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Pistol

Best of the Web: Sequence complete? Now gunman opens fire at a San Diego synagogue, on Jewish Sabbath - 1 person dead, 3 injured


NBC News
Sat, 27 Apr 2019 22:26 UTC
synagogue mourners
One person died after a 19-year-old man walked into a Chabad synagogue in a San Diego suburb Saturday morning and shot people inside, and the suspect is in custody, the sheriff said.

Three other people were injured in the shooting at Chabad of Poway, which occurred around 11:23 a.m., and those people are hospitalized and stable, San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore said.

"This individual was with an AR-type assault weapon and opened fire on the people inside the synagogue," Gore said.

An off-duty Border Patrol agent in the area fired at the suspect as he fled the Chabad of Poway and struck his car, Gore and San Diego Police Chief David Nislei said at a news conference.

A San Diego police officer en route to the scene saw the suspect's vehicle and "the suspect pulled over, jumped out of his car with his hands up," Nislei said. As the suspect was being placed in custody, police "clearly saw a rifle sitting on the front passenger seat," Nislei said.

Comment: Like in Christchurch, this one's been given a backstory, complete with a manifesto-I-wrote-just-this-morning-and-uploaded-to-social-media-on-my-way-to-the-shooting. The only thing that's different is that they replaced instances of 'Muslims' with 'Jews'.

This is, presumably, the third in their sequence of shoot-em-ups at places of religious worship. First they massacred Muslims during Friday prayers in Christchurch on March 15th; then they massacred Christians on Easter Sunday, and now they've 'rounded out the plot' by targeting Jews on a Saturday.

The two Western attacks, of course, were nothing compared with the Sri Lanka multi-site attacks. Our Dear Leaders, it seems, retain some capacity to 'rein it in' when going on the blitz with 'our own kind'.

In any event, it's full-steam ahead in the Global Manufactured Clash of Civilizations...

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Blue Planet

Best of the Web: The second Belt and Road forum: A transformation of the world economic order

Matthew Ehret
Sott.net
Sat, 27 Apr 2019 22:21 UTC
From April 25-27 Beijing will host a second international forum on the Belt and Road Initiative, and it won't be a small deal...

belt road forum 2019
37 world leaders attended this year's Belt and Road Forum outside Beijing, China
The four weeks preceding this event have seen an incredible surge of nations and institutions joining the BRI framework beginning with Italy's Memorandum of Understanding as the first G7 nation in March, followed soon thereafter by Luxembourg and Switzerland. Weeks later, China won another victory by consolidating billions in infrastructure deals with the 16+1 Central and Eastern European Nations who have signed onto the BRI. This particular forum was especially important as it saw Greece join the alliance changing the name to the 17+1 group. Greece's official participation in this bloc extended the group beyond its nominal "central and eastern" geographical limits and the importance of Greece- whose Port of Piraeus and emerging rail infrastructure funded by China provide a key bridge in the Maritime New Silk Road to Europe.

If that wasn't enough, China participated in the April 9-10 International Arctic Forum in Russia whereby the first treaty was signed between Russia and China on scientific cooperation in the Arctic, and sweeping agreements were made around Chinese-Russian infrastructure development on a policy which has become known as the "Polar Silk Road"- again extending the limits of the BRI beyond its "east-west framework". Just as the Arctic conference was ending, an unprecedented Canadian Arctic Policy Report was publicized calling for a transformation of Canada's Arctic doctrine towards a pro-development orientation in response to the "changing geopolitical rules" initiated by Russia and China.
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Blue Planet

Best of the Web: World Leaders Gather For Second 'Belt And Road' Forum in Beijing


CCTV
Fri, 26 Apr 2019 20:04 UTC
putin xi BRI 2019
© Xinhua/Wang YeChinese President Xi Jinping, his wife Peng Liyuan and guests of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation attend a banquet in Beijing, China, April 26, 2019.
With the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) taking place in Beijing, leaders around the globe are speaking highly of the initiative and voicing their expectations for the gathering.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a reference to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, was initiated by China in 2013 with the aim of enhancing all-around connectivity through infrastructure construction, exploring new driving forces for world economic growth, and building a new platform for world economic cooperation.

The BRI has created a new dimension for the development of the world economy, and its long-term strategic plan is unusual, said President Ueli Maurer of the Swiss Confederation.

The Swiss president believed that globalization is the key to successful global development, and to achieve globalization, infrastructure construction at various levels would be indispensable.

Comment: 37 leaders attended this year's forum, up from the 29 who attended the inaugural forum in 2017. Most were leaders of Asian countries, but 10 European and 4 African leaders also attended. $64 billion in trade deals were made, although the focus, as before, was on long-term strategic planning for the development and transformation of global infrastructure.

The guest of honor was, you guessed it - Vladimir Putin - who received an honorary doctorate from Tsinghua University and held two full-cabinet bilateral meetings with Xi Jinping.


Remarking on Chinese-Russian annual trade turnover reaching $108 billion in 2018 - which succeeded the target of $100 billion - Putin said:
"It would be no exaggeration to say that our countries have approached this anniversary with relations the best they have been in their entire history. This is the result of meticulous and successful work over the past thirty years."
Here's the transcript of Xi's keynote speech at the forum. And here's Putin's.

Putin's press conference at the forum, where he answered a range of questions about current events:


The US, continuing its self-isolation on the global stage, didn't even bother to send a low-level representative this year.

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Vader

Best of the Web: Report: US govt sanctions have killed 40,000 Venezuelans so far


RT
Thu, 25 Apr 2019 18:50 UTC
Counting $
© Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
The Trump administration claims that its increasingly punitive sanctions on Venezuela "do not target the innocent people" but the government of President Nicolas Maduro. A new report on the effects of sanctions debunks that myth.

The analysis, compiled by Mark Weisbrot and Jeffrey Sachs at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), found that the sanctions have increased hunger, disease, mortality, have displaced millions of Venezuelans and exacerbated the country's economic crisis. Overall, the report says the measures have caused "very serious harm to human life and health, including an estimated 40,000 deaths" between 2017 and 2018.

Weisbrot and Sachs, both well-known American economists, wrote that: The sanctions in fact "fit the definition of collective punishment of the civilian population" as described by the Geneva and Hague conventions, as well as being "illegal under international law."

Yet, a totally different narrative has been adopted by mainstream media in the US, which seems to unquestioningly accept the Trump administration's claims that civilians are not the targets. Ever since Trump recognized unelected opposition figure Juan Guaido as Venezuela's self-declared "interim president" in January while calling for the overthrow of Maduro, big chunks of the media have cheered on his efforts. It barely even raised eyebrows when national security advisor John Bolton went on Fox News and admitted that oil was the US's major interest in the country.

Comment: The whole world's an emergency for the US - from Venezuela to France to Sri Lanka to North Korea to New Zealand - because it's about to lose it all.
An 'imaginary' statement from Abrams:

US Special Representative to Venezuela Elliott Abrams called for the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power, and said tens of billions in foreign investment could pour into the country as a result of his ouster. Abrams dug deep and gave his best John Lennon impression, asking his audience to "imagine" a free and prosperous Venezuela with clean water, enough food and a stable currency.



See also: Activists guarding Venezuela's DC embassy brace for US seizure - takeover meant to shore up failed Guaido coup

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Gold Seal

Best of the Web: US Amb. to Russia says deployment of two carrier groups to Med is 'message to Russia' - Russian Foreign Ministry delivers mother-of-all-comebacks


Sputnik
Thu, 25 Apr 2019 20:38 UTC
putin hypersonic missile
US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman earlier characterised the deployment of two carrier groups in the Mediterranean Sea as a signal to Russia, saying the warships represented "100,000 tonnes of international diplomacy" amid alleged Russia's "destabilising activities around the world."

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has commented on Ambassador Huntsman's remarks, advising the envoy to study history.

"I would like to remind the Ambassador that Russia, throughout its centuries-long history, has repeatedly encountered such threats, issued as recommendations, and has repeatedly demonstrated their worthlessness... Perhaps the Ambassador would like for Russia to have one more holiday to celebrate? To be honest, we didn't have any such plans", Zakharova said, apparently referring to the upcoming Victory Day holiday, which Russia celebrates annually on 9 May in honour of the victory over Nazi Germany in WWII.

Zakharova also lamented that the language of threats and sanctions seems to have become the calling card of US diplomacy.

Comment: The US is stuck in the 19th century, when 'gunboat diplomacy' actually meant something.

In the 21st century, unstoppable missiles render all that hulking metal useless...

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Smiley

Best of the Web: At It Again: Russian Phone Pranksters Trick Macron With Fake Call From Ukraine's Zelensky


RT
Thu, 25 Apr 2019 15:39 UTC
Vovan Lexus russian phone pranksters
© Reuters/Philippe Wojazer; Russian Look/Pravda KomsomolskayaRussian prankster team Vladimir ‘Vovan’ Kuznetsov and Alexei ‘Lexus’ Stolyarov
The French president has fallen victim to infamous Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus, who posed as Ukraine's President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky after his recent landslide victory, a video from the trolling duo claims.

Vladimir 'Vovan' Kuznetsov and Alexei 'Lexus' Stolyarov released a 15-minute recording of the call on Wednesday with a person they claim is Macron - although the identity of the prankee has not been confirmed.

At one point during the call, the supposed Zelensky says he believes it is time for Ukraine to again "build a dialogue with Russia," to which Macron replies this is "absolutely right."

Comment: The latest in a long line of epic exposures by the Russian duo of Vovan and Lexus. They should be getting journalism awards.

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Russian Flag

Best of the Web: Kim Jong-un arrives in Russia for first ever state visit - Surprise meeting with Putin Thursday


RT
Wed, 24 Apr 2019 07:15 UTC
Kim russia
© REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov
The leader of North Korea got his first taste of Russian hospitality after his famous armored train arrived at a border crossing. Shrouded in secrecy, Kim Jong-un's visit to Russia is his first since coming to power.

All three generations of the North Korean ruling family have used this unconventional form of transportation for state visits. Kim Jong-un on Wednesday morning rode across the border with Russia at its only crossing - a railroad bridge - and was welcomed by Russian officials at the nearest station.

Wearing his distinctive black coat and a black fedora, the North Korean leader departed the fortified train at the Hasan station for some handshaking. He was welcomed by the governor of Russia's Primorsky Region and several senior officials from Moscow who arrived early for the upcoming summit.


Comment: FINALLY!

Scenes from Kim's arrival in Russia:

North Korea watchers witnessed a peculiar scene as Kim Jong-un arrived in Vladivostok. As the train was about to stop, Kim's bodyguards poured onto the platform to wipe clean the door their boss was about to exit through. Members of Kim's entourage also brought foldable ramps to connect the train and the platform so that members of the North Korean delegation could exit without any trouble.

Wearing black business suits and snow-white gloves, the athletic Korean men were seen running next to the train and frantically wiping the railings and doors of the armored train car that Kim arrived in for his first-ever meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

The summit, which is scheduled for Thursday, will be hosted by the Far Eastern Federal University at its new campus on Russky Island, which is across the bridge from Vladivostok.






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Yoda

Best of the Web: PM Khan admits, during visit to Iran, that Pakistan-based terror groups have attacked Iran


RT
Tue, 23 Apr 2019 17:10 UTC
Imran Khan Rouhani
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) and Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan
Opposition MPs in Pakistan's National Assembly were in an uproar Tuesday over PM Imran Khan's "unprecedented" act of admitting that terrorist attacks against Iran had been carried out by groups based in Pakistan.


Comment: What a novel concept: a politician who tells the truth and takes responsibility. Maybe we need more leaders like Khan in this regard.


During a joint press conference with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani following their talks on Monday, Khan made an admission that did not go down well with a number of Pakistani politicians.
I know Iran has suffered from terrorism [perpetrated] by groups operating from Pakistan. ...we [need to] have trust in each other that both countries will not allow any terrorist activity from their soil. We hope this will build confidence between us.
Khurram Dastagir Khan of Pakistan's opposition party, the National Assembly, was particularly vocal in his outrage over the statement.

"No prime minister has ever made such a confession on foreign soil," he said.


Comment: Exactly. And maybe they should.


The legislator stated that Imran's comments had left the country "exposed," stressing that such "diplomatic blunders" have actually "hurt national security."

Comment: Thank God for 'populist' leaders.

So Pakistan WAS a base of operations for terrorist groups in the region for decades. So much for THAT conspiracy 'theory'...

Meanwhile the US myth-makers still bleat about Iran being the center of global terror operations. Far from it; terror was directed AT Iran.

See also:

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Light Saber

Best of the Web: After Syria & Venezuela, Russian military prepares for Hybrid war


Russia Insider
Tue, 23 Apr 2019 10:40 UTC
army
Moscow's new military doctrine will put less emphasis on countering a large-scale land invasion
The Russian military's main job has always been to defeat a large land invasion of the Russian heartland, such as those of Hitler, Napoleon, and Charles XII. But after the experience of Syria and Ukraine, Russian generals are adjusting their military doctrine to defeat a wider array of possible attacks, which, although less dangerous than all-out invasion, are more likely to occur.

This move is a response to US behavior. Over the past few decades, the US has involved itself in countless, never-ending, low-risk conflicts. Americans seem to have forgotten Clausewitzian purpose of war: to destroy your enemy in a decisive engagement in order to achieve your political ends. Instead, they have allowed their foreign policy to be shaped by the careerist ambitions of military officers, private contractors, and Beltway pseudo-intellectuals, whose resumes depend on a steady supply of easy-to-win, fake wars. For them, war has become an end in itself.

Russia no longer needs to face down a lion, but only stave off the jackals.

Comment: Russia is leagues ahead in one area that the deep state players are unable to fathom: mutually beneficial, interdependent partnerships, and, ultimately, following this war of attrition, this may decide the course of the future:

See also:

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Bullseye

Best of the Web: The West's irrational fear of Iran is a disaster waiting to happen

Seyed Mohammad Marandi
Middle East Eye
Thu, 11 Apr 2019 12:20 UTC
blackout venezuela
© AFPIf the Trump regime miscalculates, the house can easily come crashing down on its head Electricity blackouts in Venezuela have been blamed by government supporters on a US-backed regime change operation, as also seen in Iran
While western regimes craft a fresh humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, their corporate and state-owned media and corrupted think-tanks embody what Shakespeare's Lorenzo describes as "this muddy vesture of decay" - and, true to form, frustrate attempts to provide voice to their latest subaltern victims.

Increasingly vitriolic voices, from Paris to Washington, reveal exasperation and express a need to intimidate and justify the eviction of the many increasingly difficult tenants of the Fifth Estate.

Just as advanced capitalism has successfully transformed the first four estates into an almost homogeneous, postmodern utopia for well-heeled Wall Street and Ivory Tower dwellers - amid a deluge of conspiratorial narratives of existential threats - western regime-affiliated intellectual elites vigorously promote a "benign" monopoly in this lucrative piece of real estate.

Ethnocentric worldview

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

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