Puppet Masters

Moscow slams EU's 'arbitrary' chemical-weapons sanctions, threatens to retaliate

RT
Tue, 22 Jan 2019 16:51 UTC

Russia has threatened to respond to "freshly invented" punitive measures imposed by the EU over the Skripal poisoning. Moscow says it's an arbitrary punishment that disrespects established non-proliferation norms.

The accusations that gave rise to the sanctions "don't stand up to criticism," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "We reserve the right to retaliatory measures in response to this unfriendly act."

On Monday, Brussels used its new powers against four Russian nationals over the March 2018 poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the UK.

Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov (named in the sanctions ruling as Russian intelligence agents Alexander Mishkin and Anatoliy Chepiga) were subjected to a European asset freeze and a travel ban, along with Igor Kostyukov, the head of Russia's main intelligence directorate (the GRU), and his deputy, Vladimir Alekseyev.

WADA upholds reinstatement of Russian Anti-Doping Agency

RT
Tue, 22 Jan 2019 16:41 UTC

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Executive Committee has voted to uphold a reinstatement of the Russian anti-doping body, despite pressure from international organizations which demanded a suspension.

"Today, the Executive Committee (ExCo) of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) decided to continue applying the conditions outlined in its 20 September 2018 decision that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) must fulfill to maintain compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code (Code), after endorsing a recommendation of WADA's independent Compliance Review Committee (CRC) during an ExCo meeting held by conference call," says WADA's statement.

Huawei calls for swift resolution of Sabrina Meng Wanzhou case after reports US will go ahead with extradition request

Sarah Zheng and Catherine Wong
South China Morning Post
Tue, 22 Jan 2019 16:38 UTC

Meng Wanzhou

Huawei Technologies has called for a quick resolution of the case involving its chief financial officer Sabrina Meng Wanzhou in Canada, despite reports that Washington will soon go ahead with its extradition request for her to face trial in the US.

Huawei chairman Liang Hua made the comments to reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday.

Liang was appointed acting chief financial officer of Huawei last month after Meng was arrested in Vancouver on December 1 over alleged violations of US sanctions against Iran. She was later released on bail and is due to face court on February 6.

"We operate our business globally, and in every country we fully comply with local laws and regulations," Liang said, adding the company welcomed requests to see the tech giant's product development business as well as other units.

UK Royal Air Force to reduce presence in Syria, Iraq - report

Sputnik
Tue, 22 Jan 2019 16:31 UTC

Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) is planning to withdraw eight Tornado GR4s used in operations in Syrian and Iraqi skies, the Daily Mail reported. Six Typhoon jets and up to 10 MQ-9 Reaper drones will remain stationed in the Middle East region.

Initially, the RAF was planning to replace the ageing Tornados with newer jets in March 2019, but according to the Daily Mail, citing an anonymous source in the British defence forces, the withdrawal of the US from Syria has made them change their minds. Additionally, the remaining Typhoons are scheduled for an upgrade allowing them to deploy bunker buster Storm Shadow and Brimstone air-to-ground missiles.

Moonwalking with Theresa May: Unboxing Brexit 'Plan C'

George Galloway
RT
Tue, 22 Jan 2019 16:27 UTC

As Britain's zombie prime minister left the chamber of the House of Commons on Monday a blood-red full Wolf-Moon filled the sky. For the first time in 187 years, Venus was aligned with Mars with Saturn in the ascendency.

No-one can know the significance of that but everyone was clear that Theresa May's Plan B looked remarkably like her Plan A which had the previous week been shot down in flames fiercer than any meteor.

Unless she knows something about an EU climb-down as yet unrevealed to the rest of us, she set Britain firmly into orbit heading for a No Deal WTO Brexit in just a few weeks' time.

To seek to resurrect her failed deal with the tweaks she announced on Monday seems like a Messianic idea, a triumph of faith over facts. But it has driven the majority "Remain Camp" in British politics into a terrible bind. If Mrs. May's Plan B works, we leave the EU on her terms or something like them, or, alternatively, we just leave the EU. These are the two poles which now have any prospect of success. The rest - delaying Article 50 and stopping the clock and/or disregarding the electorate last time and holding the referendum again are now pie in the sky. Unless...

Macron: Leaders must embrace reforms, lack of them led to Louis XVI execution

RT
Tue, 22 Jan 2019 16:14 UTC

King Louis XVI's refusal to embrace reforms led to his downfall, Emmanuel Macron told corporate executives gathered at Versailles. The meeting was held in part to alleviate investors' fears after 10 weeks of Yellow Vest protests.

An estimated 150 executives, including Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, JPMorgan Chase CEO James Dimon, and Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey, met with the French president at the decadent palace outside of Paris.

"A lot of people thought that it was not a good date to gather here," Macron told his guests, referring to the execution of French King Louis XVI, who was guillotined on January 21, exactly 226 years ago on Monday. "But when you look at French history, if at the end they ended up like that, it's because a lot of leaders decided not to reform."

Comment: Macron continues to court Big Business, despite the fact that the electorate are extremely unhappy with such a decision. He does not seem to care about what the people want. There's a reason he was "made" president.

CIA-backed Afghan militants accused of executing 6 men in Zurmat

Afghanistan Analysts
Tue, 22 Jan 2019 12:46 UTC

There has been a fresh attack on civilians by armed men whom the victims' family and the Paktia provincial governor's spokesman have said were from the Khost Protection Force, an irregular militia supported by the CIA.

A survivor of the attack carried out in Surkai village in Zurmat district, in Paktia province, described to AAN how five men in his family, including three university students, and a neighbour, were summarily executed and how he was questioned by an American in uniform accompanying the Afghan gunmen. The Paktia governor's spokesman has also confirmed that 'foreign troops' were involved in the operation (and the US military spokesman has said the US military was not involved). As AAN Co-Director, Kate Clark, reports, the incident raises yet again the unaccountability of such forces and the impunity with which they act. It also raises the question of motive - this particular family was a bulwark against Haqqani influence in Zurmat.

Beyond BuzzFeed: The top 10 ridiculous 'fake news' stories on Trump & Russia

Glenn Greenwald
The Intercept
Tue, 22 Jan 2019 12:46 UTC

Buzzfeed was once notorious for traffic-generating "listicles", but has since become an impressive outlet for deep investigative journalism under editor-in-chief Ben Smith. That outlet was prominently in the news this week thanks to its "bombshell" story about President Trump and Michael Cohen: a story that, like so many others of its kind, blew up in its face, this time when the typically mute Robert Mueller's office took the extremely rare step to label its key claims "inaccurate."

But in homage to BuzzFeed's past viral glory, following are the top ten worst media failures in two-plus-years of Trump/Russia reporting. They are listed in reverse order, as measured by the magnitude of the embarrassment, the hysteria they generated on social media and cable news, the level of journalistic recklessness that produced them, and the amount of damage and danger they caused. This list was extremely difficult to compile in part because news outlets (particularly CNN and MSNBC) often delete from the internet the video segments of their most embarrassing moments. Even more challenging was the fact that the number of worthy nominees is so large that highly meritorious entrees had to be excluded, but are acknowledged at the end with (dis)honorable mention status.

Pakistani PM vows 'swift action' after video of counter-terrorism team killing parents in front of children goes viral

Daily Pakistan
Tue, 22 Jan 2019 12:36 UTC

Prime Minister Imran Khan says as soon as the JIT report comes, a swift action will be taken against those responsible for the Sahiwal incident.

Officials of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) killed grocery store owner Mohammad Khalil, his wife Nabila, their daughter Areeba and a family friend, Zeeshan Javed, after stopping their vehicle late on Saturday near Sahiwal city in Punjab province.

Police claimed Javed was a wanted terrorist and initially accused him of using the others as human shields.

Later, the CTD team took the bodies, children and other valuables from the vehicle. However, the team, later on, dropped the children at a filling station.

Trump must not let Manbij bombing derail Syria withdrawal

RT
Mon, 21 Jan 2019 16:30 UTC

US President Donald Trump appears to be approaching a watershed moment as to whether anything will be left of his 2016 "America First" campaign pledge.

On the front burner domestically is the federal government's partial shutdown and whether Trump will get money for his wall on the Mexican border, one way or the other. It's a showdown he cannot afford to lose. As sometime ally, sometime adversary Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) put it, if Trump backs down "that's probably the end of his presidency."

No less vital to maintaining his authority, and more fraught with catastrophic dangers if things go wrong, is whether he will stay the course on his decision last month to withdraw US forces from Syria. Trump is adamant that that's been his preference all along.

No less clear is the fact that at every turn he's been stymied by so-called "experts," "the adults in the room." As noted approvingly by Bob Woodward every time Trump has tried to assert his will on Syria and national security matters, his own appointees send him to "the Tank" and pelt him with all the reasons he's wrong and why the US needs to continue with policies he disagrees with. In the end, he backs down.

Comment: Trump's battle to withdraw US troops from Syria only highlights how paralyzed the position of Presidency is against the war machine, and it's telling that while this is going on, Israel continues to create havoc in the region: Israel launches new barrage of airstrikes against 'Iranian' targets in Syria, warns against retaliation - UPDATES

See also:

And check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: World in Chaos: Anti-Russia Hysteria, Israel Murders Palestinians, US Leaving Syria?

.. .. Ernesto Guido, you know much that his hidden! [Link]

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Puppet Masters

Moscow slams EU's 'arbitrary' chemical-weapons sanctions, threatens to retaliate

WADA upholds reinstatement of Russian Anti-Doping Agency

Huawei calls for swift resolution of Sabrina Meng Wanzhou case after reports US will go ahead with extradition request

UK Royal Air Force to reduce presence in Syria, Iraq - report

Moonwalking with Theresa May: Unboxing Brexit 'Plan C'

Macron: Leaders must embrace reforms, lack of them led to Louis XVI execution

CIA-backed Afghan militants accused of executing 6 men in Zurmat

Beyond BuzzFeed: The top 10 ridiculous 'fake news' stories on Trump & Russia

Pakistani PM vows 'swift action' after video of counter-terrorism team killing parents in front of children goes viral

Trump must not let Manbij bombing derail Syria withdrawal

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