Aircraft Industry: Dozens of Boeing and Airbus deliveries put back by Turkish Airlines

Airbus A-320

Turkish Airlines said it plans to postpone dozens of Airbus and Boeing narrow-body jets as it contends with a turbulent travel market following terror attacks in Istanbul and Europe.

The carrier is delaying deliveries of 39 of the upgraded single-aisle planes originally scheduled for 2018 to 2020, the company said in a filing at the weekend to Borsa Istanbul. Turkish is raising its 2022 deliveries for the workhorse jets to 30 from the six it had previously planned.

The company did not elaborate on the models that will be deferred, but it has ordered 92 Airbus A321neo, 65 of Boeing’s 737 Max 8 and 10 of the US plane maker’s Max 9 models. Turkish, based in Istanbul, said it was reducing flight frequencies and shifting to smaller planes on "demand-challenged routes" after posting a second-quarter loss of US$215 million in August.

Read more: European Aircraft Industry: Dozens of Boeing and Airbus deliveries put back by Turkish Airlines | The National

Syria: The Mother Of All US Humanitarian and Foreign Policy disasters

David T. Jones writes in the Epoch Times; "The proverbial “law of holes” states, “When you find yourself in one—stop digging.”

So far as Syria is concerned, we seem unwilling to learn this lesson.

And, brutal as is the reality, the West has lost the war in Syria. Whatever our kaleidoscope of objectives has been, ranging from removal of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to support of “democratic” rebels to creation of an Aleppo ceasefire, we have failed.

There is no reason to believe al-Assad will cease military action in Syria until he has eliminated opposition—whether it be Daesh (aka ISIS/ISIL/IS) or assorted “rebel” groups of whatever political philosophy. As long as al-Assad has Russian, Iranian, and Hezbollah assistance, he will prevail.

Nor is Aleppo’s ongoing humanitarian disaster going to cause a twinge by those conducting it. The fighting has continued since July 2012; various estimates suggest 30,000 dead with several hundred thousand civilians and combatants remaining in the besieged portion of the city.

However, remembering Russian casualties during World War II, e.g., siege of Leningrad (900 days; one million civilians and 300,000 military died) or Stalingrad (1.1 million total casualties; 478,000 killed), Putin may well conclude Aleppo’s losses are inconsequential—and the Western whiners are trying to play a human rights card in a military reality poker game.

Indeed, Western leaders have misplayed their opportunities from the beginning. We apparently believed the Arab Spring, starting in 2010, which swept away creaky dictatorships in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, as well as forcing political change throughout the Middle East, would also evict al-Assad.

After all, al-Assad looks like a gawky ophthalmologist (his academic training) rather than presenting the visage of an iron-fisted dictator. Implicitly, we thought he would decamp with lovely wife, family, and uncounted fortune to comfortable retirement in some dictator-accepting/friendly country. But there was steel where we expected Jello; his Army stayed loyal, fought hard, and beat down various rebel groups. Al-Assad “channeled” his father who never caviled at massacring opponents.

Western leaders declined to put “boots on the ground”—removing al-Assad wasn’t initially believed to be worth body bags coming home—or even bomb his airfields and destroy his Air Force, his trump card in combating rebels. So fighting continued, and we lost the easy course of action. President Obama backed away from his personal “line in the sand” demanding al-Assad remove chemical weapons; then the Russians were able to arrange such a removal/elimination and, concurrently, seize a principal position in the struggle.

Consequently, Syrians have fled by millions. Statistics on the tragedy are politicized, but one estimate has 4.8 million refugees plus 6.6 million displaced within the country from a population of 17 million. Most refugees are in neighboring Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan.

But the exodus has also disoriented Europe, which in a misplaced burst of humanitarianism opened its doors to more than a million refugees."

 The proverbial “law of holes” states, “When you find yourself in one—stop digging.”

So far as Syria is concerned, we seem unwilling to learn this lesson.

And, brutal as is the reality, the West has lost the war in Syria. Whatever our kaleidoscope of objectives has been, ranging from removal of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to support of “democratic” rebels to creation of an Aleppo ceasefire, we have failed.

There is no reason to believe al-Assad will cease military action in Syria until he has eliminated opposition—whether it be Daesh (aka ISIS/ISIL/IS) or assorted “rebel” groups of whatever political philosophy. As long as al-Assad has Russian, Iranian, and Hezbollah assistance, he will prevail.

Nor is Aleppo’s ongoing humanitarian disaster going to cause a twinge by those conducting it. The fighting has continued since July 2012; various estimates suggest 30,000 dead with several hundred thousand civilians and combatants remaining in the besieged portion of the city.

However, remembering Russian casualties during World War II, e.g., siege of Leningrad (900 days; one million civilians and 300,000 military died) or Stalingrad (1.1 million total casualties; 478,000 killed), Putin may well conclude Aleppo’s losses are inconsequential—and the Western whiners are trying to play a human rights card in a military reality poker game.

Aleppo - Syria

Indeed, Western leaders have misplayed their opportunities from the beginning. We apparently believed the Arab Spring, starting in 2010, which swept away creaky dictatorships in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, as well as forcing political change throughout the Middle East, would also evict al-Assad.

After all, al-Assad looks like a gawky ophthalmologist (his academic training) rather than presenting the visage of an iron-fisted dictator. Implicitly, we thought he would decamp with lovely wife, family, and uncounted fortune to comfortable retirement in some dictator-accepting/friendly country. But there was steel where we expected Jello; his Army stayed loyal, fought hard, and beat down various rebel groups. Al-Assad “channeled” his father who never caviled at massacring opponents.

Western leaders declined to put “boots on the ground”—removing al-Assad wasn’t initially believed to be worth body bags coming home—or even bomb his airfields and destroy his Air Force, his trump card in combating rebels. So fighting continued, and we lost the easy course of action. President Obama backed away from his personal “line in the sand” demanding al-Assad remove chemical weapons; then the Russians were able to arrange such a removal/elimination and, concurrently, seize a principal position in the struggle.

Consequently, Syrians have fled by millions. Statistics on the tragedy are politicized, but one estimate has 4.8 million refugees plus 6.6 million displaced within the country from a population of 17 million. Most refugees are in neighboring Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan.

But the exodus has also disoriented Europe, which in a misplaced burst of humanitarianism opened its doors to more than a million refugees. "

Bottom line: Syria has become the mother of all US failed humanitarian and foreign policy disasters.

The question that Europe must answer, rather sooner than later is, can it continue to blindly walk in "lockstep" with the US, when it comes to their totally failed Middle East policies, or develop its own independent and more constructive foreign policy objectives?

EU-Digest

Russia Bashing: 'Perilous Strategy': Hillary Bashing Russia to 'Score Campaign Points'

The Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has resorted to blaming Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin in a bid to divert attention from sensitive topics and to "score campaign points," but this is a "perilous strategy," President of the American University in Moscow Edward Lozansky and former US diplomat Jim Jatras warned.

Read moreL 'Perilous Strategy': Hillary Bashing Russia to 'Score Campaign Points'

US Presidential Debates: The Lowest Moment in the History of Debates?

Everyone expected Sunday night’s town hall debate to get ugly. It capped off one of the most explosive weekends in American political history. The Republican nominee had been caught on tape making vulgar comments about women, which caused an avalanche of GOP lawmakers to rescind their support. The Democratic nominee was handling a mess of her own—the leaked transcripts of speeches she had kept secret during the primaries.

Nonetheless, the raw tension on the debate stage Sunday night still shocked.

There was Donald Trump calling Hillary Clinton the “devil,” a person filled with “tremendous hatred” whom he would jail if he were president. There was Clinton’s icy nod at Trump upon their greeting—no handshake—and her almost immediately declaring Trump “unfit to serve.”

Discussions about policy frequently vacillated into personal attacks.
And at the end of the night, when an audience member asked each
candidate to say something nice about the other, they hardly hid their
reluctance.

So: Was this the nastiest, lowest moment in presidential debate history. And what does it matter to the state of the race? We asked some of the savviest political watchers and operatives to talk us through what we just witnessed—“incomprehensibly demoralizing,” “a grim, tawdry affair,” and “surreal, bizarre and often entertaining” were some of their responses—and game out what it means for this highly unusual election.

Read more: The Lowest Moment in the History of Debates? - POLITICO Magazine

Middle East: Russia ups the pressure in search for US respect - by Steve Rosenberg

They used to say that all roads lead to Rome.

But, today, it seems that all roads lead to Russia. Or to its president: Vladimir Putin.

Moscow is a key participant in the Syrian war and in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Russian hackers have been accused of breaking into US servers; the Russian state has been accused of trying to influence the outcome of the US presidential election and of attempting to divide and weaken the European Union.

And yet when Vladimir Putin came to power 16 years ago, he appeared ready for a close friendship with the West. The US President Bill Clinton described him as "smart" and a man with "enormous potential".

But compliments have given way to confrontation, with a list of differences as long as the Russian winter: Syria, Ukraine, Nato enlargement, missile defence. Western governments are disillusioned with an increasingly authoritarian Kremlin leader. And he no longer trusts them.

"There's a real feeling now that America is out to prove it is the only superpower," believes veteran broadcaster Vladimir Pozner. "That if Russia does not fall into step the way the US wants it to it's going to have to pay a very high price for that.

"The continued expansion of Nato is seen by the Russian leadership, perhaps incorrectly, is seen as being a real threat. You're pushing us, so we're pushing you right back. And we will do whatever we can to make it as unpleasant for you as you've made it for us.

"There is a danger of real confrontation, perhaps leading to some kind of military engagement and war."

This week the popular Russian tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets suggested that the Syrian conflict could spark a "direct military confrontation between Russia and America" - on a par with the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. It warned of a Third World War.

"We had bad relations during the Cold War," says Andrey Kortunov, head of the Russian International Affairs Council, "but during the Cold War the relationship was more or less stable, because we knew what to expect from each other, we knew the rules of the game.

"Today we don't have anything like that. So relations aren't stable. This is what makes this relationship dangerous, arguably more dangerous than in the Cold War."

Russian political commentatorLeonid Radzikhovsky, however, is confident that Russia will not go to war with the US.

"Putin is a megalomaniac, he is convinced he is 10 times better than any western leader. But he's not the kind of person to open a window on the 18th floor, declare 'I can fly' and jump out. He has no plan to drop a hydrogen bomb on Washington. Narcissism is one thing; suicidal tendencies are another. He is not suicidal."

Read more: Russia ups the pressure in search for US respect - BBC N

Income Inequality: The Reason Why Forbes Rich List Does NOT Include The Richest Families In The World

“Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.” This is a House of Rothschilds maxim, widely attributed to banking tycoon Mayer Amschel Rothschild in 1838 and said to be a founding principle for the highly corrupt banking and political system we have today.

Along with the Rockefellers, the Rothschild dynasty is estimated to be worth well over a trillion dollars. How are these powerful families linked to the ongoing crisis of global wealth inequality, why are so many people unaware of their existence, and why doesn't Forbes ever mention them in their annual list of the world's wealthiest people?

In January 2014, Oxfam announced that the richest 85 people on the planet share a combined wealth of $110 trillion. The figure was based on Forbes's rich list 2013, and it equates to 65 times the total wealth of the entire bottom half (3.5 billion) of the world's population. While some deluded commentators welcomed this as “fantastic news,” the rest of us were disgusted. Winnie Byanyima, Oxfam's executive director, said at the time: “It is staggering that in the 21st Century, half of the world's population own no more than a tiny elite whose numbers could all fit comfortably on a double-decker bus.” Two months later, following Oxfam's calculation and having published the new 2014 rich list, Forbes journalist Kasia Morena did some fact-checking.

She found that the number of billionaires owning the same as the poorest 3.5 billion had dropped from 85 to 67: which demonstrates an enormous widening of the global inequality gap in just one year. Fast-forward to 2015, and another Oxfam investigation. The anti-poverty charity warned in January that if nothing is done to tackle global wealth inequality- by forcing corporations to pay their taxes and closing off-shore tax havens, for example - the richest 1% will own more than everybody else in the world combined by 2016.

In a paper called Wealth: Having it all and wanting more, Oxfam outlined how the richest 1 percent have seen their share of global wealth increase from 44% in 2009 to 48% in 2014, and will likely surpass 50% in 2016. Winnie Byanyima again warned that the explosion in inequality is holding back the fight against global poverty at a time when one in nine people do not have enough to eat, and more than a billion people still live on less than $1.25 a day.

The organization also outlined how 20 percent of billionaires around the world have interests in the financial and insurance sectors, a group that saw their cash wealth increase by 11 percent in the last 12 months. Billionaires listed as having interests in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors saw their collective net worth increase by 47 percent, and the industry spent more than $500 million lobbying policy makers in Washington and Brussels in 2013 alone. “Do we really want to live in a world where the one percent own more than the rest of us combined?” Byanyima asked.

“The scale of global inequality is quite simply staggering, and despite the issues shooting up the global agenda, the gap between the richest and the rest is widening fast.” Meet The People Who Own 50% (And Counting) Of The World's Wealth Here is Forbes's (real-time) list of the 66 billionaires who (officially) own half of all global assets, and will soon own more than the rest of Earth's seven billion population combined. They range from CEOs of large corporations to oil and gas tycoons and Silicon valley entrepreneurs. The list details name, net worth, percentage change since the 2015 results, their age, industry and nationality.

Bill Gates is ranked first at $469 billion, and James Simons at #66 with the $14 billion he made from hedge funds.

But where are the world's Royal families? And more to the point, where are the Rothschilds and the Rockefellers? These two families have an unimaginable amount of wealth that surpasses the trillion mark - they are the only trillionaires in the world, and yet they are missing from Forbes's list every single year, along with the handful of other men commonly believed to own our politicians, our media, our corporations, our scientists, and even our money supply

Forbes's rich list doesn't include members of Royal families or dictators who hold their wealth through a position of power, or who control the riches of their country. In this way, the real people pulling the strings are able to work in absolute secrecy without any media attention at all (unless it is carefully-constructed positive propaganda, like this article on the philanthropy of the Rothschilds, of course).

Forbes's policy to exclude heads of state from the rich list explains why the Queen of England is absent, although nobody has the slightest idea of her wealth in any case: her shareholdings remain hidden behind Bank of England Nominee accounts. As the Guardian newspaper reported in May 2002: ‘The reason for the wild variations in valuations of her private wealth can be pinned on the secrecy over her portfolio of share investments…Her subjects have no way of knowing through a public register of interests where she, as their head of state, chooses to invest her money. Unlike [British politicians and Lords], the Queen does not have to annually declare her interests and as a result her subjects cannot question her or know about potential conflicts of interests…’

The same can be said for the Rothschilds and Rockerfellers, whose European forebears were richer than any Royal family at the time. The families are believed to have set up and own the Federal Reserve (G Edward Griffin's The Creature From Jekyll Island and this research by journalist Dean Henderson are recommended reading if you want to get deeper into this topic). Could this be why the families, whose power in manipulating global affairs for the past few hundred years cannot be underestimated, are protected by Forbes's ‘don't even go there’ policy? Retired management consultant Gaylon Ross Sr, author of Who's Who of the Global Elite, was apparently told in 1998 that the combined wealth of the Rockefeller family was approx $11 trillion and the Rothschilds $100 trillion…what might that figure have reached 17 years later?

One can hardly begin to imagine, but maybe money isn't the most important thing to your average trillionaire, anyway… “The only problem with wealth is, what do you do with it?” was a rhetorical question posed by none other than John D. Rockefeller. Well, if Aaron Russo's testimony is to be believed, all the Rockefeller riches in the world certainly won't be used to benefit the human race.

Ashley Mote, a member of the European Parliament serving British independence party UKIP, asked the following question in Brussels, and retribution was swift: “Mr President, I wish to draw your attention to the Global Security Fund, set up in the early 1990s under the auspices of Jacob Rothschild.

This is a Brussels-based fund and it is no ordinary fund: it does not trade, it is not listed and it has a totally different purpose. It is being used for geopolitical engineering purposes, apparently under the guidance of the intelligence services. I have previously asked about the alleged involvement of the European Union’s own intelligence resources in the management of slush funds in offshore accounts, and I still await a reply.

To that question I now add another: what are the European Union's connections to the Global Security Fund and what relationship does it have with European Union institutions?” This is exactly the kind of question the European public would like an answer to. Yet Mote did not receive one. Instead, the 79 year old politician was sacked from his own party, and later arrested and sent to jail for allegedly claiming false expenses during his time as an MEP.

Mote claimed throughout his trial that he was ‘targeted for being anti-Europe’, and said the money he claimed was used to pay third-party whistleblowers in a quest to uncover corruption and fight for democracy and transparency in European politics. Like everything else relating to the people who really run the show, the truth is out there… but it's almost impossible to pin down. 

Read more: The Reason Why Forbes Rich List Does NOT Include The Richest Families In The World

US Presidential Elections: Trump vows to stay in race as senior Republicans drop support

US presidential candidate Donald Trump has vowed to stay in the race for the White House despite calls from more than two dozen prominent Republicans for him to drop out following the release of a recording of him making lewd comments about women.

Read more: Trump vows to stay in race as senior Republicans drop support - France 24

EU Airlines Industry: Dutch job losses expected in airline's fight with parent Air France KLM - by Janene Pieters

Behind the scenes KLM is transferring flights from Amsterdam to Paris as a result of a power struggle within Air France-KLM, the Telegraaf reports based on “multiple sources”. This transfer of flights is resulting in job losses in the Netherlands, according to the newspaper.

Air France-KLM still denies that any KLM flights are being moved to Paris.

A similar report in June resulted in much unrest among KLM staff. Back then Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem of Finance and his French counterpart agreed that “the problems of one company can not be solved by beating a hole in the other”.

Dutch unions are staying alert to the situation. “We are keeping the KLM management to the agreements made over job growth in exchange for cutbacks”, Bob van de Wal of teh association for senior KLM staff said to the newspaper.

Read more: European Airlines Industry: Dutch job losses expected in airline's fight with parent Air France KLM - NL Times

Retribution: Not Part Of The Human Moral Code And The Consequences For Those Who Think It Is

Almost all violence emerges with some kind of rationale that justifies its use.  Warfare, capital punishment, or corporal punishment all follow a self-conscious logic.  At the core of this “logic” usually rests a commitment to the necessity of retribution, justifying violence as the appropriate response to wrongdoing.  When wrongdoing violates the human divined moral order, “justice” requires retribution or punishment, repaying wrongdoing with punishment, pain and often also death.

This human interpretation of retribution, which is still being applied is some kind of an "historical short-circuit" that occurred in which certain concepts were taken from their biblical context, interpreted through the lens of Roman law, then used to interpret the biblical texts.

The result has been an obsession with the retributive themes of the Bible and a neglect of the restorative ones— in other words a basic theology of a retributive God who desires violence. 

Consequently the legitimacy of retribution has become an accepted cultural given around the world.

Is this correct, absolutely not.

Genesis 9 verse 6 warns: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image".

Or as we read in Deuterenomy 32 verse 35:  "it is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them."

Mankind can not take the law of retribution in its own hand, because that right belongs to God. 

If we look at the state of the world today, nobody has to tell you that the situation is extremely grim, maybe even hopeless for some.

Political structures are falling like a deck of cards, natural disasters are happening daily.

America and Britain, which led a "coalition of the willing" under false pretenses into a war with Iraq, which has now spread into Syria and other Middle Eastern countries, resulting in millions of casualties of innocent civilians, large numbers of refugees, will not escape divine retribution.

As a matter of fact, the results of these divine retributions are already visible. Britain's economy and its Pound Stirling are crumbling, after they voted in favor of Brexit.

The US is not only plagued today by a meltdown of its political system, but is also experiencing one natural disaster after the other.

The EU is going through an inner revolt between member states wanting closer unity and nationalistic populists, who want to turn the clock back to independent statehood.

Last but not least, on the subject of divine retribution, if you wonder why Haiti has been so hard hit recently by hurricane Matthew, and just a few years earlier by a devastating earthquake, followed by an epidemic of cholera, think again.

Roman Catholicism is the official religion of Haiti, but voodoo may be considered the country's national religion. The majority of Haitians believe in and practice at least some aspects of voodoo. Most voodooists believe that their religion can coexist with Catholicism, which is a myth. Former Haiti President François Duvalier recruited voodoo specialists to serve as "tonton makouts" to help him control all aspects of Haitian life. Duvalier also often indicated that he retained power through sorcery.

There are many more of these examples of retribution showing up daily around the world,  as the day of judgement draws closer.

Yes indeed, the power of retribution is not really a part of our "human objectives" during our temporary sojourn on this planet. It belongs to God.
©
EU-Digest

Syria: Russia Placed S-300 Missiles in Syria After Learning of US Plan to Bomb Airbases

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the decision to deploy S-300 anti-air missile system in Syria came after receiving leaked data on US intentions to bomb Syrian airbases.

Russian mobile S-300 missile launchers protecting Syrian airfields

"The S-300 appeared there [in Syria] after experts close to the American establishment had started leaking information…that the US could hit Syrian airfields with cruise missiles,"

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in an interview with Russia's Dozhd TV channel.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that a battery of S-300 air defense systems had been delivered to Syria to protect the naval base at Tartus, as well as Russiawarships deployed off the Syrian coast.

Earlier, Zakharova critized US Secretary of State John Kerry's statements on launching an investigation into "war crimes of the Russian Federation."

"If it comes to war crimes, US officials must begin with Iraq. And then go to Libya, be sure to go to Yemen — find out what's there. I want to say to juggle these words is very dangerous, because behind the American representatives really are war crimes."

Zakharova added that "the American side simply could not fulfill the ceasefire agreement" in Syria. "They themselves have told us that they have no levers of pressure on the opposition."

On Friday, US State Department spokesman John Kirby dialed back Kerry's accusations

Read more:Russia Placed S-300 Missiles in Syria After Learning of US Plan to Bomb Airbases

Vaccinations: Why flu shots are the greatest medical fraud in history - by Mike Adams

As one of the very few independent voices willing to stand up against the scientific dogma of our modern medical regime, I've long felt a need to communicate the dangers of flu shots to the public so that people can have better information to prevent vaccine injuries and save lives.

This doesn't mean I'm opposed to the theory of vaccination, by the way. In fact, I'm the author of A Blueprint for Safer Vaccines, an audio guide to saving lives and preventing vaccine injuries and deaths.

To my knowledge, I'm the only independent journalist in the world who is scientifically trained to run an atomic mass spectrometry laboratory, which I've been running for nearly a year now and testing the heavy metals content of organic superfoods like cacao, common vaccines as well as the ability of water filers to remove toxic heavy metals. I'm the creator of the Low Heavy Metals Verified standard and I'm the inventor of patent-pending nutritional formulas for capturing heavy metals during digestion and binding with the radioactive isotopes of cesium (such as Cesium-137) to eliminate them from the digestive tract. Both of these patents are on file with the U.S. patent office awaiting a decision.

My independent atomic elemental analysis of flu vaccines, published in the summer of 2014, proved that flu vaccines contain over 50 ppm mercury, an extremely toxic heavy metal linked to kidney failure, birth defects, spontaneous abortions and neurological damage. This finding has never been refuted by anyone. In fact, it was affirmed by vaccine proponents who insisted that it is perfectly safe to inject pregnant women, young children and senior citizens with mercury even though the flu vaccine insert itself readily admits there is no scientific evidence whatsoever to support the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in such groups.

Believe it or not, there are still millions of people, doctors, pharmacists and even journalists who do not yet realize there is a very high concentration of mercury in influenza vaccines given to pregnant women, children and senior citizens. Most people, you see, have been lied to by the media which has stated over and over again that mercury was removed from all vaccines.

That's simply not true.

It's still there. And toxic mercury is present in influenza vaccines at a level that's literally 25,000 times higher than the EPA limit of mercury in drinking water. [7] It's 100 times higher than the highest level of mercury contamination I've ever tested in ocean fish.

Read more: Why flu shots are the greatest medical fraud in history - NaturalNews.com

Loss Of Political Stature: How the United States and UK Risk Their Global Goodwill - by Shihoko Goto

Isolationists are gaining ground worldwide. From worries about losing jobs to concerns about the erosion of social values and cultural norms, disengagement and retreat from the international stage is seen as a viable solution to the looming challenges ahead.

The most glaring fact is that Britain and the United States are at the forefront of seeing withdrawal as an answer to problems facing a rapidly evolving world.

But far from offering any longer-term solutions to the real worries of losing out to international competition, the isolationists are at a real risk of losing their political, military and social and economic power.

With Brexit, non-EU countries are reassessing how they continue to do business in Europe, as Britain can no longer remain their gateway to Europe.

Never mind that for countries like Japan, Britain had been their base in Europe. Corporations including Toyota and Hitachi created over 140,000 jobs across UK as a result.

But while Brexit supporters have touted that leaving the European Union will enhance British economic competitiveness, such signs have yet to emerge.

In fact, the IMF predicted in October that Britain’s GDP growth will fall to 1.1% in 2017, compared to 2.2% growth in 2015. This is a direct result of Brexit and inspire of the British pound’s depreciation.

With even the staunchest of U.S. and British allies frustrated by their retreat, those supporters are already beginning to take matters into their own hands.

But the real cost of London’s isolationist policy may well be that it has shaken the foundations of relations over the decades that spills out well beyond the economic realm.

The intense national debates within Britain ahead of the referendum underscored the unexpected strength of the anti-trade, anti-globalization and ultimately, anti-foreigner stance of many voters.

With popular sentiment becoming more insular, Britain’s reliability as an ally in diplomacy and in security issues has come into question. the concerns are thus not just limited to trade relations with Europe and beyond.

Moreover, confidence in a Britain that has the will and the wherewithal to be a leader in addressing transnational issues, not least to ensure global economic stability, has faltered as well.

In short, the Brexit referendum that supposedly was to make Britain stronger has actually weakened its position on the global stage, at least in the near term.

Still, Britain is not alone in paying a price for its strategic isolationism. International disillusionment with the United States has also begun, especially as Washington continues to shy away from a global trade deal that it has been instrumental in crafting.

The economic merits of signing on to the Trans-Pacific Partnership aside, the fact that the United States could walk out of a negotiation at the eleventh hour, that it had been an integral part of puts U.S. credibility on the line.

As governments of the 11 other TPP member countries are pushing hard to have the deal ratified by their legislators, the fact that both U.S. presidential candidates are united in rejecting the TPP – at least as it currently stands – has been alarming.

In particular, blaming foreign competition for a growing income divide in the United States can hardly be seen as encouraging for overseas investors. At best, such “reasoning” is a wild stretch of the truth.

The trend to blame outsiders for many U.S. economic woes, when domestic reforms and reinvestment into projects, especially infrastructure, could do much to spur growth, has been alarming.

Like Britain, the United States continues to enjoy much international goodwill as a global leader in promoting democracy and free markets that it can continue to draw upon.

Yet, as public opinion in both countries continue to support greater protectionist measures and scaling back on global commitments, that goodwill may whittle down far more rapidly than expected. 

Read moew: How the United States and UK Risk Their Global Goodwill - The Globalist

Confronting the deplorable: A look at media sensationalism - by Matthew Raskob

A political firestorm was ignited last Friday night. At an LGBT fundraiser in New York City, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton remarked that “half of Trump’s supporters” could be put “into what I call the basket of deplorables.” These people, she asserted, are “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, and Islamophobic” and she excoriated Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s presidential nominee, for embracing and empowering them. The appetite of the mercurial and sensationalistic press for conflict was whetted and reporters went to work forthwith depicting the comment in the worst possible light. Clinton’s frank words were soon circulated ad nauseam, accompanied by professions of astonishment that a candidate for public office would dare portray a segment of America as bigoted. Forgotten was the rest of her speech, in which she went on to express empathy for those Trump supporters who are motivated by economic and social distress. Ignored was the fact that Clinton had used virtually the same words on at least one prior occasion. Her opponents saw their chance and pounced gleefully, declaring that Clinton had unfairly denigrated millions of hard-working, patriotic Americans — at an exclusive fundraiser, no less.

This comment and the reactions it precipitated provide copious opportunities for deliberation and reflection. Consider, for instance, that when Donald Trump vilifies entire groups of American based upon their color or creed, it is often brushed off as mere showmanship and further evidence of an unconventional candidate’s authenticity. When Hillary Clinton makes a blunt assertion about a portion of Trump’s supporters, on the other hand, it is a scandalous indiscretion that reveals deep-seated disdain for the unpretentious, industrious inhabitants of Middle America. Consider that a few outspoken sentences uttered by Clinton have garnered hours of coverage on cable news and prominent placement in every newspaper and blog. In contrast, Trump’s plethora of scandals and disturbing pronouncements languished in relative obscurity. For instance, are Clinton’s remarks really more newsworthy than the Trump Foundation’s illegal gift to Florida’s Attorney General, who shortly thereafter dropped an investigation into Trump University? Should they really concern us more than Trump’s recent threat to fire upon Iranian patrol boats shadowing U.S. naval vessels in the Persian Gulf?

What I believe is most interesting to explore, however, is what the entire contretemps reveals about our collective inability to come to grips with the role bigotry plays in our politics. Almost immediately after Clinton inelegantly placed half of Trump’s supporters in “the basket of deplorables,” political journalists breathlessly began to opine upon what this slip portended for her political fortunes. Rarely, if ever, was there any discussion of the veracity of her comments. This is indeed unfortunate, for Clinton made the point the media and far too many voters have failed to grasp. Donald Trump, his platform, and some of his most ardent proponents are anything but mainstream. This has been disregarded by the press, which has overwhelmingly chosen to treat Donald Trump like a mainstream politician, albeit one with a colorful style. Alarmingly, voters have followed the media’s lead. While Trump’s favorability ratings may be the lowest of any major party presidential candidate in history, they are only slightly lower than those of Hillary Clinton. In another disturbing development, Republicans and a good deal of independents have lined up behind Trump as they would for any ordinary Republican nominee.

However inconvenient it may be for the prim and proper gatekeepers of political discourse to admit, Donald Trump’s campaign is based upon ethnic, religious, and racial animus of the vilest sort. Lest we forget, Trump owes his prominence within the Republican Party today to his active role in questioning the citizenship and legitimacy of the first African-American president. He launched his campaign by defaming Mexican-Americans as drug dealers, murderers, and rapists, and later pledged to ban all Muslims from the United States. Part of the movement that has sprung up around Trump is a motley crew of neo-fascists, Islamophobes, anti-Semites, and longstanding white supremacists who, eager for a rebrand, have collectively christened themselves the “alt-right.” At Trump’s rallies, the bigotry, racism, and xenophobia of the mogul’s diehard supporters are on full display. Numerous incidents of violence against protesters have occurred, and attendees habitually join in hateful chants encouraged by the nominee himself.

Read more: Confronting the deplorable: A look at media sensationalism | The Mac Weekly | Macalester's Independent Student Newspaper

Christianity: Billy Graham's Grandson Will: 'This Is The Start Of The End Times.' - by Ruth Gledhill

Billy Graham's grandson Will Graham believes the world is entering the "end times" and that Jesus Christ may well return in his lifetime.

William Franklin Graham IV, known as Will, is in Scotland where he is hosting the North East Scotland Celebration of Hope at Peterhead Academy. The events will be broadcast live via this link.

Graham, speaking to Christian Today, said his aim was to lead people to Jesus while there is still time.


"A lot of people are on edge. I think people feel like something has got to come to a climax," he said, referring to events in the wider world.

"There seems to be an underlying climax that is on the horizon. For me, as a Christian, I believe that that is going to be a massive war, what the Bible calls Armageddon. The end of days.

"If things continue as they are going, something has got to give. I believe a lot of people are nervous about the long-term future."

The world is in relative peace, he said, with no world war taking place. "But yet at the same time there seems to be conflict around and hatred."

He added: "This cannot continue. Something is going to snap. Something is going to break. I believe that could be the start of the end times for us."

Graham added: "I do not know when the Lord is coming back." But he had been reading Scripture. "The things we never thought would take place are now starting to take place. I do believe that Christ will maybe come in my lifetime. I do believe Christ is coming so I want to tell people about Christ while there is still chance."

Read more: Billy Graham's Grandson Will: 'This Is The Start Of The End Times.' | Christian News on Christian Today

Middle East: The US is bogged down in the Middle East — and China knows it - by Matt Purple

Many years ago, the Obama administration had a good foreign policy idea. Remove your jaw from the floorboards and stay with me on this one.

Barack Obama was elected during a period of tense ceasefire in the Middle East. The violence in Iraq had dwindled, and new sanctions on Iran quickly rendered Tehran economically impotent. After years of immersion in Mesopotamia, it seemed we could finally move on, and so the Obama administration redirected its efforts towards East Asia.

Give the president credit: he got that much right. The recession had proven that economic power was just as important, if not more so, than military strength, and two of the world’s three largest economies lay in East Asia. Also nearby was Australia, a staunch ally that weathered the downturn better than most first-world nations. Meanwhile, China needed to be engaged, Japan needed to be bolstered, and North Korea needed to be contained. Myanmar also needed guidance as it held elections and transitioned away from its governing junta.

Early Obama gestures towards Asia seemed astute. Having inherited America’s strongest relationship with China since before the Tiananmen Square massacre, Obama set about trying to expand our channels of cooperation. Washington also joined negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which the White House saw as a way to unleash commerce and, later, as a restraint on China, which wasn’t party to the talks.

This was sound policy, but it also rested on a mirage: that Obama’s overtures towards the Middle East and Asia would allow us to decamp from the former and swoop into the latter. Today, neither of those propositions has borne out: the Middle East is ablaze, East Asia is a far more dangerous neighborhood than before, and we’ve spent another eight years staring glassily into the Mesopotamian sand.

Read more: The US is bogged down in the Middle East — and China knows it - Business Insider

US: Elizabeth Warren Says Obama Has "Broken Promises" to U.S. Workers - by Gregory Krieg

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is taking aim at one of President Barack Obama's most impassioned arguments in favor of a massive new trade deal, claiming in a report released Monday that protections for American workers included in any final deal could not be trusted.

Obama has repeatedly said the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would govern nearly 40% of global trade, will be "the most progressive trade bill in history." 

The president has tried to persuade liberal critics of the agreement by highlighting stronger protections for workers at home and abroad, more robust environmental regulations and a better enforcement system than in previous deals, such as 1994's controversial North American Free Trade Agreement.

Warren isn't buying it. In her report Monday, she questioned whether the government has the will or inclination to actively enforce the protections promised by the White House.

Read more: US Elizabeth Warren Says Obama Has "Broken Promises" to U.S. Workers

Syria: France's Marine Le Pen Says EU Responsible For "Monstrous Chaos In Syria"

With the proxy war in Syria escalating dramatically on a day by day basis, with ideological support for the warring powers split along West vs Russia (and China) lines, one particular outlier in the "western world" emerged overnight when Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s National Front party and the frontrunner for the role of president in near year's French elections, accused the European Union of being responsible for the ongoing chaos in Syria. She added that Europe has been too busy trying to overthrow Assad while Russia was actually fighting terrorists.

“You’ve done everything to bring down the government of Syria, throwing the country into a terrible civil war, while accusing Russia which is actually fighting Islamic State. Your responsibility could not be concealed”, she said speaking at the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

“You cannot hide your responsibility […] for plunging this part of the world into an absolutely monstrous chaos," Le Pen said, alleging that policies advocated by both the United States and the European Union had contributed to the state Syria is currently in, as well as neighboring Iraq.

Read more: France's Marine Le Pen Says EU Responsible For "Monstrous Chaos In Syria" | Zero Hedge

Russia - EU: NATO EU jets intercept two Russian bombers flying south

Two Russian bombers were intercepted by fighter jets from four different European countries as they flew from Norway down to Spain and back again, it has emerged.

The incident, which took place on September 22, saw fighter planes from Norway, the UK, France and Spain scramble to escort two Tupolev 160 Blackjack jets as they skirted the airspace of each country. The incident has only now emerged following a report from the French ministry of defence.

Rad more: NATO jets intercept two Russian bombers flying south

Foreign Policy Objectives By US GOP and Dem. Pres Candidates Increase Global War Risks

Vladimir Frokov at the Moscow Times writes: "When Russia entered the war in Syria exactly a year ago, it seemed like a clever political gambit.

Making a virtue out of necessity, Moscow intervened to save its embattled ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad. Back then, Assad's regime was teetering on the brink of defeat by armed opposition and radical islamist forces, including terror groups like Islamic State (IS) and Al-Qaeda affiliate the Al-Nusra Front. A short, but intensive air campaign to support the ground offensive by the Syrian army and Iranian allies was conceived as a way of reversing the military situation on the ground. The calculation was that Assad could then be pushed into a political settlement that would have kept him in power as a bulwark against the chaos and instability of the U.S.-promoted Arab Spring.

Presenting this operation as Russia’s contribution to the war against IS, already waged by the U.S.-led international coalition in Iraq and Syria, would have given Moscow coveted international legitimacy. It would have secured even more important, but unarticulated Russian objectives. The first was to break through diplomatic isolation by the West, which was Russia's reality after its actions in Ukraine in 2014. The second — to reestablish Russia as a great power with a global reach that could challenge the U.S. dominated world order.

One year on, the results are mixed. The objective of shoring up the regime has been met. Assad has regained control over the strategically important parts of Syria and can no longer be overthrown, provided Russia and Iran keep fighting for him. The moderate opposition groups have been weakened and are merging with jihadi terrorists, thus ceasing to be a legitimate alternative to the regime.

At the same time, Russia is still stuck fighting the jihadists in increasingly bloody battles in Aleppo and Idlib. A quick exit from this war is no longer feasible, since it would result in the regime’s collapse. Assad disrupts Russia’s efforts at political settlement as he has no incentive to see Russia exit the war.

The goal of securing a strategic breakthrough with the West and geopolitical parity with the United States remains elusive. Russia has made itself indispensable in Syria, but beyond that, the West has not negotiated with Russia over Ukraine and the post-Cold War security order in Europe.

Washington worked closely with Moscow on securing a durable cessation of hostilities, and moving toward a political settlement in Syria. Russia came close to what U.S. President Barack Obama’s former Middle East hand Phil Gordon described as a “clean win” in Syria with the Geneva deal of Sept. 12. This deal would have prevented regime change in Damascus for the foreseeable future, facilitated direct military and intelligence cooperation with the United States against terrorist groups, and reduced the cost of conflict for Russia.

But this agreement is now unraveling. It has been beset by mutual recriminations over its implementation, highfalutin rhetoric and more war. With the regime offensive in eastern Aleppo underway, Syria is turning into a new area of confrontation and potentially direct military clash between Russia and the United States.

The deal was probably doomed from the start. Both sides knew they could not enforce their end of the bargain — pushing Assad and the rebels into a lasting ceasefire and the resumption of the UN talks on political transition. The Russians knew the United States was not in a position to deliver on separating the moderate rebels from al-Nusra. Nonetheless, they pushed through this demand to secure unfettered bombing rights against the largest islamist opposition groups Ahrar al-Sham and Jaish al-Islam.

The United States hoped Moscow could ground Assad’s air force to stop attacks on civilians. But Assad wanted to defeat the rebels in Aleppo at all costs, since it would have ended the rebellion in large cities. Moscow eventually agreed with Damascus that securing a military victory in Aleppo was more important than a shaky deal with Washington to freeze the stalemate.

Now the pressure is on the Obama administration “to raise the costs for Assad and Moscow” for their indiscriminate bombing in Aleppo. “Non-diplomatic” options are being developed like more weapons deliveries to the moderate rebels with long-range artillery and MANPADS thrown in, or stand-off strikes with cruise missiles against the regime’s air assets and airfields.

If approved, such strikes would plunge Washington into direct military confrontation with Russia. Moscow would try to shoot down U.S. missiles with its advanced air defenses, and escalate bombing raids against rebel supply lines. Staring down Washington would hand Moscow everything it wanted: a recognition by the United States of Russia’s equal status and an invitation to discuss Russia’s geopolitical interests. 

The latest rhetorical overkill employed by Moscow — accusing U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby of instigating terrorist acts in Russian cities — may indicate the Russians are prepared to duke it out.

Obama, who has been masterfully dodging a fight with Putin, would be walking straight into his trap".

Unfortunately there is no major difference between Republican and Democratic parties in deciding US foreign policy, because both major parties are serving the same interests of the political elite which makes the present situation extremely dangerous.

On one issue after another, large numbers of Democrats in Congress have endorsed relatively hawkish policies, because they still assume that this is the politically safe and necessary position that they have to take.

Prominent Republicans who have served in the national security arena – or share the nation-building worldview of George W. Bush — are saying they’d rather have Hillary Clinton as president than Donald Trump.

“I’m supporting Hillary, and the main reason I’m supporting her is that she is for American engagement in the world,” R. Nicholas Burns, undersecretary of state during the George W. Bush administration told the Wall Street Journal.

Other danger signals of a more hawkish Democratic Presidency under Hillary Clinton are that recently the Clinton campaign launched “Together for America,” an initiative to recruit GOP endorsements, and announced support from nearly 50 Republicans, including George W. Bush’s former Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte. The announcement came two days after Politico reported, citing a person close to Clinton, that the Democratic presidential nominee’s campaign reached out to Kissinger and Bush’s former secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice.

Obviously when Clinton wins it will be "payback time"

For Republicans, international concerns now dominate. When asked about what they feel is the nation’s most important problem, 42% of Republicans cite an international concern – terrorism, the Islamic militant group ISIS or another national security issue – while just half as many (21%) mention an economic issue.

Fully 72% of Republicans say that using overwhelming force is the best way to defeat global terrorism. Among Democrats, just 27% favor the use of overwhelming military force, while 66% say relying too much on military force creates hatred that leads to more terrorism.

Fully 68% of Republicans view Islam as more likely than other religions to encourage violence, compared with just 30% of Democrats. When this question was first asked, in March 2002, just 33% of Republicans (and 22% of Democrats) said Islam was more likely than other religions to encourage violence among its believers.

All by all a very scary scenario when we look at the upcoming US elections and the future. Hillary Clinton is probably the safer bet of the two candidates, only if she can be held in check by Democratic party moderates like Bernie Sanders  and Elizabeth Warren.

As to Donald Trump, apart from all the negatives that the "establishment" has cast upon him, did say about President Putin of Russia that "He is really very much of a leader". He also has repeatedly said that if he wins the presidency in November, he'd like to strengthen ties with Russia and work with Putin to defeat the terrorist group ISIS.

The world certainly is in eminent danger if "cool heads don't prevail". 

EU-Digest

Netherlands: Almere, Tvesha Chauhan from India, becomes it's 200.000 inhabitant

Almere, the Netherlands newest and Europe's most modern city, celebrated the arrival of it's 200.000 new inhabitant, Tvesha Chauhan from India, who was registered this past Monday, November the third.

She was officially welcomed to the city by Franc Weerwin, the Mayor of Almere, who is a Dutch Citizen from Suriname descent.

Almere's first citizens arrived in the city only back in 1976, after the area was reclaimed from the Zuider-Sea and became part of a new Dutch Province, completely reclaimed from the sea on June 27, 1985 , "baptized" Flevoland, the 12th Dutch Province.

On January 1, 1986. Dutch Parliament passed an act whereby the Province of Flevoland was created, and the rest is history.

Almere heeft 200.000 inwoners|Binnenland| Telegraaf.nl

Almere, de jongste stad van Nederland, heeft nu 200.000 inwoners. De grens werd symbolisch gepasseerd door de tienjarige Tvesha Chauhan uit India, die met haar…

telegraaf.nl

Middle East: Opinion: Unbearable helplessness in Syria - by Alexander Kudascheff

As the saying goes, hope dies last. Given the clearly conflicting interests of the forces taking part in the Syria war, no solution is on the horizon at the moment, writes DW's editor-in-chief, Alexander Kudascheff.

The war, the killing and the dying goes on relentlessly in Syria. It is a war that has still not bled out, even in its fifth year. This is war being waged with inconceivable cruelty, primarily at the expense of the population, which is already being held hostage by all sides. And now, the last hope of containing the war - and perhaps even ending it - through negotiations between the Americans and Russians has died. The communication lines between Moscow and Washington have broken down and the last glimmer of hope has thus been extinguished.

The failure of the talks - as one is not certain whether they can be called negotiations - was foreseeable. Negotiations are based on the capability of perceiving the interests of the other party and comparing them with one's own to see whether a deal can be struck. How were the Syria talks conducted? The Russians have one overwhelming interest: They want to keep President Bashar al-Assad in power and come into play as a global force that is once again a weighty influencer in the Middle East. To Russia, any means, especially military means, justifies the end. Assad obviously wants to stay in power and is not at all interested in compromise because any compromise would herald the end of his political career. Turkey does not want a Kurdish state to be established. Iran would like to expand Shiite domination; Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, wants to prevent it. They are all against "Islamic State" (IS) whenever it suits their political or military aims.

The international power struggle will continue after the new American president has been elected. In the meantime, one cannot ignore the fact that Putin is taking swift action in Syria. However, Moscow will recall that it its military and political involvement in Afghanistan was initially successful before the Soviets were weakened and had to leave the country as losers. What will happen to Syria if Russia's and Assad's military forces are successful? Will it become a deathly silent Middle Eastern Chechnya? Or will it become a Middle Eastern Afghanistan that will descend into the chaos of everyday terror? The West must immediately decide on a containment policy but no one seems to be anywhere near such a decision. Right now, it looks like the West will have to resort to standing by helplessly and watching people get killed in Syria. Then the war will really become morally unbearable.

Read more: Opinion: Unbearable helplessness in Syria | Opinion | DW.COM | 05.10.2016

Refugee Crises: Ten countries host half of world's refugees

Ten countries - which account for just 2.5 percent of the global economy - are hosting more than half the world's refugees, a rights group has said, accusing wealthy countries of leaving poorer nations to bear the brunt of a worsening crisis.

In a report published on Tuesday, Amnesty International said the unequal share was exacerbating the global refugee problem, as inadequate conditions in the main countries of shelter pushed many to embark on dangerous journeys to Europe and Australia.

The London-based group said 56 percent of the world's 21 million refugees are being hosted by just 10 countries - all in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.

Jordan, which has taken in more than 2.7 million people, was named as the top refugee hosting country,  followed by Turkey, over 2.5 million; Pakistan, 1.6 million; and Lebanon, more than 1.5 million.

The other top six nations were Iran, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Chad.

Note EU-Digest: hope the EU Eastern European states, Austria and other countries are reading this report and realizing their complaints pale in comparison to the above mentioned countries. 

They should be ashamed and instead take a close look what the cause is for these large numbers  of refugees?   Isn't it also high time for the EU to revise its foreign policy and step back from alliances which have caused all this human horror. 

Read more: Ten countries host half of world's refugees: report - News from Al Jazeera

Russia: Putin delivers a speech on power, investment and defence in the Duma

President Vladimir Putin of Russia

Recently the ballot for Russia’s lower house, delivered the expected result, a landslide for Putin’s United Russia.

President Putin outlined the aims of the Duma, such as boosting investment and defence strategies as well as the need to be strong:

“Every individual and every country have the same rights, the right to be powerful, but we don’t think that being a superpower gives us the right to tell people what to do and we don’t do that,” he said.

Read more: Putin delivers a speech on power, investment and defence in the Duma

Privacy Violations: Yahoo "complies with NSA and FBI requests to scan customers' emails" -

Yahoo is said to have built a custom-made software program to scan all of its clients’ incoming emails on behalf of the US government.

Reuters reports the company complied with a classified directive, issued in 2015. The searches were requested by the FBI and the NSA, three sources claimed.

Exactly what intelligence officials were looking for is not known, neither is the type of data Yahoo may have handed over, or if other email providers were approached with similar requests.

The claims come just under two weeks after the technology company announced hackers had stolen data on a number of its users.

Read more: Yahoo "complies with NSA and FBI requests to scan customers' emails" - reports

Political Hypocricy: Clinton, Trump, and the ends of great power hypocrisy - Mark LeVine

US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry rail against Russia's support for the Syrian government's horrific bombing of hospitals and other crimes of war. Meanwhile, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Yemen to Israel, the US and its allies have either yet to account for or continue to engage in wars and pursue policies that have killed hundreds of thousands of people and ruined the lives of tens of millions more.

Truth be told, the Middle East is an intricate wheel of war and oppression whose spokes stretch across the Middle East into Africa and Central Asia, and which rolls roughshod over most every attempt by citizens across these regions to achieve a measure of democracy, accountability, development and dignity.

Why are are western leaders surprised when those crushed under the wheel ride the spokes across the water in the desperate hope of arriving at a better, or at least livable, future.

Read more: Clinton, Trump, and the ends of great power hypocrisy - Al Jazeera English

Dutch Legal Services: Choosing a lawyer in The Netherlands - free choice of lawyer - by Eva Jongepier

In case you have a legal expenses insurance in the Netherlands, you can from now on choose you own lawyer in legal or administrative proceedings.

Following a request from the Supreme Court in the Netherlands to give a preliminary ruling, the European Court of Justice ruled on November 7, 2013 that legal expenses insurers (such as DAS, ARAG, SRK, ACHMEA etc.) can no longer deny their insured persons to choose their own lawyer.

In this case an insured person (insured by DAS), requested DAS to compensate him for the legal costs of his lawyer in legal proceedings against his employer.

DAS refused to pay the costs based on their insurance policy. Large scale legal expenses insurers such as DAS have their own legal advisers. The largest part of these advisors are not lawyers (not connected to the Bar Association). Based on the policy of DAS, the insured person did not have the right to choose his own attorney, since DAS offered him one of their own legal advisers. The insured person could only choose his own lawyer if the insurer would have decided that the handling of the case should be subcontracted to an external lawyer.

Read more: Choosing a lawyer in The Netherlands - free choice of lawyer

WikiLeaks promised a Hillary Clinton bombshell. Instead, they trolled us all.

Julian Assange trolled the internet — and much of the world — Tuesday, getting thousands to tune into a glorified informercial for WikiLeaks and his new book by teasing he would be dropping a surprise in October on Hillary Clinton.

But Assange didn't release any documents. Instead, he again moved the goal post for when new documents related to the election would leak — saying they'd come before the end of the year.

"We are going to need an army to defend us from the pressure that is already starting to arise," Assange said via live video feed into a press conference to celebrate WikiLeaks' 10-year anniversary, NBC News reported.

Top supporters of Donald Trump — including noted conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and political operative Roger Stone — had hyped Assange's press conference, saying he would release documents that would end Clinton's presidential bid.

Read more: WikiLeaks promised a Hillary Clinton bombshell. Instead, they trolled us all.

USA Banks: 2016 survey shows Bank of America is considered the worst bank in the US financial system

is considered the worst bank in the US financial system.

It is the worst U.S. bank out of the 50,  included in a recent analysis. It ranked 44th in number of consumer complaints, 48th in regulatory penalties and and 34th in responsiveness to consumer issues.

Read more: 2016 Analysis of Regulatory Violations & Consumer Complaints - ValuePenguin

Hungary PM claims EU migrant quota referendum victory - but is it a victory ?

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban has declared victory in a referendum on mandatory EU migrant quotas, despite a low turnout that appeared to render it invalid.

Nearly 98% of those who took part supported the government's call to reject the EU plan.

But only 43% of the electorate voted, short of the 50% required to be valid.

Note EU-Digest: The Hungarian referendum was declared void and illegal because voter participation was 43 %, well below the allowed 50 % threshold and in reality a vote of no- confidence for the PM because the opposition had told their supporters to abstain from voting.

Read more: Hungary PM claims EU migrant quota referendum victory - BBC News

USA Presidential election: A Putrid Election: the Horserace as Farce - by Andrew Levine

Presidential elections are a spectator sport.   A well-known cliché likens them to horseraces.

Horseraces are more interesting, however.

This is why the people who pay the most attention are inveterate obsessives – “political junkies,” according to another cliché.

But in much the way that interest in horse racing picks up on Kentucky Derby Day, interest in presidential elections picks up when the candidates “debate.” The scare-quotes are appropriate because their debates aren’t much like the genuine article; they are more like joint campaign appearances.

There have been a lot of them this electoral season.

Republican aspirants for their party’s nomination debated over and over again.   Towards the beginning, more than a dozen or so of those dunces would be on display at the same time – with yet more of them, those who didn’t make the cut, waiting, as it were, in the wings.

Were the contenders not so well groomed, it would be apt to call the result a series of freak shows; or, were their debates better executed, to refer now to The Goon Show or the Three Stooges.   The sensibility was much the same.

Trump “won” the debates by stealing the show each time.   But his hectoring got old fast. Before long, all but diehard Trump diehards therefore lost interest. There wasn’t even a Sarah Palin around to lighten the mood; there was only Trump.

The Democrats’ debates were different because, on the Bernie Sanders side, there was some genuine political organizing and consciousness-raising going on; and the debates were part of the process. It would have been more satisfying had Sanders gone, Trump-style, for Hillary’s jugular, but at least he did oppose her for some of the right reasons.

For an audience accustomed to hearing only the hard right’s case against the Clintons, this was eye opening.

Read more: A Putrid Election: the Horserace as Farce

Weather : Matthew May Hit The United States as a Category 5 Hurricane next Week

As of the latest advisory by the National Hurricane Center at 5PM EDT, Hurricane Matthew has reintensified with winds upgraded to 150 MPH and pressure dropping to 940 millibars (MB) with the eye wobbling altering the forecast path as a result of the intensification phase.

As of the latest advisory by the National Hurricane Center at 2PM EDT the storm packed maximum winds downgraded to 140MPH, but despite a reduction in the system's wind strength it increased in relative intensity with pressure dropping to 943 millibars (MB). The system is also currently defying the tracking pattern moving southward at 2 MPH according to Hurricane Hunter reconnaissance jets.

Despite the non-conducive environment for tropical development, the National Hurricane Center based in Miami, Florida could see that now Hurricane Matthew was an unusually strong tropical wave that appeared to be strengthening and predicted the storm would be a minor hurricane with winds of 80MPH by Friday – but Matthew doubled expectations in all the worst ways intensifying rapidly to 160MPH as of the 11PM EDT advisory on Friday Night. As a meteorological marvel, Matthew is profound becoming the first Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean in 9 years – the last being Hurricane Felix in 2007 – with only two Atlantic tropical cyclones having seen intensification levels comparable to Matthew over a 24-hour period – Hurricanes Wilma and Felix respectively. Hurricane Matthew is also the lowest latitude category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic Ocean lending to the novelty of the powerful system. 

While onlookers may think of Hurricane Matthew as a weather wonder, in the next 48 hours it will also be a mass casualty event whether it maintains its current path towards Kingston, Jamaica or shifts slightly to the East to impact an even more vulnerable Haiti before slamming into Eastern Cuba.

Read more: Matthew May Hit The United States as a Category 5 Hurricane Next Wee

Christianity: China on Track to Have World's Largest Christian Population by 2030 - by Brandon Showalter

Despite the increasing persecution of Christians in China, the Communist country is on track to have the largest Christian population in the world by 2030, according to Rodney Pennington who studies religious trends for OMF International.

"We are overjoyed with what the Lord has already done in China," said Pennington, vice president for mobilization of OMF, a missions organization, in an interview with The Christian Post on Tuesday. "But that doesn't mean the task is finished."

By 2030 "China will almost certainly have the most evangelical Christians," he said, "and that will greatly shape the global evangelical Church in the coming years.

That said, Pennington emphasized that there are still many needs in China, especially in areas like discipleship, cross-cultural outreach and ministering to children and youth."

"While 200 million Chinese believers by the year 2030 may seem ambitious, it certainly gives us a strong goal to pray toward," he added.

Yu Jie, a Chinese Christian and democracy activist, said in an essay published in the August edition of First Things that Chinese Christians are known to say "the greater the persecution, the greater the revival." If recent reports are correct, the persecution has indeed been great but the revival has been, in Yu's words, a "gushing well or geyser."

The exponential growth of the Christian faith in China can be traced back to two moments in modern Chinese history, according to Yu.

Those two moments were the launch of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution in 1966 and the Tienanmen Square massacre in 1989. Millions of innocent people lost their lives in those events, and as a result many people have stopped believing in Marxism-Leninism and Maoist ideology, Yu said.

The director of the Center of Religion and Chinese Society at Purdue University, Fenggyang Yang, noted in an essay published in Slate magazine that Protestantism has been growing in China by more than 10 percent every year. In 1980 there were approximately 3 million Christians in China. By 2010 that number had risen to 58 million. He suggests that by 2025, there could be 255 million Christians.

Even with the impressive growth of Christianity, China is still officially an atheist country.

In April, CP reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping told his Communist Party members that they must be "unyielding Marxist atheists" who will command Christians and other religious groups in the country.

Since 2014, the Communist regime has been targeting Christians and demolishing churches, deeming the buildings "illegal." The government has demolished more than 200 churches and removed over 2,000 crosses in China's Zhejiang province in an effort to limit Christianity's influence in the region.

Human rights attorneys who provide legal support to churches in China have also been subjected to gruesome torture and forced to confess on television that they have disturbed the peace, and jeopardized national security.

While some churches have been allowed to operate under strict state surveillance, many others, especially house churches and ministry organizations not registered with the government, are heavily oppressed.

Yu noted that there are three times as many illegal house churches as state-sponsored ones, and that repression is particularly bad in Wenzhou, "China's Jerusalem" in Zhejiang province, where an estimated 15 percent of the population is Christian.

Despite the crackdown on Christianity in his native country, Yu said he is not unsettled.

"Neither the dead hand of Communism, nor the cynical imitation of Confucianism, nor capitalism, nor democracy, nor any earthly thing will determine the fate of my land," he said.

Read more: China on Track to Have World's Largest Christian Population by 2030

Britain: A Peek at the Secret English Farm Where Amazon Tests Its Drones - by Mark Scott

 After hours of searching, I pulled onto a dirt track here in the rolling hills of Cambridgeshire and spotted a small dot whirring across the blue sky, gently swaying in the breeze as it steadily flew about 200 feet above the ground.

Jackpot: It was an Amazon drone.

Barely visible to the naked eye, the unmarked aircraft, about the size of a large model plane, floated across a field about 1,000 yards in the distance, the lights on its four-pronged sensors flashing brightly against the afternoon sun.

Amazon, the giant e-commerce company, began secretly testing unmanned aircraft this summer at an undisclosed location in Britain (its largest outdoor test site, according to an Amazon executive). I set out to find the top secret site, wanting to see how we all may one day receive online deliveries.

In retrospect, signs of Amazon’s secret tests were hidden in plain sight.

There was the warning to pilots that unmanned aircraft would be flying in the area, about an hour north of London, until early October; the uncharacteristically fast cellphone reception in such a remote area — a must when processing drone data; and the growing list of jobs and openings at Amazon’s research and development site in Cambridge related to Prime Air, the company’s ambitious plan to use drones for everyday deliveries.

Read more: A Peek at the Secret English Farm Where Amazon Tests Its Drones - The New York Times

ISLAM - Middle East: UAE Vs. Saudi: Fighting for the Soul of Islam - by James M Dorsey

Saudi Ultra-Conservative Islam being challenged ?

A gathering of prominent Sunni Muslim leaders in the Chechen capital of Grozny that appeared to have effectively excommunicated Saudi-backed ultra-conservatism potentially opens not only a theological but also a geopolitical rift in the Muslim world.

The conference, sponsored and attended by some of Saudi Arabia’s closest allies, suggests that Saudi funding of ultra-conservative worldviews may be meeting its match in more liberal interpretations of Islam backed by the United Arab Emirates and Russia.

Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, an Islamist with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, recently convened some of Islam’s most prominent leaders to determine the theologically and politically explosive question of who is a Sunni Muslim.

Professing to be a Sufi, a more mystical interpretation of Islam, Kadyrov lacks the religious credentials beyond his native Chechnya where he was recently re-elected with 98% of the vote.

Kadyrov’s ability to bring together an illustrious group of Muslim scholars highlights successful behind-the-scenes manoeuvring by the United Arab Emirates to counter Salafism.

This, despite the UAE’s close collaboration with Saudi Arabia as a member of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and in the war in Yemen. It also shines a light on Russian efforts to cultivate Muslim religious leaders.

Participating in the Grozny conference were, among others, the imam of the Al-Azhar Grand Mosque in Cairo, Ahmed El- Tayeb, Egyptian Grand Mufti Shawki Allam, former Egyptian Grand Mufti and Sufi authority Ali Gomaa, a strident supporter of Egyptian general-turned-president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Al Sisi’s religious affairs advisor, Usama al-Azhari, the mufti of Damascus Abdul Fattah al-Bizm, a close confidante of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and influential Yemeni cleric Habib Ali Jifri, head of the Abu Dhabi-based Islamic Tabah Foundation who has close ties to UAE Crown Prince Mohammed ibn Zayed al-Nahyan.

In a frontal assault on Saudi-backed ultra-conservative movements such as Wahhabism, Salafism and Deobandism, the conference charged that the label Sunni had been hijacked by heretics whose deviant practices distorted Islam.

In defining Sunni Islam, the conference explicitly excluded Wahhabism, the Saudi state’s adopted version of Islam, as well as Salafism and Deobandism from its definition.

The assault is all the more significant given that Saudi Arabia has over the last four decades invested tens of billions of dollars into promoting globally ultra-conservative interpretations of Islam.

The conference suggests that the UAE, together with Russia, is succeeding in countering the Saudi effort that has enabled ultra-conservatism to make significant inroads into Muslim communities across the globe.

The heavy Egyptian presence suggests further that the UAE, which together with Saudi Arabia is Egypt’s foremost financier, has effectively driven a wedge between the kingdom and the Arab world’s most populous state.

It also serves as evidence that Russian efforts to woo mainstream Muslim as well as Islamist leaders have begun to pay off despite Moscow’s support of the Assad regime in Syria.

In a political fete, Russia managed to gather four years ago leaders of a host of Islamist stripes, including Saudi-backed Salafists, Muslim Brothers and Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah at one table.

Russian officials have stressed that conservative Russian Orthodox values are similar if not identical to puritan Islamic ones.

Read more: UAE Vs. Saudi: Fighting for the Soul of Islam - The Globalist