Are You Surprised to Hear that Washington is No Stranger to Election Rigging?

It seems that the US can be considered the only state that has been redrawing the map of the world for it to better suit the interests of its political, financial, military cycles. In fact one can’t help but to be amazed by the maniacal zeal with which the White House advances its agenda on the international stage. It was this zeal that was behind the becision to drop nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the stagings of war in Vietnam and on the Korean peninsula, the laucnch of the Cold War against the USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries. Those events were followed by countless wars across the Middle East and North Africa: in Iraq, in Syria. Afghanistan, Libya. But the special interests keep on advancing their agenda, now pitting the US against the North Korea and Iran.

In addition to repeated instances of armed aggression against the state that refuse to obey Washington’s dictates, the White House has been engaged in physical elimination of individual politicians that head undesirable governments. It goes without saying is that for a government to fall into this category it’s enough for it to try to defend its national interests in a bid to ensure the well-being of its people. Those politically motivated assinations have been examined in much detail in a number of media publications, including those featured in the New Eastern Outlook.

By establishing an elaborated network of non-governmental organizations in various countries of the world that are being sponsored through a number of off-the-books operations of the CIA, the State Department has been aggravating political contradictions in various countries of the world, while being supported by a number of private foundations, including those financed by George Soros. It goes without saying that this fact constitutes a gross violation of all international norms, since a great many of those aggravation result in coup d’etas that are usually being described by the popular euphemism of “color revolutions”. In fact, there’s a handful of examples to present here.

Iran

Last summer, in a letter submitted to the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, Iran would accuse the United States of repeated attempts of taking down the government of the Islamic Republic. This official appeal to the UN appeared to be Tehran’s reaction to repeated attempts by Washington to interfere in Iran’s sovereign political life, including Rex Tillerson’s statement that was made last June at a hearing in the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, in which he stated that Washington’s approach to Iran can be summed up in its support of anti-government elements inside Iran, which were aiming at taking power in this Middle Eastern state. Never before such a high-profile diplomat would officially pledge his support to the staging of the so-called “peaceful internal political transition”, which constitutes a flagrant violation of the Algerian Accords of 1981, signed and ratified by both Iran and the United States. After all, according to the existing US-Iranian agreements, Washington promised not to interfere, both directly or indirectly, through the use of political or military force into the internal affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The fact Washington was behind the recent demonstrations in Iran is evidenced by the well-coordinated support that Washington has been providing to the local opposition. The White House has already stated that in the very near future it will allocate yet anoother billion dollars to support Iran’s “freedom fighters”, while imposing sanctions against the key political figures of this state. An attempt to make anti-government rethorics in Iran more popular has also been made by the sittting US President himself. In his Twitter, Donald Trump would urge individual representatives of the Iranian society to get away with the “repressive” regime, while supporting his publications with #IranProtests hastag.

Netherlands

On the eve of the parliamentary elections in the Netherlands, that were due to take place last March, local politicians would voice a cocern that the right-wing Party for Freedom has been reciving funds from the US. Among the foreign bodies involved in the sponsoring of this party one can find such American conservative organizations as the Gatestone Institute and Freedom Alliance. It is noteworthy that the Freedom Alliance enjoys the support of Robert Shillman, a prominent supporter of the sitting US president, Donald Trump.

It’s been noted that America’s neoconsorvative David Horowitz donated nearly 150,000 dollars to the Party for Freedom, making it the largest individual official donation that year in the Dutch political system, which may seem a modest contribution compared with donations made in the US. It’s curious that by making this donation that was made by the fund run by David Horowitz, it violated the existing US federal law, which prohibits it from sponsoring political parties.

Ronald van Raak, a deputy of the Socialist Party of the Netherlands, on behalf of all Dutch politicians expressed outrage over this instance of foreign interference.

Armenia

The US Embassy in Armenia has been engaged for years in consistent attempts to make the representatives of the local opposition more combative in a bid to prevent candidates that are sympathetic to Russia from coming to power in the upcoming presidential election next March. At the same time, the sitting US ambassador to Yerevan, Richard Mills is known for pleding all sorts of US support to the opposition forces at countless meetings he holds with the representatives of those forces.

Venezuela

In recent years, there’s been a mounting number of well-founded accusations against the CIA and the White House due to their attempts to take down the sitting legitimate government in Venezuela. An Venezuelan-American lawyer, Eva Golinger in her interview for the teleSUR channel shared a number of details about Washington’s role in the staging of the attempted coup d’etat in Venezuela back in 2002 and the possible murder of President Chavez.

Reently, the Venezuelan Commander-General, Jesús Chourio, announced that US-sponsored mercenaries were attempting to pull out yet another coup d’etat attempt last year by launching an attack against a military in the Venezuelan city of Valencia. Earlier that year, according to Venezuelan authorities, a helicopter that opened fire at the building of the Interior Ministry and the Supreme Court of Venezuela was hijacked by a policeman suspected of having links with the CIA.

In order to force Venezuelan authorities into changing their policies that in no way satisfy America’s special interests, the United States introduced a harsh sanctions policy against Venezuela, while providing open support for the opposition forces.

Cambodia

Washington has recently come forward with a direct ultimatum to Cambodia, aimed at discrediting its authorities. This step was provoked by Phnom Penh’s decision to dissolve the main opposition party – Cambodian National Rescue Party. In response, the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders would be as bold as to announce (emphasis added)

As a first step, we will terminate support for the Cambodian National Election Committee and its administration of the upcoming 2018 national election. On current course next year’s election will not be legitimate, free or fair.

End Notes

And list goes on an on, well beyond anybody’s ability to present all of Washington’s sins in a single article! However, it should be added that in a bid to hide from the international community the fact it’s been election rigging central, Washington unleashed a Russophobic propaganda campaign, seeking ways to accuse Russia of the crimes it’s been coming itself. However, realizing the groundlessness nature of such allegations accusations against Russia, a number American political figures have come forward to dismiss those charges. Even the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, Michael Pompeo has recently been forced to admit that he was in possession of no evidence of a collusion between Russia and Donald Trump’s election campain members.

So wouldn’t it be beeter for Washington, instead of vocing far-fetched accusations against Russia, to admit its destructive role in influencing democratic procedures in other states?

Martin Berger is a freelance journalist and geopolitical analyst, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”   

Genocidal US Thanksgiving Celebrated Even in Cambodia

A table was set up for two, an advertisement table,a table with a photo of a giant turkey, two elegant plates, and a U.S. flag sticking out into the air.

 

“Thanksgiving at Angkor Royal Cafe”, a flier read. And: “23rd November… Join us for a traditional Thanksgiving Feast”.

This was at one of the international hotels inSiem Reap, a Cambodian city near the world architectural treasures ofAngkor Wat and the ancient Khmer capital, Angkor Thom.

The same day I read an email sent to me from the United States, by my Native American friends, with a link to an essay published by MPN News, called “Thanksgiving Guide: How to Celebrate a Sordid History”. It began with a summary:

“While millions of Americans prepare this week to get into the holiday spirit, beginning with Thanksgiving, how many are prepared to view the day through an accurate lens? While to many Americans the holiday serves as a reminder to give thanks, it is seen as a day of mourning by countless of others. The truth is: European migrants brutally murdered Native Americans, stole their land, and continue to do so today”. 

The day became an official day of festivities in 1637, to celebrate the massacre of over 700 people from the Pequot Tribe.

In a hotel, I approached a cheerful French food and beverage managerand asked him whether he was aware of what he was suggesting should be celebrated in one of his restaurants?

“Oh I know I know,” he replied, laughing. “It is a little bit controversial, isn’t it?”

“Bit controversial?” I wondered. “It appears more like you are inviting people to celebrate genocide, a holocaust, with free flowing wine and a giant turkey.”

“I am trying to see things positively,” he continued grinning at me. Then he summarized: “So I guess you won’t be joining us tonight? What a pity…”

“What a pity,” I thought, “what a pity.”I won’t get to eat that famous American pie tonightand turkey and who knows what else, just because I am not eager at all to celebrate the massacres and land grabsperpetrated by the Empire.

The manager couldn’t help asking: “Where are you from?”

I knew he would ask. No European would say what I was saying.

“I’m Russian,” I replied.

“Oh I see,” he gave me that ‘I should have guessed’.

“Russian-American,” I added.

*

I’m convinced that the French manager has been sincerely oblivious about what I was stating.He is supposed to be oblivious. There are, after all, ‘our genocides’, and ‘the genocides of the others’. ‘Our genocides’, those that we triggered or committed, should never be discussed. Or more precisely, it is extremely impolite to discuss them.

Most of the people don’t even know about them, including many of the victims. On the other hand, the genocides committed by the others, particularly by adversaries of the West, are widely discussed, publicized, analyzed, inflated and very often even fabricated.

Cambodia is the textbook case of the latter. Here, several decades ago, the U.S. and its allies first supported the hopelessly corrupt and brutal government in Phnom Penh, while triggeringa monstrous carpet-bombing campaign of the Cambodian countryside, mainly near the border with Vietnam. This was supposed to prevent the country from ‘going Communist’, or at least ‘Ho Chi Minh style Communist’. Hundreds of thousands of villagers were murdered by the bombing. Millions were forced to hit the road, leaving their dwellings, as the countryside was converted into a giant minefield, covered by unexploded ordnance.Further hundreds of thousands died from starvation and diseases.Furious, mad from suffering, the people of Cambodia rose against the collaborators with the West in Phnom Penh. Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge took the capital virtually unopposed. Recently, deep in the jungle, I spoke to the former Pol Pot’s personal guards. I asked them point-blank whether they knew anything about Communism. “Nothing at all,” I was told. “The U.S. was murdering our families, for no reason. Corrupt elites were selling the country to the West. We were all outraged, and ready for revenge. We would follow anybody calling for revenge.” However, the West is passing the events, to this day, as a “Communist genocide”.

Rwanda is yet another ‘case’ ofa twisted narrative. I made an entire full-length documentaryfilm – Rwanda Gambit – on the subject. There, the West turned the historyupside down, reducing the entire tragedy into a primitive and easy-to-digest narrative of bad Hutus killing good Tutsis. Yet even the former U.S. ambassador Robert Flatten told me that his country groomed, armed and supported the deadly RPF, mainly Tutsi army, which had been, before 1994, raiding the Rwandan countryside from neighboring Uganda, burning villages and killing civilians. While a former Australian lawyer and U.N. investigator, Michael Hourigan, supplied me with information about the downing of the plane, which, in April 1994, killed both the Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundian President CyprienNtaryamira, while on the final approach to Kigali airport. The orders to shoot down the plane were given by the RPF leader Paul Kagame, who was in turn sponsored by the West. This event triggered the terrible bloodletting on 1994. The next year, in 1995, the Rwandan army entered the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and participated in the killing of at least 9 million people, mainly civilians, on behalf of Western governments and multi-national companies, making it the worst crime against humanity in recent history.

In fact, almost all the major genocides committed by the West or its allies in modern history, are ‘silent ones’, including those in Iraq, Syria, Iran, West Papua, East Timor, DRC, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Angola, and dozens of other unfortunate places all over the world.

The gruesome genocides committed by the West all over the world, during the last 2,000 but especially during the last 500 years, are never defined as such; never as ‘genocides’. Throughout history, European countries have been destroying, systematically, most of the cultures on all continents of the Planet, enslaving virtually all the non-white nations, plundering and looting its colonies (read: almost all the non-white nations of the world), while exterminating hundreds of millions of men, women and children. The death toll has been rising, accumulating, to near 1 billion, according to thetestimony of one of my friends, a senior U.N. statistician.

*

I will return to the ‘Cambodian story’ soon, on the pages of this magazine. And I will be returning, again and again, to the genocides committed by Europe and North America, virtually everywhere. Unless the history is understood and acknowledged, the world has no future, and there can be no solutions to the terrible problems that our humanity is facing.

But for now, let me conclude this brief essay by saying that I did not participate in the consumption of turkey and American pies on Thanksgiving holiday, in the Cambodian city of Seam Reap.

My thoughts went to those 700 people from the Pequot Tribe who rebelled, stood firm and died for freedom, almost 400 years ago. These were some of the first fighters against Western imperialism. These were the ‘Americans’ that I admire, this is America that had been terribly damaged but not yet completely destroyed. No overly sugary, sentimental and empty words could fully choke its essence, as no gluttony and food orgies could ever fully silence the screams of the pain of those who died in the hands of the European invaders, during and after the conquest of what has been so cynically christened as the ‘New World’.

 Andre Vltchek is philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He’s a creator of Vltchek’s World in Word and Images,a writer of revolutionary novel Aurora and several other books. He writes especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”

 

The World Passes the US By

Now that RT is no longer available on television in Philadelphia, I watch more France 24 than before, when I divided my TV-watching between those two and MSNBC. The difference in offerings never ceases to amaze me, but while ‘Putin’s bullhorn’ tended to focus on non-typical Russian subjects and America’s failings, France’s English language channel concentrates heavily on the Middle East and Africa.

Although many people are vaguely aware of China’s growing presence in Africa, without France 24, we wouldn’t know that it now welcomes African students. The Chinese have long been suspected of being allergic to Black people, but this report suggests that the government has made a decision in favor of color blindness – the students interviewed largely deny having encountered racism. Add to this that the One Belt One Road transportation project linking China and Russia to Europe will also have an African spur, and it becomes clear that in the post American era, Russians, Arabs, Orientals and Blacks are determined to work together.

This may seem like a contradiction with respect to President Vladimir Putin’s oft-heard criticism of multiculturalism, directed at Europe’s efforts to integrate Muslims. (Not to mention President Trump’s efforts to ‘whiten’ America, most recently by declaring that Haitians, who were welcomed on a ‘temporary’ basis after the 2010 earthquake, will have to leave by 2019…) President Putin’s position is that different ethnic groups should live in harmony with each other, each within their own borders. Today’s Russia, or rather the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) includes nine of the fifteen former member states of the Soviet Union, most of whose people are Muslims. (For reasons which are not entirely clear, Russia fought two wars to keep Chechnya under its control, and it has been a hotbed of terrorism. However its policies vis a vis the other Muslim states on its southern border as well as vis a vis a multi-racial world contrast with America’s.

While the US is mesmerized by ‘Russiagate’, Vladimir Putin draws to Moscow — or the Black Sea resort of Sochi — one national leader after another, offering Russia’s mediation in Africa and the Middle East.

Most recently he received Bashar al Assad, as well as the President of Sudan, while the Saudi King (with a 1500 person retinue) was in Moscow in October, Netanyahu having been there in March. Seven rounds of detailed Syrian peace talks involving the opposition have taken place in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, under President Putin’s leadership.

Meanwhile, notwithstanding criticism from readers about a recent article that reflects the current Russophobia, Harpers magazine’s forum on the nuclear clock, which is currently at two minutes to midnight, while evoking a possible nuclear attack by North Korea, informs us that “the Russians have rehearsed the use of nuclear weapons” without mentioning the buildup of NATO troops on its European border to which these preparations respond.

When Americans decry their choice of President, rather than blaming Russia, they should consider themselves lucky that there is at least one adult in the room, and that is Vladimir Putin. However, the Russian could be running a race against time, as he gathers around him the leaders of the majority of the planet.

Deena Stryker is an international expert, author and journalist that has been at the forefront of international politics for over thirty years, exlusively for the online journal “New Eastern Outlook”.

If The Saudi Arabia Situation Doesn’t Worry You, You’re Not Paying Attention

A dramatic geo-political realignment by Saudi Arabia is in full swing this month as heads of state are arrested, banished and killed.

WATCH: Qatar Confesses to Helping US, Saudis, Turkey Arm Jihadists to ‘Hunt Their Prey in Syria’

In a shocking interview going viral on Arab social networks, high-level Qatari officials made some damning confessions on Syria.

North Korea Claims U.S. Declared War, Threatens To Shoot Down Planes

The United States has declared war on North Korea, that nation’s foreign minister charged Monday at the United Nations.

“Since the United States declared war on our country, we will have every right to make all self-defensive counter measures, including the right to shoot down the United States strategic bombers at any time even when they are not yet inside the aerospace border of our country,” North Korea Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said Monday.

Ri was referencing a Tweet by President Trump that read, “Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won’t be around much longer!”

Said Ri, “Last weekend Trump claimed that our leadership wouldn’t be around much longer and declared a war on our country.”

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The White House on Monday pushed back against North Korea and said war had not been declared.

“Frankly, the suggestion of that is absurd,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.

Under the U.S. Constitution, only Congress can declare war, even though many wars have been fought without Congress taking action.

The U.S. military sent North Korea a different kind of message over the weekend with a flight of B-1B Lancer bombers from Guam that passed through international waters off the nation, CNN reported. The bombers were escorted by F-15C Eagle fighters from Okinawa.

“This mission is a demonstration of U.S. resolve and a clear message that the President has many military options to defeat any threat,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said

What do you think the Trump administration should do? Share your thoughts in the section below:

Iranian Drone Nearly Collides With U.S. Navy Jet; Comes Within 100 Feet

U.S. F/A-18E Super Hornet

An Iranian drone nearly collided with a U.S. F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter plane over the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Nimitz in the Persian Gulf Tuesday.

The QOM-1 drone flew within 100 feet of the Navy jet as the Super Hornet was preparing to land.

“The dangerous maneuver by the QOM-1 in the known vicinity of fixed-wing flight operations and at coincident altitude with operating aircraft created a collision hazard, and is not in keeping with international maritime customs and laws,” a U.S. Navy press release stated.

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The fighter plane had to perform a “roll over” to avoid collision.

A Navy spokesman told The Navy Times that if the F/A-18E “had not done the maneuver,” the two aircraft would have collided, a Navy spokesperson told The Navy Times.

“There were repeated radio calls to stay clear of the active fixed wing operations,” the spokesman said.

The drone had apparently been flying around the carrier for some time before buzzing it.

The QOM-1 or Saqeh is an unmanned drone that looks sort of like a small fighter plane. A picture of the drone released by the Iranian military shows it carrying four rockets similar to U.S. Hellfire missiles.

A nuclear-powered carrier such as the Nimitz carries a crew of about 4,500 sailors and officers and around 75 aircraft. Only two nations — the United States and France — have nuclear-powered carriers.

Military experts believe that the Iranians back-engineered the Saqeh drones from a US RQ-170 drone manufactured by Lockheed Martin, the Voice of America reported.

What is your reaction? Share it in the section below:

Study of 700,000 People in 46 Countries Shows How Lazy America Is

Americans have more luxuries and more opportunities to lay back and do nothing than perhaps any other country in the world. Perhaps that’s why on a global scale, the U.S. is one of the laziest countries on Earth, according to a Stanford University study. [1]

The great Ron Swanson once said:

“The whole point of [America] is if you want to eat garbage, balloon up to 600 pounds and die of a heart attack at 43, you can! You are free to do so. To me, that’s beautiful.”

Sure, it’s a quote from a sitcom (“Parks and Recreation”), but it appears that an awful lot of Americans actually live this way.

Stanford researchers used step-counters installed in the smartphones of about 700,000 people in 46 countries to track their walking activity. The study was massive – 1,000 times bigger than any previous research into human movement, according to Scott Delp, a professor of bioengineering who co-led the research.

Read: Power Walking: One of the Best Complete Exercises Around

The findings, published in the journal Nature, show China is the least lazy of all nations. People living in Hong Kong, especially, are very active, with individuals walking an average of about 6,880 steps per day.

Indonesia was found to be the laziest country, with Indonesians only walking about 3,513 steps.

Americans averaged about 4,774 daily steps, which is pretty close to the worldwide average of 4,961.

Source: USA Today

But average number of steps didn’t always coincide with more obesity in the study. Obesity levels can be more accurately gauged by calculating “activity inequality” – the difference between most active and least active. The team found that in nations with higher rates of obesity, larger gaps existed between those who walked a lot and those who didn’t walk often at all.

Read: Man Drops an ASTONISHING 300 Pounds by Walking to Walmart

Researcher Tim Althoff said:

“For instance, Sweden had one of the smallest gaps between activity rich and activity poor… it also had one of the lowest rates of obesity.” [2]

Gender was found to be a significant factor in country-to-country activity inequality. The study found that men were more active than women, including in the U.S. That was not the case in every country, however. For example, men and women in Japan exercised a similar amount. [3]

Jure Leskovec, a computer scientist at Stanford and a co-author of the study, said:

“When activity inequality is greatest, women’s activity is reduced much more dramatically than men’s activity, and thus the negative connections to obesity can affect women more greatly.”

The scientists hope their findings will contribute to public health campaigns aimed at reducing obesity and support policies designed to make cities more “walkable.”

Sources:

[1] USA Today

[2] National Post

[3] HealthDay

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.

Tensions Mount: Russian Armed Jet Flies 5 Feet From U.S. Military Plane; Called ‘Provocative’; ‘Nervous Fingers On Many Buttons’

An armed Russian jet flew within five feet of a U.S. Air Force plane Monday over the Baltic Sea, shortly after the Russian Defense Ministry criticized the United States for shooting down a Syrian jet.

The Russian SU-27 jet advanced toward the U.S. Air Force RC-135 recon plane “rapidly” and flew within five feet in what military officials told Fox News was a “provocative” and “unsafe” move. The Russian jet also was behaving “erratically.”

Although Russian and U.S. aircraft and ships have had about 35 encounters in the Baltic Sea since June 2 — according to the officials — the latest incident is the most dangerous yet and raises the chances for a deadly accident that could spark an international conflict.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry is threatening to attack American warplanes in Syria after a U.S. plane shot down a Syrian fighter on Sunday, The Washington Post reported. A statement from the ministry labeled the downing a “flagrant violation of international law.”

The ministry also said Russia may shoot down U.S. planes if needed.

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“All kinds of airborne vehicles, including aircraft and UAVs of the international coalition detected to the west of the Euphrates River will be tracked by the Russian SAM systems as air targets,” the statement read.

Others in Russia also criticized the U.S.

“Naked aggression and provocation,” Frants Klintsevich, a member of Russia’s parliament, wrote on Facebook. “Being provoked, first and foremost, [is] Russia.”

Klintsevich called it a “new level of danger.”

Russian rhetoric is escalating because a U.S. F-18 Super Hornet fighter shot down a Russian-made Syrian SU-22 fighter bomber. The SU-22 was attacking U.S.-backed rebels, known as the Syrian Democratic Front (SDF) when the F-18 fired.

The Russians responded by shutting off a communication channel through which U.S. commanders shared information about air operations with their forces, The Post reported. Russian planes and drones are also carrying out attacks on Syrian rebels and ISIS.

The skies over Syria already were dangerous, with U.S. and Russian aircraft operating in the same areas. The problem is that the Russians and Americans are operating under different commands.

“The only actions that we have taken against pro-regime forces in Syria — and there have been two specific incidents — have been in self-defense,” the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph F. Dunford Jr., told reporters at the National Press Club. “And we’ve communicated that clearly.”

Dunford added, “We work very hard on deconfliction. We’ve spent the last eight months on deconfliction. It’s going to require some military and diplomatic efforts in the next hours to restore deconfliction.”

Not every observer thinks there is danger. Pavel Baev, an expert on the Russian military at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, thinks the Kremlin is bluffing. Yet he, too, believes there is danger.

“It is risky because there are some nervous fingers on many buttons,” Baev said.

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the section below:

U.S. just weeks away from recession, latest loan data shows

While many “conventional” indicators of US economic vibrancy and strength have lost their informational and predictive value over the past decade (GDP fluctuates erratically especially in Q1, employment is the lowest this century yet real wage growth is non-existent, inflation remains under the Fed’s target despite its $4.5 trillion balance sheet and so on), one indicator has remained a stubbornly fail-safe marker of economic contraction: since the 1960, every time Commercial & Industrial loan balances have declined (or simply stopped growing), whether due to tighter loan supply or declining demand, a recession was already either in progress or would start soon.

This can be seen on both the linked chart, and the one zoomed in below, which shows the uncanny correlation between loan growth and economic recession.

And while we have repeatedly documented the sharp decline in US Commercial and Industrial loan growth over the past few months (most recently in “We Now Know “Who Hit The Brakes” As Loan Creation Crashes To Six Year Low“) as US loans have failed to post any material increase in over 30 consecutive weeks, suddenly the US finds itself on the verge of an ominous inflection point.

After growing at a 7% Y/Y pace at the start of the year, which declined to 3% at the end of March and 2.6% at the end of April, the latest bank loan update from the Fed showed that the annual rate of increase in C&A loans is now down to just 1.6%, – the lowest since 2011 – after slowing to 2.3% and 1.8% in the previous two weeks.

Should the current rate of loan growth deceleration persist – and there is nothing to suggest otherwise – the US will post its first negative loan growth, or rather loan contraction since the financial crisis, in roughly 4 to 6 weeks.

An interesting point on loan dynamics here from Wolf Richter, who recently wrote that a while after the 1990/1991 recession was over, the NBER determined that the recession began in July 1990, eight month after C&I loans began to stall. “As such, the current seven-month stall is a big red flag. These stalling C&I loans don’t fit at all into the rosy credit scenario. Something is seriously wrong.”

However, it wasn’t until loan growth actually contracted, that the 1990 recession was validated.  Well, the US economy is almost there again. And this time it’s not just C&I loan growth, or lack thereof, there is troubling.

As the chart below shows, after peaking in late 2016, real-estate loan growth has also decelerated by nearly half, to 4.6%.

More troubling still, after flatlining at nearly double digit growth for much of 2016, starting last September there has been a sharp slowdown in commercial auto loans, whose growth is now down to just a third, or 3%, of what it was a year ago.

While it remains to be seen if C&I loans have preserved their uncanny “recession predictiveness” for yet another turn of the business cycle, the charts above confirm that the US economy is rapidly slowing, and validating the poor Q1 GDP print. Furthermore, one thing is clear: absent a substantial rebound in loan growth, whether for commercial, residential or auto loans, there is no reason to expect an imminent uptick in the US economy. We only note this, because next week the Fed plans to hike rates again. If it does so just as US loan growth contracts, it may be doing so smack in the middle of a recession.

Via Zero Hedge

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Featured Image: Jeb/Flickr

Report: Two N. Korean satellites are capable of delivering a surprise nuclear-EMP attack on U.S.

(INTELLIHUB) — Two top-level intelligence experts conclude that although North Korea may not be capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the Continental United States on an intercontinental ballistic missile, the communist country could possibly deliver a small satellite launched gravity well reentry warhead that would detonate at a specific altitude above the U.S. triggering a massive electromagnetic pulse designed to knock out critical life safety and support systems needed to sustain and control the general populace.

Both Ambassador R. James Woolsey, Director of Central Intelligence from 1993-95, and Dr. Peter Vincent Pry, chief of staff of the Congressional EMP Commission, Fmr. House Armed Services Committee member and Fmr. CIA agent suggested back in March that the U.S. Department of Defense take precautionary measures to counter such an attack but as of yet there has been no public mention whether such measures were taken.

The suggestions were made in an opinion piece, authored by both Woosley and Dr. Pry, published by The Hill, titled How North Korea could kill 90 percent of Americans.

“Indeed, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un has been photographed posing with what appears to be a genuine miniaturized nuclear warhead for ballistic missiles. And North Korea does, in fact, have two classes of ICBMs—the road mobile KN-08 and KN-14—which both appear to be equipped with sophisticated reentry vehicles,” the two wrote, further validating their point.

Fmr. CIA Director James Woosley (Christopher Michel/Flickr)

“Even if it were true that North Korea does not yet have nuclear missiles, their “Dear Leader” could deliver an atomic bomb hidden on a freighter sailing under a false flag into a U.S. port, or hire their terrorist allies to fly a nuclear 9/11 suicide mission across the unprotected border with Mexico. In this scenario, populous port cities like New York, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, or big cities nearest the Mexican border, like San Diego, Phoenix, Austin, and Santa Fe, would be most at risk.”

According to the experts, North Korea has previously tested a 20-30 megaton nuclear device that’s capable of killing millions if detonated in a major city like Los Angeles or New York. And that’s not all, the piece reveals that North Korea may, in fact, have H-Bomb technology, which they warn is far deadlier than a nuclear device by comparison.

The piece continued on to point out the harsh realities of the N. Korean missile program.

“On April 7, 2015, at a Pentagon press conference, Admiral William Gortney, then Commander of North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD), responsible for protecting the U.S. from long-range missiles, warned that the intelligence community assesses North Korea’s KN-08 mobile ICBM could strike the U.S. with a nuclear warhead,” the two wrote.

Moreover, the Atlantic Council was warned by Gortney six months later on Oct. 7: “I agree with the intelligence community that we assess that they [North Koreans] have the ability, they have the weapons, and they have the ability to miniaturize those weapons, and they have the ability to put them on a rocket that can range the [U.S.] homeland.”

Are officials at the Pentagon ignoring all of these key warnings?

The icing on the cake comes when two concluded: “Two North Korean satellites, the KMS-3 and KMS-4, presently orbit over the U.S. on trajectories consistent with surprise EMP attack.”

“The U.S. must be prepared to preempt North Korea by any means necessary—including nuclear weapons,” they wrote.

As of 10:39 p.m. Eastern Time KMS-3 and KMS-4 are overflying the CONUS (see live link here).

April 12, 2017, 10:40 p.m. EST. KMS-3 and KMS-4 overfly the U.S. (Screencapture n2yo.com)

Woosley and Dr. Pry made the following suggestions in their piece:

• “Launch a crash program to harden against EMP attack the U.S. electric grid to preserve American civilization and hundreds of millions of lives. This could be part of President Trump’s infrastructure modernization project.”

• “Beef up national missile defenses. Revive President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), the unfairly derided “Star Wars.” Space-based missile defenses could still render nuclear missiles obsolete and offer a permanent, peaceful, solution to problems like North Korea.”

It’s also important to note that North Korea is well capable of delivering a nuclear strike onto the CONUS via submarine.

The threat is real.

H/T: Tabertronic/Twitter

Shepard Ambellas is an opinion journalist and the founder and editor-in-chief of Intellihub News & Politics (Intellihub.com). Shepard is also known for producing Shade: The Motion Picture (2013) and appearing on Travel Channel’s America Declassified (2013). Shepard is a regular contributor to Infowars. Read more from Shep’s World. Get the Podcast. Follow Shep on Facebook and Twitter.

©2017. INTELLIHUB.COM. All Rights Reserved.

U.S. missile defense system only shoots down 3 out of 9 ICBMs in tests: 33% success

(INTELLIHUB) — The Pentagon has some answering to do when it comes to the country’s primary missile defense system after tests shockingly conclude that only 3 out of 9 intercepts actually strike their targets.

The revelation returns to front and center as a U.S. Navy armada was diverted by the head of the Navy’s Pacific Command from Austrailia Saturday and ordered to head toward the Korean Peninsula at near flank speed amidst North Korea’s worsening nuclear provocations.

According to tests and various reports, U.S. defenses may not be capable of adequately protecting the country from a surprise nuclear attack from North Korea due to the fact that the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) isn’t operating up to par as it very well should. Simply put, the $40 billion dollar system is only intercepting ICBM targets 33% of the time and is rather ineffective.

So, in a nutshell, how does GMD work?

“The GMD interceptors are 60-foot tall three-stage rockets,” one report said. “Each has a 5-foot, 150 lb., kill vehicle attached to its tip.”

“In the event of an attack, the interceptors would be launched from underground silos. Once in space, the kill vehicles would separate from their boost rockets and fly independently toward their target at speeds up to 4-miles per second.”

Major flaws of the GMD

The downfall of the GMD is that there are only 37 interceptors in total in the U.S., four of which are in Santa Barbara, California and the remaining 33 are in Alaska.

“In nine simulated attacks since 2004, interceptors have failed to take out their targets 6 out of 9 times,” the report said, which also concluded that such simulations were conducted under favorable conditions and that defending against an actual nuclear attack may not be so easy.

Moreover, other problems plague the GMD and in several test flights, intercepts have veered off course due to a “circuit board malfunction” which caused the thrusters to alter the course of the kill vehicle.

All of these factors and others have now pushed experts to believe that a preemptive strike may be the way to go when it comes to dealing with the North Korean threat.

Further Reading:

• Report: Two N. Korean satellites are capable of delivering a surprise nuclear-EMP attack on U.S.

• Report: Seal Team 6 is training to take out North Korea’s Kim Jong-un

Shepard Ambellas is an opinion journalist and the founder and editor-in-chief of Intellihub News & Politics (Intellihub.com). Shepard is also known for producing Shade: The Motion Picture (2013) and appearing on Travel Channel’s America Declassified (2013). Shepard is a regular contributor to Infowars. Read more from Shep’s World. Get the Podcast. Follow Shep on Facebook and Twitter.

©2017. INTELLIHUB.COM. All Rights Reserved.

5 Reasons America May Be Headed To War With North Korea

An all-out war involving the United States, North Korea, South Korea, Japan and the People’s Republic of China became even more possible following a chain of related events this week.

1. The U.S. has plans for a preemptive strike to knock out missiles and weapons — if U.S. officials believe North Korea is set to test a nuclear weapon, NBC News reported. American military forces have moved a number of weapons capable of destroying missiles and facilities into position in the region. This offensive firepower includes Tomahawk cruise missiles, Gray Eagle drones and the Mother of All Bombs (MOAB).

“The leadership in North Korea has shown absolutely no sign or interest in diplomacy or dialogue with any of the countries involved in this issue,” Victor Cha, the Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies told NBC News.

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President Trump tweeted, “I have great confidence that China will properly deal with North Korea. If they are unable to do so, the U.S., with its allies, will! U.S.A.”

2. North Korea might be preparing a test or tests of nuclear weapons or a ballistic missile. The nation has been moving launchers and other equipment needed for a missile test around, intelligence officials told CNN. There also has been new activity at the Punggye-ri nuclear testing area in North Korea, satellite images indicate. The activity includes digging and work at tunnel entrances, which would precede an underground nuclear test.

North Korea is planning for a major national holiday on April 15 on the 105^th anniversary of the birth of the regime’s founder. In the past, such events have been celebrated with weapons tests.

The country warned this week that U.S. actions have “created a dangerous situation in which a thermo-nuclear war may break out any moment on the peninsula and posed serious threat to the world peace and security.”

3. The U.S. Navy is moving a carrier strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson to waters near the Korean peninsula. A carrier strike group normally consists of a Nimitz class carrier, a guided missile cruiser (which is equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles), two guided missile destroyers and a Los Angeles class attack submarine.

4. Japan is preparing for a North Korean attack. The Japanese government is bolstering defenses against ballistic missile attacks and preparing to evacuate 57,000 of its citizens from South Korea, The Japan Times reported. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is fearful of chemical weapons attacks on Japan, the CBC reported.

“There is a possibility that North Korea is already capable of shooting missiles with sarin as warheads,” Abe told a committee of Japan’s parliament April 13.

5. China seems to be mobilizing for war. The China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) may have deployed up to 150,000 troops along North Korea’s northern border, the China Post newspaper in Taiwan reported. The PLA has 24 Dongfeng “carrier-killer” missiles stationed in northern China. The People’s Republic has stopped buying North Korea’s most important export, coal, and ordered Chinese companies to return coal shipments to North Korea, CNBC reported.

Do you believe the U.S. should strike North Korea? Share your thoughts in the section below:

From Bad to Worse in the South China Sea

(ANTIMEDIA) South China Sea — As the reality of all-out war breaking out in the Middle East looms larger, the potential for a collision course in the South China Sea also continues to grow.

On Friday, Anti-Media highlighted the situation unfolding in East and Southeast Asia, where the United States, Japan, and South Korea are coordinating military drills purportedly aimed at taking out Kim Jong-un of North Korea.

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Meanwhile, just south of those exercises, the relationship between China and formerly-staunch U.S. ally the Philippines is warming. Filipino troops are now stationed on some of the islands within the Spratly chain, and Reuters reported Monday that Chinese military vessels are even lending a hand to Filipino fisherman at the Scarborough Shoal.

As Anti-Media has pointed out, tensions are likely to escalate considerably in the coming days, as Japan intends to send its mightiest warship on a three-month tour of the South China Sea in May — its biggest show of naval force since World War Two.

And if that isn’t enough, the New York Times reported Monday that the U.S. military just rerouted some major firepower in the direction of North Korea:

“The commander of American forces in the Pacific has ordered an aircraft carrier and several other warships toward the Korean peninsula in a show of force by the Trump administration just days after North Korea tested another intermediate-range missile.”

Continuing:

“The officer, Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., the head of the military’s Pacific command, diverted the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson and its wing of fighter jets from a planned series of exercises and port calls in Australia, the commander said in a statement. The Vinson and three guided-missile destroyers and cruisers steamed out of Singapore on Saturday for their new mission in the Western Pacific.”

Incidentally, the U.S.S. Carl Vinson is the craft that transported the Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Delta Force units to South Korea, where they are currently taking part in the military exercises.

This means that right now, a U.S. aircraft carrier, supported by a squad of warships and fighter jets, is steaming north toward the Korean peninsula. Of course, it will have to pass by the Filipino and Chinese-occupied islands in the South China Sea.

At the same time, Japan is preparing to send a powerful warship south with the stated goal of “touring” those very waters.

So a Japanese warship, we’re told, will be hanging out in the region just as a U.S. aircraft carrier — again, escorted by gunships and jets — passes through on its way to North Korea.

For a more detailed look at the factors that make the area of the South China Sea so potentially explosive, readers can turn to a more comprehensive analysis published by Anti-Media last week.

For now, it’s significant to note that there’s at least one man who’s looking at the whole board — the Philippines’ president, Rodrigo Duterte. During a news conference Monday, he referred to his move to occupy islands in the Spratlys, stating:

“I ordered the occupation of the ten or nine islands that are just near our shores because there’s a heightening of geopolitical issues and eventually maybe a violent low-intensity war over here.”

The president didn’t elaborate on how a war can be both “violent” and “low-intensity” — particularly when the conflict will involve the level 0f military hardware that’s currently building up in the South China Sea — but it seems clear that at a minimum, he accepts that bloodshed could be a near-approaching reality.

Creative Commons / Anti-Media / Report a typo

Russia Just Called Out US/NATO Role in Afghan Drug Trafficking — Media Silent

For many years now, the United States has been fighting, and losing, the violent war to end opiate, opioid, and heroin overdoses. As The Free Thought Project has consistently reported, opiate-related overdoses are now killing thousands of Americans per year, with no real end in sight. Our political foes know this and, according to Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, the United States is using its own soldiers to protect the cultivation, production, and exportation of heroin from Afghanistan to other parts of the world.

As late as 2011, Moscow has been voicing its concerns over the drug trade in Afghanistan. Wikileaks published, as part of its Global Intelligence Files database, emails from Stratfor, describing Moscow’s criticism of U.S. foreign policy prohibiting its soldiers from destroying Afghani poppy fields.

In a Stratfor internal email, two Stratfor employees noted the Russian foreign minister’s opposition to U.S. permissiveness in the opium trade. “Lavrov slams USA’s unwillingness to destroy Afghan poppy fields..” That email was dated from 2011.

Also in that same year, Lavrov was an attendee at a multi-national conference on Afghanistan, called the Kabul Conference. There he reportedly made the following statements against Afghani terrorism and drug production. “We are convinced…that the ISAF (international security assistance force), regardless of their withdrawal date, should boost efficiency of their anti-terror and anti-drug efforts and brief the UN Security Council on the implementation of their mandate. A special focus should be placed on combating drugs production, something that stipulates the elimination of poppy fields and heroine laboratories. These topics should be on the radar of our working group that is already being formed,” Lavrov pointed out.

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Later, in an interview in 2012, Lavrov called for NATO to begin destroying poppy fields in Afghanistan. From a Russian government transcription he stated, “For the time being, the terrorist threat has not been reduced, whereas the drug threat has been increasing and intensifying. In response to our numerous appeals, our NATO partners refuse to eliminate the crops of opium poppy, although coca plantations in Colombia are eliminated as a key direction of the anti-drug war. We are also concerned about the still insufficient pace of creating an Afghan.”

In 2011 and 2012, Lavrov’s comments were somewhat veiled and not directed specifically at U.S. foreign policy, reading more like a suggestion than an accusation. However, jumping ahead to 2017, and all thinly veiled comments, innuendos, and cultural nuances have now been cast aside, in favor of a more direct approach.

As late as last week, Lavrov’s comments are much more forthcoming and are aimed directly at U.S. officials. Lavrov recently spoke to senior military officers at Moscow’s Military Academy. After accusing the U.S. of using “managed chaos” tactics to increase U.S. influence in “Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan,” Lavrov leveled, one could say, heavy accusations against the U.S. and its foreign policy implementation.

“In the case of Afghanistan…the terrorist threat has not been rooted out, while the drug threat has increased many times over. The drug industry prospered,” he said referencing America’s failure to combat the heroin trade there. Accusing the U.S. of looking away while the country which produces 90 percent of the world’s heroin supply is equated to giving a free pass to the Afghanis to cultivate, manufacture and distribute heroin. “There is factual evidence that some of the NATO contingents in Afghanistan turned a blind eye to the illegal drug trafficking, even if they were not directly involved in these criminal schemes,” Lavrov stated implying the U.S. (being a part of NATO) might actually be involved in the drug trade.

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If the U.S. is involved in the flow of opium into the country it may not come as a shock to some. As The Free Thought Project recently reported, infamous drug kingpin Pablo Escobar reportedly worked for the CIA running drugs into the country, according to his son’s new book. TFTP’s Claire Bernish wrote, “If the CIA trafficking cocaine into the United States sounds like some tin foil conspiracy theory, think again. Their alleged role in the drug trade was exposed in 1996 in an explosive investigative series “Dark Alliance” by Gary Webb for the San Jose Mercury News. The investigation, headed up by Webb revealed ties between the CIA, Nicaraguan contras and the crack cocaine trade ravaging African-American communities.”

Lavrov, historically speaking, has been very vocal of the U.S. and its complicit involvement in the heroin trade, which brings up an interesting point. If heroin and its derivatives are responsible for killing thousands of Americans each year, and the U.S. could have destroyed the source of the world’s heroin and chose not to, who’s to blame for the current epidemic separating parents from their children, creating widows, and addicting millions of Americans?

Report: US Airstrikes Slaughter 230 Innocent Civilians in a Single Night in Mosul

Mosul, Iraq — Reports coming out of Iraq this week are downright terrifying with local media reporting up to as many as 230 innocent civilians slaughtered in US coalition airstrikes — in a single night.

According to the Kurdish media company, Rudaw, 137 people – most believed to be civilians – died when a bomb hit a single building in al-Jadida, in the western side of the city on Thursday. Another 100 were killed nearby.

As the British Telegraph reports, the casualties were “mostly women and children,” and “were pulled from three adjoining houses in the Jadida neighbourhood of west Mosul overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning, according to witnesses.”

“There was so much bombing, and so many deaths,” an elderly woman said of the strikes.

“Pieces of human flesh were flying in all directions.”

According to Antiwar, Central Command said that they were “aware of the loss of life” and were carrying out “further investigation,” while insisting that all of their strikes against Mosul overnight “comply with the Law of Armed Conflict.”

Centcom also reported that “military forces conducted nine strikes consisting of 67 engagements coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq against ISIS targets.”

Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Erbil in northern Iraq, said fighting in the area had intensified in the last few days.

“For more than a week there was a stalemate as Iraqi forces struggled to advance on the Old City, but in the last few days, the fighting has intensified.

“There are air strikes and ISIL is also using civilians homes with civilians in them. People have been caught in crossfire and targeted by ISIL … The shelling is indiscriminate,” said Dekker.

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“There is no safe passage out of the city. Civilians are literally everywhere.”

Reports from civilians in Mosul say ISIS fighters are employing tactics such as establishing fighting positions on the rooftops of apartment buildings. These buildings are occupied by innocent civilians and are also the targets of US coalition strikes.

“ISIS made us keep our door open, so they could get onto the roofs at any time. They even broke down the walls between houses so they could move around,” a local resident told RT.

“There were so many killed in the airstrikes, rockets, and mortars… Our entire neighborhood is in ruins. There are maybe ten houses still standing. The children are traumatized. When the jets start flying, they start crying,” another woman said.

If the aim of ISIS is to maximize civilian casualties by manipulating the US military into striking these targets, that, they have done. If their aim was to reduce the airstrikes, they have failed.

However, if we examine the mission of ISIS more closely, the former is far more likely.

The mission of ISIS is to create a rift in society in which there are extremists and everyone else. The want to eliminate the ‘gray zone’ — the area in which different religions and cultures peacefully coexist — by any means necessary. By using civilians as human shields, knowing that US forces will bomb them anyway, this tactic plays right into their strategy.

The men, women, and children who watched their father, mother, son, or daughter explode right before their eyes this week, as a US bomb destroyed their home, will undoubtedly foster resentment toward the West. This approach is the most powerful recruiting tool the terrorist regime has.

READ MORE:  The Greatest Threat Ever, to Life on This Planet. The US Government.

As the Free Thought Project has previously reported, the West, in their constant bombardment, interference, meddling, and policing of the world, has fostered a breeding ground for terrorism. Indeed, America’s foreign policy, alone, since 9/11, has created a million Osama bin Ladens — all funding and arming of ISIS excluded.

Sadly, the military industrial complex shows no signs of slowing its cancer-like growth.

As long as Americans keep buying the lies spewing from the warmongering tyrants in power, nothing will change. As long as Boobus Americanus continues to believe “It’s our freedom they hate,” death and destruction will rain down — until there is nothing left.

Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter, Steemit, and now on Facebook.

U.S. Blaming Iran for Attack on American Navy That Never Actually Happened

February 3, 2017   |   Darius Shahtahmasebi

(ANTIMEDIA) At a press briefing on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer asserted that Iran had attacked a U.S. naval vessel. This statement was taken as part and parcel of his argument defending the Trump administration’s decision to put Iran “on notice.”

However, as the Intercept confirmed directly with Pentagon spokesperson Christopher Sherwood, the attack in question actually took place on a Saudi warship, and the suspected perpetrators of the attack are the Houthi rebels currently leading an insurrection in Yemen, not Iran.

But Iran is allegedly backing the Houthi rebels in Yemen. So surely, any attack committed by those rebels against the U.S. or its allies can be deemed and Iranian assault by way of proxy, right?

Not according to the U.N. experts, who presented a report to the U.N. Security Council just this past weekend. It stated:

“The panel has not seen sufficient evidence to confirm any direct large-scale supply of arms from the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, although there are indicators that anti-tank guided weapons being supplied to the Houthi or Saleh forces are of Iranian manufacture.” [emphasis added]

For those skeptical of claims made by so-called U.N. experts, perhaps one could analyze the claims made by the mainstream media regarding Iran’s role in Yemen to see if there is any substance to the narrative that Iran is backing the Houthi rebels in Yemen. As noted by a Truth-out article published in October 2015, the mainstream media struggles to produce any compelling evidence of Iranian involvement, even with the enormous resources at their disposal:

“[A] recent article published by the Guardian on October 8, 2015, again states that: ‘It is now six months since a coalition of countries, led by Saudi Arabia, took on Iran-backed Houthis who had swept through the country earlier this year.’ The words ‘Iran-backed Houthis’ are again hyperlinked. This time, the hyperlink takes you to another Guardian article, which explains that a ‘source’ has revealed that no more than 10 Gulf-trained fighters have arrived in Yemen. The article references Iran only once by again claiming that the Houthis are Iranian-backed, but this is not hyperlinked to any other source and at no point in the article does the writer even try to explain in which of the Gulf states these fighters, who number no more than 10, were trained before their deployment into Yemen.”

Still don’t believe it? This next excerpt is from the Washington Post, dated May 2016:

“Yet as [the author] argues in a recent article in the May 2016 issue of International Affairs, the Chatham House journal, Tehran’s support for the Houthis is limited, and its influence in Yemen is marginal. It is simply inaccurate to claim that the Houthis are Iranian proxies.

“Instead, the war in Yemen is driven by local grievances and competition for power among Yemeni actors. The Houthis and Saleh want to overturn the political order that emerged after the uprisings of 2011: Saleh wants to return to power, having lost the presidency in the wake of popular protests, while the Houthis want a greater say in national affairs. In other words, the Houthis want in, Saleh wants back in, and the Hadi bloc wants to keep them both out.” [emphasis added]

The best concrete evidence the media can produce regarding Tehran’s involvement is that some of the weapons the Houthis use are of Iranian origin. However, the media is well aware that the weapons come from Somalia, and outlets are unable to make any real link between Somalia and the claim that Iran is supplying the weapons directly to Yemen (as indicated by the U.N. experts last weekend).

The Houthis are Yemeni, not Iranian. Therefore, they are well within their rights to fight back against the aggressive invading force of Saudi Arabia’s brutal coalition.

The U.S. is once again playing a dangerous game in which officials spout absolute nonsense and mobilize the American citizenry in support of another disastrous war in the Middle East. As noted by the Intercept, the U.S. has used similar baseless fear tactics on multiple occasions in the past, including launching the U.S. into the Vietnam quagmire.

Iran has not attacked the United States, nor can it be said to have attacked any other country for decades, if not centuries. War should be a measure of last resort, not the first action an administration takes after a mere two weeks in office based off inaccurate and dishonest reporting.

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This article (U.S. Blaming Iran for Attack on American Navy That Never Actually Happened) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Darius Shahtahmasebi and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11 pm Eastern/8 pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, please email the error and name of the article to edits@theantimedia.org.

China Just Issued a Nuclear Warning to Donald Trump and the United States

January 24, 2017   |   James Holbrooks

(ANTIMEDIA) Beijing — Following comments made by White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Monday in which he said the United States would absolutely protect its interests in the South China Sea, the Asian superpower has fired back through its state-run media — going so far as to suggest China should beef up its nuclear arsenal in the face of Donald Trump’s presidency.

As reported by the newswire service Agence-France Presse (AFP) on Tuesday, “In recent days, Chinese social media has carried pictures purporting to show an advanced intercontinental ballistic missile system deployed in the Northeast.”

That missile system, the Dongfeng-41, was described by China’s state-run Global Times in a Tuesday editorial as “a nuclear solid-fuel road-mobile” system with “a range of 14,000 kilometers and a payload of 10-12 nuclear warheads” that can “target anywhere in the world” and is “widely considered one the most advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles.”

As AFP notes, the Times itself suggested the images of the Dongfeng-41 may have been leaked to social media by the Chinese military, the People’s Liberation Army, as a warning shot at Donald Trump.

On Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer appeared to echo the line taken by Rex Tillerson, Trump’s choice for secretary of state. At his recent Senate confirmation hearing, Tillerson raised eyebrows when he suggested the United States should block China from accessing its artificial islands in the South China Sea.

Saying “The U.S. is going to make sure that we protect our interests there,” Spencer went on to state:

“It’s a question of if those islands are in international waters and not part of China proper, then yeah, we’re going to make sure that we defend international territories from being taken over by one country.”

In response, China’s foreign ministry gave a statement in which it reiterated its unchanging position on its claims of sovereignty. Calling those claims “irrefutable,” spokeswoman Hua Chunying said “the United States is not a party to the South China Sea dispute” and that China wants the U.S. to “respect the facts, speak and act cautiously to avoid harming the peace and stability of the South China Sea.”

Meanwhile, the nation’s state-run media was suggesting it was time to strengthen its nuclear capacity.

However the images of the Dongfeng-41 system were obtained, China certainly isn’t backing away from the opportunity to flaunt its military might, and the Times editorial — as more and more are beginning to do — is very plain and unapologetic in its wording.

Stating the U.S. has “not paid enough respect to the Chinese military,” the piece further suggested that:

“China’s nuclear capability should be so strong that no country would dare launch a military showdown with China under any circumstance, and such that China can strike back against those militarily provoking it. A military clash with the US is the last thing China wants, but China’s nuclear arsenal should be able to deter the US.”

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This article (China Just Issued a Nuclear Warning to Donald Trump and the United States) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to James Holbrooks and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11 pm Eastern/8 pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, please email the error and name of the article to edits@theantimedia.org.