Puppet MastersS


Dollars

Mnuchin: US is seeking $10B trade finance fund for Venezuela, regime change string attached


AFP
Sat, 13 Apr 2019 00:00 UTC
Guaido
© EPA-EFE/MIGUEL GUTIERREZPretender Juan Guaido
The United States is working with a group of countries to build a $10 billion fund to help Venezuela rebuild trade once a new government is in place, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday.

The United States has joined dozens of other countries in recognizing Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president but embattled President Nicolas Maduro remains in power.

Mnuchin said that, during the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, officials had discussed how to aid in the Caribbean country's recovery. But those institutions must sit on the sidelines until there is clear international recognition of a government in Caracas and a way to put funds into use in the country which has seen its economy collapse, while people are fleeing because they cannot get basic food and medicines.

"Every single time I've had one of these meetings I can't believe how much worse it gets on the ground for the people of Venezuela. This is a humanitarian crisis," Mnuchin said.

Comment: Financing by the IMF and World Bank has, on record, spelled financial doom for those countries too desperate to seek other means of support. Greece is one prime example. In the case of Venezuela, the US and friends have exacerbated an already precarious financial situation as a driving factor for regime change. The humanitarian crisis is the leverage. The real price is sovereignty.

See also:

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Russian Flag

Haftar in Moscow, meets with Russian Ministry of Defense officials

Joaquin Flores
FRN
Sat, 13 Apr 2019 00:00 UTC
Haftar
© RFE/RLCommander LNA, Khalifa Haftar
The Commander-in-Chief of the Libyan National Army Khalifa Haftar was in Moscow on the afternoon of Thursday the 11th of April, for an unofficial visit to the capital Moscow to meet with a number of high-level officials in Russia's Ministry of Defense, a military source in the LNA says.

FRN has confirmed the visit of Khalifa Haftar to Russia, which came about a week after his army launched a large-scale operation in the Western Libya as well as in Tripoli that has been long dominated by the armed groups loyal to the west's recognized GNA unity government, or Government of National Accord which has achieved neither unity nor governance in the failed state formally still known as Libya.

According to a statement by the LNA spokesman Ahmed Al-Mismari, an advance is aimed to purge the country's West from terrorists and different armed militias operating there.

The LNA started a military campaign on Friday, April 5 after the Libyan Marshal addressed to all the troops involved in an operation, stressing "the need to pursue "the march of struggle" targeting "oppressors" who "provoke havoc in the capital". "It's time to peacefully enter Tripoli," Haftar also added, guaranteed that all people are safe, except for those who resort to armed confrontation with the army.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

US government indictment of Assange poses grave threats to press freedom

Glenn Greenwald
The Intercept
Thu, 11 Apr 2019 08:53 UTC
Assange
© Jack Taylor/Getty ImagesJulian Assange gestures to the media from a police vehicle on his arrival at Westminster Magistrates' Court on April 11, 2019 in London.
The Indictment of Julian Assange unsealed today by the Trump Justice Department poses grave threats to press freedoms, not only in the U.S. but around the world. The charging document and accompanying extradition request from the U.S. government, used by the U.K. police to arrest Assange once Ecuador officially withdrew its asylum protection, seeks to criminalize numerous activities at the core of investigative journalism.

So much of what has been reported today about this indictment has been false. Two facts in particular have been utterly distorted by the DOJ and then misreported by numerous media organizations.

The first crucial fact about the indictment is that its key allegation - that Assange did not merely receive classified documents from Chelsea Manning but tried to help her crack a password in order to cover her tracks - is not new. It was long known by the Obama DOJ and was explicitly part of Manning's trial, yet the Obama DOJ - not exactly renowned for being stalwart guardians of press freedoms - concluded that it could not and should not prosecute Assange because indicting him would pose serious threats to press freedom. In sum, today's indictment contains no new evidence or facts about Assange's actions; all of it has been known for years.

The other key fact being widely misreported is that the indictment accuses Assange of trying to help Manning obtain access to document databases to which she had no valid access: i.e., hacking rather than journalism. But the indictment alleges no such thing. Rather, it simply accuses Assange of trying to help Manning log into the Defense Department's computers using a different username so that she could maintain her anonymity while downloading documents in the public interest and then furnish them to WikiLeaks to publish.

In other words, the indictment seeks to criminalize what journalists are not only permitted but ethically required to do: take steps to help their sources maintain their anonymity.
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Arrow Up

Post-Mueller report approval ratings see Trump at 45% high

Justin McCarthy
Gallup
Fri, 12 Apr 2019 00:00 UTC
trump
© Kevin Lamarque/ReutersUS President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump's job approval rating increased relatively sharply over the past month to 45% in an April 1-9 Gallup poll, up from 39% in March. This marks the third time the 45th president has reached a 45% job approval rating in Gallup trends -- his highest in the series.

Chart 1
© Gallup
This is Gallup's first measurement of presidential approval since special counsel Robert Mueller completed his investigation into Russian attempts to sway the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. Attorney General William Barr's synopsis of Mueller's findings reported no Russian involvement in the Trump campaign and insufficient evidence of obstruction of justice -- which Trump claims fully vindicates him.

Congress has raised questions about the attorney general's synopsis of Mueller's findings and is demanding to see the report. While this plays out, Americans are slightly more approving of Trump than they were before the report's delivery -- though a small majority (51%) still disapprove of the president.
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Target

Seven years of lies about Julian Assange won't stop now

Jonathan Cook
Jonathan Cook Blog
Thu, 11 Apr 2019 00:00 UTC
Julian
© The Mac Observer
For seven years, from the moment Julian Assange first sought refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, they have been telling us we were wrong, that we were paranoid conspiracy theorists. We were told there was no real threat of Assange's extradition to the United States, that it was all in our fevered imaginations.

For seven years, we have had to listen to a chorus of journalists, politicians and "experts" telling us that Assange was nothing more than a fugitive from justice, and that the British and Swedish legal systems could be relied on to handle his case in full accordance with the law. Barely a "mainstream" voice was raised in his defence in all that time.

From the moment he sought asylum, Assange was cast as an outlaw. His work as the founder of Wikileaks - a digital platform that for the first time in history gave ordinary people a glimpse into the darkest recesses of the most secure vaults in the deepest of Deep States - was erased from the record.
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Briefcase

Lawyers say Ecuadorian police mistook Swedish tech Ola Bini, linked to Assange, as a Russian


RT
Sat, 13 Apr 2019 05:57 UTC
Ola Bini
© AkitaOnRails.comOla Bini
The Russian scare seems to have reached the shores of Ecuador, with lawyers for Ola Bini, a Swedish software developer arrested in Quito over his links to WikiLeaks, saying police erroneously believed he was a Russian citizen.

Bini was apprehended on Thursday afternoon as he was about to board a flight from the Mariscal Sucre International Airport to Japan. Ecuadorian Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo confirmed the identity of the detainee on Friday, stating that the software developer was being held for investigative purposes.

"This person is linked to WikiLeaks, he has visited the Embassy of Ecuador in London on 12 separate occasions of which we have a record," Romo told a local radio station on Friday. She also said that Bini is believed to be an associate of former foreign minister Ricardo Patino, who was the top diplomat in Rafael Correa's government.

Previously, Romo said that a foreign national and two "Russian hackers" are being investigated for interfering with private communications and an attempt to disrupt the government.

However, as the story developed, a number of lapses and violations by the Ecuadorian authorities emerged. On Friday, Bini's defense attorneys issued an extensive communique on his arrest, accusing police of sidestepping basic procedures in a rush to detain a suspect.

Comment: 4/12/19 heavy.com provides more information about Ola Bini:
Bini has not been formally charged with any crime.


Bini is a software developer working for Centro de Autonomía Digital in Quito, Ecuador. He maintains a blog about his work and his areas of interest, which are mainly to do with privacy, security and cryptography. In his most recent blog post, dated January 6, Bini said that he was working to develop a secure chat tool so that users could exchange information safely with as much security as possible. In another blog entry also dated January 6, Bini wrote, "My mind is very much focused on privacy these days. Some days I'm heads down writing low level code, others I'm spending on specification of cryptographic protocols, or the usability of common types of security interactions. This world is full of horrible things, and we need a change."


"Fundamentally I am a believer in free software. I believe that open ecosystems are better than closed ones, and I believe that monocultures are extremely bad in the long run. I am not a huge fan of centralization, and I don't like the anglocentric focus of our industry. I am not a huge fan of having all my electronic life hosted under the auspices of US legislation, especially not in light of recent events."


Bini is a martial arts enthusiast. Since at least 2007, he has been training in a form of martial arts called Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. According to People's Dispatch, Bini was heading to Japan for training in Bujinkan at the time of his arrest on April 11.


See also:
Swedish software developer with alleged links to Wikileaks arrested in Ecuador in flight attempt

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Che Guevara

National Revolutionaries to join Venezuela's military - citizen's militia begins preparations against potential US-backed invasion

Paul Antonopoulos
Fort Russ News
Sun, 14 Apr 2019 17:44 UTC
militia venezuela
© Federico Parra/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesMembers of the Bolivarian Militia take part in a military parade to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the return of the late President Hugo Chavez to power after a failed coup d' etat, at the National Heroes Avenue in Caracas on April 13, 2018.
Venezuela will change its legislation to make the powerful Bolivarian militia, known as the 'National Revolutionary Militia' a part of the Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB), Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said in his speech on Saturday.

Earlier this month, Maduro said the number of Venezuela's militia would be raised from 2.1 million personnel to 3 million by December 2019.

"Commander Chavez dreamed of a powerful and large militia... The militia will receive a constitutional classification as an integral part of the country's armed forces," Maduro said, adding that legislation would be changed for that measure.

Comment: The US will not dirty its hands directly, but will employ proxies of the surrounding countries. That's why Pence is making trips all around Latin America, to shore up support for an insane idea with promises of the Empire's favor. They were able to buy Assange from Ecuador with an IMF loan. What has Pence promised Paraguay?

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Bad Guys

Iraqi Shia militias rip US terrorist designation of Iran's Revolutionary Guards


RFE/RL
Sun, 14 Apr 2019 17:22 UTC
Hadi al-Amiri
© ReutersThe Iraqi Badr Organization, a militia led by Hadi al-Amiri, says it rejects U.S. designation of the IRGC.
A group of Iraq's Shi'ite militias say they strongly reject Washington's designation of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).

The Tehran-backed groups on April 13 said from the home of Iran's consul-general in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf that the IRGC had helped prevent four or five states from falling to Islamic State (IS) militants.

Some of the militia groups themselves have been designated as terrorist organizations by Washington.

"This is laughable coming from the No. 1 sponsor of terrorism, America," said a spokesman for the Badr Organization, which was part of the volunteer forces that helped to defeat IS along with Iraqi government troops and U.S.-backed Western coalition forces.

Badr is led by Iraqi militia commander and politician Hadi al-Amiri, whose Fateh coalition of militia groups has the second-largest number of seats in the Iraqi parliament.

"We reject this action from America and say we have honor to be in the Islamic resistance that fought and beat terrorism," a spokesman for the wider Fateh coalition said.

Comment: Silver lining: Trump continues to push Iraq into the hands of Iran. Lebanon isn't far behind. Just remember who were the ones that actually defeated the bulk of the terrorists in Iraq and Syria: Iraqi Shia militias, the Syrian Army, the IRGC, Hezbollah, and the Russians. And remember those who sat back and did nothing, or actively supported the terrorists: the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, etc. The U.S. coalition, including the SDF, did take a lot of territory from ISIS, but only after years of letting them grow.

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Mr. Potato

Ecuador accusing Embassy Cat of being a 'spy': 'Surreally idiotic' says Wikileaks


RT
Sun, 14 Apr 2019 16:39 UTC
Embassy Cat Assange
© Agence France-Presse/Daniel Leal-OlivasThe Embassy Cat is watching you.
The "demented" stories about Julian Assange's spying cat and embassy antics are being spun by the top Ecuadorian officials to divert attention from his "disgraceful expulsion" from asylum, WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson said.

An exclusive story, revealing spurr-ious details about Assange's stay at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London was spun by Daily Mail on Friday. The piece has since raised quite a few eyebrows with its bold but unfounded claims, including some quite outlandish statements by the Ecuadorian ambassador.

Among other things, Ecuador's UK Ambassador Jaime Marchan brought up the pawsibility Assange's famous Embassy Cat might have been up to something dodgy, claiming the whole diplomatic mission was wary of the critter.

"It could go in every room - we were suspicious it may carry a device ... to spy on us," the diplomat said.

Comment: Facing extradition, Julian Assange sends Embassy Cat to live with family
Residing in Ecuador's London embassy since 2012, Assange's safety became precarious last year when Ecuador elected President Lenin Moreno, a more pro-US voice than that of predecessor Rafael Correa and a man who described Assange as a "stone in our shoe."

Assange has since had his internet at Ecuador's UK embassy cut, his visitation rights severely curtailed, and Moreno's government has revoked the diplomatic credentials of London ambassador Abad Ortiz, Assange's last diplomatic contact in the UK. Add the reported existence of a sealed indictment into the mix, and things aren't looking good for the WikiLeaks boss.

Making matters worse, Assange's only companion, the embassy cat, was in danger too.

According to Assange's legal team, his Ecuadorian hosts have also threatened to place his beloved cat in a pound. No doubt knowing the toll imprisonment and isolation takes on a being, Assange had his lawyers deliver the kitty to his family.


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Better Earth

Lavrov: Western liberal world order dying, new multipolar world emerging


TASS
Fri, 12 Apr 2019 16:53 UTC
Sergey Lavrov
© REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Multipolarity is about to replace the Western liberal model of development, which is losing its attractiveness, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at his annual meeting with students and professors at the Foreign Ministry's Diplomatic Academy.

"The Western liberal model of development, which particularly stipulates a partial loss of national sovereignty - this is what our Western colleagues aimed at when they invented what they called globalization - is losing its attractiveness and is no more viewed as a perfect model for all. Moreover, many people in the very western countries are skeptical about it," Lavrov said.

According to him, global development is guided "by processes aimed at boosting multipolarity and what we call a polycentric world order." The Russian top diplomat pointed out that the foundation for such a world order was being laid and new centers of economic growth were emerging. In this regard, he mentioned Asian Pacific countries that managed to increase their share of global GDP from 15.9% to 37.7% in the past 20 years.

"Clearly, multipolarity and the emergence of new centers of power in every way requires efforts to maintain global stability and search for a balance of interests and compromises, so diplomacy should play a leading role here," Lavrov went on to say. "Particularly because there are a lot of issues that require generally acceptable solutions. These include regional conflicts, international terrorism, food security and environmental protection. This is why we believe that only diplomacy can help make agreements and reach sustainable decisions that will be accepted by all," he emphasized.
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