Daily News Thread 3/29

US judge rules 9/11 suits against Saudi can proceed

A U.S. judge on Wednesday rejected Saudi Arabia’s bid to dismiss lawsuits claiming that it helped plan the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and should pay billions of dollars in damages to victims.
reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-sept11/saudi-arabia-must-face-u-s-lawsuits-over-sept-11-attacks-idUSKBN1H43A1

North & South Korea set April 27 as date for leaders’ summit in breakthrough move

In a breakthrough move, Pyongyang and Seoul have finally set a date for a summit between the two nations’ leaders. The meeting – the third ever of this kind – will be on April 27.
rt.com/news/422645-north-south-korea-leaders-summit/

David Shulkin: Sacked secretary in parting shot at Trump

Fired Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin says that political forces in the Trump administration want to privatize the VA — and that he was standing in the way.
bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43574256

68 killed in Venezuela police station riot & fire

At least 68 people have been killed at a Venezuela police station, where an apparent riot and escape attempt resulted in a fire. The casualties have been confirmed by the country's prosecutor general.
rt.com/news/422644-venezuela-prison-riot-fire/

Russia to close US consulate in St. Petersburg, expel 60 diplomats as Washington did – Lavrov

Russia will expel sixty US diplomats and close the US consulate in St. Petersburg, in a response mirroring the mass expulsion of Russian diplomats initiated by the US and UK, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
rt.com/news/422720-russia-us-closes-consulate/

France: Former President Sarkozy to Face Trial for Corruption, Influence Peddling

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy will face trial on charges he misused his influence to secure details of an inquiry into alleged irregularities in his 2007 election campaign according to reports in the French media.
telesurtv.net/english/news/France-Former-President-Sarkozy-to-Face-Trial-for-Corruption-Influence-Peddling-20180329-0005.html

Brazil’s President Is So Unpopular His Party Doesn’t Want Him to Run

Brazil’s President Michel Temer is so unpopular that he has so far failed to convinced many in his own party that he is a viable candidate for the country’s top job in this year’s elections.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-29/brazil-president-so-unpopular-his-party-doesn-t-want-him-to-run

FBI agent charged over leaks to The Intercept – report

An FBI agent in Minnesota has been charged over leaking secret documents to The Intercept, reportedly related to threats made by individuals from a particular Middle Eastern country and the FBI’s use of informants.
rt.com/usa/422639-minnesota-fbi-intercept-leak/

Julian Assange silenced: Ecuador cutting off WikiLeaks founder's communications

Ecuador's government is cutting off WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's communications outside the nation's London embassy.
ibtimes.co.uk/julian-assange-silenced-ecuador-cutting-off-wikileaks-founders-communications-1665597

Russian News Service RT to Go Off the Air in the Washington Area

Russia’s English-language broadcasting network RT, described by U.S. intelligence agencies as part of Moscow’s “state-run propaganda machine,” will disappear from television screens in the nation’s capital at midnight Sunday.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-29/russian-news-service-rt-to-go-off-the-air-in-the-washington-area

New York cabbies challenge Uber, Lyft amid driver-suicide spike

New York taxi drivers are calling for stricter regulation of ride-sharing services. Their protest comes after four cab drivers committed suicide over financial difficulties exacerbated by Uber and Lyft competition.
rt.com/usa/422714-new-york-cabbies-challenge-uber/

Houston officer kills unarmed man walking with trousers down

A US police officer shot dead an unarmed man walking in traffic with his trousers down, and his family says it looks like "premeditated murder".
bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43574249

Oklahoma Teachers Win Pay Raise, But Say Strike Will Proceed to Challenge 'Decade of Neglect'

"There is still work to do to get this legislature to invest more in our classrooms. That work will continue Monday when educators descend on the Capitol."
commondreams.org/news/2018/03/29/oklahoma-teachers-win-pay-raise-say-strike-will-proceed-challenge-decade-neglect

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Other urls found in this thread:

nakedcapitalism.com/2018/03/millennials-waiting-end-capitalism.html
tif.ssrc.org/2018/03/29/the-geopolitics-of-the-shithole/
theintercept.com/2018/03/29/herman-bell-black-panther-parole-nypd-new-york/
socialistworker.org/2018/03/29/when-workers-shut-down-kansas-city
rt.com/usa/422728-trump-syria-leave-troops/?
twitter.com/AnonBabble

Only if it is state-run can it be a propaganda machine. Fucking ancap-tier logic. All of the major news networks eat the McDonald's out of Trump's asshole.

Forgot my posting of shit flag

OP/ED

Millennials Are Waiting For The End Of Capitalism

Not surprisingly, Millennials are not in very good financial shape…..
nakedcapitalism.com/2018/03/millennials-waiting-end-capitalism.html

The geopolitics of the “shithole”

tif.ssrc.org/2018/03/29/the-geopolitics-of-the-shithole/

Why the Backlash to Former Black Panther Herman Bell’s Parole Risks Setting a Dangerous Precedent

theintercept.com/2018/03/29/herman-bell-black-panther-parole-nypd-new-york/

When workers shut down Kansas City

One hundred years ago this week, workers in Kansas City workers organized a general strike, showing the strength of solidarity across race and gender.
socialistworker.org/2018/03/29/when-workers-shut-down-kansas-city

Way to leave a bomb there, Shulkin.

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I saw a report on this this morning, I think it was CNN or Euronews. They said something along the lines of "thanks to the current situation in Venezuela, events like this are not unlikely. Many prisons are stuffed, and a lot of prisoners regularly use drugs, some even have weapons.", completely missing the irony that the second part of the statement perfectly describes any average american (as in both latin america and the states) prison.

I honestly don't get why there's such a big public freakout over this, who gives a shit about this dude anymore?

I'm calling it now. Kim has a masterplan in the works. He has recognized that now the US has a repulsive figurehead to match its repulsive politics and diplomacy so he's getting in the favor of everyone near him, and really pushing the idea of denuclearization where, predictably, Trump (likely at the behest of Bolton) will somehow squander what looks to be the greatest chance at peace with the DPRK in recent history. This is where South Korea realizes they're really sick of the US' shit (China is already there). Boom DPRK is cool with Asia again without having bent a knee to the US. Abe and Japan's gov might be too proud but their citizens are probably tired of being awaken to those missile alarms and who knows how much longer Abe is gonna be around anyway.

also very blessed picture of the great leader cracking a couple jokes with big man Xi

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NK has been on the US's chopping block for a long while, for numerous reasons. They're another in the long list of minor allies/satellite states surrounding China and Russia, the isolation of which is paramount to the US. With the conflict in Syria simmering, the US has to keep attention from focusing on that, and the recent bellicosity towards NK is a part of that imo.

As things currently stand, there are only two possible outcomes for NK: destruction, or capitulation. Even with the nuclear deterrent, in a serious conflict North Korea can't win. They might inflict tremendous damage, draw out their defeat and make it a costly one, butt ultimately military defeat is a certainty. The NK strategy up to now has been deterring conflict by making the apparent cost of victory too high for the US to "buy" in terms of public sentiment and potential military losses. With the advent of drones, and the apparent disregard for popular opposition for military deployment, that arithmetic has changed significantly. For example, the US could relegate the combat heavy lifting to South Korea (and maybe even the Japanese military if Abe has his way), while bringing the vast resources of their navy, air force, and various special forces to bear. Even the nuclear deterrent is depreciated in value thanks in part to THAAD, regardless of whether or not it actually works, as well as the increasing capabilities of their long range weapons. On the one hand, its threat value to its neighbors is diminished, and on the other it's increased towards the US. In either case, the likelihood of "intervention" on the Korean peninsula is increased.

Increasingly, NK is facing the prospect of an interventionist American military unrestrained by public opinion, and the threat of political fallout is apparently no longer enough to keep the Yankees at bay.

I think in recent months, we've been seeing NK move towards a policy of capitulation, with the ultimate aim of reintegration with SK. Their joint participation in the Olympics is a significant example.

One of the major impediments towards Korean unification has been Chinese opposition to a unified peninsula under the regime of an American ally, that would allow American military bases literally on their border. It's bad enough there are bases in South Korea and in spitting distance of Beijing, but the idea of Americans grinning at them from the other side of the Yalu is utterly unacceptable.

There's also the Koreas' economic importance to all involved to consider. NK's economy is anemic compared to its southern neighbor, but it's not entirely inconsequential. In an era of shrinking and vanishing markets, the prospects of modernizing a country of 25 million people are substantial for all involved.

What I think we're seeing now is the beginning of the political reintegration process of the Korean peninsula. With the Korean War finally officially over, both states lose the necessity of a standing army. I imagine that China is willing to let it go forward in exchange for demilitarization to a self-defense/security force, plus the addition of neutrality in the same vein as Switzerland. I doubt the Americans would be willing to give up their bases there, but would be allowed to keep them if they didn't expand any further north. The Kims will get political immunity and a major stake in post-unification economic interests.

This would be a parallel move on the part of both China and the US. Ostensibly, both "lose" an ally, but neither "gain" an enemy. I think the potential economic benefits would be attractive to both parties, with the US banking on their current economic preeminence with the South, and China banking on their expanding market eventually supplanting the US. I doubt Japan will be happy with an even more economically significant Korea right on its border, but credit for helping secure the termination of the Korean nuclear threat would be significant to anyone that could get it.

So, yeah, Korea soon, my dudes.

I'm unsure if capitulation is the right term, if anything it appears to be capitulation on North Korea's own terms. A sentiment that's been shared amongst NK scholars recently has been "Diplomacy is NK's new nuclear program," that NK is acceleratingly covering all diplomatic bases to establish friendly relations–highlighted by Kim's laughing with SK and now Xi. I don't think re-unification is actually in the cards for NK at the moment, and if it is, it's being conceptualized at all, it's been as a long-term and gradual transition.

If NK can broker some sort of economic deal with these nations, likely relating to some splitting of its incredibly rich land, they might just avoid some US action; Trump would never turn down a deal if the US were somehow allowed the spoils of NK's land without any of fighting–and he's not one to care about any moral questions/backlash for accepting it. NK's next moves in my mind? Attempting to establish relations with Japan, whose increasingly unpopular Abe is the only one in the region soft on military action.

Not going to happen as long as Moon Jae In is president of South Korea.

Why US selling weapon for Sauds but also suing them??
So annoying………………..

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I can't see NK abandoning years of anti-capitalist aggression sentiment in the name of self preservation. I think any deal for the reunification of Korea would HAVE to include the disbandment of any and all US bases on the peninsula. Kim would say something along the lines of 'they were there (in small part) for North Korea and unification would render them obsolete'.

As said recently (although not new)


This isn't the government suing directly but granting citizens the right to sue. I imagine Trump, like Obama, isn't a fan of this as it sets a precedent of allowing foreigners to sue US companies. Luckily, Trump definitely cant be seen agreeing with Obama especially on a matter as touchy with his base as 9/11 victims. So Trump has been extremely quiet on the matter.

This, it'd be frankly a dumb move to boot given the lessons of Libya and I doubt Kim is dumb

President Donald Trump has made a surprise announcement that US forces will be withdrawing from Syria

rt.com/usa/422728-trump-syria-leave-troops/?

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We'll see. I read (on RT I think) that there are rumors of backchannel talks between Japan and the DPRK ongoing right now. Which would be… it's not even 4D Go anymore, he is going beyond.

I don't think it really counts as losing an ally for the US if they keep their bases. If there is free movement of people in the whole of Korea, the Chinese will not abide an open US presence anywhere in the peninsula.
Only devalued in the minds of dumb people, which I agree is exactly where a risk lies.

Stopped reading there. THAAD is a scam designed to sucker off money from the DoD.

Ceras can sue McDonald's???

but then the Pentagon and State dept denied it

Yeah, it probably is, but what's more important is how well it's perceived to work rather than how well, or even if, it actually works.

But hey, thanks for keeping an open mind.

For the same reason ancient empires traded tribute back and forth.


From the little I've read, it sounds like the issue of German reunification was a really acrimonious affair with a lot of hand wringing and hurt feelings on all sides. I can't help but imagine that Korean reunification would also mean large amounts of angst, but I guess the political atmosphere is a lot different now, too.

Robespierre.jpg

How cathartic is the Sarkozy news for French anons? Is it anything to be celebrated or does Macron have everyone feeling dour?

I don't currently live in France, so I don't know if it gets a lot of coverage.
The whole thing lives me cold tbh. I first heard about that story back in 2012 and I was very excited by the idea of this fucking piece of shit taking the fall.
But since then I learned that politicians of that kind never go to prison. I don't know what it would take for it to happen. He could have killed a man (which he probably indirectly did), he would bullshit his way out of it.

i hate wahhabist monarchs as much as the next guy but the government of saudi arabia has literally nothing to do with 9/11

its a right wing conspiracy theory.

thats like forcing israel to pay for 9/11 claiming they are responsible

Fucking with the Saudi government is good praxis though.

Are we actually going to war with Russia? I thought it'd be Iran.

Iran will spiral into a war with Russia and China

Por que no los dos?

Considering how much the Saudis fund terrorism, is it that crazy to hold them atleast partially responsible?

Disgusting