All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Former US official Blinken: ‘Getting out of the Iran nuclear agreement was a mistake’

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Antony Blinken served as US deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 under the Obama administration. In an interview with FRANCE 24, he shared his perspective on the rising tensions between the US and Iran, as well as US-North Korea diplomacy, the situation in Venezuela and his support for Joe Biden’s presidential bid.

Nigel Farage doused with milkshake in Newcastle

douse a Nazi day!

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Man arrested after Brexit party leader is latest EU elections candidate to be soaked

Nigel Farage has been hit by a milkshake in Newcastle city centre, after a spate of similar incidents against far-right candidates in the European elections campaign.

The Brexit party leader appeared to be furious after the incident and was heard to mutter, “it’s a complete failure, you could have spotted that a mile off” as his security team led him away.

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Death in Mali–Is Justice Served?

In Saner Thought

About 2 years ago in the West African nation of Mali and our US Special Ops troopers, who are the best in the world, had a situation where an Army Green Beret was killed by 2 Navy Seals and a couple of Marine Raiders…..I wrote extensively about this event….most of what I wrote is referenced in this post……https://lobotero.com/2018/12/11/death-in-mali-update/

A Navy SEAL pleaded guilty Thursday in the hazing death of a Green Beret soldier, detailing the late-night plot to break into 34-year-old Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar’s room with a sledgehammer, put him in a chokehold and restrain him with duct tape during a deployment in Africa.

In a pretrial agreement, Chief Special Warfare Operator Adam Matthews pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit assault, unlawful entry, obstruction of justice and violating a general order by committing hazing. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop murder and involuntary manslaughter charges against him.

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Pow Kee


Pow Kee, Fishing, Hankow 1884. Gift of Mrs. Riddell in memory of Peter Fletcher Riddell 1985. National Galleries of Scotland


Pow Kee, Hankow (now Hankou), 1887. Gift of Mrs Riddell in memory of Peter Fletcher Riddell, 1985. National Galleries of Scotland


Pow Kee, Hankow (now Hankou), 1880s. Gift of Mrs Riddell in memory of Peter Fletcher Riddell, 1985. National Galleries of Scotland


Pow Kee, Hankow (now Hankou), 1887. Gift of Mrs Riddell in memory of Peter Fletcher Riddell, 1985. National Galleries of Scotland


Pow Kee, Hankow (now Hankou), 1884. Gift of Mrs Riddell in memory of Peter Fletcher Riddell, 1985. National Galleries of Scotland


Pow Kee, Hankow (now Hankou), 1880s. Gift of Mrs Riddell in memory of Peter Fletcher Riddell, 1985. National Galleries of Scotland


Pow Kee, Hankow (now Hankou), 1887. Gift of Mrs Riddell in memory of Peter Fletcher Riddell, 1985. National Galleries of Scotland


Pow Kee, Hankow (now Hankou), 1887. Gift of Mrs Riddell in memory of Peter Fletcher Riddell, 1985. National Galleries of Scotland


Pow Kee, Hankow (now Hankou), 1880s. Gift of Mrs Riddell in memory of Peter Fletcher Riddell, 1985. National Galleries of Scotland


Pow Kee, Hankow (now Hankou), 1880s. Gift of Mrs Riddell in memory of Peter Fletcher Riddell, 1985. National Galleries of Scotland

Pow Kee (Bao Ji zhaoxiangguan, 寶記照相館) was an important photography studio that was first active in Hankou. It then moved to Nanjing by the 1880s, and finally re-established its business in Shanghai by the 1890s apparently under the name of ‘Powkee & Sons’. It then was operated by Ouyang Shizhi and his son and two daughters until its closing around 1934. At its height the photography studio had more than twenty employees. In Shanghai, the Pow Kee & Sons studio was a popular meeting place for celebrities, urban elites, and others.


More information:
www.nationalgalleries.org
loewentheilcollection.com

Neocons Chest Thumping

The Neocons are working overtime to find a justification for a war……most are based on LIES and propaganda……PERIOD!

The news these days is how close the US is coming to a shooting war with Iran…..but it is not the first time in recent history……

https://lobotero.com/2006/12/27/how-will-an-iranian-war-begin/

https://lobotero.com/2015/04/16/a-really-bad-idea-a-limited-war-with-iran-the-national-interest/

Keep in mind that the architect of the 2003 invasion of Iraq on false information was John Bolton, among others…..and now he is in a position that gives him more influence than in 2003……

All I can say is…here we go again!

An Iraq-War redux is now in full play, with leading roles played by some of the same protagonists – President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, for example, who says he still thinks attacking Iraq was a good idea. Co-starring is Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The New York Times on Tuesday played its accustomed role in stoking the fires, front-paging a report that, at Bolton’s request, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has come up with an updated plan to send as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East, should Iran attack American forces or accelerate work on nuclear weapons. The Times headline writer, at least, thought it appropriate to point to echoes from the past: “White House Reviews Military Plans Against Iran, in Echoes of Iraq War.”

Pretexts for an Attack on Iran

John Bolton is in “Wonderland” at this time……

John Bolton has a Haig-sized ego. (one must be an old fart to appreciate the Haig reference) He aspires to control the ebb and flow of foreign policy in the Trump administration. He is often at odds with his colleagues from the State Department and Pentagon. And he is dealing with a president who, if not asleep much of the time, is only intermittently focused on national security issues.

Recently, Bolton too seemed to have his “I’m in control here” moment. With the conflict intensifying in Venezuela, the national security advisor leaked the opposition plan for the army to defect en masse from the Maduro government in favor of challenger Juan Guiado. Bolton’s tweets reportedly angered President Trump, who felt “boxed into a corner,” particularly after the defections didn’t materialize and Nicolas Maduro did not flee the country.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/05/16/bolton-in-wonderland/

Time for all parties to step back and think what they are doing. Once the “brink” has been breached then coming back becomes much more difficult.

Perhaps these actions are a prelude to negotiations: the U.S. is exerting “maximum pressure”, it says, to bring a more compliant Iran back to the table; in like manner, should Tehran conclude that it has no choice but to reach a new deal with Washington in order to relieve unsustainable economic strain, it will want to enter such talks with a stronger hand. Resuming its nuclear activities, making its presence felt in the region, and disrupting Saudi or Emirati oil exports could all be ways of enhancing its bargaining power. But if these manoeuvres are a diplomatic game, it is a dangerous one: either side could misinterpret the other’s intentions. Any Iranian move could easily lead to U.S. and/or Israeli strikes which, in turn, could lead to an Iranian counter-response. Or vice versa. Escalation comes easily; de-escalation is a much taller order, especially in the absence of direct channels of communication that can pre-empt misunderstandings or miscalculations.

 
This could become a major war since we have a president that sows chaos in his wake….this needs a steady hand and commonsense to prevent this from exploding.
 
But until then….the Neocons in Trumpland are trying to sell this as a “Just War”…….a Just War?
 
Just war theory deals with the justification of how and why wars are fought. The justification can be either theoretical or historical. The theoretical aspect is concerned with ethically justifying war and the forms that warfare may or may not take. The historical aspect, or the “just war tradition,” deals with the historical body of rules or agreements that have applied in various wars across the ages. For instance, international agreements such as the Geneva and Hague conventions are historical rules aimed at limiting certain kinds of warfare which lawyers may refer to in prosecuting transgressors, but it is the role of ethics to examine these institutional agreements for their philosophical coherence as well as to inquire into whether aspects of the conventions ought to be changed.
 
To me a Just War is a silly notion that only applies in a very limited reasons…..
 
And then we have those that a “Preventive War” is the only answer…..to that I say Bullshit!
 
The Neocons are working overtime to find a justification for a war……most are based on LIES and propaganda……PERIOD!

News of two foreign journalists missing in Saudi Arabia | RSF

Muraisi’s wife reported in a tweet that she had finally received a phone call from him lasting several minutes. It was the first time he was able to contact any family member in the more than 11 months since his disappearance. She said he was able to confirm that he was still alive but not say where he was being held.

Source: News of two foreign journalists missing in Saudi Arabia | RSF

‘Future of Britain is in Europe,’ the Queen told Germany in 1988

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Diplomatic cables reveal the monarch also appeared to back the creation of a single market

The Queen confided to the German ambassador that she believed the future of Britain lay in Europe, newly released diplomatic cables from 1988 have shown.

“Some have not realised this yet,” the monarch allegedly said of her subjects. She also appeared to back the creation of the single market.

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