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Iranian Group With Ties To Trump Officals Rally For Regime Change In DC

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5 years ago

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Supporters of the controversial group of Iranian exiles, Mujahedeen-e-Khalq(MEK) rallied in Washington DC on Friday calling for regime change in Tehran. The MEK have close ties with President Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton and the president’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. The MEK was once designated as a terrorist group, having been taken off the list in 2012.

Several U.S. politicians spoke at the event, dubbed the “Free Iran rally”. Former democratic congressman Robert Torricelli, who served in the House and Senate for New Jersey, spoke at the event and clamored for regime change, “The reality is the mullahs will never change, they will develop nuclear weapons, they will spread terror. We need regime change and we need it now!”

Two representatives from the State of California also spoke, democrat Brad Sherman and republican Tom McClintock, both showing their support for the MEK and regime change. Retired four-star general Jack Keane sounded especially hawkish when it was his turn at the podium, almost bragging about the effects U.S. sanctions have had on Iran’s economy, “there are food shortages and power outages, and there is growing civil unrest. And the Iranian people are correctly blaming Iran, not the United States.”

Former New Mexico government and ambassador to the UN, Bill Richardson spoke highly of the MEK, “It’s a strong organization, with a lot of confidence and commitment and leadership abilities. The top leader, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, is a great leader.”

Senators Bob Menendez and John Cornyn sent written messages to be read at the rally, both supporting the MEK and calling for regime change.

Journalist Max Blumenthal attended the rally on Friday in hopes of talking to the rally attendees, all wearing matching yellow vests with the slogan “Free Iran.” But in a video Blumenthal posted on twitter it appeared that somebody was stopping him from asking questions, he tweeted, “This guy was part of the team tasked with preventing me from interviewing any of the Iranian emigres bussed in to cheer for regime change.”

Throughout the 1970s, the MEK acted as a violent opposition force against the U.S. installed Shah. They killed scores of the Shah’s police, and helped pave the way for the exiled Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s return to Iran. Khomeini quickly deemed the MEK a threat to his plan to turn Iran into an Islamic Republic. After the revolution, Khomeini’s forces clashed with the group, the MEK successfully killed 70 senior leaders of the Islamic Republic in a bombing.

Khomeini then began a violent crackdown on the MEK and any sympathizers. The remaining MEK members fled to Iraq. In 1986 Saddam Hussein offered the group weapons and cash to carry out terrorist attacks inside of Iran. The MEK lived in the military base at camp Ashraf that Hussein provided for them.

Since the MEK were on Hussein’s side in the bloody eight-yearwar between Iran and Iraq that killed millions, they lost any support they may have had left inside the Islamic Republic. Under their leader Massoud Rajavi, the group became cult-like. A report commissioned by the U.S. government inside of camp Ashraf said, “many of the typical characteristics of a cult, such as authoritarian control, confiscation of assets, sexual control (including mandatory divorce and celibacy), emotional isolation, forced labour, sleep deprivation, physical abuse and limited exit options.”

After the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Rajavi disappeared, his whereabouts is still unknown although many assume he is dead. His wife, Maryam Rajavi, assumed the role as the new leader of the group. After a lavish lobbying campaign, the MEK was removed from the U.S. terror list by the Obama administration in 2012.

The MEK are now based in Albania. Giuliani, Bolton and the late John McCain have all traveled to Albania to show support for the group.

At the 2018 “Free Iran” conference in Paris put on by the MEK, Giuliani said “The mullahs must go. The ayatollah must go. And they must be replaced by a democratic government which Madam Rajavi represents.”

Giuliani also brought up protests that were happening in Iran at the time, “These protests are not happening by accident,” he said. “They’re being coordinated by many of our people in Albania.”

There is a long list of U.S. officials and politicians from both parties who have been paid handsomely to speak at MEK events, including Giuliani, John McCain, Newt Gingrich and former Democratic party chairs Edward Rendell and Howard Dean – along with multiple former heads of the FBI and CIA. 

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi sent a video message expressing her support for the MEK to the “Free Iran” rally in Paris last year. John Bolton has reportedly received $180,000 from speaking at multiple MEK events. In 2017, he was paid $40,000 for his speech at the Free Iran rally in Paris.

This rally displays the amount of support the MEK has from Washington, despite having a history of violence and strange cult-like behavior. The MEK seem to be the group that Washington has chosen to be the new regime in Tehran, whether the Iranian people like it or not.

Originally appeared on antiwar.com, republished with permission.

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Culture

Black Lives Matter Extremists Cover Former Home of Chauvin Defense Witness With Animal Blood, Leave Severed Pig Head on Doorstep

The former home of Barry Brodd, who testified as a witness for Derek Chauvin’s defense, was covered with animal blood and a severed pig’s head was left on their front porch on Saturday morning.

Published

3 years ago

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April 18, 2021

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The former home of Barry Brodd, who testified as a witness for Derek Chauvin’s defense, was covered with animal blood and a severed pig’s head was left on their front porch on Saturday morning.

Brodd no longer lives at the Santa Rose home that was attacked.

Brodd testified last week that police were justified in keeping George Floyd pinned because he kept struggling.

The new family that lives there called the police when they were awakened by the group of black clad individuals outside their home shortly after 3 a.m.

Law enforcement believes that the individuals thought that Brodd still lived there.

“Because Mr. Brodd no longer lives in the city of Santa Rosa, it appears the victim was falsely targeted,” police said in a news release.

Santa Rosa Police Chief Rainer Navarro through Brodd under the bus on April 13, issuing a statement saying “Mr. Brodd’s comments do not reflect the values and beliefs of the Santa Rosa Police Department.”

Approximatey 45 minutes after the home was vandalized, a hand statue in front of the Santa Rosa Plaza mall was also splattered with animal blood. The vandals, who match the description of the people who attacked the home, left a sign with a pig on it that read “oink oink.” The statue has no apparent message related to the trial, as it is dedicated to immigrant agricultural workers.

Damage to the residence exceeded $400, making the attack a felony, according to a report from KPIX.

Anyone who witnessed or has information about the attack is encouraged to contact SRPD through their online Tip Line: http://www.srcity.org/CrimeTips.

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Culture

MUST WATCH: California Restaurant Owner Blocks Health Inspector’s Car, ‘If We Can’t Work, You Can’t Work’

A GoFundMe campaign to support the restaurant has raised over $20,000.

Published

3 years ago

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December 28, 2020

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A heroic California restaurant owner blocked in a Los Angeles County health inspector’s car after he attempted to shut his business down for allowing outdoor dining, asserting that “if we can’t work, you can’t work.”

Carlos Roman, the owner of Bread & Barley in Covina, did not back down even after police arrived.

“He wants to come in here and say that no one can work, so he can’t work either,” Roman told the officer. “He decided to come today and take photos of the people outside and say that he was going to fine us,” he explained.

https://twitter.com/hollandcourtney/status/1343623418910973953

Roman refused to move his truck, telling the officer to go ahead and get her supervisor.

“This is what happens when people get desperate. I’m desperate. Who is going to pay her car payment? Who is going to pay my cook’s rent?” Roman asked the officer. “I want it to be hard on everyone. I want everyone to see how hard this sh-t is.”

The outraged owner demanded to know if the inspector and the officer got paychecks last week, asserting that his employees haven’t.

“You’re just doing your job right, we’re all in this together?” Roman asked the inspector. “When I go to the bank, can I tell the bank the health department said it’s ok and that I don’t have to pay you?”

“What do I tell my employees?” Roman shouted.

Roman is now facing two $500 fines for failure to comply and interfering with the health officer.

A GoFundMe campaign to support the restaurant has raised over $20,000.

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US News

Hunter Biden’s Ex-Wife, Kathleen, Tells Him He is a Better Father Than Joe Biden Was

Published

3 years ago

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October 30, 2020

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In an email to her ex-husband Hunter Biden, Kathleen Biden told her troubled former spouse that he is a better father than Joe Biden was.

The cryptic email was found in a trove of documents currently being reviewed in a joint effort by District Herald and the Nationalist Review, provided to us on Friday by a source who obtained them from former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

 

“I want you to know that you are a great father – a better father than your dad. Your girls love you because you love them for who they are. You haven’t judged them, you have loved them for who they are. You listen and you make them and their problems important to you. You make them great because you allow them to be who they are without unfair expectations. You are patient, caring, and loving,” Kathleen Biden wrote. “I know you and I have struggled but your love for the girls hasn’t waivered. Remember how we use to joke that the girls didn’t have anything to survive to make them strong and interesting? Well, we gave it to them! They did survive it and they are stronger. Through it all they never questioned your love or commitment.”

Kathleen Biden asserted that the former Vice President “wasn’t perfect” as a father.

“I know you love your dad and I do too but he wasn’t perfect,” the mother of Hunter’s children continued. “No one is perfect. At your core, you taught our girls what was important. They are kind, thoughtful, open, curious, funny, compassionate and hard working. You were as much a part of that as I was in helping them grow. Don’t ever question whether you were as good a father as your dad. You were better, in every way.”

In response, Hunter wrote that he worries he has failed them. “Thank you for this it means everything to me. I worry so much that I have failed you all in so many ways,” he said.

Hunter also acknowledged that he will need to earn his children’s trust and respect back, though the reason is unclear.

“I know the girls love me- but I often wonder if they trust and respect me. I know it’s something I have to earn back. And I know that you are the best mother I have ever known. You have raised three incredible young women. We are so lucky to have them, and I am so lucky to have met you 23 years ago. Thank you,” he wrote.

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