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Fri, 29 Oct 2021
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New anti-Russia sanctions lack previous vigor as 'US is too busy with China'

state department building
© Reuters / Joshua Roberts
As the second round of Skripal-related US sanctions against Russia come into effect, experts claim they're much milder due to the fact that Washington's attention is focused on its trade dispute with China.

The second batch of restrictions relating to the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury last year will come into force on Monday. These new sanctions prohibit US banks from certain types of engagement in the Russian sovereign debt market, as well as imposing licensing restrictions on goods controlled by the Department of Commerce. The US will also oppose any lending to Russia by international financial institutions. However, many consider these new restrictions to lack the determination of previous measures, with experts divided on the reasons behind the sudden softening of Washington's attitude towards Moscow.

Vladimir Batyuk, a senior fellow with the Moscow-based Institute of USA and Canada, believes the attitude stems from Washington's attempts to salvage its own economy.

Star of David

Insanity! Netanyahu threatens entire states to eliminate 'Iranian menace'; 'Israel's last struggles' says Soleimani

SuleimaniNetanyahu
© AFP/CNBC.com/HO/KHAMENEI.IR/CNBC.com
Quds Force Commander Major General Qassem Soleimani • Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu
Tehran has mocked Israel's intensified efforts to root out Iranian presence in the region after the IDF struck targets in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq in one day, while threatening to continue attacks against Iran's 'accomplices'.

"These insane operations are absolutely last struggles of the Zionist Regime," Qassem Soleimani tweeted after the IDF accused the chief of Iran's Quds Force of personally devising a plot to strike Israel with a flock of 'killer drones.'

Comment:
From RT, 25/8/2019 Israel releases video claiming Iranians prepping 'killer drone'
Israeli defense forces have released footage claiming to show Iranian forces in Syria preparing to launch "killer" drones against the Jewish state. The IDF hit targets near Damascus overnight, saying this prevented such an attack.

The black and grey blurred video shows four figures carrying something. The IDF claims the video was filmed as Iranian Quds operatives were preparing to launch drones filled with explosives on Thursday.

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Bullseye

Color Revolution in China: Hong Kong and the audacity of the United States

hong kong protests
People often ask about and hint at the similarities between the Hong Kong protests and the French Yellow Vests. The former started on 31 March and are approaching their 19th week - the Yellow Vests (YV) last weekend marked their 40th week of protests. As of recently some voices of Macron-infiltrates into the YV movement - or Fifth Columnists - have suggested that the YVs may support the Hong Kong protesters in solidarity for freedom...

Well, that didn't go down well with the highly educated and well informed YV. Many of them actually felt insulted by the Macronites - 'for whom does this guy [Macron] take us?' - And right they are. There is not a shred of comparison between the two movements, except that they are protests - but for widely different reasons, and serving widely different agendas. The YV can in no way be associated with the Hong Kong "protests" - which are equal to US funded Color Revolutions.

We, the YV leaders said, are fighting against an ever more totalitarian French government that is ever more stealing our legitimate income in the form of all sorts of taxes and keeps a minimum wage on which ever-more French families cannot survive. Life is unaffordable on a regular workers pension. The Macron Government is creating poverty, by shifting the financial resources - the few that are left, from the bottom to the top. - That's what we are fighting and protesting against. We want a fundamental change in the French economic structure and the French leadership. You see, all of this has nothing to do with the Washington funded Hong Protests that are directed on Washington's behalf by Hong Kongers against the Government of Mainland China.

Bomb

Iran warns Israel of consequences of aggression against Syria, Lebanon, Iraq

lebanon airstrike
© REUTERS / Mohamed Azakir
The statement comes hours after the chief of Iran's Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, took to Twitter to say that Israeli airstrikes in Syria and the crash of two alleged Israeli drones in Lebanon "were the last struggles" of Israel.

Iranian authorities have issued an ominous warning to Israel, saying that it should understand that its recent "aggressive actions" in the region will have consequences, as Iraq, Syria and Lebanon have the right for self-defence.

"Israel must understand the consequences of its aggressive actions and that they come at a price", Iranian Government spokesman Ali Rabiei said at a Monday news conference broadcast by Iranian television.

Aistrikes on 'Iranian' Targets in Syria

The comments by Rabiei followed Israel's confirmation on Sunday that it had conducted airstrikes on what it described as "Iranian Quds Force operatives and Shiite militia targets" in Syria to foil a professed attack by multiple drones on the Jewish state.


Comment: For which the only evidence provided was a blurry video of some people carrying something somewhere.


"Iran has no immunity anywhere. Our forces operate in every sector against the Iranian aggression. I have directed that our forces be prepared for any scenario. We will continue to take determined and responsible action against Iran and its proxies for the security of Israel", said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.


Comment: Translation: "Israel has impunity everywhere. Our forces operate wherever we want, regardless of basic human morality or international law." Israel has no legitimacy.


Comment: Lebanese reports say Israeli fighters and drones have been spotted flying over Lebanon, scouting the city of Baalbek and flying into Marjayoun. Israel routinely breaks the law by violating Lebanese airspace, because they're God's chosen people, and God's chosen people can do whatever the hell they want.

Lebanese President Aoun called the attacks on Beirut and Qousaya a declaration of war. Israel is smarter than that, though. They know they would be destroyed by Hezbollah in a real war. That's why they behave like such cowardly weasels, striking sporadically but repeatedly, knowing such attacks aren't worth going to war over, and that no one will rein in their blatant, criminal aggression.

Meanwhile, the Israelis have released what they claim are the names of two "Lebanese Shiite operatives" they killed in their airstrikes near Damascus.

And here's a shot of Netanyahu flying to America to receive his own drone-operation training (just trust us, like you'd trust the IDF):
netanyahu plane



Megaphone

'RIDICULOUS': Trump slams report alleging he ever suggested to nuke hurricanes as 'fake news'

hurricane
© Global Look Press/White House/D. Myles Cullen
A report alleging that Donald Trump suggested using nuclear weapons to decimate hurricanes before they reached the US is untrue, the US president has claimed, describing the story as "ridiculous" fake news.

"The story by Axios that President Trump wanted to blow up large hurricanes with nuclear weapons prior to reaching shore is ridiculous. I never said this. Just more FAKE NEWS!" Trump tweeted on Monday.

Citing unnamed government sources, Axios reported that Trump had urged senior Homeland Security and national security officials to explore the idea of using nuclear weapons to stop hurricanes from hitting the US.

The suggestion was never seriously considered as a possible policy, the outlet said.

The White House declined to comment on the story. The possibility of using nukes to decimate hurricanes is not a concept that originated with Trump. The proposal dates back decades, but has been dismissed by the scientific community as a bad idea.

Chess

Iran seeks to revive oil pipeline across Iraq to Syria amid tensions in Hormuz strait - media

gas pipeline
© Reuters / Essam Al-Sudani
Tehran has discussed with Baghdad the possibility of reopening a pipeline linking Iran and Syria through Iraqi territory to avoid using the Strait of Hormuz for oil transportation in the Persian Gulf.

The pipeline would link Iran with the Syrian port city of Biniyas on the Mediterranean Sea, al-Sumaria television channel reported, citing a source said to be familiar with the proposal. The trans-Iraq pipeline would allow Iran to sidestep the Strait of Hormuz for oil transportation and circumvent US sanctions "amid growing fears [the Strait of Hormuz] may be closed in case of direct military confrontation between the United States and its allies with Iran."

According to the source, the pipeline would consist of two parts. First, Iran would construct a new 1,000km pipeline through Iraq into Syria, going through the Nineveh plain in northern Iraq and entering Syrian territory through Deir al-Zour province, leading to the Syrian coast. Secondly, Iran would reopen the Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline, which was shut in 1982 during the Iran-Iraq War. It was revived for three years in 2000 but was severely damaged by airstrikes during the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. The proposal provides that both the construction of the pipeline and its maintenance would be carried out by Tehran.

Briefcase

Russia not pursuing return to G8, says foreign minister Lavrov

Serguéi Lavrov
© AFP
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that Russia had never approached anyone to seek a return to the G8.

"Moscow became aware of the talks regarding Russia's return to the group through media. In all these years we have never touched the topic in our contacts with anyone," Lavrov said at a news conference in Moscow.

Russia was suspended from the G8 in 2014 due to its annexation of Crimea as well as its political and military support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.

At the G7 summit in France, the U.S. President Donald Trump created a flutter, by demanding to readmit Russia into the group.

Trump on Sunday said on the sidelines of the summit that Washington will "certainly possible" invite Russian President Vladimir Putin as a guest of next year's G7 summit, which will be held in the U.S.

Lavrov said that the readmission was never part of Russia's foreign policy endeavor.

"In all these years we have never touched the topic of the G8 in our contacts with anyone, and, frankly speaking, we did not even have it in mind when we were building our foreign policy," he said.

Comment: See also:


Star of David

Method to the madness: How Israel is attempting to expel Palestinians from Gaza

Gaza refugees
© Agence France-Presse
A man and a child are pictured at a refugee camp in southern Gaza on 24 June
Israeli officials have reportedly said the state was willing to help Palestinians leave Gaza - provided they don't come back

Israeli officials recently admitted what they have really been aiming to achieve through the inhumane, 13-year siege of Gaza.

The blockade has not been imposed for security reasons, or to punish a specific Palestinian faction. Rather, it is part of an ongoing process of "more land, less Arabs," initiated by Zionist gangs to expel and displace the indigenous people of Palestine.

According to a report last week in Ynet News, a government source acknowledged that Israel has sought to push Palestinians to leave Gaza, noting that "attempts have been made" to persuade "certain nations" to take in Palestinians, but the attempts failed.

Rocket

Iraqi Parliament bloc: Israeli strikes on Iraq a 'declaration of war', demands US troops exist

US soldiers Middle East
© United States Department of Defense/Pvt. Christopher McKenna
Although Israel has not officially confirmed it carried out airstrikes in Iraq, the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted that could be the case, while anonymous US officials separately confirmed it in an interview with The New York Times.

The Fatah Coalition, an influential bloc in the Iraqi Parliament, has called recent airstrikes on the country, allegedly conducted by Israel, a "declaration of war" by the Jewish state and stated that it holds the US fully responsible for Tel Aviv's actions. In light of this, the coalition has called for the withdrawal of the about 5,000 remaining American soldiers from Iraq.

The parliamentary bloc also said in the statement that the country reserves the right to respond to Israel over the air raid purportedly conducted by it.

Boat

Iran deploys 2 warships to Gulf of Aden to protect commercial shippers

sahand iran ship
© Iranian Army via AP
Iranian naval forces attend a Dec. 1 inauguration ceremony for the destroyer Sahand, in Bandar Abbas, Iran.
Iran's navy says it has deployed two warships to the Gulf of Aden aimed at providing security to the country's commercial shipping.

Piracy is a major concern in the Gulf of Aden, located between the Arabian Peninsula and Africa, and ships must pass through it when transiting the Suez Canal.

Iranian state TV said Monday that the destroyer Sahand carries surface-to-surface missiles, air defense systems and torpedoes, while the supply ship/replenishment oiler Kharg has a helicopter pad and serves in a logistical role.

The move comes amid a growing confrontation between Iran and the West.

Iran still holds a British-flagged tanker seized in July the Persian Gulf after a supertanker carrying Iranian oil was detained off Gibraltar, a British overseas territory.

The Iranian ship was released earlier this month, and Iran said Monday that its oil has been sold to an unnamed buyer.

Comment: See also: