Puppet Masters

Alastair Crooke: Germany stalls and Europe craters

Alastair Crooke
Strategic Culture
Sun, 11 Aug 2019 19:26 UTC

The influential economic commentator on Europe, Ambrose Pritchard Evans, writes:

"German industry is in the deepest slump since the global financial crisis, and threatens to push Europe's powerhouse economy into full-blown recession. The darkening outlook is forcing the European Central Bank to contemplate ever more perilous measures.

"The influential Ifo Institute in Munich said its business climate indicator for manufacturing went into "free fall" in July, as the delayed damage from global trade conflict takes its toll and confidence wilts. It goes far beyond the woes of the car industry. More than 80pc of Germany's factories are in outright contraction."

Why? What is going on here? It seems that, though other European member-states used to be Germany's largest market, Germany's first and third largest export destinations are now the US and China, respectively. Together, they account for more than 15% of all outbound German trade activity. More than 18% of Germany's export goods ended up somewhere in Asia. Therefore, Germany's industrial struggles in 2019 point the finger in the direction of its external focus, which means the US, China, and Asia - i.e. its largest marginal trade partners. And the principal assailants in today's trade and tech wars.

Comment: See also:

The Misanthropic Bankers Behind The Green New Deal

Matthew Ehret
Sott.net
Sun, 11 Aug 2019 20:13 UTC

A vast sweeping change towards a "green economy" is now being pushed by forces that may make an educated citizen rather uncomfortable.

Of course, news reports flash daily showcasing the brave young movement of "eco-warriors" led by Sweden's 16-year-old Greta Thunberg or America's 17-year-old Jamie Margolin, who have become a force across Europe and America leading such movements as the 'Extinction Rebellion', 'This is Zero Hour', the 'Sunrise Movement' and the 'Children's Climate Crusade'. The young face of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez daily sells the idea that the only way for outdated capitalist forces that have plagued the world for decades to be replaced is by imposing a sweeping Green New Deal that priorities de-carbonization as a goal for humanity rather than continuing to allow the mindless forces of the markets to determine our destiny.

EU President Ursula von der Leyen has even attacked China's Belt and Road Initiative (which is ironically representing a true 21^st century New Deal) by saying "some are buying their influence by investing in dependence from ports and roads"... but "we go the European way". What is the "European way"? Not the development plans of Charles De Gaulle or Konrad Adenauer who envisioned industrial growth and increasing population as positives, but rather a Green New Deal. Von der Leyen said on July 17 that "I want Europe to become the first CO₂ neutral continent in the world by 2050! I will put forward a Green New Deal for Europe in my first 100 days in office..."

Pepe Escobar: How Tehran fits into Russia-China strategy

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
Sun, 11 Aug 2019 19:13 UTC

© AFP / HO / IRIB
An image grab taken from a broadcast by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting on July 22 shows Iranian Revolutionary Guards in speedboats patrolling the tanker Stena Impero as it's anchored off the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.

Complex doesn't even begin to describe the positioning of Iran-Russia in the geopolitical chessboard. What's clear in our current, volatile moment is that they're partners, as I previously reported. Although not strategic partners, as in the Russia-China tie-up, Russia-China-Iran remain the crucial triad in the ongoing, multi-layered, long-term Eurasia integration process.

A few days after our Asia Times report, an article - based on "senior sources close to the Iranian regime" and crammed with fear-mongering, baseless accusations of corruption and outright ignorance about key military issues - claimed that Russia would turn the Iranian ports of Bandar Abbas and Chabahar into forward military bases complete with submarines, Spetsnaz special forces and Su-57 fighter jets, thus applying a "stranglehold" to the Persian Gulf.

For starters, "senior sources close to the Iranian regime" would never reveal such sensitive national-security details, much less to Anglo-American foreign media. In my own case, even though I have made several visits to Iran while consistently reporting on Iran for Asia Times, and even though authorities at myriad levels know where I'm coming from, I have not managed to get answers from Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps generals to 16 detailed questions I sent nearly a month ago. According to my interlocutors, these are deemed "too sensitive" and, yes, a matter of national security.

Comment: See also:

US debt to China: How much, why does China buy it, and what happens if China sells?

Kimberly Amadeo
thebalance.com
Sun, 11 Aug 2019 19:57 UTC

The U.S. debt to China is $1.11 trillion as of May 2019. That's 27% of the $4.1 trillion in Treasury bills, notes, and bonds held by foreign countries. The rest of the $22 trillion national debt is owned by either the American people or by the U.S. government itself.

China has the greatest amount of U.S. debt held by a foreign country. Japan comes second at $1.10 trillion. It's followed the United Kingdom at $332 billion, Brazil at $306 and Ireland at $271 billion.

Comment: Yes, Ireland; the country that is itself $250 BILLION 'in debt' to banksters! What a farcical racket...

The map below shows a breakdown of the top five countries owning U.S. debt. Combined, they hold 75% of U.S. debt held by foreign countries.

Comment: ...until one day it isn't.

US Empire tightening sanctions on Venezuela and Manning

Caitlin Johnstone
Medium
Wed, 07 Aug 2019 00:00 UTC

Reports coming out of Venezuela claim that President Maduro has just seized a shipment of food with the explicit goal of starving the Venezuelan people into submission.

Oh wait, no, sorry, I misread that. Did I say Maduro? I meant America.

TeleSUR English reports:

"Venezuela's Vice president Delcy Rodriguez denounced Wednesday that a ship containing 25 thousand tonnes of Soya has been seized in the Panama Canal due to the U.S. blockade while calling on the United Nations to take action against the 'serious aggression' that impede Venezuela 'right to food'.

"The shipment seizure comes just days after Trump signed an executive order Monday that imposes a near-total blockade on government assets in that country, which includes an embargo against food suppliers, among other basic inputs."

It is indeed true that the US has just greatly escalated its sanctions upon Venezuela. The Trump administration, which according to a study from the Center for Economic and Policy Research has already murdered over 40,000 Venezuelans by starvation with sanctions geared toward installing a puppet regime in the most oil-rich nation on the planet, increased sanctions to a full economic embargo on Monday. These are the most aggressive sanctions leveled against any western government in decades.

Which of course makes the right-wing talking point that Maduro is "starving his own people" much harder to defend.

In spite of a 'really beautiful letter' to Trump, Kim test-fires missiles - again

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Fri, 09 Aug 2019 18:25 UTC

Just hours after President Trump expressed optimism about future nuclear talks, citing another letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Fox News reports that a US official confirms North Korea fired off multiple short-range missiles.

Kim has sent Mr. Trump a number of letters and the two have projected a warm personal relationship. But talks have remained stalled, and North Korea continues to conduct missile tests, which Mr. Trump has played down.

"I think we'll have another meeting," Mr. Trump told reporters. "He really wrote a beautiful, three-page - I mean, right from top to bottom - a really beautiful letter."

But, that patience may well be tested tonight as Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson reports that, for the fifth time in two weeks, North Korea has tested an increasingly sophisticated, hard-to-track missile system that could wipe out South Korean and Japanese cities -- not to mention U.S. forces based in both countries.

Comment: More from RFE/RL 10/8/2019: Trump says Kim wants to meet again

U.S. President Donald Trump has said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wants to meet once again to "start negotiations" after joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises end. Trump tweeted on August 10 that Kim made these statements in a letter to him and that he looked "forward to seeing Kim Jong Un in the not too distant future!"

Trump said that Kim offered him "a small apology" for the flurry of recent short-range missile tests that have rattled U.S. allies in the region and that Kim assured him they would stop when the exercises end.

Also on August 10, an EU spokesperson accused Pyongyang of undermining efforts to denuclearize and bring lasting peace to the Korean Peninsula and urged Kim to return to talks.

South Korean defense officials described the dawn launches on August 10 as two short-range ballistic missiles that flew 400 kilometers before plummeting into the sea.
"With the launching of two short-range ballistic missiles today, a fifth such test in recent weeks, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) continues to undermine international work for building trust and establishing lasting peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, free of nuclear weapons. We expect the DPRK to refrain from any further provocations, abide by its stated commitments, and fully implement its international obligations as determined by multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions."
It called for more talks and urged "concrete and credible" moves from Pyongyang toward denuclearization and the abandonment of its ballistic-missile program.

And this from Reuters 10/8/2019: Kim oversees test of 'new weapon'

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected Saturday's test of a new weapon, state media KCNA said on Sunday, as a senior diplomat dismissed the possibility of inter-Korean talks in protest against South Korea-U.S. military drills. North Korea calls such exercises a "rehearsal for war" and has countered them with its own military action.

The new "projectiles" were developed to suit the country's terrain, and the latest test proved their "advantageous and powerful demand of the design was perfectly met," KCNA said.

Missile experts at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California said photos released by KCNA appear to show a new type of short-range ballistic missile, though detailed analysis is necessary.

"Given that the military exercise clearly puts us as an enemy in its concept," said Kwon Jong Gun, director-general for American affairs at the foreign ministry. "They should think that an inter-Korean contact itself will be difficult to be made unless they put an end to such a military exercise or before they make a plausible excuse or an explanation in a sincere manner."

Kwon said South Korea talked "nonsense" by urging the North to stop missile tests which served its right to self-defense. "Even the U.S. president made a remark which in effect recognizes the self-defensive rights of a sovereign state, saying that it is a small missile test which a lot of countries do," Kwon said.

Giuliani: European officials tried to get spygate info to the FBI; they have been thwarted, ignored for over a year

Jim Holt
Gateway Pundit
Thu, 08 Aug 2019 00:00 UTC

Trump Attorney Rudy Giuliani went on with Sean Hannity on Thursday night following the release of the Bruce Ohr 302 documents of DOJ questioning. He unloaded on the corrupt FBI!

Rudy told Sean Hannity, as reported earlier, "You can't BELIEVE what is coming out!" And, "These are crimes that are SHOCKING!"

Rudy then went on to describe the international expanse of this illegal operation.

Rudy Giuliani: The whole thing was made up from the very beginning and they sold it to 90% of our media! It's a tragedy... The dimensions of it you still don't realize. There's plenty of evidence of what happened in Ukraine. Plenty of evidence of what happened in UK. In Italy. This was a massive conspiracy!

Comment: It looks like a much bigger picture will be unfolding. Stay tuned.

In denying use of Steele dossier, did John Brennan commit perjury?

Nick Short
The Epoch Times
Thu, 08 Aug 2019 00:00 UTC

© Alex Wong/Getty Images
Former CIA Director John Brennan testifies before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Capitol Hill on May 23, 2017.

Former CIA Director John Brennan might have perjured himself in testimony he delivered more than two years ago to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on May 23, 2017.

In an exchange with then-Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), Brennan claimed he didn't know who commissioned ex-British spy Christopher Steele to write what would become the infamous "Steele dossier" that alleged Russia had damaging information on Donald Trump and that Trump's 2016 presidential campaign colluded with the Russian government to win the election.

Mr. Gowdy: "Director Brennan, do you know who commissioned the Steele dossier?"

Mr. Brennan: "I don't."

Brennan's response to the question is similar to that of former special counsel Robert Mueller, who was asked about Fusion GPS — the company who hired Steele — during a hearing before Congress last month.

In response to questions by Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), Mueller claimed he was "not familiar with" Fusion GPS, the firm that commissioned the Steele dossier, and said it was outside his "purview" to investigate. Notably, Fusion GPS was working on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, at the same time it also represented a Russian-based company, Prevezon, that had been sanctioned by the government.

Brennan, in his testimony, also claimed he didn't know whether the FBI paid for a part of the dossier.

Comment: See also:

Iranian FM spokesman Mousavi: Trump is waiting in vain for Tehran's phone call to start talks

Sputnik
Sun, 11 Aug 2019 13:04 UTC

The statement comes in response to US Department of State spokesperson Morgan Ortagus, who earlier said that President Donald Trump is waiting for a phone call from the Iranian government about whether the Islamic Republic wants to start talks.

Iranian authorities won't call Washington to beg for negotiations, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Abbas Mousavi stated on Sunday.

"They [the US] have long been expecting this call from Iran, but all their expectation is in vain", he said as cited by state television on their Telegram channel.

According to Mousavi, Iran will not initiate negotiations while the US is putting pressure on Tehran in the form of "economic terrorism" in violation of international laws.

Comment: US and Iran are 'not on speed dial', apparently.

Export ban? As China makes rare earths more rare, US will suffer a larger cost for its trade war

RT
Thu, 08 Aug 2019 09:37 UTC

China's rare earths association has warned that the trade conflict with the US will harm American businesses and consumers, as it confirmed its readiness to weaponize the prized elements.

Rare earth elements are critical for the high-tech industry in the manufacture of everything from mobile phones to modern fighter jets.

The Association of China Rare Earth Industry (ACREI), comprising almost 300 miners, processors and manufacturers, held a special meeting earlier this week, just several days after US president Donald Trump threatened to hit Beijing with a new batch of tariffs.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the association called Washington's tariffs policy "trade bullying" aimed at suppressing China's development. "We express our firm opposition" to it, it said, adding that Chinese rare earth companies should actively expand both foreign and domestic markets.

While the ACREI acknowledged that are no winners in a trade war, it warned that American citizens and businesses will fall victim to the conflict between the world's two biggest economies. "The cost of tariffs imposed by the United States should be borne by the US market and consumers," the statement read.

Comment: See also:

Ehret an idiot beyond belief

smertzasmert

.. .. are wheel barrel sales are up too?

Jibrish

I doubt any pureblood would object to the "vaccinated" being masked, but if they (the "vaccinated") still feel unsafe then maybe their problem is...

HashAttack2

I said this would happen...now they are looking to mandate companies with less that 100 employees...shits getting real, people[Link]

Bezel Bub

it's all a lie ! :O

cracker

Puppet Masters

Alastair Crooke: Germany stalls and Europe craters

The Misanthropic Bankers Behind The Green New Deal

Pepe Escobar: How Tehran fits into Russia-China strategy

US debt to China: How much, why does China buy it, and what happens if China sells?

US Empire tightening sanctions on Venezuela and Manning

In spite of a 'really beautiful letter' to Trump, Kim test-fires missiles - again

Giuliani: European officials tried to get spygate info to the FBI; they have been thwarted, ignored for over a year

In denying use of Steele dossier, did John Brennan commit perjury?

Iranian FM spokesman Mousavi: Trump is waiting in vain for Tehran's phone call to start talks

Export ban? As China makes rare earths more rare, US will suffer a larger cost for its trade war

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