Puppet MastersS


Pirates

Fears of banking collapse prompts Bank of England to update deposit insurance scheme

Miles Brignall
The Guardian
Thu, 13 Apr 2023 15:59 UTC
northern rock
© Alessia Pierdomenico/ReutersUp until the 2007 collapse of Northern Rock, the financial services compensation scheme only promised to repay 80% of the first £35,000 held in a failed bank or building society.
When Andrew Bailey revealed in a speech that the Bank of England was working on updating Britain's deposit insurance guarantee scheme, which gives government protection on savings up to £85,000 in the event of a bank run, it was with one eye on the recent shocks, and the other on events from 15 years ago.

Northern Rock, Bradford & Bingley, and Icesave may sound like names from another era, but the memory of what happened in 2007 and 2008 still reverberates around the Bank's Threadneedle Street offices to this day.

The recent collapse of Credit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank has brought back some very unhappy memories - situations that central bankers do not wish to find themselves in again.

Comment: The 2008 crash had another impact on citizens: life expectancy for the country's poorest began to fall a few years afterwards, and that began to accelerate with the lockdowns and experimental injection roll out.

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Biohazard

Best of the Web: China urges US to clarify military-biological activities following Russian Parliamentary report exposing plans for 'universal genetically-altered bioweapon'


Press TV
Thu, 13 Apr 2023 07:14 UTC
wang wenbin
FILE PHOTO: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin. In a statement, the group accused the country of human rights abuses and affirmed its support for Taiwan.
China has called on the United States to fulfill its international obligations and offer clarifications on its military-biological activities at home and abroad, amid reports about Washington's military biological program in Ukraine.

A spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Wenbing, said on Wednesday that Washington has so far failed to provide a convincing explanation for its military-biological activities, and has obstructed multilateral negotiations to establish a verification mechanism for the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).

"We once again urge the US to earnestly live up to its international obligations, make comprehensive clarification and receive verification on its military-biological activities both within and outside the country," Wang said.

Comment: See also: And check out SOTT radio's:

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Vader

Best of the Web: The latest bizarre chapter of "War on Drugs": US Special Forces train drug cartel enforcers linked to rape, torture and decapitation of victims

Zach El Parece
Covert Action Magazine
Thu, 13 Apr 2023 19:44 UTC
US special forces mexico drug cartel
© Business InsiderU.S. Special Forces in Mexico.
Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) has become one of the most feared paramilitaries in Mexico over the last decade. Images of the group have become the standard depiction of the Mexican cartel writ large. Their propaganda videos often feature groups of masked men bristling with enough small arms to make them formidable against even conventional armies.

In an interview aired on Mexico's Telemundo network in May 2019, a former CJNG soldier described his experience at a training camp and claimed that the cartel employed U.S. special operations forces (SOF) to train their recruits. According to the former sicario assassin: there were Marines, there were Navy from the United States, there were Delta Force, there was everything there."
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Bad Guys

CIA director concedes US power is waning


RT
Thu, 13 Apr 2023 20:57 UTC
William Burns
© Getty Images / Kevin DietschCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns
The dominant global role of the US can no longer be guaranteed as the country is witnessing a time of change "that comes along a couple of times a century," CIA Director Bill Burns has claimed.

Speaking at the Baker Institute earlier this week, Burns said that although Washington "still has a better hand to play than any of our rivals," it is "no longer the only big kid on the geopolitical block and our position at the head of the table isn't guaranteed."

The CIA chief pointed to growing ties between China and Russia, which he argued will present a "formidable challenge" for his agency for years to come. According to Burns, Beijing is "not content to only have a seat at the table; it wants to run the table," while Russia is seeking to "upend the table altogether."

Burns, who served as the US ambassador to Moscow under George W. Bush, condemned Russia's military operation in Ukraine, calling it an act of "brutish aggression."

He claimed the CIA has provided "good intelligence" that has "helped the Ukrainians defend themselves" and cemented "a strong coalition in support of Ukraine."

Burns added that Kiev's long-anticipated spring offensive would feature "strong material and intelligence support from the US and our allies."

The spy chief claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "not serious about negotiations" on a peaceful resolution to the conflict, and suggested that only Ukrainian progress on the battlefield was "likely to shape prospects for diplomacy."
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Handcuffs

Trump's arrest exposes America's Soros-style (in)justice system

Tony Cox
RT
Wed, 12 Apr 2023 13:03 UTC
Trump et all
© Ed Jones/AFPFormer US President Donald Trump makes his way inside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in New York on April 4, 2023.
Manhattan's district attorney has focused his prosecutorial energies on Bad Orange Man and victims instead of criminals...

Alvin Bragg, the New York City district attorney who made a name for himself by arresting Donald Trump, waxed triumphantly about his effort to take down the former president. You see, the Manhattan prosecutor said, no one is above the law in the "business capital of the world."

Bragg told reporters last week, following Trump's arraignment on 34 criminal charge:
"We today uphold our solemn responsibility to ensure that everyone stands equal before the law. No amount of money and no amount of power changes that enduring American principle."
So as Bragg tells it, the patriotic decision to prosecute Trump was all about equal justice under the law. Never mind that Bragg campaigned for office by pledging to prosecute the locally hated ex-president in a county where Joe Biden won 86.8% of votes in the 2020 presidential election. And never mind that Bragg's 2021 campaign for the Manhattan DA job was bankrolled largely by billionaire activist George Soros, the biggest donor to Democratic Party candidates and causes.

That's right, Bragg says his case is legally and ethically righteous. However, a closer look at the indictment reveals that the charges he filed are so legally dubious that only a Manhattan jury of Trump haters might buy his story. He's prosecuting Trump for allegedly falsifying business records six years ago, and he's bypassing the two-year statute of limitations on such misdemeanors by elevating the charges to felonies. To make that possible under New York's criminal code, he's claiming the offenses were committed to cover up violations of election laws when Trump was running for president in 2016.
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Target

Ukrainian prime minister arrives in DC at make-or-break moment

Laura Kelly
The Hill
Tue, 11 Apr 2023 06:00 UTC
Shmyhal
© AP/Manuel Balce CenetaUkraine PM Denys Shmyhal
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal's arrival in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday comes ahead of a make-or-break moment in Ukraine's defensive fight against Russia, as Kyiv prepares to launch a counteroffensive that will determine the future course of the war.

Shmyhal, in an exclusive interview with The Hill, said that the counteroffensive could be launched as late as the summer, noting that the most intense pressure to start the counteroffensive comes from inside Ukraine.
"We do not feel the pressure from our friends and partners vis-a-vis the start of the offensive. All of our friends and partners do comprehend clearly that in order to go into counteroffensive, one must be 100 percent, and even more percent prepared to do so."
His visit also comes amid the backdrop of a major intelligence leak that included dire U.S. assessments of Ukraine's dwindling air defense ammunition.

When asked how the document leaks are impacting planning for Ukraine's counteroffensive, Shmyhal's text message was resolute:
"Ukraine will liberate its lands. We have proven multiple times that we can do it. From our international partners we ask for more military capabilities, like tanks, ammunition, planes, armored vehicles."

Comment: When will 'gimme gimme' Ukraine acknowledge it is being played - 'the pawn' between the rock and the hard place.

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Bullseye

Mexico's AMLO calls out US 'oligarchy' at Biden's 'democracy' summit

Ben Norton
G/E
Thu, 30 Mar 2023 00:00 UTC
AMLO
© The HillMexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador
Mexico's leftist President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) used the US government's so-called "Summit for Democracy" to indirectly call out Washington's hypocrisy. (A full transcript of his speech follows below.)

AMLO strongly implied that the United States is an oligarchy, not a real democracy. He argued that the government needs to challenge the power of the economic elites if it truly wants to be democratic.

López Obrador opened his speech warning, "Many of the great crimes against humanity have been committed in the name of God or in the name of democracy".

Comment: Full video of Obrador's speech in Spanish:



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Question

Donbass leader questions Pentagon leaks on Ukraine


RT
Tue, 11 Apr 2023 15:16 UTC
Pushilin
© Gavriil Grigorov/RIA NovostiActing Head of the Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin
Denis Pushilin believes the revelations could have been intentional as part of an attempt to mislead Russia...

The acting head of Russia's Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, has questioned the authenticity of recently leaked Pentagon documents that in part, allegedly detail Washington's war plans in Ukraine.

Writing on Telegram on Tuesday, Pushilin noted that the "the whole world is abuzz" discussing the leaks, which contain purported information about plans to shell Russian territory, force Israel to supply weapons to Ukraine and shed light on US surveillance of Ukrainian President Zelensky and other allies.

Several Western media outlets have reported that the leaks sent shockwaves through Washington, with Joe Biden's administration apparently being sent into "crisis mode." The Pentagon, meanwhile, has said that the papers pose "a very serious risk" to Washington.

However, a number of countries have since started to doubt the authenticity of the leaked documents, including Ukraine, which has portrayed them as a Russian ploy to derail Kiev's planned counteroffensive. Others have pointed to inconsistencies and inaccuracies presented in the files.

Nevertheless, the Western media seems to be actively trying to create an "information tsunami" about the topic, according to Pushilin, who suggested it could mean the leaks may have been deliberate.

Comment: Russia is the expert on US propaganda. Likely the US reveal was staged to reinforce false perceptions (as truths become increasingly transparent) and a bonus if another source can be blamed.

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Jet5

Xi warns armed forces to prepare for 'actual combat' - Chinese media


RT
Wed, 12 Apr 2023 10:12 UTC
Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) transferring a missile
© Liu Mingsong/XinhuaThis photo taken on April 7, 2023 shows the rocket force of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) transferring a missile before the combat readiness patrol and military exercises around the Taiwan Island.
The president told troops at a navy base that their mission is to defend the country's "territorial sovereignty".

President Xi Jinping has urged the Chinese military to prepare for real combat, national media reported on Wednesday. The remarks came days after Beijing held massive military drills around Taiwan which reportedly involved the simulation of precision strikes on the self-governing island.

Addressing military personnel at a navy base in Southern China on Tuesday, Xi called for the strengthening of "military training oriented toward actual combat," as quoted by the state-run CCTV channel.

The Chinese leader is reported to have named the defense of Beijing's "territorial sovereignty and maritime interests" as well as the protection of "overall peripheral stability" as the navy's core mission.

Comment: See also:

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Better Earth

Germany can't fulfill NATO obligations - Bild


RT
Wed, 12 Apr 2023 12:34 UTC
german army tanks
© Sean Gallup/Getty ImagesMembers of the Bundeswehr's 9th Panzer Training Brigade stand next to new Leopard 2 A7V heavy battle tanks they received during a visit by Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht to the Bundeswehr Army training grounds on February 07, 2022 in Munster, Germany.
Chronic underfunding and the country's support for Ukraine are among the reasons, the media outlet reports.

Germany is failing to live up to its NATO commitments both in terms of personnel and equipment it can provide for the military bloc's defense, Bild has reported. The media outlet, citing an internal appraisal by the nation's Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr, claimed that a lack of funding, as well as Berlin's military aid to Kiev, are among the reasons for the current state of affairs.

The report published on Tuesday claims to be based on a 14-page analysis sent by Inspector of the Army Alfons Mais to Inspector General of the Bundeswehr Carsten Breuer in early March.

Comment: See also:

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