Puppet Masters
The court's 5-4 ruling fully reversed a California district judge's decision last month forbidding the president from redirecting the Congress-approved funds because the legislature hadn't specifically authorized the money to be spent on Trump's long-touted construction project.
Judicial Watch obtained the documents in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed on April 25, 2018 on behalf of itself and the Daily Caller News Foundation against the State Department after it failed to respond to three separate FOIA requests (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:18-cv- 00968)). The lawsuit seeks:
- All records of communications between State Department officials, including former Secretary of State John Kerry, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, on the one hand, and British National Christopher Steele and/or employees or contractors of Steele's company, Orbis Business Intelligence, on the other hand.
- All records and/or memoranda provided by Christopher Steele and/or his firm Orbis Business Intelligence or by others acting on Steele's/Orbis's behalf, to State Department officials.
- Any and all records in the custody of the State Department related to the provision of documents to British national Christopher Steele and/or his firm, Orbis Business Intelligence, or the receipt of documents from Steele or his firm. Time period is January 20, 2009 through the present.
- All records created in 2016 by Jonathan M. Winer relating to research compiled by Christopher Steele.
Abbas' decision was made in the wake of Israel's demolition of Palestinian homes in PA-administered areas of the East Jerusalem town of Sur Bahir. The unprecedented nature of the demolitions sparked international controversy and backlash. "We will not succumb to the dictates and the imposing of a fait accompli on the ground with brute force, specifically in Jerusalem," he said, calling the demolitions a war crime and act of ethnic cleansing.
He went on to make a series of statements, including a rejection of American-led peace talks, and a call for renewing failed attempts at reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah.
As for the cessation of agreements with Israel, Abbas said that his leadership would "start laying out mechanisms" to implement his decision, starting on Friday. "In light of the insistence of the occupation authority on the denial of all the signed agreements and their obligations, we declare the decision of the leadership to stop working by the agreements signed with the Israeli side," he said.
Forget about terrorism, melting polar caps and even the US government. According to the results of a new Gallup poll, more Americans than ever before (27 percent) view immigration as the "most important problem" confronting their nation. The new data shatters the previous record of 23 percent, set just last month.
Does this mean it's time for Americans to haul away the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor and store it in a warehouse alongside those bronze Confederate generals? And while we're at it, let's ship to the incinerator of history the famous words of the poem, The New Colossus, written by the Jewish-American poetess Emma Lazarus, which boldly proclaims to the world:
"Give me your tired, your poor,Although such steps would certainly seem radical, there can be no doubt that the 'immigration question' is preoccupying America's short attention span like never before. It should not be forgotten, after all, that the main reason a real estate magnate from Manhattan is now firmly entrenched in the White House is because he promised to build a wall - or more precisely, have Mexico build a wall - along the porous southern border.
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore"
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas insisted that the US strategy of "maximum pressure" against Iran is an unacceptable scenario for Berlin's involvement in the region. The top diplomat welcomed the UK-proposed operation, which is intended to protect commercial ships in the Persian Gulf and near the Strait of Hormuz.
"Our local involvement must have a European face. We do not participate in the American strategy of 'maximum pressure'", Maas told the German media group Funke.
However, he pointed out that Germany would only be able to decide on its participation in the naval deployment proposed by the UK if it is given "clarity on the design of such a mission".
"We are in contact with the new British government, in particular to find out how it is positioning itself. The plans are still in the initial phase", Maas noted, adding that political and legal questions about the mission need to be answered first.
Although Berlin has taken a cautious position, the German top diplomat stated that Europe has a vested interest in ensuring safety in the Gulf. According to him, the German government, France, and the UK are discussing ways to bring the regional powers together around the issue of maritime security. "There are still diplomatic difficulties that we have to overcome, which requires dialogue and discussing common rules in order to avoid unwanted escalations", he said.
Earlier reports claimed that Foreign Minister Heiko Maas asserted Germany's interest in joining the mission, but his office said on Thursday that it was "too early" to talk about any involvement of German troops, which would still require a vote in parliament for authorization.
"It is too early to talk about possible forms of German participation," the spokesman told Reuters. "Requests for German military participation were so far not the subject of" talks with Britain and France.
Newly appointed Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer also downplayed the reports, suggesting that German involvement was not a foregone conclusion. "It is now the hour for diplomacy," Kramp-Karrenbauer told reporters on Thursday, adding "there is no concrete requirement" for participation in the mission.
Comment: In addition from Sputnik 26/7/2019: Pompeo: US invited EU, Asian countries to join coalition to secure Strait of Hormuz
The United States has invited Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Norway, South Korea and the United Kingdom, among others, to join an international coalition to ensure security in the Strait of Hormuz, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in the wake of recent security incidents in the area.See also:
"We are at the beginning stage of developing our maritime security initiative. We will be a part of that but so will be the nations from all across the world. We've asked the Brits, the French, the Germans, the Norwegians, the Japanese, the South Koreans, the Australians. I am sure I missed a few," Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News, released late on Thursday.
The US secretary of state insisted that every country that was interested in ensuring security in the Strait of Hormuz needed to participate in the initiative to protect not only its own interests but "fundamental understanding of free and open waterways".
- Europeans planning naval mission to ensure safe passage in Persian Gulf
- Washington backpedals bid to build 'anti-Iran' military coalition in Persian Gulf
- UK MoD: Navy to guard UK ships in Strait of Hormuz, defend freedom of navigation
- No foreign military presence is key to Persian Gulf stability - Russia's security concept
- Russian Deputy FM Bogdanov unveils concept of collective security in Persian Gulf
- Iran releases 9 of 12 Indian crew members from seized tanker

Migrants on raft reach Mexico shore after crossing the Suchiate River from Guatemala
Under a safe third country agreement, asylum seekers would have to seek protection in the first country they reach rather than in their final, intended destination. Under the terms of the deal, the US could deport migrants to the first safe country they had reached.
According to US President Donald Trump, the agreement would allow migrants "easier access" to work on US farms and ranches, Reuters reported. Trump also noted that Guatemala's signing of the agreement would limit US asylum applications from Central America, and that the administration plans to sign safe third country agreements with other nations soon.
Guatemalan government officials also announced Friday that the deal with the US, which "aims to counter social and economic repercussions," will also be applicable to Honduran and Salvadoran citizens, Reuters reported. The goal under the agreement, according to the Guatemalan government is to grant visas to Guatemalans so they can work in the construction and service industries "in the medium to long-term," Reuters states.
Abdolnasser Hemmati said on Friday that "enemies" failed to realize their objectives from imposing sanctions on Iran which was "as they had asserted to destroy the national currency as a prelude to overthrow the state."
Hemmati's comments on Instagram came amid reports that the rial had resumed its long-anticipated recovery against the US dollar on Thursday as it traded 118,000 against the greenback, a surge of around 13 percent compared to earlier in July when each dollar had been sold for 135,000 Iranian rials. Hemmati said:
"Today, me and my colleagues in the CBI are proud that we have had a tiny share in the all-out resistance and victory of the Iranian people against this big plot (which came) in one of the most sensitive periods of the country's history."The official, however, admitted that US sanctions had caused difficulties for the Iranian households through the shocks they created in the markets and the increased inflation that followed.
Comment: See also:
- Iranian rial plummets to record low against dollar - central bank blames 'nation's enemies'
- Rial Attack! International speculators manipulate Iranian currency downwards
- Iranian rial plummets to record low despite record oil output
- Dumping the dollar: Iran to report foreign currency amounts in euros rather than US dollars
Huawei was placed by Washington on a blacklist in mid-May that effectively blocks U.S. firms from doing business with the Shenzhen-based firm.
Chinese authorities investigating FedEx suspect it illegally held back more than 100 Huawei packages and has also violated other laws, state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday.
FedEx in a statement on Friday afternoon said:
"These shipments in question were handled while we were trying to comply with the U.S. DOC BIS order which was unclear and resulted in considerable complexity for our operations. We apologize for any confusion or harm to our customers as a result."Beijing started a probe into FedEx last month after Huawei said the U.S. delivery firm had diverted parcels intended for the company. Xinhua said on Friday that investigators also discovered "clues to other violations". On Thursday, Huawei had accused U.S.-listed Flex of seizing its goods in China.
In an interview with the Haló noviny newspaper, retired Major Balik said that in 2000 Putin saved Russia "at the very last moment."
"Money had already been printed for those parts of Russia that were supposed to become independent. Russia was going to dismember just like Yugoslavia. Instead of Russia, there were supposed to be about ten new states, so as to finally colonize and plunder what was left of the USSR. It was to suffer the fate of modern Ukraine, which has already begun to split up. With Russia as a state planned to end forever, Russians would turn into powerless slaves who would work for beggarly wages for Western corporations, primarily American, German and British," said Balik.
Comment: More from the original Czech language article (machine translation):
Russia's greatest sin is that it has not become a colony as we have become. In 2000, Putin rescued Russia in twelve seconds. Money was already being printed for parts of Russia that were supposed to have independence. Russia should have been parceled about as Yugoslavia. Instead of Russia, about ten state units were to be established, and thus could be definitively colonized and exploited like today's Ukraine, which is already beginning to crumble. Russia was to be definitively destroyed as a state. The Russians were to become lawless slaves who would work for begging wages for Western corporations, mainly from the US, Germany and Great Britain. Such a plan was already after the First World War, when the agreement supported white generals, who were to become instruments in the liquidation of Russia.
As always, it was geopolitics and mineral wealth. It doesn't matter what the regime is in Russia. The West has always wanted to destroy Russia as a state. Hitler tried it a second time, and without the help of the West he would not have become as strong as he had not had the army he had. Hitler's attempt also failed at the cost of more than 27 million dead Soviet citizens. Today, we are brainwashed in everything about Russia's history. Russia is always depicted as an aggressor. Only the suicide politics of Yeltsin were taken to mercy. President Putin's patriotic policy is depicted as aggressive, which is said to threaten Europe and the world.
You know, it would be for the whole lecture, which I also publish on the Internet. We must tell our people the truth. There is no security threat from Russia! On the other hand, Islamic terrorism is a real security threat, 'thanks to' American policy in the Middle East and Mrs Merkel's suicide policy, and I am also lecturing and writing about all of this. There are two on the market - Our struggle with the Islamic State and Islamists and the twilight of Europe . Our citizens must be truthfully informed about the real security threats. It's not from Russia and China. China is transforming itself into a real power that already produces more goods than the US. China is a powerful power and the US is a declining power. That is why the policy of President Zeman, who is seeking economic cooperation with Russia and China, must be appreciated. Our country is small and cannot afford isolation from dynamically developing countries.
The biggest tragedy for our economy is economic sanctions against Russia. The US and Germany are actually doing business because they are hypocritical countries, and our international government is doing everything according to Brussels and Berlin.















Comment: See also: