#Assange says it was he who advised #Snowden to turn to Moscow for refuge http://on.rt.com/6q5h
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Obama prosecuted whistleblowers for working with media, not with foreign govts – Assange to RT
Obama prosecuted whistleblowers for working with media, not with foreign govts – Assange to RT
“Academic censorship” in journalism and foreign relations is one of the US’ greatest sins according to whistleblower Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. Assange spoke to RT about the “US Empire” and mechanisms it uses to expand its powers worldwide.
“Obama has prosecuted more whistleblowers under the espionage act than all previous presidents combined – more than twice as many,” Assange told RT’s Afshin Rattansi in a London interview.
“Of course he [Obama] says that’s espionage, but there is no allegation that any of these people have given their secrets to a foreign government or are working with a foreign government: allegations are they are working with the media,” he added.
Scores of cars, trucks washed away as torrential floods hit southern Spain (VIDEO)
Scores of cars, trucks washed away as torrential floods hit southern Spain (VIDEO)
Heavy torrential rains and massive flooding have turned the streets of a Spanish town into fast-flowing rivers that literary washed away cars and even large trucks, a YouTube video shows.
The small town of Adra, in the Almeria province of southern Spain, has been the worst affected by the rains. Its streets have been turned into fast-flowing currents of water that swept away cars and trucks.
A spokesman for the local council said the rain “intensified in the town at around 11:45 a.m.” on Monday, causing damage to “garages, basements, shops and homes,” the La Voz de Almería newspaper reported.
Spain’s southern coast has been battling severe flooding caused by heavy rains for several days. At least one fatality was reported, with a 61-year-old man killed when his car was washed away in the town of Polopos, in the province of Granada.
Several provinces, including Valencia, Alicante, Granada and Almeria, were issued with weather alerts by Spain’s Civil Protection Service. Almeria alone has received 56 emergency calls in recent days.
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US reputation suffers when it stands against human rights & rule of law – Snowden
US reputation suffers when it stands against human rights & rule of law – Snowden
Accepting Norway’s freedom of speech prize via a video link from Moscow, due to Washington’s pressure for his extradition, whistleblower Edward Snowden noted that the US’ reputation is crumbling every year it stands against human rights, the rule of law and its own values.
This year’s Academy of Literature and Freedom of Expression Bjornson prize went to Snowden, who in his address to the audience disputed accusations that his whistleblowing was done to damage the US or get back against its intelligence services.
“I love my country. I signed up for the army, the military in my country, before the Iraq War because I believed the statements of my government,” Snowden said. “Unfortunately not all of the statements that were made were honest.”
Snowden said that as he became increasingly exposed to top secret material, he noted that the statements offered on a number of issues by the US establishment were not “simply untrue” but raised questions as to how the US was “interpreting the law.”
“And this is fundamentally dangerous. It is about more than just surveillance, I think. It is about democracy. It is about the relationship between the governed and the governing,” Snowden said.
While critiquing US mass data collection and spying on “everyone” 24/7, Snowden said that he remains a patriot whose duty is to protect freedom of speech and inform the public. At the same time in the United States, he faces up to 30 years in prison on charges of espionage and theft of government property.
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China, Russia Unveil First-Ever Mediterranean Joint Naval Exercise
China, Russia Unveil First-Ever Mediterranean Joint Naval Exercise
Sabre-rattling much? For the first time in history, Chinese and Russian navies will begin a significant joint naval exercise in The Mediterranean Sea in mid-May. As RT reports, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng, “The aim is to deepen both countries’ friendly and practical cooperation, and increase our navies’ ability to jointly deal with maritime security threats,” but diplomatically added “these exercises are not aimed at any third party and have nothing to do with the regional situation.” Against a background of this week’s “upgraded Japan-American military relationship” following Abe’s visit to Obama, as one analyst notes, “the geopolitical significance of its exercising alongside Russia will not be lost on the U.S. and NATO.”
The Chinese and Russian Navies have exercised together since 2012 in waters off Russia’s eastern seaboard; but as RT reports,
The Russian and Chinese Navies are to hold a joint exercise in the Mediterranean Sea in mid-May, a first in that part of the world. A total of nine warships from the two countries are to participate, Beijing said.
“The aim is to deepen both countries’ friendly and practical cooperation, and increase our navies’ ability to jointly deal with maritime security threats,” Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said on Thursday in a monthly news briefing.
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‘Bloggers’ Compared to ISIS During Congressional Hearing
‘Bloggers’ Compared to ISIS During Congressional Hearing
People who challenge establishment narratives online likened with terrorist organization
Bloggers, conspiracy theorists and people who challenge establishment narratives on the Internet were all likened to ISIS terrorists during a chilling Congressional hearing which took place yesterday.
The hearing, hosted by the House Foreign Relations Committee, was titled “Confronting Russia’s Weaponization of Information,” and accused Russian state broadcaster RT of weaponizing “conspiracy theories” to spread propaganda.
One of the speakers giving testimony was former RT host Liz Wahl, who made a public spectacle of quitting Russian state media last year in an incident stage-managed by neo-con James Kirchick, himself a former employee of Radio Free Europe – a state media outlet.
Remarking that the Internet provided a platform for “fringe voices and extremists,” Wahl characterized people who challenge establishment narratives as a “cult”.
“They mobilize and they feel they’re part of some enlightened fight against the establishment….they find a platform to voice their deranged views,” said Wahl.
Referring to comments made in January by US Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) chief Andrew Lack, who characterized RT as a threat on the same level as ISIS and Boko Haram, Wahl said the comparison was justified.
“By using the Internet to mobilize people that feel displaced, that feel like they’ve been on the outskirts of society, and give them a place where they can find a sense of belonging, and maybe make a difference in their own way, and it’s a problem,” she said.
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Russia In The Cross Hairs
Russia In The Cross Hairs
Washington’s attack on Russia has moved beyond the boundary of the absurd into the realm of insanity.
The New Chief of the US Broadcasting Board of Governors, Andrew Lack, has declared the Russian news service, RT, which broadcasts in multiple languages, to be a terrorist organization equivalent to Boko Haram and the Islamic State, and Standard and Poor’s just downgraded Russia’s credit rating to junk status.
Today RT International interviewed me about these insane developments.
In prior days when America was still a sane country, Lack’s charge would have led to him being laughed out of office. He would have had to resign and disappear from public life. Today in the make-believe world that Western propaganda has created, Lack’s statement is taken seriously. Yet another terrorist threat has been identified–RT. (Although both Boko Haram and the Islamic State employ terror, strictly speaking they are political organizations seeking to rule, not terror organizations, but this distinction would be over Lack’s head. Yes, I know. There is a good joke that could be made here about what Lack lacks. Appropriately named and all that.)
Nevertheless, whatever Lack might lack, I doubt he believes his nonsensical statement that RT is a terrorist organization. So what is his game?
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‘RT will soon be banned in Germany too’: Russian FM jokes at media conference — RT News
‘RT will soon be banned in Germany too’: Russian FM jokes at media conference — RT News.
Russia’s foreign minister, known for his impeccable diplomatic skills, brightened the mood of the media conference held in Moscow after meeting with the German FM. Both diplomats chuckled at a joke directed at RT.
Sergey Lavrov met with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Tuesday in Moscow to discuss the Ukrainian crisis and its resolution.
During a series of questions asked by various media outlets, Lavrov picked on one asked by an RT Arabic journalist, addressed to Steinmeier.
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