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Fri, 29 Oct 2021
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Bullseye

Macron knows for Europeans the 'problem' country is not Russia but US

George Galloway
RT
Wed, 28 Aug 2019 16:55 UTC
trump
© REUTERS/Carlos Barria
'The End Times of Western Hegemony', I wish this were written by Macron although it might as well have been. He said exactly this after the G7 gathering which could be summed up in Shakespeare's words as "much ado about nothing."

Or to paraphrase Sherlock Holmes, a story of the dog that didn't bark, the shoes that didn't drop.

Most of the world's biggest economies are not members of the G7, although Italy is albeit represented by a caretaker prime minister and now technically bankrupt (and in possession of enough French banking creditors to drown Macron and the whole French economy). China, India, Brazil, Turkey, South Africa and of course Russia are not members and while some were willing to be patronized as "guests" others had more pride.

So, for example, the invisible issue of the US shredding of the INF and the siting of short-range nuclear missiles in Poland and Romania by NATO - though constituting a clear and present danger to the peace of the world - didn't get a look-in.Similarly the trade-wars currently rocking the world economy could not be properly dealt with because of the absence of China and other targets of US sanctions.
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Eye 2

Fugitive oligarch thug Khodorkovsky cuts funding to the underperforming fifth column in Russia


Stalker Zone
Wed, 28 Aug 2019 00:00 UTC
Mikhail Khodorkovsky
The fugitive oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky realised the senseless nature of his investments in the "opposition", which carried out protests that took place in the Russian capital in the run-up to the elections to the Moscow City Council. Now he is trying to distance himself from the controversial blogger Aleksey Navalny.

As a reminder, the representatives of the so-called opposition, who were sponsored by Khodorkovsky, failed the tasks assigned to them and were unable to lead the people in the direction they needed. At first, Navalny's associates tried to take part in the Moscow City Council election, but grossly violated the law and provided false signatures to the electoral commission. As a result, they were lawfully refused registration.

Then the "oppositionists" resorted to provocations and organised several rallies in Moscow, and some of these actions were carried out illegally. Thus, the unauthorised rally held on July 27th resulted in disorder and attacks on law enforcement officers ensuring the security of citizens and tourists. After that, almost all the organisers of the illegal action, as well as the participants of the unauthorised rally who committed offences, were arrested.


Comment: See:

Comment: Indeed, arch criminal Khodorkovsky did some kind of cost-benefit analysis and has found that some of his efforts to subvert and destroy the sovereign, lawful direction that Russia has taken are just not working. He'll just have to go back to the drawing board with his NATO-affiliated Atlantic Council cronies and try to figure out a new way to meddle.

See also:

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Arrow Up

Taliban says agreement with US on withdrawal from Afghanistan near


RFE/RL
Wed, 28 Aug 2019 16:46 UTC
Zalmay Khalilzad

The U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, during talks in the Qatari capital, Doha, in July
The Taliban has said an agreement is close with U.S. officials on a deal that would see American forces withdraw from Afghanistan in exchange for a Taliban promise the country would not become a haven for international militants.

The statement came during a ninth round of talks on August 28 in Qatar's capital, Doha, to end the 18-year Afghan conflict, as officials in the war-wracked country said that at least 14 pro-government militia members were killed by Taliban militants in the western province of Herat.

"We hope to have good news soon for our Muslim, independence-seeking nation," said Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Doha.

U.S. officials engaged in the talks with the Taliban in Doha were not immediately available for comment.

The U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, who has been leading the talks, is scheduled to be in Kabul to brief President Ashraf Ghani about the agreement, according to officials close to the negotiations.

Comment: See also:

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USA

The revolving door between government and cable news

J.D. Tuccille
Reason
Wed, 28 Aug 2019 16:42 UTC
Sarah Huckabee Sanders
© Ron Sachs/CNP/AdMedia/SIPA/Newscom
Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders
When former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders joined Fox News as a contributor last week, her announcement was greeted with a predictable flurry of jokes about the minimal difference between her new role at the conservative network and her old job for the Trump administration. But she was hardly the first government official of either major political faction to find a new perch in the media — or to move the other way, for that matter. It's all part of the creeping merger between the political class and the journalists supposedly tasked with subjecting government to scrutiny.

That kind of close relationship between the public and the nominally private sector isn't new. The revolving door between government and lobbying has long seen officials, both elected and appointed, move from powerful jobs regulating industry to well-paid jobs glad-handing their old colleagues on behalf of regulated industries. Although it troubles seemingly everybody, the relationship is inevitable given the power of the state and the need by companies to cultivate insider contacts to beg (or pay) for special favors or just leniency when navigating red tape.
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Chess

Pence says US considering steps to weaken Iranian-backed Shia militias in Iraq - good luck with that!


Sputnik
Wed, 28 Aug 2019 16:40 UTC
iraqi kurdistan
© Sputnik / Dmitriy Vinogradov
The US is considering steps to weaken Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia militias in addition to sanctions it had imposed earlier on the militia leaders, Vice President Mike Pence told Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in a phone conversation, according to a press release on Tuesday.

"Vice President Pence emphasized the United States' concern that Iran-backed militias continue to undermine Iraq's security and sovereignty and that the US government will consider additional steps to degrade such groups' influence", the release from Pence's office said.


Comment: Translation: the militias continue to undermine the U.S.'s ability to undermine Iraq's security and sovereignty.


In July, the United States imposed sanctions on Shia militia leaders responsible for human rights abuses, primarily against rival Sunni Muslims.

Pence also commended Barzani and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for providing refuge for civilians threatened by conflict in recent years, the release said.

Comment: Iran bad, therefore Iraqi militia bad. That's the amount of thinking that goes into U.S. foreign-policy thinking. For some context, see:

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Snakes in Suits

Complaint alleges Ilhan Omar violated campaign finance law to pursue affair with married Democratic consultant

Andrew Kerr
The Daily Caller
Wed, 28 Aug 2019 21:51 UTC
Ilhan Omar
© REUTERS/Mary F. Calvert
Ilhan Omar
Rep. Ilhan Omar violated campaign finance law by using campaign funds to pursue an affair with married Democratic consultant Tim Mynett, according to a complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) Wednesday.

Omar's campaign has disbursed $223,000 to Tim Mynett's company, E. Street Group, LLC, from August 2018 through June 2019, mostly for fundraising consulting, FEC records show. But on April 1, her campaign began making payments to E. Street Group for "travel expenses."

Less than a week later, on April 7, Tim Mynett confessed to his wife that he was "romantically involved with and in love with" Omar, according to a divorce filing Tuesday by Dr. Beth Jordan Mynett.
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Cardboard Box

Turkey's Erdoğan seeks $100 billion trade and closer ties to Russia, meets with Putin at air show


Ahval
Tue, 27 Aug 2019 00:00 UTC
Putin and Erdogan fighter jet
Updated with Turkish official quoted by Reuters in fifth paragraph

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he aimed to quadruple trade and form closer links with Russia during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at an aviation show in Moscow on Tuesday.

The Turkish president's trip to Russia's MAKS-2019 air show was announced last week as Turkey's presence in Syria threatened to bring it into conflict with Russia, one of the main backers of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Turkish troops at an observation point in Idlib, the last rebel-held province in Syria, were cut off as Assad regime forces advanced last week. A military convoy sent by Turkey to support Turkish-backed rebels in the province was targeted in an air strike, triggering speculation that Russia was involved in the attack.

Idlib was on the agenda for the presidents' bilateral talks, Moscow spokesman Dimitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

Comment: Putin is obviously playing the long game with Erdoğan; increasing trade, tourism, working armaments, etc. - and working towards the time when Erdoğan can perhaps see for himself that his efforts in Syria are ultimately not in his own country's best interests. And probably counterproductive towards maintaining an import economic tie to Russia.

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Tornado1

Trump lashes out at San Juan mayor as Puerto Rico braces for Hurricane Dorian

Brett Samuels
The Hill
Wed, 28 Aug 2019 16:04 UTC
puerto rico mayor cruz trump

President Trump and San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz
President Trump on Wednesday criticized the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, as the island braced for a tropical storm nearly two years after it was devastated by Hurricane Maria.

The president tweeted that the government is tracking Tropical Storm Dorian and said the storm was heading for the island, "as usual."

He added that emergency services are ready.

"FEMA and all others are ready, and will do a great job. When they do, let them know it, and give them a big Thank You — Not like last time. That includes from the incompetent Mayor of San Juan!" Trump tweeted.

Comment: Trump has every reason to excoriate the mayor, considering the disastrous response by local officials after Hurricane Maria. Democrats made hay for months over Trump's 'mishandling' of the disaster. When the truth finally came out, it was Puerto Rico's own corrupt government that inflicted most of the harm.

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Snakes in Suits

PM Boris Johnson threatens EU with debt default

Finian Cunningham
Strategic Culture
Wed, 28 Aug 2019 00:00 UTC
Boris Johnson
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is using leverage from a possible £39 ($48) billion debt default in order to force the European Union to accommodate his Brexit plans. In less polite terms, Britain is resorting to extortion to get its way, and in the sordid process is also threatening political peace in Ireland.

Over the weekend of the G7 summit in France, the British premier began dangling the possibility of reneging on an already negotiated divorce bill between Britain and the EU.

"If we come out without an agreement it is certainly true that the £39bn is no longer, strictly speaking, owed," he said. "There will be very substantial sums available to our country to spend on our priorities. It's not a threat. It's a simple statement of reality."

It is classic British rhetoric of making a lowdown maneuver sound like impeccable ethics.

Since taking over at 10 Downing Street on July 23, Johnson has repeatedly made it clear that he is demanding the removal of the Irish "backstop". He has the brass neck to disparage it as "anti-democratic". That putative arrangement negotiated by his predecessor Theresa May with Brussels would have seen an open border remaining between Northern Ireland (British jurisdiction) and the Republic of Ireland (an EU member) for a transition period of several years.
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Pharoah

Freaky Friday foments furious fusillade against Fed from Trump

Tom Luongo
Gold, Guns 'N Goats
Sat, 24 Aug 2019 00:00 UTC
Trump and Powell
Friday night used to be the 'best night on television.' But today Friday afternoon is becoming the best soap opera we could hope for as President Trump pulls out all the stops to keep us both horrified and entertained.

It's better than reruns of Dallas, for sure, though the hair is just as ludicrous.

Trump laid into FOMC Chairman Jerome Powell again musing aloud on Twitter as to who the bigger enemy of the U.S. was — The Fed or China.


Now, far be it for me to get upset with anyone criticizing the Federal Reserve. The FOMC is really just a Politburo of Ivory Tower intellectuals with neither the practical experience nor the specific knowledge needed to 'run the economy.'

But, news tip for you, neither does Donald Trump.

Comment: See also:

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