Britain- Brexit: For the poor, it’s not Europe that’s the problem. It’s austerity - by William Keegan

As the Brexit farce proceeds, it is worth remembering that before David Cameron made his catastrophic error of calling a referendum, the EU was way down the list of British people’s concerns in almost every opinion poll. Indeed, not even in the first 11.

The central point is that Brexit became the focus for all manner of discontents, many of them understandable. But leaving the EU would indubitably not be the answer to them, and would be guaranteed not to make the discontents into “glorious summer”.

Indeed, it would exacerbate the sources of this discontent. Why? Surely it is becoming increasingly obvious that growing swaths of British industry – much of it foreign-owned by conglomerates that enjoy the advantages of the single market – are cutting back their investment plans and in many cases planning to relocate to mainland Europe. The prospect of the diminution of the economic base of the country has dire implications not only for employment and living standards, but also for the tax base on which living standards depend.

We have spent 45 years becoming an integral region of Europe, creating an economic omelette that no one in their right mind would try to unscramble. Unfortunately there are a lot of not-so-right minds about, some of them in the cabinet, and we have the misfortune to have a prime minister who transmits but does not listen, and is fixated on a treacherous mission.

Read more: For the poor, it’s not Europe that’s the problem. It’s austerity | Business | The Guardian

Saudi Arabia: "the hypocrisy continues" as Trump and the Saudi king discuss major pact to confront Iran - by Ben Norton

"the hypocrisy continues"

President Donald Trump and the monarch of the repressive Saudi regime spoke on the phone for more than an hour on Sunday. According to a White House statement, “The two leaders reaffirmed the longstanding friendship and strategic partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia.”

The official Saudi Press Agency reported that Trump and Saudi King Salman stressed the “depth and strength of the strategic relations between the two countries.”

The two agreed to greater military intervention in the Middle East, and the creation of so-called safe zones in Syria and Yemen. The details of how such zones would be created are not clear, but if they were instituted, it would likely take direct U.S. military involvement.

Hillary Clinton ran her 2016 presidential campaign against Trump on a pledge to create a “safe zone” in Syria, though she had previously acknowledged that instituting a safe zone could “kill a lot of Syrians” and lead to “American and NATO involvement where you take a lot of civilians.”

Reuters reported, citing a senior Saudi source, that the two leaders “agreed to step up counter-terrorism and military cooperation and enhance economic cooperation.”

The White House said Trump and Saudi King Salman also “agreed on the importance of strengthening joint efforts to fight the spread of radical Islamic terrorism.”

Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. ally since the 1930s, is a theocratic absolute monarchy that brutally represses all internal dissent, beheads nonviolent protesters and funds and spreads extremist Islamism throughout the globe. A leaked 2014 email from Hillary Clinton revealed, citing Western intelligence sources, that the U.S.-backed regimes in Saudi Arabia and Qatar supported the genocidal militant group ISIS.

Saudi Arabia also has the world’s second-largest oil reserves, plays a leading role in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and has been offered more than $115 billion in weapons deals by the U.S. government in the past eight years. U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia continue uninterrupted under Trump.

Note EU-Digest: Where there has been no difference between the Obama and Trump Administrations policies is in their both dedicated "love and admiration" for Saudi Arabia, the main source and training center for the worlds most dangerous terrorists, including those which masterminded and carried out the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the twin Towers in New York. 

Saudi Arabia is also one of the most oppressive, undemocratic and anti-women's rights countries in the world.  

They were, however, not included by the Trump Administration on their Ant-Muslim (possible Islamic terrorist) immigration list. 

The Obama Administration also never singled them out.  

So when you hear a US government official speak about "American values "- you might ask, what does he/she mean by that?

Read more: Trump and the Saudi king discuss major pact to confront Iran - Salon.com