognize or accept the idea that an ambassador or a bureaucrat could be of any use. They only want to deal with other leaders.”
Araud recalled a moment in 2017 when France’s foreign minister was planning a trip to Washington. The ambassador gave the State Department two months notice to try to get on Tillerson’s schedule. They never heard back until a day before the event, Araud recalled, only to be told the meeting would last only 20 minutes. “So the minister didn’t come,’’ he said.
Darroch was somewhat more successful. From his time as national security adviser, he had deep contacts in the intelligence agencies in the United States, and among the permanent class of national security specialists, but even in those conversations, officials often expressed mystification about how decisions in the Trump administration were made and policy generated.....
It's like what I said before, I suspect that part of that is the wish to avoid leaks to the pre$$, especially having the diplomatic immunity, and what it also looks like is Trump's attempt to keep the Deep State in the dark.
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BREAKING NEWS: Britain says Iranian vessels tried to block ship in Gulf
"US accuses Iran of ‘nuclear extortion’ at emergency meeting of atomic energy watchdog" by Erin Cunningham The Washington Post, July 10, 2019
It's like they both take turns.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United States on Wednesday accused Iran of ‘‘nuclear extortion’’ and said its plans to ramp up its atomic energy activities would ‘‘exacerbate’’ tensions and isolate Tehran.
I'm flummoxed and flabbergasted at the charge, and ever hear of the Samson Option?
‘‘There is no credible reason for Iran to expand its nuclear program, and there is no way to read this as anything other than a crude and transparent attempt to extort payments from the international community,’’ the United States said at an emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors Iran’s nuclear activities.
Who called it?
Iran this week began enriching uranium beyond the limit set under its 2015 agreement with world powers, which curbed its atomic energy activities in exchange for widespread sanctions relief.
In its statement to the IAEA board of governors, the United States called on Tehran to pursue negotiations ‘‘without preconditions.’’
‘‘Iran should also know, however, that the only path to sanctions relief is through such negotiations, not nuclear extortion,’’ it said.
The U.S. government is too far in Zionist thrall given the chutzpah.
President Trump threatened Iran with more sanctions Wednesday and said on Twitter — without citing any evidence — that Iran ‘‘has long been secretly ‘enriching’” uranium in violation of the deal.
Kind of a lame ass challenge to the Trump lie, WaComPo.
The remarks come amid high-level efforts to salvage the 2015 nuclear pact, also known as the JCPOA. Trump abandoned the agreement last year and reimposed a near-total embargo on the Iranian economy.
OMG, the Washington ComPost waits for the 7th paragraph to mention that this entire "crisis" has been instigated by Trump and the U.S. government, after framing the issue as one of the U.S. government trying to negotiate!
How much more disingenuous can you get?
At the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Russia’s mission called the emergency session — which was requested by the United States — extraordinary and said Iran’s low-enriched uranium ‘‘does not create risks in terms of proliferation of nuclear weapons.’’
‘‘The root cause of [Iran’s] countermeasures are obvious to us. The terms of the deal were violated long ago,’’ Russia said of the US decision to withdraw. ‘‘And it was not Iran who did this.’’
It's obvious to anyone with half a brain in this world!
European nations, including France, Germany, and Britain, said in a joint statement that they were ‘‘deeply concerned that Iran is pursuing activities inconsistent with its JCPOA commitments.’’ They urged Iran to ‘‘immediately reverse the actions and to avoid any further escalatory steps.’’
You might as well give up on Europe, for they are nothing more than a toady vassal for U.S. dictates.
The head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, said Wednesday that Iran would not reverse its decision to boost uranium enrichment, characterizing it as an ‘‘unchangeable strategy’’ to compel world powers to reset the terms of the pact.
He spoke during a meeting with French presidential envoy Emmanuel Bonne, who was in Tehran to help ease tensions.
Earlier this month, Iran breached the 300-kilogram limit on the amount of enriched uranium allowed under the agreement and warned that it would continue to scale back its obligations at 60-day intervals. European nations have urged Iran to reverse course and comply with the pact, but Iranian officials, including President Hassan Rouhani, have criticized Europe for what they say is a policy of censuring Iran while allowing US violations of the deal to go unpunished.
Well, yeah, any rational person is wondering why the Iranians have to abide by a deal that the EU and US do not.
‘‘On one side, Americans described the JCPOA as the worst possible deal and withdrew from it,’’ Rouhani said at a cabinet meeting Wednesday, according to the Mehr news agency. ‘‘On the other side, when Iran reduces its commitments to the deal, everyone expresses concern, while they should be concerned about the United States, which violated the entire agreement.’’
He said the US request to convene the IAEA’s board of governors was ridiculous.....
Well, yeah, but, a drunken nuclear power with an Iago for a friend.
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Related:
"Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney accused world leaders Wednesday of failing to protect journalists and responding with ‘‘a collective shrug’’ over the slaying of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi. Clooney, the British government’s envoy on media freedom, said at a conference on press freedom that ‘‘journalists are under attack like never before,’’ not just while covering wars but for exposing crime and corruption. ‘‘The vast majority of these murders go unpunished,’’ she said, adding that ‘‘world leaders responded with little more than a collective shrug’’ to Khashoggi’s killing by agents close to the Saudi crown prince. The Washington Post columnist was killed inside Saudi Arabia’s Consulate in Istanbul last year. Clooney also took aim at President Trump, saying ‘‘the country of James Madison’’ — a champion of a free press — ‘‘has a leader today who vilifies the media.’’ According to the United Nations cultural body UNESCO, 99 media workers were killed worldwide in 2018. The conference was called with the aim of improving protection for journalists around the world."
Maybe she should have held the conference in Australia not London, and isn't she also George Clooney's wife?
Honestly, I'm tired of the $elf-$erving whining off the pre$$, and it coming from the place where they are holding Assange makes it that much more distasteful!
They mourn for the Saudi CIA agent but not the thousands in Yemen, and why would they? Who do you think is helping foment all these wars with their lies blared from headlines?
You guys can f*** off regarding the goddamn $hell game and mass psyop for public mind manipulation purposes.
Oh, speaking of freedom:
"Alexa will see you now. Britain’s health care service is teaming up with Amazon’s digital voice assistant to help answer medical queries with advice from the service’s official website. The British government said Wednesday that the system can help senior citizens, blind people, and others who find it hard to access the Internet. Using Amazon’s algorithms, Alexa will answer voice questions from users about common maladies such as the flu or chickenpox with information verified by the National Health Service. Amazon sought to reassure users that their information will be kept confidential and not shared with third parties, adding that voice recordings can be deleted. Privacy campaigners, however, said they are concerned about the partnership and its implications because Amazon has a worrying track record on handling user data."
What, it is not like Alexa isn't already listening.
Related: Amazon’s Prime Day may tempt you to overspend
Expect the package to be late.
"The global push to more tightly regulate the Internet and big tech firms is spreading to one of the Web’s biggest and least visible corners: porn. The British government wants to require porn websites to verify their users are adults. The effort is being watched by other countries hoping to better regulate pornographic content but has raised concerns about privacy, censorship, and competition. It has run into multiple delays that reflect the confusion surrounding it. Under the plan, which is now expected to come into force late this year, British porn site visitors will be asked to prove they are 18 or older. Options to do so would include buying a card with an access code in a shop, where they will have to show photo ID, or going online to submit a copy of a passport or driver’s license or use a credit card."
Then they will know who you are, even as the biggest pedophiles are within the government and ruling cla$$ itself! You had Saville over there, we've got Epstein now, I mean, porn is the first thing they should have been after (or not).
Yeah, let's entrap the pedophiles so they get off.
Hope you are not using an iPhone:
"Apple Inc.’s flagship central London retail store gets a new neighbor on Thursday, as Microsoft Corp. opens its inaugural European high-street presence just feet away. Microsoft has taken over three floors and 22,000 square feet of a historic building on the corner of Oxford and Regent streets — London’s central shopping thoroughfare — originally designed in 1912. Technology giants’ push to open flashy stores to showcase their devices and software has proven to be one of the few bright spots for the UK’s ailing retail industry, which has been beset by bankruptcies, store closures, and rent cuts."
I would just turn it off.
{@@##$$%%^^&&}
"Merkel seen shaking again, renewing health concerns" by Melissa Eddy New York Times, July 10, 2019
BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany insisted Wednesday that she was “well” and capable of fulfilling her job after she was seen shaking uncontrollably in public for the third time in less than a month, reviving concern about her health.
In videos of the event, she was seen struggling to remain still as her arms and legs began trembling while she stood beside Antti Rinne, Finland’s prime minister, watching a military honor guard.
As she had in the previous incidents, Merkel clasped her hands in front of her in an apparently futile attempt to contain the tremors.
Speaking to reporters less than an hour later during a news briefing, Merkel said, “I am well.”
Pressed by a reporter for more of an explanation, Merkel said that the shaking Wednesday was part of the psychological trauma she suffered after experiencing uncontrolled trembling under similar circumstances June 18, while appearing with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine in the full afternoon sun.
That is not only a lame excuse, it calls into question her fitness for office.
Her aides attributed the initial shaking to dehydration, a problem that has plagued the chancellor in the past. After that episode, she also appeared at a news conference a short time later and told reporters that she had drunk several glasses of water and was doing fine, but the trembling returned nine days later, when she stood alongside the German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, during a ceremony in the presidential palace. Although her aides again said that she was well, it became more of a concern. She later explained that episode as linked to what had happened during Zelenskiy’s visit.
Germans prize privacy and the chancellor’s health is not usually a matter of public interest.
“I must live with this for a little while,” Merkel said. “But I think that just as it has come, it will go away again.”
That's called denial.
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Of course, another German chancellor had the shakes but he got out of bunker and is still alive in Argentina and plotting his return!
He's going to ride to power on one of these, and a lot of people are not happy about it.
{@@##$$%%^^&&}
Meanwhile, in the Pacific, another empire is rising from the ashes of history:
"South Korea warns of ‘emergency’ as spat escalates with Japan" by Min Joo Kim Washington Post, July 10, 2019
SEOUL — South Korea’s leader warned Wednesday of an ‘‘unprecedented emergency’’ in relations with Japan, as a spat between the US allies over historic grievances threatens to boil over into a full-blown economic confrontation and damage the global electronics industry.
The dispute stems from a Seoul court ruling last year ordering Japanese companies to pay compensation for their use of forced labor during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. Japan maintains that the compensation for forced labor was fully settled in a 1965 pact that restored diplomatic ties, though elderly former conscripts had pursued their own separate claims.
Angered by the recent ruling, Japan last week imposed restrictions on South Korea-bound exports of materials that South Korean firms use to make smartphone chips and other tech products — among the country’s main export items, including some that are used in Apple devices. Japanese officials also accused Seoul of flouting international sanctions that restrict trade with North Korea.
I guess one man's restrictions are another man's sanctions.
Frequent disagreements between the East Asian neighbors have long been a source of frustration in Washington. The United States counts both nations as crucial allies and relies on their cooperation to counter China’s growing military ambitions and North Korea’s weapons program.
With tensions mounting, South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday told executives from companies including Samsung and Hyundai to prepare for a prolonged fight.
Shin Kak-soo, former South Korean ambassador to Japan, said the dispute could jeopardize joint efforts on the North Korean nuclear issue, and there was room for the United States to mediate between its two allies.....
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Sound the alarm!
"Japan shows video of alleged radar lock-on by South Korea warship" by Mari Yamaguchi Associated Press December 29, 2018
TOKYO — Japan released video footage Friday that it said proved a South Korean warship locked its fire-control radar onto a Japanese warplane off the northeastern coast in the latest move of an escalating row between the Asian neighbors.
The Defense Ministry’s footage, just over 13 minutes long and filmed from the P-1 patrol aircraft, contained voices of Japanese crew members asking the destroyer for clarification but getting no response.
Japan alleged that the South Korean destroyer repeatedly locked its targeting radar on the Japanese aircraft Dec. 21 inside of Japan’s exclusive economic waters off the Noto Peninsula. A lock with fire-control radar is considered a hostile act and only one step away from actual firing.
South Korea has denied the allegation, saying its warship used an optical camera while rescuing a North Korean fishing boat in distress. Seoul’s Defense Ministry expressed ‘‘deep regret and concern’’ over Japan’s release of the video a day after the countries’ military officials held a video conference to resolve what Seoul described Tokyo’s ‘‘misunderstanding.’’
Some people really want to get a war going.
Relations between Japan and South Korea have degraded to their worst in recent years over compensation issues related to sexual abuse of ‘‘comfort women’’ and Korean forced labor during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 through 1945.
The radar flap has added to the strain.....
The rest of the article is all about the video.
--more--"
The war against Korea has been ordered by the new emperor who promises the Japanese it will be a small entanglement (the invasion died on the beachhead).
"South Korea said Friday it’s responding to a hacking attack that stole the names and addresses of nearly 1,000 North Korean defectors who resettled in the South. Police are investigating the hacking attack but have yet to identify the source. The ministry said it has found no further signs of hacking attacks or data breaches after investigating Hana’s offices around the country earlier this week....."
Time to wheel south:
"The leader of Thailand’s military junta has revoked dozens of special executive orders and vowed to stop issuing more as he prepares to lead an elected civilian government. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has kept a tight grip on power since leading a coup in 2014 and gave himself special legislative powers that allow him to issue orders that have the force of law. Prayuth signed an order Tuesday revoking 66 of the more than 500 executive orders he has issued. Critics say it was an attempt to make it appear that the military is relinquishing power and transitioning to an elected government, although the new government will still be led by Prayuth and will include many junta members."
What that tells you is Thailand is too close to China and on the outs with the U.S.
After all, those leading the Ukraine are never called a military junta despite being installed by the Obama coup.
NEXT DAY UPDATES
"Britain says it thwarted Iranian vessels from interfering with its tanker in Strait of Hormuz" by Erin Cunningham and Karla Adam Washington Post, July 11, 2019
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iranian vessels in the Persian Gulf attempted to block a British tanker from traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil shipments, Britain said Thursday, in what appeared to be a major escalation in tensions between Iran and Western powers.
The tanker British Heritage was approaching the northern entrance to the strait when its British naval escort, the HMS Montrose, ‘‘was forced to position herself between the Iranian vessels’’ and the ship, a government statement said.
The navy ship issued ‘‘verbal warnings to the Iranian vessels, which then turned away,’’ it continued. ‘‘We are concerned by this action and continue to urge the Iranian authorities to de-escalate the situation in the region,’’ the statement said.
Anglo-AmeriKan forces can escalate all they want, and I must say I'm already of the proclivity to believe we are witnessing some sort of Gulf of Tonkin type thing.
Iran denied that its forces challenged the Isle of Man-flagged tanker, which is operated by the London-based oil and gas company BP. In a statement carried by Iranian news agencies, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said there had been no confrontations with foreign vessels in the past 24 hours.
Oh, a BP ship, huh?
Oh, for a return to the Shah when that oil in Iran was theirs, 'eh?
Meanwhile, their Gulf Gusher has sunk in coverage like the layer of tar coating it (the chemical Corexit sunk it, and what did that do to the water?).
A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that an American aircraft captured footage of the Iranian ships interacting with the British vessels.
PFFFT!
The incident comes amid soaring tensions between Iran and the West, including over Iran’s moves to expand uranium enrichment in breach of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Only then do they mention that it was the Trump administration’s decision to abandon the pact that precipitated this whole "crisis."
Last week, British forces assisted local law enforcement in apprehending an Iranian supertanker in the Mediterranean Sea near the British territory of Gibraltar — a move Iran denounced as ‘‘an act of piracy.’’ The vessel was carrying oil to the Syrian refinery at Banias in violation of European Union sanctions, officials in Gibraltar said.
Now that they mention it, it is an act of piracy; however, what was omitted was that the seizure was at the request of the United States.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Britain was trying to ‘‘increase tensions’’ by saying that the British Heritage was unable to pass through the strait, calling the government’s claims ‘‘worthless.’’ He said the seizure of the Iranian vessel was part of a campaign of US-led ‘‘economic terrorism’’ against Iran.
During a confirmation hearing at the Senate Armed Services Committee, Army General Mark A. Milley, Trump’s appointee for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to assign specific blame for the incident.
‘‘There was an attempt — it appears to be that there was an attempt — by some small naval vessels to take over a commercial vessel,’’ Milley said in response to a question from Senator Martha McSally, Republican of Arizona.
‘‘The British had a military escort, and that took care of the situation,’’ he said. ‘‘Having said that, the freedom of navigation is a fundamental principle and a norm for the international order that has been in place now for seven decades, and we play a crucial role to enforce that norm.’’
He also testified that we need to keep troops in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria to maintain stability.
Related:
"A senior military officer has accused the Air Force general tapped to be the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of sexual misconduct, potentially jeopardizing his nomination. The officer told The Associated Press that General John Hyten subjected her to a series of unwanted sexual advances by kissing, hugging, and rubbing up against her in 2017 while she was one of his aides. She said that he tried to derail her military career after she rebuffed him. The Air Force investigated the woman’s allegations, which she reported days after Hyten’s nomination was announced in April, and found there was insufficient evidence to charge the general or recommend any administrative punishment. The accuser remains in the military but has moved to a different job. ‘‘My life was ruined by this,’’ she told the AP....."
Planes can't fly until they have a pilot!
The British Heritage traversed the Strait of Hormuz overnight and was sailing through the Gulf of Oman Thursday, according to open source tracking data. It was not believed to be carrying any cargo, according to shipping analysts.
No cargo?
Sort of like a Trojan Horse in the hopes the Iranians would take the bait, huh?
And if they did, nothing lost, much gained. The globe-kicking string-pullers are good!
The tanker had failed to load its 140,000-ton cargo of crude oil in Basra, Iraq, on July 4, the maritime intelligence site Lloyd’s List reported, and instead diverted to Saudi territorial waters in the gulf.
This whole event stinks!
The site said that the British Heritage was chartered by Royal Dutch Shell, a British-Dutch oil and gas company headquartered in the Netherlands.
A BP spokesman declined to comment on the incident but said that the company’s ‘‘top priority is the safety and security of our crews and vessels,’’ the BBC reported.
‘‘We thank the Royal Navy for their support,’’ the spokesman said.
They either sent you on a suicide mission, or were preparing to evacuate the sailors in the event of a successful provocation.
The simmering confrontation between Iran and Britain has centered on the Iranian supertanker detained in Gibraltar on July 4. Iran has supported the government of Bashar al-Assad with troops, oil, and assets throughout Syria’s years-long civil war. Under a regulation adopted July 3, authorities are allowed to detain ‘‘specified ships’’ suspected of violating EU sanctions.
Authorities in Gibraltar arrested the captain and chief officer of Grace 1 on suspicion of breaching the sanctions Thursday, local media reported, quoting a spokesman for the Royal Gibraltar police. Documents and electronic devices were also seized, the Gibraltar Chronicle reported.
‘‘The enemy is going to regret this act,’’ Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, a deputy Revolutionary Guard commander, said Thursday of the tanker’s seizure, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported. ‘‘They would not have done it if they had done the minimum calculation.’’
Fadavi added: ‘‘We had rented this ship, and we carried the cargo. Their action was very silly, and they will certainly regret it.’’ He also blamed the US government for the seizure.
‘‘Our reciprocal action will be announced,’’ he said.
May cooler heads prevail and may they do nothing. Don't provide a rationale for a false flag narrative.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May told reporters that Britain has a ‘‘long-standing maritime presence in the Persian Gulf. We are continuously monitoring the security situation there and are committed to maintaining freedom of navigation in accordance with international law.’’
Such are the demands of empire and service as a vassal state.
British naval forces maintain a permanent presence in the gulf, including helicopters, dock landing shops and a permanent mine countermeasures squadron, according to the Defense Ministry’s website.....
How is that British $ocial $afety net and economy doing?
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At least the war in Ireland is over.
Related:
"Accusations of hostility toward Jews have riven Labour since left-winger Jeremy Corbyn, a longtime supporter of the Palestinians, became party leader in 2015. Corbyn’s opponents say criticism of Israel by some Labour members — especially those who joined after Corbyn took the helm — has strayed over the line into anti-Semitism and claim the party has not taken the issue seriously....."
Then he gets my thumbs-up!
Just look out for storms and don't look up.
Boris Johnson says he’s not to blame for US ambassador’s ouster
I'm told ‘‘the removal of a British ambassador because of pressure from a foreign leader was a severe blow to British diplomacy and power and a direct challenge to a sovereign nation,’’ while ‘‘Johnson told The Sun newspaper it was bizarre that people were blaming him and he can’t believe it.’’
What it is meant to do is undercut and weaken him before he even takes over and ensure he is on board with war against Iran and Russia.
Also see:
"Amazon has increasingly turned to robots and automation technology to fetch products from the shelves of its warehouses to ship to customers. Now the company says it needs to help its workers adapt to the rapid change. The e-commerce giant said Thursday that it planned to spend $700 million to retrain a third of its workers in the United States, an acknowledgment that advances in technology are remaking the role of workers in nearly every industry. Amazon said the program amounts to one of the world’s largest employee-retraining efforts. It will apply across the company, from corporate employees to warehouse workers. The company said about 100,000 workers would be retrained by 2025."
Retrained for what?
TEN-HUT!
"Putin and Ukraine’s new leader discuss east Ukraine conflict" by Vladimir Isachenkov Associated Press, July 11, 2019
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin had his first phone call with Ukraine’s new president on Thursday and discussions centered on the conflict in eastern Ukraine that has bitterly blighted relations between the two countries.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also talked about the release of prisoners. He said they agreed that experts from both countries would work on those issues.
Peskov added that the two discussed the possibility of ‘‘continuing contacts in the Normandy format,’’ a reference to four-way talks involving the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany. They first met in 2014 on the sidelines of the 70th anniversary of the allied landing in Normandy.
Putin was not invited this year.
Zelenskiy’s office said in its readout of the call that the Ukrainian leader urged Russia to release the Ukrainian navy sailors, whom Russia seized along with their crews in an incident in November in the Black Sea.
Here is the poop on that, and notice the Russians seize where the British do not?
Zelenskiy, a popular comedian who played a high school teacher-turned Ukrainian president in a popular TV series, won 73 percent of the vote in April’s runoff against former President Petro Poroshenko.
That's no joke.
Earlier this week, Zelenskiy suggested that he and Putin meet in Minsk, Belarus, to discuss the conflict in Ukraine’s east and Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. He added that he would like the leaders of the United States, Britain, France, and Germany to join the talks.
The continued repetition of that lie makes you want to flip them off.
The Russian leader also noted that other leaders haven’t yet responded to Zelenskiy’s proposal and added that British Prime Minister Theresa May is set to step down within weeks.
Zelenskiy, who took office in May, pledged to put an end to fighting between government troops and Russia-backed separatists in the east, which has killed more than 13,000 people since 2014.
In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal for eastern Ukraine that was signed in the Belarusian capital Minsk. It has helped reduce the scope of fighting, but clashes have continued and political settlement has stalled.....
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I wonder what Putin and Bolivian President Evo Morales discussed.
Related:
"Norway has discovered that a Soviet-era submarine that sank in the Norwegian Sea 30 years ago is leaking radiation at levels up to 800,000 times higher than what is normal. Using a remote controlled vehicle to probe the wreck, researchers found extensive damage to the Komsomolets sub, which lies more than 5,500 feet down on the sea floor....."
It's WaComPo, and if true, wouldn't that have shown up in seawater, sea life, and other things, long before now (and why is Fukushima no longer a concern)?
Going to need Germany on our side this time:
Germany to step up surveillance of far-right ‘Identitarians’
That explains the extensive NYT propaganda on Ash Monday!
Germany’s Merkel sits for anthems after shaking episodes
She showed no signs as she sat, and they should have no problem taking France again:
"President Emmanuel Macron’s government waded into a potentially messy fight with the White House on Thursday as French lawmakers voted to impose a tax on Facebook, Google, and other American technology giants despite a blunt warning from the Trump administration. The measure, which the White House said could amount to an unfair trade practice, is likely to be signed into law by Macron within two weeks, placing France squarely in the crosshairs of President Trump’s escalating trade wars....."
Biden says he would make peace:
"Biden, in foreign policy speech, castigates Trump and urges global diplomacy" by Sydney Emberand Katie Glueck New York Times, July 11, 2019
After spending two weeks sparring with his presidential primary opponents, Joe Biden sought to again rise above the Democratic fray Thursday, delivering a sweeping foreign policy address that denounced President Trump as incapable of global leadership and called for a new commitment to international diplomacy.
In broad but unequivocal terms, Biden delivered a scathing assessment of Trump’s leadership in a midday speech in New York City, saying his judgment has tarnished the country’s reputation abroad and undermined its ability to achieve its foreign policy goals. As a counterpoint, Biden set forth his own foreign policy vision that includes putting diplomacy first and working with other countries — rather than unilaterally — toward collective goals.
Very vague so far, the report is filled with flowery platitudes, but there are certain things I'm looking to see addressed.
From the outset, Biden hammered Trump for his cozy relationships with President Vladimir Putin of Russia and other authoritarians, including Kim Jong Un of North Korea. “He undermines our Democratic alliances while embracing dictators who appeal to his vanity,” Biden said of the president. “Make no mistake about it, the world sees Trump for who he is: insincere, ill-informed and impulsive.”
Standard Democrat boilerplate that is unpalatable. Next.
Among his specific proposals was a plan to convene a summit of the world’s democracies to “try to refocus on our common purpose.”
“Leaders who attend must come prepared to cooperate and make concrete commitments to take on corruption and advance human rights in their own nations,” Biden said.
The globalist garbage he is spewing is laughable in the face of the corruption and human rights abuses by the United States.
The summit would include members of the private sector, he said, aligning with an initiative aimed at countering the abuse of technology across the world.
Does that include Amazon displacing workers, and let true fa$ci$t government rein!
Biden would also rejoin the Paris climate accord as a component of his global plan to confront climate change, and he pledged to reverse Trump’s “detrimental asylum policies.”
Can you think of anything else you might like to reverse and rejoin, Joe?
You know, like something that leads my World section every day?
The former vice president’s initiatives would constitute a renewed embrace of multilateralism and a rebuke of Trump’s policy of spurning international agreements and denigrating institutions like NATO.
I'm waiting for him to say he will rejoin the JCPOA.
His speech Thursday also represented an effort to bring the campaign back to where he is most comfortable: above the crowded Democratic field, seeking to cast the contest as a head-to-head matchup against Trump.
If the warmed-over party line is acceptable to you, then you love the speech; otherwise, it's falling as flat as his campaign.
In the seven-page fact sheet that accompanied Biden’s speech, he provided a three-pronged blueprint for accomplishing his foreign policy agenda, including specific early actions he would undertake as president, both domestically and abroad. He pledged, for instance, to reform the criminal justice system and to dedicate resources to protect the election system — an apparent nod to the foreign meddling that bedeviled the 2016 presidential election. He also vowed to end family separation at the southern border and discontinue Trump’s travel ban.
So he is going to follow Hitler's blueprint for the invasion of the Soviet Union, 'er, Russia, huh?
“Democracy is the root of our society, the wellspring of our power, and the source of our renewal,” he wrote. “It strengthens and amplifies our leadership to keep us safe in the world. It is the engine of our ingenuity that drives our economic prosperity. It is the heart of who we are and how we see the world — and how the world sees us.”
That 100-year-old buzzword that got us into the First World War is so worn, and we don't even have that anymore. We have the illusion of elections as money and power control the system of corporate governance that is the e$$ence of fa$ci$m.
He criticized Trump’s approach to China, saying it was shortsighted, while China was taking the “long view.”
“The most effective way that we need to change is to build a united front of friends and partners to challenge China’s abusive behavior,” he said.
I don't want a war with those guys, and what is he exactly saying? He would be tougher with the tariffs and sell more arms to Taiwan?
At least we still have a foothold in the Philippines.
--more--"
What is so interesting is there was no mention of Iran, Israel, or Palestine in the article (perhaps Joe never mentioned them?).
Then there is Joe's track record as Obama's VP, meaning he has the blood of Libya, Syria, and Yemen on his hands as well as complicity in all the drone strikes under that regime. Not a foreign policy to which I wish to return (can't bring up Ukraine because of his son).
