Puppet Masters

Iranian FM slams US for using sanctions to wage 'economic terrorism'

Sputnik
Thu, 01 Nov 2018 10:43 UTC

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi

The Iranian foreign ministry has responded to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's claims about an Iranian economy on a road to "ruin."

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi has lashed out at Pompeo over projections of a 3.6 percent decline in Iran's GDP in 2019 due to its support for the Syrian government, suggesting such claims are "merely based on populism" and "fallacy," and that Iran's contribution to the fight against terrorism in the region has raised concerns among US officials.

"The American officials are seeking to find a pretext to cover up their crimes against the people in the region and Iran, using economic terrorism and oppressive and illegal sanctions as a tool," Qassemi said in a press briefing on Tuesday, PressTV has reported.

Oh the irony! 'Act normal, stop putting Asia, Africa and Latin America into debt', US tells China

RT
Thu, 01 Nov 2018 09:20 UTC

Washington is pressuring Beijing to act like a "normal nation" on the world stage, Mike Pompeo has repeated, accusing China, ironically, of disregarding international laws and seeking to impose "decades of pain" around the globe.

"We're very worried that China will put the people in many countries around the world, in Africa and Central America and Latin America, in a debt trap that will cause those countries decades of pain," the Secretary of State said on the Laura Ingraham Show, stressing that Donald Trump's administration is the first one to recognize the danger, one which it is more-than-willing to tackle.

"China is probably, over the long term, the biggest challenge, national security challenge that faces our country."

For the US, among the biggest threats posed by China is the theft of intellectual property, which Trump has vowed to root out, Pompeo reiterated. Conveniently unsealed on Tuesday, charges by the Justice Department against a group of Chinese intelligence officers who allegedly tried to steal US aviation secrets is the latest "mosaic of our strategic effort" to push back against Beijing, the diplomat noted.

Comment: Funny for Washington to dictate that China should 'behave like a normal nation'. If anything, the US will be the one to cause 'decades of pain' should they go to war with them. See also:

Is a US-China war in the future? Russia preparing for conflict? We've just had a week of warmongering predictions by top officials

RT
Tue, 30 Oct 2018 22:31 UTC

Several top officials have issued thinly veiled - and outright blunt - 'warnings' about war over the past week. While the beating of war drums worldwide remains just hot air for now, many messengers seem a bit too eager about it. War between US and China just 10-15 years away

A grim prognosis was made by former US commander in Europe Lieutenant-General Ben Hodges (retired), who spoke last week at the Warsaw Security Forum. He urged European countries to do more for their own "security," explaining that Washington has "to deal with the Chinese threat" in the Pacific.

The United States needs a very strong European pillar. I think in 15 years - it's not inevitable - but it is a very strong likelihood that we will be at war with China.

While European security remains top priority for the US, the former official added, the country will also have to prepare for "the eventuality that in 10 or 15 years we're going to be having to fight in the Pacific."

Inoffensively disastrous: Merkel's bland approach to rule should not permit her to get away with historic failure

Igor Ogorodnev
RT
Wed, 31 Oct 2018 13:14 UTC

The departing German chancellor leaves her country with a fractured domestic political scene and myriad intractable social challenges, the EU as weak as it has ever been, and grave international crises no closer to resolution.

Angel Merkel's latest political obituaries have been as mealy-mouthed as her persona, designed to wearily sap drama in keeping with her (optimistic) three-year warning about leaving her post, which she announced on Monday. Her entire legacy has been written in these cushioned terms, from her 'Mutti' (mother) persona, to 'Merkeln' (a neologism meaning 'to dither'), and now to the extended 'Merkeldammerung' (Merkel twilight) that awaits.

This needs to stop now. Merkel's is no one's Mutti. Governing in accordance with unexamined centrist truisms even as the world confronts unprecedented existential challenges of globalization and technology, she is Canute, she is enfeebled and rheumy-eyed King Theoden from Lord of the Rings, she is Neville Chamberlain who isn't buying time for anything but her own downfall.

For years, Merkel's electoral success was prima facie evidence of her competence - how can someone be wrong if they are elected by tens of millions through four terms?

Comment: See also:

Why did media and Democrats abandon their investigation into Brett Kavanaugh?

Mollie Hemingway
The Federalist
Wed, 31 Oct 2018 20:45 UTC

What happened to the multiple allegations of sexual misconduct levied against Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation battle? The claims ranged from Christine Blasey Ford's remotely plausible if unsubstantiated allegation of a violent attempted rape to Michael Avenatti's completely outlandish and also unsubstantiated allegation of hosting serial gang rape parties.

From September 12 to October 6, the claims absolutely dominated all major media. They ran on the front pages of all major newspapers and filled the hours on cable and network news. Magazine journalists at The New Yorker ran with the claims, despite massive corroboration problems.

The claims were taken so seriously by the media and some U.S. senators it led to serious delays of the confirmation voting process. A hearing was held during and after which all the talking heads on cable asserted Blasey Ford was completely "credible." Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, even maneuvered to reopen an FBI investigation to dig into the claims. Then they disappeared. Overnight.

Comment: This story has all the hallmarks of having been political hit job, and the fact that this story and any further investigations have been dropped like hot potatoes shows just how much the media and the Democrats "cared" about Ford and the other alleged victims.

Ominous casting call: Russian MOD says White Helmets hiring locals for staged chemical attacks, paying in food

Sputnik
Wed, 31 Oct 2018 21:16 UTC

According to intelligence information available to the Russian defense ministry, Daesh (ISIS)* has committed some 57 terrorist attacks and members of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces since September 1.

Terrorists Planning Provocation Using Chemical Weapons in Aleppo, Elsewhere

Militants in several Syrian regions including Aleppo are engaged in planning provocations involving the use of chemical weapons including chlorine, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said, citing information provided by the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria.

"We have repeatedly informed the public about attempts by radical militants and the White Helmets, notorious for their fakes, to organize provocations using chemical agents and accusing government forces of using chemical weapons against the local population," Konashenkov noted, speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday.

Comment:

Trumps may send up to 15,000 troops to block migrant caravan from entering US

RT
Wed, 31 Oct 2018 21:17 UTC

President Donald Trump says he may send up to 15,000 troops to border with Mexico where thousands of people are heading in a caravan seeking entry to US. This is more than double the number voiced previously by the Pentagon.

"We may go up to anywhere between 10,000 and 15,000 military personnel," in addition to the existing border patrol staff, Trump told reporters outside the White House on Wednesday. By comparison, the US currently has approximately 14,000 troops in Afghanistan.

"Nobody's coming in," Trump said, adding that his administration will not allow in any immigrants who "don't have the well-being of our country in mind." He pointed to the violent incidents where members of both migrant caravans clashed with Mexican border guards and police, breaking through border fences.

Iran International TV station in UK reportedly outed as propaganda outlet funded by the Saudi royal court

Saeed Kamali Dehghan
RT
Wed, 31 Oct 2018 20:34 UTC

A UK-based Iranian TV station is being funded through a secretive offshore entity and a company whose director is a Saudi Arabian businessman with close links to the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Guardian can reveal.

The disclosures are likely to raise concerns about the editorial independence of Iran International, and comes at a time of growing fears about a number of Saudi-linked stations operating across London.

A source has told the Guardian that Prince Mohammed, who many believe is responsible for the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, is the force behind Iran International. The station, which is operating out of Chiswick, has not denied claims that it receives its funding from the Saudi royal court.

Merkel is 'autocratic' leader who turned own party into political graveyard - ex-OSCE Assembly VP

RT
Wed, 31 Oct 2018 20:18 UTC

Angela Merkel's coalition, plagued by election failures and shrinking support, has come to this because of her autocratic inclinations and allergy towards fellow party leaders, the former VP of the OSCE Assembly told RT.

Willy Wimmer, who also served as State Secretary to Germany's defense minister, has provided his take on Chancellor Angela Merkel on the heels of her decision not to run for a fifth term. The problems now gripping her government began to snowball years ago, according to the retired conservative politician from the Christian Democratic Union.

"It all started at the end of the last decade when it came to the financial crisis in the year 2008. Since then, she [has] made decisions [on] her own... in rather an autocratic way."

Merkel, who rose through the ranks of the Christian Democrats during the 1990s, is widely seen around the world as a leader who is able to come to terms with almost anyone. This is not the case at home, Wimmer argued, citing the chancellor's decision to get rid of nuclear power and shutting down the proposal to revive the military draft.

'Dixie Claire': Fellow Dem compares Senator McCaskill to slave owner

RT
Wed, 31 Oct 2018 20:17 UTC

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) has found herself in a public (and very vitriolic) spat with a fellow Democrat who took to Twitter and compared her to a slave owner less than a week before midterm elections.

It all started when McCaskill decided to run a radio campaign ad describing herself as "not one of those crazy Democrats" in an obvious effort to secure moderate and middle-of-the-road voters as her poll numbers struggle.

Pushed by Fox News' Bret Baier to give examples of who those "crazy Democrats" actually were, McCaskill later referenced controversial Missouri Democratic state senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal, who once called for US President Donald Trump to be assassinated.

Comment: Claire's been having a rough couple of weeks

New Lt. Governor of Virginia Winsome Sears: "We're going to have safer neighborhoods, safer communities, and our children are going to get a good...

parzival

Bill Gates is going to be the one with the uncertain future,,, * New Lt. Governor of Virginia Winsome Sears: "We're going to have safer...

parzival

The more we hear about adverse affects the more we will merely shrug. It's a catch 22. Is that an asteroid trail in the photo?

sass

Welcome to the new normal. The more sensory exposure we have about such things, the less it is an issue.

sass

more misbehaving phuqqin' jewzskies starring on the sott; speaks for itself

Jibrish

Puppet Masters

Iranian FM slams US for using sanctions to wage 'economic terrorism'

Oh the irony! 'Act normal, stop putting Asia, Africa and Latin America into debt', US tells China

Is a US-China war in the future? Russia preparing for conflict? We've just had a week of warmongering predictions by top officials

Inoffensively disastrous: Merkel's bland approach to rule should not permit her to get away with historic failure

Why did media and Democrats abandon their investigation into Brett Kavanaugh?

Ominous casting call: Russian MOD says White Helmets hiring locals for staged chemical attacks, paying in food

Trumps may send up to 15,000 troops to block migrant caravan from entering US

Iran International TV station in UK reportedly outed as propaganda outlet funded by the Saudi royal court

Merkel is 'autocratic' leader who turned own party into political graveyard - ex-OSCE Assembly VP

'Dixie Claire': Fellow Dem compares Senator McCaskill to slave owner

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