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Integrity Initiative is the biggest story of 2018 - but not because of anything it did


RT
Sun, 23 Dec 2018 22:31 UTC
Integrity Initiave fake office scotland
© Reuters / Integrity Initiave
Integrity Initiative documents, its listed office - an old mill in Scotland, and the Secret Intelligence Service building in London
Exposing a sinister state-funded underhand influence network is a scoop. Yet the real conspiracy is the blind eye turned by the Western establishment, which appears fine with subterfuge, as long as it doesn't come from Russia.

Obscure leak reveals 'network of networks'

From the start, the unmasking of the smugly Orwellian 'Integrity Initiative', progressed like a post-Assange spy thriller.

The first tranche of insider files is uploaded on November 5 to a niche Anonymous server. There it lays broadly unnoticed for a fortnight among the anarchist tracts and hubristic threats to remake the world from behind a monitor.

But this leak is substantive, and once opened and disseminated - first through Twitter, then Russian media, then other alternative media sources - explosive. Internal documents talk of creating a "network of networks" to fight "malign" Russian influence. Applications for funding from the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) promise to set up over a dozen undercover "clusters" of "competent, committed and well-connected individuals, ideally with a suitable institute affiliation" from Canada to Germany to Georgia that would be deployed in the service of specific anti-Russian "goals."
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Eiffel Tower

Niall Bradley to PressTV: 'Yellow Vests Movement a Result of Sclerotic, Totalitarian Politics in Western Europe'


PressTV
Mon, 24 Dec 2018 14:46 UTC
presstv interview niall yellow vests
They got their name from high-visibility jackets that French motorists have since 2008 been legally obliged to purchase and carry in all vehicles. Beginning as rallies in France in mid-November in protest against fuel tax hikes, the Yellow Vest movement voiced opposition to President Emanuel Macron's economic reforms, and even demand that he resign.

Inspired by Yellow Vest protests in France, copy-cat rallies have also been held in Belgium, Portugal, Ireland, the UK, Sweden and Germany. What is going on here, and where is it all headed?

On today's The Debate, we discuss the revolutionary mood in Europe with Kenneth Fero, lecturer at Coventry University in the UK, and Niall Bradley, editor at independent news site SOTT.net

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Oil Well

OPEC-Russia alliance may extend oil production cuts if necessary


RT
Mon, 24 Dec 2018 14:00 UTC
An oil field outside the West Siberian city of Kogalym, Russia
© Reuters / Sergei Karpukhin
An oil field outside the West Siberian city of Kogalym, Russia.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied oil producers will extend output cuts for another 6 months if recent measures to boost the market are not enough, UAE's energy minister has said.

While the plan to cut crude output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), recently agreed by OPEC and world major oil suppliers led by Russia, has not been introduced so far, members are ready to extend the deal.

Talk of a possible extension of the OPEC+ deal comes as the oil market suffered huge losses last week, with crude benchmarks - West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent - falling to more-than-a-year lows amid oversupply fears. On Monday, Brent crude was trading at just above $54 per barrel, while US crude benchmark WTI slipped to about $45.50.
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Dollars

Russia phasing out US dollar in military contracts in favor of local currencies, backs EU's bid to shift away from dollar


RT
Mon, 24 Dec 2018 13:50 UTC
An S-400 air defense missile system
© Sputnik / Dmitriy Vinogradov
An S-400 air defense missile system.
Moscow is dropping the greenback in major arms deals and switching to the Russian ruble and the national currencies of its partners, according to the country's trade minister Denis Manturov.

The minister added that the euro is currently the alternative to the dollar, with US currency used only when there's no other way.

"We are using various schemes, including settlements in rubles," Manturov said in an interview with Russian daily RBC. "National currencies of our partners are used along with rubles purchased on the stock exchange."

The minister stressed that all contracts on delivery of the S-400 air defense missile systems are clinched either in rubles or in local currencies of the buyer countries. So far, supply contracts on the air defense systems have been signed with India, Turkey and China.
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Document

US signs order to pull out forces from Syria as Trump says Turkey will eliminate remnants of ISIS


RT
Mon, 24 Dec 2018 13:42 UTC
US forces in Afghanistan
© REUTERS/Rodi Said
US Secretary of Defense James Mattis has signed an order outlining the details and timeframe for US troops to leave Syria, officials confirmed. Donald Trump says Turkey will eradicate whatever is left of ISIS in the country.

"The execute order for Syria has been signed," AFP reported, citing a US military spokesman. Defense officials have also confirmed the move to various American media.

No timeline or specific details of the forthcoming withdrawal of some 2,000 troops have been revealed, with security apparently at stake.
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Bizarro Earth

Ukraine's neo-nazi Svoboda party militants seize Orthodox Church


Fort Russ
Sun, 23 Dec 2018 12:13 UTC
svoboda
© Anatolii Stepanov / Demotix / SCANPIX
Members of Svoboda (Freedom) Party are carrying the portrait of Stepan Bandera during a torchlight procession in Kiev, 1. January 2014.
Journalist Yulia Voinova reported that members of the Svoboda party had seized an Orthodox church in the village of Stryzhavka, Vinnitsa region by force .

Julia Voinova wrote about this on Facebook.

"The seizure of the Temple. The Svoboda Party seized the temple in the village of Strizhavka, Vinnitsa Region. Father Igor asks for prayers," wrote Yulia Voinov.

Comment: As noted in Poroshenko's meddling with church violate Ukraine's constitution:
The drive for the "independence" of the Ukrainian church, however, might be deeper than a mere pre-election stunt of Poroshenko, since it has hardly scored him any political points, Nemenskiy says. Attempts at securing an independent church had already been made by Poroshenko's predecessors, and some say it's unlikely that Kiev is calling the shots here.

"The project of the church separation of Ukraine from Russia is quite old, and not connected with Poroshenko. President [Viktor] Yushchenko already tried to fulfill it. So, the initiative likely comes not from Poroshenko, but from the US, and he could not get away from this project regardless of his election campaign prospects," Nemenskiy said, adding that "the Constantinople Patriarchate is actually an American church, the majority of its congregations is located in America."
See also:

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Light Sabers

Sergei Lavrov: 'War between Russia and US would be a disaster for humanity'


Sputnik
Mon, 24 Dec 2018 09:02 UTC
lavrov putin trump
© Sputnik / Michael Klimentyev
In 2018, Russia's relations with Western countries severely deteriorated against the backdrop of numerous scandals and sanctions.

In an interview with Sputnik on the eve of 2019, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, spoke about whether we should wait for further alienation, about Moscow's possible response to Washington scrapping the INF Treaty, the price of a potential conflict between Russia and the USA, about presidential elections in Ukraine, as well as the situation around the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Syrian Arab Republic.

Sputnik: Next year will again be almost a pre-election year in the United States. Should we expect a new cooling in relations? Can we hope to maintain at least a modest dynamic of contacts at the highest level? Taking into account the failed meetings in Argentina, where and when approximately could they occur? Is it true that they might be held in January?

Sergei Lavrov: We have become accustomed to the fact that opportunistic factors associated with American domestic politics influence our bilateral relations and create additional difficulties in building a dialogue.

Of late, the degree of their impact does not even depend on what stage of the electoral cycle the United States is at. Of course, one can expect that as the next presidential election in November 2020 approaches, attempts to play the "Russian card" will be undertaken by individual politicians in Washington more actively and more persistently. We hope that this will not lead to a further loosening in the foundation of bilateral ties, which are not in the best condition anyway.

We consistently advocate developing a normal, predictable dialogue with the United States based on the principles of mutual understanding and respect for interests. So far, it has not been possible to move in this direction because of Washington's unfriendly actions, incessant attempts to exert pressure on us with the help of economic, political, military, and other tools.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

The implications of Macron's implosion

Peter Koenig
New Eastern Outlook
Sun, 23 Dec 2018 09:10 UTC
gilets juanes
The "Gilets Jaunes" will not let go. Not even - or especially not - after Macron's half-hearted, rather cynical and grandstanding concessions - of "too little and too late" - which when analyzed constitute a new lie, especially regarding the increase of the minimum wage. It was clear from his face, these concessions, of a President who campaigned on the basis of "never concessions', were fake, as fake as his fake attitude of an apologist could be. Even without listening to his words, his body language of arrogance gives him away.

This past weekend, on Saturday, 15 December, another more than 100,000 Yellow Vests were marching on Paris; countrywide some 200,000. The police to oppress them, as officially reported, was about the same as the weekend before, 8,000 in Paris, close to 90,000 throughout France. Military assistance was not missing. Besides, in a state of emergency, who distinguished between police and military?

Interestingly, the international press - the MSM - is taking it seriously. Why? They fear that this relentless movement may spread to other countries, even countries beyond Europe - like "Trump Land", the United States of America. And why not. The same malaise of capital being shifted upwards to the detriment of the poor and middle class exists everywhere, may even be most pronounced in the US, but nobody talks about it and pays attention to it, lest the people would have awakened to the growing disparity long ago - and taken to the streets massively - within the inner circles of the Washington Belt Way.

Chapeau to the French. Though their forefathers were among the most viscous and miserable exploiter, thieves, killers and committers of rape, in human history - when they ravaged for hundreds of years West Africa - and the elite still does, unbeknown even to (most) of the Yellow Vests. Is this movement going to change the future - the future of Europe, the future of the values of the western world, that has been so adamant in propagating neofascist ideas - that they have become the new normal; in most people's brains? There is a saying: "When fascism comes again, it will not come saying I'm the new Fascism; it will come saying, I'm the Anti-Fascism".

Comment: See also: Will Macron's Yellow Vest Implosion Spread to Other EU Countries?

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Health

Washington's Russiagate conspiracy theory now on life support

Tony Cartalucci
New Eastern Outlook
Sat, 22 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
Ad impressions
© Unknown
The latest bid to keep Washington's desperate Russiagate conspiracy theory alive has energized distilled segments of the public still convinced of Moscow's global omniscience and its role in manipulating and undermining virtually every aspect of their daily lives.

But recent "revelations" are simply the same accusations made against a Russian-based click-bait farm, repackaged and respun.

The Washington Post's article, "New report on Russian disinformation, prepared for the Senate, shows the operation's scale and sweep," would in fact present no new report. Instead, it would present repackaged narratives involving "Russia's disinformation campaign around the 2016 election."

The Washington Post would claim:
The report, obtained by The Washington Post before its official release Monday, is the first to study the millions of posts provided by major technology firms to the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), its chairman, and Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), its ranking Democrat. The bipartisan panel also released a second independent report studying the 2016 election Monday. Lawmakers said the findings "do not necessarily represent the views" of the panel or its members.
The two reports were put out by Oxford University's Computational Propaganda Project and New Knowledge. No information is provided by the Washington Post as to what either of these organizations are, who runs them, or who funds them.

Comment: The reach and extent to which the 'disinformation changers of perception' have been able to command, and continue to do so, is appalling. More than that it is scary because it speaks to the numbing and dumbing of sensibilities, the degradation of a government uninhibitedly targeting the society it represents, and forecasts a future based on the strongest lie.

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Star of David

Netanyahu vows to keep bombing Syria - Even if US troops go home


Sputnik
Sat, 22 Dec 2018 09:02 UTC
Netanyahu
© Ronen Zvulun/Reuters
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks follow US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw all 2,000 American troops from Syria after declaring victory over Daesh.

Speaking at the fifth Israel-Greece-Cyprus summit held in the southern city of Beersheba, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to intensify efforts in Syria:
"We will continue to act in Syria to prevent Iran's efforts to militarily entrench itself against us. We are not reducing our efforts, we will increase our efforts. I know that we do so with the full support and backing of the US."
The prime minister said that he had been warned of the US troop withdrawal from Syria in advance during phone conversations with President Donald Trump on Monday and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday.

Comment: Can the US truly step out of the way and allow Israel to be accountable for its own actions?

More from Sputnik:
Advisers to French President Emmanuel Macron met with representatives of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Kurdish militants and assured them of future support from Paris, Iranian PressTV reported, citing anonymous French official.

The advisers passed on a message of support and solidarity and explained to them the talks France had with US authorities to continue the fight against Daesh", the official reportedly said.

France has decided to keep its presence in Syria and continue the fight against the remaining terrorist forces.


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