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What? Israel joins US-led anti-Iran coalition in Strait of Hormuz, but how?


RT
Tue, 06 Aug 2019 23:31 UTC
The USS Boxer
© The USS Boxer & friends in the Strait of Hormuz Reuters/Handout
The USS Boxer & friends in the Strait of Hormuz
Israel has reportedly volunteered intelligence and assistance in "other unspecified fields" to the US-led coalition against Iran after bonding with the Emirates over a shared opposition to Tehran's influence in the Persian Gulf.

Israel and the United Arab Emirates have reached "substantial agreements" regarding the "Iranian threat," foreign minister Yisrael Katz told a closed session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday, according to Ynet News. Katz also said he has instructed the ministry to include Israel in the US-led "policing" mission, adding that participating in the initiative will improve its relationship with the Gulf Arab states.

The US has had trouble drumming up support for its "maritime policing" initiative in the Persian Gulf, where Iran largely controls one of the world's most important shipping routes. Australia has yet to respond to Washington's invitation to join the anti-Iran club, while Germany has declined to sign on, seeking to avoid further escalation in the region and warning against trying to find a "military solution" to the standoff. Among European countries, only the UK has been eager to send its military into the midst of the tensions, deploying two warships to the region after seizing an Iranian tanker near Gibraltar and having one of its own tankers seized in the Strait of Hormuz.

Comment: See also: US wars for Israel

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Arrow Down

'Economic terrorism': Trump orders assets freeze; Bolton doubles-down on Maduro exit, targets Moscow


RT
Tue, 06 Aug 2019 15:02 UTC
USAM hands Venezuela
© nationofchange.org
The US has imposed new restrictions on Venezuela, blocking its government assets and threatening anyone dealing with it with secondary sanctions. The move prompted an angry reaction from Caracas.

The sanctions target Venezuela's government assets in the US, as well as individuals, companies, and countries doing business with Caracas. The executive order signed by US President Donald Trump reads:
"All property and interests in property of the Government of Venezuela that are in the United States... are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in."
The announcement was reinforced by a barrage of threats issued by US National Security Advisor John Bolton, who said "anyone" dealing with President Nicolas Maduro and his government will face secondary sanctions. He singled out Moscow, which has been engaged in economic and military cooperation with Venezuela for a long time.
"The United States is acting assertively to cut off Maduro financially, and accelerate a peaceful democratic transition. We say again to Russia, and especially to those who control its finances: 'Do not double down on a bad bet!'"

Comment: More from RT: Bolton promises economic ruin for Venezuela, trade embargo
Following a failed coup plot and several new layers of US sanctions, National Security Advisor John Bolton has vowed to ruin Venezuela's finances and cut off the 'rogue state' from its trade partners with 'maximum sanctions.'

Addressing a gathering of Latin American states in Peru on Tuesday - where leaders met to discuss Venezuela's future without representatives of the Venezuelan government or the opposition - Bolton elaborated on a new executive order issued by the president.
From Sputnik: Bolton: 'Ensure Maduro runs out of financial means to sustain himself'
Speaking in Lima, Peru in a conference on the crisis in Venezuela, Bolton said that new sanctions on Venezuelan state entities and individuals imposed on Monday were "sweeping," and sent "a direct signal to all those who enable [Nicolas Maduro's] dictatorship and undermine the democratically elected national assembly, or interim president Juan Guaido."

"Critically, the executive order also authorises sanctions on foreign persons who provide support, or goods, or services to any designated person including to the government of Venezuela," Bolton said. "This sweeping executive order authorises the US government to identify, target and impose sanctions on any person who continues to provide support to the illegitimate regime of Nicolas Maduro," he added.

Bolton also attacked countries which have voiced support for Venezuela, including Cuba, Russia, China and Iran, accusing them of supporting the "atrocities of a brutal dictator."

"In this hemisphere, it is our moral imperative to defend our neighbours against any threat, internal or external, that undermines peace, security and prosperity," Bolton added, echoing earlier remarks he made about the Monroe Doctrine being "alive and well."

Earlier, speaking to Fox and Friends on Tuesday morning, Bolton said the fresh sanctions against Venezuela announced this week go "well beyond anything we've done before."

The US and its allies feel a "renewed sense of confidence here, a renewed determination that we have to see Maduro moved out of power. I think the regime's isolation is increasing. I think the people of Venezuela need this regime to be removed and the legitimate national assembly government to take power and hold new elections," Bolton said.

On Tuesday, Venezuelan Vice Minister of International Communication William Castillo slammed Washington over the latest sanctions, calling them a sign of the Trump administration's "gangsterism" and "international banditry."


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Oil Well

Sanctions on Nord Stream 2 would turn 'EU energy policy into US plaything' if US legislation passes


Sputnik
Wed, 07 Aug 2019 13:22 UTC
Nord Stream 2 pipeline
© Nord Stream 2
Nord Stream 2 pipeline being laid
Last week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved new 'Protecting Europe's Energy Security Act' legislation which if passed, would sanction companies involved in Nord Stream 2- a major energy infrastructure project designed to facilitate the delivery of up to 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Western Europe from Russia.

US sanctions on Nord Stream 2 would amount to an intolerable interference in European energy policy, Wolfgang Buechele, veteran German business executive and chairman of the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, said speaking to the German Press Agency:
"The latest US sanctions proposals would primarily harm companies from US-friendly countries like Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland, and turn European energy policy into a plaything of the United States."
According to the businessman, if enacted, the sanctions would lead to an "inevitable rift" between Europe and the US, and cause a great deal of economic damage to both sides. Buechele noted that he hoped that the voices of reason in the US who have spoken out against sanctions will prevail.

Following the Foreign Relations Committee's approval of sanctions last week, the bill will now go to a vote in the Senate, and then the House of Representatives. If passed, it will land on President Trump's desk for signature.
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Attention

G'bye US, Russia to replace US exports to China


RT
Wed, 07 Aug 2019 12:54 UTC
BearDragEag
© kopiya
China can switch to the Russian market to replace American products amid the ongoing trade war with Washington, Russian Economy Development Minister Maksim Oreshkin has announced.

Beijing considers Moscow a reliable partner, according to the minister, and the volume of trade between the two countries is growing above last year's record of US$108 billion. While Beijing and Washington are embroiled in a simmering trade war, Sino-Russian relations are going through a "renaissance," and this could further boost bilateral trade.

"What they [China] used to buy in the US, we are now actively discussing agriculture and other sectors with our Chinese partners to switch them to the Russian market," Oreshkin said as cited by RIA Novosti.

After US President Donald Trump's threats ended the shaky truce between the two sides, the Chinese government ordered a halt on purchases of US agricultural products earlier this week. The move is considered by many to be a painful blow to Trump as his key electorate, farmers, have already been struggling to cope with declining prices and sales of crops.
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X

Cory Booker: All Trump rallies must be cancelled! 'Breeding ground for racism'

Cristina Laila
The Gateway Pundit
Tue, 06 Aug 2019 00:00 UTC
Cory Booker
© Jacquelyn Martin
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Never let a crisis go to waste, right?

The left is using the back-to-back mass shootings as an opportunity to attack the 2nd Amendment and now they're coming for 1 A.

Democrat Senator and 2020 hopeful Cory Booker (NJ) demanded Trump's Manchester rally next week and all future rallies be cancelled. According to Cory Booker, President Trump and his supporters should not have 1st Amendment rights.

"[T]hese rallies serve as a breeding ground for racism and bigotry that inspire white nationalist attacks like the one in El Paso on Saturday," Cory Booker said in a statement. "They are despicable and have no place in New Hampshire, or anywhere in our country. That's why Trump must cancel this rally."
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Binoculars

Russian stealth drone "Okhotnik" takes its maiden flight


RT
Wed, 07 Aug 2019 18:29 UTC
okhotnik drone
© Russian Defense Ministry
The Russian military has released spectacular footage of its stealthy drone performing her maiden flight. Designed by Sukhoi, the secretive aircraft is said to be able to collect intelligence and to strike enemy targets.

Released on Tuesday, the video opens with 'Okhotnik' (Hunter in English) taxiing towards a runway at an undisclosed military airfield. Painted light-gray, the one-engine, 20-ton aircraft then takes off for the skies to perform a series of in-flight tests.

Okhotnik's maiden flight lasted 20 minutes, with the drone cruising at just 600 meters, the military said.

Its design is based on the flying-wing aerodynamic model and incorporates the widespread use of composite materials and stealth technology.

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Boat

American aggression: US carrier sails into South China Sea

Jim Gomez
Military Times
Tue, 06 Aug 2019 18:23 UTC
ronald reagan carrier
© Bullit Marquez/AP
The aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan has sailed through the disputed South China Sea in the latest show of America's military might amid new territorial flareups involving China and three rival claimant states as Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia.
A U.S. aircraft carrier sailed through the disputed South China Sea on Tuesday in the latest show of America's military might amid new territorial flare-ups involving China and three rival claimant states.

The U.S. Navy flew a small group of Philippine generals, officials and journalists to the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, where they watched fighter jets landing and taking off by catapult with thunderous blasts. The nuclear-powered carrier, carrying about 70 supersonic F/A-18 jets, spy planes and helicopters, was en route to Manila for a port visit.

Armed cruisers kept watch a few miles (kilometers) away from the carrier.

"The motto of this carrier is peace through strength," Rear Adm. Karl Thomas told journalists.

He said the American military presence helps provide security and stability that foster diplomatic talks among rival claimant nations. He made the comment when asked what message the warship's presence was sending amid new tensions involving China and rival claimants Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines over long-contested territories.

"We just think that folks should follow the international law and our presence allows us to provide that security and stability in the background for these discussions to take place," Thomas said.


Comment: That's a whole lot of doublespeak right there... War is peace, stability is chaos, and international law is lawlessness.
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Bullseye

Why did the US exit INF Treaty? What you're not being told

Darius Shahtahmasebi
RT
Tue, 06 Aug 2019 16:45 UTC
US Navy
© REUTERS/U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Gabriel S. Weber
FILE PHOTO US Navy handout photo of Marines on a beach during military exercises in Queensland
US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper is halfway through his tour of the Asia-Pacific region. The tour's timing, coming just weeks after Esper was officially sworn in, affirms the notion that the Pentagon's top priority is China.

"Whoever sheds his blood for me today shall be my brother" - the closing lines from William Shakespeare's play 'Henry V'. These same words also apparently mark a corridor in a Pentagon hallway which pays homage to the military cooperation of New Zealand and the United States, especially during World War II.

I didn't know this, but I do now, thanks to US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper's recent statement as he arrived in New Zealand this week - part and parcel of a five-nation tour of the Asia-Pacific region which also includes Japan, Mongolia and South Korea.

Comment: See also:

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Question

Shots fired as Kyrgyztan's special forces storm ex-president's mansion, arrest Atambayev


RT
Wed, 07 Aug 2019 17:10 UTC
Atambayev
© Ruptly
Former Kyrgyz president, Almazbek Atambayev; Special Forces at his mansion.
Special forces have arrested Kyrgyzstan's former president Almazbek Atambayev at his mansion, in an operation in which gunfire could be heard. He was previously stripped of immunity over corruption accusations.

Armed troops in body armor stormed the residence in the village of Koi-Tash late on Wednesday. Atambayev's supporters started tossing stones as soon as soldiers arrived, but they were no match for the trained men and were unable to prevent the arrest.

Witnesses said shots were heard inside the mansion, but it wasn't immediately clear who fired them. Media reports claim that at least 10 people were wounded during the operation. A local TV channel broadcast the events live on YouTube.

Comment: See also:

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Jet4

Report: Pakistan bans Indian flights from its airspace as war threat looms

Paul Joseph Watson
Summit News
Wed, 07 Aug 2019 11:25 UTC
pakistani jet


Pakistani Prime Minister warns that conflict is near.

Rumors are swirling that Pakistan has banned Indian flights from its airspace as Prime Minister Imran Khan warned that war between the two nuclear-armed nations is looming.

"Pakistan has shutdown its airspace for Indian flights and Pakistan Air Force and military has raised their alert level. Airspace ban to be FULLY implemented in once any flight presently flying over Pakistan is cleared," tweeted national security expert F. Jeffery.
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