Tag: Journalists

Peace Journalism

It is no secret that I am a “peace-nik” or if you prefer an antiwar activist….I have spent the last 50 years trying to point out the obscenity of war to an unfeeling population.

The media is not what one could call antiwar….if anything they seem to promote war and conflict….

From time to time I am sent papers by grad students looking to further their education in international relations…this paper is on the need for peace journalism…..

Peace Journalism: An Evolving Concept

Peace journalism, as the name suggests, is a form of journalism committed to exploring root causes of conflict in order to “create opportunities for society at large to consider and value non-violent responses to conflict” (Lynch and McGoldrick, 2005: 6). Its history can be tracked back to 1965, when Johan Galtung and Mari Ruge analysed what makes foreign news newsworthy (Galtung and Ruge, 1965). Jake Lynch and Johan Galtung (Lynch and Galtung, 2010) further developed the notion of peace journalism and argued that the media (war reporting, in particular) predominantly exhibit biases towards violence and rest on the conceptual belief that ‘conflict’ equals ‘war’. Within the field of peace journalism (Lynch and Galtung, 2010; Lynch and McGoldrick, 2005), this view was considered problematic because it prevents conflict to be considered as an opportunity for the search of a new harmony between the parties involved, via a process that does not have to necessarily develop into a war. In fact, as Johan Galtung’s theory of nonviolence and conflict resolution (Galtung, 1969) suggests, a conflict is a clash of incompatible interests amongst the parties that can be transcended in order to reach a further and deeper agreement.

Peace Journalism in Theory and Practice

This is something I would like to see one of the major news outlets attempt…..side with the innocent….side with peace…..but as long as the M-IC owns the media we will always have only one view….the Hawkish one.

Closing Thought–08Jan19

Bravo Mr. Arkin!

I know I go on and on about our reps growing a spine and standing up to the war complex that we have created….I finally have someone that I can look up to within the MSM…..NBC’s William Arkin……

A journalist with NBC has resigned from the network with a statement which highlights the immense resistance that ostensibly liberal mass media outlets have to antiwar narratives, skepticism of US military agendas, and any movement in the opposite direction of endless military expansionism.

“January 4 is my last day at NBC News and I’d like to say goodbye to my friends, hopefully not for good,” begins an email titled ‘My goodbye letter to NBC’ sent to various contacts by William M Arkin, an award-winning journalist who has been associated with the network for 30 years.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve left NBC, but this time the parting is more bittersweet, the world and the state of journalism in tandem crisis,” the email continues. “My expertise, though seeming to be all the more central to the challenges and dangers we face, also seems to be less valued at the moment. And I find myself completely out of synch with the network, being neither a day-to-day reporter nor interested in the Trump circus.”

https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2019/01/03/reporter-quits-nbc-citing-networks-support-for-endless-war/

Finally someone with ‘nads to oppose the M-IC and its number tool, the MSM…..

I have found a new respect for at least one mainstream journalist…..but sadly it will not make much difference.

Death Of A Journalist

Let say from the onset that the death of a journalist is unacceptable!  Any Journalist!

We all know after months of coverage of the death of WaPo journalist Jamal Khashoggi….all the drama and lies and denial…..it was a tragic situation….and the drama around MbS was just too suspicious to ignore.

But why is his death, Khashoggi, more important than the deaths of other journalists…..about here someone will ask….well if it is such a problem just how many journalists have been killed?

That is an excellent question……in 2017 a total of 81 were killed while doing their job of reporting…..but what about 2018?  Another good question….at last count 48 journalist have been killed this year….if you would like to check the stats then this site will help…..https://cpj.org/data/killed/

I asked these question because of a piece I read in the Gatestone Institute site…….

  • Ironically, the same members of the media who have been obsessed with Khashoggi and the Saudi-US alliance have devoted little space to the reality that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has been imprisoning, torturing and killing journalists for years.
  • The ongoing story of Khashoggi’s murder at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, more than being a function of concern for the Saudi journalist, was less important to Western journalists than attacking the Trump administration.

While the October 2 murder of the Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, continues to be discussed across the world, the November 23 assassination of a Syrian journalist, Raed Fares, and his devoted friend and cameraman, Hammoud al-Jneid, gunned down in Fares’s home village of Kafrandel, Syria.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13375/journalists-murder

Like I said any death of a journalist because of his job should be unacceptable and each and every one needs the attention of the world. Stifling the free exchange of opinions should be a crime against humanity and a war crime punishable by death.

All that aside…I have been asked why would this person would want a journalist dead?

Twenty-one years ago, the rising toll of attacks on journalists – and the fact that almost all of the crimes went unpunished – led Unesco to pass a resolution condemning violence against the media. It stressed that assassinations not only cut short individual lives, but attack freedom of expression, exacting a broader toll on society. Today, those concerns are more serious and widespread than ever. Nine in 10 of the more than 1,000 killings condemned by Unesco between 2006 and 2017 remain unsolved. Almost all were local journalists rather than foreign correspondents. Some were killed by criminals, armed groups and terrorists; but others by or on behalf of politicians or parts of the state.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/09/the-guardian-view-on-the-killing-of-journalists-the-truth-in-peril

This seems to be a spiraling problem….the killing of journalists……

Further Reading:

https://www.poynter.org/news/why-they-kill-journalists

Then we have d/bags like this one……https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/06/27/milo-wants-vigilantes-start-killing-journalists-and-hes-not-being-ironic

Those Lying Eyes

First the big guns came to town….SecDef and SecState and waltzed in front of the US Senate and lied their asses off…..that may not be fair….they were told what to say to Senators (The Trump Line)……and apparently it was all bullsh*t.

To their benefit I will say that some Senators were put off because the CIA head was not in line to brief and they, Senators, wanted to know why…..

Their threats and bitching got the CIA director a trip to brief a few Senators……

Last week’s Senate briefings surrounding a challenge to the Yemen War were less about the limited testimonies of Mike Pompeo and James Mattis than about the conspicuous absence of CIA Director Gina Haspel. That, and reported admissions from the secretaries that she was forbidden from attending the closed door briefing, fueled a lot of anger in the Senate, and by extension growing resistance to the Yemen War.

In a sign that the White House fears losing the war vote outright, they’re now letting Haspel hold her own briefing Tuesday, for a very limited audience of what the administration believes are “key” senators, mostly committee leaders.

The focus of this briefing will be Saudi Arabia’s murder of Jamal Khashoggi, and the CIA’s assessment that the Saudi Crown Prince was involved. The murder is adding to pressure in Congress to stop supporting Saudi wars, and Yemen would be the obvious choice in that regard.

Letting Haspel testify is a concession to the Senate, but the big question will be what she says. Clearly the whole reason she wasn’t allowed in the first place was fear she’d back the CIA’s assessment and hurt the Saudis. If she still does that, it would be strange to think it would placate any senators.

(antiwar.com)

After the briefing the Senators came before the cameras and made the case of MbS being a killer……

Senators came out of a closed-door briefing with CIA Director Gina Haspel on Tuesday with some pretty unequivocal opinions about Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s involvement in Jamal Khashoggi’s October death. What you need to know:

  • Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker put it like so: “If the Crown Prince went in front of a jury, he would be convicted in 30 minutes.”
  • NPR points out that when senators were briefed by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week, Mattis said there was no “smoking gun” that showed the crown prince’s hand in the murder. Sen. Lindsey Graham picked up that thread Tuesday, saying there may not be a smoking gun, but there is a “smoking saw,” a reference to the bone saw allegedly used to dismember the journalist in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul. He added there is “zero chance” the crown prince, whom he described as a “wrecking ball,” didn’t play a part, reports the AP.
  • And the New York Times has this from Sen. Richard Shelby: “All evidence points to that, that all this leads back to the crown prince. This is conduct that none of us in America would approve of in any way.”
  • The Washington Post’s take: “Senators put themselves in direct opposition to the White House, making clear that the evidence they heard had convinced them beyond the shadow of a doubt.”
  • And while they were fairly united as it relates to Prince Mohammed, the Times sees senators as being much less unified when it comes to where to go from here, on the heels of last week’s vote to consider ending the US’ involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. The Hill has much more on the efforts and sticking points around the legislation here.
  • The AP reports that vote set up debate on the resolution, but when, or even whether, that will happen is unclear, as senators are considering whether to amend the measure, and, if so, how.
  • As for who was allowed to participate in the briefing, the Post reports only Senate leaders and the ranking senators on select committees involved in national security and Saudi policy as it relates to Yemen were included.

Politico reports Rand Paul didn’t number among them, and he wasn’t pleased with that, saying all senators should have heard Haspel’s testimony. “There are eight people in Congress who get briefings on intelligence. That is not democracy. That is not democratic representation nor is it democratic oversight. I think the very definition of the deep state is when the intelligence communities withhold information from Congress.”

My apologies to Haspel for I thought that her time away from first briefing was that the admin was trying to get all lies to confirm their, the admin, position.

And now that the “rest of the story” has been told there seems to be a “showdown” in the Senate brewing….

The Senate is barreling toward a floor brawl over how to respond to Saudi Arabia’s role in the slaying of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Senators took a significant step this week advancing a bipartisan resolution to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen, marking a sharp break from President Trump, who has stood by Riyadh and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, even in the face of reports that the prince personally ordered Khashoggi’s death.

But now, lawmakers need to figure out what a final bill will look like as they prepare to take a next step of bringing the resolution up for debate — and a potentially raucous floor drama. The war powers fight is uncharted waters for a Senate that has repeatedly rejected attempts to challenge the White House’s war authority.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/419214-senate-headed-clash-over-saudi-arabia

It will be telling by the conclusion of this Senatorial fight……admin and Senate at odds…cannot end well for either side….but will win this battle?

Always Go With The Good Customer

I see that nothing matters to this president…he will always go with the customer….and I am not necessarily talking about our booming weapons industry……

Trump refuses to state the facts that the intel agencies have handed him about the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi……..

President Trump made clear in a statement Tuesday that he has no intention of cutting ties with Saudi Arabia over the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. “Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event—maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!” Trump said, referring to Mohammed bin Salman. Trump, however, pointed out that King Salman and the prince “vigorously deny any knowledge” of the murder, per the Washington Post. “We may never know all the facts,” he added, but “in any case, our relationship is with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

Trump rejected the idea of “foolishly” canceling military contracts, saying that would only benefit Russia and China, reports Reuters. The US, he said, “intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia.” As for critics in Congress who want to punish the Saudis: “I will consider whatever ideas are presented to me, but only if they are consistent with the absolute security and safety of America.” (The CIA is reportedly pretty sure that the crown prince is behind the murder.)

Our Dear Supreme Leader has stated that he has talked with MbS on at least 5 occasions and he has said he was not involved…..and Trump even dispatched SecState Pompeo to Saudi to “get some answers”…..

Really?  Or did he go to Saudi to help the prince with his lies?

During his trip to the kingdom last month, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly provided Saudi Arabia with a detailed plan on how to make sure Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was protected from the fallout over writer Jamal Khashoggi’s murder—and possibly pin the killing on an innocent person. Middle East Eye reports Pompeo delivered the plan during a meeting with Saudi King Salman and and the crown prince last month in Riyadh. The U.S. State Department strongly denied the existence of the plan. The “roadmap” allegedly includes an option to pin the murder on an innocent member of the ruling family to avoid blame falling on those at the top. That fall guy has not been chosen, according to the report, and Saudi leaders are said to be reserving that plan in case the criticism of the crown prince intensifies. “We would not be surprised if that happens,” a source told the Middle East Eye. The U.S. State Department called the allegations “a complete misrepresentation of the secretary’s diplomatic mission to Saudi Arabia.”

(thedailybeast.com)

I wish I could say something nice but all I can do is think of what did MbS promise Trump to get him lying in support of the prince?  What is the price of a human life?

Besides….just what do we get from Saudi Arabia?  They have been a supporter of terrorism, they have done nothing to help with the Palestinians, they work on total self-interests not caring one way or the other about the US……again just what does the US get from the Saudis?  I think the Trump family gets more than the country does.

The Saudis owe us not we owe them!  And yet this president spends time on his knees before these barbaric murderers…….why?

Limp Dick Penalties

I need to apologize for my internet is spotty at best today….I am posting in between brown outs and such…..hopefully these toads will get it right some time today.

Now for the news of the day (well yesterday)……

We have been waiting for all the information to trickle into the White House so that Our Dear Supreme Leader can flex American muscle and make the Saudis pay for the gruesome murder of a WaPo journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.

After all the semi-tough talk from Trumpy Boy (I could not use “Trumpy Bear for it is a registered trademark) Trump has decided and Pompeo stepped forward and as usual gave his limp dick verdict.

The Trump administration revoked the visas Tuesday of some Saudi officials implicated in the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi in its first punitive measure against its longtime Middle East partner, as President Donald Trump denounced the kingdom for one of the “worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups.” Shortly after Trump made the comment, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the administration was moving to revoke the visas of Saudi government and intelligence agents suspected of involvement in the death of Khashoggi. Visa records are confidential and Pompeo was not more specific about who the revocations would affect, but the State Department later said 21 “Saudi suspects” would have visas revoked or would be declared ineligible to enter the US, the AP reports.

Revoking thew visas of minor Saudi players that were working under orders….cannot get more Limp Dick than that.

To be honest Pompeo did say that there is the possibility of further consequences…….

“These penalties will not be the last word on this matter,” Pompeo told reporters at the State Department. The administration “will continue to hold those responsible accountable. We’re making very clear that the United States does not tolerate this kind of ruthless action to silence Mr. Khashoggi, a journalist, with violence. Neither the president or I am happy with this situation.” Members of Congress have demanded that sanctions be imposed on Saudi Arabia. Trump has resisted calls thus far to cut off arms sales to the kingdom and Pompeo stressed the strategic importance of the US-Saudi relationship. But in his remarks to reporters at the White House, Trump derided the initial Saudi denial of any wrongdoing and efforts to conceal what happened to Khashoggi. “They had a very bad original concept,” he said. “It was carried out poorly and the cover-up was one of the worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups. Somebody really messed up and they had the worst cover-up ever.”

It should be very telling when further penalties are announced ….if ever.

How about putting some teeth in this decision…..first, an international investigation for the Saudis will do nothing and Turkey is probably up to something….second, NATO should expel Saudi ambassadors….third suspend arms sales (do not believe the hype they will continue to buy our weapons they have a war in Yemen that needs the armament)…these would be the bare minimum of penalties for now.

But as was predicted the Saudis will get a free ride for their actions.

A closing statement…..Khashoggi’s bodily remains may have been located….

Three weeks after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and never emerged, Turkish officials are reporting that journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s body and personal effects have finally been found. The circumstances once again support the idea that a Saudi kill-team that arrived at the consulate at the same time indeed killed and attempted to dispose of him.

Though Turkish investigators are so far not confirming or denying it, top Turkish official Dogu Perincek is reporting that Khashoggi’s body was found cut-up and disfigured, and dumped in the well in the garden belonging to the Saudi consul general.

This all supports the audio recording of Khashoggi’s murder, in which the then-consule general objected to the kill-team killing and cutting up Khashoggi in the consulate, saying he’d “get in trouble.” He’s been fired, and recalled to Saudi Arabia for an investigation.

(antiwar.com)

Now ask yourself why are we not more strict on the Saudis?  It is not the oil for we have more than they do and we could make up any short fall if they, Saudis, want to retaliate……arms deals?  They need us more than we need them they will continue to buy our implements of destruction….so just what is the reason that we feel we must continuously give them oral sex?

Saudis Feed Manure To The World

And Our Dear Supreme Leader is eating it up…….

I see the Saudis have a hard time coming up with the story of the death of Jamal Khashoggi…..reminds me of the ever changing story when they killed a busload of school kids in Yemen….

Their story here is also ever changing…..most times to the point of stupid!

But never let it be said that I would not try to give all the story to date…..a recap……..

President Trump is criticizing Saudi Arabia’s version of Jamal Khashoggi’s death—that the late journalist died in a fistfight gone wrong. “Obviously there’s been deception, and there’s been lies,” he tells the Washington Post, but adds that “nobody has told me” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is responsible for the death: “We haven’t reached that point … I would love if he wasn’t responsible.” He also downplayed Jared Kushner’s relationship with Mohammed (“They’re two young guys. … They like each other, I believe”) and made clear his position on a pending $110 billion US arms sale to the kingdom. “It’s the largest order in history,” he says. “To give that up would hurt us far more than it hurts them. Then all they’ll do is go to Russia or go to China. … With that being said, something will take place.” For more:

  • The chokehold: An unidentified Saudi official tells Reuters that 15 Saudi nationals confronted Khashoggi to convince him to return to Saudi Arabia, but overstepped their bounds by threatening to drug and kidnap him. When Khashoggi raised his voice, he was put in a chokehold and died. “The intention was not to kill him,” the official says.
  • Why, why, why: Doubters are pointing out holes in the Saudi story, the New York Times reports. Why did the royal court take 18 days to admit Khashoggi had died, after saying for two weeks he had left the Saudi consulate in Istanbul intact? Why would 60-year-old Khashoggi get in a fight with security agents? Why did the Saudi detail include an autopsy specialist?
  • More skeptics: Britain is among those who don’t believe: “No, I don’t think it is credible,” says Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab of the fistfight story, per Al Jazeera. Germany, Canada, France, and of course Turkey are among the doubters. The European Union is demanding a “transparent investigation” into Khashoggi’s death, the AP reports.
  • The body: Amnesty International wants Saudi Arabia to turn over Khashoggi’s body for an autopsy. The fistfight story is “not trustworthy and marks an abysmal new low to Saudi Arabia’s human rights record,” says an Amnesty director in a statement.

No “nonsense”: Two Saudi royal family members tell the Wall Street Journal that Prince Khalid al Faisal, an envoy of Mohammed’s, went to Turkey last month and heard an audio recording of Khashoggi being drugged, killed, and cut up right after he entered the consulate. “The audio does not have this nonsense about a fight that broke after an argument,” says one.

  • Twitter army: Saudi Arabia uses an “army of Twitter trolls” to harass critics of the kingdom—and Khashoggi was among their targets, the New York Times reports. Sometimes he took the attacks to heart: “The mornings were the worst for him because he would wake up to the equivalent of sustained gunfire online,” says a friend.
  • Saudi supporters: Saudi Arabia’s Middle East allies are praising Mohammed’s handling of the story, per Al Jazeera. Egypt commends his “brave and decisive actions” while state-run media in the United Arab Emirates praises his “directives and decisions … on the issue of Khashoggi.”
  • Times editorial: “Trump has been longing for some way to hang on to his soul mate Prince Mohammed and lucrative Saudi arms deals from day one, and he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief over the story the Saudis concocted after more than two weeks of lies and evasions,” per a New York Times editorial about the fistfight story.

According to one report, Khashoggi’s fingers were removed first—then his head.

The story they are trying to sell the hardest is that Khashoggi’s death was an accident……sorry guys but you do not bring a bone saw to an accident.

What should we expect from a barbarous nation like KSA….they behead bloggers for God sake…..this act of extreme cruelty is nothing new when writing about KSA.

Will we ever know the truth?  Doubtful.  Will the Trump gang of thugs accept the explanation?  That is once the Saudis settle on their story and stick to it.  Probably.

Khashoggi–The Story That Will Not Go Away

That is what the Saudis are thinking…..and guess what…it should not go away!

***This is a lot to read but please give it some time for there is much to be learned***

Our Dear Supreme Leader is acting as the front man the PR agent for the Saudis…..

President Trump Tuesday criticized rapidly mounting global condemnation of Saudi Arabia over the case of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi, warning of a rush to judgment. In an interview with the AP, Trump compared the situation to the allegations of sexual assault leveled against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing. “I think we have to find out what happened first,” he said. “Here we go again with, you know, you’re guilty until proven innocent. I don’t like that. We just went through that with Justice Kavanaugh and he was innocent all the way as far as I’m concerned.” Trump spoke Tuesday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Monday with King Salman. He said both deny any knowledge of what happened to Khashoggi, who entered their country’s consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago and hasn’t been seen since.

In Turkey earlier Tuesday, a high-level Turkish official told the AP that police investigators searching the Saudi Consulate had found evidence that Khashoggi was killed there. Also Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with the king and crown prince in Riyadh and said later the kingdom had made a “serious commitment” to hold senior leaders and officials accountable if implicated in Khashoggi’s death. Trump said he hopes the Saudis’ own investigation of Khashoggi’s disappearance will be concluded in “less than a week.” Trump said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s trip to attend a Saudi investment conference is still on, but that it could be canceled by Friday depending on what the investigation finds. (Inside the Saudi consulate, suspicious new paint.)

I see his dumb fumbling supporters are on the same page as their Supreme Leader……..

Now to be honest…I think Turkey is up to something behind the scenes….I would not put it past them to cut a deal with the Saudis and the evidence they have collected.

President Trump has mused it might have been “rogue killers” who murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, while other sources are buzzing that Saudi Arabia plans to admit Khashoggi was accidentally killed during an interrogation. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo got directly on the case Tuesday in Riyadh, where he was sent by Trump to meet with King Salman and Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, Reuters and CBS News report. After that sit-down, Pompeo was expected to dine later Monday with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (aka MBS), who’s been linked to an order to abduct Khashoggi, an ex-senior US official tells the New York Times. Pompeo’s meeting with the king was “hastily arranged” and “short”; CNN estimates it lasted just 15 minutes, based on motorcade arrival and departure times.

State Department rep Heather Nauert didn’t reveal much about the meeting, other than Pompeo thanking the king “for his commitment to supporting a thorough, transparent, and timely investigation.” Meanwhile, witnesses tell Reuters that Turkish crime scene officials scoured the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where Khashoggi was last seen, for more than nine hours Monday, and a Turkish government rep says police are expected to go back Tuesday. CNN reporters noted that before investigators descended upon the consulate, they’d seen a cleaning crew head inside. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered a bit of eyebrow-raising insight into what authorities are focusing on. “The investigation is looking into many things such as toxic materials and those materials being removed by painting them over.”

MbS is behind this and he has a dark side (go figure)…….

The disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has put the spotlight on Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS.

Since he outmanoeuvred his rivals to become Saudi Arabia’s de-facto leader in 2015, the 33-year-old has received favourable coverage in international media, with a multitude of reports focused on his economic and social reforms in the conservative kingdom.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/10/mohammed-bin-salman-dark-side-saudi-arabia-crown-prince-181015123719153.html

The Saudis probably spend more cash on lobbying than any other country…..and the firms that represent the Saudis are bailing from them…..

A Washington lobbying firm has told Saudi Arabia it will no longer represent the kingdom, as international furor builds over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

A person familiar with the move says The Glover Park Group informed the Saudis on Monday of the decision. The person wasn’t authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.

Disclosure records filed with the Justice Department show the firm has been providing the Saudi Embassy with “government relations and communications counsel” for $150,000 a month.

The decision underscores the growing pressure facing Saudi Arabia. Khashoggi hasn’t been seen since entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago. He wrote columns critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Another lobbying firm, The Harbour Group, severed its contract with the Saudi government late last week.

(yahoo.com)

And the list keeps expanding…..hit where it hurts….in the PR bread box….

As I keep saying this story is far from over…..no amount of false starts will change the outcome…..

Would you like to know what the rest of the Arab world is saying?  Of course you would.  I would like to be fair so I have found what others are saying outside the realm of the Western Powers.

Palestine

On Sunday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he offered his “full confidence” to the kingdom and thanked its leaders for their support of the Palestinians.

“Palestine was – and shall remain – on the side of Saudi Arabia,” Abbas said in a statement.

Palestinian sources told the Jerusalem Post they believed that the statement was issued at the request of the Saudi leadership.

Lebanon

Lebanese Minister Saad Hariri said in a statement also on Sunday that he stood in solidarity with Saudi Arabia “in the face of the campaigns targeting it”.

“The status of Saudi Arabia in the Arab and international communities places it among the central countries entrusted with the stability of the region and the support of the Arab causes,” he said.

“The campaigns against it constitute a violation of this stability and an unacceptable call to drag the region towards further negative developments.”

Last November, Hariri announced in a televised address from Riyadh that he was stepping down as prime minister of Lebanon, sparking concerns that he was being detained against his will.

After France intervened, Hariri was freed and rescinded his resignation the following month. He was named premier for a third term earlier this year after Lebanon’s first parliamentary polls in nine years.

Egypt

Ahmed Hafidh, Egypt’s foreign ministry spokesman, said on Sunday that the country was following the repercussions of Khashoggi’s disappearance with great “concern” and warned against using his case politically against Saudi Arabia.

“Egypt reaffirms its support for the kingdom in its efforts and positions dealing with this event,” he said.

Bahrain

Bahrain’s foreign ministry released a statement on Sunday emphasising the country’s support for Saudi Arabia in the face of those trying to harm the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia is “the essential foundation for the security and stability of the Arab and Islamic worlds and the solid foundation and strong pillar of stability in the region,” the statement said, adding that Bahrain “rejects” the attempts to infringe on the “sovereignty, policies and prestige” of the kingdom.

Yemen

Yemen’s president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi – who has been living in exile in Riyadh since 2015, after the Houthi movement captured significant territory in the country – affirmed its “full solidarity” with the kingdom.

“The cheap political and media targeting of Saudi Arabia will not deter it from continuing its leading role in the Arab and Islamic worlds,” the president said in a statement reported in Saudi media.

Arab League

The Arab League affirmed on Sunday its rejection of any political pressure applied on Saudi Arabia in relation to the Khashoggi affair.

“It is totally unacceptable, in the context of relations between countries, to wave economic sanctions as a policy or tool to achieve political goals,” an Arab League official told Wafa agency.

“Concerning the disappearance of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi authorities have clearly stated their cooperation in ongoing investigations.”

Iran

Saudi arch-rival Iran said on Monday it would adopt a wait-and-see approach to Khashoggi’s disappearance.

“We prefer to wait until more details and facts are revealed … It is too early to comment,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi told a news conference, broadcast live on state TV.

Most of these testimonials are disingenuous at best….they are protecting their butts by all this fake acceptance.  The one statement that got my attention was that the Saudis were an anchor for the stability of the region….truth is anyone that knows the Middle East should get a good chuckle out of the statement.

I will be watching and writing…..

I did not have to wait long for the BS from Our Dear Supreme Leader……he casts doubt on anything happening……his ass scratching supporters to follow suit….

With Saudi Arabia working on the exact language of their admission that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in their consulate in Istanbul, President Trump is shifting his policy toward increasingly vocal defense of the Saudis, and blanket denials that the Saudis are doing anything wrong.

Talk of punishment if found guilty is drying up, and now President Trump is complaining that the media is treating the Saudis as “guilty until proven innocent,” despite having admitted himself that he’d also heard the Saudis are working on an admission that they in fact killed Khashoggi during a “botched interrogation.”

Trump appears content to take the word of Saudi officials as absolute insisting that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman denied any knowledge of what happened in the consulate, and citing the king’s promise of a full investigation.

(antiwar.com)

Then there is graphic recordings…..

A pro-government Turkish newspaper published a gruesome recounting Wednesday of the alleged slaying of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, just as America’s top diplomat arrived in the country for talks over the Washington Post columnist’s disappearance, the AP reports. The Yeni Safak report cited what it described as an audio recording of Khashoggi’s slaying, which it said showed the writer was tortured. The newspaper said Saudi Consul General Mohammed al-Otaibi could be heard on the tape, telling those allegedly torturing Khashoggi: “Do this outside; you’re going to get me in trouble.” The newspaper said one of the Saudis torturing Khashoggi replied: “Shut up if you want to live when you return to (Saudi) Arabia.”

The report adds to the ever-increasing pressure on Saudi Arabia to explain what happened to Khashoggi, who vanished Oct. 2 while visiting the consulate to pick up paperwork he needed to get married. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held separate meetings with Turkey’s president and foreign minister for around 40 minutes each on Wednesday in the Turkish capital, Ankara. Pompeo met with Saudi King Salman and his son, the 33-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, on Tuesday. Before leaving Riyadh, Pompeo told reporters that the Saudi leaders “made no exceptions on who they would hold accountable.”

Does anyone out there believe the words of a lying d/bag like Pompeo?

There’s a bit more…….

…….an audio recording of the slaying. Khashoggi—who was also drugged, per the Wall Street Journal—was dead within minutes, but not before his fingers were cut off, the official said.

Khashoggi was beheaded, then his body dismembered, the official told the Times. Putting on headphones, a doctor of forensics advised others to do the same, claiming music made the work easier, the official said. Like the Yeni Safak report, the official cited audio recordings said to have been obtained by Turkey. After noting Tuesday that the US should “be smart” to avoid losing a “$110 billion order” for arms from Saudi Arabia, per the Journal, President Trump said Wednesday he had requested access to the audio. But as Turkish police searched al-Otaibi’s residence in Istanbul, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he’d be patient. It’s “reasonable to give [the Saudis] a handful of days more to complete [their investigation] so they get it right,” he said, per CBS News.

So I Have Written!

Khashoggi: Then And The Future

This is a lot to read….but this situation needs to be understood…..please try to keep up.

Interesting turns around the Khashoggi assassination…..our Dear Supreme Leader has issued his warning to the Saudis and it is about as limp dick as he could possibly be…..

President Trump continues to grapple with the uncomfortable situation surrounding the disappearance and likely murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, promising “severe punishment” if the Saudis are to blame, but also making a series of comments that show a reluctance to threaten traditional US-Saudi ties, and business relationships.

The $110 billion in arms deal with the Saudi kingdom are a big reason why Trump is so close to them, as selling arms has been a top administration priority. It is also the obvious place to cut amid a diplomatic crisis, though Trump has consistently opposed that idea.

Trump argues the US would “be punishing ourselves” if they lost the $110 billion deal, saying it would be “very foolish” to lose all that. He claims there are other options for punishing the Saudis, but is mum on what those are.

Analysts say that while this may further harm Saudi support in Congress, the administration is content to “sweep it under the rug,” so long as the Saudis continue to compensate them in the form of lucrative arms deals for politically well-connected US companies.

(antiwar.com)

Trump’s envy…the boy king to be of Saudi Arabia is just silly……he, Trump, tries to hold their dicks while sounding like he expects some sort of result from the Saudis….

What were Jamal Khashoggi’s last thoughts, as he was being dragged out of the Saudi consulate general’s office in Istanbul by two men and realised that he had walked straight into a trap?

Khashoggi was no newcomer. He knew how Saudi consuls and embassies worked. He himself had worked in two of them: Washington and London. He knew the beast, the way it thought, the way it acted, the way it smelt.

He also thought he knew the rules. He had worked for Turki bin Faisal, a former Saudi intelligence chief. The rules of the game were brutal, but they were rational. There were clear red lines. If you knew about them, you could calculate the risks you were taking.

https://theantimedia.com/trump-boy-king-mohammed-bin-salman/

The Saudis have bowed up and planted a flag that they will be bend……at least the EU is acting like a world leader while the American bites his lower lip in anticipation……

Saudi Arabia says it rejects any “threats” of economic sanctions or political pressure regarding the disappearance of a Saudi writer—and European nations are calling for an investigation, the AP reports. In a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency on Sunday, the Saudi government said it will respond to any steps taken against it over the vanishing of Jamal Khashoggi. Saudi stocks plunged nearly 7% Sunday after President Trump went on 60 Minutes and said that “we’re going to get to the bottom of it, and there will be severe punishment” if US officials find that Riyadh ordered Khashoggi’s murder. Khashoggi went missing when he visited the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Turkish officials fear Khashoggi was killed and dismembered, allegations rejected by Saudi officials.

Meanwhile, Germany, France, and Britain are calling for a “credible investigation” to establish what happened to Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi and seek a “complete and detailed” Saudi response. The German, French, and British foreign ministers said in a joint statement Sunday that defending freedom of expression and ensuring protection for journalists are key priorities and that they are “treating this incident with the utmost seriousness.” They said there must be a credible investigation to establish the truth and “if relevant” identify those responsible for Khashoggi’s disappearance. “We encourage joint Saudi-Turkish efforts in that regard, and expect the Saudi government to provide a complete and detailed response,” they added.

These power crazed Saudis have started beating their chest like sex crazed gorillas in response to possible sanctions…….

Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange plummeted on Sunday, with the index down some 7 percent in early trading on fears of international sanctions over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In comments likely intended to address the domestic investors’ concerns, Saudi officials issued a statement threatening “greater action” against the US and other Western nations for any actions taken related to Khashoggi’s disappearance and presumed murder.

Saudi state media published an opinion piece from one of their managers saying the kingdom is ready to implement measures against the US economy that would result in oil prices skyrocketing. He added that “if Washington imposes sanctions on Riyadh, it will stab its own economy to death.” The same piece also suggested an end to US-Saudi intelligence sharing, and a Saudi-Russian alliance.

The threats are a similar tack to the Saudi threats in 2016 surrounding the US Congress planning to strip them of sovereign immunity over their role in 9/11. In that case, Saudi officials also openly threatened to destroy the value of the US dollar by flooding the debt market.

While historically the combination of economic threats and juicy military contracts have been enough for the Saudis to get their way in almost all things, and that’s clearly the message officials are attempting to send to investors, there is a risk that such overt threats are going to further rile a US Congress that is already furious about the Khashoggi affair, and speed up the path to measures like arms sales restrictions.

(antiwar.com)

Seriously?  Does anyone believe the Saudis will make good on the oil threat?  Okay if you think they have the cajones to do so then I also have a plot of land in Florida that I will sell be the gallon.

These spineless Saudis are threatening the EU not the US for they know that they are protected here by of so many of our politicians.

After thumping their chests in a macho fever they then had a coffee and decided that they need to look as if they would cooperate…….

With international pressure on Saudi Arabia seeming to intensify by the day, the Saudis have agreed to a joint inspection of their consulate in Istanbul with Turkish officials. The inspection will take place Monday, almost two weeks after journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared after entering the facility, reports the AP. The Turks say that a Saudi hit team murdered and dismembered the frequent critic of the regime inside the consulate, while the Saudis say he left unharmed. Over the weekend, President Trump warned of “severe punishment” if the Turkish allegations are true, while the Saudis suggested that they could torpedo the world economy in response to any penalties.

In another sign of the pressure building on Saudi Arabia, JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon announced that he would not attend the marquis Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh. Other business execs had previously announced they would skip as well, but Dimon is the biggest world financier to pull out, reports the Wall Street Journal. He had been scheduled as a featured speaker. JPMorgan has ties with Saudi Arabia that go back to the 1930s, notes the newspaper.

The list keeps growing of companies pulling out of the “Davos of the Desert” in Saudi Arabia…..https://www.businessinsider.com/businesses-cutting-ties-with-saudi-arabia-over-jamal-khashoggi-disappearance-2018-10

Finally an article entitled “The Saudi Collapse”…..an interesting read indeed….

The Saudis are doubling down on their denial that they had anything to do with the disappearance of Washington Post journalist and sometime Saudi insider Jamal Khashoggi: “enemies of the Kingdom,” they say are responsible. Nowadays that includes an awful lot of people, as the Washington cognoscenti rush to distance themselves from a regime once hailed as an exemplar of “reform.” It’s a stampede for the door, and soon there will be no on left standing: one rarely sees a collapse like this, at least when it comes to entire countries. One minute they’re on top of the world with Donald Trump, playing with swords and getting away with murder: the next minute they’re international pariahs.

https://original.antiwar.com/justin/2018/10/14/the-saudi-collapse/

This situation is no done……but Our Dear Supreme Leader to generate something that can replace the focus of the media.

What will it be?

After writing draft more news has come out…..this is for all those naysayers that doubt the news…..the Saudis have given confirmation (sort of)……

Saudi Arabia is preparing to say that Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi was killed by mistake during an interrogation that went too far, CNN reports. According to two unidentified sources, the Saudis will claim that Khashoggi was interrogated without clearance, and those behind it will be held responsible. But one source says the Saudi report is still in progress and might change. CNN’s story adds to an earlier New York Times report that Saudi Arabia plans to blame Khashoggi’s death on a “tragically incompetent” intelligence official. That official wasn’t identified but is apparently a friend of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.  (There goes another head!)

“We are hearing from the sources at this stage that [the operation] was not carried out with the proper clearance,” says CNN’s Clarissa Ward on the air, per the Hill. “There will be plenty of people who will have difficulty swallowing that narrative, [saying] it’s hard to believe anything of this nature, of this sensitivity, could possibly take place without those in power in Saudi Arabia … being privy to it on some level.” Trump said earlier Monday that “rogue killers” may have murdered the journalist, whose death was apparently recorded on his Apple watch.

Kinda sounds like their excuses for killing children in a bus in Yemen…..total bullshit and waffling…..typical of the cowards we now embrace.

I will agree on one part….if the world is going to make this an important news item then so should the deaths caused by the Israelis…..and the Apartheid State they have created.

I have Written!

The Khashoggi Affair

The world is talking about the alleged death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi….I have been told that there is no proof he was killed since there was no body (I guess that means that Jimmy Hoffa is still alive and living in Akron)……the problem with that theory is that it is the 21st century and electronics…..

Turkish authorities claim to have audio and video recordings that prove Saudi agents tortured and then murdered Jamal Khashoggi:

The recordings show that a Saudi security team detained Khashoggi in the consulate after he walked in on Oct. 2 to obtain an official document before his upcoming wedding, then killed him and dismembered his body, the officials said.

The audio recording in particular provides some of the most persuasive and gruesome evidence that the Saudi team is responsible for Khashoggi’s death, the officials said.

“The voice recording from inside the embassy lays out what happened to Jamal after he entered,” said one person with knowledge of the recording who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss highly sensitive intelligence.

“You can hear his voice and the voices of men speaking Arabic,” this person said. “You can hear how he was interrogated, tortured and then murdered.”

(antiwar.com)

Really how could they have such recordings?  Ever hear of an Apple Watch?

Turkish officials have an audio recording of the alleged killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi from the Apple Watch he wore when he walked into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul over a week ago, a pro-government Turkish newspaper reported Saturday. The new claim was published by the Sabah newspaper, through which Turkish security officials have leaked much information about the case. Authorities recovered the audio from Khashoggi’s iPhone and his iCloud account, the newspaper said. The journalist had given his phones to his fiancée before entering the consulate. The newspaper also alleged Saudi officials tried to delete the recordings first by incorrectly guessing Khashoggi’s PIN on the watch, then later using the journalist’s finger. However, Apple Watches do not have a fingerprint ID unlock function like iPhones, notes the AP.

An Apple Watch can record audio and can sync that later with an iPhone over a Bluetooth connection. The newspaper’s account did not elaborate on how the Apple Watch synced that information to both the phone and Khashoggi’s iCloud account. Saudi Arabia has maintained the allegations against it are “baseless,” though an official early Saturday acknowledged for the first time some believe Khashoggi was killed by the kingdom. Turkish officials say they believe a 15-member Saudi “assassination squad” killed Khashoggi at the consulate; a Saudi-owned satellite news channel has begun referring to the 15-man team as “tourists,” without providing evidence to support the claim.

Funny how these apologists for the Saudis try to make light of the death of this man…..so sad.

Further Reading into the death of a journalist:

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/10/12/the-khashoggi-incident-trumps-special-relationship-with-the-saudi-monarchy/

Can the Trump stumble bum policies do anything?

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-10-11/jamal-khashoggi-case-trump-has-options-with-saudi-arabia

Trump and his family may not be quick to try and make the Saudis accountable for barbaric behavior…..the rest of the world has stepped up while the US waffles…..

The Future Investment Initiative conference scheduled for later this month in Saudi Arabia looks to be in serious peril at this point, as the international backlash against Saudi Arabia over the disappearance, and presumptive killing, of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has soured many on having anything to do with the kingdom.

That isolation has meant that most of the major media partners meant to cover this conference have already withdrawn. The World Bank has also withdrawn, and a growing number of top business figures and financiers are pulling out as well.

Khashoggi disappeared earlier this month after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Turkish officials say they have video evidence that Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate, explaining why he never was seen again.

Though the Saudis have denied any wrongdoing, there is growing backlash internationally, by both governments and private entities, over what is believed to have happened.

(antiwar.com)

This is how the Saudi butt boy responds to this situation……

https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/donald-trump-jr-jamal-khashoggi-terrorism#.W8HzDfgnXsQ

Idle words from a privileged little prick.

The question has been asked…..Is this the end of the US-Saudi alliance?

The disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi last Tuesday is threatening to upend the terms of the decadeslong alliance between the United States and Saudi Arabia. In the nine days since Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian resident of Virginia and a Washington Post columnist, was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, politicians, media figures, and foreign policy elites — even those who have fawned over the authoritarian Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — have grown increasingly critical of the U.S.-Saudi alliance.

The U.S. has long given the Saudis a blank check, politically and militarily, and there have been voices advocating for a rethinking of that decades-old relationship for nearly as long as it has lasted. But the widespread belief that the Saudis assassinated Khashoggi inside their consulate has brought those voices squarely into the center. Suddenly, the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States is being called into fundamental question.

https://theintercept.com/2018/10/11/is-this-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-us-saudi-alliance/

My thought is that very little can break the financial bonds that the US depends on for the profits of our M-IC.

And the beat goes on……

There will be more to come…….

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