Puppet MastersS


Camera

Obama approved accusing Russia of DNC hack before FBI received DNC server images

Ivan Pentchoukov
The Epoch Times
Tue, 07 Jun 2022 00:01 UTC
obama jeh johnson
© Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty ImagesPresident Barack Obama speaks alongside Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson (R) following the Presidential Daily Briefing in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, October 7, 2016.
President Barack Obama approved a statement by the U.S. intelligence community in October 2016 accusing Russia of stealing emails from the Democratic National Committee (DNC), despite the U.S. government not having obtained the DNC server images crucial to ascertaining whether Moscow was involved in the theft.

FBI emails recently made public during the trial against now-acquitted DNC attorney Michael Sussmann show the bureau was still in the process of requesting images of the DNC servers on Oct. 13, 2016. The server images, which are equivalent to a virtual copy of the alleged crime scene, were taken by private cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.

On Oct. 7, six days before CrowdStrike agreed to mail the server images to the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released a statement accusing Russia of hacking U.S. political organizations and disseminating emails allegedly stolen through the hack. The statement was approved and encouraged by Obama, according to then-DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson.

Comment: In other words, there's evidence that the "DNC hack" by Russian actors was actually leak from inside the DNC. Now who would have done that?

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Question

Will the Global South break free from dollarized debt?

Pepe Escobar
The Cradle
Thu, 09 Jun 2022 12:03 UTC
Michael Hudson
© The CradleMichael Hudson's new book on the world's urgent global economic re-set is sure to ruffle some Atlanticist feathers
In his latest book, economist Michael Hudson pits socialism against finance capitalism and tears apart the 'dream civilization' imposed by the 1 percent.

With The Destiny of Civilization: Finance Capitalism, Industrial Capitalism or Socialism, Michael Hudson, one of the world's leading independent economists, has given us arguably the ultimate handbook on where we're at, who's in charge, and whether we can bypass them.

Let's jump straight into the fray. Hudson begins with an analysis of the "take the money and run" ethos, complete with de-industrialization, as 90 percent of US corporate revenue is "used to share buybacks and dividend payouts to support company stock prices."

That represents the apex of "Finance Capitalism's" political strategy: to "capture the public sector and shift monetary and banking power" to Wall Street, the City of London and other western financial centers.

The whole Global South will easily recognize the imperial modus operandi: "The strategy of US military and financial imperialism is to install client oligarchies and dictatorships, and arm-twist allies to join the fight against designated adversaries by subsidizing not only the empire's costs of war-making ("defense") but even the imperial nation's domestic spending programs." This is the antithesis of the multipolar world advocated by Russia and China.
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Attention

FBI arrests Ryan Kelley, GOP candidate for Michigan governor, for his role in Capitol riot

Christopher Wilson
Yahoo! News
Thu, 09 Jun 2022 17:54 UTC
ryan kelley
© Jim Urquhart/ReutersA man, identified as Ryan Kelley in a sworn statement by an FBI agent, gestures as supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump make their way past barriers at the U.S. Capitol during a protest against the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, in Washington on January 6, 2021.
Ryan Kelley, a Republican candidate for governor in Michigan, was arrested Thursday morning and charged with participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

After the execution of a search warrant on his home in Allendale, Mich., Kelley was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor, according to U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. The arrest comes hours before the committee investigating the events of Jan. 6 is set to hold its first public hearing.

While the real estate broker had downplayed his involvement in the violence at the Capitol, analysis of multiple videos show Kelley on the steps outside the building rallying the crowd. Last summer, the Michigan Democratic Party promoted a video of Kelley at the time, saying, "Come on, let's go! This is it! This is — this is war, baby!"

Comment: See also:

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Blue Planet

Russia suspends fishing deal with Japan near disputed islands after Tokyo fails to pay & ramps up military exercises with NATO


Al Jazeera
Sat, 11 Jun 2022 11:08 UTC
Kuril islands russia
Russia's foreign ministry says Tokyo failed to make payments under deal giving Japan fishing rights near Kuril islands.
Russia's foreign ministry has said it is suspending an agreement with Japan that allowed Japanese fishermen to fish near the disputed Southern Kuril islands, accusing Tokyo of failing to make payments required under the deal.

"In the current situation, we are forced to suspend the implementation of the 1998 Agreement until the Japanese side fulfils all its financial obligations," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Tuesday.

Called the Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan, the string of volcanic islands is at the heart of a decades-long feud between the two countries that has prevented them from signing a formal World War II peace treaty.
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Bullseye

Jan. 6 committee being used to 'abolish electoral college,' 'cover up' for Pelosi: House Republicans

Mimi Nguyen Ly
The Epoch Times
Thu, 09 Jun 2022 00:00 UTC
House Republican Conference
© Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesHouse Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) (C) speaks at a press conference, was joined by House Republican Whip Steve Scailse (R-La.) (L) and Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), following a Republican caucus meeting, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on June 8, 2022.
Lawmakers pose questions for Jan. 6 committee

House Republicans on Wednesday spoke out against the Jan. 6 Committee, accusing the entire effort of being a "partisan witch hunt" used by Democrats to abolish the Electoral College as well as to help cover up what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) does not want the public to know about matters surrounding the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

"This committee is not about seeking the truth. It is a smear campaign against President Donald Trump, against Republican members of Congress, and against Trump voters across this country," Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), the House Republican Conference chair, said at a press conference — the first of several events pushing back against the Jan. 6 Committee's public hearings that are set to begin Thursday.

"It does not serve any true legislative or oversight purpose. And it is not about finding out why Nancy Pelosi left the Capitol so ill-prepared that day ... and it will not prevent another January 6 from happening," she added. Stefanik had previously accused the Jan. 6 panel of being a political weapon "used to cover up for Nancy Pelosi's failures."
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Dominoes

About time: Biden to end Covid testing requirement for travel into US


The Guardian
Fri, 10 Jun 2022 11:27 UTC
covid test airport
© Spencer Platt/Getty Images
The Biden administration will today announce the end of its requirement that people entering the country test negative for Covid-19, a senior administration official has told news outlets.

According to Reuters, the move will go into effect for US-bound air travelers on Sunday at midnight.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reportedly determined that the science and data mean the tests are no longer necessary. It will examine the decision again after three months.

The travel industry had lobbied for months against the restriction, which had been in place since January 2021.

The official said the Biden administration plans to work with airlines to ensure a smooth transition. The travel industry, as well as some scientists and lawmakers, including Democrats, had been critical of the requirement, saying it was no longer needed.
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Colosseum

US to run out of Javelin missiles for Ukraine, Germany expects significant delays in sending its lethal aid


RT
Thu, 09 Jun 2022 14:30 UTC
Javelin anti-tank missile
Javelin anti-tank missile system during a military exercise, Canada. Within months, the Pentagon will reportedly be unable to send some weapons to Kiev without emptying its own inventory.
The US will soon have no new Javelin anti-tank missiles to spare for Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

"The war has already consumed as much as one-third of the US military's inventory of Javelins. Within months, the Pentagon will be unable to deliver new ones without emptying out its own supply," it said.

The US was said to have similarly depleted one-quarter of its stock of Stinger portable anti-aircraft missiles, and it could take up to a year for their manufacturer, Raytheon, to restart production.
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Jet5

Ukraine gives update on combat losses


RT
Fri, 10 Jun 2022 06:48 UTC
Ukrainian troops in Donbass
© AFP / Ukrainian armed forcesUkrainian troops in Donbass.
Kiev is losing up to 200 troops every day in the battle for the Donbass, a presidential aide says.

Ukraine is losing from 100 to 200 troops daily in the battle for the Donbass against Russia, and its allies in the Lugansk (LPR) and Donetsk People's Republics (DPR), Mikhail Podolyak, an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, told the BBC on Thursday.

The numbers are higher than earlier figures acknowledged by Kiev.

Just over a week ago, President Zelensky said that from 60-100 Ukrainian soldiers were being killed in the Donbass on a daily basis, with another 500 injured.

Such high numbers of military casualties are the result of a "complete lack of parity" between forces in the Donbass, Podolyak explained.

Kiev needs the West to supply as many as 300 multiple rocket launch systems to level the playing field, he said.

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Sheriff

Russia making more money off oil & gas than before conflict thanks to US & EU sanctions


South China Morning Post
Fri, 10 Jun 2022 04:33 UTC
oil refinery russia
© ReutersAn oil refinery is seen in Omsk, Russia on Monday.
Russia may be getting more revenue from its fossil fuels now than shortly before its invasion of Ukraine, as global price increases offset the impact of Western efforts to restrict its sales, US energy security envoy Amos Hochstein told lawmakers during a hearing on Thursday.

"I can't deny that," Hochstein told the Senate Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation in response to a question about whether Moscow was making more money now off its crude oil and gas sales than a couple of months before the war started.

The US and the European Union agreed to ban imports of Russian oil and imposed escalating sanctions to punish the country for its invasion of Ukraine.

Comment: RT reports on Russia's restoration of its interest rate to February's mark and how the inflationary risk is decreasing:
The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) slashed its key interest rate on Friday from 11% to 9.5%. The regulator noted that inflation in the country shows signs of easing.

"The external environment for the Russian economy remains challenging and significantly constrains economic activity. At the same time, inflation is slowing faster and the decline in economic activity is of a smaller magnitude than the Bank of Russia expected in April," the CBR's statement reads. It also indicated that further rate reductions may follow.

The CBR more than doubled rates in February, from 9.5% to 20%, after Russia was hit with an avalanche of sanctions by the US, EU, and other countries. The hike was intended to prop up the ruble, which fell to record lows. The Russian currency has since recovered to multi-year highs.

The regulator also stated on Friday it expects annual inflation to be 14%-17% this year, before dropping to between 5% and 7% in 2023, and returning to its 4% target in 2024.


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Biohazard

Pentagon admits to 46 US-funded biolabs in Ukraine, claims they were for 'improving public health'


RT
Fri, 10 Jun 2022 21:19 UTC
Pentagon
© unknownUS insists 46 "peaceful" facilities were all about public health and safety
The US government has supported 46 biological research facilities in Ukraine over the past 20 years, but as part of a peaceful public health project rather than to develop weapons, the Pentagon said on Thursday. The US military accused Russia and China of "spreading disinformation and sowing mistrust" about its efforts to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

This is the first time the US Department of Defense disclosed the exact number of such facilities its government has supported in Ukraine, in a document titled 'Fact Sheet on WMD Threat Reduction Efforts.'

According to the Pentagon, the US has "worked collaboratively to improve Ukraine's biological safety, security, and disease surveillance for both human and animal health," by providing support to "46 peaceful Ukrainian laboratories, health facilities, and disease diagnostic sites over the last two decades." These programs have focused on "improving public health and agricultural safety measures at the nexus of nonproliferation."

Comment: See also:

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