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Jimmy Carter Explains What North Korean Leaders Told Him
Stephen Lendman
The neocon/CIA-connected Washington Post gave him feature op-ed space to discuss one of the vital issues of our time - the urgency of avoiding another Korean war, potentially with nuclear weapons, devastating the peninsula and beyond if used, Carter saying:
“(T)he strong possibility of another Korean war…is the most serious existing threat to world peace, and it is imperative that Pyongyang and Washington find some way to ease the escalating tension and reach a lasting, peaceful agreement.”
True enough, the problem lying squarely in Washington, not Pyongyang, for decades wanting normalized relations with America and the West.
Carter met earlier with Kim Il-sung (North Korea’s founder), Kim Jong-nam (his eldest son and successor), and president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly.
He found them and other DPRK officials “completely rational and dedicated to the preservation of their” country. They’re not madmen, as falsely portrayed by US and other Western hardliners.
Their demands are entirely legitimate, Carter explaining they want direct talks with Washington, a peace treaty ending decades of an uneasy armistice.
Netanyahu Vows Stolen Palestinian Land Won’t Ever Be Given Back
Stephen Lendman
Last August, Netanyahu vowed Judea and Samaria (illegally occupied Palestinian West Bank land) belongs to Israel forever, blustering:
“This is the land of our fathers, this is our land. We are here to stay, forever. There will be no uprooting of communities in the Land of Israel,” adding:
Samaria is a “strategic asset. From these hills we can see the Land of Israel from one end to the other.”
“Imagine that radical Islamic forces were stationed on these hills. That would be a danger not only to us, but to all our neighbors.”
“It would endanger the whole region and the entire Middle East. Given everything that is happening around us, one could only imagine the consequences.”
Israel supports the most “radical” of “radical Islamic forces,” supplying ISIS and likeminded terrorists with weapons, treating their wounded in its field hospitals, terror-bombing Syrian targets to aid their campaign of murder and other atrocities, including use of CWs falsely blamed on Damascus.
White House Talking Points on Las Vegas
Stephen Lendman
NBC News and the Washington Examiner obtained them. Were they written ahead of Sunday’s incident, knowing what was coming?
The talking points aim to quell arguments for gun control, useless against state-sponsored gun violence.
They stress “gather(ing) facts before…mak(ing) sweeping policy arguments for curtailing the Second Amendment.”
They state Trump welcomes “a reasoned and well-informed debate on public safety” while affirming supporting the Second Amendment, calling gun ownership a constitutional right “meant to protect people’s freedoms.”
“The President believes that our founding principles, like freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to bear arms must be protected while maintaining public safety.”
General Strike and Mass Protest in Catalonia
Stephen Lendman
On Tuesday, strike action along with hundreds of thousands of Catalans taking to the streets in Barcelona, protesting against police state viciousness last Sunday made headlines.
Normal activity in the city ground to a halt, people chanting “Independence!” and “The streets will be ours!” Thousands gathered outside PM Mariano Rajoy’s People’s Party Barcelona office.
Supportive firemen played bagpipes, crowds cheering them on. A huge banner was displayed saying “Catalonia is NOT Spain” in English.
Dozens of roads were blocked, local transportation affected including ports. Many businesses closed for the day. So were schools and tourist areas. Medical centers operated at minimal levels.
Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said “I am convinced this strike will be widely followed.” Rajoy greatly misjudged the spirit of Catalan residents.
Sergey Lavrov on War in Syria
Stephen Lendman
Interviewed by the Asharq Al-Awsat pan-Arab newspaper, Lavrov highlighted Russia’s key role in combating US-supported terrorist invaders.
He stressed the importance resolving things diplomatically, Astana peace talks moving things incrementally in this direction, de-escalation zones established, others to come.
He blasted Arab states for denying Assad’s legitimacy, “practically usurp(ing) the right of the Syrian people to decide who will govern Syria and in what form. We strongly disagree with this approach.”
Syrians alone must decide who’ll lead them and how they’re to be governed, free from outside interference.
Russia believes combating ISIS and other terrorists “should be accompanied by the search for a political solution. To that end – continuing to fight against terrorist groups – we are enhancing our efforts to stop bloodshed, provide humanitarian assistance to the population, and intensify the political process as provided for in the UNSC Resolution 2254,” Lavrov explained.
Gallup: Trump Has Record-Low Approval Ratings: What are the implications, nationally and internationally?
Eric Zuesse
U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest job-approval rating in Gallup’s latest poll (which was taken during “Sep 18-24, 2017”), is 38%.
Gallup also posts there the relevant comparisons with the 9 other U.S. Presidents, since the time of Eisenhower:
How Billionaires become Billionaires
James Petras
America has the greatest inequalities, highest mortality rate, most regressive taxes, and largest public subsidies for bankers and billionaires of any developed capitalist country.
In this essay we will discuss the socio-economic roots of inequalities and the relation between the concentration of wealth and the downward mobility of the working and salaried classes.
How the Billionaires become Billionaires
One of the most likely sources of billionaire wealth is through tax evasion in all of its guises and forms.
Contrary to the propaganda pushed by the business press, between 67% and 72% percent of corporations had zero tax liabilities after credits and exemptions … while their workers and employees paid between 25 – 30% in taxes. The rate for the minority of corporations, which paid any tax, was 14%.
Madrid Vows to Block Catalan Independence
Stephen Lendman
State-sponsored street violence tried preventing Sunday’s referendum from taking place. It may have been prelude for harsher measures ahead.
Fascist PM Mariano Rajoy announced his intention, saying “(i)f anyone plans to declare the independence of part of the territory of Spain, as he can’t since he does not have the power to do so, we would have to do everything within the law to impede this.”The “law” apparently is whatever he says it is, including unleashing thuggish police in virtual combat gear against nonviolent Catalans exercising their right to vote, injuring hundreds, some seriously.
Catalan Voters Face Police State Violence
Stephen Lendman
Self-determination is a universal right, affirmed by the UN Charter and other international law - rejected by despotic states like Spain, masquerading as democratic.
On Sunday, Catalans trying to vote in their independence referendum are being assaulted by thuggish police - smashing glass panels of polling stations, bursting in violently, forcibly removing ballot boxes and voters, attacking them with batons and rubber-coated steel bullets, women as violently as men, the elderly treated the same way.
Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria lied, claiming police “acted with professionalism in an appropriate way.” Images show otherwise, including women battered and bloodied by police violence.
Catalonia is a battleground in Barcelona and elsewhere. War in the streets rages against its people, trying to exercise their right to vote.
Putin Calls for Improved Relations with US: An Unattainable Goal
Stephen Lendman
US/Russia relations are deplorable, things worsening, not improving.
Nothing in prospect suggests positive change. Russia’s future is East, not West. Its good faith efforts for normalized bilateral relations are consistently rebuffed.
US hostility remains unrelenting. Bipartisan neocons infesting Washington intend keeping things this way.
Nothing significantly positive between both countries happened since the Reagan/Gorbachev era. Obama’s brief reset was head-fake deception. No meaningful US outreach followed.
Hoped for improved ties when Trump entered office failed to materialize. Reckless Russia bashing persists.
Putin’s latest call for “predictable, constructive, mutually beneficial cooperation” with Washington will prove no more successful than earlier attempts to improve relations.
