Puppet MastersS


Wine

Russia's new PM candidate Mikhail Mishustin: IT expert, hockey fan & piano player


RT
Thu, 16 Jan 2020 00:00 UTC
Mikhail Mishustin
© Sputnik / Mikhail Klimentyev
Mikhail Mishustin managed to stay out of the spotlight as Federal Tax Service boss, yet his high-profile colleagues now describe the PM candidate as not just a true professional, but a colorful personality to boot.

The parliament will decide if Mishustin is fit for the job on Thursday, after President Putin suggested him for the PM role on the heels of a surprise resignation of Dmitry Medvedev's government. The candidate already held hour-long talks with top MPs at the State Duma, after which speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that Mishustin was well-known to lawmakers.

"He's a man who has made a reputation for himself by creating a high-tech Federal Tax Service from scratch with the use of state-of-the-art technologies, the digital economy," Volodin pointed out.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Snakes in Suits

Epstein operated database of victims, continued sex trafficking through 2018, US Virgin Islands government alleges

Petr Svab
The Epoch times
Thu, 16 Jan 2020 20:24 UTC
Epstein island
© Reuters/Marco Bello/File PhotoLittle St. James Island, one of the properties of financier Jeffrey Epstein, in an aerial view near Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, on July 21, 2019.
The estate of Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier who allegedly led a child sex trafficking ring, has been sued by the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands, which claims the right to confiscate tens of millions of dollars in assets that Epstein is said to have used in committing dozens of crimes, including rape and human trafficking of minors.

Epstein maintained an electronic database of his victims and his criminal enterprise operated from 2001 through 2018, the Jan. 15 complaint alleges.

Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on charges of sex trafficking minors. He died in his jail cell in New York City on Aug. 10.
Read More...
Bad Guys

'Why do you allow the United States to bully you?' - Iranian FM to Europe over nuclear deal tensions


RT
Wed, 15 Jan 2020 23:53 UTC
zarif
© AFP / ATTA KENARE
Iranian FM Zarif criticized the European decision to trigger an investigation into Tehran's alleged non-compliance with the nuclear deal - asking why it allows "bullying" from the United States, who derailed the agreement.

During an international conference in New Delhi, Iranian FM Mohammad Javad Zarif was asked about the fate of the 2015 nuclear deal. The agreement went downhill in May 2018 when the US dropped out, then re-imposing sweeping sanctions and vowing to pile "maximum pressure" on Iran.

On Tuesday, the European trio triggered an investigation after Iran announced that it will move beyond uranium enrichment limitations following the killing of one of its top military leaders in a US drone strike earlier this month.

"They say 'We are not responsible for what the United States did.' OK, but you are independent countries," Zarif said, referring to Europe.
Europe, EU, is the largest global economy. So why do you allow the United States to bully you around?
When asked about the fate of the 2015 deal, the Iranian FM reassured Reuters that "it's not dead".
Read More...
Cell Phone

US officials brand possible Huawei 5G rollout in UK 'act of madness' as MI5 plays down US fear-mongering


RT
Tue, 14 Jan 2020 23:39 UTC
5g chinese
© Global Look Press / ZUMA Press / Yan Xiang
In a bid to pressure the UK into barring Huawei from Britain's 5G rollout, US officials reportedly went as far as to imply that allowing it on the market would be "madness." The fears were dampened by the UK spy chief, however.

The US has upped the rhetorical ante on its largely unfounded claims that Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei will severely compromise a country's cyber security if it is allowed to work on any of the world's burgeoning national 5G networks.

A team of high-ranking US officials, including those from the National Security Agency (NSA), were set to present supposedly damning evidence to the UK government on Monday, arguing the equipment supplied by the Chinese company may come with hidden 'backdoors' granting Beijing access to critical British infrastructure.


Comment: Meanwhile Western intelligence agencies are allowed hidden backdoors - to users' data.


In the wake of the meeting with the British ministers, the Guardian's Dan Sabbagh quoted US officials as saying that using Huawei technology for 5G in the UK would be "an act of madness." It's unclear exactly what proof the US officials presented to their British colleagues, as several major US allies, such as Germany and India, have so far found no compelling reason to ban Huawei from their own 5G networks.

Washington has long tried to persuade London into shunning the Chinese tech giant. In December, US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien argued that once Huawei is given a green light in the UK, Beijing would "steal wholesale state secrets, whether they are the UK's nuclear secrets or secrets from MI6 or MI5."

Such an ominous prediction apparently did not strike a chord with the British intelligence community itself, however, with head of MI5 Andrew Parker telling the Financial Times in a recent interview that he had "no reason to think" the intelligence sharing agreement between the UK and the US would be in any danger if the British government refused to shut the door on Huawei.
Read More...
Star of David

Ex-Israeli general openly admits Israel arms and aids crazed Islamist head-choppers in Syria

Joaquin Flores
Fort Russ
Thu, 16 Jan 2020 23:16 UTC
Gadi Eisenkot idf israel
© MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POSTIDF chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot in 2016
Israel's ex-general Gadi Eisenkot admits publicly that Israel helped Syrian 'rebel' groups in many ways, financially, militarily, logistically.


Comment: It's not often Israel outright admits its true affiliations.

Read More...
USA

US House votes to send impeachment articles for Trump trial, senators sworn in, Pelosi wants more witnesses


RFE/RL
Thu, 16 Jan 2020 22:54 UTC
pelosi
© Tom Brenner / Reuters
The U.S. House of Representatives has adopted a resolution to send two articles of impeachment to the Senate for a trial on whether to remove President Donald Trump from office.

On January 15, the Democrat-led legislative chamber approved by a margin of 228-193 the resolution that also appoints the seven lawmakers who will be trial prosecutors that were announced earlier in the day by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Democrat-California).

It also provides funding for the trial.

"We are here today to cross a very important threshold in American history," Pelosi said before the vote.


Comment: True, just not in the way Pelosi most likely intends it to be.


All the trial managers have legal backgrounds and will be led by 10-term Representative Adam Schiff (California), a former federal prosecutor and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

He will be joined by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (New York), Hakeem Jeffries (New York), a former litigator in private practice, Jason Crow (Colorado), a former Army Ranger and private attorney, Val Demings (Florida), a former police chief, Zoe Lofgren (Calfornia), a former immigration lawyer, and Sylvia Garcia (Texas), a former judge.

The trial managers are subsequently expected to "march" the articles of impeachment to the Senate and deliver them, according to Pelosi.

Comment: The impeachment senators were sworn in today:
After a roll call, Roberts administered the oath to the senators who as jurors in the trial will decide whether the 45th president should be convicted and removed from office on two charges: abuse of office and obstruction of Congress.

"Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, President of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws; so help you God?" Roberts asked.

After responding, "I do," each senator signed a book affirming their oath.

Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate majority leader from Kentucky, then adjourned the proceedings until 1 p.m. on January 21.

Trump is being sent a summons to appear in the makeshift courtroom of the Senate but is expected to be represented by two lawyers.

McConnell also set a January 18 deadline for members of the House of Representatives -- acting as prosecutors in the trial -- to file a trial brief with the secretary of the Senate.

The president can file his own trial brief by noon on January 20 and the House has until noon the following day to file a rebuttal.
Pelosi now claims Trump broke the law by delaying military aid to Ukraine, and wants to call additional witnesses:
Her calls come on foot of a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) which claims Trump broke the law by temporarily withholding military aid to Ukraine last year. According to the report, Trump held up the aid based on "his own policy priorities," in violation of the Impoundment Control Act.

Pelosi, who on Wednesday announced her team of prosecutors who will lead the impeachment case against Trump, seized on the report to bolster her case.

"The White House, the administration, broke - I'm saying this - broke the law," the senior Democrat told reporters on Thursday. "This reinforces, again, the need for documents and eyewitnesses in the Senate."
...
Republicans have ridiculed Pelosi and her fellow Democrats for first claiming in December that a speedy impeachment was a matter of "national security," and then for refusing to transmit the articles to the Senate and begin the trial. Pelosi withheld the articles for four weeks in a bid to pressure Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell into accepting her terms for a trial, which included the option to call more witnesses than House Democrats had questioned during their inquiry.

McConnell resisted, and accused Pelosi of attempting to gather extra information to bolster a weak case against Trump.

"First, Democrats spent weeks saying the House case was totally convincing," he said on Tuesday. "Now, the opposite: They say the House case is so thin that if the Senate judges what the House actually voted on, it's a 'cover-up.'"

The Republican-controlled Senate is widely expected to acquit Trump. None of the upper house's 53 Republicans have voiced support for removing the president from office, and a two-thirds majority is required to oust Trump. The trial is slated to begin next week.


Read More...
Star of David

Israel set to steal remainder of the West Bank from Palestinians, Trump administration gives blessing

Yumni Patel
Mondoweiss
Wed, 15 Jan 2020 22:05 UTC
illegal settlements West bank
© ReutersSpreading like a cancer: the Israeli flag flying over Israeli illegal settlements in the West Bank
The Israeli Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that it had approved the creation of seven new Israeli nature reserves in Area C of the occupied West Bank.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the move — which also includes the expansion of 12 existing nature reserves — is the first time since the Oslo Accords that an approval of its kind has been issued.

The news comes on the heels of a controversial forum of right-wing activists and academics last week in Jerusalem, where Naftali Bennett, the current Minister of Defense, stood in front of the crowd and declared that Area C of the occupied West Bank "belongs to Israel."

"We are embarking on a real and immediate battle for the future of the Land of Israel and the future of Area C," Bennett told the Kohelet Policy Forum, referring to the more than 60% of the West Bank that was designated by the Oslo Accords as being under control by Israel.
Read More...
Bad Guys

IG bombshell: Did the DOJ ask Putin 'buddy' Deripaska to help get Trump?

Margot Cleveland
The Federalist
Mon, 13 Jan 2020 21:45 UTC
bruce ohr
© Associated Press/Pablo Martinez MonsivaisIn this Aug. 28, 2018, file photo, Justice Department official Bruce Ohr arrives for a closed hearing of the House Judiciary and House Oversight committees on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 30, 2016.
DOJ official Bruce Ohr called a meeting of several federal agencies to discuss 'working with' a Russian oligarch because of his belief, premised on the unverified Steele dossier, that Trump was corrupt.

A previously unnoticed passage in Inspector General Michael Horowitz's report on federal surveillance abuse suggests Bruce Ohr and his compatriots were willing to bargain with a Russian oligarch to take down Donald Trump.

Two-hundred-plus pages into the IG report, while discussing former Associate Deputy Attorney General Ohr's continued contacts with Crossfire Hurricane dossier author Christopher Steele, Horowitz revealed a significant detail that to date has been overlooked: "On December 7, 2016, Ohr conveyed an interagency meeting (including representatives from the FBI) regarding strategy in dealing with Russian Oligarch 1."

The IG report added that after the meeting "one of Ohr's junior Department colleagues who attended the meeting" asked "Ohr about why the U.S. government would support trying to work with Russian Oligarch 1" — the moniker used in the IG report to refer to one of Vladimir Putin's closest confidants, the aluminum oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

Comment: Looks like Deripaska is thread that bother Mueller and Horowitz have studiously ignored:

Read More...
Eye 2

Best of the Web: Ukraine Airlines Flight 752: Iran shot it down, but there may be more to the story

Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D
The Unz Review
Wed, 15 Jan 2020 21:31 UTC
debris Ukraine crash 752 Iran
© PANA
The claim that Major General Qassem Soleimani was a "terrorist" on a mission to carry out an "imminent" attack that would kill hundreds of Americans turned out to be a lie, so why should one believe anything else relating to recent developments in Iran and Iraq? To be sure, Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 departing from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on the morning of January 8th with 176 passengers and crew on board was shot down by Iranian air defenses, something which the government of the Islamic Republic has admitted, but there just might be considerably more to the story involving cyberwarfare carried out by the U.S. and possibly Israeli governments.

To be sure, the Iranian air defenses were on high alert fearing an American attack in the wake of the U.S. government's assassination of Soleimani on January 3rd followed by a missile strike from Iran directed against two U.S. bases in Iraq. In spite of the tension and the escalation, the Iranian government did not shut down the country's airspace. Civilian passenger flights were still departing and arriving in Tehran, almost certainly an error in judgment on the part of the airport authorities. Inexplicably, civilian aircraft continued to take off and land even after Flight 752 was shot down.
Read More...
Calculator

US & China sign 'phase one' trade deal to ease global economic tensions


RT
Wed, 15 Jan 2020 18:05 UTC
Qingdao port
© AFPA cargo ship at a port in Qingdao, China's eastern Shandong province, January 14, 2020
The first part of a broader trade agreement between the world's top economic superpowers was finally inked on Wednesday with the US suspending new tariffs in exchange for Chinese purchases of $200 billion in American goods.

The accord, signed by President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, puts on pause the simmering trade row between Washington and Beijing. The more than year-long trade conflict resulted in multiple rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs on billions worth of goods.

China will purchase a total of $200 billion more in US goods over two years than it did in 2017, according to the deal text, which breaks down those purchases into categories of agricultural products, manufactured goods, services, and energy products.

Comment: One wonders what effect, if any, this will have on the US' threats to sanction China for trading with Iran: US threatens China with sanctions if it keeps buying Iranian oil

Read More...