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War Whore

Trump waiting to hear from Riyadh on oil attack culprit, US 'locked & loaded' to respond


RT
Mon, 16 Sep 2019 19:01 UTC
aircraft carrier
© REUTERS/Mike Blake
US President Donald Trump says Washington has "a reason to believe" it knows the mastermind behind the drone strikes on the Saudi oil refineries and is poised to respond pending confirmation from Riyadh.

"Saudi Arabia oil supply was attacked. There is reason to believe that we know the culprit, are locked and loaded depending on verification, but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!" Trump tweeted Sunday.

Although the attacks on the two Saudi oil facilities were claimed by the Houthi rebels, Washington immediately pointed the finger at Tehran, claiming that the attack was too complex and too devastating to be coordinated by the rebels. A senior official told Reuters that US intelligence believes the attack originated from the direction of Iraq and Iran, rather than from the area controlled by the Houthis.

Comment: Bolton resigns because Trump wasn't up for his hawkish stance on Iran and Trump appears to be open to meeting Rouhani. Then someone attacks a Saudi oil refinery, and the Israelis and hawks in the US blame Iran. Trump then gets belligerent towards Iran. Who benefits? Israel.

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Star of David

Israel's Netanyahu drops the mask: Vows to annex 'all settlements' and 'all strategic areas' in occupied West Bank


The Daily Sabah
Mon, 16 Sep 2019 18:16 UTC
netanyahu campaign posters
© Agence France-Press
A woman talks on her mobile phone below banners for the Likud party showin chairman and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the southern israeli city of Beersheva on Sept. 15, 2019.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Monday to annex "all the settlements" in the occupied West Bank, including an enclave deep in the heart of the largest Palestinian city, in a last-ditch move that appeared aimed at shoring up right-wing support the day before a do-over election.

Locked in a razor tight race and with legal woes hanging over him, Netanyahu is fighting for his political survival. In the final weeks of his campaign he has been doling out hard-line promises meant to draw more voters to his Likud party and re-elect him in Tuesday's unprecedented repeat vote.

"I intend to extend sovereignty on all the settlements and the (settlement) blocs," including "sites that have security importance or are important to Israel's heritage," Netanyahu said in an interview with Israeli Army Radio, part of an eleventh-hour media blitz.

Comment: Netanyahu's desperation to hang on to power is clear. His pitch is to the most radical and violent segments of Israeli society.

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Attention

A fresh mendacious assault on Brett Kavanaugh's character

Roger Kimball
Spectator USA
Mon, 16 Sep 2019 17:14 UTC
Brett Kavanaugh
© Associated Press
Supreme Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh
I guess that The New York Times didn't get the memo. Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court last fall. He is sitting there (officially, I mean) right now, as I write. Despite the most disgusting, ad hominem, evidence-free effort at character assassination of a Supreme Court nominee in history, the combined forces of The New York Times and other cesspool media organs like The New Yorker, bottom-feeding Senate Democrats, feminazis of various stripes, and other woke constituencies on the left, Kavanaugh made it. One of the most ostentatiously qualified candidates for the Supreme Court in recent memory managed — just barely — to slip through the gauntlet of baseless accusation, wild fantasy, and prurient hysteria and ascend to the country's highest court. Hurrah.

But in today's Sunday Review, the country's fishwrap of record publishes an excerpt from The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation by two Times reporters, Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly.
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Chess

Moscow & New Delhi in talks over moving part of S-400 production to India


RT
Mon, 16 Sep 2019 17:21 UTC
s 400
© REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva
Russia is considering moving part of its state-of-the-art air defense system's production to India, the head of Russian state-run corporation Rostec said. India is set to procure five S-400s batteries within a $5.4bn deal.

Rostec head Sergey Chemezov confirmed reports that a similar understanding already exists with Turkey, and that it's "quite possible" for Ankara to produce "certain components" of the system, but refused to specify which.

He told Russian broadcaster RBK that discussions are underway on "the localization [of S-400 production] with India as well."

The CEO noted that India has already obtained licenses to manufacture an array of Russian military hardware, including Su-30 fighter jets and T-90 tanks. Moscow has enjoyed close military cooperation with India, which has been one of its biggest customers in the arms trade for decades. Some weapons, such as the BrahMos cruise missile, are the product of joint research and development efforts by Russian and Indian engineers.
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Chess

Paris' justice minister backs accepting Snowden, who floats taking refuge in France


RT
Mon, 16 Sep 2019 17:15 UTC
snowden
© Global Look Press / Friso Gentsch / dpa
Shortly after Edward Snowden flagged France as a place where he would want to live, the country's justice minister said she personally supports granting asylum to the renowned whistleblower still in exile in Russia.

Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet said France should stick "to our strong principles on immigration," meaning that "we must accept asylum seekers," local media reported on Sunday. When asked if Snowden could set foot on French soil someday, she replied: "Yes ... I back it."

Belloubet then made it clear that she was speaking in a private capacity and that the statement wasn't an official offer. The French presidency also disavowed her remarks later in the day, according to RTL.
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Star of David

Warmonger Netanyahu forced to call off large Gaza offensive after Israeli AG warns he had no authority for it


Sputnik
Mon, 16 Sep 2019 16:51 UTC
gaza bombing 2019
© Reuers/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Flame and smoke are seen during an Israeli air strike in the central Gaza Strip September 11, 2019
The Israeli military carried out airstrikes against purported terror targets in Gaza in response to a rocket attack that appeared to target a Netanyahu rally. The prime minister is said to have considered a larger military operation but backed down following legal advice that such a move would require the security cabinet's approval.

A large-scale Israeli retaliatory strike on Gaza has been averted after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was told he would need cabinet approval to make the move, Haaretz reports.

Militants in Gaza fired at least two rockets on Tuesday evening toward the coastal city of Ashdod, situated between the Palestinian enclave and Tel Aviv, and nearby Ashkelon. The projectiles, which were shot down by anti-missile systems, appeared to target a Netanyahu campaign rally; the prime minister, who was speaking to voters at the time, was forced to leave the stage for a bomb shelter.

Comment:

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NPC

BBC accused of pushing 'PC agenda' with rainbow flag-waving rendition of 'Rule, Britannia'


RT
Mon, 16 Sep 2019 17:01 UTC
rule brittania
The BBC has been accused of spoiling an annual music festival, after a singer swapped the Union Jack for a rainbow flag in a rousing rendition of 'Rule, Britannia'. The stunt sparked a storm of furious tweets.

Television viewers across the UK tuned in to watch the Last Night of the Proms - the climax of the eight-week classical music festival - in what has traditionally been a showcase of British patriotism and culture. But this year's concert featured a provocative twist: The mezzo-soprano who accompanied the orchestra hoisted a rainbow 'pride' flag as she sang the British classic, 'Rule, Britannia.'

Jamie Barton, an American singer and self-professed "queer girl with a nose ring," said that she unfurled the flag during her performance because she wanted to make "a very clear statement of Pride."
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Newspaper

Shameful: The Guardian apologizes for claim ex-PM Cameron experienced 'privileged pain' over death of son


RT
Mon, 16 Sep 2019 16:44 UTC
david cameron
© Reuters / Jason Lee / Pool; Reuters / Suzanne Plunkett
British newspaper The Guardian has apologized for attacking former Tory prime minister David Cameron for having only felt "privileged pain" over the death of his 6-year-old severely disabled son.

In extracts from his memoirs published on Sunday, Cameron, who was UK prime minister from 2010 to 2016, praises the National Health Service (NHS) care his son, Ivan, received before his death in 2009.

However, the paper in its editorial asked whether he "might have understood the damage his policies have done," if he had sought the care for a parent rather than a child. They ostensibly suggested Cameron was somewhat fortunate in only having to experience the "better funded parts of the [NHS] system."
Mr Cameron has known pain and failure in his life but it has always been limited failure and privileged pain.

Comment: Every person with an ounce of empathy should cancel their Guardian subscriptions after this shameful attack. As the saying goes, get woke and go broke. Hopefully The Guardian finds that out the hard way.

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Bad Guys

Saudi Arabia shuts down pipeline to Bahrain after drone strikes, blames Iran


RT
Mon, 16 Sep 2019 15:47 UTC
abqaiq oil saudi
© REUTERS / Stringer/ Hamad I Mohammed
Riyadh has reportedly shut down a pipeline to Bahrain after drones targeted two key Saudi Aramco oil plants on Saturday. The closure comes amid supply shortage fears as the kingdom struggles to restore the facilities.

The drone raid, claimed by the Houthi rebels, affected mainly light crude grades resulting in the shutdown of the pipeline from which Bahrain's Bapco receives oil from state oil giant Aramco, Reuters reported citing two trade sources. The pipeline carries 220,000-230,000 barrels per day (bpd) and transfers Arab Light crude.

Now the Bahraini company is looking for other ways to get about 2 million barrels of Saudi crude and may use vessels for transportation. It is unclear when the country will be able to bring in Saudi oil.

Saudi Arabia, the world's top world crude exporter, had to close two facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais after the weekend attack halved the kingdom's daily oil output and reduced global production by 5 percent. The Abqaiq oil refinery is one of the most important facilities in the world for crude supply.

Comment: Predictably, the Saudis claim that 'preliminary findings' suggest Iranian-made weapons were used, which did not originate in Yemen:
Speaking at a press conference in Riyadh on Monday, coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki said the investigation was still ongoing, and that investigators were presently looking to figure out "from where" the missiles used in the strikes "were fired."

According to the officer, the drones were not launched from Yemen, as claimed by the Houthis.

"The investigation is continuing and all indications are that weapons used in both attacks came from Iran," al-Maliki said.

Al-Maliki promised that the military would present the results of its investigation to the media when it was completed.


The Houthis, a rag-tag Yemeni militia against which Saudi Arabia and a coalition of mostly Gulf states has been waging war since 2015, claimed responsibility for the Saturday attacks, saying they used ten drones to strike the facilities following careful preparations, and warning that they would make further surprise attacks until Riyadh ended its "aggression and blockade of Yemen."

On Monday, amid US claims that Iran was responsible for the attacks, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis' Supreme Political Council, told Iranian media that attempts to blame the Houthis' strikes on other countries was an act of "cowardice."
It's much easier to blame Iran than to admit that the "rag-tag" Houthis have the capability to evade American-made air defenses and cripple Saudi oil capabilities. China has cautioned against making premature accusations (but when has that ever stopped the U.S. and their allies?):
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying urged against jumping to conclusions over the attack, which hit the world's biggest oil-processing facility, stressing that a needless escalation in the region should be avoided.

"Pondering who is to blame in the absence of a conclusive investigation, I think, is in itself not very responsible. China's position is that we oppose any moves that expand or intensify conflict," Hua said on Monday during a press briefing.

She implored all parties concerned to "restrain themselves" in order to "safeguard peace and stability" in the Middle East.
Meanwhile oil prices have skyrocketed 20% in the wake of the attacks.

See previous coverage of the drone attacks here

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Nuke

World sleepwalking into total nuclear war as callous elites fear no bloodshed


RT
Tue, 17 Sep 2019 10:21 UTC
Mushroom-shaped cloud and water column from the Test Baker
© Global Look Press
Mushroom-shaped cloud and water column from the Test Baker, first-ever underwater nuclear explosion, 194
Limiting nuclear arsenals doesn't make the world safer - not while the elites, who have never seen a big war, complacently believe they never will. This dangerous illusion invites apocalyptic conflict, a renowned scholar believes.

Humankind's history might be a history of wars, but for several decades there was a sort of lull, with no really big armed conflict affecting leading world powers. That is, in part, thanks to nuclear weapons. Fear of their power kept the Cold War from becoming a hot one and restricted the actual fighting to proxy conflicts.

And that, in turn, has led to a situation where many of those currently in power don't take the threat of war with the gravity it deserves, says Sergey Karaganov, a researcher of international relations and a dean at Moscow's Higher School of Economics.

Complacency breeds danger

"The previous generations had a gut fear of war because their fathers or they themselves experienced World War II. But modern generations think of war very lightly," he told RT.

Comment: See also:

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