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Putin promises to look into complaints of Jehovah's Witnesses persecution


RFE/RL
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 15:22 UTC
Jehovah’s Witnesses russia
© Tom Balmforth / RFE/RL
Jehovah’s Witnesses sings hymns during a service in Russia in April 2017.
The Kremlin says it will look into charges that Jehovah's Witnesses are being subjected to persecution in Russia.

Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, said in Moscow on December 18 that "it is necessary to look into each individual case."

"The issue cannot be settled theoretically because there are many factors arguing 'for' and 'against,'" he said. "But at the very least, they will look into this matter more carefully."

Peskov was amplifying comments made by Putin on December 11 during a Kremlin meeting with the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights.

Council member and political analyst Yekaterina Shulman told Putin that 404 of the 489 entries on Russia's list of extremist organizations were Jehovah's Witnesses chapters, even though "they certainly do not incite violence or carry it out."

Putin responded by saying that "probably we can, and even at some point should, be much more liberal toward representatives of various religious sects."

"It is true that we should treat representatives of all religions the same, but it is also necessary to take into account the country and the society in which we live," Putin said.

"Granted, this certainly does not mean that we should label representatives of religious communities as members of destructive, even terrorist, organizations. That is complete nonsense and this needs to be dealt with carefully."
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Rocket

Report admits US unable to defend against Russian, Chinese hypersonic weapons

James Rogers
Forx News
Mon, 17 Dec 2018 14:42 UTC
putin hypersonic
© Mikhail Metzel / TASS via Getty Images
The video screen shows the Kinzhal missile system as Russia's President Vladimir Putin delivers an annual address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, at Moscow's Manezh Central Exhibition Hall.
The U.S. lacks the defenses needed to protect against a new breed of highly sophisticated hypersonic weapons from China and Russia, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.

"China and Russia are pursuing hypersonic weapons because their speed, altitude and maneuverability may defeat most missile defense systems, and they may be used to improve long-range conventional and nuclear strike capabilities," the report said. "There are no existing countermeasures."

Earlier this year, the Russian military said it ran a successful test of a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile capable of sneaking through enemy defenses.

A video posted by the Defense Ministry Sunday showed a MiG-31 fighter jet launching a Kinzhal (Dagger) missile during a training flight. The ministry said the missile, which carried a conventional warhead, hit a practice target at a firing range in southern Russia.

Comment: When Putin first announced Russia's new weaponry, the Western media and politicians went into a state of denial, strongly implying that Putin was bluffing and Russia didn't have the capabilities he said they did. Well, Russia does have those capabilities. At least the military is coming around to accepting reality.

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Info

Theresa May announces Brexit deal vote after Jeremy Corbyn threatens motion of no-confidence

Adam Bienkov
Business Insider
Mon, 17 Dec 2018 14:36 UTC
corbyn may
© REUTERS/Toby Melville
Theresa May has confirmed that Parliament will have a vote on her Brexit deal on the week of January 14 after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn threatened to call a vote of no-confidence in her as prime minister.

A spokesperson for Corbyn confirmed to Business Insider that he would call a vote of no confidence in May on Monday afternoon if she refused to set out a date for the parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal.

The non-binding no confidence motion would have been targeted at May personally, rather than her government, in an attempt to win over Conservative critics of the prime minister.

However, speaking to the House of Commons on Monday afternoon, May confirmed that the Brexit deal will be voted on by MPs in the week of January 14.

"I can confirm that we will return to the meaningful vote debate on the week of 7th January and put it to a vote in the week after," she said.

Comment: See also:

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Eye 1

Senate reports blame 'Russians' for low voter turnout among African-Americans in 2016


RT
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 11:29 UTC
Black African American protests Hillary Clinton
© Reuters / Tami Chappell
African-American protesters interrupt Hillary Clinton speech in Atlanta, Georgia, October 30, 2015
Low voter turnout among African-Americans is usually blamed on purged voter rolls or decades of socioeconomic stasis - but in 2016, 'evil' Russia was the main culprit, according to two controversial reports for the US Senate.

Though described as "Senate reports" by mainstream US media outlets, the two documents were actually compiled by third parties. The first was produced by a consultancy called New Knowledge, with the help of two other researchers, while the second was done by a group at Oxford University and the UK research firm Graphika.

By the social media giants' own admission, the criteria for labeling posts as "Russian" is so broad as to be practically meaningless. That hasn't stopped the authors of the two reports, though, who saw President Vladimir Putin's fingerprints on every keyboard and under every bed. In particular, they argued, the "Russians" sought to depress the 2016 turnout by targeting Black Americans.

Comment: RFE/RL has more on these ridiculous Senate reports:
Two reports produced for the U.S. Senate document the far-reaching influence campaign run by Russian operatives to sway U.S. voters' opinions during the 2016 presidential election campaign.

The reports, released on December 17, were prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee, one of the leading congressional panels investigating how Russia sought to influence the election that was won by President Donald Trump.
So now the world has solid 'proof' that, far beyond Facebook ads featuring cute puppy-dogs and a couple thousand lame Tweets about everything under the sun, "All of the [social media] messaging clearly sought to benefit the Republican Party -- and specifically Donald Trump," according to these Senate reports. No doubt they gave the data a long massage to reach the conclusions they wanted to reach.

While the narrative continues to change RFE/RL hints at who the main threat is:
According to the Washington Post, the report expresses concern about the overall threat that social media poses to political debate within and between countries, warning that social media companies are now threats to democracy.

"Social media have gone from being the natural infrastructure for sharing collective grievances and coordinating civic engagement to being a computational tool for social control, manipulated by canny political consultants and available to politicians in democracies and dictatorships alike," the report was quoted as saying.
People sharing information freely and discussing ideas outside the limits set by the MSM. That is the threat posed by social media - a threat that has the entire Establishment up in arms.

Russian presidential spokesman naturally found the report to be absurd:
"What I've read about this report can't cause anything but incomprehension," Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday. He said accusations mentioned in the papers are vague and don't explain the link between Russia and the alleged meddling in 2016 elections.
(...)
Firing back, Peskov reminded that "we are being assigned the blame that something critically views this or that situation in the US," adding the new documents don't explain "how it relates to Russia."
Also see:

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Chart Pie

Qatar Petroleum to invest at least $20 billion in US after quitting OPEC


CNBC
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 11:29 UTC
Qatar Petroleum
Qatar Petroleum (QP) is looking to invest at least $20 billion in the United States over the coming few years, its chief executive told Reuters, after the Gulf Arab state quit OPEC, freeing Doha from potential legal risks in the United States.

Saad al-Kaabi, who holds the energy portfolio of the world's top liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer, also said on Sunday QP aimed to announce its foreign partners for the new LNG trains it is building by the middle of next year.

But he added QP could carry out the project alone, with no international oil company at its side, if no good offers were made.
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Arrow Down

May's Cabinet denies second referendum rumors

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 11:29 UTC
Theresa May
© Paul Ellis/WPA Pool/Getty Images
Prime Minister Theresa May
After the Brexit-related developments of the past few days, Prime Minister Theresa May will have a lot of explaining to do during what's likely to be another contentious round of PMQs Monday morning. Following reports that members of May's cabinet have been reaching across the floor to discuss the feasibility of calling a second Brexit referendum (what supporters have shrewdly branded as a "People's Vote"), members of the prime minister's government have scrambled to make clear that they have absolutely zero intention of resorting to such a callous disregard of the popular will (despite the fact that it's probably the only sensible option available to May if she wants to avert a hard Brexit).

The logic behind a second vote makes sense: Either the people will deliver a popular mandate for MPs to accept Theresa May's deal, or they will cancel Brexit all together (because thanks to "Project Fear", the prospect of allowing a 'no deal' Brexit is just unthinkable).
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Light Saber

While Western countries stall constitutional committee, Syria is focusing on terrorist defeat in Idlib - Syrian Foreign Minister


Sputnik
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 20:55 UTC
Idlib Syria
© AFP 2018 / Karam Al-Masri
The Syrian government's priority is to free the northwestern Idlib province from terrorists, the country's foreign minister Walid Moallem stated.

Speaking at Damascus University on Sunday Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said that the country's authorities were in constant coordination with Russia on Idlib, according to state news agency SANA.

He accused Turkey of violating the October deal with Russia to set up a buffer zone in the province between Syrian troops and armed opposition, but stressed that Damascus preferred political dialogue.

Comment: It's curious that while Syria is close to defeating the remnants of the Western-backed terrorists, the US' seems to have ramped up it's airstrikes in the region (mostly killing civilians), meanwhile Saudi Arabia decided to break their ceasefire with Yemen and Israel is taking the opportunity to antagonize Lebanon.

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No Entry

Lebanese military on high alert as Israelis roll out barbed wire on border


Sputnik
Mon, 17 Dec 2018 19:16 UTC
UN lebanon
© AP Photo / Hussein Malla
Tensions between Israel and Lebanon have been boiling in the past month, with Tel Aviv accusing the Lebanon-based political and militant group Hezbollah of digging cross-border tunnels with the aim of infiltrating the Jewish state.

Beirut put its military on high alert on Monday after a border altercation with the Israeli forces. According to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency, military mobilisation was announced in the southern Lebanese village of Meiss Ej Jabal after three Israeli excavators crossed the technical fence and started digging works without trespassing the border demarcation line. They had also rolled out a 200-metre barbed wire, the NNA said.

Lebanese news site Yameis published a video on Facebook, which purportedly shows an argument between the two sides in the vicinity of Meiss Ej Jabal. The UN peacekeeping forces reportedly intervened in the scuffle.

Comment: Netanyahu recently declared himself defense minister (in addition to being PM, foreign & health minister), so one can expect Israel to reach new depths of depravity.

See also: And check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Israeli-French Deception Downs Russian Spy Plane Off Syria, US Escalates 'Regime Change' Against Iran

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Snakes in Suits

Macron admits "we didn't listen": 7 dead, hundreds injured and thousands detained over 5 weeks of Yellow Vests protests


RT
Mon, 17 Dec 2018 08:13 UTC
yellow vests
© AFP
Protesters wearing yellow vests set up a barricade during a demonstration against rising costs of living they blame on high taxes in Bordeaux
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has acknowledged that the government made mistakes while handing the massive Yellow Vest protests that have gripped the country for the past five weeks.

"We made mistakes. We did not listen enough to the French people. I remain convinced that they want this country to be transformed," he told Les Echoes newspaper on Sunday.


Comment: It seems Macron is still not listening, because they also said they want him gone.


Violence at the demonstrations has been hitting record levels with hundreds of protesters injured since November 17. At least seven people died during the protests. Police officers have also suffered injuries.

Comment: The protesters who enjoy support from the vast majority of French people have made their demands quite clear, and it seems Macron has come to realize it's going to take a lot more than aggressive police tactics and offers of "crumbs" to placate the country.

See also: And check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Révolution Jaune? France Revolts Against Macron

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Dollars

The Pentagon wants Saudi Arabia to pay back $331 million in "free fuel" used by jets in Yemen war

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 10:29 UTC
america saudi refueling
© AFP/Getty
A week after a bombshell report based on Pentagon records filed at Congressional request revealed the Pentagon has been fueling Saudi and UAE jets bombing Yemen for the past three years jets free of charge due to "errors in accounting," the United States wants its money back. Records now indicate the US taxpayer is on the hook for a $331 million shortfall, split between $36.8 million in fuel and $294.3 million in U.S. flight hours, according to the latest DoD statements - a vastly higher sum than the mere "tens of millions" floated in initial reports last week.

The fact that the Saudis "never directly paid the U.S. a penny," according to The Atlantic, was revealed shortly after the Senate voted unanimously on Thursday to hold Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible for the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a historic move with huge significance yet largely symbolic in terms of what action it can effect.

When pressed by journalists over whether either the Saudis or Emiratis had reimbursed the U.S. at all, the Pentagon stated that the "UAE has provided some repayment for refueling services." And further according to correspondent Samuel Oakford,
The Pentagon later confirmed that the Saudis have not made any payments - a stunning revelation given the amount of attention the campaign has received.

Comment: See also:

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