Monster Hurricane Dorian

2019/08/31

Monster Hurricane Dorian

Currently at Category 4 strength, defined as having sustained winds of from 130 - 156 mph, gusts up to 30% stronger, Dorian is expected hit Florida's Atlantic coast on Tuesday, precisely where unclear so far.

On August 31, the National Hurricane Center said the following:

"Life-threatening storm surge and devastating hurricane-force winds are still possible along portions of the Florida east coast by the early to middle part of next week..."

"Dorian is forecast to slow down and turn northward near (Florida's) coast. (I)t is too soon to determine when or where the highest surge and winds will occur."

"Residents (in potentially affected areas) should have their hurricane plan in place," seek an evacuation zone if available, and follow advice from local emergency officials.

"Heavy rains (and) life-threatening flash floods are expected over portions...of the southeastern United States this weekend through much of next week."

With its life-threatening winds and storm surge, Dorian is nothing to be taken lightly. Considerable damage, including extensive power outages, is expected along the US east coast.

States of emergency are in effect for Florida, Georgia and North Carolina - South Carolina on high alert. Dorian may be the severest hurricane to hit the US Atlantic coast since Andrew in 1992.

Millions of Americans will feel its impact. At 5:00AM Saturday, Dorian shifted slightly north. The Florida Keys and central Miami-Dade County are not in the cone of its latest forecast track.

At this time, Broward County and rest of Florida's east coast are in it. On Saturday morning, senior hurricane specialist Jack Bevin said the following:

The latest "forecast track does not preclude Dorian making landfall on the Florida coast, as large portions of the coast remain in the track cone of uncertainty. Also, significant impacts could occur even if the center stays offshore."

Winds currently at 140 mph may strengthen over the weekend into Monday, heading northwest at around 12 mph. Its slow speed makes it possible to intensify.

The storm is expected to slow Monday evening and make landfall Tuesday afternoon, possibly north of where it's expected to hit now.

National Hurricane Center models show Dorian may come ashore anywhere along the US east coast north of Miami - a possible multi-day storm, adding:

"(A)ny small deviation in the track could bring the core of the powerful hurricane well inland over Florida, keep it near the coast, or offshore."

Category 4 storms cause "devastating damage." Scenarios for Florida's east coast range from a direct hit to a glancing blow.

Miami National Weather Service meteorologist Robert Molleda said "(t)here's not a lot that we're confident about this forecast scenario as it approaches Florida, but one of the things that we are confident about is that it will slow down," adding:

"All weekend it's going to be moving slowly but surely toward South Florida. The big question begins as it approaches the coastline. This is going to be a long event."

National Hurricane Center's director Ken Graham said: "Slow is never our friend. Slow means more rain. Slow means a longer period of time to get those winds and saturate the soils. More trees down. More power outages."

Rainfall in affected areas is expected to range from six to 15 inches.

Most hurricanes during the US storm season occur from mid-August to late October.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned that conditions are favorable for more dangerous storms than earlier projected.

Trump is a climate science denier, despite evidence of global warming, rising sea levels, melting ice caps, and likelihood of increasing numbers of hugely destructive hurricanes.

If Dorian slams his luxury Palm Beach, Florida Mar-a-Lago resort, causing extensive damage, reality may hit home harder than cold hard scientific evidence he ignores.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

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

Photo: By NASA - https://www.nasa.gov/, Public Domain, https://ift.tt/34enFTN

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Bolsonaro doesn't need NGOs to burn Brazil's image around the world

2019/08/30

Caption (in Portuguese): Bolsonaro lies. NGOs reject accusation by the President on the fires

(Bolsonaro accused the NGOs of starting them)

Bolsonaro doesn't need NGOs to burn Brazil's image around the world

Fire outbreaks throughout Brazil have increased by 82% since the beginning of this year, to a total record of 71,497, according to the National Institute of Space Research (INPE), of which 54% occurred in the Amazon. Faced with the scandalous situation, Bolsonaro said his "feeling" is that "NGOs are behind" the spread of fire to "send messages abroad".

The increase in burning is not an isolated fact. In his short period of rule, deforestation, invasion of parks and indigenous lands, illegal and predatory exploitation of natural resources and the and the assassination of traditional, indigenous and environmentalist community leaders have also grown. At the same time, Bolsonaro dismantled and demoralized environmental supervision, gave numerous statements of encouragement to the predatory occupation of the Amazon and criminalization of those who defend its conservation.

The increase in deforestation and burning also represents an increase in Brazilian greenhouse gas emissions, distancing the country from meeting the Paris Agreement targets. While the government justifies easing environmental policies as necessary for economic improvement, the reality is that as emissions explode, GDP rise approaches zero.

The President must act responsibly and prove what he says, instead of making reckless and inconsequential conclusions, repeating the attempt to criminalize organizations, manipulating public opinion against the work done by civil society.

Bolsonaro doesn't need NGOs to burn Brazil's image worldwide.

Assinam:

Associação Brasileira de ONGs, ABONG;
Ação Educativa;
Alternativas Para Pequena Agricultura no Tocantins, APATO;
Amigos da Terra - Amazônia Brasileira;
Angá;
Articulação Antinuclear Brasileira;
Articulação do Semiárido Brasileiro, ASA;
Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil, APIB;
Articulação Nacional de Agroecologia, ANA;
Assembleia Permanente de Entidades em Defesa do Meio Ambiente, APEDEMA;
Assessoria e Gestão em Estudos da Natureza, Desenvolvimento Humano e Agroecologia, AGENDHA;
Associação Agroecológica Tijupá;
Associação Alternativa Terrazul;
Associação Ambientalista Copaíba;
Associação Ambientalista Floresta em Pé, AAFEP;
Associação Amigos do Meio Ambiente, AMA;
Associação Arara do Igarapé Humaitá, AAIH;
Associação Brasileira de Homeopatia Popular Comunitária, ABHP
Associação Civil Alternativa Terrazul;
Associação Cunhambebe da Ilha Anchieta;
Associação de Defesa do Meio Ambiente de Araucária, AMAR;
Associação de Pesquisa e Preservação de Ecossistemas Aquáticos, AQUASIS;
Associação de Preservação da Natureza do Vale do Gravataí;
Associação de Preservação do Meio Ambiente e da Vida, APREMAVI;
Associação de Proteção ao Meio Ambiente de Cianorte, APROMAC;
Associação de Saúde Ambiental, TOXISPHERA;
Associação Defensores da Terra;
Associação do Movimento dos Agentes Agroflorestais Indígenas do Acre, AMAAIAC;
Associação em Defesa do rio Paraná, Afluentes e Mata Ciliar, APOENA;
Associação Flora Brasil;
Associação MarBrasil;
Associação Mico-Leão-Dourado;
Associação Mineira de Defesa do Ambiente, AMDA;
Associação Paraense de Apoio as Comunidades Carentes (Rede Jirau de Agroecologia)
Associação Purna Ananda Ashram - Ecovila Integral;
Associação Barraca da Amizade;
Associação Unidade e Cooperação para o Desenvolvimento dos Povos
Central Única dos Trabalhadores, CUT;
Centro Artístico Cultural Belém Amazônia (ONG Rádio Margarida),
Centro de Apoio e Promoção da Agroecologia, CAPA / FLD;
Centro de Assessoria Multiprofissional, CAMP;
Centro de Criação de Imagem Popular, CECIP;
Centro de Cultura Luiz Freire;
Centro de defesa dos Direitos Humanos de Petrópolis;
Centro de Educação e Cultura Popular, CECUP;
Centro de Estudos Ambientais, CEA;
Centro de Pesquisas Ambientais do Nordeste;
Centro de Trabalho Indigenista, CTI;
Centro Feminista de Estudos e Assessoria, Cfemea;
Centro Nacional de Africanidade e Resistência Afro Brasileiro;
Centro Nordestino de Medicina Popular;
Centro Popular Da Mulher, UBM;
Centro Santo Dias de Direitos Humanos;
Centro de Estudos e Pesquisas em Educação, Cultura e Ação Comunitária, CENPEC;
Centro de Educação e Assessoria Popular, CEDAP;
CIDADANIA;
Crescente Fértil;
Cidade Escola Aprendiz;
Coletivo BANQUETAÇO;
Coletivo Delibera Brasil;
Coletivo do Fórum Social das Resistências de Porto Alegre;
Coletivo Popular Direito à Cidade;
Coletivo Popular Direito à Cidade;
Coletivo Socioambiental de Marilia;
Comissão de Direitos Humanos de Passo Fundo, CDHPF;
Comissão Pró-Índio do Acre, CPI-Acre;
Comitê Goiano de Direitos Humanos Dom Tomás Balduino;
Conselho de Missão entre Povos Indígenas, COMIN / FLD;
Conselho Indigenista Missionário, CIMI;
Conselho Nacional do Laicato do Brasil, CNLB;
Coordenação das Organizações Indígenas da Amazônia Brasileira, COIAB;
Coordenadoria Ecumênica de Serviço, CESE;
Ecologia & Ação, ECOA;
Ecossistemas Costeiros, APREC;
Elo Ligação e Organização;
EQUIP;
Escola de Formação Quilombo dos Palmares;
Espaço de Formação, Assessoria e Documentação;
FADS - Frente Ampla Democrática Socioambiental;
FASE Bahia;
FEACT Brasil (representando 23 organizações nacionais baseadas na fé);
Federação de Órgãos para Assistencial Social e Educacional, FASE;
FICAS;
Fórum Baiano de Economia Solidária;
Fórum Brasileiro de ONGs e Movimentos Sociais para o Meio Ambiente e o Desenvolvimento, FBOMS;
Fórum Carajás;
Fórum da Amazônia Oriental, FAOR;
Fórum de Direitos Humanos e da Terra;
Fórum de ONGs Ambientalistas do Distrito Federal;
Fórum de ONGs/Aids do Estado de São Paulo, FOAESP;
Fórum Ecumênico ACT Brasil;
Fórum Resiste Brasil-Berlin;
Fórum Social da Panamazônia;
Fundação Amazonas Sustentável
Fundação Avina;
Fundação Luterana de Diaconia, FLD;
Fundação Vitória Amazônica, FVA;
GEEP - Açungui;
Geledes Instituto da Mulher Negra;
Gestos - Soropositividade, Comunicação e Gênero;
Grito dos Excluídos/as Continental;
Grupo Ambientalista da Bahia, GAMBA;
Grupo Carta de Belém;
Grupo de Estudos Espeleológicos do Paraná;
Grupo de Mulheres Brasileiras, GMB;
Grupo Ecológico Rio de Contas, GERC;
GTP+ Grupo de Trabalhos e Prevenção Posithivo; GTP+;
Centro Sabiá;
Habitat para Humanidade Brasil;
Hivos - Organização Humanista para Mudança Social;
Iniciativa Verde;
Instituto AUÁ;
Instituto Alana
Instituto Augusto Carneiro;
Instituto Bem Ambiental, IBAM;
Instituto Brasileiro de Análises Sociais e Econômicas, IBASE;
Instituto Centro Vida, ICV;
Instituto de Estudos Ambientais - Mater Natura;
Instituto de Estudos Jurídicos de Direitos Humanos, Econômicos, Sociais, Culturais e Ambientais, IDhES;
Instituto de Estudos Socioeconômicos, Inesc;
Instituto de Pesquisa e Formação Indígena, Iepé;
Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas, IPÊ;
Instituto Ecoar;
Instituto EQUIT - Gênero, Economia e Cidadania Global;
Instituto Hórus de Desenvolvimento e Conservação Ambiental;
Instituto Internacional de Educação do Brasil, IEB;
Instituto MIRA-SERRA;
Instituto PACS - Políticas Alternativas para o Cone Sul;
Instituto Paulo Freire;
Instituto Paulo Fonteles de Direitos Humanos;
Instituto Pólis;
Instituto Sociedade, População e Natureza, ISPN;
Instituto Socioambiental, ISA;
Instituto Universidade Popular, UNIPOP;
Iser Assessoria;
Justiça nos Trilhos;
Liga Brasileira de Lésbicas, LBL;
Movimento de Mulheres Campo e Cidade; MMCC
MIRIM Brasil;
Movimento de Defesa de Porto Seguro, MDPS;
Movimento dos Trabalhadores/as Rurais sem Terra, MST;
Movimento Nacional das Cidadãs PositHIVas de São Paulo;
Movimento Nacional de Direitos Humanos, MNDH;
Movimento Paulo Jackson - Ética, Justiça e Cidadania;
Movimento Roessler;
Movimento SOS Natureza de Luiz Correia;
Núcleo de Pesquisa em Participação, Movimentos Sociais e Ação Coletiva, NEPAC UNICAMP;
Núcleo Sócio Ambiental Arará-piranga;
Observatório do Clima;
OekoBr;
Operação Amazônia Nativa, OPAN;
Organização dos Professores Indígenas do Acre, OPIAC;
Ouvidoria Geral Externa da Defensoria Pública de Rondônia;
Pacto Organizações Regenerativas;
Pastoral da Educação do Regional Sul1 da CNBB;
Pastoral Fé e Política da Arquidiocese de SP;
Plataforma DHESCA Brasil;
Plataforma Mrosc;
ProAnima - Associação Protetora dos Animais do Distrito Federal;
Processo de Articulação e Diálogo, PAD;
Projeto Saúde e Alegria;
Proteção à Fauna e Monitoramento Ambiental, PROFAUNA;
Proteção Animal Mundial;
Rede Ambiental do Piauí, REAPI;
Rede Brasileira De Justiça Ambiental;
Rede Conhecimento Social;
Rede de Cooperação Amazônia, RCA;
Rede de ONGs da Mata Atlântica, RMA;
Rede de ONGs da Mata Atlântica;
Rede de Travestis, Transexuais e Homens Trans Vivendo e Convivendo como HIV e AIDS;
Rede Feminista de Juristas, deFEMde;
Rede Nacional de Pessoas Vivendo com HIV e AIDS, RNP+BRASIL;
Rede Nacional de Pessoas Vivendo com HIV/AIDS do Estado de São Paulo, RNP+SP;
SAPI - SOCIEDADE AMIGOS POR ITAUNAS;
Sempreviva Organização Feminista, SOF;
Sociedade de Pesquisa em Vida Selvagem e Educação Ambiental, SPVS;
Sociedade Paraense de Direitos Humanos;
SOS Corpo Instituto Feminista para a Democracia;
TERRA VIVA - Centro de Desenvolvimento Agroecológico do Extremo Sul da Bahia;
União Nacional dos Estudantes, UNE;
União Protetora do Ambiente Natural, UPAN;
Vale Verde Associação de Defesa do Meio Ambiente
Vida Brasil;

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Nuclear accident mystery: Burevestnik missile could explode under the water

2019/08/30

Five Rosatom specialists and two Russian military men, who were killed during the mysterious rocket test at a range ground of the Russian Navy in the area of the village of Nenoksa, could have died when trying to retrieve a Burevestnik missile from the bottom of the Gulf of Dvina. Supposedly, it goes about the nuclear-powered Burevestnik missile that had sunk earlier during another failed test.

According to Radio Svoboda, there were containers found on floating platforms that were damaged on August 8 as a result of the nuclear incident. The containers are used to transport nuclear waste. It was also possible to identify a ship at the scene of the incident, which was supposed to retrieve  sunken equipment from the bottom of the sea. The ship had already entered the Gulf of Dvina at least once in October 2018 - five days after the completion of tests on the marine range ground of the Russian Navy. All this information can be confirmed in open sources.

A curious photo of the pontoons in Nenoks was published on a public page in VK social network. An analysis of the photo revealed that it depicts a standard 20 foot ISO container. A Maxar satellite photo, taken in the area of Nenoks on August 12, shows that there is another similar container parked on the same pontoon.

A video of the Russian Defence Ministry that shows a Burevestnik missile being tested, one can see similar blue containers placed right next to the launch pad. The test was conducted in November 2017, supposedly in the area of the Yuzhny island of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.

The same containers can be seen at the military training ground in Nenoks. The containers were provided by Maxar, which was then called Digital Globe. Four blue containers have been standing here since 2012. The containers were there in May 2019, when a launching pad for the Burevestnik missile had been built on the range ground in Nenoksa. The infrastructure of the launching pad bears a striking resemblance to that on Novaya Zemlya archipelago.

Radio Svoboda thus concluded that the 20-feet blue containers are related to Burevestnik missile tests. Interestingly, Russian atomic companies use similar blue containers to transport radioactive materials and wastes. Blue is a corporate color of the russian Agency for Atomic Power (Rosatom). This color is also used in Russia for containers of medical radioactive waste (class В waste).

In late October 2018, Russia tests the Burevestnik cruise missile at the range ground near the village of Nenoksa. The test ended in a failure. Airspace over the range ground in Nenoksa was closed for several days in late October. The Serebryanka vessel could deliver the nuclear power unit for the test. The missile, the nuclear reactor and the malfunctioned launch stage thus fell into the sea not far from the coast.

In early August 2019, there was an attempt made to retrieve the missile from the bottom of the sea to subsequently dismantle it. The Serebryanka vessel arrived at the site of the operation again. The vessel take on board the nuclear unit of the missile. The Zvyozdochka ship was also there: the ship is equipped with cranes for loading containers on board the Serebryanka. Two special pontoons with containers for the nuclear part of the rocket were also provided for the operation.

The explosion of the missile fuel occurred under the water, as the missile was being lifted. The explosion damaged the reactor and emitted a certain amount of radionuclides typical of a reactor installation into the atmosphere. Several people on the pontoon were hurt in the explosion: they were nuclear physicists who were supposed to dismantle the reactor and pack it into the containers. Several military men and a military diver, who could probably be staying under the water, were also hurt.

The next day, the Serebryanka left the site of the accident as the reactor was destroyed and there was no need to transport it anywhere. The pontoons (one of them was damaged in the explosion) - were either abandoned at sea or towed closer to the coast. The release of radioactive substance into the atmosphere was insignificant and did not pose any health hazard to anyone.

The above is nothing but a theory that does not have any substantiative basis to it.

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Disaster risk resilience: Key to protecting vulnerable communities

2019/08/30

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

UN Under Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

The past five years have been the hottest on record in Asia and the Pacific.  Unprecedented heatwaves have swept across our region, cascading into slow onset disasters such as drought. Yet heat is only part of the picture. Tropical cyclones have struck new, unprepared parts of our region and devastatingly frequent floods have ensued. In Iran, these affected 10 million people this year and displaced 500,000 of which half were children. Bangladesh is experiencing its fourth wave of flooding in 2019. Last year, the state of Kerala in India faced the worst floods in a century.

This is the new climate reality in Asia and the Pacific. The scale of forecast economic losses for the region is sobering. Including slow-onset disasters, average annualised losses until 2030 are set to quadruple to about $675 billion compared to previous estimates. This represents 2.4 percent of the region's GDP. Economic losses of such magnitude will undermine both economic growth and our region's efforts to reduce poverty and inequality, keeping children out of schools and adults of work. Basic health services will be undermined, crops destroyed and food security jeopardised. If we do not act now, Asia-Pacific's poorest communities will be among the worst affected.  

Four areas of Asia and the Pacific are particularly impacted, hotspots which combine vulnerability to climate change, poverty and disaster risk. In transboundary river basins in South and South-East Asia such as the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river basin, floods alternate with prolonged droughts. In South-East Asia and East and North-East Asia earthquakes, tsunamis and landslides threaten poor populations in the Pacific Ring of Fire. Intensifying sand and dust storms are blighting East, Central and South-west Asia. Vulnerable populations in Pacific Small Islands Developing States are five times more at risk of disasters than a person in South and South-East Asia. Many countries' sustainable development prospects are now directly dependent on their exposure to natural disasters and their ability to build resilience.

Yet this vicious cycle between poverty, inequalities and disasters is not inevitable. It can be broken if an integrated approach is taken to investing in social and disaster resilience policies. As disasters disproportionately affect the poor, building resilience must include investment in social protection as the most effective means of reducing poverty. Conditional cash transfer systems can be particularly effective as was shown in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. Increasing pre-arranged risk finance and climate risk insurance is also crucial. While investments needed are significant, in most countries these are equivalent to less than half the costs forecast to result from natural disasters. 

The use of technological innovations to protect the region from natural disasters must go hand in hand with these investments. Big data reveal patterns and associations between complex disaster risks and predict extreme weather and slow onset disasters to improve the readiness of our economies and our societies. In countries affected by typhoons, big data applications can make early warning systems stronger and can contribute to saving lives and reducing damage. China and India are leading the way in using technology to warn people of impending disasters, make their infrastructure more resilient and deliver targeted assistance to affected farmers and citizens.

Asia and the Pacific can learn from this best practice and multilateral cooperation is the way to give scale to our region's disaster resilience effort. With this ambition in mind, representatives from countries across the region are meeting in Bangkok this week at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to explore regional responses to natural disasters. Their focus will include strengthening Asia-Pacific's Disaster Resilience Network and capitalising on innovative technology applications for the benefit of the broader region. This is our opportunity to replicate successes, accelerate drought mitigation strategies and develop a regional sand and dust storm alert system. I hope the region can seize it to protect vulnerable communities from disaster risk in every corner of Asia and the Pacific. 

Disaster risk resilience: Key to protecting vulnerable communities. 63812.jpeg

Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

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Kashmir on the World’s Conscience

2019/08/30

By Imran Malik

Is Nazism revisiting the planet? Is its revival taking shape in a Hindu avatar in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) now? Can the world not read the writing on the Kashmiri wall or is it callously blinded by its obtuse, self-serving geopolitical, geostrategic and geo-economic interests in a manipulative India?

The hapless, strangulated, incarcerated Kashmiris would like to know where the world stands today!

PM Modi's audacious land grab in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) carries the hallmarks of a fascist regime overreaching itself senselessly. Its policies are defined by its ultra-nationalism and self-proclaimed religious superiority and exclusiveness. It is essentially the RSS' Hindu versus Muslims mindset at play. Muslim invaders conquered the subcontinent, dispossessed the Hindus and reigned supreme for centuries. That ostensible historical ignominy hurts Hindu sensibilities and fuels this anti-Muslim rage even today. The RSS-BJP Combine intends to undo history and wants the Indian and Kashmiri Muslims to atone for, pay penance today for all the perceived historical slights the Hindu Nation might have suffered at the hands of those erstwhile Muslim rulers. That is where the kernel of this torrid, irrational Hindu bitterness against the Muslims lies and wherefrom all this self-consuming resentment and loathing for everything Muslim emanates. These sentiments were further aggravated by the Partition of the subcontinent which for them symbolized the splitting of Bharat Mata or Mother India's body into two. RSS-BJP Combine and PM Modi are thus on a vicious, vengeful crusade to not only "undo" history but to revive and re-establish the lost glories of both Akhand Bharat (Undivided India) and the Hindu Rashtra/Nation - albeit mutually exclusive in concept!

The RSS-BJP Combine needs to get out of this twisted and warped time and space bubble they have so mindlessly ensconced themselves in. They need to get "back to the future"!

PM Modi's ostensible annexation of J&K and Ladakh is a strategic miscalculation with massive implications. He has erroneously assessed Pakistan to be economically enfeebled, diplomatically isolated thus unable to pursue war, and that the strategic environment was ideal for his "grand geopolitical and geostrategic manoeuvre". He is in for a very rude shock. India's impudence and arrogance too are utterly misplaced. Is it a gross misperception of its own political, economic, diplomatic and military prowess and clout, or does it, like Israel in Palestine, consider itself powerful enough to be above all international norms and laws? Is the US' tacit support so strong and enabling that it feels, like Israel, emboldened enough to trash the Rules-based International Order and all UNSC Resolutions with impunity?

However, this situation simultaneously creates windows of opportunity for all players to act before PM Modi can actually bring this deadly and ghastly game of constantly rising geostrategic and geopolitical stakes to an ominous closure. Thus, the Kashmiris, Pakistan, the UN/UNSC/P5 etc as well as PM Modi's India are all now in a veritable race against time.

PM Modi is currently in the Consolidation Phase of his Kashmir (mis)adventure. His very tight window of opportunity compels him to consolidate his political gains in J&K and Ladakh and establish unopposed control there immediately. He must do so before the Kashmiris rise up in rebellion or the UN/UNSC/P5 intervenes to unravel this most foolhardy and treacherous 'geopolitical gamble" of his political life. For this to succeed he needs President Trump to manage and condition PM Imran Khan's responses, thus gaining critical time and space for him.

The Kashmiris, on the other hand, must rise immediately and protest through acts of civil disobedience, defiance and fight for their inalienable Right of Self Determination which is enshrined (and resting pathetically) in numerous UNSC Resolutions. An indigenous Kashmiri resistance movement is on the cards. It will physically challenge the annexation and scare all potential aliens/investors away.

Pakistan, in this time frame, must re-energize its political, diplomatic, moral and media support to the just struggle of the Kashmiris. It must not allow the world's conscience to tide over this potential human tragedy in Kashmir. The Kashmiris fear a brutal genocide that will make the Rwandan genocide look like a school play. They fear being ousted from their households, forced into Refugee Camps along the LOC with Pakistan (like the West Bank in Palestine) and then shunted across into AJ&K! Pakistan must sensitize world opinion to this very avoidable humanitarian calamity. If not addressed promptly and decisively it will lead to popular indigenous resistance against the Indian Occupation Forces, cross-LOC skirmishes and to possible war in this most sensitive nuclear flashpoint of the world!

The UN/UNSC/P5 must not accept this travesty of the Rules-based International Order. It must re-establish and enforce the supremacy, inviolability and applicability of the UNSC Resolutions on Kashmir forthwith. The UN/UNSC/P5 must act NOW intrusively to forestall the ghastly Genocide that threatens the Kashmiris. It must save them further from forced migrations, rapes, lynching, incarcerations, deadly cordon and search operations, the missing persons' episodes, beatings, the blinding "pellet guns", communication blockades, loss of all personal freedoms, the engineered demographic changes etc BEFORE all this becomes a fait accompli for them and the world.

The China Factor however looms large and ominous in the IHK conundrum with its obvious strategic connotations!

Is PM Modi replicating what Hitler did to the Jews in the last century? Is he aping PM Netanyahu and his policies in Palestine in this one? Has the world not learned its bitter lessons from the appeasement of bullying fascists? Post- World War Two, the US led West has been inconsistent in dealing with fascist and genocidal regimes. It has been very lenient in Palestine/ME and very tardy and hesitant in Srebrenica and Rwanda. The world now stands askance wondering where the US-led West's and the oil rich Arab monarchies' values will stand - for their crass economic and commercial interests in a belligerent, genocidal and expansionist India or with humanity, humanitarian values, a Rules-based International Order and above all with the Right of Self Determination for peoples under brutal military occupations!  

Whichever way the international community leans, the strategic implications for the future of Kashmir and all oppressed peoples of the world will be colossal!   

The author is a retired Brigadier from the Pakistan Army

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Iranian militias leave the border between Syria and Iraq

2019/08/29

In Syria, the retreat of Iran's allied militias from the border area with Iraq has now begun; but the places to which they are heading are still unknown [1]. They flee preventively, for fear of suffering new losses due to the frequent attacks that, in recent weeks, have hit Iraqi territory.

by Laura Cianciarelli

Set up in the Syrian district of Al-Bukamal - in the governorate of Deir Ez-Zor, on the border with Iraq - since last Monday Iranian proxies have started evacuating their headquarters - which manages operations in the area - at a time of new centers, more hidden and safe.

The transfer activities started just after the last attack that hit the Iraqi territory and, in particular, the town of Al-Qaim, located in the Al-Anbar governorate, right on the border with the district of Al-Bukamal .

Air strikes in Iraq

In Al-Qaim, last August 25, a drone hit two vehicles of the Kata'ib Hezbollah Brigades - an Iraqi Shiite paramilitary group supported by Iran, located under the umbrella of the People's Mobilization Forces (PMF).

The death toll - according to the Kurdish television station Kurdistan24 [2] - was 6 dead, including Kazem Ali Mohsen - known as Abu Ali Al-Dabi - support officer of the Brigades in western Iraq. The Iranian militias have instead provided a contrasting version, speaking of two victims and one wounded.

That of Al-Qaim is only the latest in a series of attacks that, in recent weeks, have centered on military posts and ammunition depots of the Popular Mobilization Forces on Iraqi national soil. Air raids that the director has not yet been identified, although many see Israel's hand there.

To reinforce this hypothesis also the statements [3] of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who, while not denying or confirming Israel's involvement in Iraq, has leaked some information that would confirm the veracity of the accusations. "Nowhere, Iran is immune" - declared Netanyahu - "We are acting in numerous theaters against a country that wants to destroy us. The security forces had a green light, in addition to the task of doing what is necessary to thwart Iran's plans".

Iran controls the border between Syria and Iraq

The border area between Iraq and Syria - almost completely under the control of Tehran's allied militias - is a vital artery for Iran, used for the transfer of men and vehicles from the Islamic Republic to neighboring countries. Recent satellite images [4] (Fox News) have revealed that Tehran is building a border crossing between Syria and Iraq: a "land route" to connect with Lebanon.

The new crossing, as it seems to be inaugurated at the beginning of September [5] - would arise in the border crossing of Al-Bukamal (in Syria) and Al-Qaim (Iraq), replacing the old crossing, destroyed during the war and still closed.

Through this passage, Iran would maintain access by land to reach Syria, Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea. Tehran, moreover, makes no secret of its intention to form a stable presence in Syrian territory, to strengthen Hezbollah's military capabilities and to extend the front with Israel from southern Lebanon to the Golan Heights.

[1] https://en.deirezzor24.net/archives/8309

[2] https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/cf4f516c-347e-408c-bb19-396e872dd751

[3] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-explosions/israel-says-air-strike-in-syria-sent-no-immunity-message-to-iran-idUSKCN1VF0CA

[4] https://www.foxnews.com/world/iran-border-crossing-syria-smuggle-weapons-oil-experts

[5] https://en.deirezzor24.net/archives/8102

Photo: Por sayyed shahab-o- din vajedi - https://ift.tt/2Zy4MeY, CC BY 4.0, https://ift.tt/30Jq7zv

  

  

***************************

Articolo originale di Laura Cianciarelli:

https://it.insideover.com/guerra/le-milizie-iraniane-abbandonano-il-confine-tra-siria-e-iraq.html

Traduzione di Costantino Ceoldo - Pravda freelance

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Russian soldier who served in Syria blows up military unit

2019/08/29

In Irkutsk, a military court sentenced former contract soldier Alexander Novikov to five years for hooliganism and illegal arms trafficking. Novikov was awarded a medal for his participation in battles in Syria. Upon his return to Russia, he blew up his regiment's headquarters.

The man was undergoing contractual service in a separate mixed aviation regiment. On May 24, 2018, while staying on duty in the canteen, he found there a canvas bag with an explosive device with TNT and hexogen. The explosive was equivalent to 1.3 kilograms of TNT. On May 25, at about 3:00 a.m., Novikov took the bomb to the regiment building, put it on the porch, set fire to the fuse and ran away.

The explosion caused serious damage to the building. An assistant duty officer suffered multiple injuries, including in the area of his head, neck and arms.

On May 27, Alexander Novikov made a full confession and said that he took the bomb package for a training one and wanted to play a joke. Later, he explained his actions by his desire to draw the attention of the long-range aviation command to the problems of the unit. It was not specified what kind of problems the man was talking about.

Shortly before the trial, Novikov refused to confess and stated that he had incriminated himself under pressure from FSB officers who allegedly wanted to put him to trial for terrorism.

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Russian girl dies after being sucked into pool pipe in Turkish hotel

2019/08/29

A girl from St. Petersburg, who was sucked into a pipe at the bottom of a pool in a hotel in Turkey, died at hospital.

The girl's father and officials at the Russian Embassy in Turkey confirmed the girl's death. The 12-year-old girl died in Turkey as it was decided not to take her to Russia due to a high risk of complications.

The incident occurred at a hotel in Turkey's Bodrum resort on August 18. The child was swimming in a pool when her arm got sucked into a pipe. The girl's father saw his daughter under the water and dove in to help her immediately. The man was trying to pull her arm out of the pipe, but could not help the child out. The girl's mother noted that it was impossible to remove the girl's arm out of the pipe even after hotel employees shut the pool pump down. The father and seven more people retrieved the girl from the bottom of the pool with a piece of pipe still on her arm.

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What Russia and Turkey intend to do in Syria now

2019/08/29

The relations between Russia and Turkey have had their ups and downs during the recent years. Tensions were extremely high between Moscow and Ankara when Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 warplane in Syria on November 24, 2015. Most recently, the leaders of the two countries have been discussing their moves on the regulation of the crisis in Syria. What does Moscow think about a possibility of another offensive of the Turkish army in Syria?

It is worthy of note that the Russian-Turkish cooperation has been developing quite dynamically prior to Erdogan's arrival in Moscow for Syria talks on August 27. On August 21, the first creditor of the company to build the Akkuyu nuclear power plant was determined. On August 27, Russia proceeded to the second stage of deliveries of the second battery of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems to Ankara. When in Russia, Turkish President Recep Erdogan showed interest in Russian fighter jets Sukhoi Su-35 and Su-57 that were on display at MAKS-2019 international air show.

The meeting between Putin and Erdogan was not pre-scheduled. It had to take place due to contradictions that Russia and Turkey were experiencing lately in light of their actions in Syria's Idlib. It is also important that Turkey announced the establishment of the US-Turkish center for joint operations in northeastern Syria.

Vladimir Putin noted at the press conference after the meeting that Russia was paying first priority to the work of the Astana format and the formation of the Syrian constitutional committee, "which, we hope, will be able to start working in Geneva in the very near future."

Turkey earlier expressed concerns about the transfer of settlements in the north of Hama province and in the south of Idlib province, together with the city of Khan Shaykhun, under the control of the government forces of Syria. About 200 soldiers of the Turkish army still remain surrounded in the village of Morek (a Turkish contingent was deployed there as part of de-escalation efforts in the Idlib zone). The situation became even worse after the Syrian Air Force attacked a Turkish convoy from the air. The Turks may begin withdrawing their observation post from Morek and launch a new operation in northern Syria against the Kurds, who enjoy the support of the United States. Russia could find an opportunity to promote dialogue between the Syrian authorities and the Kurds.

The Syrian army, with the support of the Russian Air Force, was conducting hostilities in the province of Idlib for as long as six months. Damascus announced a truce in the beginning of August, but the truce was broken. Afterwards, the activity of government forces and their Russian allies increased sharply.

The province of Idlib, together with its capital of the same name, is largely controlled by the forces of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. This is a terrorist organization (banned in the Russian Federation) that managed to expand this year having taken over other, pro-Turkish groups.

Turkey failed to change the situation in favor of Ankara's friendly forces, such as the National Liberation Front. Russia and Turkey appeal to the Sochi accords, but both parties accuse each other  of disrupting their implementation.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that the actions of the Syrian government forces in Idlib did not violate the Sochi accords. The zone, which the Syrian army took under control, was a source of terrorist threat to the Syrian territory and the Russian air base in Khmeimim.

Erdogan informed Putin of his plans to launch an operation against the Kurds in northeast Syria. At the same time, Turkey wants to move outside the Astana format by cooperating with the United States. The military operation, which Turkey intends to conduct in Syria, will be highly important for Ankara. The goal of the operation is to build a buffer zone in the north of Syria to curb the Kurdish project there. This will let Ankara break ties between Syrian and Turkish Kurds to ensure the return and settlement of Syrian refugees, mainly Sunni Arabs, on the new security zone.

"We understand Turkey's concerns regarding the security of its southern borders. We believe that these are legitimate interests of the Republic of Turkey," Putin said at the press conference. "We believe that the creation of the security zone for the Republic of Turkey on its southern borders will be a good condition to ensure the territorial integrity of Syria.

During the recent months, the Turkish president has repeatedly expressed his intention to launch a new offensive in Syria. It will be Syria's third military operation in the Arab Republic after Euphrates Shield and the Olive Branch. It is important for Turkey to come to an agreement with Moscow to achieve at least a temporary cessation of hostilities in Idlib.

It remains unclear to which extent Washington is ready to compromise with the Turks. Yet, as soon as Turkey launches its operation in Syria, Russia obtains an opportunity to cooperate with the Kurds. The latter may realise that the USA is unable to ensure their security.

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Russian Northern Fleet discovers five islands in the Arctic

2019/08/28

The hydrographic group, operating as part of the expedition of the Northern Fleet on the Franz Josef Land archipelago, confirmed the discovery of five islands in the region.

"The islands are located in Vise Bay on the western sea coast of the island of Northern Novaya Zemlya in the area of the Vylki (Nansen) glacier. The area of the islands varies from 900 to 54,500 square meters," the message from the Northern Fleet said.

The topographic survey has already been conducted on the discovered islands. They have been described in detail and photographed.

As a matter of fact, the islands were discovered three years ago, but their discovery was officially announced only now.

The islands were discovered by a woman engineer of the oceanographic measurement service on the Vizir hydrographic vessel of the Northern Fleet. At the end of 2016, Marina Migunova, a student at the Arctic faculty of the University of the Sea and River Fleet named after Admiral Makarov, was studying satellite images of Vise Bay while writing her final qualification paper.

Northern Fleet hydrographs made first discoveries of geographic objects emerging from under the glacier during the 2015-2016 expeditions. They predicted the emergence of new islands hidden by the glacier.

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Putin is not going to Beslan

2019/08/28

Russian President Vladimir Putin does not plan to visit Beslan on the anniversary of the terrorist attack on School No. 1, Kremlin's official spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

On September 3, Russia marks the Day of Solidarity in the fight against terrorism. "This is a memorial day, and it is on this day that we remember all victims who fell at the hands of terrorists as a result of horrendous terrorist acts," Peskov added.

Vladimir Putin visited Beslan on September 4, 2004, immediately after the terrorist attack at school. He visited the wounded at a local hospital and held a meeting with the leadership of North Ossetia.

On September 1, 2004, a group of militants seized School No.1 and held more than 1,200 students and teachers hostage for three days. Some of the hostages were shot, some others were killed during explosions and during the storm of the building. A total of 333 people, including 186 children, were killed. Shamil Basayev, the leader of Chechen terrorists, claimed responsibility for the hostage-taking terrorist attack.

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Thank Goodness For Russian-speaking Women!

2019/08/28

By Romer Cherubim

One of the most saddening developments in recent times is the depressing amount of unjustified sexual harassment claims that have been made by women against men. Such allegations have been given succour by the Harvey Weinstein scandal in the US. The situation was already pretty bad before Weinstein. However, since this scandal broke, things have ratcheted up several notches.

The issue of sexual harassment itself is a very serious one and was rightly brought to public attention by the #MeToo Movement to counter the undisputed harassment to which women have been subjected for many years by men in positions of power. The treatment of this subject however has now escalated out of control.

There is a combination of factors behind this phenomenon. Part of the problem is that a claim for sexual harassment can be made years and even decades after the alleged misdemeanour first occurred. The absence of a Limitation period in countries like England for making complaints of sexual harassment to the Police is unfair to those, who are innocent of such allegations, yet still have to defend them many years after the supposed incident happened.

The victims of such abuse will say that you cannot put a time limit on assessing the gravity of rape or sexual assault in terms of the physical and psychological effects this abuse has on those, who have to endure it. Some victims recover quicker than others. That is only natural. Furthermore, the imposition of a deadline to report such mistreatment to the authorities will only trivialise the harrowing experiences these women have had. The women affected will also justify their decisions to delay making their complaints out of fear that they would not be believed that the rape or sexual assault actually happened. This is the Harvey Weinstein scenario. When it comes to believing one person over another with no other witnesses to the alleged wrongdoing, whom would you believe? - Harvey Weinstein, an Oscar-winning film mogul at the pinnacle of his career or a struggling actress. No contest, the answer is Weinstein.

However, what about those, who are accused of such a crime? While rape and sexual assault may be proven in many cases, there are likewise situations, when these offences are not just unproven, but did not happen. In the case of the latter, you have an altogether different victim - the man, who has to wrongly undergo the torment of being accused of being a sexual predator just because he rejected a woman's advances or ended a sexual relationship with her.

There is nowadays a distinct lack of fairness in the assessment of cases of rape and other sexual assault. The odds are stacked in favour of women. The authorities in England have tried to redress this imbalance by making it compulsory for women, complaining that they have been raped, to surrender their mobile phones to the Police. The reasoning for this is that the information on the mobile phones in the form of text messages, emails and photos, may hold clues as to the truth of these women's claims.

Men now have to accept that the days have gone when they could woo a woman the old-fashioned way. The thrill of the chase, starting with a man plucking up enough courage to ask a woman for her phone number, then taking her out on dates, making the woman his girlfriend and then consummating the union, is a thing of the past. Or is it?

Complaints about male sexual harassment are common in Western culture. However, if you go to Russia and other Russian-speaking countries, as a man, you will see a completely different story. Women in the West tend to be materialistic and, to some extent, selfish and not much more. However, many (but not all) Russian and Russian-speaking women are considerate, loving and nurturing. They believe that it is their responsibility to bring out the best in their men - an alien concept for women in the West. The fact that Russian and Russian-speaking women are among the most beautiful in the world is, of course, also a plus.

Many Western men join dating agencies, specifically designed to find Russian-speaking wives. These men spend much money in their quest to find their wives, often taking holidays in Russian-speaking countries. During these trips, the men go on a tour of several cities and have meet-ups with women, who are also members of the dating agencies to which the men have signed up. These men probably have the most enjoyable and spiritually uplifting holidays they will ever have. The men view the money they spend on these dating agencies and the trips they take to these countries, as an investment in their future happiness. What's more, they are right to do so. If they are lucky, these men end up finding women, who are not just beautiful, but are a source of strength emotionally and spiritually. These women make great wives. You can also bet that these women, like the vast majority of Russian-speaking women, are not malicious enough to make unjustified complaints of rape and sexual assault about their husbands to the authorities. Russian-speaking women are just not like that.

Why are Russian-speaking women nicer people than women in the West. Is it because Russian-speaking women tend to be more educated than Western women? Perhaps. Is it because society places more pressure on women in the West to have a certain standard of living, thereby ridding them of their innate femininity? Who knows? One thing for sure is that Russian-speaking women are the answers to many Western men's prayers.

Romer Cherubim

UK

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Boycott Brazil: The only way to save the Amazon

2019/08/27

Boycott Brazil: The only way to save the Amazon

The Brazilian beef you see on your table very probably comes directly from a farm carved out of the Amazon rainforest at the expense of this unique ecosystem and its inhabitants.

The international media has not picked up on this story which I have been pushing for months. And here it is. Gangs working for big business interests in Brazil, many with connections to lobbyists from (who else?) the United States of America, are systematically destroying vast swathes of the Amazon rainforest. Why? To privatize its enormous resources. This comes at the expense of the inhabitants.

Sloths fall burnt to their deaths, tapirs become living barbecues, baby marmosets cling to their mothers, terrified, as both plunge to the Gates of Hell, an inferno burning below. Indigenous people are being massacred by gangs of savages wielding rifles and machetes, they are mown down with impunity, including children "so that they won't grow up". They are being burnt out of their homes because big business interests want to grab the mineral wealth of the Amazon and to create space for massive soybean farms and cattle ranches.

President Jair Bolsonaro (pronounced Ja-IR, not "jare" as many western outlets call him) said his government is the one that fights crime and nepotism. Interesting, practically the first thing he did was nominate his son as Ambassador in Washington and as for the arsonists lighting all these fires, why did he only react three weeks later when the international community woke up to what was happening (something I pointed out before the fires started)?

And why are there almost double the amount of fires this year compared to last? Why are the arsonists getting away with impunity? Maybe we can find the answers in some of the declarations from Jair Bolsonaro himself over the years, analyze his attitude towards the indigenous peoples and draw some conclusions.

"It's a pity that the Brazilian cavalry was not as efficient as the American cavalry, which exterminated the Indians" (1998)

"The Indians do not speak our language, they don't have money, they don't have culture. They are native peoples. How do they get 13% of the national territory?" (2015)

"There is no indigenous land where there are no minerals. Gold, tin and magnesium are in these lands, especially in Amazonia, the richest area in the world. I don't enter this thing of defending land for Indians" (2015)

"[Indigenous reservations] suffocate agrobusiness. In Brazil you cannot decrease one square metre of indigenous land" (2015)

"In 2019 we are going to cancel the (indigenous reservation) Raposa Serra do Sol. We are going to give rifles and weapons to all the farmers" (2016)

"There is not going to be one centimetre marked out for indigenous reservations or for quilombolas" (2017)

"You can be sure that if I get there (to the Presidency) there will be no money for NGOs. If it's up to me, every citizen will have a firearm at home. There will not be one centimetre adjudicated for indigenous reservations or quilombolas" (2017). Remember Bolsonaro blamed the NGOs for the fires (probably one of the most ridiculous things to have dropped out of his mouth).

"If I get to assume (the Presidency) there will be not one more centimetre for indigenous lands" (2018)

"If I am elected I am going to cut FUNAI (National Foundation of the Indians) with a scythe. A scythe to its neck. There is no other way. It is not useful any more" (2018)

If we can add to these snippets into the mindset of Jair Messias Bolsonaro, the champion of Brazil's Three Bs lobbies (Bói - bull; bíblia - bible; bala - bullet) some other declarations from this oracle of utter wisdom we can draw some more conclusions. Let us see:

"The error of the dictatorship was to torture and not to kill" (2006 and 2018)

"I am in favor of torture" (1999)

"I am in favor, yes, of a dictatorship" (1999)

"[The police officer] enters, solves the problem and if he kills 10, 15 or 20, with 10 or 30 shots for each one, he has to receive an award, and not be sued" (2018)

"I would never rape you because you don't deserve it" (to women, 2003 and 2014)

Gays: "For me it's death. I say more: I prefer that he dies in an accident than coming here with a guy with a moustache. For me he will have died anyway" (2011)

And so on and so forth. I finish with the words of Amazonwatch (link below) in February of this year and let my readers form their own conclusion.

"Emboldened by the institutional assault upon indigenous rights being waged by the regime of Jair Bolsonaro, rural mafias are organizing an unprecedented wave of land invasions and attacks on native territories and communities. As Brazil's indigenous agency FUNAI is systematically dismantled, with its mandate to title and monitor indigenous lands handed to agribusiness interests and religious zealots, vast Amazonian forests are becoming increasingly vulnerable to exploitation."

The first step towards the selling off and destruction of the Amazon to big business interests in Brazil and its bedmaster in Washington was the illegal coup against President Dilma Rousseff, followed by throwing ex-President Lula into jail without a proper due legal process, paving the way for a clique of self-interested political sharks to stop the social programs, cut medical aid, cut social assistance and see Brazil once again slide back into a species of country without definition. A bluff. Under Lula Brazil had gained a middle class, it had gained respect on the world stage. Under Bolsonaro, it has gone back three decades to some ridiculous banana republic crawling with injustice and seeing millions of people living in misery, demoralized, depressed and demotivated.

This time round they are attacking the Amazon and its peoples to get their hands on its resources. The Brazilian beef on your table is on your table at the expense of countless trees, animals and indigenous people's livelihoods.

Boycott Brazil, do not buy Brazilian goods. 789-790 is the Brazilian barcode identification number.

Amazonwatch

https://amazonwatch.org/news/2019/0220-brazils-indigenous-peoples-suffer-wave-of-invasions-and-attacks

Photo 1: Por Palácio do Planalto from Brasilia, Brasil - 28/06/2019 Reunião Paralela dos Líderes do G20, sobre Economia Digital, CC BY 2.0, https://ift.tt/2UdPRS3

Photo 2: The author in 2018

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey

Twitter: @TimothyBHinchey

timothy.hinchey@gmail.com

Boycott Brazil: The only way to save the Amazon. 63803.jpeg

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey works in the area of teaching, consultancy, coaching, translation, revision of texts, copy-writing and journalism. Director and Chief Editor of the Portuguese version of Pravda.Ru since 2002, and now Co-Editor of the English version, he contributes regularly to several other publications in Portuguese and English. He has worked in the printed and online media, in daily, weekly, monthly and yearly magazines and newspapers. A firm believer in multilateralism as a political approach and multiculturalism as a means to bring people and peoples together, he is Official Media Partner of UN Women, fighting for gender equality and Media Partner with Humane Society International, promoting animal rights. His hobbies include sports, in which he takes a keen interest, traveling, networking to protect the rights of LGBTQI communities and victims of gender violence, and cataloging disappearing languages, cultures and traditions around the world. A keen cook, he enjoys trying out different cuisines and regards cooking and sharing as a means to understand cultures and bring people together.

Join the most international forum on the Net

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New Russian MC-21 passenger aircraft debuts at MAKS-2019 air show

2019/08/27

Russia's state-of-the-art narrow-body passenger aircraft MC-21 took part in the flight program of the MAKS-2019 air show in the town of Zhukovsky near Moscow. The flight lasted for about five minutes, with presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan watching. Putin and Erdogan took part in the opening ceremony of the air show.

It was the first time, when the new airliner demonstrated its beauty in the sky to the eyes of the general public. MAKS-2019 will demonstrate three MC-21 aircraft, one of them with interior design. The first test flight of the aircraft was held in 2017; the serial production of the MC-21 is to begin in 2021.

Aeroflot will become the main operator of the new aircraft. The airline has already signed a contract for the supply of 50 of these aircraft with another contract for 35 more aircraft under development.

Russia has been working on the MC-21 for more than ten years. Only one version of this mid-range narrow-body airliner is being developed - the MC-21-300 with a capacity of 211 seats in the two-class layout. The Irkut Corporation created the aircraft in cooperation with many foreign companies. In 2018, the company faced difficulties with the deliveries of composite materials because of sanctions. Large elongated composite wings reduce fuel consumption, thereby increasing the economic efficiency of the aircraft.

The USA imposed sanctions on JSC Aerocomposite (part of the United Aircraft Corporation, UAC) and some other companies related to the same industry profile in the fall of 2018. Foreign suppliers (Hexcel (USA) and Toray Industries (Japan)) thus stopped selling composite raw materials to two Russian companies. As a result, Irkut Corporation had to localize the production of components and systems of the aircraft. The level of localization is expected to reach 97% by 2020, and the aircraft will not depend on foreign supplies. The total cost of the project until 2025 is estimated at 437 billion rubles. On July 22, 2019, the head of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, asked President Vladimir Putin for another 300 billion rubles for the financial recovery of all UAC companies to implement the MC-21 project and other programs of the Russian aviation industry.

The Sukhoi SuperJet 100, Airbus A350 900 and Embraer E195 are also to be demonstrated as part of the flight program of the MAKS-2019 air show. As for military aviation, one will be able to see  the fifth-generation fighter Su-57, the latest MiG-35 of 4 ++ generation, modern combat aircraft Su-35S, Su-34, the Be-200 amphibious aircraft. For the first time, naval aviation pilots of the Russian Aerospace Forces will present the program "Air combat with elements of super-maneuverability." The pilots will fly two Su-30SM fighters for the program.

MAKS-2019 will also showcase the model of the Russian-Chinese wide-body long-range CR929 aircraft. Visitors will be able to see the cockpit, as well as elements of the first, business and economy class cabins.

Foreign aircraft manufacturers will demonstrate in Russia the short-haul airliner Embraer E-195E2 in the Tech Lion livery, the Pilatus PC-24 business jet, and the light-engine Piper M500 aircraft. The Airbus A350-900, which was previously demonstrated at MAKS air shows, will be presented this year with new Airbus Connected Experience solutions. The solutions are designed to raise the level of passenger comfort and improve their interaction with the crew.

The fifth-generation Russian fighter aircraft Sukhoi Su-57 will be presented for the first time both in the static and in the flight program. The Ilyushin Il-112VE light military transport aircraft will be another new model of military aircraft.

The convertible Il-78M-90A air tanker, more than 160 modern models of military equipment and latest high-precision aviation weapons will be shown at MAKS-2019 as well.

The range of products manufactured by Russian Helicopters will be widely represented too. Visitors will be able to take a look at the world's heaviest Mi-26T2V helicopter, the Mi-38T transport assault helicopter, Mi-171A2 and Mi-17V-5 medium-sized helicopters, Mi-24P and Mi-35M transport-combat helicopters, combat reconnaissance and Ka-52 Alligator assault chopper, light helicopters Ansat and Ka-226T. Ka-52K and the export version of the "Night Hunter" - Mi-28NE will be on display on the ground.

Russia's Almaz-Antey aerospace defense company will showcase full-scale models of vehicles of the Tor anti-aircraft missile system and a new system for countering unmanned aerial vehicles. The company will also show the S-400 Triumph and Antei-2500 long-range systems, the Viking and Vityaz medium-range systems, and other products.

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USA wants more socialism while Russia wants cruel capitalism

2019/08/27

How does the Hispanic population change the USA? Why don't people call Donald Trump's direct line to complain about the condition of roads and public utility services? How does the USA solve these problems and what Russia can learn from the USA at this point?

Also read: Americans have racism under their skin

Rustem Safronov, an international journalist and correspondent for the Sputnik news agency in Washington, talked about these and other issues in an interview with Pravda.Ru

"Rustem, to which extent are the Latinos in the USA different from other groups of the population? To which extent are they isolated?"

"This is a very interesting question. When I found myself in California for the first time in 1990, I did not know English, but I knew Spanish. I could manage with my knowledge of Spanish just fine for a very long time, until I learned some English. Even if you call an organization nowadays, whether it is a clinic, a government agency - everywhere you will be offered an option to speak Spanish: "If you want to speak Spanish, press 2."

"The integration of Latin American people is very strong in the USA. First of all, they are geographical neighbours. With all their imperial arrogance, the Americans still have certain kinship under their skin. They have the same feeling even in relation to Cuba, although the political hostility against the Cubans is strong. The Americans have always thought that the Cubans broke away from the US by chance, that they still belong to the West and that they never belonged to the Soviets.

"The educated part of the US population has never been in solidarity with the official line of hostility against Cuba. The people in the US have always been opposed to the embargo against Cuba. Even now they understand that Cuba is a slightly different system, but the people there are the same. One does not notice such attitude in relation to the peoples of Eurasia. The most popular foreign language for studying in the United States is Spanish, because it has practical value."

"Is there any sort of integration, or are the Latinos building their own America?

"I think there is integration. The US becomes increasingly friendly to the Hispanic population as the share of this part of the population continuously grows. The country already produces universal personas, such as, for example, Ricky Martin, or Jennifer Lopez. They are largely North American phenomena, rather than Latin American ones."

"Do you think Russia could learn something from their system?"

"Our reformers wanted to transfer their model to Russia. They still want to make Russia become a copy of America. But all this, in general, is expressed only in the desire to switch everything to the paid basis, to reduce social benefits, etc., - to make the system cruel.

"Bernard Sanders has long been saying that this system needs to move towards socialization. Yet, Russia still tries to imitate the American model by cutting the number of state-funded places at universities, creating as many paid medical services as possible, etc.

"This is not suitable for Russia. I would take something completely different from America, for example, their local government system known as the crime watch community. We had had some of this system in the past, when there is a group of people who watch law and order in their neighbourhood."

"Is there communication between common people and the US authorities?  In Russia, the government is trying to prove what there is such communication, but in reality one can never reach them."

"They communicate with people regularly, they hold press conferences. Nowadays one can do many things online, and people can reach the authorities indeed. This system works, but there are problems too. For example, the subway system in Washington suffers from chronic underfunding. In Russia, people would revolt, if they had to wait for a train for 30 minutes. In Russia, people are used to the metro working like a clock."

Interview conducted by Lyuba Lulko (Stepushova)

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Top secret memo revealed: Many Russian meddlers active in America

2019/08/27

By Guy Somerset

NOTE: THE FOLLOWING TOP SECRET MEMO WAS RECENTLY INTERCEPTED FROM THE KREMLIN IN MOSCOW. IT IS SHOCKING IN THE AMOUNT OF DETAIL REGARDING RUSSIAN MEDDLING IN AMERICA.

TOP SECRET - FOR RUSSIAN SPY CONSUMPTION ONLY - DO NO DISTRIBUTE - INTERNAL USE ONLY

Comrades!

Given recent setbacks and revelations of our Meddling in American affairs this Internal Document is intended to evaluate the success of our nefarious activities conducted within the United States.

Specific instances prompting the current review are unmasking of Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell as "Moscow Mitch" as well as identification of our involvement in the death of pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

To assess efficacy of Russian Meddlement is a chronological appraisal of our most Meddlesome actions:

1863 - The American Civil War - An often overlooked excursion by the Russian Imperial Fleet to America may have been as deciding a factor in their Civil War as was the battle at Gettysburg. Many historians assent England and others considered intervening on behalf of the Confederacy to sway the outcome.

This would benefit outsiders to the dint of a source of raw materials and strategic implications of divided North American government. Arrival of the Russian Fleet was warning if this was done, there would be consequences. Russia, having freed the Serfs in 1861, was in many ways the forerunner of Abolition.

1942 - The Siege of Stalingrad - While a certain generation of Americans love to shout they "Won the War!" with Germany, the truth is they won against one-third of Germany. The rest of the army was defeated by Russia. Most important was the Siege of Stalingrad where the tide of war was determined.

If not for participation of Russia there is high likelihood Germany would have won outright as only two years later they were a minimum twenty years ahead of the United States technologically. Indeed, had Germany succeeded there is little doubt man would have a colony on Mars by the present day.

1962 - The Cuban Missile Crisis (Part One) - During negotiations, Americans dropped depth charges on a Russian submarine. Communication had ceased, meaning mariners may have easily misinterpreted non-lethal depth charges as beginning combat. Indeed, the Captain wanted to commence the fight. Only refusal by Submarine Commander Vasily Arkhipov, required for such a measure, preserved the peace.

1962 - The Cuban Missile Crisis (Part Two) - Even though it is public knowledge removal of Russian missiles from Cuba was part and parcel of de-escalation also involving removal of American missiles from Turkey, this was not revealed at that time. Premier Khrushchev permitted President Kennedy to maintain details in secret in order the American president not be embarrassed before his constituency.

1983 - The Nuclear Near Miss - On September 26, 1983, Stanislav Petrov, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Russian Air Defense realized early warning satellites indicated a massive strike by the United States of America. He was immediately skeptical given there was no prior action of an ominous nature.

Moreover, he deemed the synchronicity of these launches unlikely. Yet Petrov was required by training to report the alert to superiors which would certainly result in launching a counterattack. Stanislav chose to ignore the notice. Soon it was evident the warning was a system malfunction.

1991 - The Cold War Compromise - By 1991 the Soviet Union ceased to be a viable entity. There was newfound optimism. While there were improvements it was a difficult course. Still, rather than cling to power at the point of a gun Russia withdrew its soldiers from many nations of the Warsaw Pact.

Russia might have compelled neighbors with physical violence. Instead, it peacefully removed the military amid assurances from America that NATO would not expand. Of course this was a lie. Even so, Russian leaders focused on improving the nation rather than take Europe into a maelstrom of violence.

2001 - The World Trade Center Warning - During transition of governments, involvement in international matters sought to prevent instability. In the days before September 11 President Vladimir Putin telephoned American President George Bush to warn him Russian Intelligence received reports terrorists were "planning something big."

Needless to say, Bush did nothing. He did not put his military on alert. He did not instruct airports to flag ominous travelers. He did not address the nation. He did nothing. Of course, many consider that to be evidence of something else. Thus, never forget Russians did everything possible to avert the tragedy.

2013 - The Boston Bombing Alert - This was not the only incidence of Russian attempts to save American lives. In 2013 occurred the Boston Bombing which killed or injured over two hundred individuals. It was allegedly committed by the Tsarnaev Brothers, of Kyrgyzstan.

In the days and months preceding the crime American authorities were repeatedly warned by Russian Intelligence the Tsarnaev Brothers were dangerous and their travel from Kyrgyzstan had been closely monitored. In response the American government once more did absolutely nothing.

FACTS IN REVIEW

Given the above, it is obvious our Meddlesome actions have produced mixed results:

As for 1863, it is clear Russians prevented expansion of the American Civil War into a Global Conflict. The Imperial Fleet played a role in ending Slavery and a role as savior of the Union. (Given the condition of American inner cities saving the United States as a nation may have ended it as a civil society.)

DETERMINATION - Russian Meddling Saved the United States.

In terms of 1942, Russia was the true "Winner of World War Two" (or the Great Patriotic War as it is better known). The deaths of over one million Russian soldiers and nearly one million Germanic troops at Stalingrad were decisive in delaying an ultimate Fascist victory, until American mobilization in 1944. To state the Americans defeated the Germans is as ludicrous as it is to say Russia defeated the Japanese.

DETERMINATION - Russian Meddling Saved the United States.

Regarding 1962 (Parts One and Two), it is abundantly clear had Vasily Arkhipov not maintained his composure there would have been confrontation. Such a naval engagement may have led to a launch of atomic weapons. Catastrophic as, unknown to Americans, Russia had already positioned a hundred tactical nuclear warheads on the Cuban mainland.

Discussing the eventual compromise, only the acumen of Khrushchev prevented disaster. His understanding of the weaknesses of the American system allowed Kennedy to claim unilateral "victory" even as the clash was ameliorated by secret compromise between the two men.

DETERMINATION - Russian Meddling Saved the Whole World.

Regarding the Nuclear Near Miss, Russian tranquility once again preserved the peace. Had Stanislov Petrov not demonstrated the highest attributes of Russian national character and common sense a holocaust may have resulted. Given American political attitudes, to say nothing of social hysteria prevailing, it is doubtful an opposing officer would have reacted with as much responsibility.

DETERMINATION - Russian Meddling Once Again Saved the Whole World.

While collapse of the Soviet system caused incredible hardships on the Russian civilian population it is to our credit we did not engage in the worst impulses to restore dominance. (Compare and contrast this with the actions taken by China in Tiananmen Square). Even as American businessmen and International financiers looted the nation our military restraint was to the vision and honor of Russia.

DETERMINATION - Russian Meddling Saved Half Of Europe.

There is little which can be added to the brief synopsis above. Learning of the extreme danger that imperiled American civilians, Russian Intelligence acted immediately. Suspecting an enormous terror operation was imminent it warned the American President. His inaction inures to his shame.

DETERMINATION - Russian Meddling Failed To Save Two Thousand American Civilians But Not For Lack Of Trying.

Thwarted in the endeavor to protect American lives by one President, Russia again acted in the best interest of its natural ally by warning his successor concerning yet another pending attack. That this President likewise chose to repeatedly ignore such admonitions is for him to explain to posterity.

DETERMINATION - Russian Meddling Failed To Save Over Two Hundred American Citizens But Largely Due To American Refusal To Investigate.

FINAL STATISTICS

VICTOTIES - 6 Times Russian Meddling Preserved American Lives

FAILURES - 2 Times Russian Meddling Failed To Protect American Lives

MIXED - 1 Time Russian Meddling Saved America With Dubious Results

GOING FORWARD

Given America has been saved by Russian Meddling once every generation for over a century it is imperative to maintain our Meddlesome Matrix. Even those times our Meddlings have not succeeded, had American authorities acted with as much civic duty as ourselves lives would have been preserved.

While undeniably true that it is not pleasant to be accused by the Controlled American Media of our responsibility for every disreputable action in America, on the whole it is best for us to continue protecting the American populace given the American government appears incapable of doing so.

As for "Moscow Mitch" it is absurd to even address the matter, given he has sought war with Russia on laughable pretexts in the past. Considering the death of Jeffrey Epstein, that murder was undoubtedly the responsibility of a much smaller nation more significantly to the south than our own.

Thus for the present time, let the command ring forth to Comrades both near and far - Meddle Onward!

Guy Somerset writes from somewhere in America

#russianmeddling

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Brazil's Regime Destroying the Amazon Rainforest for Profit?

2019/08/26

Brazil's Regime Destroying the Amazon Rainforest for Profit?

In October 2018, hardline Social Liberal Party (PSL) candidate Jair Bolsonaro defeated Workers Party (PT) aspirant Fernando Haddad.

Fascism triumphed over equity and justice. Bolsonaro and retired general Hamilton Mourao running mate praised Brazil's 1964 - 1985 military dictatorship, a dark period when countless numbers of regime critics were kidnapped and murdered.

According to Bolsonaro, former Brazilian military despots didn't go "far enough" in eliminating regime critics.

His leadership is pro-hardline governance, pro-dictatorial rule, pro-free-market predation, pro-neoliberal harshness, pro-gun, pro-torture, anti-populist, anti-social justice, and ecocidal.

In 2019, deforestation of the Amazon rainforest - the world's largest and most biodiverse, known as the lungs of the world by producing 20% of its oxygen - is occurring at a record pace to serve agribusiness, cattle ranching, logging, and other commercial development at the expense of ecosanity.

According to Greenpeace, National Geographic, and other sources, around 73,000 fires occurred and continue in Brazil this year - 84% more than the comparable year-ago period.

Bolsonaro's "first year in office is marked by environmental destruction," Greenpeace stressed, adding:

Fires are so widespread and intense that "Sao Paulo - more than a thousand miles away - was plunged into an apocalyptic darkness on Monday afternoon."

By late afternoon, "the sky was almost totally black." The state of Amazonas declared a state of emergency.

#Pray for Amazonia tweeted: "Where are the politicians, billionaires and influencers who cried for Notre Dame - but remained silent for the lungs of our planet?"

"When are we going to learn the importance of biodiversity" to preserve planet earth and all its life forms?

"If we keep doing this, our planet will end up with nothing...(W)ithout the plants we are not going to survive."

"(T)he lungs of the planet (are) gradually disappearing" - ignored by influential policymakers.

Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) said an estimated 2,254 sq km were lost to burning or logging in July this year alone - a staggering 278% increase over the year-ago period.

According to Federal University of Sao Paulo's department of atmospheric sciences Professor Marcia Akemi Yamasoe, most fires were deliberately set for commercial reasons.

Greenpeace explained that "(w)hen the rainforest's protective canopy is lost, the forest floor is exposed to intense tropical sun, increasing the risk of more fires."

"In turn, smoke hanging in the atmosphere can suppress rainfall, while trees help water condense and produce more rain, so with fewer trees, the effect on the ecosystem and climate at large is long-lasting and can be severe."

Earlier this year, Bolsonaro sacked INPE director Ricardo Galvao to cease deforestation data revelations.

Most officials at Brazil's main environmental agency Ibama were sacked and not replaced.

According to Amazon Environmental Research Unit (IPAM) senior scientist Paulo Moutinno - the agency involved in monitoring deforestation and fires - "(w)e're in a situation that is getting worse every year." 

"We have a government that is not environmentally friendly and is emboldening illegal loggers" and other commercial development.

On August 11, NASA said fires in Brazil's rainforest were large enough to be seen from space.

Brazil's INPE reported over 9,000 fires spotted in the past week. National Geographic Explorer-at-Large Thomas Lovejoy said: "This is without any question one of only two times that there have been fires like this."

"There's no question that it's a consequence of the recent uptick in deforestation."

Weeks earlier INPE data indicated that deforestation in Brazil this summer has been more than threefold greater than in the past three summers combined - largely driven by widespread fires.

Lovejoy explained that deforestation contributes to diminished rainfall, risking a "point of no return (where affected areas) more resemble savannah than rainforest" - felt globally.

Protecting the Amazon rainforest is one of the most effective ways to mitigate climate change - by absorbing millions of tons of carbon emissions annually.

Ecologist Adriane Muelbert called Amazon deforestation "a crime against the planet, and a crime against humankind."

Reportedly Bolsonaro bragged, saying "I used to be called Captain Chainsaw. Now I am Nero, setting the Amazon aflame."

by Stephen Lendman

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

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

Photo: Por Coordenação-Geral de Observação da Terra/INPE from Brasil - Fumaça em área de floresta em torno do Rio Purus / Smoke in forest area around Purus River, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://ift.tt/2MCyN7q

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Russia ready to build another super bridge

2019/08/26

A bridge across the Volga River in the Samara region bypassing the city of Togliatti, will cost Russia 120.8 billion rubles, an updated version of the construction agreement says.

The bridge will be the first project of the international transport corridor Europe - Western China. In total, 95.98 kilometers of motorway and 3.75 kilometers of the bridge itself across the Volga river are to be built. Should this project be implemented, the travel time from Moscow to Samara will be reduced from 16 to 8 hours.

Originally, the project was evaluated at 130-140 billion rubles, but now the cost has dropped to 120.8 billion. The regional budget is to allocate 67 billion rubles for the construction as a capital grant, whereas the rest of the financing is to be raised by the concessionaire.

The concession company, Bypassing Togliatti, was established. The construction is to start already in 2019 and to finish in 2024.

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Cloud of radioactive gases found above northern Russia

2019/08/26

The Russian Meteorological Service (Roshydromet) found a cloud of radioactive gases above the territory of the Arkhangelsk region of Russia. The cloud contains traces of the decay of radionuclides of strontium, barium and lanthanum, representatives of the agency said. Currently, there are no radioactive isotopes in air samples in Severodvinsk and Arkhangelsk. "The radiation situation has stabilized," Roshydromet assured.

Roshydromet officially confirmed that after the explosion at the training ground near Severodvinsk on August 8, there was a spike in radiation because of the emission of radioactive inert gases. The cloud was formed in the air due to the decay of man-made radionuclides of strontium, barium and lanthanum.

A spike in the level of radiation was recorded during monitoring operations in the Arkhangelsk region, the press release on the website of Roshydromet says. Specialists of the department took air samples in Severodvinsk during the period from August 8 to 23. The analysis revealed "the presence of short-lived man-made radionuclides" that decompose into inert radioactive gases.

The appearance of inert radioactive gases in the air is associated with an increase in the level of radiation on August 8 in Severodvinsk. Currently, there are no radionuclides in air samples either in Severodvinsk or Arkhangelsk.

On August 8, an explosion of a liquid-propellant rocket propulsion system occurred at Nenoksa training ground near the city of Severodvinsk. The accident occurred during tests. Five nuclear physicists, employees of Rosatom (Russian federal Agency for Atomic Power) were killed.
Three more were injured.

Two weeks after the accident, doctors of the Arkhangelsk Regional Hospital anonymously told reporters that they had not been warned about the nature of the injuries of the irradiated patients.

Two days later, the military started decontaminating the hospital. The doctors, who were in contact with the patients, were examined and forced to sign non-disclosure agreements. The Kremlin refused to believe in the story of Arkhangelsk doctors. Putin's official spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that someone was simply trying to "deliberately heat up the information background." Russian President Vladimir Putin also said that there was no radioactive hazard near Severodvinsk.

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The Deal - a PRAVDA exclusive

2019/08/25

The Deal - a PRAVDA exclusive

People all over the world are scratching their heads wondering what exactly happened with the big Mueller report and his subsequent sketchy testimony before Congress.  

Two years ago this writer was told about "a deal" between Mueller and Trump by an inside source close to the president.  The deal went like this...

Mueller could do an investigation.  Use all the time and money he wanted.  Get as close to the truth as he dared but when it came down to the wire, Trump and his family would be cleared.  Or, at least not indicted.  Everyone knows that when you have been a businessman at Trump's level you have made mistakes.  It goes with the territory.  And, there is no doubt that Donald Trump made mistakes that could be indictable along the way.  In the deal however, those were to be swept under the carpet.  As were any nefarious meetings of Don Jr. or Eric or any of his children. 

Mueller would need some meat to throw at his gapping media and anti-Trump people.  So Trump agreed he could take down some low-hanging fruit to make it look good and appease the left.  So Papadopoulos, Gates, Manafort, Flynn and Cohen could be thrown under the bus for the cause.  

In exchange for a report that exonerated Trump at least to the degree he was not indicted Trump agreed not to go after Hillary, Comey, Podesta or any of that crowd.  However, his base was chanting, "LOCK HER UP!  LOCK HER UP!" and Trump needed to make it look like that's exactly what he wanted to do and was going to do.  

Enter Jeff Sessions who was the scapegoat.  "Jeff, I want you to hem and haw about Hillary.  Drag your feet.  Stall. And, I am going to call you all kinds of names and make it look like I want you to indict Hillary and Comey but you are just a damn do nothing and I am stuck with you.  Will you do that, Jeff?  I'll make it worth your while."  Something like this was probably said.

Sessions was probably not thrilled but being a loyal soldier he went along with it.  It makes one wonder in situations like this if people are bought off, if they are threatened or if they are blackmailed.  Maybe they just take the hit for the cause.  

Now we have ZeroHedge reporting today that Barr is refusing to act on pursuing anything to do with not only Hillary but also the soft coup played by anti-Trump agents in the FBI.  

"President Obama's FBI, ran by disgraced former director James Comey, knew about - but purposefully ignored - "highly classified" evidence in the Hillary Clinton email investigation before they downgraded their initial assessment of her crime from a felony to a "grossly negligent" mistake. 

As The Hill's John Solomon reports, a Senate staff memo updating an ongoing inquiry by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) reveals that the FBI decided to back off their pursuit of this damning evidence "even though the agents believed access to the sensitive evidence was "necessary" to complete the investigation," writes Solomon."

Hillary obstructed justice when she "lost" 30,000 emails, bleachbit her servers and her staff literally hammered their devices to destroy evidence that might be incriminating.  But, it goes deeper, the FBI then got a FISA warrant to spy on people in the Trump campaign based on (of all things) that dossier that Michael Steele wrote that said Trump had paid prostitutes to pee on his bed.  They knew the dossier was fake but they presented it to the FISA court anyway because it was the only way to get the warrant.  Who paid for that dossier?  Clinton, the DNC and the group they hired Fusion GPS.    It goes deeper but suffice it to say they were in violation of the law. 

Senators Grassley and Johnson wrote Barr asking him to investigate this and he did not respond.  Again from ZeroHedge, "As a result of the findings in that appendix, Senator Grassley wrote a classified letter to DOJ on October 17, 2018, which remains unanswered. On January 15, 2019, at Mr. Barr's nomination hearing, Senator Grassley asked Mr. Barr if he would answer the letter, if confirmed, to which he attested, 'Yes, Senator.' On April 16, 2019, Senators Grassley, Johnson, and Graham sent a letter to Attorney General Barr reiterating the need for a written response to that letter," reads the note.   

Of course, Barr can't respond or do anything his hands are tied.  The Deal.  

Over the next two years, this writer watched "the deal" play out month after month, year after year. 

The Mueller Report came out and Trump was (miraculously) saved.  None of his family was indicted.  The low-hanging fruit were arrested.  Sessions took the hit as the scapegoat for Trump not being able to "LOCK HER UP".  And, now Barr will not go after Hillary and her people even with senators breathing down his neck.  He won't even answer their inquiries.  

It was a great deal for Hillary and Trump.  He did after all write The Art of the Deal.  

The Deal - a PRAVDA exclusive. 63795.jpeg

Nancy O'Brien Simpson
Ms. Simpson was a radio personality in New York.  She was a staff writer for The Liberty Report.  A PBS documentary was done on her activism for human rights.  She is a psychotherapist and political commentator.  

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