Puppet Masters

Armenia assures its anti-corruption campaign will not impact ties with Russia

Tom Winter
Fort Russ News
Sun, 05 Aug 2018 14:37 UTC

Armenia, criticized by Moscow for the recent prosecution of pro-Russian officials, defended its "domestic" affairs Wednesday and assured that the anti-corruption campaign launched by the new government would not affect its ties with Russia.

"We take note of the international reactions to ongoing domestic procedures in Armenia. These are tied to the establishment of the rule of law, the independence of justice, and the fight against corruption," said Tigran Balayan, the spokesman of Armenian diplomacy in a statement. But these court cases "have nothing to do with Armenia's foreign policy," which aims to "further strengthen Russian-Armenian allied relations," he said.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who came to power in May, launched a massive anti-corruption campaign against former Armenian elites. Former President Robert Kocharian (1998-2008) was arrested last week and accused of rigging the 2008 presidential election in favor of his ally Serge Sarkissian.

In the same case, Yuri Khachaturov was also indicted. He is the Armenian Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military alliance led by Moscow. In 2008, Kachaturov held senior positions in the Armenian army.

Comment: See also:

Trump stands his ground on détente with Russia - And it's driving the war party crazy

Patrick Buchanan
The Unz Review
Fri, 20 Jul 2018 00:00 UTC

"Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

Under the Constitution, these are the offenses for which presidents can be impeached.

And to hear our elites, Donald Trump is guilty of them all.

Trump's refusal to challenge Vladimir Putin's claim at Helsinki - that his GRU boys did not hack Hillary Clinton's campaign - has been called treason, a refusal to do his sworn duty to protect and defend the United States, by a former director of the CIA.

Famed journalists and former high officials of the U.S. government have called Russia's hacking of the DNC "an act of war" comparable to Pearl Harbor.

The New York Times ran a story on how many are now charging Trump with treason. Others suggest Putin is blackmailing Trump, or has him on his payroll, or compromised Trump a long time ago.

Wailed Congressman Steve Cohen: "Where is our military folks? The Commander in Chief is in the hands of our enemy!"

Apparently, some on the left believe we need a military coup to save our democracy.

Comment: More on the Helsinki meeting between Trump and Putin that has gotten the pathological political class into an absolute froth:

Swedish-flagged vessel bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza intercepted by Israeli navy

IMEMCnews
Sun, 05 Aug 2018 09:25 UTC

The Israeli army Saturday morning said that it had taken over a European ship, the Swedish-flagged "Freedom," captained by John Turnbull of Vancouver, that was aimed at breaking the naval blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip by the occupation forces 12 years ago.

After the brutal violence and theft that the Norwegian-flagged Al Awda was subjected to, just days before, Captain Turnbull had stated that the participants and crew of the Freedom will not resist if boarded.

On its website, Ship To Gaza - Sweden, published the following statement;

Comment: Israel's army intercepted the second European vessel with pro-Palestinian activists on board in the Mediterranean Sea within less than a week's time, RIA Novosti reports citing the army press service.

The vessel, Freedom, was heading to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip.

FBI paid dossier author Christopher Steele, heavily redacted docs reveal

RT
Sat, 04 Aug 2018 14:11 UTC

The FBI has released 70 pages of documents related to contacts with British spy Christopher Steele, author of the notorious Trump-Russia dossier. Though almost entirely whited out, the documents still show FBI paid Steele.

The documents were released on Friday after the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch sued to get access to them under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The release consists of fifteen FD-1023 source reports, thirteen FD-209a contact reports, eleven FD-794b payment requests, a FD-1040 a document severing the bureau's relationship with Steele, and a FD-1057 form showing Steele was "verbally admonished" by the FBI for an unspecified transgression.

Comment: Corruption: from cover up to white out.

Islamic State is regrouping in Libya's lawless desert

Tom Westcott
Middle East Eye
Thu, 02 Aug 2018 11:45 UTC

© MEE/Tom Westcott
Mohamed al-Ghossri stands in 2016 in a building destroyed by an IS car bomb on the coastal highway between Misrata and Sirte.

IS is recruiting migrants in the south, supporting itself with banditry and human trafficking, while Western forces remain active

Driving towards Sirte on Libya's coastal highway, Major General Mohammed al-Ghossri gestures towards the desert expanse stretching south and shouts over his shoulder: "That's all IS down there."

For years, Libya's lawless desert south has remained largely outside the control of the country's competing governments. During the 2016 battle against the Islamic State (IS) in Sirte, senior IS leaders and fighters fled south into outlying desert and mountainous areas, where, largely unchecked, they have been able to regroup.

"Unfortunately, the Libyan desert is still full of IS forces, so we have to be very careful and stay alert, defending the borders of Sirte," says Ghossri, admitting that the Libyan forces affiliated to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) had been unable to pursue IS into the desert following the liberation of Sirte.

As we inspect the FISA applications closely, more mysteries arise concerning Joseph Mifsud

Margot Cleveland
The Federalist
Thu, 02 Aug 2018 00:00 UTC

What began as a deep-dive into the Trump Tower meeting unearthed yet further proof of the DOJ and FBI's abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

When CNN reported late Thursday that the president's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, intended to tell Special Counsel Robert Mueller that Donald Trump knew in advance of his son's June 2016 meeting with Russians who promised "dirt" on Hillary Clinton, the summer-time Trump Tower confab from two years ago re-entered the limelight.

A quick retweet of the story by Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff, pushing what I knew was a false narrative, sent me tumbling down the rabbit hole known presidentially as Spygate. What began as a deep-dive into the Trump Tower meeting unearthed yet further proof of the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation's abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to surveil former Trump advisor Carter Page and revealed additional evidence implicating the State Department in targeting Trump.

Duma Deputy Shvytkin: Liberation of Syrian territories a result of Putin-Trump talks

Paul Antonopoulos
FRN
Fri, 03 Aug 2018 00:00 UTC

The liberation of Syrian territories from terrorists with the help of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian army is a continuation of the negotiations between the presidents of Russia and the US, which took place previously in Helsinki, said Yury Shvytkin, deputy chairman of the Duma Defense Committee, (lower house of the Russian parliament).

Earlier, Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoi, the Russian Aerospace Forces Chief of Staff, said Damascus, with support from the Russian Aerospace Force, had control over the territories of As-Suwayda, Daraa and Quneitra provinces. In addition, on Thursday, UN peacekeepers, accompanied by Russian military police, conducted the first patrol in six years in the region that separates Syria and Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Shvytkin said;

"This is the continuation of the high-level conversation that took place between Trump and Vladimir Putin in that sense ... This was made possible by the efforts, first of all, by the grouping of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation in Syria and, of course, together with the Syrian Arab Army. This was made possible by professional and competent actions as well as an understanding of the emerging situation. And, of course, the liberation of these territories made it possible subsequently to propose that UN peacekeeping forces carry out actions appropriate."

Comment: Nice idea, wrong timing for America's explosive political arena.

Guardian: 'FSB spy' in US Embassy Moscow - a Russian hired by the US Secret Service

RT
Fri, 03 Aug 2018 17:22 UTC

Britain's Guardian newspaper is reporting that a Russian spy has been caught working in the US Embassy in Moscow. It's alleged she had been there for over a decade and was cunningly disguised as a Russian.

In revelations that frankly pose the question of whether America's security agencies should continue to use the term 'intelligence' when describing themselves, the Guardian alleges that the woman had actually been hired by the US Secret Service.

It's also claimed that having given the Russian national the all-clear to work at the very heart of America's diplomatic mission in Moscow, they then allowed her access "to the agency's intranet and email systems," including "the schedules of the president - current and past, vice-president and their spouses, including Hillary Clinton." The Secret Service was either working at a level of genius mere mortals cannot begin to understand, or they were being incredibly stupid. I know where my money is.

Comment: An inside job...well, indoors - at least that was how the Secret Service seemed to interpret it, according to the Guardian. But the Russians and US Secret Service have this to say: US Secret Service refutes Guardian over 'Russian spy embassy scoop'

US Secret Service refutes Guardian over 'Russian spy embassy scoop'

RT
Sat, 04 Aug 2018 02:12 UTC

US Secret Service has scolded the Guardian for "irresponsible and inaccurate" reporting on an alleged Russian spy at the US embassy in Moscow. Unfazed, the newspaper continued to spin the story calling it the 'tip of the iceberg.'

The British newspaper, never one to pass up a good Russia scare story, published a fresh one on Friday, citing multiple intelligence analysts to reinforce the idea that its own anonymously-sourced revelations of a suspected spy with high-level security clearance having been embedded for a decade in the US embassy in Moscow, "could be just the tip of the iceberg."

The Secret Service, meanwhile, has been issuing repeated rebuttals to the Guardian's reporting. The security officials were quite emphatic in bashing the article as "wrought with irresponsible and inaccurate reporting based on the claims of "anonymous sources'."

In its press release on Thursday, the Secret Service specifically points out that before the publication came out, it had provided the Guardian with background to the story "clearly refuting unfounded information" in its statement to the editor.

Comment: The Guardian, lowering its already dubious reputation for attention-grabbing fabrication.

If Turkey joins BRICS, could be 'serious shock' for US & EU says analyst

RT
Sat, 04 Aug 2018 10:09 UTC

As Turkey seeks to join the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) union, RT has talked to an analyst about what the country brings to the table for the world's emerging economies.

"The economy of Turkey is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, despite the political events of the recent years and its geographical proximity to hot spots in the Middle East," says analyst Vladimir Rojankovski from the International Financial Center.

"Turkey is a secular state with a predominantly Muslim population, it stands out favorably against other religious Islamic countries and monarchies in the region. Turkey's accession to the bloc of countries with the Russia-China vector is a serious shock for Europe and the United States," the analyst added.

In terms of GDP, Turkey ranks 17th in the world, Rojankovski notes. In terms of GDP, adjusted for PPP (purchasing power parity of citizens), it is 13th. This means that from the economic point of view Turkey is on par with all BRICS countries and is well ahead of South Africa.

Turkey's desire to join BRICS was announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday. "We are in the G20 with five of those countries. I wish they would take the necessary steps to let us in and we could take our place in BRICS," Erdogan told Hurriyet on the sidelines of the BRICS Forum in South Africa.

Comment: See also: New World Order: Erdogan wants BRICS to let Turkey in

Seriously, lets break down these words, and I am fully equipped for this task that I give to myself NOW. gives OSHA the authority to act quickly...

Buffalo_Ken

Forensic pathologists performed a postmortem and concluded that the man had probably died mid-flight Let me see ... he walked onto the plane,...

HashAttack2

This ain't no fucking real emergency. It is an effing emergency in the mind of a few....who thought they were gonna put the rest of us into...

Buffalo_Ken

The administration defended OSHA's legal right to issue these requirements, saying that the Occupational Safety and Health Act "gives OSHA the...

HashAttack2

Thanks, SOTT. Good read.

ReRan

Puppet Masters

Armenia assures its anti-corruption campaign will not impact ties with Russia

Trump stands his ground on détente with Russia - And it's driving the war party crazy

Swedish-flagged vessel bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza intercepted by Israeli navy

FBI paid dossier author Christopher Steele, heavily redacted docs reveal

Islamic State is regrouping in Libya's lawless desert

As we inspect the FISA applications closely, more mysteries arise concerning Joseph Mifsud

Duma Deputy Shvytkin: Liberation of Syrian territories a result of Putin-Trump talks

Guardian: 'FSB spy' in US Embassy Moscow - a Russian hired by the US Secret Service

US Secret Service refutes Guardian over 'Russian spy embassy scoop'

If Turkey joins BRICS, could be 'serious shock' for US & EU says analyst

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