Welcome to Sott.net
Thu, 04 Nov 2021
The World for People who Think

Puppet Masters
Map

Camcorder

The Clintons have "earned" $150M - new documentary details the crooked way they went about it

Radar Staff
Radar Online
Sun, 08 May 2016 17:10 UTC
Bill Clinton Hillary Clinton
© Wall Street Journal
Killary, Queen of Chaos and Slick Willy
'Clinton Cash' delves deep into the corruption within the family

Donald Trump as a net worth of nearly $10 billion thanks to his many business deals over the years. But despite living life as public servants, Bill and Hillary Clinton have somehow managed to rack up a jaw-dropping net worth of $150 million. A new documentary, Clinton Cash, reveals just how they did it.

Based on a 2015 book by Peter Schweizer, Clinton Cash, explores how the Clintons climbed from "dead broke" in 2001, to filthy rich today.

The film exposes how the Clintons demand six-figure speaking fees and amass huge sums donated to their foundation. It also suggests that the Clintons "sold out" to questionable characters, including dictators, financial institutions like Goldman Sachs and TD Bank, and titans of industry.

Comment: There's far more to the corruption and scandals trailing the Clintons than just shaking down industries and countries for cash.

      Read More...
Георгиевская ленточка

Russian class: FM spokeswoman Maria Zakharova performs traditional Kalinka folk dance at ASEAN summit


RT
Fri, 20 May 2016 16:59 UTC
Maria Zakharova dances
© Vladimir Pesnya / Sputnik
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova dances at the gala evening for the media at the ASEAN-Russia Summit in Sochi
Dozens of dignitaries at the Russia-ASEAN summit in Sochi have been left open-mouthed and awed, after Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova performed a full-blooded rendition of the traditional Kalinka dance.

Zakharova got the idea 24 hours earlier, when she was passing a rehearsing orchestra in one of the tents.

"I made an off-hand comment to bystanders that I could do a dance myself. So, I had to keep my word," she said.


Comment: Compare this to the behavior of the US State Dept. spokespeople like Jen Psaki and Marie Harf. In one you have a human being who smiles and dances without any self-consciousness, and in the others you have emotionless automatons who crack fake smiles and can only repeat bold-faced lies from behind a podium.

      Read More...
Vader

America and its proxy NATO are the greatest threat in existence

Eric Zuesse
Sott.net
Fri, 20 May 2016 15:41 UTC
NATO US
On May 18th, two top people at NATO, one being its current Secretary General — the very top person — laid out in preliminary form the case for war against Russia, which presumably will be presented in more detail at the NATO Summit to be held in Poland on 8-9 July this year.

As if that weren't bad enough, there's the matter reported by Bryan Cloughly at Strategic Culture, headlining on May 19th, "Surging Towards yet Another War", where he pointed out that
"The United States has no territorial rights of any sort, in the South China Sea which is 7,000 miles (11,000 kilometres) from its west coast. There is nothing in international law that justifies its unilateral military 'challenge' to China's presence" there, in that area which is contested between five countries: China, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei. The American government, which has no authority to speak for the entire world regarding international law — of which the U.S. itself has been perhaps the most frequent violator during the past 16 years — isn't "policeman of the world," certainly not judge and jury and executioner (well, maybe executioner) of the world, but instead it's merely an aspiring global thug: "The Pentagon declared on 10 May that China's 'excessive maritime claims are inconsistent with international law as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention in that they purport to restrict the navigation rights that the United States and all states are entitled to exercise'." Cloughly points out that the U.S. "refuses to ratify the Law of the Sea Convention — while ordering every other country to abide by it."
America's — and NATO's — biggest danger to the world, however, is its (their) aggressions against Russia, by:
      Read More...
USA

US military trains soldiers to 'ethically hack' foreign governments


Sputnik
Wed, 18 May 2016 03:21 UTC
national guard
© Flickr/ Georgia National Guard
America's cyberwarfare defense begins with placing the word 'ethical' in front of actions barred under international law.

The US Navy posted a training solicitation last week, calling for interested personnel to sign-up for a 'Certified Ethical Hacker' program, a five-day course from June 6-10, in San Diego, California. The training represents the latest step by the US military to respond to an increase in global cyberwarfare.

According to the Navy, a 'certified ethical hacker' "is a skilled professional who understands and knows how to look for the weaknesses and vulnerabilities in networks and/or computer systems and uses the same knowledge and tools as a malicious hacker upon request from an organization."

A 'certified ethical hacker' differs from a black-hat hacker in no discernible way, except for being ordered to engage in hacking attacks at the behest of a government.

Even that, however, is insufficient to be deemed an ethical hacker - these professionals are ordered specifically by the US government, unlike purportedly unethical Chinese, Iranian, and Russian hackers.
      Read More...
Snakes in Suits

UK Foreign Secretary wanted to court-martial NATO general for criticizing military budget cuts


RT
Fri, 20 May 2016 15:30 UTC
Philip Hammond
© Afolabi Sotunde / Reuters
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond
Tory Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond tried to have a senior British general court-martialled for publicly criticizing cuts to the military budget, tabled while Hammond was defense secretary, the retired officer has claimed.

General Sir Richard Shirreff, who served as NATO's Deputy Supreme Commander, says he only avoided "formal action" because "wiser counsel prevailed."

Formal action in that case would have been a full court martial, Shirreff claims.

In 2014 Shirreff said it was a "hell of a gamble" to enforce austerity measures that would have cut the UK military "to the bone."

Comment: Maybe it's not such a bad idea to court-martial the warmongering military men who criticize politicians who have the good sense to cut military spending.

      Read More...
Family

Thailand hopes to increase economic ties with Russia

Tony Cartalucci
New Eastern Outlook
Thu, 19 May 2016 15:10 UTC
Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha Russia

Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha
During the upcoming Russia-ASEAN Summit (May 19-20) to be held in Sochi, Russia, additional talks will be held with Southeast Asian nations seeking to bolster ties with Russia, who has until recently played a disproportionately minor role in Asia relative to the United States.

Diversifying Economic Ties

It should be understood that Western special interests seeking global hegemony are driven first and foremost by economic ambitions. Political and military operations augment and run parallel to attempts to expand and dominate nations and regions of the planet economically. Such ambitions are meticulously planned out by policy think-tanks underwritten by corporate-financier interests, and sold to the public by corporate-dominated media campaigns.

In other words, the realm of economics is simply another dimension these special interests wage their war of hegemony within.

Therefore, for smaller nations like Southeast Asia's Thailand, operating in contradiction to US interests both in the region and within Thailand itself incurs predictable punitive measures from Wall Street and Washington - including coordinated media campaigns to undermine the nation politically, US-funded nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) undermining the nation socially, and various forms of economic warfare to target the nation financially. Over-dependence on economic ties with the West are easily used as leverage over what should otherwise be a sovereign, independent nation.

In addition to expanding economic independence and self-sufficiency within a nation, also critical for national security is to cultivate numerous foreign trade partners - particularly those who are diametrically opposed to one another geopolitically. This ensures that at any given time, at least half of one nation's trade partners are eager to expand ties even if the other half is extorting existing ties to demand sovereignty-crushing concessions.
      Read More...
Quenelle - Golden

Syria asks Russia to participate in rebuilding its energy sector


RT
Fri, 20 May 2016 14:47 UTC
Raqqa
© Hamid Khatib / Reuters
A man works at a makeshift oil refinery site in al-Mansoura village in Raqqa's countryside, Syria
Russian companies have received requests from Syria to help rebuild the country's oil and gas industry, said Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak on Friday. According to Novak, Lukoil, Gazprom Neft and Zarubezhneft are among the companies invited as they have experience of work abroad and can invest in projects. "Syria has asked our companies to participate in rebuilding oil and gas projects, infrastructure development, and pipeline construction," Novak told journalists, adding the companies are currently studying the proposals.

Syria has already asked Russia to participate in exploring and developing oil and gas on land and offshore. Russia was invited to upgrade the Baniyas refinery and construct a refinery with Iran and Venezuela. Damascus and Moscow have signed nearly a billion dollars worth of agreements to rebuild the war-torn country, said Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader Halqi. That followed Syrian President Bashar Assad's invitation to Russian companies to participate in rebuilding homes in Syria. The two countries intend to develop energy, trade, finance and other sectors of the economy.

Halqi also said Russian companies will be given priority in rebuilding country following the civil war. According to him, many Russian companies are already operating in Syria, including those engaged in offshore exploration. In February, Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller discussed with the Syrian ambassador prospects for cooperation after the country manages to stabilize from its civil war. Russian businesses have energy contracts in Syria that were signed before the crisis worth $1.6 billion.

Comment: Russia has provided a very effective model of how to deal with both the terrorist and migrant crises.
See also:

      Read More...
Георгиевская ленточка

Russia offers help to Latin American states suffering under US attack


teleSUR
Mon, 16 May 2016 14:14 UTC
Russian ministers Ryabkov
© Reuters
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
"Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela are only the most obvious examples," said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov Monday.

Russia is willing to help Latin America assert itself against U.S. interventions in political affairs, said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov Monday.

"We are seeing a new intensification of U.S. foreign policy in this region, even up to direct attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of states in the region," he said in an interview with RIA Novosti. "Deciding which foreign policy to choose is a sovereign right and even the obligation of the state."

Comment: Again, Russia offers aid to beleaguered countries in an effort to keep some sort of rational balance in world affairs.

      Read More...
Георгиевская ленточка

France proposes abolishing short-term visas for Russians - Give visa-free travel


Russia Behind the Headlines
Thu, 19 May 2016 14:43 UTC
russia flag
© RIA Novosti
According to Atout France, the country was visited by 500,000 Russian citizens in 2015.
France would like to abolish short-term visas for Russian tourists due to the lack of a risk of immigration from Russia, French Ambassador to Russia Jean-Maurice Ripert has said.

"We stand for the complete abolition of short-term visas for Russian tourists, as we do not see a risk of immigration from Russia. Yet we are unable to make this decision on our own; it has to be a joint choice of all Schengen member countries," the diplomat told reporters.

He promised the maximum facilitation of the issue of visas to Russians wishing to visit France.

Russian citizens are already enjoying a liberal visa regime, French Consul General Marc Sedille said. "Eighty percent of visas are multi-entry, and about 20 percent of them are valid for five years, which is the maximum term. Only 1 percent of applications are turned down," Sedille said.
      Read More...
Yoda

Indonesia meeting with Putin to strengthen economic and defense partnerships

Eko Prasetyo
Jakarta Globe
Thu, 19 May 2016 14:40 UTC
joko widodo putin
© State Palace Press Photo/Intan
President Joko Widodo meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at his official residence, Bocharov Rucey, in Sochi, Southern Russia, Wednesday (18/05)
President Joko Widodo kicked off his Russian tour by meeting President Vladimir Putin at his official residence in Sochi, Southern Russia, before attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Russia Summit 2016 in the city.

In the meeting, the Indonesian president praised his Russian counterpart's constructive policy on palm oil trade, as Indonesia's palm oil export to Russia reached over $480 million in 2015.

"I hope the policy can be sustained, it will be good for Indonesia's palm oil export [to Russia]," Joko said.

President Joko also hoped Russia will allow the Indonesian government to purchase a property in Moscow, to be converted into the Indonesian Embassy for Russia and the official residence of the ambassador.
      Read More...
Amazon Smile
Revolt! T-shirts