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Trump impressed with Queen Elizabeth II: 'Fantastic & amazing woman'


RT
Sun, 15 Jul 2018 16:31 UTC
Trump Queen Elizabeth
© Agence France-Presse / Brendan Smialowski
US President Donald Trump expressed his admiration for Queen Elizabeth II after having tea with the reigning British monarch during his official visit to the UK.

"The Queen is fantastic! She's a fantastic woman; so much energy and smart and sharp," the president told the Daily Mail on Saturday.

Speaking to journalist Piers Morgan aboard Air Force One, Trump spared no compliments for the Queen. "She was amazing! Such a wonderful lady and so beautiful! It was an honor to finally meet her. To have a queen like that is great," he said.
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Biohazard

Russian embassy: Novichok poisonings may be result of leak from Porton Down lab


RT
Sat, 14 Jul 2018 16:07 UTC
amesbury novichok house
© Henry Nicholls / Reuters
Fire and Rescue Service personnel arrive on after Amesbury poisoning was confirmed on July 6, 2018.
A leak at the Porton Down secret laboratory may explain the nerve agent poisonings in Britain, as both cases happened in nearby Salisbury and Amesbury, the Russian embassy in the UK has said.

The embassy was asked by the media to comment on Friday's announcement by the UK police that a small bottle they found in the home of one of the Amesbury poisoning victims contained the infamous Novichok nerve agent.

However, Russian diplomats said that they "cannot check or verify any British statements" because London "refuses to cooperate with us in any way possible" on the issue.

Russia would like the UK to share its data on the nerve agent attacks that targeted former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury last March, and another poisoning in Amesbury in late June, the embassy said. However, it added that they were "almost sure that the British side will not be informing us directly."

The Russian mission pointed out that both poisoning cases took place "in the vicinity of the secret military chemical laboratory in Porton Down," which may well lead to the conclusion that "some kind of 'leak' from this laboratory might have taken place. This cannot be excluded."


Comment: They're right. It can't be excluded. It is a plausible alternative explanation, but one the UK authorities will never admit. It's too convenient to blame Russia.

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USA

Iraqi news says US planning new bases in Iraq, despite local opposition


Sputnik
Sat, 14 Jul 2018 16:01 UTC
Iraq US soldier American flag
© Shannon Stapleton / Reuters
A number of prominent political figures and members of the Iraqi parliament have spoken out against the US' military presence in the country, with a senior adviser to Iraqi cleric Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr slamming it as an "occupation of the country."

The US is planning to open a new military airbase in Iraq near the town of al-Qa'im in Anbar Province, the local news outlet BasNews has reported. The province borders Syria, where the US Air Force is still conducting airstrikes without the authorization of Damascus and that has led to civilian casualties on multiple occasions. The new base will work jointly with two other bases in the province - Ain al-Assad and Habbaniya

The news comes amid demands by various political figures in Iraq for the US to pull out from the country. In March 2018, the Iraqi parliament asked the government to come up with a deadline for the withdrawal US troops, while Diyaa Assadi, a senior adviser to Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose coalition won in the recent parliamentary elections, has said that the US is seen "as an occupying country."

At the same time, Kuwaiti newspaper al-Rai has reported that another US military base is planned for construction in Kuwait. According to the newspaper, it will be a major air hub near the international airport and will serve as a logistical supply point.
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SOTT Logo Radio

NewsReal: Trump on Tour! US President Takes Wrecking Ball to NATO & EU, Mueller Indicts Russians


Sott.net
Sun, 15 Jul 2018 16:00 UTC
TrumpSOTN
© The Nation
President Trump, State of the Nation Address, 2018
A calamitous week for the UK government began with ministers resigning over Brexit negotiations and ended with protests against Trump's first state visit. Just as he had done at the NATO Summit in Brussels prior to his arrival in the UK, Trump loudly repeated his stance on everything from Brexit to mass immigration to trade to Russia, pounding every sore spot in the ever-weaker Western Alliance.

Meanwhile, Russiagate hearings back home erupted in fireworks, with proceedings becoming so heated during examination of the FBI agent at the center of the 'Russian collusion investigation', Peter Strzok, that even Republican politicians called for them to be moved behind closed doors. And as that was going on, Mueller's investigation lobbed more indictments against Russians he alleges rigged the 2016 US election.

It's getting pretty chaotic out there! Join Joe and Niall today on NewsReal as they try to take it all in. Live audio broadcast on Sott Radio from 12 noon EST / 6pm CET


Running Time: 01:29:25

Download: MP3

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Chess

Lisa Page answered many questions Peter Strzok refused to: 'A credible witness and cooperating' - GOP lawmakers

Cristina Laila
The Gateway Pundit
Sat, 14 Jul 2018 15:35 UTC
Lisa Page hearing
© Fox News
Lisa Page
Ex-FBI lawyer Lisa Page appeared on Capitol Hill Friday for a closed-door deposition.

Fox News' Catherine Herridge tried to ask Lisa Page questions as the former FBI lawyer briskly walked into her deposition. Lisa Page refused to answer questions. "She basically just plowed through the reporters," Catherine Herridge said.


Lisa Page did, however, answer questions during her deposition that Peter Strzok refused to.
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Telephone

'Respect for international law, not an increase of NATO military spending, will make world more secure' - German Foreign Minister


RT
Sat, 14 Jul 2018 18:34 UTC
trump nato
Increased defense spending championed by the US President Donald Trump at the NATO summit will not make the world safer, the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said, adding that respect for international order is needed instead.

"We know that peace and security come at a price," Maas said in a Twitter post on Saturday, just days after the end of the NATO summit in Brussels, at which Trump attempted to press the US allies into increasing their military spending not up to two but up to four percent of GDP - something that many European nations were not apparently pleased with.

At the end of the summit, Trump virtually congratulated himself on what he thought to have been his major victory in the field of "more equal" defense spending within the Alliance. However, it soon turned out that at least some of his allies were not eager to fulfill his demands.

Comment: Granted, the foreign minister has a point; NATO should be disbanded - for the sake of world peace: NATO is a completely useless organization

See also: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Trump Ditches Europe, Europe Bluffs, Russia and China Carry on With Eurasian Integration

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Russian Flag

The ideal outcome of the Trump-Putin meeting? Lavrov tells Larry King


RT
Fri, 13 Jul 2018 21:43 UTC
Lavrov
© Reuters/R. Orlowski/KJN
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has shared his view on what would be an "ideal" outcome of a Trump-Putin meeting, in an interview with Larry King that covered a wide range of topics, from Crimea to NATO and Syria.

Relations between the US and Russia are now at such a low point that a mere resumption of a normal dialog following a summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin could already be regarded as a success, Lavrov told the veteran TV host, on his show Politicking, aired on RT America.

The top Russian diplomat called the state of relations between the two nations "unfortunate" and said that "most channels of communications established over the last eight years have been frozen, including the ones on very important issues" such as the fight against terrorism and cyber-security.
"What we have now is sporadic meetings between diplomats and military, mostly on Syria," Lavrov said. He then explained that if Trump and Putin would manage to "re-open all the channels [of dialog] on both divisive issues ... and those issues where we can usefully cooperate" he would call such an outcome of the meeting "ideal."

Comment: Lavrov, the veritable statesman, is adept at framing an issue to illustrate a point, and does so with intelligence and dignity. The leaders of the West could learn a thing or two about communication, diplomacy and cooperation.

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Attention

WH rejects calls demanding cancelation of Trump-Putin summit after Russian indictments


RFE/RL
Sat, 14 Jul 2018 05:04 UTC
THETrump
© NewsR
The White House is rejecting calls from leading members of Congress to cancel a U.S.-Russian presidential summit in the wake of indictments that for the first time charge the Russian government with directly interfering in the 2016 presidential election.

The indictments of 12 Russian military intelligence officers on July 13 for allegedly hacking and releasing thousands of documents and e-mails that were damaging to U.S. President Donald Trump's Democratic opponent came a scant three days before Trump's scheduled summit with President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.

Trump, who is in Scotland visiting his golf resort ahead of the summit, posted on Twitter that the alleged crimes
"...took place during the Obama Administration. Why didn't they do something about it, especially when it was reported that President Obama was informed by the FBI in September, before the Election," he added.

Comment: The action and timing of indictments and subsequent protest calls suggest a coordinated plan to destroy the summit. The petty reasoning of these demands showcases the caliber of politicians leading the USA, their blindsight on the global picture and their willingness to sabotage a chance of a more peaceful future.

See also: Special Counsel indicts 12 Russian military officers for hacking state election systems
The White House responds:

"As Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said today, there is no allegation in this indictment that Americans knew that they were corresponding with Russians.There is no allegation in this indictment that any American citizen committed a crime. There is no allegation that the conspiracy changed the vote count or affected any election result," Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters released in a statement. "Today's charges include no allegations of knowing involvement by anyone on the campaign and no allegations that the alleged hacking affected the election result. This is consistent with what we have been saying all along."
Two big Russia hysteria stories meant to shock us right before the Trump-Putin Helsinki Summit

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Green Light

Victory for Assange: Court of Human Rights orders safe passage of Wikileaks founder out of embassy

Adam Garrie
Eurasia Futures
Fri, 13 Jul 2018 00:00 UTC
Julian Assange
© ABC News
Julian Assange denied Russia was his source
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights based in Costa Rica is a multinational independent judicial body which handles court cases relating to the human rights of individuals in or effected by the laws of the members states of the Organization of American States (OAS). At present the OAS is comprised of every North American, Central American and South American nation, although Venezuela has expressed a desire to withdraw from the body.

Today, the Court ruled that it is the duty of nations to allow for the passage of successful asylum seekers from embassies to the mainland territory of the state that has granted an individual asylum. For Julian Assange, this would mean that according to the Court's decision, Britain has a legal obligation to allow Julian Assange to exit the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in peace and allow for his safe transit to an airport from which he would be able to fly to Ecuador, the country that has granted Assange asylum and where he now also holds formal citizenship.

Relevant portions of the press release from the Court can be read below:

Comment: Excellent news, finally! For the UK to uphold this court ruling, allow Assange safe exit and passage to Ecuador, as well as the US abiding this decree, remain to be seen. See also:

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Chess

PM May to discuss her Brexit stance with Trump risking UK trade deal with US


RT
Fri, 13 Jul 2018 09:38 UTC
May Trump
© Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
US President Donald Trump • UK Prime Minister Theresa May
Theresa May is seeking a one-on-one meeting with Donald Trump to discuss her Brexit negotiating stance, which the president said could sink a much-anticipated trade deal with the US and steer the UK in the wrong direction.

"She's looking forward to sitting down with the president and talking him through the white paper," the spokesman for UK Prime Minister Theresa May told Reuters on Friday when asked about US President Donald Trump's threats he made in an interview with the Sun newspaper.

The interview, published on Thursday, revolves around May's post-Brexit negotiations with Brussels, in which she is said to seek to keep the customs borders open with the EU by sticking to common rules on goods and agricultural products. In the interview, Trump pledged to walk away from a major US-UK trade deal and launched a personal assault on May.
"If they do a deal like that, we would be dealing with the European Union instead of dealing with the UK, so it will probably kill the deal," the president warned. "If they do that, then their trade deal with the US will probably not be made."

Comment: PM May is flailing on the ropes and losing her fight to remain relevant and supported by UK politicians and constituency.

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