Barack Obama Arrives in Berlin to Meet With Angela Merkel in Private

Former US President Barack Obama traveled to Berlin on Friday to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel at her office in private.

German officials characterized the meeting as “routine.”

Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert defended the meeting as standard operating procedure and said she has met repeatedly with ex-heads of state and government “with whom she worked together closely and well for a time,” WRAL reported.

He said the meeting has no implications for current German-U.S. relations. Asked whether it was a signal to President Donald Trump, with whom Germany has a sometimes-complicated relationship, Seibert replied: “I would firmly reject that impression.”

Photo of Obama waving as he left the chancellerly alongside Merkel on Friday:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/04/barack-obama-arrives-in-berlin-to-meet-with-angela-merkel-in-private/

Israel To Send 250,000 Settlers To Syria's Golan Heights

Israel is planning to settle some 250,000 settlers in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights over the next 30 years, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority (IBA) revealed yesterday.

According to Anadolu, the report comes one week after US President Donald Trump signed a presidential decree recognising the Golan Heights as “Israeli territory”.

According to the IBA, the Israeli plan also includes construction of two new Jewish settlements in the occupied Golan Heights, along with thousands of new settlement units and a raft of planned transport and tourism projects.

The population of the occupied Golan Heights currently stands at some 50,000, including 22,000 settlers, according to Israeli figures.

Israel, which annexed the Golan Heights in 1981, has long pushed Washington to recognise its claim over the strategic plateau, which it seized from Syria during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, but previous US administrations had refrained from doing so.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-04-05/israel-send-250000-settlers-syrias-golan-heights

Hundreds of NGOs Beg ‘Mama Merkel’ to Restore EU Open Borders, Migrant Taxi Service

Pro-mass migration NGOs “shocked” at EU policies aimed at deterring illegal immigration have turned to Angela Merkel with a plea to open the bloc’s borders.

In an open letter released Wednesday, activists urged the German chancellor to force EU nations to adopt a three-point “emergency plan”, which would involve assisting third world migrants to reach Europe and then sharing them out across member states.

In it, the more than 250 NGOs who signed the appeal accuse EU leaders of “approving the deaths of thousands of people” with current policies aimed at deterring migrants from paying human trafficking gangs to ship them to Europe.

It is a “scandal” that people who help bring migrants into Europe are being criminalised, according to the letter, which argues EU policies to restrict illegal immigration “must be ended” on the basis they “not only threaten people’s lives but also put our own humanity on the line”.

Signed by a raft of mass migration-backing NGOs including Amnesty International, Sea Watch, Pro Asyl, SOS Méditerranée, and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the letter alleged a “reorientation of German and European politics”, based around ensuring “a dignified future for [migrants] and their families” was “more important than ever” ahead of May’s EU elections.

While the NGO alliance praised the German leader for her launch of an unprecedented wave of third world migration in 2015, the NGO alliance explained they were writing to Merkel “as the chancellor who made a decision to act European, at a critical moment”, before setting out their demands for “human rights and solidarity-based” border policies.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/04/05/ngos-beg-merkel-eu-open-borders/

Sinaloa Cartel Money Launderer Arrested in South Texas, Say Feds

A man accused of helping the Sinaloa Cartel launder millions through a Chicago-based operation was arrested near the Texas Border. The operation is believed to have cleaned at least $100 million via gold trades with the proceeds returning to Mexico.

This week, the U.S. Marshal’s Service arrested Teodocio Caro on a warrant out of the Northern District of Illinois, court documents obtained by Breitbart News revealed. Caro went before U.S. Magistrate Judge Juan F. Alanis, who notified him of the pending charges against him in Chicago and oversaw the proceeding to have him sent to Illinois where he is wanted on multiple money laundering charges. Court documents do not reveal why Caro was in South Texas, nor the exact city where the U.S. Marshal’s arrested him, but the man had been on the run for more than four years.

Prosecutors allege that Caro is part of a group of Sinaloa Cartel operators who, from 2011 to at least late 2014, would gather cash from the sale of drugs and purchase scrap gold and jewelry to re-sell. Court documents point to Caro being involved in moving at least $300,000 in drug money. According to the Miami Herald, a Florida-based cash-for-gold business called Golden Opportunities is believed to have helped launder close to $100 million by melting the gold and wiring money from the sales.

The Sinaloa Cartel is considered by the U.S. government to be one of the largest criminal organizations operating on both sides of the U.S.- Mexico Border. The most recent National Drug Threat Assessment claims the Sinaloa Cartel has established routes into Phoenix, Los Angeles, Denver, and Chicago. The cartel’s drugs are primarily pushed across the Mexican border with California, Arizona, New Mexico, and West Texas.

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2019/04/05/sinaloa-cartel-money-launderer-arrested-in-south-texas-say-feds/

‘We did not expect the world to be silent’: US continuing to kill civilians with impunity

The Trump administration, which made promises to rein in Washington’s unnecessary wars, has not only expanded the US’ covert and lethal drone program, but has taken the covering up of its civilian death toll to a whole new level.

Like most of the battlefields opened more widely under the Obama administration, Donald Trump ramped up airstrikes against the infamous Al-Shabaab terrorist group in Somalia approximately two years ago. And, like most drone wars expanded under Obama and dramatically widened under Trump, the details of this covert assault are continuously swept under the rug, particularly when it comes to civilian casualties.

The Pentagon has openly said that its airstrikes in Somalia have killed zero civilians.

Yet, recently, an Amnesty International investigation into just five of the strikes carried out since March 2017 by both manned and unmanned reaper aircraft found that the strikes resulted in at least 14 civilian deaths, with instances of eight civilian injuries as well. In total, the US has carried out more than 100 strikes in Somalia since 2017.

Amnesty has made it quite clear that the attacks have violated international humanitarian law, and may amount to war crimes (remember, they have only assessed five out of over 100 so far). Weirdly enough, the New York Times piece introducing this report failed to mention that last point, even when Amnesty mentioned it very early on in its release (though, that being said, the Times did slip a half-hearted attempt at adopting a moral and legal stance near the end of the article, noting that “critics have claimed” drone warfare “could also result in war crimes.”)

Not to worry though, when approached for comment by Amnesty International, the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) repeated the claim that no civilians have died in American operations in Somalia. So, that’s that then.

The US military truly is an amazing, benevolent force for good in the world, isn’t it? It managed to ramp up its airstrikes in Somalia after the US president signed an executive order in March 2017 declaring southern Somalia an “area of active hostilities.” It conducted more airstrikes in Somalia than in Libya and Yemen combined. Just in the first few months of 2019 alone, it has already carried out 24 strikes on Somali territory, compared to only 14 in the whole of 2016, prior to Trump taking office. In 2018, US airstrikes killed 326 people. And yet, not a single civilian has died or been injured. Remarkable.

One such strike on the hamlet of Farah Waeys in Somalia allegedly killed members “or affiliates of Al-Shabaab,” according to AFRICOM. Those affiliates, however, were actually two civilian men, as well as five women and children who were injured. Another strike killed three local farmers in the early hours of a morning in November 2017, who were resting after working all night digging canals. AFRICOM even admitted it carried an airstrike in the region on that same morning.

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/455568-us-civilian-death-toll-somalia/

Syrian FM accuses Trump administration of ‘lies’ about withdrawing troops

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said on Thursday that the Trump administration “lies” all the time about withdrawing its troops from the country. He accused Washington of going back and forth about its intention to withdraw the 2,500 troops the US maintains in northern Syria, AP reports. Muallem pledged to recover “every inch” of Syria’s territory, including the Golan Heights, saying all options were on the table. “Trump’s attempts to give Israel sovereignty over the Golan have only one effect… which is to increase America’s isolation even from its closest allies,” Muallem said. He spoke at a joint press conference in Damascus with Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza.

https://www.rt.com/newsline/455563-syria-trump-withdrawing-troops/

Ecuador’s UK ambassador REJECTS Wikileaks’ claims that Julian Assange is about to be expelled from its London embassy and arrested following deal with Britain – despite armed police surrounding the building

WikiLeaks whistleblower Julian Assange is to be kicked out of the Ecuadorean embassy, the website claims

The site posted Tweets saying high-level sources said he would be handed to UK police 'in hours or days'

An arrest warrant remains in place for Mr Assange after he was accused of sex crimes against Swedish women

Protesters arrived on the scene in the early hours after calls went out to 'protect' the WikiLeaks founder

The ambassador for Ecuador today insisted there is 'no change' in Julian Assange's position and it is an 'offence' to the country to suggest he will be expelled from it embassy.

Jaime Marchán spoke briefly to reporters as he left the building in Knightsbridge, west London at 2pm after it was claimed the whistleblower was set to be kicked out and arrested with 'hours or days'.

Wikileaks made the claims in a series of Tweets last night citing unnamed sources in the Ecuadorean authorities as confirming Mr Assange's seven-year stay would end imminently.

Armed police were also outside the west London embassy as protestors began arriving at the building early this morning following online calls for people to 'protect' the controversial whistleblower.

Mr Marchán was not recognised by members of the British press but was chased down the street by a freelance journalist from Chilean newspaper El Ciudadano Chile, Patricio Mery.

In the brief encounter he said: 'Ambassador, what is the position of the Ecuadorean government in relation to the WikiLeaks tip?'

Mr Marchán said: 'There is no change in the Señor Julian Assange's situation. To say we are going to take him out the embassy is an offence to Ecuador.'

Asked: 'Is he going to be released in the next couple of hours?'

The ambassador replied: 'We are definitely not going to comment on that.'

Later on Twitter Ecuador's minister of foreign affairs Jose Valencia insisted the claims were 'unfounded'.

He tweeted: 'The rumours of the imminent exit of Assange come from months ago.

'The govt will not be giving a running commentary about unfounded current rumours that furthermore are insulting.

'Ecuador takes its decisions in a sovereign manner independent of other countries.

'Diplomatic asylum is a sovereign power of a state which has the right to grant or withdraw it unilaterally when it considers it justified.'

Supporters continue to gather outside the embassy and news cameras still line the street opposite.

They erected tents outside the door and continued to arrive throughout the day, some holding posters and banners calling for him to be allowed to leave without fear of being arrested by police.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6888435/Julian-Assange-kicked-Ecuadorian-embassy-HOURS-arrested-says-WikiLeaks.html

German Lawmaker Brands NATO ‘Security Risk for The World’

Over recent days, as NATO celebrates its 70th anniversary, Germany has taken flak from US President Donald Trump and his Vice President Mike Pence for missing a 2 percent spending target of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence. However, in Germany, not only the increase of spending but the alliance’s very existence is seen critically.

Member of the German Parliament, the Bundestag, Alexander Neu, representing the left-wing party Die Linke, has lambasted NATO as an outdated organisation during a summit, celebrating the alliance’s 70th anniversary.

According to Neu, imperialist competitiveness and the fear of losing its supremacy economically and ideologically are driving NATO towards more confrontation, and this pattern “must finally be broken”. He stated that Die Linke is calling for Germany’s withdrawal from NATO's military structures and, then, the dissolution of NATO.

In his point of view, it should be replaced by a collective security system that includes Russia, with disarmament as a central goal, while the freed up funds should be used to curb climate change and its consequences.

The lawmaker wrote in an article for the independent portal Die Freiheitsliebe that the alliance poses a significant security risk to the world, using its military force solely to safeguard its own imperial interests, systematically breaks existing law and discredits the UN.

The politician insists that NATO’s anniversary is no reason for celebration, but rather an occasion to rethink “before it is too late”. He points out that NATO member states account for more than half of the world's military spending with $1 trillion by 2018.

https://sputniknews.com/europe/201904051073845639-germany-us-nato-dissolution/

Netanyahu, Israel's 'King Bibi', in quest for fifth term

Jerusalem (AFP) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's long domination of Israeli politics has earned him the nickname "King Bibi" but he now faces the twin risks of a strong political challenger in an April 9 election and possible indictment for corruption.

Should he win again for a fifth term in office, Netanyahu will be on track to surpass Israel's founding father David Ben-Gurion's record of more than 13 years in office.

But opinion polls show Netanyahu's right-wing Likud locked in a close battle with a centrist alliance led by former armed forces chief of staff Benny Gantz.

The attorney general has announced his intention to indict Netanyahu on fraud, bribery and breach of trust charges pending a hearing, which will be held after the election.

Netanyahu is not legally required to resign if indicted, only if convicted with all appeals exhausted, but political pressure would likely be intense.

Still, Netanyahu has spent years outlasting opponents through deft manoeuvring and right-wing leadership and he could well do so again.

He has campaigned with a combination of divisive populism and attempts to portray himself as a world statesman by talking up his relationships with foreign leaders, including US President Donald Trump.

Netanyahu has himself employed Trump-like tactics, denouncing "fake news" and calling the corruption investigations against him a "witch hunt."

"The country's situation is fantastic," he said on Monday.

"It's better than it has ever been. Our opponents have no way to deal with our accomplishments. They have no way – what can I say?"

• 'Mr. Security' -

The burly 69-year-old with his familiar grey comb-over has entrenched himself at the top so firmly that he is almost universally known by the nickname Bibi, which dates back to childhood.

Few doubt his political effectiveness.

Much of his popularity has to do with another nickname – "Mr. Security" – in a country where such issues are always on voters' minds.

His centrist challenger has threatened to outdo his carefully burnished credentials – not only is Gantz a former chief of staff, so are two key members of his team.

But Netanyahu has tackled the threat head-on, calling Gantz a "weak" leftist.

Netanyahu frequently talks openly about Israel's air war in Syria against Israel's arch foe Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah in Syria.

https://news.yahoo.com/netanyahu-defiant-decision-indict-him-ahead-polls-113340787.html

Tucker Points Out Trump Is Doing The Opposite Of What He Ran On

On his show Thursday night, Fox News host Tucker Carlson posed the question, "What if Trump doesn't want to be re-elected?"

He then listed off multiple steps the president would take to sabotage his own re-election.

From The Daily Caller:

“Let’s see, he might start by proposing more than half a billion dollars in Medicare cuts. That’s something that nobody outside the libertarian symposia circuit really wants to see. Then he’d slash funding for the E-Verify program that would allow companies to keep hiring illegal alien labor in violation of a key campaign promise,” Carlson said, referring to a series of ideas people in Trump’s world floated recently.

Carlson also suggested Trump could “release a bunch of drug dealers back onto the streets” in the middle of the drug epidemic, and continue military intervention in Syria.

Trump’s 2020 budget proposal suggested cuts to governmental programs. In particular, the president is seeking a roughly $1.9 trillion cut to programs, including major cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

He added: “You’d raise gas taxes. In fact, the administration is proposing just that. According to news reports, the White House is negotiating with Democrats to hike taxes on gasoline in order to fund ‘infrastructure.’ This is one of those ideas that everyone in Washington loves. It costs them nothing … If you live outside the coastal cities and you’re not rich, higher gas prices are a disaster.”

Trump supported a 25-cent-per-gallon hike in the gas tax, media reports from 2018 show. Trump also said he was “open to other ways” to pay for a major infrastructure build-out. Republican lawmakers generally oppose gas tax hike proposals, with some saying it would punish Americans’ pocketbooks. A 25-cent gas tax hike would increase the tax from 18.3 cents to 43.3 cents per gallon.

The caveat, of course, is that Trump is doing everything on the list. It's all quite frustrating, especially considering Trump keeps saying he wants to address many of these issues only to not follow through on anything (or do the opposite).

Just this week, he threatened to close the border with Mexico only to cave immediately.

All he needs to do is tell Jared Kushner to take a hike and appoint competent people who actually support the agenda he ran on but apparently that's asking too much.

http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=60026

Former Vanguard Supervisor Guilty of $2 Million Scam

Few names ring as many bells among domestic investors as Vanguard, an investment fund with over $5.3 trillion of assets under management. The company’s size, age and resume of reputability has led many investors to believe that entrusting the fund with their money is tantamount to placing it in a foolproof safe.

Yet according to a report from money.com, a recent incident involving a Vanguard employee showed that this is far from the case. The report states that in order for money to remain in an investment account, the account’s holder needs to display at least some activity on a semi-regular basis. In Philadelphia’s case, funds from accounts that haven’t been accessed for three years are transferred to the State Treasury, where they are held until an heir reclaims them. This most often happens with accounts belonging to the sick or elderly.

In 2012, a Vanguard supervisor decided to revise this process by transferring the inactive funds to himself, or, more specifically, his relative. Between 2012 and 2014, Pennsylvania’s Scott Capps abused his position with the company to divert the dormant assets to Lance Tobin, his brother-in-law. From there, Tobin would invest the money in real estate in order to muddy the money trail.

The scam went on for two years and netted Capps more than $2 million during the period. Capps did his best to erase any record of the activity while filing tax reports in accordance with his regular salary. Eventually, Capps’ scheme was discovered through unknown means, and the now-former employee and his associate pled guilty to a host of financial offenses.

Although Capps can be dismissed as single bad apple, his decades of honest work with the company prior to the incident only suggests that the human factor can, at any point, pose a security threat.

Vanguard representatives were scarce in their statements, insisting that this is an isolated incident and that their confidants’ money is secure. The spokespeople also said that every victim in the incident was reimbursed accordingly. But the case has placed doubts in the minds of many investors, especially given Capps’ seniority with the company. By the time of his departure, Capps had been a Vanguard employee for 23 years.

Elizabeth Loewy, co-founder of fraud-protection firm EverSafe, said that these cases are more common than people think, even with companies that give off an aura of impenetrable security. Loewy also said that such scams can often go on for years without being noticed.

Birch Gold Group has pulled together an extensive resource guide to help people detect and avoid financial scams. Some scams may be hard to detect, but the Birch Gold Group Scam Protection Resource Guide, now available on our website, can help you be better equipped to identify risks to your finances.

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/former-vanguard-supervisor-guilty-of-2-million-scam/

Government committee declares HPV vaccines should never be given to teenage boys … Media pursues total BLACKOUT on the story

A finding by the U.K.’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), that it is not advisable to administer the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to boys, has been met with absolute outrage and a virtual media blackout. Medical professionals in that country have been so indoctrinated by pharmaceutical companies to believe that this vaccine is life-saving that, according to The Guardian, 94 percent of general practitioners and 97 percent of dentists believe that both boys and girls should receive the shot.

All British girls between the age of 12 and 13 have been offered the HPV vaccine as part of the National Health Service’s immunization program since 2008. The JCVI has been deliberating for three years about whether this program should also be extended to include boys.

While the committee is not claiming that the vaccine would be harmful to young males, its interim statement claims that boys automatically receive herd protection by virtue of the high number of girls being vaccinated. They believe that it is therefore “highly unlikely to be cost-effective” for boys to also be given the vaccine.

There has been a concerted effort by Big Pharma and the media to push this vaccine on young people around the globe. Is it really true, however, that HPV is a life-threatening virus, and that it is vitally important to be vaccinated?

It is important to understand that the human papillomavirus is actually incredibly common, and for the most part, causes few health problems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes, “HPV is so common that nearly all sexually active people get it at some point in their lives. … In most cases, HPV goes away on its own and does not cause any health problems.”

https://www.naturalnews.com/2017-07-26-government-committee-declares-hpv-vaccines-should-never-be-given-to-teenage-boys.html

Secret Document Reveals Plans for Civil War in Lebanon, Israeli False Flags, and Invasion

The validity of this document should be questioned. That said, the plan is consistant with the U.S. SOP for regime change.

Beirut (GPA) – During his visit with US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, Lebanese President Michael Aoun reportedly received a US-Israeli document detailing plans for creating a civil war in Lebanon with covert false flag operations and possible Israeli invasion.

Although the source of the document is Israeli and created in partnership with Washington, no one knows who presented it to Aoun. The Lebanese TV station, Al-Jadeed, initially reported the document on Lebanese TV and a video on its website. Geopolitics Alert translated the report for this article.

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/71994/secret-document-reveals-plans-for-civil-war-in-lebanon-israeli-false-flags-and.html

https://geopoliticsalert.com/civil-war-lebanon-false-flag

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/71994/secret-document-reveals-plans-for-civil-war-in-lebanon-israeli-false-flags-and.html

Doctors Are Now Giving 8-Year-Old Girls Testosterone, Claiming They're 'Transgender'

Through FOIA requests, Dr. Michael Laidlaw, a California-based endocrinologist, and some of his colleagues “found that in 2017 they lowered the minimum age for cross-sex hormones from 13 to 8,” the report said.

”Imagine giving 8-year-old girls testosterone," Laidlaw offered. ”They are in 3rd or 4th grade. This is unbelievable. But this is going on."

During the panel discussion, the endocrinologist detailed the dangers of medically treating children who are confused about their gender and showcased video clips of doctors Ilana Sherer and Johanna Olson-Kennedy, both of whom medically treat “transgender” children. The Christian Post reported:

Sherer explained that puberty blockers are given to children at age 8 or 9, when they are in third and fourth grades. Olson-Kennedy is doing a 5-year study, for which she has received a $5.7 million National Institutes of Health research grant, and in one of her publications, it shows that mastectomies have been done on girls as young as 13. In the clip Laidlaw showed, Olson-Kennedy is seen on tape insisting adolescents have the capacity to make life-altering decisions, including to have their breasts removed.

Gender-confused teen girls as young as 13, Laidlaw warned, are having their breasts removed via mastectomy procedures, and boys the age of 17 are developing penises the developmental age of a nine-year-old’s or losing sexual sensation all together due to hormone blockers. Laidlaw cited TLC’s "I am Jazz” star Jazz Jennings as such an example. Jazz, who is male-to-female transgender, has reportedly never experienced sexual sensations or orgasms because of puberty-blocking drugs, the endocrinologist said.

“Under the nebulous concept of ‘gender identity,’ children as young as 8 are receiving injections for gender transition treatment,” explained Laidlaw, according to The Christian Post report. “The phrase was defined in a recent court case as a person's ‘core internal sense’ of their own gender and that it was the ‘primary factor’ in determining their sex, not biology,” he added, noting that this information is false.

"This whole thing is an experiment on children,” asserted Laidlaw. “We are ignoring the voices of desisters and people who have come out of this and recognize their sex. And the NIH is allowing unethical research to be conducted on adolescents, in my opinion."

A woman who has a “trans-identifying child” named Elaine also spoke out about the dangers in medically treating “trans” children.

“It’s not acceptable for doctors to remove healthy limbs from children, so why is it acceptable for doctors to remove healthy reproductive organs from children?" the mother asked.

"The 'experts' tell parents that it is harmful to question their children’s beliefs, that they must support their children’s medical transition, which includes a lifetime dependence on hormones, and that if parents do not comply, their children will be at higher risk of suicide," she said, adding, "These parents are being lied to as their children are harmed and their families are torn apart."

http://www.madnesshub.com/2019/04/doctors-are-now-giving-8-year-old-girls.html

Former Employee of D.C. School Admits to Transporting Child Pornography Across State Lines and Accessing it Over the Dark Web

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-employee-dc-school-admits-transporting-child-pornography-across-state-lines-and

US denies visa to ICC chief prosecutor, unhappy with her probing American war crimes in Afghanistan

Washington has annulled the entry visa of Fatou Bensouda, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, after the State Department vowed to shield Americans from “unjust prosecutions” of possible war crimes in Afghanistan.

“We can confirm that the US authorities have revoked the prosecutor’s visa for entry into the US,” Bensouda’s office told Reuters in an email. However, the move should not restrict her travels to the UN headquarters in New York City.

Less than a month ago, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made clear that the US would not allow Americans to live in “fear of unjust prosecutions” just because thousands of citizens were sent to “defend” their country on the other side of the globe, some 7,000 miles away.

“If you’re responsible for the proposed ICC investigation of US personnel in connection with the situation in Afghanistan, you should not assume that you still have, or will get, a visa or that you will be permitted to enter the United States,” he warned in mid-March.

Over the last two years, the Gambian lawyer has been probing US-led war crimes in Afghanistan but has not yet opened a formal investigation into alleged atrocities conducted over the last 18 years. For now, the preliminary inquiry remains in Pre-Trial Chamber, even though Bensouda found a “reasonable basis to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in connection with the armed conflict in Afghanistan.”

Only the American military system can judge the servicemen, Pompeo said, warning the ICC to drop their inquiry. “We are prepared to take additional steps, including economic sanctions, if the ICC does not change course,” Pompeo warned.

The ICC is investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by various parties in the protracted conflict, including US forces, as detailed in a 2016 report. The part concerning unidentified members of the US military and intelligence relates to dozens of cases in 2003-2004, and alleged crimes like torture, cruel treatment, and sexual assault.

The ICC says those crimes may have been committed in furtherance of US policy in the freshly occupied country, rather than a set of individual unrelated atrocities. In light of this, Washington’s resistance to the probe may be more than a sign of principled rejection of any international authority over US nationals.

US courts have not been very forthcoming in prosecuting Americans for such crimes. A notable exception is the case of retired US Army Ranger turned CIA civilian contractor David Passaro. Over two nights in 2003, he tortured to death an Afghan man named Abdul Wali, who turned himself in after being accused of taking part in a rocket attack on a US base.

Passaro was sentenced to serve eight years and four months in prison, and later said he was a scapegoat for the US government, which wanted to show the public that it was holding the CIA accountable in the wake of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/71992/us-denies-visa-to-icc-chief-prosecutor-unhappy-with-her-probing-american-war-crimes.html

David Stringer Said ‘I Don’t Like to Demonize’ Child Sex Trafficking: Report

Arizona ethics investigators say two Prescott women allege former Arizona Rep. David Stringer made disturbing comments relating to the trafficking and abuse of children.

Statements attributed to Stringer, who resigned last week over sex crimes allegations dating back to the 1980s, include reluctance to condemn child sex trafficking and the claim that sexual abuse of children is benign in its impact on victims.

The Arizona Republic reported that Stringer’s alleged statements have been recorded in notes taken by members of the House Ethics Committee during conversations with the two women.

The state House of Representatives released the notes on April 3.

‘Don’t Like to Demonize It’

One case relates to an alleged conversation between Stringer and Merissa Hamilton, a child sex trafficking victim and activist.

Hamilton told House Ethics Committee investigators that she Stringer were sitting together at an event that she recorded on video, which has since been published on YouTube.

In the video, Hamilton and a person alleged to be Stringer can be heard discussing what issue he should ask the speaker about, and she suggests raising the issue of child sex trafficking.

The man responds by saying that he thinks concerns about child sex trafficking are “demagoguery” and “I don’t like to demonize it.”

The male voice attributed to Stringer is also heard saying that while he doesn’t think there is much child sex trafficking, there are “a lot of 15-year-old prostitutes.”

Stringer in a comment on Facebook on April 4 responded to Hamilton’s claims by saying, “It has come to my attention that one of my former campaign supporters has jumped on the bandwagon denouncing me for things I have never said and don’t believe.

“Merissa Hamilton, the former 2016 Libertarian candidate for the US Senate, claims to have left the Libertarian party because it was infiltrated by pedophiles.

“At an RWOP luncheon last May she brought up the subject of child sex trafficking, claiming it was a crisis. Apparently, I wasn’t sufficiently enthusiastic to suit Ms. Hamilton. She now claims to be alarmed at my skepticism about finding child rape harnesses in the desert and pedophile rings under every rock.”

https://www.theepochtimes.com/david-stringer-said-i-dont-like-to-demonize-child-sex-trafficking-report_2867947.html

A Top Progressive Consulting Firm Is Doing PR for an Israeli Spy Company

A prominent political communications shop that works on Democratic campaigns, employs Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton campaign alums, and boasts of its role in the fight for gun control and LGBT equality is representing an Israeli firm notorious for selling powerful surveillance technology to authoritarian governments around the world.

NSO Group, which is facing multiple lawsuits charging that its technology was used to spy on journalists and dissidents, hired SKDKnickerbocker to help with media inquiries as the spy firm tries to turn around its marred image.

The hiring, which was first reported by FastCompany, is the latest example of how SKDKnickerbocker is anything but progressive, despite the way it markets itself.

The agency, owned by a private equity firm run by former Clinton pollster Mark Penn, has done work for the LGBT group Human Rights Campaign and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, but it has also taken on clients like Amazon and Starbucks. Still, SKDKnickberbocker’s decision to work for NSO Group despite its close ties to repressive governments in Mexico and the Middle East is particularly striking.

“SKDKnickerbocker represents a number of cause-oriented clients and the work to prevent and investigate terrorism in order to save lives is a cause that is especially important,” SKDKnickerbocker said in a statement to The Intercept. “What sets NSO apart from many other cyber technology firms is its commitment to an ethical business framework that relies on the expertise of people with national security and intelligence backgrounds from around the world to evaluate potential customers and review current customers. In our post-9/11 world, keeping up with technologically sophisticated terrorists is a critical mission.”

The communications and consulting firm is now a central part of the NSO Group’s public relations offensive, launched after a spate of reports revealed how NSO’s infamous Pegasus spyware has invaded the phones of journalists and activists, turning their iPhones and Androids into walking spy devices. In addition to retaining the services of SKDKnickerbocker, NSO Group, a company worth $830 million, has created a website, bought Google Ads, and opened its doors to a television news crew.

“They’re trying to do damage control,” said Courtney Radsch, advocacy director at the Committee to Protect Journalists.

https://theintercept.com/2019/04/05/pegasus-spyware-pr-skdknickerbocker/