May 31

Today’s News 31st May 2019

  • Putin Has Rejected Iran's S-400 Missile Request Over Soaring Gulf Tensions

    Bloomberg reports that Russia’s President Putin has rejected a controversial Iranian request to buy S-400 missile defense systems on the basis of current soaring tensions between Tehran and Washington following accusations of “sabotage” attacks on oil tankers and a pipeline in the gulf region. 

    The breaking report cites a senior Russian official and other unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter:

    The request was rebuffed by President Vladimir Putin, the people said on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to discuss the matter. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Moscow May 7.

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    S-400 system, via Debka

    Apparently Russia is not willing to risk yet more tensions with the US and possible further punitive measures as it’s in a growing “new Cold War” of sorts on a number of other global fronts, including in Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, the collapsing INF treaty, defense sales to Turkey, and lately facing fresh accusations of conducting “low-yield nuke tests” in the Arctic. 

    Neither side has yet confirmed the Bloomberg report; however, Russia has lately sought to assure both Israel and the West that it’s taking strides to prevent Iranian expansion inside Syria in order to calm and stabilize the international proxy war there. 

    At this delicate time, when Syrian and Russian airstrikes are ramping up over Idlib province, Russia transferring S-400’s to Iran would likely prove disastrous in terms of re-igniting a great power confrontation and conflict in the region. No doubt Moscow doesn’t want to upset an already fragile balance, and further needs Turkey by its side related to Idlib. 

    Transfer of the S-400, which has a defense range of up to 400 kilometers, would also likely heighten an established pattern of Israeli military intervention against Iranian assets in Syria and Lebanon. 

    Last year Moscow announced it would transfer S-300 missiles to Syria after a Russian reconnaissance plane was mistakenly shot down during the confusion of an massive Israeli attack. The reputedly very accurate S-300 anti-air system reportedly went live in February, with Syrian personnel continuing to undergo training on the systems. That bold maneuver by Moscow also came under condemnation of the US and its allies. 

    Both Russia and Turkey are currently facing US pressures to abandon an agreed upon purchase of the deadly S-400 by Ankara, which has brought the threat of US sanctions against Turkey, as well as held up a prior F-35 stealth fighter deal as Congress has blocked further deliveries of the Lockheed Martin produced jet. 

  • New UK Standard? Prosecute Politicians For Telling Lies!

    Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk,

    Boris Johnson has been summoned over lies he allegedly made during the Brexit Referendum campaign.

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    Mercy me, a politician lied during a political campaign. We cannot have that can we?

    Let’s crowdfund a private prosecution!

    As absurd as that sounds, that’s what’s happening in the UK as Boris Johnson to Appear in Court over Brexit Misconduct Claims.

    Boris Johnson has been summoned to court to face accusations of misconduct in public office over comments made in the run-up to the EU referendum.

    The ruling follows a crowdfunded move to launch a private prosecution of the MP, who is the frontrunner in the Tory leadership contest.

    Johnson lied and engaged in criminal conduct when he repeatedly claimed during the 2016 EU referendum campaign that the UK sent £350m a week to Brussels, lawyers for a 29-year-old campaigner, who launched the prosecution bid, told Westminster magistrates court last week.

    A legal team assembled by Marcus Ball, who has accused the former foreign secretary of misconduct in public office and raised more than £200,000 to finance the prosecution, laid out their case in front of the district judge, Margot Coleman.

    The case concerned the “now infamous claim” by Johnson about the £350m, according to Lewis Power QC, who said the case was not about preventing or delaying Brexit.

    One-Sided Investigation

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    Making False Statements

    In her written decision summoning Johnson to court, District Judge Margot Coleman also said:

    “The applicant’s case is there is ample evidence that the proposed defendant knew that the statements were false.”

    “I am satisfied there is sufficient to establish prima facie evidence of an issue to be determined at trial of this aspect. I consider the arguments put forward on behalf of the proposed defendant to be trial issues.”

    Idiot’s Proposal?

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    Madness?

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    Private Prosecution by a Crowdfunded Company

    Bear in mind this is a private prosecution by a nonprofit crowdfunded company, ‘Brexit Justice Limited’.

    In an extraordinary development, the favourite to win the Tory leadership race faces a private prosecution by campaigner Marcus Ball.

    Lawyers representing Mr Ball lodged an application to summon Mr Johnson to court, claiming he had deliberately misled the public during the Brexit referendum campaign in 2016 and then repeated the statement during the 2017 general election.

    Mr Johnson strongly denies any wrongdoing, claiming the application was a “[political] stunt” designed to “undermine the referendum result”.

    “The reality of this enterprise is different. The ‘Prosecutor’ (a limited company) is ‘Brexit Justice Limited’. Brexit Justice Limited is the product of a campaign to undermine the result of the Brexit referendum, and/or to prevent its consequences.

    “The company and this application owe their existence to the desire on the part of individuals such as Mr Ball to undermine the referendum result. The ‘Brexit justice’ which is ultimately sought is no Brexit.”

    Mr Ball has raised more than £200,000 through a ‘Brexit Justice’ crowdfunding campaign to pay for the private prosecution.

    Remainer Despotism

    Finally, please consider the Legal Harassment of Boris Johnson Reeks of Remainer Despotismby Andrew Lilico.

    Will David Cameron then be arrested for having said he would trigger Article 50 immediately following the election? Will George Osborne be taken to court for claiming a vote to leave would mean an emergency budget raising taxes and accompanied by interest rate hikes?

    It shouldn’t matter to this discussion, but it’s also quite wrong to claim that the “£350 million sent to Brussels” claim was a lie.

    The most straightforward of these is that that was indeed approximately the UK’s gross contribution to the EU budget. It just was. Saying “Ah, but we get a rebate” misses a fundamental point: the rebate is paid to the UK by the member states, not by the EU. The EU does not give us a discount on our membership fee; rather the member states pay us something in return.

    If I send Fred £350 million per week, and then Jane and Eliza send me £100 million per week, that does not change the fact that I send Fred £350 million per week. It does mean that saying “I send Fred £350 million per week” is not the whole story, but it is not a lie.

    Second, the £350 million claim is not a lie because in fact even when one takes the wider context into account, it’s roughly the correct amount. Critics of the figure say it neglects the rebate. But that criticism neglects the supposed accumulated “liabilities” that we’ve become aware of as the “divorce bill”. A little over half the £40 billion or so “divorce bill” takes that form. If we spread £23 billion in such “liabilities” over five years and add the weekly sum of that to the £250 million or so weekly sum, net of the rebate, then we come to about £340 million per week “sent to Brussels” as an overall net figure.

    So it’s just wrong to call the £350 million figure a lie. It is not a “lie” in any sense. It is not a lie in that it was the literal amount, and it’s not a lie in that it was the overall amount once one took everything into consideration.

    Absurd Process

    Imagine taking Trump or Obama to the courts for lying. How about Hillary? Any Senator from any party?

    Theoretically, there could be some merit to the idea if applied uniformly. Nearly all politicians are liars.

    But what about CNN, the Washington Post, etc., etc., and all their fake news?

    The downside is obvious. The courts would not have time to do anything but prosecute liars.

  • Indian Army Equips Special Forces With American Sniper Rifles On LOC

    Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command of the Indian Army, said last week that the Pakistan Army “dare not try and come anywhere across the Line of Control (LoC) to carry out any kind of actions.” Shortly after, Special Forces of India were equipped with high-powered American and Italian sniper rifles along the LoC.

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    A defense official told Greater Kashmir that “elite units of Army deployed along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir have been provided with the new US and Italian made snipers after proper training from US and Italian experts. The move is aimed to curb infiltration.”

    Greater Kashmir said law enforcement statistics show 93 militants, including over 25 foreign militants, have been killed in different incidents trying to cross the border this year. 

    The defense official said a shift in warmer temperatures in Kashmir has melted snow, allowing militants, generally funded by Pakistan, to cross the India–Pakistan border. “To ensure zero infiltration, latest snipers will play a crucial role,” the official claimed.

    Elaborating more on the new sniper rifles, the official said soldiers deployed along LoC are now carrying Barrett .50 caliber M95 and the Beretta .338 Lapua Magnum Scorpio TGT. “These rifles have a much longer range and power than the Russian made snipers being used by the soldiers so far. These snipers can fix the targets at the range of over 1,000 meters,” the official said.

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    The American Barrett M95 is a bolt-action sniper rifle chambered in .50 BMG (12.7×99mm), has a range of 1,800 meters. “An anti-material rifle means the bullet can actually pierce through metal,” the official said.

    “These snipers are multipurpose—to counter infiltration and to give befitting response—to the ceasefire violation from across the LoC,” the source said. “Army is ready to deal with any situation that emerges in the ensuing summer months along the LoC. There are apprehensions that militants in large groups may try to sneak in given the series of successful operations against militants in the hinterland.”

    The security situation in Jammu and Kashmir has been under control for the last several months. But in mid-February, tensions flared up with fierce fighting after the Pakistan-based Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammad killed 40 Indian paramilitary police. Several weeks later, an Indian MiG-21 conducted the first significant aerial combat engagement between the two countries in nearly half a century and was shot down by a Pakistani F-16.

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    With warm weather now allowing Pakistani militants to cross the LoC with ease, India’s move to outfit its special forces with high-powered sniper rifles along the LoC – suggests that tensions could flare up in the summer months.

     

  • Auerback: American Global Hegemony Is Breaking Down, Here's What Comes Next

    Authored by Marshall Auerback, produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute,

    The breakdown in the Sino-U.S. trade talks has led a number of commentators to suggest that America’s “unipolar moment” of post-Cold War preeminence is over, as Washington lashes out against a rising China, whose economic rise threatens America’s historic dominance.

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    Direct military violence is highly unlikely, given the inherent fragility of high-tech civilization. We therefore may see Cold War–style conflict between the two superpowers, as relations in trade or national security matters become increasingly poisoned.

    So what happens to the rest of us? Will a hitherto globalized world increasingly retreat into bifurcated competing blocs, much as occurred under the original Cold War? Or can the rest of the world develop a more muted and stable form of multilateralism?

    After all, we are well past the point where parts of the globe are increasingly carved up via competing ideologies (e.g., capitalism vs. communism), given today’s broad embrace of various permutations of capitalism, or divided via proxy wars, or the “great game” of colonial expansion. Today, most nations focus on maximizing the relative productivity of their own respective economies, as opposed to establishing their ideological bona fides as quasi-colonial client states for either the United States or the former Soviet Union. Another important dimension to recognize is that what we understand to be global or international is, for the most part, owned and controlled by industrialized countries: 93 percent of foreign-owned production is controlled by Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) economies. Even the historic tendency to focus on state power should be questioned in this moment. In 2016, 69 of the world’s largest 100 economies were corporations, with their own range of interests and methods of functioning.

    One of the (self-serving) fears governing the end of American hegemony is that in its absence, the world will inevitably revert to some sort of brutal Hobbesian “state of nature” characterized by a balance of power clashes, in which the strong dictate to the weak.

    Is that a reasonable assumption?

    The reality of the 21st-century world is that neither the United States nor China can readily force third-party countries to join their respective competing blocs as the United States and Soviet Union were once able to do. Of course, they both have leverage, but these are often overstated. China can periodically raise the specter of a rare earths cutoff (used in everything from lithium batteries, cell phones, wind turbines, or electric cars), or threaten to liquidate its stockpile of U.S. Treasuries to cause a collapse in the dollar and bond market in order to flex its muscles. But rare earth production can ultimately be established elsewhere, and the “nuclear option” of selling U.S. bonds is a fantasy (see here for the reasons). Likewise, the United States can deploy trade sanctions, or military muscle. But this kind of aggressive unilateralism is ultimately self-defeating, as it drives away potential allies in the process.

    Indeed, the so-called era of “Pax Americana”—an alleged state of relative international peace overseen by the United States—has not been all that it has been cracked up to be. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, “Pax Americana” itself has been characterized by a surprisingly large number of unilateral wars of choice from “Americana,” and comparatively little “Pax.” There’s no reason to expect that to change under a bullying U.S. president, dominated by hawkish champions of perpetual warfare such as John Bolton and Mike Pompeo. This is particularly the case, given that the virulent nationalism embodied in Trump’s “America First” vision is largely unilateral in scope and therefore inimical to alliance-building. Rather than seeking a voluntary coalition of the willing, the Trump administration tends to rely more on a coalition of the coerced.

    Developing economies could offer themselves up as viable supply chain manufacturing alternatives in the growing Sino-U.S. trade dispute, without actually being forced to take sides, whether they be an emerging Asian economy like Vietnam, a growing South Asia power such as India, or a Eurasian regional player such as Turkey or Iran. They can do so safe in the knowledge that there is a multiplicity of developmental modes to national prosperity (as opposed to an economic bible directed on high from Washington-dominated institutions such as the International Monetary Fund). To take a very basic example, blueprints for factory construction are downloadable from the internet.

    As for Europe, it may share some of America’s ambivalence toward Beijing, but it remains highly resistant to the confrontational (and increasingly militarized) posture toward China that Washington urges upon them (especially as such confrontation appears to be coming at the EU’s own economic expense). Europe is increasingly moving to extricate itself from the U.S. security umbrella, whether via proposals to create a new European security policy to boost defense cooperation, or developing an alternative payment system to modify U.S. dollar dominance in the current Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) payments system (particularly given the recent American proclivity to weaponize SWIFT as a means of punishing what the United States sees as “rogue regimes,” such as Iran). Therefore, in the words of Financial Times columnist Wolfgang Munchau:

    The most creative thing the EU can do in the current circumstances is to leverage the instruments it already has, and turn them into geopolitical tools. Among such instruments, none is more potent than the euro, especially if combined with a deep capital markets union and a pan-eurozone treasury bond and treasury bills. If there is one reason to keep the euro, this is it.

    There are also increasing signs of a growing rapprochement between the EU and Russia, in spite of the latter’s annexation of Crimea. Certainly, as global polarization increases, the EU is less likely to reflexively submit to the current U.S. dollar-centric monetary system, given mounting geopolitical divergences and increasing trade tension. Even the national populist governments in Europe that are ostensibly more aligned with Trump ideologically (e.g., Hungary, Italy) are more obsessed with Islamophobic policies than in containing China, which shares their anti-Muslim views. From Europe, accordingly, we should expect to see this policy divergence reflected in efforts to expand the influence of the euro (which was originally designed in part to mitigate the dollar’s “exorbitant privilege”), as well as accelerating energy ties to Russia via Nord Stream 2.

    Accepting multipolarity does not simply mean assuming a reversion to an Adam Smith-style “Wealth of Nations” world whereby individual nation-states trade with each other on the basis of some outdated 19th-century concept of “comparative advantage.” The recently announced Fiat Chrysler–Renault merger demonstrates that many industries will continue to transcend national borders. Disrupting supply chains is easier said than done. But as this particular merger demonstrates, such tie-ups are likely to become more regionalized, less geographically diverse (especially as this particular one could well be accompanied by some diminution of the ties between Renault and Nissan).

    The European Union and Asia stand out as two obvious blocs (although in the case of the latter, Japan’s military ties with the United States and its problematic history with China complicate the geographic logic). In this regard, the European Union is probably evolving, albeit in fits and starts, toward the optimal future template (especially if and when it drops its prevailing austerity bias). Ironically, Trump himself might have catalyzed this evolution in a way that no other factor could do.

    As far as the United States itself goes, given the increasingly tenuous ties with the EU, plan B is likely a smaller U.S. bloc consisting of NAFTA (the newly reconfigured USMCA Treaty providing a template), and possibly the Anglosphere (given the linguistic and cultural ties). On paper, the GDP would be less than in an ideal U.S.-EU bloc, but it would be an actual coherent American-led bloc. By some projections, Mexico will be the seventh-largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) by 2050.

    Geopolitically, the task that falls to most nations is to grasp that this is not an “either/or” existential choice like the old Cold War. More likely, it will be a “back to the future” embrace of the old Palmerstonian idea that there are no eternal friends or allies, only eternal interests, which can change from time to time. It does not follow that the resultant global Balkanization will inevitably lead to Balkan-style conflicts. Nor is there any ironclad law mandating that multipolarity is inextricably tied to a Hobbesian world that is “nasty, brutish and short.” If nothing else, the experience of a once war-torn Europe dominated by centuries of destructive conflict evolving into a far more stable European Union should give rise to some comfort that an alternative paradigm is possible if the countries concerned simply seize the opportunity. Nation-states are not going to disappear, but the narrowly destructive forces unleashed by Trump and his populist counterparts in the rest of the world do not represent a viable alternative.

  • Debt-Laden Americans Flee Country To Escape Crushing Student Loans 

    Faced with crushing student loans and little ability to repay them, some Americans have taken to fleeing the country in order to escape their debt, according to CNBC‘s Annie Nova.

    “It’s kind of like, if a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it really exist?” said 29-year-old Chad Haag, who relocated from Colorado to a jungle in India to avoid paying his $20,000 loan balance. “I’ve put America behind me,” said Haag – 9,000 miles away from home. 

    Today he lives in a concrete house in the village of Uchakkada for $50 a month. His backyard is filled with coconut trees and chickens. “I saw four elephants just yesterday,” he said, adding that he hopes never to set foot in a Walmart again. –CNBC

    That said, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing – including finding acceptable loos to poo in. “Some toilets here are holes in the ground you squat over,” said Hagg, who added that he recently ate spoiled goat meat at a local restaurant, landing him in the emergency room. Still, he insists “I have a higher standard of living in a Third World country than I would in America, because of my student loans.” 

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    Chad Hagg and the love of his life

    “If you’re not making a living wage, $20,000 in debt is devastating,” said Haag, who struggled to come up with the $300 a month he owed upon graduating from the University of Northern Colorado in 2011. Hagg’s first postgraduate job was working on-again, off-again hours unloading trucks and constructing toy rockets on an assembly line. 

    While there is no official data on how many people have fled the United States to get out of student debt, there’s ample evidence that people are heading for the hills based on Reddit posts, Facebook groups, and financial advice doled out on various websites. 

    “It may be an issue we see an uptick in if the trends keep up,” said Barmak Nassirian, director of federal relations at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

    With outstanding student debt projected to exceed $2 billion by 2022, the average graduate owes around $30,000, up from an inflation-adjusted $16,000 in the 1990s. As CNBC notes, salaries for those with new bachelor degrees have remained virtually flat over the last several decades. 

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    In Hagg’s case, after his stints at the toy factory and loading trucks, he went back to school to pursue a master’s degree in comparative literature at the University of Colorado Boulder, after which he tried his hand at being a low-paid adjunct professor. 

    Haag had some hope restored when he landed full-time work as a medical courier in Denver, delivering urine and blood samples to hospitals. However, he was disappointed to find that he brought home just $1,700 a month. He had little money left over after he paid his student loan bill. He couldn’t afford an apartment in the city, where rents have been rising sharply. He lived with his mother and rarely went out with friends.

    “I couldn’t make the math work in America,” Haag said. –CNBC

    Last year, Hagg married an Indian citizen who teaches at a local college. He is currently living on a five-year spousal visa. 

    Not so fast?

    While the Department of Education typically can’t garnish someone’s wages if they work for a company outside of the United States, they can take up to 15% of Social Security benefits when they start collecting. 

    “The loans do not disappear when you become an expat,” said student loan expert Mark Kantrowitz. 

    Also of note, in February of 2018 the IRS began alerting the US State Department of extremely delinquent debtors, while the State Department has warned those with “seriously delinquent tax debt” that their passports may be revoked. 

    Other tales of bailing out

    39-year-old Chad Albright graduated from Millersville University in Pennsylvania in 2007 after studying communications and history, and somehow couldn’t find a job. 

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    “I went to interview after interview after interview,” said Albright. 

    Still, he had $30,000 in student loans and was soon faced with a monthly bill of around $400. Unable to support himself, he moved in with his parents in Lancaster and worked as a pizza deliveryman. “There was anger,” Albright said. “I couldn’t believe I couldn’t find a job in America.”

    He fell behind on his student loans and feared the Education Department would garnish his wages.

    Albright’s credit score tanked as a result of his repayment troubles, making it difficult for him to buy a car and to land certain jobs, since some employers now pull credit reports. “I feel that college ruined my life,” Albright said. 

    Seeing no future for himself in the United States, he decided to move to China in 2011. In the city of Zhongshan, he discovered he loved teaching students English. Unlike when he was delivering greasy boxes of pizza, he found his work meaningful and fulfilling. –CNBC

    A few years after moving to China to earn $1,000 a month, Albright moved to Ukraine, where he is now a permanent resident. He has taught in Kiev and now Odessa, a port city on the Black Sea. 

    “I am much happier in Ukraine,” says Albright, who has no plans to return to the United States and hasn’t checked his student loan account in almost eight years. 

    Another student-loan escapee, Katrina Williams, couldn’t find a job after graduating from the University of South Alabama in 2013 with a $700 per month loan bill. 

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    “I had to take whatever I could so I could pay on the loans,” said Williams, who took on jobs as a Starbucks Barista, a substitute teacher, a USPS delivery woman, and a Sears call center employee. 

    “I was working every day,” said Williams. “I had enough money left over to put gas in the car.”

    Williams had a friend who had moved to Japan, and the idea of leaving the United States grew on her. In 2015, she moved to Chiba, also to teach English to students. “I love my work,” she said. Her job sponsors her visa.

    She has her own apartment now and doesn’t have to work seven days a week anymore. Yet Williams misses her relationships back home; she hasn’t been able to make many friends in Japan.

    She thinks about returning to the U.S., but knows she will be welcomed back by wage garnishments and endless calls from collection agencies. Her student debt has ballooned to well over $100,000.

    “I wish I could come back to America and not be scared,” she said. –CNBC

    According to Nassirian, there are far more reasonable ways of dealing with student debt – including entering into the government’s income-based repayment plans. 

    At the end of the day, perhaps Student Loan Justice founder Alan Collinge has a point when he said that “Any rational person who learns that people are fleeing the country as a result of their student loan debt will conclude that something has gone horribly awry with this lending system.” 

  • Ex-CIA Officer: Trump In "Historic Battle" With "Treasonous" Deep State

    Via Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com,

    Former CIA Officer and whistleblower Kevin Shipp says what is going on in Washington D.C. with the “treason” against Trump is unlike anything we have ever faced as a nation.

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    Shipp explains, “This is an historic battle between the President of the United States and what I call the ‘Shadow Government.’

    “Some call this the ‘Deep State,’ and that includes the CIA, the FBI and the NSA. President Trump is the first President to stand up against this Shadow Government. They have been spying on Trump since he was a presidential candidate. So, this is huge, it’s historic and nothing like this has ever occurred in any western government…

    The Shadow Government has been controlling Congress, controlling the judiciary and controlling the President of the United States. No one has stood up against them until Donald J. Trump.  They did not figure on this, and he is not bound to this Shadow Government or their threats. Trump has got them quaking in their boots because they have been engaged in illegal surveillance. They have been engaged in a false counter-intelligence against the Trump campaign, literally planting spies in the Trump campaign.

    I can guarantee you they are scrambling like rats trying to get off a ship. Comey points fingers at Clapper, he’s pointing fingers at Comey, there’s Loretta Lynch and on and on. They are scared because if this stuff is declassified, the American people will see what they have done. For some of these people, this amounts to treason. They attempted a coup against a duly elected President of the United States.”

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    Make no mistake, what happened to President Trump with the “hoax” of Russia collusion was a frame job to try to knock him out of office. Trump has called this “treason,” and when he says this, the mainstream media is silent and won’t report it. Shipp says,

    “They know it, and they are trying their level best to support these Shadow Government/Deep State players because the media was complicit in this false Russia collusion. There is no way they are going to report on information that will expose their role in it…

    They shot and they missed, and it was a bad miss because they tipped their hand.”

    Shipp says new Attorney General William Barr is the right man for the job of prosecuting treason. Shipp says, “Barr was a former CIA attorney . . . I was skeptical at first, but now I am right behind Barr.”

    “I think the fact that Barr was a CIA attorney gives him an inside view… So, Barr has an edge . . . over the CIA and the FBI. He knows how that system works. He knows how they are going to stonewall him. He knows how they are going to use classification to try to conceal what they have done. They got the worst President and the worst Attorney General for them to expose what they are doing both at the same time. Barr has subpoena power, and they are quaking in their boots because this has never happened before. They have never been challenged like this before.”

    This is simply a case of spying to get blackmail information against political opponents. It goes back to 2012 and was under the direction of President Obama, according to Shipp. Shipp explains, “This was NSA domestic surveillance, and it’s been going on since before 9/11. It increased after 9/11.”

    “What they did, Comey and others like Brennan, they went in and requested information existing already on NSA super computers and used that information to spy on the Trump Campaign…They did spy on Donald Trump, and it was extensive. It was criminal and was existing systems the NSA already had in place…

    This leads all the way to Barack Obama and, of course, Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton being the blackmailer extraordinaire and Barack Obama…

    They were using this power to intimidate others and probably to blackmail others… that’s exactly what they were doing… They were all engaging in flagrant criminal activity. They all thought the global princess was going to get elected, and all of a sudden—boom. The unthinkable happened for them. Donald Trump was elected, and they freaked out.”

    Join Greg Hunter as he goes One-on-One with former CIA Officer and whistleblower Kevin Shipp.

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  • Fugitive Mastermind Of $4.5B 1MDB Fraud Is Fighting To Stop The Seizure Of His Family Mansion

    For somebody who is the subject of an international manhunt led by prosecutors on two continents, disgraced Malaysian financier and alleged 1MDB mastermind Jho Low has been surprisingly active in trying to stop the DoJ and prosecutors in Malaysia from seizing hundreds of millions of dollars of assets allegedly purchased with his ill-gotten gains.

    Low, who is believed to be hiding in China under the government’s protection, has been waging an expensive public relations campaign to clear his name, while trying to block the asset seizures through a team of international lawyers – all while insisting that the only reason he has remained in hiding is that he believes he wouldn’t be able to receive a fair trial in Malaysia.

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    But despite Low’s best efforts, American prosecutors have moved ahead with the seizures, and have seized or auctioned off yachts, art work, jewelry (including gifts to supermodel Miranda Kerr) and even some of the proceeds from ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, which was purportedly financed with some of the money siphoned from the doomed (Goldman Sachs-financed) sovereign wealth fund.

    American prosecutors are also preparing to auction off millions of dollars in real estate, including luxury hotel and an LA mansion all purportedly purchased with 1MDB money have been seized by American prosecutors and are now on the auction block.

    But in Malaysia, there’s one piece of property that Low isn’t prepared to surrender without a fight.

    Low, who remains at large, dropped his claims to a stake in the Park Lane Hotel in New York City last year, paving the way for the property to be sold and the funds returned to Malaysia by the U.S. Justice Department. This week, lawyers for Low asked a U.S. judge to let them take the first steps toward selling two luxury condominiums in Manhattan, which are part of U.S. forfeiture lawsuits linked to 1MDB. Who will keep the proceeds remains unresolved as Low continues to fight the suits.

    And that’s a mansion belonging to his mother, which the Malaysian government is trying to seize, Bloomberg reports.

    Through a team of lawyers, Low is fighting the seizure, arguing that his family has lived in the property since long before 1MDB existed, and that they have the documentation to prove it.

    Low said the purchase and construction of his family home in the Malaysian state of Penang predated the state fund, as his mother Goh Gaik Ewe holds a certificate of occupation dated July 2000. A spokesman for Low, through his U.S. lawyers, provided the occupancy certificate.

    Malaysia is seeking to seize the mansion as part of a 680 million ringgit ($162 million) civil forfeiture action. The assets include handbags, cars and cash, which the government alleges were bought using funds siphoned from 1MDB, which was set up in 2009. A local court said on Thursday that the government may invite anyone to submit claims of ownership on the list of seized items, according to Ragunath Kesavan, who represents Low’s mother.

    In an open letter published Thursday, Low argued that the seizure is part of a “personal vendetta” against him orchestrated by the Malaysian government, and that seizing the property would put the health and safety of his family at risk. Moreover, prosecutors’ aggressive tack is further proof that Low wouldn’t be able to receive a fair trial in Malaysia, he said.

    What comes next? Well, we wouldn’t be surprised to see prosecutors offer Low a deal: Surrender, and in return, his family can keep their home.

  • The Places In America Where Diabetes Rates Are Increasing The Fastest

    Submitted by Priceonomics

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    Today, over 30 million Americans suffer from the disease, 71 thousand limbs are amputated each year due to its complications, and it costs over $300 BN each year.

    And it’s about to get worse. In every part of the United States, it’s expected to get costlier and more pervasive. Given that much of the treatment of diabetes and its prevention is up to the patient, managing one’s mental health is inextricably linked to improving diabetes outcomes. We thought we’d investigate the data further.

    Along with Priceonomics customer PsyDPrograms.org, we decided to analyze data from the Institute of Alternative Futures which has projected diabetes rates by state and major metro in the US from 2015 up to 2030.  According to this analysis, the diabetes rate will increase 38% in America. By 2030, the state with the highest rate of diabetes will be West Virginia, where over 20% of the population will be afflicted. The state with the lowest projected diabetes rate is Utah where just 10% of people are projected to have the disease. Among major metros examined, Miami is projected to have the highest diabetes rates and Minneapolis the lowest.

    ***

    Before diving into the results, let’s review the data and methodology that underlies this report. The data comes from the Institute for Alternative Futures, an organization that forecasts future trends and studied this issue in 2015. For our purposes, we looked at the number of both diagnosed and undiagnosed cases of diabetes in a given location compared to the overall population there to calculate the diabetes rates across America.

    As for 2015, 11.1% of Americans have diabetes. That unfortunately is as low as it’s projected to get:

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    By 2030, the diabetes rate in America is projected to rise by 38% to reach 15.3% of the population. Considering the latest estimates from the American Diabetes Association put the economic cost of disease at $327BN per year in America, the economic and human toll of the disease will continue to rise and deepen the epidemic.

    By 2030, how will the diabetes landscape look across America? The next chart shows the projected diabetes rate by state across the country:

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    By 2030, over 20% of West Virginians are projected to have diabetes, a level amounting to a public health catastrophe. Mississippi, Florida, and Alabama are the states with next highest rates of the disease. In fact, the American South has a virtual lock on all the top places where diabetes will be an epidemic in 2030.

    On the other hand, the projected diabetes rate in Utah is 10.2%, the lowest in the country. While that’s still a significant portion of the population, it’s half as much as the rate in West Virginia. Virtually all the top 10 places in the country with the lowest diabetes rates are predominantly rural environments. Not only will West Virginia have the highest diabetes rate in 2030, but it’s projected to grow the fastest.

    Over approximately the next fifteen years, the diabetes rate will increase nearly 40% in these states. With the exception of Ohio and Delaware, all these states are again located in the South. The CDC notes that areas with lower levels of education and higher obesity rates tend to have higher rates of diabetes.

    Lastly, let’s look at the diabetes rates in larger American cities. The next chart shows the projected diabetes rates in major Metro areas:

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    Among this set of large cities, Miami is projected to have the highest diabetes rate of nearly 19% by 2030. Miami is followed by New Orleans and Charlotte as the cities with the highest diabetes rates. While Minneapolis is the city with the lowest diabetes rate among major metros, still nearly 12% of its population is projected to have diabetes by 2030.

    ***

    By all accounts, diabetes has become an epidemic in the United States, and it’s projected to get much worse. Today over 30 million people have diabetes and another 70 million have “pre-diabetes,” a condition that progresses to diabetes if not treated within 5 years. By 2020, approximately 20% of the population in places like West Virginia, Mississippi, and Florida are projected to be diabetic. Even in the places where diabetes is expected to be less prevalent like Utah, still over 10% of the population will have the disease.

    The human and economic toll of a single case of diabetes is staggering. Reduction in quality of life, additional health complications associated with the disease, psychological trauma, amputation of limbs and ultimately premature death are all results of diabetes. At the same time, the rising cost of insulin and treatments for the disease and its complications put a huge economic toll on society. Solving the economic, physical, and mental health aspects of this disease is among the most important public health challenges we face in the United States.

  • New Satellite Imagery Reveals Chinese Navy Simulating An Invasion On Taiwan

    New satellite images show the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) recently conducted war games to simulate an invasion of Taiwan, reported ThePrint.

    The PLAN used Type 071 (NATO reporting name: Yuzhao), an amphibious transport dock, designed to carry 800 fully armed troops, dozens of vehicles and landing crafts, and four helicopters, was used to practice circular deployment with other vessels ahead of a beach assault.

    “This formation [circular deploymen] provides safety from shore fire as well as aerial attacks, since most landing ships carry only short-range air defence and close-in weapon systems (CIWS),” said ThePrint.

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    A Type 072A vessel (NATO reporting name: Yuting II), a landing ship designed to carry 250 fully armed troops ten tanks, four landing craft, a medium helicopter, was used to transport amphibious vehicles near the beach landing. Ahead of the invasion simulation, reconnaissance aircraft surveilled above.

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    The amphibious exercise used landing craft air cushion vessels to bring troops and vehicles ashore. Some of the first vehicles on land were type-08 amphibious armored vehicles and/or Type 05 amphibious fighting vehicles.

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    The PLAN’s recent upgrade of landing craft air cushion vessels demonstrates that these hovercraft will be used in future military exercises.

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    ThePrint said the PLAN also practiced re-embarkation after the landing exercise and regrouping to fine-tune their amphibious warfare tactics.

    “The re-embarkation is rarely caught on satellite imagery. This exclusive satellite image displays the process of re-embarkation with five amphibious fighting vehicles lined up in the queue for loading on Type-72 Yukan and Yuting class vessels,” ThePrint said.

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    China has vigorously criticized any action by Taiwan to acquire Western armament, claiming that the militarization of the Taiwan Strait is damaging the ‘One-China policy,’ which states that Taiwan will eventually be reunified with the mainland.

    While China has never ruled out the possibility of invasion and it has continued acquiring the military capability to do so, Taiwan’s air, sea and land forces, conducted a war exercise Thursday to repel an invading army.

    Regional tensions have also grown due to China’s territorial claims and aspirations in the South China Sea, something which has prompted Japan to cast aside its postwar pacifism.

    With the probability of China taking Taiwan by force is rising, the military balance in the Taiwan Strait is firmly in China’s favor.

    With both sides preparing for a cross-strait war, it’s only a matter of time before the powder keg is ignited.

     

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