Nestle Says Requirement to Report Use of Slave Labor Would Cost Consumers More Money

While the Free Thought Project often reports on the megacorp Nestle and their rampant abuse and exploitation of drinking water supplies across the nation, few are aware that the company has been found using slave labor. What’s more, as governments across the world attempt to crack down the use of slave labor by requiring companies to report on its use, Nestle is fighting it, saying that it will end up costing consumers at the register.

Late last month, Nestle issued a warning against proposed legislation that would require them to report on their efforts to weed out slavery within their company. The company says the cost of checking to see if they are forcing people to work against their will end up being passed on to the consumer.

As the Sydney Morning Herald reports, companies operating in Australia with an annual turnover of $100 million or more would be required to annually report on the risks of modern slavery within their business and the actions they’ve taken to address those risks under the federal government’s draft Modern Slavery Bill 2018.

Nestle owns over 2000 brands and operates in 189 countries and has a history of using slave labor to produce its products. Yet they are warning against the legislation that would have them report on issues related to human trafficking, slavery, sexual servitude and child labor within their businesses’ operation and supply chains.

In a senate committee last month, Nestle claimed that the reporting requirements to keep them from participating in slavery and human trafficking would add “cost and time” to its businesses and suppliers “which will need to be borne somewhere.”

“While we are of the view that the mandatory requirements are sensible, in practical terms this difference means that multinational companies will have to prepare bespoke statements for each country in which they are required to report,” Nestle’s submission said.

” … Not all suppliers may bear those costs themselves; some may pass them on to customers/consumers.”

As TFTP reported in 2016, Nestle became embroiled in controversy, as the company went public with the admission that slave labor had been found in the multinational company’s supply chain in Thailand. Nestle claimed at the time that they would promise to self police and rid themselves of this problem.

One would think that since they claimed to already be self-policing, that simply passing this information on to the Australian government would be an easy task. However, evidence of Nestle’s lack of follow through on self-regulation can be clearly seen in the Engel-Harkin (aka the Cocoa Protocol), in which it promised to self-regulate and ultimately end child slave labor in their supply chain — signed in 2001.

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/nestle-anti-slavery-bill-cost/

A historic Cabinet meeting for Gov. DeSantis and a warning to those who go against Israel

The governor also signed a bill prohibiting anti-Semitism in schools

JERUSALEM – A long historic day took Gov. Ron DeSantis from the trade shows of Tel Aviv to an industrial park in the disputed Judean Hills of the West Bank to the cradle of Judaism and Christianity for a ceremonial meeting of the Florida Cabinet.

At every stop along the way he worked to further polish his bona fides as the most pro-Israel U.S. governor by pushing a conservative agenda that promotes open trade, condemns boycotts and criticism of Israel, and outlaws anti-Semitism in schools.

The day was a culmination of keeping campaign promises and seeing the work he started in Congress come to fruition, with Thursday’s denouement being a somber visit to Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, and the City of David and the Western Wall.

The ultimate coup would be a hoped-for meeting Thursday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is in a tough battle to stay in power following recent elections that forced him to create a coalition government.

“Everyone I’ve talked to, people that are very knowledgeable, don’t know what is going to happen,” DeSantis said. “Hopefully they can straighten it out today and if that’s the case, I think I will be his first foreign meeting since the coalition gets approved.”

‘Ruckus’ or remedy needed?

At the first of several press briefings that day, DeSantis addressed the emergency injunction request filed by the First Amendment Foundation and most of the state’s newspapers Tuesday that asked a judge to block the Cabinet meeting scheduled for later in the afternoon.

He called the arguments “totally baseless” that officials were “willfully violating the law” for holding the meeting at the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, about 6,000 miles from the state Capitol. He wondered why they waited until the last minute to file the lawsuit.

“It’s open to the public, you guys can listen in and everything so it’s not being done in secret,” he said.

He later called the lawsuit “frivolous” and said that people “sometimes just want to cause a ruckus.”

DeSantis gave the lawsuit credit for creating more interest in the Cabinet meeting, “because usually there isn’t a hell of a lot.”

For its part, the foundation said it was examining further court action that would ensure future meetings couldn’t be held outside the Sunshine State.

More

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2019/05/29/desantis-israel-cabinet-meeting-florida-anti-semitism-jewish/1277849001/

Senior Corbyn ally is SUSPENDED by Labour after being recorded claiming that the Israeli embassy and a gang of 68 rabbis and moles planted in party are manufacturing anti-Semitism crisis

Peter Willsman says that Israel have planted agents in the party to damage it

He says embassy instructed 68 rabbis to point finger and Labour and Corbyn

Had diversity training for saying he won't be 'lectured by Jewish Trump fanatics'

Labour MPs and members called for him to be expelled, suspended or sacked

An ally of Jeremy Corbyn was suspended today after being recorded claiming the Israeli embassy and 68 rabbis in London are behind a conspiracy to engulf Labour and its leader with anti-Semitism claims.

Peter Willsman, a member of Labour's ruling NEC executive committee, claimed that Israel have planted agents in the party with the purpose of damaging its reputation.

In a recording obtained by LBC, Mr Willsman says: 'It's almost certain who is behind all this anti-Semitism against Jeremy. Almost certainly, it was the Israeli embassy.

'They caught somebody in the Labour Party who it turns out in an agent in the embassy.'

Last year Willsman was given 'equalities training' for ranting about Jews but kept his job after apologising - but the decision to keep him in the party caused mass protests.

Today he was suspended - a Labour spokesman said: 'Peter Willsman has been suspended from the Labour Party, pending investigation'.

MailOnline understands he is also barred from serving on the NEC until the probe is complete.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7090363/Corbyn-ally-recorded-claiming-Israeli-embassy-manufacturing-anti-Semitism-crisis.html

Texas Border County Cops Leaked Intel to Drug Dealer, Say Feds

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Two former constables are facing several federal corruption charges for their alleged roles in leaking law enforcement information to a Houston area drug dealer in exchange for gift cards and cash.

This week, federal authorities arrested 45-year-old Benito De La Cruz and 31-year-old Armando Gonzalez based on a 12-count indictment accusing the men of running license plate checks and criminal history searches for a Houston area drug dealer, court documents revealed.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the two men worked as deputies the Cameron County Precinct 5 Constable’s office at the time of the alleged conspiracy. Both moved on to other law enforcement work prior to their arrests.

Court documents say De La Cruz worked for the constable’s office from 2007 to 2017, while Gonzalez was there from 2010 to 2016. Federal court records did not mention current positions of employment.

In an ongoing case investigated by the FBI, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, Texas Rangers, and Cameron County District Attorney’s Office, authorities allege that in 2016, the two men interacted with a Houston area drug dealer who paid them with $50 gift cards and/or cash each time they ran a records check for him.

Authorities also allege the two men lied to FBI agents about running plates or backgrounds for the suspect. The men also claimed to not know about a hidden compartment in a vehicle under investigation. Authorities allege otherwise.

Both men are expected to go before a U.S. magistrate judge Friday. If convicted, the men face possible 20-year prison sentences. Court documents hint at other individuals under investigation at this time.

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2019/05/31/texas-border-county-cops-leaked-intel-to-drug-dealer-say-feds/

List of companies using fetal cells from aborted babies to flavour products.

In 2010, the pro-life organization wrote to the CEO of Senomyx, Jewish Zionist Kent Snyder, indicating the many ethical and moral choices that can and should be used to test their food additives.

However, Senomyx and the companies listed on its website as “partners” decided to ignore the letter. The giants of the food industry as Pepsico, Kraft Foods, Campbell Soup, Solae and Nestle are the main targets of the boycott, although Senomyx account other international partners on their website.

Senomyx’s website says that “the key programs of flavor company focusing on the discovery and development of savory ingredients, candy and other additives intended to reduce the MSG, sugar and salt in food and beverage products (…) “, proclaiming that” (…) using the isolated human taste receptors, we created proprietary test systems based on taste receptors that provide a biochemical or electronic readout when a flavor ingredient interacts with the receptor. ”

Senomyx says its partners will provide funding for research and development, plus on sales of products using their flavor ingredients.

“What is hidden from the public who are using HEK 293 – human embryonic kidney cells taken from an electively aborted baby to produce these receptors,” said Debi Vinnedge, Executive Director of Children of God for Life, a pro-life organization and ethics which monitors the use and amount of aborted fetal material in medical and cosmetic products (per year).

“They could use monkey cells (CON) cells, Chinese hamster ovary cells, insect cells or other human taste receptor, morally obtained, expressing the G protein,” said Vinnedge.

After several requests for information Nestlé finally admitted his relationship with Senomyx, indicating that the cell line was “well established in the scientific research”.

After listening to Ms. Vinnedge in April 2012, exposing the reality of the problem, many consumers-angry citizens began to express their condemnation of such immorality through letters to companies. Campbell Soup and PepsiCo responded immediately.

Pepsi was one of the companies with Monsanto contributed money in the campaign against GM labeling.

Surprisingly, Pepsico wrote: “We expect to feel safe knowing that our collaboration with Senomyx is strictly limited to the creation of drinks with lower calorie and great taste for consumers. This cooperation will help us achieve our commitment to reduce sugar by 25% in key brands and the main markets of the next decade, eventually, we help people live healthier lives. “Read the article: – Coca Cola and Pepsi cause cancer –

The Campbell Soup corporation was a little concerned about the answer: “Every effort will be made to use the best ingredients and develop the largest selection of products, providing a great value. With this in mind, I must say that it is not worth compromising the trust we have grown and developed over the years with our customers to reduce costs or increase profit margins. ”

https://rafzen.wordpress.com/2019/03/18/list-of-companies-using-fetal-cells-from-aborted-babies-to-flavour-products/

Our Jobs Were Offshored, Not Stolen By China

For more a quarter century I have been explaining that America is not losing jobs to foreign competition but to our own corporations moving the work abroad in order to lower their labor costs and raise capital gains and bonuses for owners and executives. My most recent explanation was May 14 ( https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2019/05/14/the-tariff-issue/ ).

It only took 25 years for Cody Cain writing in Salon to discover this point ( http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/51685.htm ).

Maybe in another 25 years the politicians in Washington will discover it.

And maybe 50 years from now the economists will discover it. My book, The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism (2013) was translated into a number of languages, Chinese, Korean, German, Czech, but was not to my knowledge reviewed in any English language economics journal. The neoliberal economists are deaf, dumb, and blind, “junk economists” as Michael Hudson calls them.

Israel twists law to dodge ICC probe

Israel is relying on US muscle to stop the International Criminal Court investigating alleged war crimes perpetrated in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

“The International Criminal Court in The Hague has no jurisdiction to discuss matters concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Sharon Afek, Israel’s military advocate general, stated at the annual Herzliya Conference, a high-profile gathering of Israel’s political and military elites, this week.

“Israel is a law-abiding country, with an independent and strong judicial system, and there is no reason for its actions to be scrutinized by the ICC,” Afek added.

The military advocate general’s office also recently published a report claiming that the military had conducted “lectures and workshops on the legal ramifications” of occupation forces’ actions, the Tel Aviv daily Haaretz stated.

“The move was prompted by weekly clashes between soldiers and Palestinians over the past year as well as by the International Criminal Court’s scrutiny of the [military’s] actions in the 2014 Gaza war,” Haaretz added.

The situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has been under preliminary examination by the International Criminal Court since 2015. Its chief prosecutor issued an unprecedented warning to Israeli leaders last year that they may face trial for the killings of unarmed protesters in Gaza.

More than 200 Palestinians, including 44 children, have been killed during the Great March of Return protests in Gaza and thousands more injured. Some 1,400 Palestinians were shot by live ammunition during protests on 14 May 2018 alone, the deadliest single day of protests since they were launched earlier that year.

Judges in The Hague have also ordered the International Criminal Court to reach out to victims of war crimes in Palestine.

Fig-leaf investigations

Afek has ordered a military police probe into the killing of 11 Palestinians during the Great March of Return.

Israel keeps up the appearance of a robust internal investigative apparatus to ward off accountability in international courts. Human rights groups have characterized the Israeli military’s investigations of its violations against Palestinians as a whitewashing mechanism.

Earlier this month the military closed its probe into the killing of Ibrahim Abu Thurayya, a double amputee shot in the head during a protest in December 2017.

In September 2016, the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq stated that “Since 1987, no Israeli soldier or commander has been convicted of willfully causing the death of a Palestinian in the [occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip].”

Since then there have been two convictions – both in high-profile cases where the slaying was captured on video.

In 2017, Israeli army medic Elor Azarya received 18 months for the point blank execution in 2016 of Abd al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif in the West Bank city of Hebron. That sentence was later reduced by a third.

Ben Dery was sentenced to nine months in prison last year for what Defense for Children International Palestine described as “a willful killing” of 17-year-old Nadim Nuwara during protests outside a West Bank military prison in May 2014.

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/israel-twists-law-dodge-icc-probe?utm_source=EI+readers&utm_campaign=53bb7ff0db-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e802a7602d-53bb7ff0db-290660781

The Bankers’ “Power Revolution”: How the Government Got Shackled by Debt

The U.S. federal debt has more than doubled since the 2008 financial crisis, shooting up from $9.4 trillion in mid-2008 to over $22 trillion in April 2019. The debt is never paid off. The government just keeps paying the interest on it, and interest rates are rising.

In 2018, the Fed announced plans to raise rates by 2020 to “normal” levels — a fed funds target of 3.375 percent — and to sell about $1.5 trillion in federal securities at the rate of $50 billion monthly, further growing the mountain of federal debt on the market. When the Fed holds government securities, it returns the interest to the government after deducting its costs; but the private buyers of these securities will be pocketing the interest, adding to the taxpayers’ bill.

In fact it is the interest, not the debt itself, that is the problem with a burgeoning federal debt. The principal just gets rolled over from year to year. But the interest must be paid to private bondholders annually by the taxpayers and constitutes one of the biggest items in the federal budget. Currently the Fed’s plans for “quantitative tightening” are on hold; but assuming it follows through with them, projections are that by 2027 U.S. taxpayers will owe $1 trillion annually just in interest on the federal debt. That is enough to fund President Donald Trump’s trillion-dollar infrastructure plan every year, and it is a direct transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy investors holding most of the bonds.

Where will this money come from? Crippling taxes, wholesale privatization of public assets, and elimination of social services will not be sufficient to cover the bill.

Bondholder Debt Is Unnecessary

The irony is that the United States does not need to carry a debt to bondholders at all. It has been financially sovereign ever since President Franklin D. Roosevelt took the dollar off the gold standard domestically in 1933. This was recognized by Beardsley Ruml, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, in a 1945 presentation before the American Bar Association titled “Taxes for Revenue Are Obsolete.”

“The necessity for government to tax in order to maintain both its independence and its solvency is true for state and local governments,” he said, “but it is not true for a national government.” The government was now at liberty to spend as needed to meet its budget, drawing on credit issued by its own central bank. It could do this until price inflation indicated a weakened purchasing power of the currency.

Then, and only then, would the government need to levy taxes — not to fund the budget but to counteract inflation by contracting the money supply. The principal purpose of taxes, said Ruml, was “the maintenance of a dollar which has stable purchasing power over the years. Sometimes this purpose is stated as ‘the avoidance of inflation.’”

The government could be funded without taxes by drawing on credit from its own central bank; and since there was no longer a need for gold to cover the loan, the central bank would not have to borrow. It could just create the money on its books. This insight is a basic tenet of Modern Monetary Theory: the government does not need to borrow or tax, at least until prices are driven up. It can just create the money it needs. The government could create money by issuing it directly; or by borrowing it directly from the central bank, which would create the money on its books; or by taking a perpetual overdraft on the Treasury’s account at the central bank, which would have the same effect.

https://ellenbrown.com/2019/05/31/the-bankers-power-revolution-how-the-government-got-shackled-by-debt/

Los Angeles County sues Bayer's Monsanto over PCB contamination

Los Angeles County sued Monsanto Co on Thursday, seeking to force the unit of Germany’s Bayer AG to help pay for reducing PCB contamination in dozens of bodies of water.

The most populous U.S. county, which has about 10.1 million people, said the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in products sold by Monsanto many decades ago has caused widespread environmental contamination, forcing it to spend money to retrofit its stormwater systems and prevent further damage.

Los Angeles County said Monsanto had long concealed its knowledge that PCBs were harmful, and created a public nuisance because their presence interferes with commerce, fishing, navigation, swimming and other water-based activities.

In a statement, Bayer said it believed Los Angeles County’s lawsuit had no merit, and that it would defend itself aggressively. Bayer said in its most recent annual report that it had “meritorious defenses” against PCB-related claims.

The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court seeks compensatory and punitive damages that Scott Kuhn, a lawyer for the county, said in an interview could reach hundreds of millions of dollars.

Kuhn called PCB contamination “a big problem in our county. It’s a significant overall cost to clean that up.”

PCBs have been linked to cancer, immune system difficulties and other health problems. The U.S. government outlawed them in 1979.

Monsanto produced PCBs from 1935 to 1977, and has said it stopped making them because they were not readily biodegradable.

Los Angeles County joined many other U.S. municipal entities to sue the company over PCBs.

The lawsuit adds to Bayer’s legal problems tied to Monsanto, which it bought last year for $63 billion.

Bayer also faces claims by more than 13,400 plaintiffs that Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer causes non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and that Monsanto concealed the link.

A jury in Oakland, California, on May 13 awarded $2.055 billion to a couple who said Roundup caused their cancer, though that award will likely be reduced.

PCBs were once used widely to insulate electrical equipment, helping reduce fire risk. They were also used in such products as carbonless copy paper, caulking, floor finish and paint.

The case is County of Los Angeles et al v Monsanto Co et al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 19-04694.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bayer-lawsuit-los-angeles-idUSKCN1T02DJ?utm_source=reddit.com

Utah Prosecutor Close to Completing Investigation of Hillary Clinton, Attorney General Says

A special federal prosecutor in Utah is close to completing an investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to Attorney General William Barr.

Barr told CBS News in an interview published on May 31 that U.S. Attorney John Huber investigation of Clinton is “winding down.”

Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in a letter (pdf) on March 29, 2018, that he had assigned Huber to investigate a list of potential crimes outlined by Republicans in Congress.

“The other issues he’s been working on relate to Hillary Clinton. Those are winding down and hopefully we’ll be in a position to bring those to fruition,” Barr said.

While Barr did not specify the “issues” Huber is investigating, Sessions announced Huber’s assignment last year in response to “recent letters” from three Republicans in Congress: Sen. Chuck Grassley, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, and Rep. Trey Gowdy.

Gowdy and Goodlatte penned one such letter (pdf) on March 6, 2018, calling on Sessions to appoint a second special counsel “to review decisions made and not made by the Department of Justice and the FBI in 2016 and 2017.”

The lawmakers wrote that the second special counsel should review evidence of bias by federal government employees, how decisions to charge or not charge people with crimes were made, and whether the surveillance of the Trump campaign was “appropriate and devoid of extraneous influence.”

Based on the content of that letter, Huber may be investigating one or more of the Clinton-related matters the FBI was pursuing in 2016 and 2017.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/utah-prosecutor-close-to-completing-investigation-of-hillary-clinton-attorney-general-says_2945996.html

Tom Fitton: Investigating the Investigators Means Investigating Mueller & His Misconduct

May 31, 2019- JW President Tom Fitton appeared on “Mornings on the Mall” on WMAL Radio to discuss Robert Mueller’s press conference on the special counsel probe into alleged Trump/Russia collusion during the 2016 election.

https://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/in-the-news/tom-fitton-investigating-the-investigators-means-investigating-mueller-his-misconduct/

California Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Sexually Exploiting a Minor He Met While Playing “Clash Of Clans”

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-man-sentenced-14-years-prison-sexually-exploiting-minor-he-met-while-playing-clash

Sheldon Adelson accosted in Tel Aviv, cursed and told ‘you live too long’

Self-described anti-corruption activist Barak Cohen films himself shouting at the US casino magnate who is one of Netanyahu’s staunchest supporters

JTA — A self-described anti-corruption activist filmed himself accosting Sheldon Adelson in Tel Aviv, telling him “Asshole, you live too long.”

Barak Cohen, a left-wing lawyer who was suspended by the Israeli bar association in 2017 for harassing banking executives, posted the encounter on Twitter. Adelson is a Jewish casino magnate and major donor to conservative causes in the United States and Israel.

Eli Bitan, a journalist for the state-owned Israel Broadcasting Corp., or Kan, and writer for Makor Rishon appeared to applaud Cohen in a comment on Twitter.

Many Twitter users condemned Cohen’s behavior.

“You are a contemptuous person,” Moshe Bagad wrote. “Even in disagreement, such language is inappropriate.

In the video, Cohen is seen telling the camera in Hebrew: “God save us from Sheldon Adelson, then we would all be equal.”

Adelson, 85, is seen in a mobility scooter in the background flanked by two men and another younger man, who appears to be a body guard. Cohen then shouts the same sentence in English at Adelson’s direction, prompting the younger man to walk slowly in his direction.

“Stop interrupt in our lives,” Cohen shouts in broken English. “You know what is maniak? You are maniak.” In Hebrew, the word is equivalent to “asshole” in English.

“You are Netanyahu,” added Cohen, whose tweet with the video was titled “Sheldon, You live too long, ya maniak.”

When the younger man touches Cohen, the heckler tells him to stop touching him. The younger man then asks Cohen: “Be respectful of an elderly person.” Cohen replies: “He’s destroying our lives. Hand off. You hit, you murder. Hands off.” He continues to curse Adelson, adding “You live too long.”

Cohen wrote on Twitter: “Netanyahu’s pimp, Sheldon who-needs-democracy Adelson was added of my archive of dialogues with thieves, corrupt people and crooks.”

https://www.timesofisrael.com/sheldon-adelson-accosted-in-tel-aviv-cursed-and-told-you-live-too-long/

Russian embassy points to US media crusade to discredit Damascus with dubious evidence

This is yet another attempt to discredit the Syrian authorities, the Russian embassy stated

"We paid attention to a series of publications in the American media [the New York Times, CNN] where the Syrian authorities were accused of misconduct against prisoners. As ‘proof’ they refer to an ‘extensive archive of documents’ belonging to the Syrian intelligence services that was collected by the crytpic organization known as the ‘Commission for International Justice and Accountability’," the statement reads.

"It is noteworthy that this NGO is extremely opaque - it is very difficult to find information about the organization in open sources [there is neither website, nor social network accounts]. We only know that it is sponsored by Western countries including the United States. Moreover, questions arise about the authenticity of the ‘documents’ allegedly removed from Syria - especially given the lack of public access to these materials," the Russian embassy pointed out.

"This is yet another attempt to discredit the Syrian authorities on the basis of dubious ‘evidence.’ Apparently, stoking anti-Syrian hysteria by the American media is necessary to divert public attention from the hardships that result from the illegal US military presence in Syria. With humanitarian catastrophes in the internal refugee camps of Rukban and Al-Hol at the forefront," the statement adds.

http://tass.com/politics/1061084

US Coalition Attacks Syrian Oil Transport Boats On Euphrates River

In a huge development out of eastern Syria, where US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) share tense front lines with pro-Assad forces on the other side, the American coalition has reportedly attacked at least two Syrian government boats that were transporting oil across the Euphrates River to the government side.

The news broke via the Beirut-based Middle East News site Al-Masdar which is well-known for often being the first to report Syria news, given its rare sources in the Syrian military. According to the Al-Masdar report:

According to reports from the Deir Ezzor Governorate, the U.S. Coalition and the SDF both targeted the Syrian government boats with heavy machine gun fire in front of the town of Al-Shuhayl.

Pro-SDF accounts later released photos showing smoke rising from one of the ferries that were targeted by their machine gun fire.

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/72989/us-coalition-attacks-syrian-oil-transport-boats-on-euphrates.html

Bolton Says US Wants UK to Quit European Union - Report

US National Security Adviser John Bolton said the outcome of the 2016 Brexit referendum represented a "triumph of democracy" when speaking to The Telegraph ahead of President Donald Trump’s state visit next week.

"The US preference is for Britain to follow the course of what the people asked for and leave the EU. It is a lesson for everyone in the triumph of democracy", Bolton has stated.

According to The Telegraph, citing the US national security adviser, Brexit gives the United Kingdom the opportunity to become a "strong and independent country" that will have a positive influence on the whole world and play a vital role in NATO.

"I think it will help us in Nato in particular to have another strong and independent country that will help Nato to be more effective", he added.

Earlier, on 30 May, Bolton reportedly stated that the US had made a success of its own declaration of independence from the UK.

Before this, UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced that she would be stepping down as Conservative leader and, subsequently, as prime minister, on 7 June, after failing to achieve a consensus in Parliament and within her own party over the country's withdrawal from the European Union.

The United Kingdom remains in a deadlock over Brexit, as the British Parliament has rejected the withdrawal agreement negotiated with the European Union. The bloc has time and again stressed that it would not renegotiate. The United Kingdom did not leave the European Union on 29 March, as was originally planned, and was instead given a new deadline of 31 October.

https://sputniknews.com/us/201905311075520970-us-uk-eu-withdrawal/

Israel to sell confiscated Palestinian classrooms donated by EU

Israel is to auction two prefabricated classrooms which were donated to Palestinian schoolchildren by the EU, the Guardian reported today.

Occupation forces tore down and confiscated the classrooms in October last year. Some 49 students were expected to use the rooms in Ibziq, in the northern occupied West Bank.

“An advertisement published in the Israeli newspaper Maariv said the sale would take place at Civil Administration offices in the West Bank,” the newspaper reported.

The EU had condemned Israeli authorities’ destruction of the classrooms and called for them to be rebuilt in the same place “without delay”.

“Every child has the right to access education and states have an obligation to protect, respect and fulfil this right, by ensuring that schools are inviolable safe spaces for children,” it said at the time.

“A list of auction items, seen by the Guardian, showed dates, item numbers, locations and descriptions that matched the confiscated classroom structures. The sale also appeared to include material confiscated from Palestinians,” the Guardian added, who had built their properties without the necessary planning licences.

The Civil Administration, the Israeli body which governs the occupied West Bank, did not comment on the upcoming sale.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190531-israel-to-sell-confiscated-palestinian-classrooms-donated-by-eu/

Is the U.S. funding of Lebanese Army strengthening Hezbollah?

Today Hezbollah is not just a part of the government, but even its local opponents – headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri – have accepted its legitimacy as an armed group and political component.

The Trump administration is boosting its “maximum pressure” policy against Iran, but the US remains the main benefactor of the Lebanese Armed Forces, despite it having been penetrated and influenced by Hezbollah, the powerful and loyal proxy of Tehran in Lebanon. This paradoxical situation is based on a misconception, and as such it must be stopped.

During the first few months of 2019, the US imposed new sanctions targeting fund-raising sources of Hezbollah, listed by Washington as a terror group in 1997 and responsible for the killing of hundreds of Americans, as well as posing a severe military threat to Israel.

At the very same time, under the radar, shipments of American advanced military equipment have landed in Beirut, suggesting that the current administration is continuing the strategy of its two predecessors to strengthen the military forces of the Middle Eastern country: Since 2005, the US has provided the Lebanese army with aid valued at $2.3 billion – including tanks, light aircraft, and drones – thus becoming the source of about 80% of its equipment, in addition to training more than 30,000 Lebanese soldiers. While no one is deluded that the Lebanese army could confront and disarm Hezbollah, the military support is presumably supposed to turn the army into a strong governmental force that would pose a moderate counterweight to Hezbollah within the Lebanese arena. This is a very simple and logical rationale, but its only flaw is that it belongs in the past.

The hard truth is that Hezbollah and the Lebanese state are, in fact, no longer two different entities. The radical Shi’ite organization, which has both military and civilian branches, has turned to politics over the years, and has gradually become an intrinsic part of the Lebanese political system.

During the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese government had disavowed the organization. Today, however, Hezbollah is not just a part of the government, but even its local opponents – headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri – have accepted its legitimacy as both an armed group and political component.

https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Washingtons-arming-of-the-Lebanese-army-is-an-own-goal-591152

Soros, Wallace Help Bankroll Dark Money Fund Aimed at Midwestern Voters

Liberal billionaires push money to initiative as Dems ramp up 2020 efforts in region

Liberal billionaires George Soros and Scott Wallace are helping bankroll a new fund hosted by an intricate dark money organization and focused on helping Democrats make inroads with midwestern voters for the 2020 elections.

The deep-pocketed donors moved the money from the Open Society Foundations, Soros's foundation, and the Wallace Global Fund, Wallace's foundation, to the newly launched Heartland Fund, a collaborative effort focused on building "power across the divides of the American heartland" as overall Democratic efforts have veered towards the region.

The Heartland Fund recently disbursed $500,000 in its first round of grants to nine left-wing groups and will begin its efforts with organizing and issue advocacy. The initiative is housed at the Windward Fund, which falls under the auspices of Arabella Advisors, a major dark money "fiscal sponsor" network founded by Eric Kessler, a former Bill Clinton appointee.

"For a growing number of donors, the 2016 election was a wake-up call, clearly indicating that we need to re-engage with these communities and their concerns to achieve philanthropic priorities related to health care, immigration, education, economic development, climate and environmental justice, civil and voting rights, and more," Arabella's website states. "Even among these donors, however, discussions about how best to engage often fall prey to assumptions and narratives that pit rural communities against urban ones, communities of color against the white working class, and progressive organizing and movement building against efforts to bridge a broader portion of the political and ideological spectrum."

The Heartland Fund is also aided by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary and two anonymous backers, according to Inside Philanthropy. Soros's Open Society Foundations, however, is not mentioned in a Heartland Fund release on the collaborative, and the amounts given by the groups are not known.

Arabella, which also contains the Sixteen Thirty Fund and New Venture Fund, acts as a "fiscal sponsor" for liberal groups and as a pass-through entity for donors. This arrangement makes it virtually impossible to trace donations to groups that are "sponsored" by Arabella. Individuals who contribute to a certain group or initiative at Arabella do not have to mark their donations as going to that group, but rather can make it out to the arm at Arabella that hosts the group, such as the Windward Fund, Sixteen Thirty Fund, or New Venture Fund. Those funds then disburse the donations to the intended groups.

Arabella has facilitated more than $1.6 billion in stealth contributions from donors to liberal groups in recent years.

https://freebeacon.com/politics/soros-wallace-help-bankroll-dark-money-fund-aimed-at-midwestern-voters/

Top US General Claims Intel Showed Iran Mounting a Campaign Against US

General says he pushed for military buildup in Middle East

Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joe Dunford has revealed that it was he who was driving recent US military deployments into the Middle East, saying he recommended them based on intelligence with respect to Iran.

Dunford claimed that “malign activity and threats to our forces by the Iranians were not new,” but that what he saw was a synchronized series of efforts that looked more like a formal campaign against the US.

Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan confirmed that Dunford told him of an “anomaly” in Iranian behavior. At the same time, Shanahan says that President Trump has made clear he does not seek a war over the matter.

Shanahan has expressed regret that he wasn’t able to share more information with the public on the intelligence involved. Shanahan has been put in a difficult position by this, pressured by Congress for specifics while other officials, notably John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talk up a potential military conflict while treating evidence as virtually beside the point.

https://news.antiwar.com/2019/05/30/top-us-general-claims-intel-showed-iran-mounting-a-campaign-against-us/

Projection

Mnuchin, Lighthizer Reportedly Opposed Trump's Mexico Tariffs

Update: That didn't take long…

Robert Lighthizer - perhaps having seen the latest headlines about what happened to a senior North Korean envoy who got out of line - has issued a statement denying the contents of the WSJ story.

LIGHTHIZER'S OFFICE DENIES REPORT CHINA TARIFFS ON HOLD: CNBC

• • *

Though this shouldn't surprise anybody who possesses even a glancing familiarity with the policy-making dynamics in the West Wing, WSJ and CNBC are reporting that Robert Lighthizer and Steve Mnuchin had opposed President Trump's plan to slap new punitive tariffs on Mexico over the new government's failure to curb the flow of illegal immigrants.

It's yet another example of Trump overruling senior administration officials on policy issues.

The senior administration officials feared the tariffs could jeopardize USMCA, the 'Nafta 2.0' trade deal that the administration negotiated with Mexico and Canada. But in the end, Trump's frustration with the border crisis won out.

According to WSJ, Trump's frustration with the border situation led to the tariffs (though we could have told you that). Since Mexico responded when Trump threatened 25% tariffs and a possible border closure, he felt like giving it another try might produce a similar result.

In recent days the president lost his patience, according to one of the people who spoke about Mr. Lighthizer’s concerns and a senior administration official. He had listened to his advisers for months, who told him not to take action against President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s new administration while it was forming its government, they said.

"He got tired of waiting for the new government to settle in," one of the people familiar with the situation said.

"The last time he did tariffs on Mexico, Mexico responded, so he wanted to try again in the context of border security," the senior administration official said.

There was a meeting with the president’s trade team on Wednesday and again on Thursday, when the president phoned in from Air Force One, according to one of the people.

"In both meetings, the president made very clear that he wants to do this," one of the people said.

But Trump did find one ally among his top aides who fully supported the plan: Steve Miller, who has been quietly consolidating control over the administration's immigration policy, according to CNBC. Furthermore, with Mike Pence in Canada and Larry Kudlow undergoing surgery,two potential moderating voices were effectively absent when the decisions were made. And, judging by his interview with CNBC earlier today, Peter Navarro appears to also have supported the policy.

With that in mind, the motivation behind this latest 'leak' is pretty transparent: It looks like an effort by Lighthizer's camp to salvage his 'working relationship' with Pelosi. "Lighthizer is not happy," one of CNBC's sources said.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-05-31/mnuchin-lighthizer-reportedly-opposed-trumps-mexico-tariffs