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Lavrov reveals Kerry's Syria demands: Assad still must go


Sputnik
Sun, 24 Jul 2016 23:28 UTC
kerry lavrov
© Sputnik/Ilya Pitalev
At a national youth educational forum, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov revealed backstage the demands of US Secretary of State John Kerry in Syria.

During his recent visit to Moscow, US Secretary of State John Kerry voiced several preconditions for US-Russia cooperation in Syria.

According to Lavrov, Kerry called for the immediate resignation of Syrian President Assad without giving any explanation of his position.

"They say that we could join our efforts in the fight against terrorism [...] but first we need to agree that we remove Assad from power," Lavrov said, speaking at a national youth educational forum.

According to Lavrov, Kerry is convinced the vast majority of Syria's population doesn't support Assad. In response, Lavrov suggested that the new president in Syria should be elected in a democratic way.


Comment: What complete and utter horse hockey. Kerry is either a total idiot or a malicious liar. Assad retains the support of the vast majority of Syrians. Kerry's arrogance is stunning. We hope this was the response to the U.S.'s 'preconditions': Russia bombs U.S./UK rebel base in Syria, says incidents like this wouldn't happen if U.S. shared data as they're supposed to

As for Assad's popularity, just listen to this highly insightful talk with Virginia State Senator Richard Black on his recent trip to Syria:


Now Washington has banned Russia from joining the U.S.'s anti-ISIS coalition, since it "does not trust" Moscow. Seriously, you can't make this stuff up. The Americans have completely lost the plot, and they don't seem to have any clue what total morons they are. Dunning-Kruger strikes again!


Moreover, Lavrov negatively assessed Western policy in the Middle East and North Africa and referred to the West as "a bull in a china shop".
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Snakes in Suits

More of the same: Here's why the new DNC chair is about to make Bernie supporters just as angry

Tyler Durden
Zerohedge
Sun, 24 Jul 2016 22:36 UTC
Donna Brazile
© ABC News
Meet Donna Brazile - interim party chair after Debbie Wasserman Schultz (DWS) resignation over Wikileaks-email-leaked proof confirming months of accusations that she had put her thumb on the scales in favor of presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton...

The only problem is... a quick search of Wikileaks leaked DNC email database shows... Brazile is exactly the same as DWS - clearly demonstrating bias against the Sanders' camp...

Leaked DNC emails
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Wall Street

Germany's biggest lender Deutsche Bank to shut 188 German branches and cut 3000 staff


Reuters
Sat, 23 Jul 2016 21:01 UTC
Deutsche Bank headquarters
© Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach
Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) confirmed on Thursday it had struck a deal with its works council to shut a quarter of its German branches, slightly fewer than expected, as it cuts costs and revamps retail banking.

Germany's biggest lender has embarked on a strategic overhaul, announcing in 2015 that it would cut 9,000 staff positions, of which 4,000 would be in Germany.

It will first shed almost 3,000 jobs in Germany, with 2,500 in its retail unit, while talks with employee representatives about further cuts continue, Deutsche Bank said in a statement.

This will leave Deutsche Bank with 535 branches in Germany, compared to an original target of 500. It will start closing down branches before the end of the year, with the bulk to be shut in the first half of 2017.

"We are meeting challenges of low interest rates, tougher regulation and especially a changed behavior of customers," retail head Christian Sewing said, adding that job cuts - which the bank hopes to carry out without forced redundancies - were needed to keep it competitive.
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Snakes in Suits

Too late, damage done: DNC chair Wasserman Schultz steps down amid WikiLeaks revelations


RT
Sun, 24 Jul 2016 20:42 UTC
Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz
© Scott Audette / Reuters
Debbie Wasserman Schultz has said she will step down as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee at the end of party's convention following the WikiLeaks revelations, indicating that the committee plotted against Bernie Sanders.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Wasserman Schultz said the "best way" for her to accomplish the goals of the party was for her "to step down as Party Chair," after the DNC's Convention, which runs from Monday to Thursday in Philadelphia.

The DNC's Vice Chair Donna Brazile will serve as the Interim Chair until an election for the position takes place, according to DNC Communications Director, Luis Miranda.
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Jet1

Dirty dealing: Canada ditches Boeing jets after Lockheed threatens loss of 10,000 jobs


Sputnik
Sun, 24 Jul 2016 20:30 UTC
US F-35 fighter jet
© AP Photo/ Airman Magazine
Lockheed Martin pointed an economic weapon of mass disruption at Ottawa and it appears that Justin Trudeau has blinked caving to the defense contractor's threats.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rose to power last fall on a pledge not to purchase the defective F-35, an aircraft that he has said "does not work," is too expensive, and is wholly incompatible with Canada's defense needs pushing his country instead to move towards a deal to acquire Boeing's Super Hornet - a fighter jet with greater air maneuverability allowing it advanced performance in air-to-air combat.

That promise crashed along the shores of political reality this week as Canada reneged from its earlier proposal to acquire Boeing Super Hornet jets on an interim basis to plug the country's air defense capability gap after Lockheed Martin threatened to pull all of its operations out of the country which would result in a massive layoff of some 10,000 employees and potentially bankrupt portions of Canada's defense sector that benefits from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.
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Arrow Up

Will Turkey leave NATO?


Sputnik
Sun, 24 Jul 2016 03:06 UTC
Turexit
© AP
With polls showing that only 17% of Turks welcome the US in their country and with the country's leadership accusing the United States of staging the attempted government overthrow and even threatening war against the Americans, this relationship appears doomed to fail.

The death of NATO appeared to be all but written on the wall in the wake of the failed coup attempt when Turkish Labor Secretary Suleyman Soylu said during a live interview with Haberturk television that "The US is behind the coup" - a statement that Ankara still refuses to condemn.

The situation became worse as the country's provocative President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded that the US extradite the "head of terrorist" referring to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara claims was behind the failed government overthrow effort while the crowd sang "death penalty for Feto"

​But it was Prime Minister Binali Yidlirim who really lowered the boom threatening to go to war with "any" country that supports Fethullah Gulen - a direct reference to the United States.

Since accusing the United States, their long-time ally, of masterminding a failed attempt to overthrow a government whose connections to Islamic terrorist organizations - with evidence showing that Ankara has been engaged in regular weapons and oil trade with Daesh and reports connecting the Erdogan regime with a false-flag sarin gas attack in Syria - already much too close for Washington's liking many believed that the United States would pack up and leave.
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Bug

Gulf-backed moderate rebels massacre civilians in Aleppo public park

Leith Fadel
Al Masdar News
Sat, 23 Jul 2016 00:00 UTC
Nouriddeen Al-Zinki struck
The Gulf-backed rebels of Nouriddeen Al-Zinki struck again on Friday after their forces brutally beheaded an unarmed teenager in Aleppo City earlier this week.

However, this time, the former US-backed rebel group targeted a large civilian gathering in west Aleppo, killing a total of 10 people and wounding 44 others while they hosted a picnic in a public park.

Nouriddeen Al-Zinki massacred these civilians by firing several missiles into this public park in west Aleppo, where there was no military presence whatsoever.

Gruesome photos were released by local citizens after the attack, causing outrage amongst the people of Aleppo as they deemed this missile strike as a targeted assault by Nouriddeen Al-Zinki.

The aforementioned rebel group has not issued a statement regarding this blatant attack against civilians.

Comment: See also: Syria: Beheading of Palestinian child prompts US to disassociate from its proxy psychopaths

and: Syrian commandoes hunt down, kill 'moderate rebels' who beheaded 12-yo Palestinian boy last week

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Chess

Moving towards Russia? EU membership is 'no longer a strategic goal for Erdogan'


Sputnik
Sun, 24 Jul 2016 21:19 UTC
Erdogan doing some weird thing with his hands
© AFP 2016/ ADEM ALTAN
While European states express their concerns about the developments that take place in Turkey, Brussels still seeks to rescue the deal with Ankara on refugees.

At the same time, Erdogan's actions cause ever growing concerns across the EU. In an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz urged Europe to maintain its strength and refrain from trying to implement the refugee deal "at any cost".

Former EU Ambassador to Turkey Marc Pierini sees the reason behind Erdogan's actions in a sharp change of his priorities, Deutsche Welle wrote.

"Earlier the Turkish President considered European norms as the main criterion for all his actions, but now the EU is being seen only as an obstacle to the establishment of a presidential republic, and therefore membership in the EU is no longer a strategic goal for Erdogan," Pierini said.

Comment: After the failed western-backed coup attempt in Turkey, is Erdogan moving away from NATO and towards Russia?

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Info

UK Chancellor Philip Hammond explores multi-billion pound free trade deal with China

Kamal Ahmed
BBC
Sun, 24 Jul 2016 18:06 UTC
Philip Hammond met Chinese vice premier Ma Kai in Beijing before the G20 summit
© AFP/Getty Images
Philip Hammond met Chinese vice premier Ma Kai in Beijing before the G20 summit.
Chancellor Philip Hammond has begun discussions with China on an ambitious free trade deal which could see greater access for major Chinese banks and businesses to the UK economy.

The Chancellor told the BBC it was time to explore "new opportunities" across the world, including with China, one of the UK's biggest inward investors.

That is despite a short term economic shock from leaving the European Union.

He added that the EU is not in "punishment mode" over the Brexit vote.

"What we now need to do is get on with it in a way that minimizes the economic impact on the UK economy in the short term and maximizes the benefit in the long term," Mr Hammond said, admitting that there had been "global disappointment" about the Brexit vote.
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Chess

Geopolitical chessboard: Kyrgyzstan is being exploited to destabilize Central Asia while undermining Russia and China

Martin Berger
New Eastern Outlook
Sun, 24 Jul 2016 00:00 UTC
kyrgyzstan military parade
Most Westerners would have a hard time locating Kyrgyzstan on the world map, in spite of the role it plays upon the geopolitical chessboard. However, this country has been actively exploited recently by various forces in a bid to destabilize Central Asia, and undermine China and Russia's positions in the region. Both China and Russia have active relations there, working in close cooperation with Kyrgyzstan. For this reason, the role of Kyrgyzstan amid the political intrigues of various "external players" has significantly increased.

In order to understand the place of this small Central Asian country upon the geopolitical chessboard on must first get familiar with general facts about Kyrgyzstan. The Wikipedia would state:
Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, formerly known as Kirghizia, is a landlocked country located in Central Asia. Landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south west and China to the east. Its capital and largest city is Bishkek.
According to official data, Kyrgyzstan paces as the 86th largest country in the world. Despite its size, we see its importance if we are to remember the geopolitical concept of well-known American political mastermind Zbigniew Brzezinski: "Whoever controls Eurasia controls the world."

Comment: To further complicate matters, terrorist networks are moving their operations to Central Asia increasing the threat of destabilization - which would perfectly suit the purposes of US geopolitical interests. In efforts to expand American influence in the region, Washington has repeatedly provided support for local extremist and terrorist organizations in a bid to overthrow any unwanted local regimes.

      Read More...
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