Puppet MastersS


Oil Well

Oil prices surge as Russia, OPEC, et al., agree to historic output cuts


RT
Thu, 09 Apr 2020 14:35 UTC
Oil tanker
© Reuters/ Jean-Paul PelissierDawn of a new oil deal?
Crude prices jumped 12 percent on Thursday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and major producers led by Russia agreed to cut output by 20 million barrels a day, according to Reuters sources.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) surged 12 percent on the report of collective cuts to $28.36 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude gained 8.5 percent to $35.79 a barrel.

Oil prices have collapsed after OPEC+ countries disagreed on production cuts last month, with Russia refusing to lower output. In response, Saudi Arabia ramped up its production to a record high of more than 12 million barrels per day, after previous OPEC+ production cuts expired at the end of March.

US President Donald Trump said last week Russia and Saudi Arabia could agree to cuts of 10 million to 15 million barrels per day (bpd), or 10 to 15 percent of global supplies. Moscow has insisted that it would only accept cuts to its output if other players, including the United States, joined in. However, the US Department of Energy said the country's output was already falling without government intervention.
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Stop

Appeals Court: Censorship lawsuit against tech giants put on hold 'because coronavirus'

Allum Bokhari
Breitbart
Mon, 06 Apr 2020 00:00 UTC
Big 4
© Reuters/The Stream
Apple, Google, Facebook, and Twitter must face a lawsuit brought in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals accusing the companies of deliberately censoring conservative viewpoints and violating the First Amendment.

The $1.5 billion lawsuit, brought by Republican congressional primary candidate Laura Loomer (R) and conservative organization Freedom Watch, accuses the tech companies of being quasi-state actors, and thus in violation of the First Amendment when they suppress protected speech.

The case argues:
Many of the principles set forth by the Supreme Court in Packingham lead to what appellants believe is the natural progression of the law to hold that social media companies are liable for First Amendment violations, given the progression of technology and its infiltration into the daily lives of nearly every single person," the pair said in their final brief.
The lawsuit cites Loomer's bans from multiple social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and Facebook-owned Instagram as an example of tech giants suppressing protected speech.

Comment: See also:

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Jet3

Venezuelan Su-30 intercepts US military aircraft approaching its airspace


AMN
Thu, 09 Apr 2020 16:22 UTC
Sukhoi Su-30SM
© unknownSukhoi Su-30SM
A Venezuelan Su-30 fighter jet reportedly intercepted two U.S. military aircraft that approached their national airspace. Russian publication Avia.Pro reported:
"A few hours ago, the Su-30MK2 fighter was urgently raised into the air on combat alert, the reason for which was the approach of two American military aircraft to the borders of Venezuela. A Russian-made fighting vehicle successfully dealt with two potential intruders at once."
Citing unnamed sources, the publication said two U.S. aircraft took off from a military base in Puerto Rico and approached the territorial borders of Venezuela, which prompted the Venezuelan Air Force to get involved.
"TheSu-30MK2 fighter was raised to intercept them, which not only intercepted potential violators, but also successfully cracked down on two planes at once, forcing the latter to retreat."
A video circulating on social media shows the alleged footage of the Venezuelan Su-30 flying over the Barcelona region of Venezuela.

Comment:



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Bad Guys

Eric Eggers: You don't have to take Trump's word to see mail-in voting is rife with fraud

Eric Eddgers
Breitbart
Thu, 09 Apr 2020 19:05 UTC
election
© Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel/AP
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) continues to call for another round of stimulus to help mitigate COVID-19 related damage to the US economy. But as her previous efforts demonstrate, Pelosi's prescription to "save" the country might do irreparable harm to American democracy.

In addition to giveaways for climate change, labor unions and student loan forgiveness advocates, the bill contained several election-related measures that would fundamentally change the methods and security of the way our country votes.

Buried on page 643 of the original bill was the "American Coronavirus/COVID-19 Election Safety and Security" or ACCESS Act. It included funds for states to conduct elections via mail-in ballots during a declared national emergency, and would permit voters to return absentee ballots by designating another person to return the ballot to the post office or other ballot drop-off location, including an election office.

Given public warnings to avoid public places and gatherings such as traditional polling stations, the push to expand mail-in balloting makes sense. But it is also true that mail-in ballots are highly susceptible to fraudulent interference and tampering. In fact, Donald Trump closed his press conference last Friday by stating his opposition to national mail-in balloting because "I think a lot of people cheat."
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Light Saber

Former Trump campaign adviser Papadopoulos denied campaign was involved in DNC hack in recorded conversation

Catherine Herridge
CBS News
Wed, 08 Apr 2020 18:52 UTC
Papadopoulos
© BBCGeorge Papadopoulos
In late October 2016, less than two weeks before the presidential election, a former adviser to then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, George Papadopoulos, denied to an FBI confidential source that the campaign was involved in the circumstances surrounding the hack of the Democratic National Committee's email system, calling the idea "illegal."

CBS News has now reviewed the transcript of the conversation between Papadopoulos and the confidential source working for the FBI, and has published key excerpts below.

The recorded conversation between Papadopoulos and the confidential source working for the FBI was documented in the December report issued by Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz into the FBI's surveillance of campaign aide Carter Page and other actions related to the FBI probe known as "Crossfire Hurricane." But the excerpts of the transcript published here provide new details about the interaction between Papadopoulos and the FBI source in the final days of the presidential campaign.

Comment:

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Syringe

AG Barr opposes Bill Gates proposal for COVID-19 vaccine certificates

Zachary Steiber
The Epoch Times
Thu, 09 Apr 2020 18:47 UTC
William Barr
Attorney General William Barr came out in opposition to a proposal floated by Bill Gates for people to eventually gain certificates for being vaccinated against the CCP virus.

"I'm very concerned about the slippery slope in terms of continuing encroachments on personal liberty. I do think during the emergency, appropriate, reasonable steps are fine," Barr said on Wednesday night when asked about the proposal during an appearance on Fox News's "Ingraham Angle."

Pressed to be more specific, he added, "I'd be a little concerned about that, the tracking of people and so forth, generally, especially going forward over a long period of time."
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Bad Guys

Saudi-led coalition declares two-week ceasefire in Yemen, says to prevent COVID-19 outbreak


Sputnik
Wed, 08 Apr 2020 18:27 UTC
Yemen ceasefire coronavirus covid-19 saudi
© Reuters / Khaled AbdullahA girl wears a protective face mask amid fears of the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Sanaa, Yemen March 17, 2020
Senior Saudi officials have announced a ceasefire in Yemen to begin on Thursday in an effort to contain the COVID-19 outbreak in that country.

A two-week-long ceasefire in Yemen will begin on Thursday at noon local time between the Royal Saudi Armed Forces and its allied forces on the one side, and the Houthi militant group and its allies on the other, according to senior Saudi officials in Riyadh.

The officials said the ceasefire is aimed at bringing the Houthis to the negotiating table for peace talks led by the United Nations, as well as to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country, which has already been wracked by famine and disease for years due to the war.

The health system in Yemen is essentially nonexistent, but those facilities that do exist have been concentrating on addressing a cholera outbreak that has afflicted more than 2.2 million people since 2016, killing thousands. Medical supplies are hard to come by amid the continuing Saudi blockade of major Yemeni ports, and running water is equally scarce.

Comment: The Houthis were not impressed by the Saudi offer, launching missiles just after the announcement.


Riyadh has sweetened the offer with an aid package to help the disease-stricken country, which appears to have U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo's blessing. It seems Saudi Arabia is getting tired of its fruitless war against Yemen.
Saudi Arabia will provide $500 million in humanitarian aid for Yemen and $25 million more to fight the spread of COVID-19, the kingdom's Vice Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman al Saud said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, state Saudi media reported that the Saudi-led coalition had put military operations on hold for two weeks. The move was welcomed by UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths.

"Today, Yemen may face an even bigger disaster in case of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, that is why the kingdom has announced the allocation of $500 million for the UN humanitarian plan on Yemen in 2020 and additional $25 million to fight the spread of the pandemic," the official tweeted.

The vice defense minister stressed that the two-week ceasefire would create favorable conditions for de-escalating tensions in Yemen.




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Dominoes

First Corbyn, now Sanders: Why the Transatlantic democratic socialist wave is not to be

Nicholas Sheppard
RT
Thu, 09 Apr 2020 18:34 UTC
corbyn and bernie sanders
© Getty Images / Christopher Furlong; Getty Images / Bill Pugliano
With Keir Starmer replacing Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the UK Labour Party, and Bernie Sanders suspending his campaign in the US, the wave of democratic socialism, which seemed capable of reshaping both the US and UK, has receded.

There are four major reasons why: the limits to which such movements can broaden their base, timing and events, ideological inflexibility in the face of criticism, and attempts to weaponize PC identity politics along with their more mainstream colleagues, which were undermined in the public eye by contradictions like the scandal around anti-Semitism in the UK Labour Party, and the obnoxious behaviour of some of the 'Bernie Bros' in the US.

In late 2019, the opposition Labour Party in the UK, led by a self-identified democratic socialist, was running level with the government in the polls. A few months later in the United States, a self-identified democratic socialist leading a fervent, well-funded and well-organised grass-roots movement seemed poised to capture the Democratic nomination for president, and was performing well in hypothetical match-ups in key states against the incumbent. For a moment, it looked like both the US and UK might be transformed by socialist-influenced administrations.
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Megaphone

'Mere insinuation offends me': Italy's PM Conte blasts suggestion of ulterior motive behind Russian coronavirus aid


RT
Thu, 09 Apr 2020 17:46 UTC
russia aid italy
© Russian Defence Ministry / Handout via Reuters / Alexey Ereshko
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has called any suggestion that Russia had an ulterior motive in sending coronavirus aid to Italy "an insult to the Italian government," warning that the pandemic poses an existential threat to the EU.

Amid stalled EU relief efforts, aid and personnel arrived in Italy from China, Cuba and Russia to help Italian medical authorities fight back against the coronavirus outbreak in the country, which ravaged its northern regions and forced a total lockdown of society.

When asked if the Russian coronavirus aid, in the form of both manpower and medical equipment, was a ploy by the Kremlin to leverage Italian support for lifting EU-imposed sanctions on Russia, Conte did not mince words.

Comment: Previously:

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Brick Wall

New Russian tax puts the kibosh on Cyprus' money laundering industry

John Helmer
Dances with Bears
Wed, 08 Apr 2020 16:57 UTC
putin Mikhail Mishustin cyprus money laundering
© Harley Schwadron/Dances with Bears
It is now a fortnight since President Vladimir Putin (lead image, left) announced a tax on Russians exporting their cash and capital to tax avoidance havens abroad; and since Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin followed to explain that Cyprus is the target. "We have started implementing the instructions on taxing dividends from foreign accounts with Cyprus", Mishustin said at a Kremlin meeting with Putin on April 1. "The Cypriot government has been notified of the changes in the agreement on avoiding dual taxation."

"For Putin to make his remark in a national address," comments a Moscow finance source, "and then for Mishustin to confirm that Cyprus was intended in the President's speech shows this is now a high priority move. It reveals how upset the Kremlin - especially Andrei Belousov [first deputy prime minister] — has been with the role Cyprus plays in the outflow of Russian capital. I do not see any government allowing capital flight now during a deep and lasting recession."

"This sounds a death knell for Cyprus accountants and law firms," says a Limassol investor. "This is their biggest business. From now on only the most hardened criminals or escapees from Russia will be here."

Comment: With Putin having wrested control away from the oligarchs, he's beginning to take action against the bleeding of Russia's assets. Will other countries follow his lead?

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