Puppet MastersS


X

No records kept of Biden's meetings in Delaware: Report

Julia Johnson
Washington Examiner
Thu, 21 Apr 2022 02:17 UTC
Secret service
© AP/AndrewSecret Service agents arrive in Marine helicopter at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland
Freedom of Information Act requests for records of President Joe Biden's visitors in Delaware, where he spends a significant amount of time, have produced no documents, according to the New York Post.

The newspaper reportedly asked for over a year's worth of records regarding the president's visitors at his Delaware residences.

In a Monday response per the New York Post, Secret Service Freedom of Information Act Officer Kevin Tyrrell said:
"The Secret Service FOIA Office searched all Program Offices that were likely to contain potentially responsive records, and no records were located."
According to the report, Biden was in Delaware for almost 100 days during his first year in office, sometimes conducting meetings with lawmakers.

Comment: Delaware is just a bigger basement. Location doesn't matter and rules don't apply.

Read More...
Oil Well

EU changes tune on ruble gas payments


RT
Fri, 22 Apr 2022 15:12 UTC
tanker
© APThe tanker Sun Arrows loads its cargo of liquefied natural gas from the Sakhalin-2 project in the port of Prigorodnoye, Russia, October 29, 2021
The settlement switch may be possible without breaching sanctions, the European Commission says

European Union companies may be able to comply with Russia's proposed system to pay for gas in rubles without falling foul of the bloc's sanctions against Moscow, the European Commission said on Friday.

At the same time, EU executives say that it is not yet clear how such a scheme would work. "The procedure for derogations from the requirements of the decree is not clear yet," the document issued by the commission said.

In March, the Russian government issued a decree requiring European energy companies to open accounts at Gazprombank, where payments in euros or dollars would be converted to rubles.

Comment: And the workarounds?
EU companies may be able to work around Russia's demand to receive gas payments in rubles without breaching sanctions, if they pay in euros or dollars which are then converted into the Russian currency, the European Commission (EC) said on Friday.

In an advisory document sent to member states on Thursday, the Commission reportedly said that Moscow's gas-for-rubles proposal does not necessarily prevent a payment process that would comply with EU sanctions against Russia.

The document said there were options that could allow companies to continue lawfully paying for gas.
"EU companies can ask their Russian counterparts to fulfill their contractual obligations in the same manner as before the adoption of the decree, i.e. by depositing the due amount in euros or dollars."
The procedure for securing exemptions from the requirements of the decree is not yet clear, it added.

The plan is identical to what the Russian government had suggested earlier this month.

Brussels also said that, before making payments, EU operators could make a clear statement that they consider their contractual obligations to be completed when they deposit euros or dollars with Gazprombank - as opposed to later, after the payment is converted into rubles.

According to the document, the sanctions regime does not prohibit companies from opening accounts with Gazprombank, or from engaging with the bank to attempt to seek a solution.
Hedging bets:
The United Kingdom has granted a license for continued payments to Russia's Gazprombank for more than a month.

London's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) issued the sanctions waiver on Thursday for "the purpose of making gas available for use in the European Union," noting that the license expires on May 31.

It applies to contracts agreed prior to Thursday with Gazprombank and its subsidiaries, and it allows for "the opening and closing of bank accounts" so long as it helps to secure the flow of gas into the EU.

Following a flurry of other financial penalties in the wake of Moscow's attack on Ukraine, the UK government imposed sanctions on Gazprombank late last month, also targeting other major financial firms such as Alfa Bank. In announcing the latest waiver, however, the Treasury cited a 2019 law which allows exemptions for penalties on Russia under certain circumstances.

Despite the push to penalize Russia, a number of European countries are reluctant to support calls for outright embargoes on gas, oil and coal.

Gazprombank is among the largest banks in Russia by assets held, largely working in the corporate and investment sectors. The United States and a series of allies slapped penalties on the bank in February, imposing debt and equity restrictions after Russia attacked Ukraine, part of a coordinated effort to "isolate" and "cripple" Russia's economy.
Pay up or literally chill out! Russia can choose to cancel or not renew contracts.

Read More...
Russian Flag

Russia to investigate alleged UK SAS activities in Ukraine


RT
Sat, 23 Apr 2022 19:25 UTC
britain sas special forces
© British ArmyUK troops taking part in drills.
At least two British special ops groups have reportedly been deployed in the Lviv region

Russia's Investigative Committee said on Saturday that it will look into media reports that sabotage experts from the British Army's special forces have been deployed in western Ukraine.

"This data is going to be checked thoroughly," especially considering the fact that Special Air Service (SAS) forces have established themselves as "experts in organizing mass protests, assassinations of political figures as well as preparing terrorist attacks," the agency said in a statement.

This comes after a security source told RIA Novosti earlier in the day that at least two groups of British servicemen had arrived at a Ukrainian Air Force base in the town of Brody in the Lviv region. They traveled all the way from "the city of Hereford in the UK, where SAS headquarters is located," the source said.

Comment: It's clear the SAS prize the worst sort of character. Russia is right to rid Ukraine of these psycho interlopers.

Read More...
Fire

Russia reveals crew losses from sunken warship 'Moskva'


RT
Sat, 23 Apr 2022 18:40 UTC
Moskva ship
© Associated PressUkraine has taken credit for sinking the Russian Black Sea flagship the Moskva, but Russia denies this.
During the struggle to save the ship, one soldier died and another 27 crew went missing, the Ministry of Defense has said

As a result of a fire on April 13, the Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva was seriously damaged due to a detonation of ammunition, Russia's Ministry of Defense outlined on Friday. One serviceman died and another 27 crew members went missing, and attempts by the crew to put out the fire were not successful, the statement added.

Ukraine has claimed that the ship was struck by its missiles.

"In the course of the struggle for the ship's survival, one serviceman was killed and another 27 crew members went missing. The remaining 396 crew members were evacuated from the cruiser to other ships of the Black Sea Fleet, in the area, and taken to Sevastopol [a major Russian port city]," the ministry explained.

Comment:

Read More...
Bullseye

Russia issues warning to Israel over providing military aid to Ukraine


teleSUR
Sat, 23 Apr 2022 17:54 UTC
Anatoly Viktorov
© RUSSIAN EMBASSYRussian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov.
Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov condemned the decision of the Israeli regime to send military equipment to Ukraine amid the special military operation launched by Russia on February 24. "We are carefully reviewing this information and will respond accordingly, if it is confirmed," Viktorov said.

In a telephone conversation, Israeli media reported on Wednesday that Israel's Minister of Military Affairs, Benny Gantz, told his Ukrainian counterpart, Alki Ruznikov, of Israel's decision to send military equipment to Ukraine.

Comment: The MSM avoids the glaring irony. Seriously? Israel's ambassador to Kiev 'shocked' after seeing that region in Ukraine honors Nazi collaborator Bandera

Read More...
Hardhat

Spinmeister: Germany's Scholz explains why it opposes Russia gas embargo


RT
Fri, 22 Apr 2022 17:45 UTC
russia gas storage germany
© Reuters/Christian CharisiusA technician walks between pipes at the gas dehydration of the WINGAS gas storage facility near the northern German town of Rehden January 7, 2009.
Crashing the German economy would also mean less money to rebuild Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz argued

A ban on Russian gas will not stop the conflict in Ukraine but will cause an economic crisis in Germany and the EU, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in an interview published on Friday.

Embargoing Russian gas would cost millions of jobs and crash the German economy, making it more difficult for Berlin to fund Ukraine's war effort and reconstruction, the chancellor argued.


Comment: Well-played, Scholz.


"Firstly, I don't see at all that a gas embargo would end the war," Scholz told the German weekly Der Spiegel, adding that if Russian President Vladimir Putin "were open to economic arguments, he would never have started this insane war."

Comment:

Read More...
Caesar

This tiny island nation proves that the West only believes in its own 'spheres of influence'

Timur Fomenko
RT
Fri, 22 Apr 2022 08:47 UTC
Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) and Solomon Islands
© THOMAS PETER / POOL / AFPChinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) and Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele attend a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China October 9, 2019.
Australia and the US believe the Solomon Islands must not be allowed to partner up with China, showing a selective respect for self-determination

Russia is bad. There is no excuse for attacking Ukraine, and the argument that it was a strategic imperative to stop NATO's encroachment is just propaganda, right? That's what every source in the mainstream media will tell you. But oddly enough, that logic never seems to apply when western countries perceive rival states to be encroaching on their own peripheries, and there's been no bigger example of that than as to how American and Australian political classes have reacted to the now signed "Bilateral security agreement" between China and the Solomon Islands, a small archipelago which exists not far from Papua New Guinea.

The deal was confirmed this week, despite Australia and the US having piled on scores of official visits in a bid to try and halt it. This has been combined with a media narrative of extreme paranoia claiming, without due evidence, that China is set to build a naval base on the islands and poses a direct military threat to Australia in turn. This has produced some hysterical commentaries, with a founder of The Diplomat Magazine even literally calling for bombing and regime change in the island nation.

Comment: We are witnessing the birth of a new world. The slap in the face to the self-assured West in Syria and Ukraine is part of the collapse of Western neocolonialism and fascism and the birth of a new and better multipolar world where all countries are equal partners.

As always that process is very painful and bloody, but one has to go through it to get to the other side.

See also:

Read More...
Pirates

Ukraine accuses mayor of treason for accepting Russian 'occupation' and humanitarian aid


RT
Fri, 22 Apr 2022 15:50 UTC
Kharkov humanitarian aid Russia
© Sputnik / Viktor AntonyukFile photo: A LPR fighter distributes humanitarian aid to local residents in Kupyansk, near Balakleya, in Kharkov region
Ukrainian authorities have cited the acceptance of humanitarian aid from Russia as one of the grounds to charge the mayor of a town in Kharkov Region with treason on Friday. Ivan Stolbovoy, the mayor of Balakleya, is accused of urging the city council to cooperate with Russian troops and announcing that they would be distributing food.

The office of the prosecutor general of Ukraine charged Stolbovoy, alleging that he "chose to side with the enemy" when the Russian military took control of Balakleya on March 28. He agreed to continue as mayor under the "occupation regime" and accepted humanitarian aid from Russian troops, the prosecutors said.
Read More...
Newspaper

Putin asks EU to use its influence over Ukraine to stop the 'numerous war crimes' by their forces


RT
Fri, 22 Apr 2022 15:53 UTC
putin
FILE PHOTO: February 22nd 2022. 22 Apr, 2022 15:53 HomeRussia & FSU Russian leader discussed the situation in Ukraine with the head of the European Council
Brussels could encourage Kiev to refrain from "massive shelling" of Donbass and from committing "other gross violations" of international law, Russian President Vladimir Putin told European Council President Charles Michel on Thursday.

During a lengthy phone call, held amid the ongoing Russian offensive in Ukraine, the two leaders discussed the latest developments on the ground, including Putin's decision to call off the assault on the Azovstal plant in Mariupol and Moscow's efforts to protect civilians, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Among other things, Putin brought Michel's attention to the "irresponsible statements of the EU representatives about the need to resolve the situation in Ukraine by military means," apparently referring to a recent controversial statement by the top EU diplomat Josep Borrel.

Comment: See also: The current Ukrainian government's Nazism, and the torture of Russian POWs

Read More...
Dollars

Biden announces another $800 million in military assistance for Ukraine

Brooke Singman
Fox News
Thu, 21 Apr 2022 10:16 UTC
Biden$$$
© AS.com/KJNUS President Joe Biden's Giveaway
President Biden on Thursday announced another $800 million in military aid for Ukraine, including heavy artillery and ammunition, as the country continues to fight to defend itself against Russia's multi-front war.

Biden, who spoke from the East Room, said the assistance would include heavily artillery weapons, dozens of howitzers, 144,000 rounds of ammunition for those howitzers, and tactical drones. And he added:
"To modernize Teddy Roosevelt's famous advice, sometimes we will speak softly and carry a large Javelin, because we're sending a lot of those in as well."
The president last week had authorized $800 million in weapons, ammunition and other security assistance. The $1.6 billion he approved this week and last is in addition to the more than $1 billion the administration had already said it was sending to Ukraine.

But the president said the funding authorized by Congress for Ukraine has almost been exhausted, and that he would therefore be sending a supplemental funding request to Capitol Hill next week. He called on Congress to pass it quickly, saying the funding would allow the U.S. to keep assistance flowing without interruption.

Comment: How to stop a war: Send more lethal equipment and falsely justify it.

Read More...