By Yves Engler · November 18, 2019
Organization of American States election observers have played an important role in subverting Bolivian democracy.
While some may find it hard to believe that a regional electoral monitoring body would consciously subvert democracy, their actions in the South American country are not dissimilar to previous US/Canada backed OAS missions in Haiti.
“The OAS Election Audit That Triggered Morales’ Fall in Bolivia”, explained a New York Times headline. For his part, Bolivian President Evo Morales said the OAS “is in the service of the North American empire.”
After the October 20 presidential election, the OAS immediately cried foul. The next day the organization released a statement that expressed “its deep concern and surprise at the drastic and hard-to-explain change in the trend of the preliminary results [from the quick count] revealed after the closing of the polls.” Two days later they followed that statement up with a preliminary report that repeated their claim that “changes in the TREP [quick count] trend were hard to explain and did not match the other measurements available.”
But, the “hard-to-explain” changes cited by the OAS were entirely expected, as detailed in the Centre for Economic Policy Research’s report “What Happened in Bolivia’s 2019 Vote Count? The Role of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission”. The CEPR analysis points out that Morales’ percentage lead over the second place candidate Carlos Mesa increased steadily as votes from rural, largely indigenous, areas were tabulated. Additionally, the 47.1% of the vote Morales garnered aligns with pre-election polls and the vote score for his Movement toward Socialism party. The hullabaloo about the quick count stopping at 83% of the vote was preplanned and there is no evidence there was a pause in the actual counting. … continue
RT | November 18, 2019
The interim government of Bolivia has tasked a special prosecutor with rooting out “subversives” in former President Evo Morales’ party, and dissident journalists have also been threatened with arrest, local media reports.
A “special apparatus of the Prosecutor’s Office” has been created to root out “subversion and sedition” in Morales’ MAS (Movement to Socialism) party, Minister of Government Arturo Murillo announced on Sunday. He warned any leaders who might be harboring disloyalty to the new right-wing government that he already had a list of the names of “subversives,” accusing them of stirring up violence in the country, and pledged to begin issuing arrest orders on Monday.
Nor are socialist politicians the sole target of the new regime’s wrath – Murillo called out journalists working for MAS-related media during a press conference on Saturday, warning them that they too could be subject to prosecution for their disloyalty.
“We ask you to inform, not to misinform,” he cautioned dissident reporters, insisting they “do their job and not commit sedition.” Murillo’s words echoed threats from Minister of Communications Roxana Lizarraga, who declared on Thursday that journalists “who are causing sedition” had been identified and warned foreign reporters they were not immune to Bolivian law.
The interim government has already shown it is willing to use force to exert its will over the people, thousands of whom have taken to the streets to demand the safe return of Morales, who fled to Mexico in fear of his life after losing the support of Bolivia’s military. Security forces opened fire on protesters in Cochabamba on Friday, killing at least nine and injuring scores more – just a day after self-declared interim President Jeanine Anez exempted them from criminal prosecution.
Footage of the carnage triggered international condemnation, while Morales personally pleaded with security forces to “stop the massacre.” Protesters could be heard begging for media coverage in some of the videos, suggesting the interim government’s warnings have already had a chilling effect on the press.
The interim government’s heavy-handed crackdown on nonviolent protest, along with its designation of leftist politicians and journalists as subversives, has evoked fears it will follow in the footsteps of Latin American coup regimes past, many of which were not-so-secretly backed by the US. Military juntas in Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay “disappeared” or otherwise massacred thousands of left-wing activists, union leaders, and politicians in the latter half of the 20th century over the course of the US’ ‘Operation Condor’. … Full article
Law enforcement copies Israeli brutality
By Philip Giraldi • Unz Review • November 19, 2019
Jewish groups in the United States are adept at creating mechanisms that benefit themselves and also frequently Israel at the expense of the American taxpayer. The proliferating holocaust museums are a good example, sometimes built by private donations but then paid for and operated by the local government. The national holocaust museum in Washington is, for example, supported by the taxpayer to the tune of $54 million per year. When one considers that the so-called holocaust occurred nearly eighty years ago and did not involve the United States at all, it is a remarkable achievement to so memorialize the claimed uniqueness of Jewish suffering, which then is used to justify other abuses and excuse Israel’s ongoing war crimes.
For those who deny that claims of the uniqueness of Jewish suffering are exploited and even promoted in order to be able to influence public opinion while also obtaining special favors from government, one might cite specific instances where that has most definitely been the case. Jewish organizations receive over 90% of discretionary grants from the Department of Homeland Security, for example, and Israel benefits from $1.8 billion in aid annually plus another $10 billion through bogus charities, trade concessions and U.S. government funded projects approved by Congress that the American public knows little or nothing about. … continue
MEMO | November 18, 2019
Police in Cyprus confiscated a van on Saturday with high-tech surveillance equipment inside, news agencies have reported. Police officers took its Israeli owner for questioning after reports that the vehicle was used to spy on people.
According to the Cyprus Times, police took an interest after reports by Forbes magazine in August that a high-tech surveillance vehicle was in Larnaca with the capability of intercepting WhatsApp messages, Facebook chats, telephone calls and all the content of smartphones. This prompted the main Cypriot opposition part, Akel, to ask on Friday how and why such a vehicle was present in Cyprus and whether it had been inspected at customs.
Officials said that the vehicle is owned by a former senior Israeli intelligence officer called Tal Dilian. It is said that he operates in Cyprus through a registered company with Cypriot shareholders.
The vehicle and equipment are together said to be valued at around $9 million. It was apparently confiscated and taken to police headquarters. … continue
MEMO | November 18, 2019
Israel’s Justice Ministry has contradicted the police’s account of the killing of a Palestinian, stating that officers shot the man after he had emerged from his vehicle, reported Haaretz.
The ministry’s department responsible for investigating police misconduct announced yesterday that the police officer who shot Fares Abu Nab, from Ras Al-Amud in occupied East Jerusalem, did not in fact shoot the suspect during a car chase, as previously claimed by police.
A gag order has been placed on releasing the name of the police officer involved.
According to police, officers were chasing suspected car thieves when one of the drivers “endangered the lives of policemen and other users of the road”, without specifying how.
“He was shot in order to neutralise the threat he posed,” the original police statement added. … continue
IMEMC & Agencies – November 18, 2019
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) announced its intent to seize hundreds of dunams of Palestinian land in Salfit province, in the central occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Information Center reported.
Local official Ghassan Daghlas, said that the IOA recently delivered notices to Palestinian municipal councils in Salfit province informing them of its intent to annex hundreds of dunams from their towns and villages in order to use the land for settlement activity.
In recent months, the IOA has annexed thousands of dunams of Palestinian land in the West Bank for the purpose of expanding settlements, and announced plans to build roads and hundreds of housing units for Jewish settlers.
At the same time, the Israel embarked on carrying out widespread demolitions against Palestinian homes and structures in the occupied Palestinian territories. … Full article
IMEMC & Agencies – November 18, 2019
Israeli bulldozers, on Monday, razed lands near Jabal al-Baba Bedouin community, located near al-Eizariyah town, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, The Palestinian News and Info Agency reported.
Atallah Mazar’a, a community representative, stated that Israeli forces escorted bulldozers onto Palestinian land, where the heavy machinery proceeded to raze a 500-meter-long earth road, severing Jabal al-Baba community from al-Eizariyah town, destroying the main water pipeline.
The Palestinian Bedouin community depends on al-Eizariyah town for services such as education and health clinics. As a result, the Bedouin community will be forced to travel for water, in addition to being cut off from the health and education resources in the nearby town.
Jabal al Baba is one of the 18 Bedouin communities located within the area Israel has allocated for its E1 settlement plan. Israel wants to displace all communities in this area in order to pave the way for building a large new and controversial settlement that is expected to divide the West Bank and separate East Jerusalem from the West Bank. … Full article
Sputnik – November 18, 2019
The Swedish psychological defence was established in 1954 during the Cold War and later merged with other agencies. Now it may see a revival amid a broader interest in Cold War-era tactics and sentiments.
Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist would by his own admission like to see a “psychological defence authority” in place to protect the citizens from foreign disinformation.
This backdrop to the move is the “tremendous activity” taking place in social media, Hultqvist explained to Swedish Radio.
According to him, the internet activity may have the malicious goal of splitting society. And that’s just a taste of what level it can reach in a real crisis situation, he pointed out.
“I think it is important that we get a psychological defence authority in Sweden where you can have a direct channel where you give information from the state power that this is the case in different situations and that people can feel that they can trust,” Peter Hultqvist told Swedish Radio. … continue
By Craig Murray | November 18, 2019
As ever, the Guardian wins the prize for the most tendentious reporting of Roger Stone’s conviction. This is not quite on the scale of its massive front page lie that Paul Manafort visited Julian Assange in the Ecuadorean Embassy. But it is a lie with precisely the same intent, to deceive the public into believing there were links between Wikileaks and the Trump campaign. There were no such links.
The headline “Roger Stone: Trump Adviser Found Guilty On All Charges in Trump Hacking Case” is deliberately designed to make you believe a court has found Stone was involved in “Wikileaks hacking”. In fact this is the precise opposite of the truth. Stone was found guilty of lying to the Senate Intelligence Committee by claiming to have links to Wikileaks when in fact he had none. And of threatening Randy Credico to make Credico say there were such links, when there were not.
It is also worth noting the trial was nothing to do with “hacking” and no hacking was alleged or proven. Wikileaks does not do hacking, it does “leaks”. The clue is in the name. The DNC emails were not hacked. The Guardian is fitting this utterly extraneous element into its headline to continue the ludicrous myth that the Clinton campaign was “Hacked” by “the Russians”. … continue
By Lucas Koerner and Ricardo Vaz | FAIR | November 15, 2019
Jeanine Áñez declared herself “interim president” in a near-empty Senate chamber on November 12, proceeding to don the presidential sash with the assistance of uniformed soldiers. Despite a lack of quorum rendering the move nakedly unconstitutional, Áñez was immediately recognized by the Trump administration and 10 Downing Street.
Tuesday’s scene seemed like a parody of January’s events in Venezuela, in which a virtually unknown lawmaker, invoking highly dubious constitutional arguments, proclaimed himself “interim president” to the delight of Washington. … continue
By Nino Pagliccia | CounterPunch | November 15, 2019
As the military coup continues to entrench itself in Bolivia, the first goal of the perpetrators is to appear to be following the constitutional process. But the façade is not enough to hide the real disaster of yet another self-proclaimed president in Latin America. When you thought that the Juan Guaido experiment in Venezuela was a total failure in every respect, Bolivia repeats the same pathetic tragedy. … continue
teleSUR | November 17, 2019
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro denounced this Sunday that the country’s right-wing has received more than US$400 million with the objective of buying politicians, policemen and members of the Bolivarian National Armed Force, to put them at the service of foreign nations’ interests.
During an interview for the ‘Jose Vicente Hoy’ show, Maduro affirmed that despite bribes, the Venezuelan Armed Forces have remained loyal to the Constitution, the Venezuelan people, and the Bolivarian Revolution. … Full article
Sputnik – 18.11.2019
Protests erupted in several cities across Iran on Friday following the announcement that government-set petrol prices in the country will increase by at least 50 percent.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has suggested that the spreading protests in Iran may be fueled by foreign forces.
“The situation there is already difficult and tense, and, of course, the significant increase in gasoline prices has added fuel to the flame,” Zamir Kabulov, the head of the Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department, said on Monday.
He continued: “Meanwhile, foreign forces are also working actively, so all [the factors] together [have contributed to the escalation].” … Full article
By M. K. BHADRAKUMAR | Indian Punchline | November 18, 2019
Historically speaking, the India-Iran relationship had its ups and downs during the decades of the Shah’s rule. The Lowest point was reached when, during the 1965 and 1971 wars with India, Pakistani Air Force jets were stationed in Iran to gain ‘strategic depth’ vis-a-vis the IAF.
However, after the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran adopted an explicitly anti-Western foreign policy and began viewing India as a natural ally. The ideology-based regime rooted in the principles of justice, freedom and resistance was greatly attracted by India’s freedom struggle, non-aligned policies, and the sheer grit to preserve its strategic autonomy. This perceived affinity withstood the changes and shifts in Delhi’s foreign policy outlook in the post-Cold war era. … continue
By Alastair Crooke | Strategic Culture Foundation | November 18, 2019
“Two years, three years, five years’ maximum from now, you will not recognize the same Middle East”, says the former Egyptian FM, Arab League Secretary General and Presidential Candidate, Amr Moussa, in an interview with Al-Monitor.
Mousa made some unexpected points, beyond warning of major change ahead (“the thing now is that the simple Arab man follows everything” – all the events). And in reference to the protests in Iraq, Moussa says that Iraq is in “a preparatory stage for them to choose their way as Iraqis — emphasizing that “the discord between Sunni and Shia is about to fade away.”
The present regional turbulence, he suggests, is [essentially] a reaction to the US playing the sectarian card – manipulating “the issues of sect and religion, et cetera, was not only a dangerous, but a sinister kind of policy”. He added however, “I don’t say that it will happen tomorrow, but [the discord between Sunnis and the Shi’a fading away], will certainly happen in the foreseeable future, which will reflect on Lebanon too.” … continue
By Sarah Abed | November 18, 2019
Washington’s latest attempt to dissuade an ally from making arms deals with Russia came in the form of a letter sent on last Wednesday to Egyptian officials warning them that they could face sanctions if they continued with their $2 billion dollar Su-35 fighter jets contract.
In addition to sanctions, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper warned Egyptian Defense Minister Mohamed Ahmed Zaki in Wednesday’s letter that “Major new arms deals with Russia would — at a minimum — complicate future U.S. defense transactions with and security assistance to Egypt.” The United States sends Egypt $1.3 billion annually in military assistance.
Russia has become one of Egypt’s major arms suppliers. This particular arms between Egypt and Russia for ten fighter jets was signed at the end of 2018, with delivery of the Su-35 Flanker-E air superiority fighter aircraft as well as weapons for the planes starting in 2020-2021. … continue
PNN | November 17, 2019
During a demonstration organized by Palestinian journalists in solidarity with reporter Moath Amarneh multiple journalists were injured and transported to the hospital. Among the unfortunate reporters is PNN’s editor-in-chief Monjed Jado, who was hit in the head by a tear gas canister.
Several Palestinian journalists and reporters gathered today in Bethlehem near the 300 Checkpoint to show their support for Moath Amarneh, the reporter who lost his eye to an Israeli rubber bullet whilst covering clashes in Hebron. Israeli soldiers, however, kept bombarding the protesters with tear gas canisters and sound grenades while they were taking pictures, doing interviews and holding speeches.
Many of the protesters were injured due gas inhalation and the impact of the sound grenades and had to be transported to the local Beit Jala Governmental Hospital for treatment. The editor-in-chief of Palestine News Network, who was also present at the demonstration, was hit directly in the head by a gas canister and is also currently being treated at said hospital. Some of the journalists were beaten and arrested by the Israeli forces present at the scene.
RT | November 17, 2019
What better time than an election campaign start to repent sins? Former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg probably thought so as he apologized at a black church for the controversial ‘stop and frisk’ policy, but few were buying it.
A billionaire media mogul and a former New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg has suddenly backtracked on his longstanding support for the controversial ‘stop and frisk’ police policy he adamantly backed during his time as mayor.
The questionable practice involving police briefly detaining, questioning and sometimes searching random people on the streets for weapons or other illegal possessions was particularly robust during the times when Bloomberg was mayor. Between 2003 and 2013, over 100,000 stops were made each year on average, with that number peaking in 2011 up to more than 685,000. … Full article
By Matt Agorist – The Free Thought Project – November 15, 2019
Albany, NY — In the land of the free, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution explicitly prohibits the government from abridging the freedom of speech. However, we’ve seen citizens pepper-sprayed, assaulted, and arrested for there acts of free speech, showing just how little law enforcement cares about upholding the oaths they swore to this very Constitution. Now, a new piece of legislation that is quickly passing through the legal process in New York goes one step further.
If you annoy a police officer in upstate New York, you could find yourself facing massive fines and even jail time. Seriously.
In a vote this week, lawmakers in the Monroe County Legislature passed a proposal in a 17-10 vote to fine and/or jail a person who annoys, alarms or threatens the personal safety of an officer. The jail sentence is up to one year and the fine is up to $5,000. … continue
RT | November 17, 2019
Demonstrators in Hong Kong attacked common citizens who attempted to free the roads from barricades amid a new round of clashes with police.
A fierce street battle erupted outside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) on Sunday, as protesters threw bricks at police, which responded with tear gas and water cannons. The officers were trying to remove the barricades erected by the demonstrators earlier this week, and urged them to stop placing metal spikes on the roads in hopes of piercing the police vehicles’ tires.
A sergeant with police media liaison office was shot in the leg with an arrow during the standoff. The protesters have been previously filmed using bows and arrows against the law enforcement, as well as javelins, homemade catapults and slingshots.
The protesters earlier attacked a group of citizens who were clearing the roadblocks and debris outside the PolyU. A man and a woman were hospitalized with head injuries in result of the attack.
Similar scuffles occurred near the University of Hong Kong and the City University of Hong Kong, where black-clad, masked rioters threw bricks and petrol bombs at the volunteers, who were removing the makeshift barricades. … continue
RT | November 17, 2019
A police officer has died in a hospital after being critically injured during unrest in western Iran. He attempted to defend a city police command that was invaded by an angry mob, local media report.
The incident took place in the city of Kermanshah – a capital of a western Iranian province bordering Iraq – which saw major demonstrations on Saturday. One such rally spiraled into violent clashes between the protesters and the police, and ended up with an armed mob storming the police station.
The officer identified as Major Iraj Javaheri was inside the building and sought to stop the attackers but received a gunshot wound, Police Information Center spokesman, Commander Ali Akbar Javidan, told the local media. He was then rushed to a hospital, but succumbed to his injuries on Sunday night.
The attack on the police station in Kermanshah was not an isolated incident, as the protests sparked by a surprise gasoline price hike apparently grew increasingly violent. A footage obtained by RT Arabic shows a transport police headquarters in the city of Karaj, located just west of Tehran, burning, after it was supposedly stormed by violent protesters.
The video also shows some people hurling stones at the building, with its entrance blocked by boulders and litter. Public outrage was provoked by the government’s decision to raise gasoline price from 10,000 rials per liter to 15,000, which translates into about $0.13 a liter, or about $0.50 a gallon. Those who would like to buy more than 60 liters in a month, would also have to pay double price. … Full article
teleSUR | November 17, 2019
The legitimately-elected President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, told teleSUR on Saturday that dictatorship has returned to the South American country, given the recent events that triggered intense repression exerted by the de-facto government chaired by Senator Jeanine Áñez .
“The Bolivian people and the whole world know that we guarantee political stability. They said ‘Evo dictatorship’, now what Bolivia is living in is what we call a dictatorship.”
The Bolivian President said he was appalled by the recent reports regarding the civilian deaths at the hands of this new dictatorship.
“The people will always be united (…) The Bolivian people have never been taken from my memory. At any moment we will be as always sharing a resistance against economic policies, but for now, for democracy, for life, my dear Bolivia,” President Morales said.
On the media censorship imposed by the de-facto government in Bolivia, President Morales said that “now there is no freedom of expression” in the country. “The de facto communication minister who answers to the dictatorship in Bolivia said that seditious journalists, national and international, will be arrested.” … continue
teleSUR | November 17, 2019
The de facto government of Bolivia issued a decree Saturday exempting Armed Forces and National Police from criminal responsibility when committing acts of repression against protesters who have taken to the streets to reject the coup d’etat.
“The personnel of the Armed Forces, who participate in the operations for the restoration of order and public stability, will be exempt from criminal responsibility when, in compliance with their constitutional functions, they act in legitimate defense or state of necessity,” the decree reads.
The document also states that security forces may use firearms to suppress protests, as they are allowed to “frame their actions as established in the approved Force Use Manual, being able to make use of all available means that are proportional to the operational risk,” it adds.
This comes as violent repression from the government escalates against protesters in Bolivia.
Over the last 24 hours, at least nine Bolivians have died as a result of repressive actions carried out by the security forces that support the coup-based government headed by Senator Jeanine Añez.
“23 people have died since the coup. The most recent victims are four people shot dead in La Paz and five in Sacaba,” La Paz Ombudsman’ Office delegate Teresa Zubieta told teleSUR. … Full article
RT | November 17, 2019
The United States and South Korea shelved aerial drills that were set to kick off later in November and were earlier described by Pyongyang as provocative, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced on Sunday.
At a press briefing with his South Korean counterpart Jeong Kyeong-doo in Bangkok, Esper insisted the move was not “a concession” to his partner country’s neighbor and argued the postponement was rather a diplomatic gesture in a hope to bring new life into the gridlocked denuclearization talks. “We have made this decision as an act of goodwill to contribute to an environment conducive to diplomacy and the advancement of peace,” Esper said.
No new date for the training has been set. Previously, Seoul and Washington had scaled down the exercise from the grandiose Vigilant Ace drills to a more modest Combined Flying Training Event, for the second year in a row. … continue
By Chris Morrison | AltNewsMedia | November 13, 2019
It’s been a busy few days for the BBC’s Matt McGrath drawing attention to Professor Mickey Mouse’s view that the “climate emergency” is real while finding time out of his hectic writing schedule to pocket a 100,000 euro “award” from a climate activist outfit.
The group called the BBVA Foundation gave the money to McGrath for his “extraordinary capacity” to communicate complex environmental issues and science. McGrath added that he defended the primacy of specialist journalism “that draws on sound scientific sources” in an era of fake news. … continue
By Roger Pielke | Forbes | November 15, 2019
Earlier this week a paper published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) by a team of authors led by Aslak Grinsted, a scientist who studies ice sheets at the University of Copenhagen, claimed that “the frequency of the very most damaging hurricanes has increased at a rate of 330% per century.”
The press release accompanying the paper announced that United States mainland “hurricanes are becoming bigger, stronger and more dangerous” and with the new study, “doubt has been eradicated.”
If true, the paper (which I’ll call G19, using its lead author’s initial and year of publication) would overturn decades of research and observations that have indicated over the past century or more, there are no upwards trends in U.S. hurricane landfalls and no upwards trends in the strongest storms at landfall. These conclusions have been reinforced by the assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), U.S. National Climate Assessment, and most recently of the World Meteorological Organization.
In fact, however, the new PNAS paper is fatally flawed. The conclusions of major scientific assessments remain solid. As I’ll show below, G19 contains several major errors and as a result it should be retracted.
The first big problem with G19 is that it purports to say something about climatological trends in hurricanes, but it uses no actual climate data on hurricanes. That’s right, it instead uses data on economic losses from hurricanes to arrive at conclusions about climate trends. The economic data that it uses are based on research that I and colleagues have conducted over more than two decades, which makes me uniquely situated to tell you about the mistakes in G19. … continue
By Nebojsa Malic | RT | November 16, 2019
As the ‘Yellow Vests’ protests in France come full circle, some vow to keep fighting for a more just society, while others believe the movement has gone too far. Though rattled, the system they rose up against is still in power.
Every Saturday for a year now, tens of thousands of people all over France have taken to the streets, fed up with not just the neoliberal and austerity policies of President Emmanuel Macron, but apparently the entire political system of the Fifth Republic.
The government has gone after them in force, pushing the police to their breaking point. The mainstream media has demonized them as anti-Semites, homophobes, far-right. Nevertheless, the ‘Yellow Vests’ (Gilets Jaunes) have persisted. … continue
Al-Manar | November 16, 2019
The UN voted in favor of obliging the Zionist entity to pay Lebanon compensations over the 2006 oil spill caused by its bombing of the seaside Jiye power plant.
The Lebanese Foreign Ministry announced Friday that the UN Second Committee (Economic and Financial) on Thursday November 14, voted on the draft obliging the Zionist entity to pay Lebanon $856.4 million in compensations for damage and the costs of repairing the environmental damage caused by the 2006 bombing of Beirut.
The draft titled “Oil slick on Lebanese shores”, was submitted by Palestine, speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China.
Taking action on that text, the Committee approved it in a recorded vote of 158 in favor and 9 against (the Zionist entity, Austria, Canada, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, United States, Federated States of Micronesia), with 6 abstentions (Côte d’Ivoire, Guatemala, Honduras, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu).
The overwhelming vote at the United Nations General Assembly’s Fourth Committee in favor of renewing the mandate of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) dominated the front page of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies today.
This issue was given special attention in light of American and Israeli efforts to do away with UNRWA as part of a plan to undermine Palestinian refugee rights in their homeland they were expelled from 70 years ago when Israel was created on their land and in their homes.
The US and Israel were the only two states voting against the renewal of the mandate while 170 countries voted in favor.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida said President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the vote.
By Ramzy Baroud | Dissident Voice | November 16, 2019
An Israeli attack on Gaza was imminent, and not because of any provocations by Palestinian groups in the besieged, impoverished Gaza Strip. The Israeli military escalation was foreseeable because it factors neatly in Israel’s contentious political scene. The war was not a question of “if”, but “when”. … continue
RT | November 16, 2019
Trying to stay ahead of spurious allegations of enabling ‘Russian meddling’ into US elections, Twitter has outlawed all political advertising – but left an exemption most US legacy media, though partisan, will easily sail through. … continue
By Craig Murray | November 16, 2019
This leaked off-air recording of ABC News anchor Amy Robach is much more revealing than anything the BBC is going to air about Andrew Saxe Coburg Gotha.
Buckingham Palace has been “threatening” journalists to bury the story for years – which is all very reminiscent of Jimmy Savile, who was of course, ahem, popular at the Palace. Robach also states they were scared of losing interview access to folically challenged William Saxe Coburg Gotha and his underweight wife. She does not explicitly state that was one of the “threats” Buckingham Palace employed, but it does follow directly as her next observation.
Amy Robach very probably realised this “unguarded” moment would get out to the public, and we should be grateful to her for lifting the lid on how the protection of the crimes of the powerful operates, on a global level. Alan Dershowitz, whom Robach mentions, was not only a Lolita Express passenger, he is the celebrity lawyer who defended the CIA‘s use of torture as legally and morally justified. One might speculate on the psychological parallels of torturing the defenceless and inflicting sex on the young. … continue
- Assad likens ‘suicide’ of White Helmets founder to EPSTEIN & other high-profile mystery deaths
- Kashmir after India’s unilateral move: A story of fear and hopelessness
- Gaza Israel Escalation Explained: Who Started It, Where Is It Going And Why?
- Six students killed, 15 schools damaged in Israeli attacks on Gaza
- Israel has cracked down on Palestinian education, criminalising hundreds of students
- Journalist blinded in one eye IOF injures Palestinian citizens in West Bank protests
- Tehran rejects Canada-drafted human rights resolution against Iran
- India’s Request for Facebook Users Data Hits New High, Ranks Second Only to US
- Impeachment Witness Questions
- Why Are We in Ukraine?
- When Did Ukraine Become a ‘Critical Ally’?
- White House releases text of 1st phone call between Trump & Zelensky
- Western Media ‘Clearly Complicit’ as Death Toll, Violence Climb in Hong Kong Protests
- Events in Bolivia follow script of ‘color revolution’ – the antithesis of democracy
- Morales Says He’ll Return to Bolivia If Resignation Letter Not Supported by Lawmakers
- At Least 12 Dead Following Coup in Bolivia
- North Korea to US: We are not interested in talks aimed at appeasing us
- Turkey says US demand to drop Russian S-400s infringes sovereign rights
- Trump’s Democratic Critics Want it Both Ways on Biden, Clinton
- Israel kills 8 members of same family in Gaza
- Israel is a ‘Terrorist State’: Seven Times Bolivia and Morales Took a Stance for Palestine
- Make No Mistake, Morales’ Removal Is Directed Against Bolivia’s Indigenous
- The Jewish Progressive Agenda according to Bernie Sanders
- Le Mesurier Gets Cross
- Epstein Story Killed by ABC in 2015: Was It Done to Protect the Clintons?
- Takeover of Venezuela’s embassy in Brazil timed to coincide with launch of BRICS summit – Russia
- The “Officer Friendly” Police Fantasy
- Federal Court Rules Suspicionless Searches of Travelers’ Phones and Laptops Unconstitutional
- Pro-BDS event held in University of Massachusetts despite backlash
- Whilst 18 Israelis are treated for anxiety, 22 Palestinians are taken to the mortuary
- UN condemns rockets fired from Gaza; ignores deadly Israel air strikes
- Exiled Bolivian president Morales blasts coup & hints at US role in it
- Opposition senator declares herself ‘interim president’ of Bolivia without quorum or vote
- The Strange Death of White Helmets Founder Leaves Many Questions to Be Answered
- The mouse that roared
- William Ripple, Eco Activist on the Public Dime
- NPR Invents Fake Italy Wine Crisis
- Legacy of Climategate – 10 years later
- Pathologizing conspiracy theories is the lazy government’s method of suppressing dissent
- Casualties of War: Military Veterans Have Become America’s Walking Wounded
- The Sad Death of James Le Mesurier
- Israel murders senior Islamic Jihad official and his wife in Gaza
- Human Rights Group Condemns Israel’s Shelling Of Its Headquarters In Gaza
- US, Israel won’t partake in confab on WMD-free Mideast
- Iran FM challenges European claim of upholding nuclear deal commitments
- Uranium Particles Discovered by IAEA in Iran Not Related to JCPOA – Russian Senior Official
- Iran fully prepared; US never dares to attack: Deputy FM
- The Conservative Tide Is Losing in Latin America – That’s Why Morales Had To Go
- The Bolivian Coup Is Not a Coup—Because US Wanted It to Happen
- Audios Containing Details of Alleged Coup Plan & US Involvement Emerge Amid Bolivian Crisis – Report
- John Brennan’s CIA Trump Task Force
- Google sucks up & analyzes healthcare data on millions of Americans in secret AI project… after voluntary opt-in flops
- A Holocaust of Biblical Proportions
- Israel is silencing the last voices trying to prevent abuse of Palestinians
- Israel recruiting senior manager to fight ‘cultural delegitimisation’
- A lesson for the Palestinian leadership: Real reasons behind Israel’s arrest and release of Labadi, Mi’ri
- Lula’s Release Will Only Reinvigorate the Pink Tide Against U.S. Hegemony in Latin America
- Tulsi Gabbard Demands Clinton Retract ‘Defamatory’ Russia Smear
- Hong Kong rioters SET MAN ON FIRE for not backing anti-China protests
- Cornering and Strangulating Iran Has Backfired on Israel
- Rouhani: Iran to stay in JCPOA, reap benefits when UN arms embargo ends next year
- Turkey deports 2 captured Western members of Daesh
- Founder of ‘White Helmets’ James Le Mesurier Found Dead in Istanbul
- Ex-Ecuador leader Correa: Bolivia’s Morales was forced out in ‘coup’, OAS ‘an instrument of US domination’
- ‘Thousands’ of newly-created generic Twitter accounts defend ‘right-wing coup’ in Bolivia
- Morales denounces ‘coup d’état’, as opposition says warrant issued for his arrest
- Bolivia: President Evo Morales Resigns Amid Right-Wing Coup
- ‘Morales’ resignation undermines claims he is dictator, US may be behind push to oust him’
- Only thing clear about the new Transparency Act is that US senators are about to let Google keep manipulating your search results
- South Koreans Are Pleading for a Breakthrough in the US–North Korea Talks
- Jordanian Detained by Israel Says He was Used as ‘Bargaining Chip’ for Jordan Valley Lands
- ‘Israel’ Says US Sanctions Failed to Subdue Iran & Axis of Resistance, Warns of Rising Yemeni Threat
- Iran discovers oil field containing 53bn barrels of crude: President Rouhani
- Extinction Rebellion Calls African Oil Leaders “Climate Criminals”
- Is Extreme Daily Rainfall Getting Worse In England?
- The Oceans and Climate Change – David Whitehouse
- CNN enlists help of fraudster Browder & Integrity Initiative ‘experts’ to fan Russia meddling claims in UK
- SWAT: Overkill and Out Of Control
- The word they won’t use to describe Canada’s role in Haiti
- Willy Wimmer: ‘We are on a path of war again’
- Afghanistan: An On-Going Story of War Crimes
- India top court rules in favor of Hindus in dispute over mosque land
- Yemeni Forces Down Spy Drone, Fourth Operation in 10 Days
- UN finds: Morsi’s death ‘state-sanctioned arbitrary killing’
- Assange Only Did What a Good Journalist Is Supposed to Do
- Trump Declared Anti-Ukrainian Racist by Clownish Mainstream Media
- ‘Reverse Pol Pot’: Berkeley philosophy lecturer slammed after saying rural Americans made ‘bad life decisions’ & should be SHAMED
- Flogging a Dead Horse? Pompeo Again Claims Russia, Assad Bombed Hospital, School
- Brazil’s former president Lula released from prison – court order
- Moscow Urges London to Clarify Whether Founder of ‘White Helmets’ Had Links to Al-Qaeda
- OSCE expects troop withdrawals from E. Ukraine village to start on Saturday
- De Facto Collapse of Case Against Free Joseon?
- Iran is winning strategic struggle for influence, even as US cripples its economy
- Iran downs ‘intruding foreign’ drone over Persian Gulf coast
- ‘Ideal’ science-based sustainable diet too expensive for every 5th person on Earth – study
- Norway Opens Up for Nuclear-Powered Allied Submarines’ Port Calls Despite Local Resistance
- New START Treaty Extension is Only Way to Avoid Further Erosion of Arms Control – Moscow
- Russia to Develop Missiles as Reciprocal Measure to US Actions – Lavrov
- Why the Only Thing Democrats Will Succeed in Impeaching Is Their Own Integrity
- Inconvenient Truths
- ‘Russiagate’ may be over in the US, but in the UK it’s just beginning
- Who Will Guard the Guards? Facebook Launches Programme to Stop Misinformation and Election Meddling
- Facebook Flip-Flops; Mulls New Political Ad Policy After Hillary Warns Zuck “Should Pay Price”
- ‘Kafkaesque’: CBS fires female staffer who MAY have leaked Epstein rant video of ABC anchor – report
- UN Overwhelmingly Votes in Favor of Resolution Ending US Blockade Against Cuba
- Israel Admits to Losing Sophisticated Missile in Syria, Recovered by Russian Forces
- Iran Informs Global Maritime Body of Two New Attacks on Its Tankers, Calls Red Sea ‘Unsafe’ – Report
- Trump rejects Israel’s request to fund Palestine security forces
- US increases funding to White Helmets who are persecuting Syrian Christians in Idlib
- Deep State on the National Security Council: Colonel Vindman Is an ‘Expert’ With an Agenda
- Ambassador’s transcript reveals leaked ‘smoking gun’ testimony based on hearsay & ‘fake news’ media
- Chile and the revolt against climate-change policies
- Norway’s Equinor Claims ‘One of the Biggest Oil Discoveries of the Year’ in North Sea
- Maldives To Open Five New Underwater Airports This Year
- You’ve been lied to: Walrus suicide NOT caused by climate change as Attenborough story quietly revised. What else is a lie?
- ‘Israel’, Gulf States Preparing Non-aggression Pact
- Adelson-funded anti-BDS group sets sight on European campuses
- Israel ‘aiding Kurds’ in Syria, advocating for them in talks with US – deputy FM
- Israeli ministers moot war scenario with Iran: Ex-envoy
- Ecuador: Judge Orders Preventive Prison For Another Leftist Opposition Leader
- The Media’s Obsession With Personalities
- UK Finds No ‘Smoking Gun’ Evidence of Russia’s Alleged Interference in British Politics- Reports
- Russiagate is a cult, complete with unquestionable doctrine, dissent-shaming, and us-vs-them cosmology
- China’s Development of the Russian Far East Can Improve EU-Moscow Relations
- Trick or heat
- 4 New Papers, One Alarm-Dispelling Conclusion: Future Sea Level Rise May NOT Threaten Islands After All
- CLUELESS! NY Gov. Cuomo Says There Were No Hurricanes Before Global Warming
- The Ministry of Wiki-Truth
- Yemeni Forces Down Spy Drone near Najran
- Report reveals how Iran destroyed 16 warships in simulated war with US
- Kremlin Says US Silent on Future of Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty
- Aegis makes submarines more important than ever
- Sentence First, Crime Later?
- Iran’s President Sends Letters to Saudi King Salman
- Hamas: Iran Provided Palestinian Resistance with Weaponry & Money
- Israel fomenting sectarian strife in Mideast to marginalize Palestinian cause: Hamas
- Microsoft should not fund Israeli spying on Palestinians
- Gantz Calls for New Round of Assassinations, Attacks on Gaza
- At This Year’s J Street Conference, “Progressive” Pols Bow to Israel While Preaching Peace
- The ‘War’ for the Future of Middle East
- Pentagon Expands Permanent Africa Presence With $110M Drone Base In Niger
- Cops: People in their own homes are in the wrong place at the wrong time whenever cops enter unlawfully
- Red Cross Estimates 2,500 Injured in Chile’s Demonstrations
- Ancient air challenges carbon dioxide explanation for a shift in glacial cycles
- Iran’s sanction-free tobacco sector benefitting others: Expert
- Malaysian PM: No country can impose its sanctions on other countries
- Nasty Russians harassed a sick American diplomat? That’s ‘fake news’ says Foreign Ministry
- US Military Convoy Comes Under Fire en Route From Syria to Iraq – Russian Defence Ministry
- US troops back at military bases in northeast Syria
- Israel arrests Palestine’s Jerusalem affairs minister for 3rd time this year
- Israeli police shoot unarmed Palestinian in the back for fun
- Labour Party MP panned for hinting Tory adviser could be ‘Russian Spy’
- Growing Indicators of Brennan’s CIA Trump Task Force
- Europe’s gas alliance with Russia is a match made in heaven
- Was There Another Reason for Electricity Shutdowns in California?
- Desperate Efforts to Drag the Climate Change Drought Narrative Back on Track
- Brexit: Soros Insists His ‘Stay’ Campaign Contributions Were ‘Educational’, Not Partisan
- Around 8,000 Sudanese Mercenaries Killed or Injured: Officials Mulling Withdrawal from Yemen
- Trump Freezes Lebanon Military Aid After Israel Voiced Concerns
- Twitter Surrenders to US Congress’ anti-Hezbollah Measures, Suspends Al-Manar’s Accounts
- Russia Isn’t Getting the Recognition It Deserves on Syria
- London Times runs fake Browder story by acolytes Ben Brandon & Alex Bailin
- Malaysia Rejects Goldman’s Offer Of “Less Than $2 Billion” To Settle 1MDB Suit
- State Department Accuses ‘Russian Trolls’ of Meddling in Chile Protests
- Chile: Protestors March in Concepcion and Towards the Capital
- Police Defend Use of Taser, Chokehold & Excessive Force Against Man Who Complied During Arrest
- Lavrov: US’ ‘Deal of Century’ Example of Swapping International Law for Norms Suitable for US
- Report: 73 attacks by Israel settlers against Palestinian farmers
- Israel uses fake people, stories to promote Jewish immigration
- ‘Defend International Law’ Petition Demands Norway Impose Sanctions on Israel
- Five Years On, Saudi Attacks on Yemen’s Farmers Are Pushing the Whole Country into Famine
- Questions Remain Over Alleged Death of Islamic State Leader
- Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Has No DNA Test Data Confirming Al-Baghdadi’s Death
- The Demonization of Dissent
- Russia, Ukraine, and Donald Trump
- ‘Thank God for Deep State’, ex-CIA boss says. Still think it’s a conspiracy theory?
