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US hints at naval blockade of Russian energy exports - Moscow warns would be "an act of war"

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Tue, 02 Oct 2018 15:00 UTC
Ryan Zinke Interior secretary US
© State Impact Pennsylvania
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke speaking at an industry event on Friday, September 28, 2018.
In a interview about fracking and the implications of making the United States less dependent on foreign sources of energy, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke told the Washington Examiner that the US Navy has the ability to blockade Russia from controlling energy supplies in the Middle East.

"The United States has that ability, with our Navy, to make sure the sea lanes are open, and, if necessary, to blockade... to make sure that their energy does not go to market," Zinke said on Friday at a Consumer Energy Alliance event in Pittsburg.

The comments came as Russia, Germany and other European partners move forward on the Nord Stream II pipeline - something President Trump has vehemently opposed because of the leverage it gives Russia over Europe, and something which US officials have discussed sanctions over if Russia decides to play dirty with the pipeline.

Comment: If the US is hoping to get some bargaining leverage with such a veiled threat, they are mistaken. Between China and Russia, shipping lanes in the Pacific will be very well defended. Let's hope the US doesn't do anything stupid.

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Broom

Iran and Hezbollah are ready to face any challenge, but are Israel and the US?

Elijah J. Magnier
American Herald Tribune
Tue, 02 Oct 2018 12:21 UTC
netanyahu
Israel, through its Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, is waving the flag of war in the face of Iran and Hezbollah, showing what is claimed to be a "secret nuclear facility in Iran and Hezbollah strategic missile warehouse in the heart of the capital Beirut". The "secret nuclear facility" has been debunked by Iranians living in the area- the pictures were taken in front of what turned out to be a carpet factory. In Beirut, the AMAL movement led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri constructed a gate long ago, closing the visible path towards a boat repair hangar at Ouzai. The real question is: What Israel is trying to do or say?

No one in Lebanon can be certain whether a war is being prepared against Hezbollah, Iran's partner which shares its ideology and objectives to "support the oppressed around the world". Israel and the US may, in fact, be preparing war against Iran and Hezbollah, in which case the possibility of war against Lebanon is not far-fetched. I say against Lebanon because Hezbollah, along with the Shia society that protects and is part of the organization, represents around 25 to 30 percent of the Lebanese population - not counting other religions and secular political parties who share Hezbollah's goal to serve as a balancing power protecting Lebanon from Israel.

Comment: 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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Chess

Serbian president to visit Putin, discuss ramifications of Kosovo border crisis


RT
Tue, 02 Oct 2018 11:25 UTC
Aleksandar Vucic Vladimir Putin
© Ramil Sitdikov / Sputnik
Aleksandar Vucic and Vladimir Putin.
Days after placing the Serbian military on high alert over a border incident with Kosovo, President Aleksandar Vucic is visiting Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

While Vucic said the situation with the incursion of Kosovan commandos would be part of the discussion with Putin, the Kremlin stressed that the visit had been planned months ahead and was not directly linked to tension in the Balkans. Vucic last visited Russia in May during Victory Day celebrations and, before that, in December last year.

Last Saturday, dozens of Kosovan troops entered a predominantly Serb enclave in the north of the self-proclaimed republic, seizing several industrial sites. The incursion, which violated agreements between Belgrade and Pristina, was justified by security concerns during a visit by Kosovan leader Hashim Thaci. Serbia protested against the move and put its troops on high alert in response.

Comment: See also:

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Map

Russian General: Syria ready to open Quinetra checkpoint at border with Israel


Sputnik
Tue, 02 Oct 2018 11:25 UTC
Syrian war Quinetra
© Sputnik / Valeriy Melnikov
The Quneitra border crossing between Syria and Israel is ready for opening in the Arab republic, Lt. Gen. Sergei Kuralenko, the deputy commander of the Russian forces in Syria, told journalists on Tuesday.

In late September, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that the Jewish state was ready to open the Quneitra checkpoint, adding that "now the ball is in the Syrian court."

Comment: The border may have been officially closed but it leaked like a sieve with supplies for terrorists:

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Quenelle

Iran slams Saudi Arabia as top 'terrorist sponsor' at the UN


RT
Tue, 02 Oct 2018 11:25 UTC
Al-Qaeda Jabhat al-Nusra
© Omar Haj Kadour / AFP
Members of Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria.
A fiery speech by an Iranian representative, responding to Saudi accusations at the UN General Assembly, blamed terrorist activity around the globe on Riyadh - and even quoted Hillary Clinton to back the claim.

Accusing Iran of supporting terrorism was a "strange and outlandish claim" by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir, the Iranian representative said. He was addressing the United Nations in Arabic, explaining that he was doing so in order "to make sure that our position is rendered clear" to Riyadh.

"Everybody knows that Saudi Arabia supports terrorism in a very blatant and widespread manner," the diplomat said. He then added, unexpectedly, that "in the framework of WikiLeaks in 2009, Hillary Clinton is said to have stated that Saudi Arabia is the greatest donor to terrorist groups around the world."

Comment: Also see:

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Penis Pump

"They have to keep us happy": Trump claims India eager to talk as US doles out more tariff threats


RT
Tue, 02 Oct 2018 03:29 UTC
Trump Modhi
© Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Already engaged in numerous trade disputes across the globe, Donald Trump has slammed India as a "tariff king" that is clinging to the "privilege" of trading with the US and struggling to negotiate a deal to appease Washington.

"India, which is the tariff king, they called us and they said, 'We want to start negotiations immediately,'" Trump said on Monday as he announced a new trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada that would replace the 1994 NAFTA.

New Delhi allegedly reached out to United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in an effort to negotiate new terms just to keep President Trump "happy."

"Isn't that nice? Isn't that nice? It's true. They have to keep us happy, because they understand that we're wise to what's been happening," Trump claimed on Monday.

Comment: More hot air from the deflating US empire: Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: What's The Problem With Nationalism?

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No Entry

Chinese destroyer chases USS Decatur in South China Sea


RT
Tue, 02 Oct 2018 01:09 UTC
USS Decatur
© Diana Quinlan/US Navy / Reuters
FILE PHOTO: USS Decatur
A Chinese destroyer sent to escort the USS Decatur on a 'freedom of navigation' sail-by in the disputed South China Sea came dangerously close and forced the US vessel to maneuver to "prevent collision," the US Navy said.

The encounter between the US and Chinese Navies unfolded on Sunday morning when the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, sailing under the 'freedom of navigation' principle, approached close to one of the Gaven Reefs in the Tizard Bank of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.

In response, China dispatched a Luyang-class destroyer to escort the American warship away from the disputed area, allegedly behaving in an "unsafe and unprofessional" manner, according to the US version of events.

The Chinese destroyer conducted "a series of increasingly aggressive maneuvers accompanied by warnings for Decatur to depart the area," Captain Charlie Brown, a US Pacific Fleet spokesman, said on Monday. "The PRC destroyer approached within 45 yards of Decatur's bow, after which Decatur maneuvered to prevent a collision."

Comment: As with most rules, the 'Freedom of Navigation principle' only really applies to the West's competitors: US media loses it when Russian 'spy' ship makes annual trip to the Caribbean

See also:

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Bell

Moscow slams Kosovo invasion of Serb-majority area - "could've started new spiral of violence"


RT
Mon, 01 Oct 2018 07:08 UTC
kosovo police
© Laura Hasani / Reuters
A man rides on a scooter along a street past parked Kosovo police armored vehicles in Kosovo, on March 27, 2018.
The "reckless" intrusion of Kosovar Special Forces into the Serb-majority area of Kosovo could have sent the entire Balkans into a new spiral of violence, the Russian Foreign Ministry has warned.

The ministry's comment was provoked by a recent incident, involving Kosovar police entering a northern part of the breakaway region, which is populated by ethnic Serbs. Pristina considers this area to be part of its self-proclaimed state while the locals refuse to recognize its authority, adding fuel to an already tense situation in relations between Pristina and Belgrade.

An "ostentatious invasion of Kosovo's police special forces to the Serb regions in the northern part of the [area] on September 29, which violated the agreements between Belgrade and Pristina, was a provocation aimed at intimidating the Serbs living in Kosovo and exerting pressure on Serbia," the Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement Monday.

Such "reckless actions" could have led to the "renewed bloodshed in Kosovo and the destabilization of the whole Balkan region," she warned, adding that Kosovo's continued attempts to take control over the Serb-inhabited areas would only lead to the escalation of the ethnic tensions.

Comment: See also:

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Flashlight

Lebanon refutes Israeli claim that they host Hezbollah missile sites


RFE/RL
Tue, 02 Oct 2018 07:02 UTC
Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil
© Reuters
Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil
Lebanon's foreign minister has escorted dozens of ambassadors on a tour of facilities near the Beirut international airport in a bid to disprove Israeli allegations that the Iran-backed Hizballah movement is secretly assembling missiles there.

Gebran Bassil told the group of over 70 diplomats and a handful of journalists on the October 1 tour that his government would not allow rocket facilities near the airport and that Hizballah is "wiser" than to place them there. He said Israel's claims are "inaccurate" and are not backed by "compelling evidence."

"Lebanon demands that Israel ceases its madness," he said.


Comment: Good luck with that!


In a speech before the UN General Assembly last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the powerful Shi'ite militia of assembling precision-guided missiles near the airport and hiding them among civilians. He held up an aerial image of the area with three alleged missile sites labeled.

Netanyahu accused Hizballah and its sponsor Iran of using Beirut residents as human shields.


Comment: Just like the Israeli jets did with the Russian Il-20? And just like the IDF repeatedly does by using Palestinian as human shields on their raids in the West Bank? This is pure projection.


Bassil said his tour was not "a fact-finding mission," but part of a "counter-diplomatic campaign" to rebut the allegations, which he said could serve as a pretext for an Israeli attack.

Comment: See also: Iran, Israel exchange barbs during UNGA debates with Syria at heart of discord

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Propaganda

Election Interference: Senior Google search engineer advocates for censorship of Republican Tennessee senate candidate

Allum Bokhari
Breitbart
Mon, 01 Oct 2018 00:00 UTC
Marsha Blackburn
© AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
A senior software engineer at Google with responsibility for a key feature of Google's search engine labeled Tennessee Senate candidate Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) a "violent thug" and a "terrorist," who Google shouldn't "negotiate" with, according to internal emails obtained by Breitbart News. The employee also defended the censorship of her campaign ads on social media.

The comments took place in an internal email discussion that began on June 19 this year. The topic of discussion was Rep. Blackburn's Fox News op-ed of the same month, which urged Silicon Valley companies to address bias against conservatives on their platforms. Blackburn, who has herself been the target of social media censorship, has been a vocal critic of tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Twitter during her time in Congress.

Comment: See also:

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