Trump Tells Russia to Get Its Troops Out of Venezuela
March 27th, 2019My guess is that one American in 1,000 would know anything at all about the Monroe Doctrine, but that might be optimistic.
In other news, U.S. Special Operations Forces Deployed To 70% Of The World’s Countries In 2016.
Also, this Wikipedia page contains known U.S. military bases and other facilities abroad.
Via: Reuters:
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday called on Russia to pull its troops from Venezuela and said that “all options” were open to make that happen.
The arrival of two Russian air force planes outside Caracas on Saturday believed to be carrying nearly 100 Russian special forces and cybersecurity personnel has escalated the political crisis in Venezuela.
Russia and China have backed President Nicolas Maduro, while the United States and most other Western countries support opposition leader Juan Guaido. In January, Guaido invoked the constitution to assume Venezuela’s interim presidency, arguing that Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate.
“Russia has to get out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, where he met with Guaido’s wife, Fabiana Rosales.
Asked how he would make Russian forces leave, Trump said: “We’ll see. All options are open.”
Google Is Conducting a Secret “Performance Review” of Its Censored China Search Project
March 27th, 2019Via: The Intercept:
Google executives are carrying out a secret internal assessment of work on a censored search engine for China, The Intercept has learned.
A small group of top managers at the internet giant are conducting a “performance review” of the controversial effort to build the search platform, known as Dragonfly, which was designed to blacklist information about human rights, democracy, religion, and peaceful protest.
Performance reviews at Google are undertaken annually to evaluate employees’ output and development. They are usually carried out in an open, peer review-style process: Workers grade each other’s projects and the results are then assessed by management, who can reward employees with promotion if they are deemed ready to progress at the company.
In the case of Dragonfly, however, the peer review aspect has been removed, subverting the normal procedure. In a move described as highly unusual by two Google sources, executives set up a separate group of closed “review committees,” comprised of senior managers who had all previously been briefed about the China search engine.
The existence of the Dragonfly review committees has not been disclosed to rank-and-file Google employees, except for the few who have been evaluated by the committees because they worked on China search. Fewer than a dozen top managers at the company are said to be looped in on the review, which has involved studying documents and technical work related to Dragonfly.
Jews Outraged After Mosque Leader Blames Mossad for Christchurch Attack
March 27th, 2019Woopsee.
Via: Newshub:
New Zealand’s Jewish community is outraged and revolted after a prominent mosque leader blamed Mossad for being behind the Christchurch terror attack.
On Saturday, a group called Love Aotearoa Hate Racism organised a rally for the victims in Auckland’s Aotea Square.
Ahmed Bhamji, chairman of the Mt Roskill Masjid E Umar, gave a speech questioning where the gunman got his funding from. He said he suspected it came from “Mossad” and “Zionist business”.
Mossad is the foreign intelligence agency of Israel responsible for covert operations, intelligence gathering and counterterrorism.
“I really want to say one thing today. Do you think this guy was alone… I want to ask you – where did he get the funding from?” he can be heard saying in video footage.
“I stand here and I say I have a very very strong suspicion that there’s some group behind him and I am not afraid to say I feel Mossad is behind this.”
One person can be heard shouting in support: “It’s the truth. Israel is behind this. That’s right!”
A video of the speech was posted to Twitter, where it’s caused outrage in the Jewish community.
U.S. Mercenaries Arrested in Haiti Were Part of a Half-Baked Scheme to Move $80 Million for Embattled President
March 26th, 2019Via: The Intercept:
Most of the Americans arrived in Port-au-Prince from the U.S. by private jet early on the morning of February 16. They’d packed the eight-passenger charter plane with a stockpile of semiautomatic rifles, handguns, Kevlar bulletproof vests, and knives. Most had been paid already: $10,000 each up front, with another $20,000 promised to each man after they finished the job.
A trio of politically connected Haitians greeted the Americans when their plane landed around 5 a.m. An aide to embattled Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and two other regime-friendly Haitians whisked them through the country’s biggest airport, avoiding customs and immigration agents, who had not yet reported for work.
The American team included two former Navy SEALs, a former Blackwater-trained contractor, and two Serbian mercenaries who lived in the U.S. Their leader, a 52-year-old former Marine C-130 pilot named Kent Kroeker, had told his men that this secret operation had been requested and approved by Moïse himself. The Haitian president’s emissaries had told Kroeker that the mission would involve escorting the presidential aide, Fritz Jean-Louis, to the Haitian central bank, where he’d electronically transfer $80 million from a government oil fund to a second account controlled solely by the president. In the process, the Haitians told the Americans, they’d be preserving democracy in Haiti.
Photo Gallery: The Aftermath of Cyclone Idai in Mozambique and Zimbabwe
March 26th, 2019Via: The Atlantic:
Ten days ago, Cyclone Idai, one of the most devastating storms to hit Africa in decades, made landfall in Mozambique with sustained winds of 120 mph (195 kph), damaging or destroying thousands of structures. The tropical storm then moved inland, bringing heavy rain and flooding to more parts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi. More than 750 deaths are attributed to Idai so far, while thousands remain stranded in remote rural areas. International aid is starting to reach the region, while workers struggle to repair roads, restore power, and care for the survivors—with special attention toward preventing cholera outbreaks.
Greenwald on MSNBC Trump-Russia Fraud: “This Whole Scam Saved Them”
March 26th, 2019Via: MediaITE:
The Intercept‘s Glenn Greenwald tore into MSNBC tonight for its Russia coverage following the completion of Robert Mueller‘s report.
Tucker Carlson––who said earlier in his show there needs to be accountability for people who pushed Russia conspiracy narratives––said of Greenwald, “From the very beginning, he questioned the theory. He ultimately concluded it was a sham investigation with no evidence to support it. For that he was roundly attacked.”
Greenwald singled out MSNBC tonight in particular for criticism:
“It wasn’t just Howard Dean, it was continuously on MSNBC, which––let me just say, should have their top hosts on primetime go before the cameras and hang their head in shame and apologize for lying to people for three straight years, exploiting their fears to great profit. These are people who were on the verge of losing their jobs. That whole network was about to collapse. This whole scam saved them. And not only did they constantly feed people for three straight years total disinformation, they did it on purpose, Tucker.”
New Zealand: The First Time I Have Been Subject to Government Censorship
March 25th, 2019The New Zealand government has officially declared Brenton Tarrant’s manifesto, The Great Replacement, as, “Objectionable.”
A publication reportedly written by the terrorist behind the fatal attacks in Christchurch, has been officially classified as objectionable.
…
An objectionable classification for this publication is considered to be a justifiable limit on freedom of expression under the Bill of Rights Act in this case.
I never hosted the document on my server, but I don’t know if I can be arrested for simply linking to it, so I’ve removed the link.
Obviously, the New Zealand government doesn’t seem to understand how the Internet works. Censoring me will only bring more attention to the document and cause more people to read it, download it, share it, mirror it, etc.
I refuse to remove the quotes from the manifesto that I used in my previous analysis of the event.
I suppose we’ll find out if people can be arrested for political analysis in New Zealand.
Father of Sandy Hook Shooting Victim Found Dead
March 25th, 2019Via: News12:
The father of one of the children killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting was found dead of an apparent suicide inside a historical town building, officials say.
Jeremy Richman, 49, who was the founder of the Avielle Foundation and the father of Avielle Richman who was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting, was found dead inside his office at the Edmond Town Hall in Newtown Monday around 7 a.m.
Officials would not specify the manner in which Richard was found, but say his death appears to be a suicide.
Is the Bay Area Pushing People to the Breaking Point?
March 25th, 2019Via: Mercury News:
Despite a booming economy, pleasant climate and natural treasures, nearly two-thirds of Bay Area residents say the quality of life here has gotten worse in the last five years, according to a new poll.
They cite a litany of reasons: high housing prices, traffic jams, the cost of living and homelessness. It’s so bad that about 44 percent say they are likely to move out of the Bay Area in the next few years, with 6 percent saying they have definite plans to leave this year.
Russian Air Force Planes Land in Venezuela Carrying Troops
March 24th, 2019“Russian encroachment in the region…”
*snort*
Via: Reuters:
Two Russian air force planes landed at Venezuela’s main airport on Saturday carrying a Russian defense official and nearly 100 troops, according to media reports, amid strengthening ties between Caracas and Moscow.
A flight-tracking website showed that two planes left from a Russian military airport bound for Caracas on Friday, and another flight-tracking site showed that one plane left Caracas on Sunday.
That comes three months after the two nations held military exercises on Venezuelan soil that President Nicolas Maduro called a sign of strengthening relations, but which Washington criticized as Russian encroachment in the region.
