Robert Parry describes how director Oliver Stone peels back Vladimir Putin's defenses,
read robert parry's latest. it's great.
also on the interview, i'll note this tweet:
I didn't like Oliver Stone interview with Putin. But Putin said something important. "Your presidents change but your policies don't."
margaret and robert tell truths.
so few do.
which is why we're confronted with 1 lie about russia after another, why we're encouraged to hate russia, all of it.
joseph kishore and david north ('wsws') explain:
The ruling class opposition to Trump
7. First, there is the opposition of powerful sections of the capitalist class. Trump’s opponents within the political establishment, including both Democrats and Republicans, speak for a faction of the corporate and financial elite. The methods they are using in their campaign against Trump are fundamentally anti-democratic, involving behind-the-scenes plotting with elements within the military/intelligence establishment and corporate-financial elite. These are the methods of a palace coup.8. Their differences with the Trump administration are centered primarily on issues of foreign policy. Their real concern is not with Russia’s supposed “subversion” of American democracy, as if this could compare to the subversion of American democracy by the ruling class itself, but with Russia’s actions in Syria, which have frustrated US efforts to overthrow the government of Bashar al-Assad. They are determined to prevent Trump from weakening the anti-Russia policy developed under Obama, which the Hillary Clinton campaign was dedicated to expanding.
9. The maniacal focus on Russia is not an accident. Trump’s foreign policy priorities are focused, as is well known, on confronting China. His alleged advocacy of a “deal” with Russia is incompatible with the strategic plan backed by dominant sections of the military, intelligence and foreign policy establishment. The destruction of Russia’s ability to frustrate American military operations is seen as central to control of the Eurasian landmass, without which an American victory in the long-term conflict with China is considered impossible.
10. If Trump were removed from office by his opponents in the “deep state” and the Democratic Party, it would not represent a victory for democracy, let alone an improvement in the conditions of the working class. Under the Obama administration, the ruling class oversaw the greatest transfer of wealth from the bottom to the top in US history, as well as an expansion of war abroad and a continued growth in the power of the military-intelligence apparatus. Hillary Clinton, the favored candidate of Wall Street, was pledged to deepen all of these policies while escalating the war in Syria and the confrontation with Russia. The Democrats are not calling for hearings on the assault on health care, the attack on immigrant workers, the elevation of far-right nationalist forces within the administration, or war plans against North Korea, Iran and China.
11. If the Democrats were to achieve their aims, with the removal of Trump through some form of political coup, it would place Vice President Mike Pence in the White House, a man more polished than Trump but no less reactionary.
i agree 100% - this is an effort to overturn the election.
this isn't about democracy and it won't benefit - impeaching trump - working america.
let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot"
Tuesday, June 13, 2017. The Mosul Slog continues, deportations of Iraqis begin in the US, and much more.
The never-ending Mosul Slog continues. Day 237.
And the 'accomplishments' just keep rolling in. As the use of White Phosphorus begins to get coverage, other issues emerge. James Cogan (WSWS) reminds, "Prior to the allegations of war crimes relating to the use of white phosphorus, evidence had already emerged in Mosul of the torture and extrajudicial murder of alleged ISIS fighters by US-backed forces."
And this morning?
UNHCR issued the following:
Zamira Rahim (CNN) reports, "People began vomiting and complaining of stomach pains shortly after Iftar, the evening meal that Muslims eat to break their fasts during Ramadan." ALJAZEERA adds, "The food was provided by a non-governmental organisation. Authorities have launched a formal investigation into the incident, officials said. The Kurdish news agency Rudaw, citing Erbil's mayor, said the owner of the restaurant that made the food had been arrested." AP quotes Ministry of Health spokesperson Seif al-Badr stating, "There are 752 cases of food poisoning and two death, a woman and a child."
The never-ending Mosul Slog continues. Day 237.
And the 'accomplishments' just keep rolling in. As the use of White Phosphorus begins to get coverage, other issues emerge. James Cogan (WSWS) reminds, "Prior to the allegations of war crimes relating to the use of white phosphorus, evidence had already emerged in Mosul of the torture and extrajudicial murder of alleged ISIS fighters by US-backed forces."
And this morning?
UNHCR issued the following:
Food poisoning incident at Hasansham U2 displacement camp.
Around 800 individuals have been affected by a serious outbreak of food poisoning at Hasansham U2 camp, which houses 6,235 individuals who have been displaced from Mosul and other conflict areas; around 200 people have been taken to hospital. At least one person (a child) has died.
The police authorities are currently carrying out an investigation into the incident.
UNHCR is extremely concerned by events at the camp, which has resulted in at least one casualty, with hundreds of other people falling ill, and more than 200 hospitalised.
Staff have been working closely overnight to coordinate the response with other agencies and the relevant authorities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Baghdad to ensure that those who have fallen ill were able to receive swift medical treatment and that the seriously sick were provided transport to nearby hospitals.
Extra clean water is now being provided at the camp and additional health agencies have been brought in to help in the response.
We are waiting for the police investigations to understand clearly the chain of events and to draw lessons from this tragic incident which will allow agencies to reinforce public health protocols to prevent such situations in the future.
Staff who were at the camp on Wednesday saw many residents being treated by health staff.
It is understood that families became sick, complaining of stomach ache and vomiting, after eating an iftar meal to break the daily Ramadan fast.
One woman receiving treatment in the camp with her daughter and neighbour, told UNHCR staff : "We felt stomach pains as soon as we ate. We felt we couldnt breathe and then saw that our neighbours were all suffering at the same time".
Another elderly man, who was waiting to return to his tent after being treated said: "We're grateful for the assistance you have provided. You have been very good with us".
PHOTOS: UNHCR/ Amira Abd El Khalak
Around 800 individuals have been affected by a serious outbreak of food poisoning at Hasansham U2 camp, which houses 6,235 individuals who have been displaced from Mosul and other conflict areas; around 200 people have been taken to hospital. At least one person (a child) has died.
The police authorities are currently carrying out an investigation into the incident.
UNHCR is extremely concerned by events at the camp, which has resulted in at least one casualty, with hundreds of other people falling ill, and more than 200 hospitalised.
Staff have been working closely overnight to coordinate the response with other agencies and the relevant authorities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Baghdad to ensure that those who have fallen ill were able to receive swift medical treatment and that the seriously sick were provided transport to nearby hospitals.
Extra clean water is now being provided at the camp and additional health agencies have been brought in to help in the response.
We are waiting for the police investigations to understand clearly the chain of events and to draw lessons from this tragic incident which will allow agencies to reinforce public health protocols to prevent such situations in the future.
Staff who were at the camp on Wednesday saw many residents being treated by health staff.
It is understood that families became sick, complaining of stomach ache and vomiting, after eating an iftar meal to break the daily Ramadan fast.
One woman receiving treatment in the camp with her daughter and neighbour, told UNHCR staff : "We felt stomach pains as soon as we ate. We felt we couldnt breathe and then saw that our neighbours were all suffering at the same time".
Another elderly man, who was waiting to return to his tent after being treated said: "We're grateful for the assistance you have provided. You have been very good with us".
PHOTOS: UNHCR/ Amira Abd El Khalak
Zamira Rahim (CNN) reports, "People began vomiting and complaining of stomach pains shortly after Iftar, the evening meal that Muslims eat to break their fasts during Ramadan." ALJAZEERA adds, "The food was provided by a non-governmental organisation. Authorities have launched a formal investigation into the incident, officials said. The Kurdish news agency Rudaw, citing Erbil's mayor, said the owner of the restaurant that made the food had been arrested." AP quotes Ministry of Health spokesperson Seif al-Badr stating, "There are 752 cases of food poisoning and two death, a woman and a child."
Deadly outbreak of food poisoning strikes Iraqi refugee camp f24.my/1LdB.t
Day 237 of The Mosul Slog.
Still it continues.
It's produced a record number of refugees.
It's produced War Crimes.
And still it continues.
Igor Kossov (USA TODAY) reports:
The Iraqi military had planned on a big celebration Saturday, the third anniversary of the Islamic State's capture of Mosul, by completing the liberation of Iraq's second-largest city and the militants' last major stronghold in the country. But it didn't happen.
Instead, the military is still struggling to eject a militant group that has shown renewed determination and ferocity than expected despite being heavily outnumbered.
Remember when The Mosul Slog was only supposed to last a couple of weeks?
Meanwhile, in the United States . . .
A daughter of 38-year-old Iraqi immigrant arrested Sunday recalled what happened when ICE agents showed up at her Sterling Hts, MI, home:
ICE has arrested and is planning to deport dozens of Iraqi Christians cnn.com/2017/06/12/pol…
Eric London and Niles Niemuth (WSWS) report:
In a series of raids Sunday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested as many as 100 Iraqi immigrants in the Detroit metro area, including Muslims and many Chaldean Catholics, some of whom were reportedly captured while leaving church services.
Family members of the arrestees told the World Socialist Web Site that the detainees were sent to a for-profit prison four hours away near Youngstown, Ohio, from where they face immediate risk of deportation to Iraq.
[. . .]
Relatives say that deportation will be a “death sentence” due to the ongoing war and sectarian strife that has enveloped Iraq since the US invasion of 2003. While ICE claims they are only deporting dangerous criminals, relatives say some of the arrestees were convicted for crimes as minor as marijuana possession and that many of the convictions are decades old.
The decision by the Trump administration to deport refugees to Iraq explodes the claims that the US wars in Iraq and Syria are “humanitarian” interventions aimed at protecting the population. In violation of international law, the US government is sending the arrestees into an active warzone in a region that it continues to bomb. Iraq has been laid to waste by 25 years of permanent US-led war. The death toll is in the millions.
The following community sites updated:
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