Chemical weapons attack in Syria was staged, claims MIT expert

A Journal of People report

 

A leading weapons academic has claimed that the Khan Sheikhoun nerve agent attack in Syria was staged, raising questions about who was responsible.

An International Business Times report said:

“Theodore Postol, a professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), issued a series of three reports in response to the White House’s finding that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad perpetrated the attack on 4 April.

“He concluded that the US government’s report does not provide any ‘concrete’ evidence that Assad was responsible, adding it was more likely that the attack was perpetrated by players on the ground.

Democratic victory of the “no” camp in Turkey, claims opposition leader

“Yes” lost in three largest cities including the capital

Trump and Saudi king congratulate Erdoğan

A Journal of People report

People protest against the results of the referendum in Istanbul, Turkey April 16, 2017. STRINGER/REUTERS

The 24 million Turkish citizens who voted against the constitutional changes have scored a “democratic victory” even though they failed to halt the government’s project, the main opposition leader has said, warning that Turkey will be ungovernable with the constitution.

In a phone interview with the Turkish daily Hürriyet on April 17, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the head of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), said, “Despite all the bureaucratic pressure of the state, despite all the state’s financial and bureaucratic resources [used by the government] and despite the ongoing state of emergency, the naysayers claimed a victory for democracy, no matter what they say.”

Thousands protest in Istanbul

Election officials stamped ballots

Annul referendum, calls opposition

Emergency extended in Turkey

A Journal of People report

Anti-government demonstrators shout slogans during a protest in the Kadikoy district of Istanbul, Turkey, April 17, 2017. © Kemal Aslan / Reuters

Thousands of people took to the streets of Istanbul to protest the results of the referendum that extended powers of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the main opposition has called on the Supreme Election Board (YSK) to annul the referendum results. Moreover, international observers have said the voting violated law. The government has extended emergency in the country.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Istanbul to protest the results of the referendum.

The demonstrators chanted: “No, we won”. Some 1,000 people marched through Istanbul’s neighborhood of Besiktas on Monday evening. As the activists proceeded through narrow alleys the locals cheered at them, with some hurling flowers in support.

A large banner reading “No has won” was spread by the activists.

Turkey On The Road To Fascism

A  Morning Star Editorial | 18 April, 2017

TURKEY’S constitutional changes endorsed in Sunday’s referendum threaten to take that country further down the road to fascism.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will assume sweeping new powers with which to pursue his authoritarian, neoliberal and Islamist agenda.

Already, since his election in 2014 to what had hitherto been a largely ceremonial post, Erdogan has tightened his grip over the media, the military and the judiciary, backed by his Justice and Development Party (AKP) and extreme nationalist and clerical forces.

Maduro: Opposition Activists Confess Being Paid to Promote Violent Protests

by LUCAS KOERNER

venezuelanalysis.com | 17 April, 2017

President Maduro addressed the Venezuelan nation on Sunday. (Prensa Presidencial)

Caracas, April 17, 2017 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro released video footage Sunday of opposition activists confessing to having been paid to carry out violent attacks during anti-government protests over the past two weeks.

In one video broadcast during the president’s televised evening address, a young opposition protester named Guido Rodriguez admits being paid 300,000 bolivars (US $70) – more than double the monthly minimum wage – to commit acts of anti-government violence during April 8’s demonstrations.

Sanders and Perez to Launch Nationwide ‘Come Together & Fight Back’ Tour

by Nadia Prupis, staff writer

Common Dreams | 17 April, 2017

“Regardless of where they live or their political affiliations, most people understand that it is absurd for Republicans in Congress to support huge tax breaks for billionaires while pushing for cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid,” Sanders and Perez said Monday. (Photo: Lorrie Shaull/flickr/cc)

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Tom Perez will kick off a multi-state tour in Maine on Monday, where they are expected to outline the progressive plan to strengthen the party, bolster grassroots activism, and resist President Donald Trump.

“At a time of massive income and wealth inequality and a shrinking middle class, we need a government which represents all Americans, not just Wall Street, multi-national corporations, and the top 1 percent,” Sanders and Perez said in a joint statement.

The circuit is officially named the “Come Together and Fight Back” tour.