Bergman Blasts EU's Collusion With Iran

On January 31, Britain, France and Germany announced a new payment mechanism known as the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX). It was designed to preserve the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, after the US left the deal in May 2018 and reinstated – as well as broadened – US sanctions on the country in November 2018. The main purpose of INSTEX is to ensure that Europe – and potentially third countries – can continue doing business with the mullahs in Iran without risking US penalties for contravening US sanctions.

"INSTEX will support legitimate European trade with Iran, focusing initially on the sectors most essential to the Iranian population – such as pharmaceutical, medical devices and agri-food goods," the foreign ministers of Britain, Germany and France said in a joint statement. In the longer term, INSTEX aims to be open to other countries wanting to trade with Iran, the statement said. Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, said INSTEX was "essential for the continued full implementation of the nuclear deal". Mogherini seems strongly committed to ensuring that Iran – and Europe – continue receiving economic benefits from the illegal, unsigned, and unratifiedIran deal. "Alongside Iran's implementation, the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions is an essential part of the deal so we will continue to work to preserve the economic dividends of sanctions lifting," Mogherini said recently. "Our collective security requires a solid multilateral architecture for non-proliferation and disarmament. This is why the European Union will continue to work to preserve the nuclear deal with Iran," added Mogherini who insisted that Iran is complying with the JCPOA.

It is not. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, referring to documents seized by Israel, stated that the nuclear deal was "built on lies." In addition, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, in a recent interview with Iran's state-owned Channel 2, made it clear that the flimsy "nuclear deal", initiated by then-US President Barack Obama, has done nothing to stop Iran from making advances in its nuclear program, according to Iran expert Dr. Majid Rafizadeh. "[T]he latest reports on Iran's nuclear progress," Rafizadeh wrote, "also indicate that Iran is on the threshold of modernizing its mechanism for producing highly enriched uranium, which can be utilized to build a nuclear weapon". EU member states such as France, Germany and the UK continue to claim that Iran is complying with its agreements: these countries evidently want to continue doing business with the mullahs. Official figures by Germany's Federal Statistics Office revealed that German exports to Iran grew by 4% to 2.4 billion euros in the first 10 months of 2018, and monthly export volumes are expected to average 200 million to 250 million euros a month in 2019. In October 2018, German goods exported to Iran totaled almost 400 million euros ($455 million), representing a surge of 85% from the previous October and the highest monthly volume since 2009, according to Reuters.

A German intelligence report also noted that, "Iran has continued unchanged the pursuit of its ambitious program to acquire technology for its rocket and missile delivery program." Much of that activity has evidently taken place in Germany: Iran's efforts to develop its nuclear and missile programs resulted in "32 procurement attempts… that definitely or with high likelihood were undertaken for the benefit of proliferation programs," in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Fox News reported in 2017. Germany is now refusing even to disclose Iranian attempts to obtain nuclear weapons and missile technology, and claiming that it no longer keeps such statistics, Fox News recently reported.

When it comes to Europe's relationship with Iran, none of those lofty principles appears to matter at all. According to Amnesty International's 2017-2018 country report on Iran. Women, it seems, were especially subjected to abuse. According to the report.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-04-13/bergman-blasts-eus-collusion-iran

Cory Booker Admits Releasing Migrants In Sanctuary Cities Would "Make Us Less Safe"

Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker says that Americans would be "less safe" if illegal immigrants were released from locked detention centers into migrant-friendly American cities - a plan which President Trump has threatened to explore. When asked by Face the Nation's Margaret Brennan whether Trump's threat was an empty one, or if he was simply trying to create friction, Booker replied: "You say 'friction' – I say he's trying to pit Americans against each other and make us less safe."

Following reports that the White House had discussed releasing a flood if migrants into Democratic-controlled, undocumented-friendly sanctuary cities, President Trump on Friday said that he was "giving strong considerations" to the idea. Earlier Friday, the Washington Post and ABC News reported that the Trump administration had twiced pushed for transferring migrants to sanctuary cities, citing anonymous senior government officials familiar with the matter.

In response to taking detained migrants and placing them in the care of cities which have pledged to protect them, Democrats lashed out. "The extent of this Administration’s cynicism and cruelty cannot be overstated," said Nancy Pelosi's spokeswoman Ashley Etienne in a Friday statement. "Using human beings—including little children—as pawns in their warped game to perpetuate fear and demonize immigrants is despicable, and in some cases, criminal." Noting safety concerns, Pelosi's aide added: "The American people have resoundingly rejected this Administration’s toxic anti-immigrant policies, and Democrats will continue to advance immigration policies that keep us safe and honor our values."

On Saturday night, President Trump said over Twitter that "The USA has the absolute legal right to have apprehended illegal immigrants transferred to Sanctuary Cities," and demanded that "they be taken care of at the highest level, especially by the State of California, which is well known or its poor management & high taxes!"

On Sunday Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) - chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said that he doesn't "see a legal way" to release undocumented immigrants into sanctuary cities. "More importantly, this is again his manufactured chaos he's created over the last two years on the border," said Thompson. "Before Donald Trump took office, we had a situation that was manageable. We had spikes, but it also went down, but what we have now is a constant pushing of the system so that it doesn't work." Thompson added that transferring the migrants to sanctuary cities was "not about keeping the country safe, but about partisan politics and wantonly inflicting cruelty."

Perhaps Thompson could explain how taking migrants out of locked facilities and placing them in the care of sanctuary cities constitutes cruelty?

California Governor Gavin Newsom called the idea "asinine" - adding that it is "unserious," "illegal," and "sophomoric." "It really is the sophistry of adolescence. It's not serious. It lacks any rationale. It's insulting to the American people and to the intelligence of the American people. It's un-American. It's illegal. It's immoral. It's rather pathetic. I don't know what more I can say," said Newsom.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-04-14/cory-booker-releasing-migrants-sanctuary-cities-would-make-us-less-safe

>>6175641

>>6175631

Oops… here you go..

https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1117236058129870850?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Border Patrol Union President Says It’s ‘Absolutely Legal’ To Drop Illegals In Sanctuary Cities

National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd claimed Sunday that it is “absolutely legal” for the federal government to transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities. Judd argued during a “Fox & Friends” segment that President Donald Trump’s proposed plan to do just that was “brilliant” and should have been cheered by people on both sides. “It’s absolutely legal,” Judd explained. “But I’m going to get beaten up by the hard left for this comment. But this is actually a brilliant move on the president’s part.”

Judd went on to detail the “two layers” he saw at work in the proposed plan. “If he’s doing it for humanitarian purposes, he should be praised,” Judd began. “These are cities that the city councils have consciously made a decision they’re going to accept the illegal aliens into their cities to protect them.” But then Judd addressed the flip side, saying, “If he’s doing it for political reasons, this is brilliant. These people have to be released for one reason or another. And if we’re going to have to release them, why not show the sanctuary cities the same pressure that other cities are feeling.” “From those two layers, this is a brilliant move,” Judd concluded. Reports surfaced last week that the White House had proposed transporting detained illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities once the legal 20-day detention period had lapsed, but that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had rejected the plan over public relations concerns. Following the public reaction to those reports — particularly the response from Democrats who suddenly appeared to oppose an influx of illegal immigrants into the cities they touted as welcoming to all — Trump has doubled down on the idea, saying that his administration is now seriously considering the option.

https://www.dailycaller.com/2019/04/14/border-patrol-legal-drop-illegals-sanctuary-cities/

>>6175742

It's embedded..not sure what you are implying here?

>>6175769

That is indeed true…remember it very well, they didn't even bother to give these cities a heads up on the matter either.