Broads Thread on the Abroad

[senate]

[Dog]

The witnesses claimed that once or twice a week 20 to 50 people at a time were hanged after sham trials before a military court. Their bodies were taken to the nearby Tishreen military hospital where a cause of death was typically registered as a respiratory disorder or heart failure. They were buried on military land in Nahja, south of Damascus, and Qatana, a small town to the west.

The report’s author, Nicolette Waldman, said the estimate of the number of people hanged ranged from a minimum of 5,000 to a maximum of 13,000.

“There is no reason at all to expect that the hangings have stopped. We believe it is very likely that the executions are going on to this day and that many thousands more people have been killed,” she said.

“They came for them on a Monday. Before they were hanged, victims were condemned to death in a two- to three-minute hearing. The death sentence was signed by the minister of defence, who was deputised to sign by President Assad. It is inconceivable that all of the top officials did not know about it. This was a policy of extermination.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... SApp_Other

[Dr_Chimera]

How the US poured billions into Russian neoliberal policies of the 1990s and shaped the 1996 election: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/03/russ ... hareaholic

[Dr_Chimera]

US-backed famine in Yemen not worth the coverage.

[mayoradamwest]

anti Putin exile dead after accidentally crossing path with fired bullet.
www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/ ... raine.html

[Dr_Chimera]

US continues to terrorize Iraq.

[Dr_Chimera]

Alec Luhn reports on being arrested at a Navalny protest in St. Petersburgh. With pictures at the protest and police station: https://twitter.com/ASLuhn

[Dr_Chimera]

Some factual errors, but still interesting.

[Dr_Chimera]

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova's comments about Western perceptions of Putin are quite apt. She also succinctly explains why Russians are hesitant to overthrow Putin: http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... -democrats

[Dr_Chimera]

[The Bytown Boozer]

[MP]

https://twitter.com/ottawasuncom/status/931644424106512385

And this is why you never pass out first...

[mayoradamwest]

You gotta take turns mp

[MP]

You gotta take turns mp

Take turns passing out or is it a communal eel? Do they make eel sized condoms?

[Shawnathan Horcoff]

.

[chicpea]

I had a wife once.

[Dr_Chimera]

[PredsFan77]

[Dr_Chimera]

[PredsFan77]

well now yall know i was up to no good while traveling to new zealand:


WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Friday she was pregnant with her first child,

[PredsFan77]

Thank you. Despite lots of advice, we won't name our child Frodo

[Dr_Chimera]

More good stuff from #theresistance

[chicpea]

Chances are...one in a millian.


One in a Sergei Millian.


To be clear, it is very unlikely.

[chicpea]

The Putin Generation: Young Russians are Vladimir Putin’s biggest fans

“What the Russian soul demands,” says Yekaterina Mamay, “is that there be one strong politician in the country who resembles a czar.”

In Russia’s upcoming presidential election, the 20-year-old student, who knows that journalism in her country is not free, will nonetheless vote to reelect Vladimir Putin.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wor ... 7aa0eb4f74

[Shawnathan Horcoff]

With that said, how can anyone in their right mind give a shit that a spy got whacked? The daughter is a speck in the western bucket of collateral damage.

[PredsFan77]

=O

[chicpea]

The new Cold War seems to be freezing up rather rapidly.

The US accuses Russia of trying to destabilise Afghanistan by supporting the Taliban. Senior US officials have been saying for months that Moscow is even supplying the militants with weapons.

[Dr_Chimera]

American media's framing of the Israeli-Palestinian confrontations is sometimes stunning.

[chicpea]

"...fire back"

[Dr_Chimera]

The New York Times' extensive record of being shitty.

[Dr_Chimera]

"puts beyond doubt that it was highly likely"

[Dr_Chimera]

[Dr_Chimera]

Le Pen in a landslide in 2022.

[chicpea]

“By granting same-sex married couples ... access to spousal benefits, which are unique to marriage, the very status of marriage would diminish significantly in the eyes of the public,” one of the judges, Appeal Justice Jeremy Poon, wrote, saying that people might think the government was recognizing gay marriage via a “back door.”

https://www.inkstonenews.com/society/ho ... le/2148859

[chicpea]

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/ ... 50040.html

President Fascismo arrives for a three-date visit in Seoul.

[Susf]

Chancellor Angela Merkel made a forceful pitch for Europe to play a more assertive role in global affairs as U.S. President Donald Trump dismantles the post-World War II order, setting the stage for a potential tense standoff at the Group of Seven summit this week.

Merkel Urges Europe to Step Up in Trump’s New World Order - https://www.bloombergquint.com/global-e ... eorganized

[Craig]

That would very much be for the best. The best thing that a Trump presidency might accomplish is a federated Europe.

[Dog]

That would very much be for the best. The best thing that a Trump presidency might accomplish is a federated Europe.

For that, though, Germany would have to get its head out of its ass and accept a trully federated europe (with real fiscal solidarity). I’m all for a narrower but deeper EU.

[Dog]

Well, unless Europe goes all right wing populist too. Then I’m for a weak Europe!

[Susf]

Italy has certainly taken an interesting turn. Hungary is full right now with WANTED: GEORGE SOROS posters lining bus stops. I honestly don't even think the Big Bear to the East is Europe's biggest problem right now they are just prying for weaknesses in a NATO alliance that seems outdated ever more so by the day. Russia wants to be a part of Europe, they need to find a role for them, not constantly be at each other's throats. Either way, Trump's policies might be for the greater good if everyone can get their shit together until we get someone else in office. Figuring out Syria would also take off a heavy burden and lessen tensions between Russia and the West. Does Putin want to play ball? Was the Skirpal poisoning a message that the post WW2 order is done with?

[Susf]

Europe, Iran, and Economic Sovereignty: A New Banking Architecture in Response to US Sanctions

Following President Trump’s announcement of a U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran, the United States is set to pursue a “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran whereby it reintroduces stringent economic and financial sanctions.

From the Iranian perspective, the return of U.S. sanctions means a lost opportunity for growth and international engagement, but not an impending economic catastrophe. From a European perspective, sustaining economic exchange with Iran is not about advancing economic gains but rather about consolidating an agreement which is driven by pragmatic security concerns. The shared elements are clear—Iranian and European policymakers alike are principally motivated by a need to salvage the JCPOA and thereby protect their economic sovereignty and autonomy in international relations.

To support these ends, the latest ELN policy brief by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj and Axel Hellman presents a vision of a new banking architecture that could be at the heart of Europe’s package to protect Europe-Iran economic ties. This banking architecture should be designed not to evade US sanctions, but to ensure that those companies that can operate in compliance with U.S. secondary sanctions have access to the necessary banking services.

The design of this architecture should be presented to Tehran not as a “turnkey” initiative that can simply be switched on, but rather as a part of a comprehensive “roadmap” for joint European and Iranian implementation, in pursuit of expanded economic relations.



The architecture should have two main elements:

It should be centered on “gateway banks” – financial institutions which can serve as intermediaries between major Iranian and European commercial banks.
It should be overseen by an “EU-OFAC,” a regulatory authority modeled on the U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control, but with a philosophy of operation geared towards facilitation of trade rather than restriction.


EU-OFAC would pursue measures in two domains:

1) Compliance:

o EU-OFAC would develop common standards, tools, and certification mechanisms for due diligence to enable European businesses and banks to have greater confidence about the compliance of their activities, thus addressing a longstanding issue with the interpretive guidance issued by the United States.

o Drawing on a successful model developed in Germany, EU-OFAC would support collaborative efforts to increase the reliance on and reduce the costs of due diligence among the gateway banks.

o EU-OFAC would also assist European companies in seeking waivers and exemptions from U.S. authorities and act as an interlocutor between European companies and U.S. authorities.



2) Legal Protection:

o EU-OFAC would strengthen EU legal protections for entities engaged in Iran trade and investment by developing guidelines related to a strengthened blocking regulation, creating linkages to laws that underpin the Single European Payments Area (SEPA) and to non-discrimination in the provision of banking services.

https://www.europeanleadershipnetwork.o ... sanctions/

PDF link to full report: https://www.europeanleadershipnetwork.o ... 062018.pdf

[Susf]

[Susf]

What the fuck, Italy.

[Dog]

This will all end well, I’m sure.