News of the Day – Elections in Britain, Comey Testimony, Gulf Troubles

June 8, 2017

Big stories are coming up today but I will have no time to extensively post on them. A short take:

The Conservatives in Britain will likely win today's elections – at least according to recent polls. This even as the Labour Party, under its new leader Jeremy Corbyn, will achieve its best results since "New Labour" under Tony Blair wreaked the party.

The unnecessary loss for Labour can be solely blamed on the media, especially the "liberal" ones like the Guardian, who viciously defamed and fought against Corbyn ever since he was elected to lead the party.

—

In hearings at the U.S. Congress the former director of the FBI Comey will do his best to put a bad light on Trump. Trump fired him, later than he should have done, for good reasons:

After six months of investigation the FBI had no evidence for any of the rumors about Russian interference [in U.S. elections] that were thrown around. It should have closed the case with a clear recommendation not to prosecute the issue. […]

That Comey kept the case open was political interference from his side. Hearings and public rumors about the case blocked the political calendar.

The anti-Trump media (which means about 90% of all) will push the Comey testimony as evidence for malfeasance by Trump even though nothing of that kind will be in there.

—

Micah Zenko writes that there is a danger that the Trump administration will wage war somewhere against someone as a diversion from the pressure it is under within Washington DC:

The academic findings are mixed on whether heads of government facing domestic vulnerability engage in such diversionary wars — uses of force to divert public attention and rally support for their leadership. […] What seems clear, however, is that presidents are more likely to engage in such diversions when they are inherently distrustful and perceive the world in simplistic black-and-white terms — a perfect characterization of Trump.

The other potential outcome to consider for the Trump administration’s conduct of foreign policy is for an embattled president to become further and further detached while remaining in office. […] Since Trump has already bestowed “total authorization” to Secretary of Defense James Mattis, it is not unimaginable that the Pentagon chief could be notifying a president who has retreated to one of his properties of meaningful military decisions already underway.

Both cases are indeed possible – the second one seems more likely to me. War is also exactly what many of the people and lobbies who peddle the evidence-free "Russian hacking" stories want. Trump campaigned for détente with Russia. The "Russian election interference" campaign is designed to prevent that. The War on Russia or war on Iran are their favorite outcomes. Open war on Syria, North Korea or some yet developing crisis also have good chances to conquer the headlines.

Further leaks and scandals could increase the political pressure on Trump to such a degree that he resigns. But, while hoping or assuming this happens, it would be a grave mistake to ignore U.S. foreign-policy commitments and activities, and any shifts they might undergo under the influence of scandal.

A huge problem is the incompetence of the White House foreign policy shop and especially its National Security Council. To blame Iran for yesterday's ISIS attacks in Tehran is vile and scandalous. This will come back to hurt the U.S. To release a statement about a phone call with the "Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Zayet Al Nayhan of the United Arab Emirates" is blatant incompetence. A diligent reading of the names unveils that the "United Emirates" are a federation of emirates just as the "United States" are a federation of states. There is no kingdom of the UAE. There is some crown prince of the emirate of Abu Dhabi who has a bit of informal say within the UAE but there are also six other emirates with other crown princes and a federal UAE government structure in which the crown prince of Abu Dhabi only plays a minor role. The UAE structure is fragile. The federation could easily blow up over the current crisis with Qatar. The incompetent White House statement increases that chance.

Posted by b on June 8, 2017 at 08:48 UTC | Permalink

Comments

Interesting analysis by Colonel Wilkerson
It is a good thing they are so incompetent. Wilkerson thinks the aim is to get into an Iran war.

This is a really bad situation, but into this bad situation comes what you just asked, and that is Iran. I think that Bannon, President Bannon if you will, really has his focus on Iran. I think that’s the ultimate place. The rest is bluster and bravado. It could be dangerous, but it is on our part bluster and bravado. What they’re really after is Iran. I have it on pretty good authority that Secretary Mattis has already directed our forces in Syria to change their rules of engagement in such a way that it allows them to go after directly what is called, in the direction, the Iranian militia, that is those Iranians inside Syria assisting the Assad regime, and its Hezbollah auxiliaries, meaning Hezbollah, the number one terrorist organization in the world in terms of capability.
This is a drastic change that the American people, if it’s true, if what I’m hearing is accurate, have been told nothing about. It gets the United States deeper and deeper into this morass now called southwest Asia or the Middle East, and particularly deeper in a burgeoning conflict with Iran. They want to undermine the nuclear agreement with Iran, and they want the American people, much as George Bush wanted to see Iraq as the culprit when he invaded in 2003, and bent the intelligence to make it look that way, they want the intelligence as it were, and the situation on the ground in Syria, so that it looks like Iran is the perpetrator of the failure of the agreement rather than the United States. They hope that will bring the other members of the permanent five and Germany into league with us as we bring the war to Iran.
That’s not going to happen. In their fondest dreams, that’s not going to happen. They may fool the American people, as Bush did in 2003, but they’re not about to fool the Germans, the French, and the others. This is going to be an interesting thing to see if they’re trying to indirectly bring on this war with Iran and to abrogate the nuclear agreement with Iran, how many people in the world, I predict none, will follow in our footsteps, and how big a disaster this may be for the United States.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 8 2017 9:35 utc | 1

Abu Dhabi is one of the more reasonable of the Emirates. They were the ones Doha turned to when it became evident that they were using up all their money on wild schemes. (like the almost kilometre-high building, Burj Kahlifa, 829 metres high). Abu Dhabi royalty bailed them out.
Oman is another that goes about it’s own business without fuss.
Maybe the US National Security Council should take a holiday and travel a bit more?

Posted by: stonebird | Jun 8 2017 10:22 utc | 2

I agree, they try to set up a trap to Iran into blockading/non-blockading Hormuz.

Posted by: Mina | Jun 8 2017 10:32 utc | 3

“The unnecessary loss for Labour can be solely blamed on the media”
To a great degree this is true, but there was also a massive action against Corbyn by the Blairite faction of MPs. They did everything in their power to destroy Corbyn. Later, when the election was announced, Blair himself was urging people to vote Lib wasn’t he? The ego of this man knows no bounds. However, Corbyn may just have buried him once and for all!
Corbyn has shown himself to be a more than worthy and successful leader of the Labour party! May his success over the last few weeks be mirrored in the results.
Polls be damned – snake oil sellers every one of them!

Posted by: AtaBrit | Jun 8 2017 10:47 utc | 4

3) You mean Dubai not Doha :-)) Burj Kahlifa is is Dubai.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 8 2017 10:49 utc | 5

The U S is desperately afraid in an energy constrained future that high quality Persian gas and oil – sold on the Chinese market – will translate into massive Chinese money coming their way . This income will be used to buy new Chinese military equipment and to stimulate China into producing state of the art weaponary that will eclipse Western military domination .

Posted by: ashley albanese | Jun 8 2017 10:49 utc | 6

Hello,I’m an avid reader of this website. Great informative content. Just wanted to offer my 2 cents (pence) on the UK election. I’m from England and maybe I’m being optimistic but I think Labour will win it. I’m a Labour man (I abstained during the Blair era) but there are lifelong Conservatives who are disgusted by Theresa Mays dementia tax as well as her incompetence as Home Secretary aiding and abetting the Libya jihadists who would later kill innocent children in Manchester.

Posted by: Tee | Jun 8 2017 10:53 utc | 7

@somebody | 2
“how many people in the world, I predict none, will follow in our footsteps, and how big a disaster this may be for the United States.”
Great article. The quoted line is fascinating in that it reflects the US’s isolation – that it is unable even to recognise its own isolation in the region and more widely. Balances of power have changes are changing throughout the middle east and new allegiances are being created which completely fly in the face of the US’s seemingly ‘aged’ understanding.

Posted by: AtaBrit | Jun 8 2017 10:59 utc | 8

@somebody 6
Oops, Maybe I need a holiday too.

Posted by: stonebird | Jun 8 2017 10:59 utc | 9

@2
What is that guy smoking? Steve Bannon is probably the last guy in the top administration that actually wants a war, he’s the one who pushes most for finding common ground and peace with Russia. There are many others who are either neo-cons wannabes, pro-Israel or linked to various military and business groups that want it far more.

Posted by: Clueless Joe | Jun 8 2017 11:06 utc | 10

Iranian – probably government – paper
MEK behind Teheran attacks not ISIS

Although ISIS has reportedly taken the responsibility of Tehran terror attack, security experts and analysts in Tehran believe the attack are carried out in a way similar to MKO’s former terrorist operations. A security source told Iran’s View that evidences show Saudi Arbia’s intelligence entities directly working along with the MKO agents in carrying out the terror attacks. Jihadi militias controlled by Saudi Arabia have been making connections with the MKO for almost a year now.
Security forces could arrest alive one of the terrorists who attempted to kill herself with cyanide. Unlike Daesh, the MKO typically uses women in carrying out its terrorist operations.
Security observers in Tehran say the terrorists have planned for other attacks as well. Security forces are fully prepared to counter any other possible attack.
Earlier in May Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud, the kingdom’s defense minister talked of his country’s efforts to take the battle inside Iran.

From another thread – John McCain in Albania meeting MEK in April

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., met with a group representing Iranian dissidents in Albania on Friday.
Speaking to members of the Mujaheddin-e Khalq, the largest of five organizations in the National Council of Resistance of Iran, at their headquarters in Tirana, McCain spoke about his opposition to the Iranian regime. “Someday, Iran will be free. Someday, we will all gather in that square,” McCain said.
…
The U.S. had listed the MEK as a terrorist organization for past alleged attacks on Americans, for which MEK has denied having any role. One senior official in the Clinton administration described the designation as a gesture of goodwill to then-Iranian president Mohammad Khatami. The MEK was removed from the list in 2012.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 8 2017 11:07 utc | 11

11)
He seems to have a reputation as a warmonger
Do you think MAGA means anything else but war? Or at what time in history would you place the “again” of the slogan.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 8 2017 11:20 utc | 12

Tee @ 8
Is the public waking up to the “fingerprints” of the UK in places like Iraq, Libya etc., Tee?
I do not recall seeing much of an outcry after the Chilcot report and the more recent report regarding Libya. But then, I do not live in the UK and only follow UK news very broadly.
Are ordinary people really starting to connect the dots?

Posted by: E | Jun 8 2017 11:32 utc | 13

Iran now officially blaming ISIS plus not yet sure if Saudi Arabia was directly to blame.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 8 2017 11:32 utc | 14

@ stonebird. You are mixing up Dubai with Doha. Burj Kahlifa was the Burj Dubai before it was hawked to Abu Dhabi, amongst other crown jewels for bail out cash after Dubai became essentially insolvent around 2010.
I think Abu Dhabi’s CP actually holds quite a lot of power, more than all other other Emirates combined. Money matters. Dubai is given a big boy’s seat at the table, but behind the scenes, Abu Dhabi calls almost all the shots when it comes to foreign policy and for the most part pan-emirates issues with the exception of Dubai, and even then they know who is really boss of the UAE. Sharjah sold out to KSA long ago….the others have little to offer, and do what they are told, for a fee of course.

Posted by: Marco | Jun 8 2017 11:43 utc | 15

@1 somebody, ‘how big a disaster this may be for the United States’
can’t be too big for me. the neocons will not go down without stakes driven through their hearts.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 8 2017 12:11 utc | 16

>>>> somebody | Jun 8, 2017 5:35:57 AM | 2

I have it on pretty good authority that Secretary Mattis has already directed our forces in Syria to change their rules of engagement in such a way that it allows them to go after directly what is called, in the direction, the Iranian militia, that is those Iranians inside Syria assisting the Assad regime, and its Hezbollah auxiliaries, meaning Hezbollah, the number one terrorist organization in the world in terms of capability.

Colonel Wilkerson understates the publicly-stated American position. It’s not “Iranian militia”, it’s “Iranian-backed forces” which includes everybody in the R+6 including the SAA but excepting only the Russians.
As far as Mattis is concerned, his main problem is the SAA in Deir Ez-zor which sits astride the Euphrates Valley and prevents the SDF/US moving on Al Bukamal that way. Furthermore, with the US having claimed a 35 km “de-confliction zone” around al tanf. it can hardly complain in the R+6 do the same for Deir Ez-zor, and once the R+6 arrives at the border of Deir Ez-zor Governorate (70 km from Deir Ez-zor itself) the west bank of the Euphrates is closed to the SDF/US. Furthemore the Deir Ez-zor “de-confliction zone” reaches the outskirts of Al-Mayadeen. So the SAA must be kicked out of Deir Ez-zor.

US makes proposal to Russia for managing Syria battlefield
WASHINGTON — The United States has proposed to Russia a plan for managing an increasingly complex battlefield in Syria’s main oil-producing region, where U.S.-backed forces fighting Islamic extremists are in conflict with Russian-backed Syrian forces.
Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford declined to describe the proposal in detail, but said the Russian military is eager to find ways to avoid an armed U.S.-Russian conflict in the area around Deir el-Zour on the Euphrates River.
The U.S. sees that area, from Deir el-Zour down the Euphrates River Valley to al-Qaim on the Iraqi side of the border, as the next major battleground in the evolving coalition campaign to destroy the Islamic State group.
“We have a proposal that we’re working on with the Russians right now,” Dunford said at a news conference with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. “I won’t share the details, but my sense is that the Russians are as enthusiastic as we are to de-conflict operations and ensure that we continue to take the campaign to ISIS and ensure the safety of our personnel.”
Asked whether the proposal to Russia would address the problem of a Syrian army presence in Deir el-Zour, Dunford said, “It will. It will. And we’ve talked about that as a specific area that requires” avoiding U.S.-Russian conflict.

What offer do you think Dunford/Mattis made to the Russians? (The only members of the MSM that I can find who’ve published this AP article, as is, are ABC News and the Daily Mail.)

Posted by: Ghostship | Jun 8 2017 12:21 utc | 17

The unusual terrorist attack in Iran…the attacks in the UK on the eve of elections…by someone well known to UK intelligence…Trump’s visit to Saudi and the 350 Billion arms deal…and the attack on Qatar for apparently, daring to have an independent policy from Saudi on a few issues…to me, there is more than coincidence going on here. Surely, the Saudi despots floated the idea to Trump before they took action against Qatar.
The breakup and disunity of the oil sheikdoms can only be a good thing for American patriots. Their influence over our country is troublesome to say the least.
Even if Trump thinks Climate Change is a hoax designed to give other economies an edge, he and his followers should support renewable energy to reduce the sheikdoms’ power over us. Fracking is not the answer. It destroys everything and postpones the inevitable.
We will never get our country, our sovereignty and democracy back until we get rid of Israeli and Saudi lobby power in Washington. All of these lobbyists must be arrested by loyal American police and military officers. Our day will come and it will be swift.
Daniel Bruno
http://hpub.org/Michael_Krieger_Trump%E2%80%99s_Middle_East_Foreign_Policy_is_a_Disaster_Waiting_to_Happen-59013/

Posted by: Daniel Bruno | Jun 8 2017 12:21 utc | 18

@10 clueless
that guy if from foreign policy, where they project, rather than analyse, reality.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 8 2017 12:22 utc | 19

Russia continues to work out a carveup of Syria with the US, Turkey, Israel, etc.. Assad and Iran are beginning to feel the crushing wheels of the bus, not to mention the sharp stabbing pains in the back.

Posted by: paul | Jun 8 2017 12:32 utc | 20

Iran, France ready to boost cooperation in fighting terrorism

The Iranian and French presidents have reaffirmed their countries’ determination to strengthen cooperation in fighting terrorism after Tehran was hit by double terror attacks, the first claimed by the Daesh Takfiri outfit in the Islamic Republic.
In a Wednesday telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, Emmanuel Macron expressed condolences over the deaths of over a dozen Iranian citizens in the recent terrorist attacks in the Iranian capital.
He voiced Paris’ preparedness to expand its cooperation with Tehran in countering terrorism and in other areas of common interest.

Trump falls short of condemning terrorist attacks in Iran, points finger at victim

“We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote,” claimed Trump.
Daesh (ISIL) terrorists were among militants initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government.

sounds as though – if nothing else – the micron’s sense of pitch is much more finely attuned than the rump’s.
i wonder what the rump’s real supporters make of his performance these days? is it, Yeah! right on!, tell ’em rumpy! or are the averting their eyes, as is everyone else on earth?

Posted by: jfl | Jun 8 2017 12:38 utc | 21

Trump did not campaign on a peace platform. Trump campaigned as the guy who would impose his will on foreign leaders, or else. And if there was an else, Trump campaigned as the guy whose army would win or else he’d fire generals until it did. And he would massively increase the budget for else to make sure he’d win the war. (And he didn’t campaign for it, but recruiting all those generals is the opposite of a peace campaign.) Putin isn’t the deepest thinker, so he likely thought Trump campaigned on making a deal with him. But he apparently doesn’t grasp that Trump’s idea of a deal is where he wins, and the other guy loses. Putin probably believed capitalism in China is destined to triumph and painlessly stop Trump’s goal of taking down China.
Part of what is going on with the political campaign against Trump is that he lost the vote, and merely won the Electoral College, so he’s weak politically. The sharks always go mad when there’s blood in the water. And another part of what is going on is the political class in D.C. is worried about what happens when any outsider comes in. Much of the campaign replicates the frenzy launched against Jimmy Carter. Clinton also was attacked with a hysterical frenzy within days taking office, over gays in the military in his case. You’re right about the desire to preempt a target switch from Russia to China. But only a part.

Posted by: steven t johnson | Jun 8 2017 12:45 utc | 22

Re: Posted by: somebody | Jun 8, 2017 5:35:57 AM | 2
Wilkerson is 100% 180 Degrees wrong on Bannon.
I’ve seen no evidence at all that Bannon is the least bit interested in a conflict with Iran (presumably on behalf of the Zionists right?)
Zero evidence.
NONE.
No one in the Trump Administration would appear to be more against such a foreign adventure than Bannon.
The current conflagration between Qatar & Saudi and friends however, that by itself could have Bannon’s fingerprints all over it.
What could be better than a bunch of terrorist funding Arabs fighting another bunch of terrorist funding Arabs?

Posted by: Julian | Jun 8 2017 12:46 utc | 23

@13
I would say so, despite all the media bias heavily in favour of May she is still on the ropes.
Ordinary voters are waking up to how May as Home Secretary allowed the recent terrorists to leave and enter Britain freely.
There is also a growing anti Saudi sentiment within the country, which had made its way into many of the election debates. Corbyn has called for a review of ties with Saudi, whereas Mays lacked Rudd has quipped “its good for business”.

Posted by: Tee | Jun 8 2017 12:50 utc | 24

Re: Posted by: AtaBrit | Jun 8, 2017 6:47:20 AM | 4
The Blairite idiots were in bed with the so-called ‘liberal’ media like The Guardian.

Posted by: Julian | Jun 8 2017 12:52 utc | 25

23 only if you play the oistrich
Stephen Bannon: Generation Zero

While the film focuses on economic topics, including deficit spending and the 2008 bank bailouts, the film also heavily focuses on the 1960s. The film interprets the 1960s in the context of Strauss and Howe’s generational theory. In the film, Bannon is critical of his own generation. He commented: that the “baby boomers are the most spoiled, most self-centered, most narcissistic generation the country’s ever produced”, blaming the cohort for much of the current economic problems.[4][1]
The film describes the 1960s as a time in which young adults turned away from their parents’ values, saying they turned their backs on history. The film refers to “seasons of history” and concludes that the damage which was initiated in the 1960s, when young baby boomers turned away from their parents’ values, will be undone via war or other great crisis. The period of crisis is referred to as a “turning”. In Strauss and Howe’s theory, the period of crisis or war is referred to as the “fourth turning”. The film concludes with the line “history is seasonal and winter is coming”.[4][1][3][9]
Historian David Kaiser, who was consulted for the film said that it focused on a key aspect of Strauss and Howe’s theory: “the idea that every 80 years American history has been marked by a crisis, or ‘fourth turning’, that destroyed an old order and created a new one”. Bannon, Kaiser states, was “very familiar with Strauss and Howe’s theory of crisis, and has been thinking about how to use it to achieve particular goals for quite a while.”

Posted by: somebody | Jun 8 2017 12:59 utc | 26

Of course many big political events that happened recently, including the bombings in Tehran, are the results of last meeting of the Bilderbergers. Why people do not see a direct connection here, and many times in the past, is beyond me.
Thierry Meyssan brings some startling revelations about the decisions made in Chantilly (mind you, it was there were it was decided that Hitlary Killton yields to Obama in 2008 presidential race) that will shape the world future in coming months. I’m shocked to read about forming supposedly UK-Qatar-Iran alliance, really hard to believe…

It will take a little time before we know what was said during this meeting, and to understand the conclusions that were reached by the various attendees. However, we already know that London is pushing for a change of paradigm in the Middlde East. If the model of the « Arab Spring » (reproduction of the « Arab Revolt of 1916 » organised by Lawrence of Arabia in order to replace the Ottoman Empire by the British Empire) is abandoned, MI6 hopes to create a new agreement on the basis of political Islamism.
As a result, while Washington has renewed its alliance with Saudi Arabia, and has convinced it to break with the Brotherhood in exchange for 110 billion dollars worth of armament [7], London is pushing for an agreement between Iran, Qatar, Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood. If this project were to be realised, we would experience the abandon of the Sunni/Chiite conflict and the creation of a « croissant of political Islam » encompassing Teheran, Doha, Ankara, Idleb, Beyrouth and Gaza. This new distribution would enable the United Kingdom to maintain its influence in the region.
The only thing upon which the Allies seem to agree is the necessity of abandoning the principle of a jihadist state. Everyone admits that the devil has to be put back in his box. Which means getting rid of Daesh, even if some people keep working with Al-Qaïda. This is why, worried about its survival, the self-proclaimed Caliph has secretly transmitted an ultimatum to Downing Street and the Elysée.

BTW Kudos to all inhabitants of Perfidious Albion who vote against the criminal, perverted, bloody, satanic pedophile-protecting, terror-sponsoring, so called “government” of Theresa May and her cronies. Yo do the right thing for the future of your country and the whole world.

Posted by: ProPeace | Jun 8 2017 13:23 utc | 27

@2 Somebody & @17 Ghostship
A Reuters article published last night about “Hacking the Qatari website” mentions in closing the value of Qatar on waging war on “Iranian-backed forces”. See below:
“U.S. military officials, also speaking anonymously to discuss political issues, said the Al Udeid airbase in Qatar is vital to American air support against Iranian paramilitaries and Iranian-backed forces on the side of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s civil war.”
Well, the cat is finally out of the bag that we are not really fighting ISIS. I’m really “shocked”. I just wonder how they will sell this to the public after screaming “ISIS, ISIS, ISIS” for so many years, but I’m sure they’ll find a way.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-gulf-qatar-cybercrime-idUSKBN18Y2X4

Posted by: Michael | Jun 8 2017 13:24 utc | 28

Tee @ 24
Thanks. Good luck.

Posted by: E | Jun 8 2017 13:35 utc | 29

Re: ProPeace @27
I also find a UK-Iran-Qatar Iran alliance, really hard to believe. It is incompatible with a US-UK alliance, as well as the UK remaining in NATO.

Posted by: Perimetr | Jun 8 2017 13:40 utc | 30

Using iPhone/spyPhonr, can’t type, meant “UK-Iran-Qatar” alliance

Posted by: Perimetr | Jun 8 2017 13:42 utc | 31

Last chance for the British people to get rid of Maggie’s ghost and become an example for the whole Europe

Posted by: nmb | Jun 8 2017 14:05 utc | 32

“Hezbollah, the number one terrorist organization in the world in terms of capability.”
Posted by: somebody | Jun 8, 2017 5:35:57 AM | 1
Zionist shill quietly pushing b.s. The “number one terrorist organization in the world” is the CIA.

Posted by: nobody | Jun 8 2017 15:37 utc | 33

Comey apparently admit leaking stuff to New York Times,
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/06/08/covfefe-livewire-comey-crazy-sweeps-washington-breitbart-live-union-pub/

Posted by: Anon | Jun 8 2017 16:01 utc | 34

1/32
Hezbollah threatens to strike US in Syria over ‘red lines’

Posted by: somebody | Jun 8 2017 16:08 utc | 35

Trump quote:

“We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote,” claimed Trump.

When I heard this I immediately figured out that Trump must believe all the dead from the 9/11 attacks were the result of US actions against other countries. After all, the US is responsible for training, supporting, funding many terrorist organizations. Thus, hey, the US deserved 9/11.

Posted by: jawbone | Jun 8 2017 16:18 utc | 36

Well the moronic twats in Washington are claiming they were “blindsided” by the Saudi threats to Qatar. If they had more than a couple of little grey cells to rub together between them they would have seen what was coming and if the US IC wasn’t so obsessed with Russia-gate, etc., they might have received reports from the IC of the likely outcome of this fuck-up.
BTW, that deputy fuckwit king or whatever has really excelled himself when it comes to the list of demands of Qatar:

Saudi Arabia has given Qatar a 24 hour-ultimatum to fulfill 10 conditions that have been conveyed to Kuwait, which is serving a mediator role between the two “estranged” nations. The main thrust of the ultimatum is for Qatar to end all ties with Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.
Since most media reports do not have details yet of the ultimatum, we are publishing the alleged 10 demands
1) Cutting ties with Iran immediately.
2) Officially apologizing for all GCC governments for the insults, fake news they’ve tolerated from broadcast network Aljazeera.
3) Expelling all Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood leaders and members from Qatar.
4) Stop interfering in Egypt’s affairs immediately.
5) Stop sponsoring or funding any terror groups in any way, shape or form.
6) Freezing Hamas leaders bank accounts and prohibiting any financial transactions with/by them in that regard.
7) Vowing not to have any future policies or political roles that contradict the GCC unified polices.
8) Shutting down Aljazeera TV network immediately and abiding by the pact agreed upon by Doha in 2012 during late King Abdullah rule.
9) Expelling all the personalities, figures who have known aggressive stances against GCC countries from Qatar.
10) In case Qatar fully agreed to all above, an urgent meeting of GCC leaders to be held in Jeddah, KSA tomorrow to ink the irrevocable deal.
Speculations are high that Qatar will be invaded if they will not comply with the said demands. Saudi Arabia has not issued an official statement yet on the would-be consequences should Qatar chose to be defiant.

What morons the al Sauds are.

Posted by: Ghostship | Jun 8 2017 16:44 utc | 37

thanks b… fully concur with your conclusions on trump here… i don’t know about any moron ranch in crawford that he has, but he could easily pull back and let the crazies continue on with what you articulate here – “The War on Russia or war on Iran are their favorite outcomes.” it gets so tiring given how predictable it all is..
however, i am more in agreement with tee @7 on the uk election.. could be wrong, but i think a chance for an upset is strong..
@11 somebody… that fucker mccain needs to be done away with… a warmonger of the first order, siding up with MEK since they came off the terrorist list… what a complete loser mccain is…

Posted by: james | Jun 8 2017 17:15 utc | 38

@36 Has this list been confirmed by official sources? If yes it smacks of summer of 1914 shenanigans. Mind you, with Turkey’s decision to send troops to Qatar, what will KSA do more then complain?

Posted by: Lozion | Jun 8 2017 17:21 utc | 39

After Macron’s landslide last month and with the final polls predicting a May landslide today, it seems as if the rancid, warmongering neoliberal/neoconservative center is impregnable at the polls, which means that salvation will have to come by means of internal collapse. The collapse is already underway. The GCC meltdown is evidence. A U.S.-Hezbollah war in Syria is more proof. We’re just getting the first few nibbles of what is going to be a ghastly feast.

Posted by: Mike Maloney | Jun 8 2017 17:25 utc | 40

FWIW, according to RT News today the US conducted another airstrike that targeted pro-government Syrian forces: “US strikes pro-govt forces in Syria, shoots down drone”.
“The US-led coalition has struck Syrian pro-government forces near its training base of At Tanf, and shot down an armed drone outside its deconfliction zone. The previous airstrike close to At Tanf on Tuesday was condemned by Damascus and Moscow.”
The US authorities claim that the Syrian forces impermissibly entered a deconfliction zone, but Lavrov disputes this allegation.
I’ll defer to the military experts here, but it certainly feels like a US/NATO campaign to “test” the Syrian government and its allies with repeated provocations. This may well be an attempt to escalate the conflict into a major confrontation up to and including a new World War.

Posted by: Ort | Jun 8 2017 17:59 utc | 41

RT @ Ex-FBI chief Comey: Many news stories about Russia are ‘just dead wrong’

Posted by: Anon | Jun 8 2017 18:00 utc | 42

I didn’t see the Comey stuff, nor did I have a desire to. However, when I checked my twitter TL, I noticed a eerily pleasant lack of progressives and liberals RTing big city media cats (typically from NYC, DC & LA).
Also, Qatar has nothing to do with terrorism, it’s the saudi’s trying to keep their feudalistic autocratic government and push wahhabism upon the world and inability to accept a vision of the Middle east that includes Iran like Qatar. Saudi’s like Israel now [maybe there is a Natural gas angle too]

Posted by: Rawdawgbuffalo | Jun 8 2017 18:01 utc | 43

Ukraine MPs vote for becoming a Nato member
http://presstv.ir/Detail/2017/06/08/524639/Ukraine-Parliament-NATO-Russia

Posted by: Anon | Jun 8 2017 18:10 utc | 44

@40 ort
How long or how soon till the Russians bring down an R2P airforce jet inside Syria? With the substance of the Comey testimony equating to zilch, does Russia know that the collusion-narrative is being steadily destroyed, so much that they could feasibly shoot down an intruder without the US populace backing for retaliation? Syrian life should not be so cheap any longer with the vanquished on the ropes. Sometimes a bully needs to be socked in the mouth and go quivering home to mama. Is that instance fast approaching?

Posted by: NemesisCalling | Jun 8 2017 18:12 utc | 45

Interesting take on the Qatar – Saudi confrontation posited by Karagul and Yeni Safak in a couple of articles today a lot of which is typical scaremongering, but there was one concept that struck me as interesting- in summary;
Zarif travelled to Turkey yesterday with, apparently, the purpose of telling Turkey to sort out the Qatar – Saudi spat. He warned, apparently, that the spat was actually a trap set for Saudi Arabia as payback maybe for the twin towers, and that should it escalate Iranian, Houthi or American tanks would be rolling over Kabe. – The Mecca Wars.
As regards the players involved it is highly biased – it could just as well be Muslim Brotherhood backed militias. But I thought the concept of a trap as payback was worth mentioning as was the fact that Iran does not seek such an outcome.

Posted by: AtaBrit | Jun 8 2017 18:32 utc | 46

first time ever, the eiffel tower’s lights will be off tonight in solidarity with.. Tehran’s victims

Posted by: anonymity | Jun 8 2017 19:12 utc | 47

The only reason that would explain the GCC + Egypt having no shame to take such steps during ramadan is this one: make very clear to anyone coming back from Syria or Iraq back home that no political activity or propaganda will be tolerated. The pilgrimage in Mecca is in 3 months, they must have tips that something was in the making. It has nothing to do with Iran but everything to do with UAE, Egypt, Saudi etc djihadists.
So guess who will have to take them? Europe. Afghanistan. Africa. That’s the meaning of Trump’s speech in Riyadh explaining the Arab countries that to get rid of extremism they simply have to kick them out. (And not let them in again)

Posted by: anonymity | Jun 8 2017 19:17 utc | 48

@ #40 Ort re Al Tanf — why do we keep reading about American claims re a ‘de-confliction zone’ in the Al Tanf area that seems to permit US planes to attack pro-SAA forces to prevent them from moving toward AF Tanf and the border?
Does such an agreement exist? If not, why not a resolution at the UNSC condemning the illegal US occupation and aggression against SAA forces?
If nothing is done, US-backed forces will gain control of the border all the way to Iraq.

Posted by: chet380 | Jun 8 2017 19:17 utc | 49

@44 nc… i think the instance is fast approaching… i sure as hell hope not yet though..
@45 atabrit.. my only problem with that is the usa hasn’t been very bright in all of this.. in fact trump was clueless on the military base in qatar when he signed into twitter… he spends too much time on twitter and not enough in the real world.. to think the usa is playing some sophisticated game here is unlikely.. now, being a cynic, i could be persuaded that us zionist ideology had something to say in the matter, but even then i don’t see any of this benefiting israel either… seems like saudi arabia under the bozo boy kid, just can’t get anything right… qatar looks like they have more going for them in terms of sophistication and maneuvering… if people like mccain and trump are any indication – the usa is in deep doo doo here…

Posted by: james | Jun 8 2017 19:17 utc | 50

@43, Anon

Ukraine MPs vote for becoming a Nato member

In related news: I just voted myself a next Power-ball lottery winner;)

Posted by: SmoothieX12 | Jun 8 2017 19:38 utc | 51

An interesting post at SST today. According to Pat Lang, US risks losing Incirlik and now al-udeid is possibly at risk. US needs these two bases for it’s wars in the middle east.
Hard to tell if Trump is just a bungling neo-con or deliberately undermining the war faction. Tillerson is no fool. Be interesting to know what he is up to, but in scanning the MSM have seen no mention of him in weeks. Trump diverting attention again, allowing Tillerson to get on with whatever they are up to?

Posted by: Peter AU | Jun 8 2017 19:42 utc | 52

@Peter AU | 51
Dont know what SST is, so cant check whethe this is about the German pull out or more?
Headlines in Turkey today were all about weapons being transported from Incirlik to PKk by US (yawn), and commentators are appauled by such treachery, of course!!
Is Turkey ramping up some ‘friction’ with the US to calm the Qatar issue?
Is it simply a continuation of the German pull out – ie. an unspoken NATO collapse at Incirlik – Part of me suspects that the German situation was to some extent ‘managed’ to facilitate a pull out.
And I am no Yank, so cant really comment on Trumps sanity / competency, but he did win the presidency, he has people even if they are or are not in office, he’s not alone. He may well be the distraction as you say.

Posted by: AtaBrit | Jun 8 2017 20:06 utc | 53

PeterAU @ 51. Whither Tillerson? He’s been tasked with salvaging the GCC. According to a story in today’s national edition of the NYT:

By Wednesday, Mr. Trump offered to invite both sides to the White House and suggested Mr. Tillerson as a mediator. The president also called the Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, to repeat his urgings on Twitter to cut off financing of extremist groups. While Qatar’s support for those groups — including the Muslim Brotherhood, which the Saudis and the Egyptians consider a serious threat — is without question, the same charge could be leveled at the Saudis, who have allowed funds to flow to other Sunni extremists.

Posted by: Mike Maloney | Jun 8 2017 20:21 utc | 54

@AtaBrit | Jun 8, 2017 4:06:03 PM | 52
SST is ‘Sic Semper Tyrannis’, http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/
A blog run by Col. Pat Lang, retired military intelligence officer and consultant, other ex military guys post articles, and a robust comments conversation. Our host here at MOA comments over there regularly. Another excellent source of real info and cogent analysis, MOA and SST are at the top of my list.

Posted by: howard in nyc | Jun 8 2017 21:06 utc | 55

@52 atabrit
are the 3000-5000 turkish troops in qatar yet? i’ll believe it when i see it. if the saudis were going to strike they’d certainly do so before the turks arrived. seems like cheap publicity for erodogan and the turks at this point. iran seems the only one delivering for the qataris, so far.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 8 2017 21:22 utc | 56

Exit polls on BBC just now: Cons 314 Lab 266 – it looks like it’s going to be a hung Parliament. That is the end of the dreadful Theresa May then…

Posted by: tnr | Jun 8 2017 21:28 utc | 57

tnr #56: How does that compare with the previous parliament, ito C and C numbers. Wasn’t it already fairly slim, the C majority? So that could even be an improvement for the C’c.

Posted by: Petra | Jun 8 2017 21:35 utc | 58

Sen. McCain’s long, rambling question to Comey went on and on, and seemed like nothing but the incoherent raving of a senile man. Comey seemed to react with pain at having to listen to it. In his mind, McCain couldn’t disconnect the idea of the Clinton private server email story, from the ongoing Russian boogeyman fiasco; and he was nonsensically trying to connect the two. This part of the proceedings was hard to watch without cringing.
It looks like real purpose of Comey’s public testimony was the dramatic moment when he declared strongly, and emphatically, that the whole Russian heist-the-US-election caper is absolutely a real thing, and so damned serious that it obviously transcends partisan divisions. You could see the smiles and nods pass over the committee, and the general consensus of the two-winged War Party being confirmed. Yes, the policy for war is being set in concrete; and it is doubtful that the current president, or any other president, is going to put a dent in the convivial spirit of the war makers who are gathered there. The American people are simply being drowned in a tidal wave of lies.

Posted by: Copeland | Jun 8 2017 21:37 utc | 59

Confirming Copeland impression French gov radio had in full the long rant againsg the interfering reds who want to destroy our civilisation

Posted by: Mina | Jun 8 2017 21:49 utc | 60

@56 tnr
Current State of the Parties (going ito the election)
330 Conservative
229 Labour
54 Scottish National
9 Liberal Democrat
8 Democratic Unionist
4 Independent
4 Sinn Féin
3 Plaid Cymru
3 Social Democratic & Labour Party
2 Ulster Unionist Party
1 UK Independence Party
1 Green
1 Vacant
1 Speaker
650 Total number of seats
17 Working Government Majority
so a majority government would be 326? according to the exit poll the tories don’t have it, are 12 short, having lost 16 seats, and labour has gained 37? not being a brit i have no idea of the coalition possibilities.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 8 2017 21:50 utc | 61

UK general election. My only thought and wish Julian Assange able to leave Ecuador embassy a free man even if a hung parliament.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-08/watch-live-uk-election-results-exit-polls-signal-tories-fall-short-majority

Posted by: OJS | Jun 8 2017 21:55 utc | 62

Posted by: jfl | Jun 8, 2017 5:50:58 PM | 60
Add 10 unionists to the Conservatives and they still don’t have the majority.
All the others would have to form a coalition which is likely as LibDems are anti-Brexit.
It would be very, very unstable though.
May will have to step back from Tory leadership with these results. Maybe soft Brexit Tories form a ‘national unity coalition’ with Labour. I assume that would cost them a lot though
Still, it is only exit polls.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 8 2017 22:02 utc | 63

– Iran DOES have some large problems. Like a lot of other countries in the Middle East Iran is plagued with corruption, nepotism, etc.

Posted by: Willy2 | Jun 8 2017 22:05 utc | 64

jfl @60
Yes 326 is the magic figure – looks like they are struggling to make it. It could be going to be one wobbly coalition or a minority Government. £ is dropping like a stone at the moment – no surprise there. We will find out the true outcome later on – there has been a lot of tactical voting to get the Tories out in marginal constituencies. The key thing here now is if the Lib Dems go back into coalition with the Tories as they did in 2010. Given the Tories rushing through with Brexit and the Lib Dems wanting to stay within the EU – one of their manifesto pledges was another EU referendum vote on the proposals – I cannot see that happening.

Posted by: tnr | Jun 8 2017 22:05 utc | 65

@jfl, 60
According to spokesman SNP will not form a coalition with either Conservative or Labour.
Latest Labour win Newcastle!

Posted by: OJS | Jun 8 2017 22:06 utc | 66

@58 copeland @59 mina
thanks for the news. of course the neocons plan on fighting this war ‘over there’ … whether they can or not it means the same thing for the europeans : death, devastation, and destruction as in afghanistan, iraq, libya, syria, ukraine, yemen …
we americans seem to be assuming it’s going to be ‘over there’ too … nothing to worry about. not our lives and property on the line.
it’s up to the europeans to stop it. we americans may have started it, but it certainly looks like we’re not up to stopping it. and while it may or may not be dd&d for us … it certainly will be for europe.
sounds like france is en marche with the mad neocons of the usa.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 8 2017 22:06 utc | 67

I don’t know much about UK politics, I’m learning from Brexit and from today’s election. But I love this aspect that when you blunder and lose at the polls, you resign. Like Cameron immediately after Brexit, and from what I’ve heard so far if the Tories indeed drop 15 seats or so as the exit poll indicates, Mrs. May will quit.
Can we get some of that on our side of the pond?

Posted by: howard in nyc | Jun 8 2017 22:10 utc | 68

Posted by: OJS | Jun 8, 2017 6:06:04 PM | 65
SNP said they would support Labour “issue-by-issue”, ie. a Labour minority government.
It would be hell to govern though.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 8 2017 22:10 utc | 69

Current BBC projection suggests Tories making the government but hanging on their nails, namely, together with Ulster unionists and using the fact that Sinn Fein does not attend the sessions. On a theme “Celts and other riffraff unite” (for the many!) Corbyn could cobble a majority with the Scottish SNP, Welch Plaid Cymru, Irish Labour, Sinn Fein (can they be tempted with a barrel of whiskey? few cases of thermobaric grenades? what do those guys like?) and, ahem, really shady characters, namely Liberal Democrats.
Liberal Democrats could be useful if LP wants to back-pedal from some of the manifesto promises, one can count on them to be against. Otherwise, the left must be patient and wait for by-elections.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jun 8 2017 22:13 utc | 70

– My information says that the Tories will lose their outright majority. If that indeed happens then we’ll see a new prime minister very very soon. Exit Mrs. May.

Posted by: Willy2 | Jun 8 2017 22:15 utc | 71

if it were
tories 314
labour 266
scots 54 // why should that change?
==========
total 634
then there aren’t enough – 16 – left for a labour coalition and it would take nearly everyone else for a tory coalition?

Posted by: jfl | Jun 8 2017 22:20 utc | 72

@68
i like that alternative … any alternative. who’ll be pm? how does that work?

Posted by: jfl | Jun 8 2017 22:24 utc | 73

The hearings in DC are theater, nothing more. A tidal wave of semantics, ending in nothing but partisan bickering. The rulers of the empire have their man, and, that will not change. The corporate empire will continue their assault against the workers of the globe. For those who say Trump was elected fairly, there is no such reality in today’s U$A, for ANY major candidate.
Voter suppression is the order of the day. Big $ rules the day here, and has, for some time. More pain across the globe is coming, in the form of endless wars for profit.
Would like to see Corbyn win, but that’s a fantasy of mine. Nothing, seems to be able to succeed, to block the downhill trend to a more corporate world. Bend over labor, and lube up. The coming wave of privatization will devour the world, and the dreams of millions of workers around the world. Sad.

Posted by: ben | Jun 8 2017 22:25 utc | 74

@73 ben
buck up ben. can’t give a good reason for doing so … your own health, perhaps.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 8 2017 22:30 utc | 75

Posted by: jfl | Jun 8, 2017 6:24:06 PM | 72
It depends on the Conservative Party. May has managed to get all the UKIP votes but got no absolute majority.
May did not need to call this election nor did Cameron need to call for the Brexit referendum.
I suppose they do this stupid stuff because they are infighting. So after Cameron resigning, this time May will have to resign, so it is back to the remain conservative wing. But what do I know.
It is still to early to speculate as the exit poll can be up to 20 seats wrong and that would make all the difference.
Tory personell is pretty horrible. If they want to self destroy it would be Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 8 2017 22:40 utc | 76

what do those guys like?
@Piotr Berman | Jun 8, 2017 6:13:13 PM | 69
I’m no expert, but I think those guys would like six more counties. But maybe just a chance to really mess with the Tories would be enough for them to show up.

Posted by: howard in nyc | Jun 8 2017 22:43 utc | 77

BBC Breaking News (about a half dozen down from the top)
314 Conservative
266 Labour
34 SNP
14 Lib Dem
3 Plaid
1 Green
0 UKIP
18 Other
266+34=600, 26 short.
i guess labour, and who else?, ate the scots’ lunch?
just exit polls. wait to see what the results are after they’ve been ‘worked-on’, i mean tallied.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 8 2017 22:46 utc | 78

@77 =300, still 26 short

Posted by: jfl | Jun 8 2017 22:49 utc | 79

the use of demonisation to destroy alternative leaders has been a feature of recent elections such as in US and france
https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/05/22/all-power-to-the-banks-the-winners-take-all-regime-of-emmanuel-macron/

Posted by: brian | Jun 8 2017 22:52 utc | 80

The BBC led by political editor and tory spruiker laura kusenberg (sp?) are simply not to be trusted on any matters of opinion about this poll and at the moment there are no facts apart from the exit sample which was more than an order of magnitude larger than the tiny samples that have been the mainstay of just about all the newspaper polls, showed Labour doing better than just about any ‘expert’ prediction.
A major sign that Mr Corbyn may have pulled it off is the increase of around 5% nationally in the number of voters.
Comments on that seem to be chiefly surprise (and tory horror) from ‘election watchers’ that a large number of young people are voting. Like just about everywhere else in the west millennials in the main, had nothing but contempt for politicians of any stripe.
Mr Corbyn had a strategy which targeted them, an effective strategy because unlike 99% of hawk their fork vote buyers Mr Corbyn presents as a genuine normal human being.
So even this early with four retrund in last time I peeked and they were all safe labour seats it seems as though the tories are gonna take a big hit.
The tory strategy was always that May wanted to grab former UKIP voters who had drifted to UKIP from the neoliberal days of Labour. So far ukip is down and the tories picked up some of their votes but so did labour meaning it is unlikely may will pick up the extra seats she expected to for her landslide.
The tories like Dimbleby on the beeb are crowing about the votes which flowed outta ukip to conservative but that is only compared to the last (pre brexit referendum) election.
They have quietly forgotten that the reason Cameron called the referendum was that the tories had been losing big to ukip as well. The tory pickup is more likely to be returning tories than poached labourites.
It looks like Mr Corbyn has confounded the media and has shown himself to be eminently electable. Prior to the campaign the neolib labourites at the graun were predicting a 20 point swing away from Labour and they were gonna put their oxbridge mates back in to run a much smaller labour pond a la what the professional dems did with perez & the dnc.
Right now it seems that aint gonna happen – in yer dreams tossers – in yer dreams.

Posted by: Debsisdead | Jun 8 2017 23:20 utc | 81

Vladimir Putin’s man in Islington looking like the big winner in the UK tonight.
Has May complained/ alleged Russian hacking/ influence so far as the reason she’s a complete dumbshit moron?

Posted by: Julian | Jun 9 2017 0:04 utc | 82

Re: Posted by: OJS | Jun 8, 2017 6:06:04 PM | 65
Why wouldn’t the SNP form a coalition with the Tories on the demand of a new Independence vote later this year?
If they could keep May as the Prime Minister surely their chances of winning this referendum would be even greater?
It would be cynical, but if that’s what they ultimately want, why wouldn’t they do it?
I’d suggest a coalition with Jeremy Corbyn would see any Scottish Independence vote FAIL. Look how much better Labour are doing in Scotland with Corbyn at the helm……..

Posted by: Julian | Jun 9 2017 0:08 utc | 83

Has May complained/ alleged Russian hacking/ influence so far as the reason she’s a complete dumbshit moron?
Posted by: Julian | Jun 8, 2017 8:04:44 PM | 81
Putin just distracted EVERYONE with the masterful hack in Qatar. In England, he used mostly trolls that pass the Turing test for actual leftist Englishmen, and the complacent people in the right and center still think that those are “normal trots, detestable but native to the island”. It is also possible that we are observing Wrath of the Lord who decided to inflict Corbyn on the islanders so he can unleash seven plagues. There were omens like the election truck of “Strong and Stable” Tories flipping on a motorway due to strong winds — obviously, the hand of Heaven.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jun 9 2017 1:10 utc | 84

Re: Ghostship | Jun 8, 2017 12:44:35 PM | 36
Several of the demands to Qatar sound like:
1. Slither through muck.
2. Grovel.
3. Eat shit.
4. Repeat again.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jun 9 2017 1:13 utc | 85

Debs @80
Maybe, the young ones noticed that sitting out the Brexit vote, with barely 1/3 of the 18-30 voting when 80% of the 65+ voted, was a really bad idea that came back to bite them in the ass, and they finally learned their lesson? Not sure it would be enough, or that anything can change that, but one can dream.

Posted by: CluelessJoe | Jun 9 2017 1:16 utc | 86

This globalresearch.ca article says the recent “terrorist” attacks in London were to change the election outcome.
These attacks are much more often than not, completely engineered by Western intelligence agencies or, at the very least, known about beforehand and allowed to happen for political purposes. Whether it is terrifying the domestic population into accepting a greater police state or more foreign wars, or whether is simply an attempt to change and direct the public’s mood in one direction or other, false flag terror has been used expertly throughout the post-9/11 Western world. Thus, it would be entirely naïve to suggest the timing of the attacks is not intentional. Indeed, only a week before the general election as the wave of popular sentiment appeared to be leaning to the apparent anti-war Jeremy Corbyn when ISIS attacks innocent people in the most grotesque fashion, not only inspiring a “crackdown on the Internet” but also a suspension of the general elections. This suspension is likely to last just long enough to smear Corbyn as a weakling and a naïve peacenik who isn’t fit to lead in the modern world of domestic terror and constant violence.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-london-bridge-attack-and

Posted by: Penelope | Jun 9 2017 1:23 utc | 87

Perhaps the chances of Sinn Fein supporting Labour are less faint that I had imagine. Rather than a box of thermobaric grenades, those fiends truly know a fellow fiend when they see him SINN Fein leader Gerry Adams congratulated his old comrade Jeremy Corbyn tonight after a shock exit poll sparked Tory jitters.
The Republican honcho said Labour had fought “a very very good campaign”.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jun 9 2017 1:34 utc | 88

Re: Posted by: Penelope | Jun 8, 2017 9:23:13 PM | 86
More Australians than English died in those terrorist attacks in London.
I mean look at a map – seriously!
It rather sends a message to the rest of the country of England (that voted for Brexit quite strongly outside London) – just what sort of a place London is and what sort of resemblance it bears to the rest of the Old Dart.

Posted by: Julian | Jun 9 2017 1:45 utc | 89

@79 brian
thanks very much for the link to diana johnstone. i had seen a previous interview with her right after the election, but this one is much more informative.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 9 2017 1:52 utc | 90

@Julian 82
Why wouldn’t the SNP form a coalition with the Tories?
1. Think Clegg, who has just lost Sheffield Hallam to Labour – first time ever that Labour have won Hallam!
2. It is not clear that SNP has enough seats to help much – currently lost 7 of 20 SNP seats declared.

Posted by: dynkyd | Jun 9 2017 1:53 utc | 91

Seats won · 230/650 seats declared
110 16.9% Labour – Jeremy Corbyn
94 14.5% Conservative – Theresa May
13 2% Scottish National Party – Nicola Sturgeon
6 0.9% Democratic Unionist Party – Arlene Foster
3 0.5% Plaid Cymru – Leanne Wood
2 0.3% Sinn Féin – Gerry Adams and Michelle O’Neill
1 0.2% Liberal Democrat – Tim Farron
the five zeros – greens, ukip, ulster unionists, social dem & labour, and alliance
1 0.2% Other parties
labour is actually leading.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 9 2017 2:01 utc | 92

“We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote,” claimed Trump.
unfortunately the wankers that say things like this seem to think that it never applies to themselves…..
the US, israel and Saudi Arabia are by far the biggest sponsors of real State-sponsored terrorism in the world. But you would never know that by listening to their political leaders, nor the mainstream media in those countries

Posted by: michaelj72 | Jun 9 2017 2:02 utc | 93

jfl @ 74 said:”buck up ben. can’t give a good reason for doing so … your own health, perhaps.
Thanks jfl, but, I do find reality up-lifting and therapeutic :).

Posted by: ben | Jun 9 2017 2:09 utc | 94

independent hedaline says:
Jeremy Corbyn is now odds-on favourite to become next prime minister
http://www.independent.co.uk/News/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-prime-minister-labour-results-election-latest-betfair-exchange-odds-a7780431.html
and Michael Tracey on twitter remarks:
Michael Tracey‏Verified account @mtracey 2h2 hours ago
Corbyn’s success is the latest sign that being incessantly demonized by the political and media establishment tends to be an electoral asset

Posted by: michaelj72 | Jun 9 2017 2:21 utc | 95

Posted by: jfl | Jun 8, 2017 10:01:55 PM | 91
It is complex. Conservatives and Labour are gaining from the small parties.
As I understand results from the marginal seats will be in an hour or so.
As Labour targeted them by app there might be a big surprise – or not.
I have a feeling they could really win this as they obviously managed to get the youth vote out.
There was a big discussion of Momentum members just existing on social media but not going door to door canvassing – but that is what you do nowadays you canvas on social media.
Momentum got some of Bernie Sanders staff.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 9 2017 2:24 utc | 96

Far out creepy ukip leader Paul Nuttal has been done like a dinner in Boston & Skegness.
The beeb is still sobbing over May’s humiliation and are now claiming ‘not even Jeremy Corbyn would have expected this” Forget that Mr Corbyn predicted exactly this outcome – a severely diminished tory party from the moment Terri announced her moronically mishandled campaign.
Jeremy isn’t gonna have an easy row to hoe either. The likes of well known trouserer of zionist wedges Hilary Benn has slimed is way back into Parliament. Benn is widely believed to have instigated the 2016 attack on Mr Corbyn’s leadership and will be collecting sponsors tonight, selling himself as ‘the man who can best undermine Jezza.
On the other hand Labour has picked up seats in the south east they haven’t held in 50 years, included my old stamping ground, Canterbury, an area where the invalid scooters used to outnumber cars on the local roads. The type of petty bourgeois suckers who place the well being of some inbred chinless wonder descended from norman rapist & murderers ahead of their own. the ‘dementia tax which would prevent them from giving their homes to their granchildren wouldn’t have impressed maybe even to the point where they quit worrying about betty windsor’s future and considered their offspring.
I guess tho that many have shuffled off and the young dormitory suburb living commuter class have decided to push back against the cobweb encrusted old fart tories.

Posted by: Debsisdead | Jun 9 2017 2:49 utc | 97

Seats won · 430/650 seats declared
193 29.7% Labour Jeremy Corbyn
181 27.8% Conservative Theresa May
29 4.5% Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon
10 1.5% Democratic Unionist Party Arlene Foster
9 1.4% Liberal Democrat Tim Farron
4 0.6% Sinn Féin Gerry Adams and Michelle O’Neill
3 0.5% Plaid Cymru Leanne Wood
the five zeros – greens, ukip, ulster unionists, social dem & labour, and alliance
1 0.2%Other parties
labour still in the lead

Posted by: jfl | Jun 9 2017 2:50 utc | 98

Posted by: jfl | Jun 8, 2017 10:50:11 PM | 97
I think a lot of very safe Tory seats have not been counted yet. Otherwise updated projections would be very off and there is no reason for that.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 9 2017 2:59 utc | 99

@ 97: Thanks for the run-down. If Corybn’s numbers hold, that indeed, would be welcomed news.

Posted by: ben | Jun 9 2017 3:03 utc | 100

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