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Supporters of Kremlin critic Navalny subjected to searches throughout Russia - reports


RT
Thu, 12 Sep 2019 11:30 UTC
Navalny
© REUTERS / Tatyana Makeyeva
Alexei Navalny at a polling station during the Moscow city council election.
Nationwide raids have reportedly targeted the supporters of opposition figure Aleksey Navalny in what they branded as government revenge for undermining the ruling party's election campaigns.

On Thursday morning, dozens of chapters of an opposition network led by Navalny were searched by Russian law enforcement, Navalny's right-hand man Leonid Volkov said. Branches in some 40 Russian cities as well as apartments of some employees were targeted, according to the activist.

The search warrants were apparently issued as part of an investigation into an alleged large-scale money laundering scheme, which investigators believe had been used to fund the operations of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), an NGO led by Navalny. The probe into it was launched in early August. Investigators said at the time they suspected as much as $15.3 million had been transferred into the NGO's coffers illegally over the past three years.

Comment: More on Navalny: See also: 700+ protesters at unsanctioned rally in Moscow, numbers and support dwindling

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Eye 2

'If you don't vote Likud, Arabs will annihilate us all' - Netanyahu

Yumna Patel
Mondoweiss
Wed, 11 Sep 2019 12:00 UTC
Netanyahu
© AP/Sebastian Scheiner
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is coming under fire again for anti-Arab comments made by his campaign, this time for a message on his official Facebook page telling voters "Arabs want to annihilate us all - women, children and men."

Israeli media reported that upon accessing Netanyahu's official page, viewers are greeted with an automated popup message in Hebrew with a message to voters, imploring them to "make sure" their friends and family vote Likud.

The preset message is written from the perspective of a volunteer with Netanyahu's campaign, who tells voters "I am donating my time because we cannot have a dangerous left-wing government... in a week's time," according to Haaretz's translation of the message.

"A secular left-wing weak government that relies on Arabs who want to destroy us all - women, children and men, and will enable a nuclear Iran that will eliminate us," the message continues, saying "we cannot allow this to happen!"

Comment: See also:

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Mr. Potato

Trump thumping Bolton is a good start!

Tom Luongo
Gold, Goats 'N Guns
Tue, 10 Sep 2019 00:00 UTC
bolton
© Gage Skidmore/Flickr/Creative Commons
John Bolton, former National Security Advisor
Donald Trump finally fired National Security Advisor and all-around disgraceful human being John Bolton.

Good riddance.

Bolton was a diversity hire by Trump. His allegiance to the Israeli Firsters who helped get Trump into power, namely Sheldon Adelson, got him the job.

The strongest Iran hawk in Washington in the wake of John McCain's brain tumor valiantly giving up its life to end McCain's, Bolton's role was to keep Trump on program delivering maximum force and intimidation to everyone who so much as looked sideways at the U.S.

He was the proxy in the White House for liar and war criminal, Benjamin Netanyahu.

The turning point was Trump's refusal to take Bolton's bait to retaliate against Iran for shooting down the Global Hawk Drone back in June.

After the incident I asked the question, "Who Survives the Iran Counter-Offensive?" I expected then that one of Bolton, Mike "The Buffet Line" Pompeo at State or Gina "Miss Rendition" Haspel at CIA to be fired within six to eight weeks.

It took Trump eleven.

Comment: See also:
Sheldon Adelson needs Donald Trump more than Trump needs Adelson (no kidding!)

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Snowflake Cold

Is an Iran thaw in the offing? With Bolton gone, Trump hints at lifting Tehran sanctions


RT
Wed, 11 Sep 2019 17:59 UTC
RouhaniTrump
© Global Research
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani • US President Donald Trump
Days after saying he had "no problem" meeting his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, and soon after firing his hawkish adviser John Bolton, US President Donald Trump has hinted he may lift some sanctions on Tehran.

Iran has been under crippling US economic sanctions since the US unilaterally withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, or Iran Nuclear Deal). Relations between Washington and Tehran have since deteriorated, with the sanctions accompanied by a military buildup in the Persian Gulf and back-and-forth threats from both sides.

But, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Trump gave a vague hint that detente could be on the way. "We'll see what happens," he said, when asked about easing sanctions on Iran, with a view to meeting Rouhani at the UN General Assembly later this month.

Though "we'll see what happens" is a favorite answer of Trump's, his use of the phrase marks a softening of his rhetoric towards Iran and its leadership, which as recently as July involved threats of further sanctions and open war.

Comment: In addition from Sputnik, 11/9/2019: Bolton tried to forcefully prevent Trump U-turn on Iran
During one of the last meetings at the White House that US National Security Adviser John Bolton attended during his tenure, he argued "forcefully" for Trump's idea to ease sanctions pressure on Iran to be buried, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources.

The discussed move to ease pressure was supposed to raise the chances of organising talks with Tehran on the side-lines of the UN General Assembly session in September 2019. While the proposal was reportedly supported by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Bolton remained unmoved, and later in the day Trump decided to sack him, Bloomberg's sources claim. Bolton insists that he filed his resignation letter himself.
More from Sputnik, 12/9/2019: Netanyahu expects US to stay very tough after Bolton exit
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview that he expects the Trump administration to remain "very, very tough" on Iran after the departure of US National Security Advisor John Bolton, recognized as the White House's main pro-military hawk, The Hill reported Wednesday.

"So I am convinced, I have no doubts at all, that in any situation — with talks, without talks — President Trump and his administration will be very, very tough with Iran," Netanyahu told Israel's Channel 20.


Sounds like 'a warning' to Trump.


Netanyahu reportedly cited sanctions against the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) introduced by the White House on 10 September, shortly after Bolton's departure was announced, as evidence that the Trump administration is keen to continue its "maximum pressure" policy on Tehran.

"I do believe they'd like to make a deal," Trump told reporters at the White House, according to The New York Times. "If they do, that's great; and if they don't, that's great too. But they have tremendous financial difficulty, and the sanctions are getting tougher and tougher."

Tehran repeatedly said it views the removal of sanctions as a precondition for any negotiations with Washington. Following his [Bolton's] departure, Tehran welcomed the move, urging Trump to shun "warmongers."

Speaking in an interview, Netanyahu refrained from further comment on Trump's moves, pointing out that it is the president and Pompeo who will decide.

"Look, the one who formally crafted the American policy was Pompeo [...] and president Trump of course. But I'm not getting into the personality changes in this administration," Netanyahu said in the interview.

As Iran's top diplomat remains persona non grata in Washington, Trump will have a difficult time making a deal with Tehran.


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Attention

Trump: Bolton was 'way out of line' on Venezuela, but Pompeo offers more of the same


RT
Wed, 11 Sep 2019 22:31 UTC
Pompeo/Bolton/Venez protest
© Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins; Joshua Roberts/Lucas Jackson
Venezuela protest • US Sec. of State Mike Pompeo • Former US security advisor John Bolton
Speaking for the first time about reasons for firing his national security advisor John Bolton, US President Donald Trump said he was "way out of line" on Venezuela, even as the State Department doubled down on regime change.

"I disagreed with John Bolton on his attitudes about Venezuela. I thought he was way out of line," Trump told reporters at the Oval Office on Wednesday.

The failed attempt to effect regime change in Caracas - which Bolton has been at the forefront of since January - was only one of the issues the president brought up. Bolton's sabotage of denuclearization talks with North Korea, earlier this year, was another.
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Snowflake Cold

Soros warns Trump: Cold war with China more important than just US interests


RT
Wed, 11 Sep 2019 13:35 UTC
Soros
© Reuters/Lisi Niesner
Billionaire investor George Soros at the Schumpeter Award in Vienna, Austria June 21, 2019.
Donald Trump wants to improve the US economy instead of shunning economic cooperation with China as part of a crusade for democracy, billionaire activist George Soros has complained in an op-ed article.

The US president should be applauded for waging economic warfare against China, but he must not use restrictions placed on Huawei as a bargaining chip to cut a trade deal with Beijing, the Hungarian-American businessman wrote in the opinion piece, published by The Wall Street Journal.

In it, the founder of the Open Society Foundations accuses Trump of seeking a trade deal with China as part of a cynical plot to "bolster the US stock market and economy to improve his chances at re-election."

Instead of concerning himself with the economy, Soros suggests that Trump should keep piling economic pressure on Beijing, in a bid to "open" Chinese society to liberal reforms. "My interest in defeating Xi Jinping's China goes beyond US national interests," Soros admits, criticizing Trump for not sharing his worldview.

Comment: See also:

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Calendar

Trump's good will gesture: Tariff hikes on China delayed by two weeks

Riya Bhattacharjee. Chris Eudaily
CNBC
Thu, 12 Sep 2019 00:00 UTC
TrumpXI
© Nicolas Asfouri/AFP
Presidents Trump and Xi
President Donald Trump on Wednesday tweeted that he will be delaying the increased tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods to Oct. 15 from Oct. 1 as a "gesture of good will" to China.
Trump said the postponement came "at the request of the Vice Premier of China, Liu He, and due to the fact that the People's Republic of China will be celebrating their 70th Anniversary." The tariffs were set to increase to 30% from 25% on the goods. He is set to be in Washington for talks in early October.

U.S. stock futures jumped more than 0.5% percent after news of the delay. The Dow is poised to open up 150+ points on Thursday.

President Trump wanted to double tariff rates on Chinese goods last month after Beijing's latest retaliation in the trade war before settling on a smaller increase, sources told CNBC. He was outraged after he learned Aug. 23 that China had formalized plans to slap duties on $75 billion in U.S. products in response to new tariffs from Washington on Sept. 1.
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Briefcase

Flynn lawyer Powell details why she needs to view docs not turned over by the Government

Margot Cleveland
The Federalist
Wed, 11 Sep 2019 00:00 UTC
Sidney Powell
© Fox News
Sidney Powell, defense attorney for Michael Flynn
On Tuesday, Judge Emmett Sullivan quizzed federal prosecutors and defense attorney Sidney Powell on the next steps in the Michael Flynn criminal case that has been lingering for more than a year in a D.C. District Court. Judge Sullivan had scheduled the hearing earlier this month in response to Powell's motion to compel the government to hand over Brady material: material in the government's possession that is favorable to the accused.

But what should have been a quick hearing to set a briefing schedule turned into a 45-minute preview of Powell's plan to combat what she characterized as egregious government misconduct.
"There is far more at stake here than sentencing. As new counsel, we have an ethical obligation to review everything that has happened in the case or not happened, as the case may be, and that is why we filed the motion to compel production of Brady material."
She then proceeded to detail several examples of the government's "stunning failures to produce Brady" material, such as the government's delay in providing the Lisa Page and Peter Strzok text messages to Flynn's prior counsel and withholding of various internal documents exonerating Flynn of being a Russian agent and violating the Logan Act.

Powell also hit hard the government's failure to disclose the original Flynn 302 interview summary written by FBI Agent Joseph Pientka.

Comment: See also:

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X

PM Khan: Pakistan is 'unfairly' blamed for US failures in Afghanistan


RT
Thu, 12 Sep 2019 07:27 UTC
Imran Khan
© RT
Pakistani PM Imran Khan interviewed by RT
Islamabad suffered great losses when it joined Washington's War on Terror, and in the end the US still pinned the blame on Pakistan for its own setbacks in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan told RT in an exclusive interview.

Pakistan took a serious hit after joining the US-led global campaign against terrorism, Khan revealed. Before that, Islamabad had been training the Islamist Mujahedeen fighters, who were "funded by the American CIA" to wage war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s. But as it was the US' turn to invade Afghanistan, "these groups turned against us," he stated.

"We lost 70,000 people. We lost over $100 billion [from] the economy. And in the end, we were blamed for the Americans not succeeding in Afghanistan. I felt it was very unfair to Pakistan."

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Bullseye

Kremlin: Bolton's sacking won't change US foreign policy but Russia is always ready to talk


RT
Thu, 12 Sep 2019 18:58 UTC
white house
© Global Look Press / Ting Shen / Xinhua
Moscow is ready to do its part in mending ties with Washington, although it doesn't believe than John Bolton's abrupt departure from the White House is likely to alter anything about US foreign policy.

With Bolton gone, pundits around the world are trying to guess if this provides an opportunity to resolve some of the diplomatic deadlocks the US is stuck in. But Russia doesn't set its expectations too high, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told media on Wednesday.
We don't think that the presence or dismissal of any official -even this influential- has a serious impact on correcting American foreign policy.

Comment: What Peskov is getting at without outright saying it is that people like Bolton represent the wishes of the elite Deep State, and his removal from the Trump Admin will not stop them from continuing to influence the president's foreign policy.


Nevertheless, Russia is determined to find a way out "from that dire state our bilateral ties are still in," Peskov reiterated. But it always takes two willing sides for this to happen, which leaves Moscow to just hope that the US "will demonstrate political will sooner or later."
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