Puppet MastersS


Eye 2

Who is behind the attack on Iranian oil tanker Sabiti?

Steve Brown
The Duran
Mon, 14 Oct 2019 15:31 UTC
sabiti oil tanker attack
The Iranian-flagged oil tanker Sabiti
If on October 10th a Saudi vessel had been struck by a missile in the Red Sea there is absolutely no doubt that US State and its major media outlets would immediately identify Iran as the culprit. So far, we've seen no hysteria from US State claiming that Iran was the source of the attack on the Sabiti tanker, originally claimed to be the Sinopa.

Despite a spreading oil spill related to the attack, according to the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), "No help was offered to assist by any country" even if Saudi Arabia claimed otherwise. To the contrary, ship tracking service Marine Traffic wrote on twitter, "We do not see any smoke, fire, spills or tugboats. Instead, we see a tanker cruising home at a healthy speed".

However, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a statement, "The investigation, conducted by the National Iranian Tanker Company, shows that the Iranian tanker ... was attacked twice, with an interval of around 30 minutes, and was damaged". And now we have photos of the ship's damage to prove it. Iran is still investigating the source of the attacks, has made no official statement regarding responsibility, and no one has claimed responsibility.
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Hammer

Tyranny of the minority: Сatalonia litmus test proves European elites ignore referendums

Jonathan Arnott
RT
Mon, 14 Oct 2019 11:45 UTC
Catalan separatist protest
© Reuters / Juan MedinaPeople carry and wear Esteladas (Catalan separatist flag) during a protest after a verdict in a trial over a banned independence referendum, in Girona, Spain, October 14, 2019
Catalan separatist leader Oriol Junqueras is jailed for 13 years. The UK is still waiting for Brexit in 2019. The EU has ignored countless referendums. The connection? Governments think they know better than the people.

Spain will no doubt say that the Catalan independence referendum was illegal. They'll point out that the reason over 92% voted for independence was that the 'Remain' side, to use the common parlance, had boycotted the referendum. That doesn't change the fact that Catalonia has consistently elected pro-independence governments.

I'm very much interested in whether Catalonia remains part of Spain but, first and foremost, I believe in the power of self-determination. The Catalan people must be the people to make that determination. In the UK I'd describe myself as Unionist: I want Scotland to remain part of the Union. However, if the Scottish people were to vote in a referendum to become an independent country, I would absolutely and unequivocally support their right to do so. In all of this, Spain has sought to crush the Catalan drive for autonomy rather than providing a pathway to an undisputed, legal, means of making an ultimate determination.
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Info

As options narrow on Syria, Trump prepares to drop sanctions hammer on Turkey

Idrees Ali, Humeyra Pamuk
Reuters
Mon, 14 Oct 2019 00:39 UTC
turkish children flag
© REUTERS/Kemal AslanBoys wave Turkish flags as a military convoy drives near the border town of Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, October 14, 2019.
President Donald Trump's administration is set to impose economic sanctions on Ankara, potentially as early as this week, for its incursion into northern Syria, one of the few levers the United States still has over NATO-ally Turkey.

Using the U.S. military to stop the Turkish offensive on U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters was never an option, defense officials have said, and Trump asked the Pentagon on Sunday to begin a "deliberate" withdrawal of all U.S. troops from northern Syria.

After Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday that Trump had authorized "very powerful" new sanctions targeting Turkey, the administration appeared ready to start making good on Trump's threat to obliterate Turkey's economy.

Comment: See also:

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Gold Bar

Stunning warning issued by Dutch central bank: "If the entire system collapses, gold will be needed to start over"

Tyler Durden
Zerohedge
Mon, 14 Oct 2019 04:04 UTC
Gold bars
It's not just "tinfoil blogs" who (for the past 11 years) have been warning that a monetary reset is inevitable and the only viable fallback option once trust and faith in fiat is lost, is a gold standard (something which even Mark Carney hinted at recently): central banks are joining the doom parade now too.

An article published by the De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), or Dutch Central Bank, has shocked many with its claim that "if the system collapses, the gold stock can serve as a basis to build it up again. Gold bolsters confidence in the stability of the central bank's balance sheet and creates a sense of security."

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Rocket

Playing Saudi Arabia and Iran against each other? Iran suspects Israel behind missile attack on its oil tanker in the Red Sea


avia.pro
Sun, 13 Oct 2019 13:45 UTC
iranian oil tanker red sea
What is it with 2019 and blowing up oil tankers??
Israel and Washington have been accused of attacking an Iranian oil tanker in the Red Sea.

The mysterious attack on the Iranian oil tanker Sabiti in the Red Sea, when two missiles were launched on a sea vessel, is a consequence of the actions of Washington and Tel Aviv. Information about this was voiced the day before by a member of the Iranian national security committee.

"A member of the Iranian national security committee accused Israel and the United States of assaulting the Iranian oil tanker to fuel tension in the region," Trendingsy reports.

Independent analysts have previously considered this option, believing that Iran will have to strike in response to Saudi Arabia in retaliation, which in turn will draw the region into a new war.

Comment: Curiously, Israeli has a 'secret' naval base - its largest overseas - on an island in the Red Sea...
red sea attack eritrea
How Israel Casts Its Dark Shadow Over Horn of Africa

Arab News, 2006-08-31
Israel is creating the biggest naval base outside Israel on the Dahlak Island.

This followed an agreement between Eritrea and Israel signed in 1995. Eritrea used Israeli warships and huge logistical support from that naval base during its occupation of the Yemeni Hunaish Island in 1996. The sources disclosed that Israel has presence on two Eritrean islands: Dahlak and Fatma. The Israeli nuclear wastes are accumulated in these islands. Israel also has monitoring centers on the Red Sea to oversee the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Sudan, in addition to oil movements.
The temptation to go from 'monitoring' to 'blowing up' must have gotten too strong...

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Chess

'Are you with us or with terrorists?' Erdogan lashes out at NATO allies for failure to back Turkey's Syria op


RT
Mon, 14 Oct 2019 12:50 UTC
erdogan
© Murat Cetinmuhurdar / Presidential Press Office / Handout via REUTERS
Turkey's President Recep Erdogan is enraged that NATO members are not supporting Ankara's incursion into neighboring Syria, to target local Kurdish militias, arguing that in doing so they are siding with terrorists.

Ankara has been subjected to diplomatic and economic pressure by fellow NATO members, including Germany, France, and the UK, following its decision to launch a military operation in northeastern Syria last week. An arms sales embargo and other measures are on the table over what Turkey touts as a legitimate counterterrorist campaign.

Erdogan on Monday criticized a lack of support from nations that are supposed to be allies under NATO. "According to Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which side should they take? They need to stand by us," he told reporters, referring to the cornerstone of the agreement that says a military attack on one member is an attack on all of them.
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Megaphone

McCabe says Steele told FBI he 'could not vouch' for Trump dossier material


hannity.com
Fri, 11 Oct 2019 12:44 UTC
mccabe
Disgraced former FBI boss Andrew McCabe sat down with Carl Bernstein this week to discuss his role in the Russia probe; admitting Christopher Steele told the FBI he was unable to "vouch" for all his dossier material.

"We knew that Steele was working a number of different sources, some of which has sub-sources, and sub-sub-sources, and he would represent that in the reporting, as any good source should. It didn't come with his imprimatur of, 'this is all gospel.' It was like, 'this is what I'm hearing,'" said McCabe.

"Some of it he felt was pretty solid, others he made clear, like, 'Hey, I'm getting this from one person, and I can't vouch for this sourcing chain, and I'm just giving it to you for your information,'" he added.
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Megaphone

SNP declares intent to hold second Scottish independence referendum in 2020

Alan_McGuinness
Sky News
Mon, 14 Oct 2019 01:36 UTC
Ian Blackford
Ian Blackford said Westminster has to 'respect the right of the people that live in Scotland to determine their own future'
There should be a second Scottish independence referendum in 2020, the SNP's Westminster leader has told Sky News.

Ian Blackford said Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn "has to be" ready for another public vote on the issue if he becomes prime minister.

Mr Corbyn told Sophy Ridge on Sunday that he would not contemplate a fresh independence referendum for the first few years of a Labour government.

Comment: See also: And check out SOTT radio's:
It'll be interesting to see how the British establishment handles this, what with its hands already being extremely full massaging Brexit/not-Brexit...

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Cards

Is Trump's Syria withdrawal gambit an anti-impeachment card? How Trump might use this to win in 2020

Joaquin Flores
Strategic Culture Foundation
Fri, 11 Oct 2019 10:07 UTC
trump salute
© Whitehouse.gov
The 19th century Baptist Particular preacher from England, Charles Spurgeon, is best known for the one-line wisdom: "A lie spreads half way around the world while the truth is putting on his shoes."

But what of half-truths, do they spread a quarter-way, or a third? Are these more like lies, or more like the truth?

By now the half-truth that President Trump announced the pull-out of US forces from its activities aiding the Kurdish separatists in Syria, on Monday, for the sole purpose of distracting the whole discourse from the impeachment proceedings against the sitting president, has spread at least some portion around the world by now.

A half-truth? It is indeed true that Trump had said the time had come for the US to extricate itself from its series of "ridiculous endless wars", something which, before Trump, no Republican president in living memory has said.

The impeachment itself has the look and feel of yet another Democratic Party impeachment stunt, one which in all reality will have a difficult time getting through the House of Representatives and perhaps an impossible time getting through Senate, given Trump's overall popularity among the energized base which numerous critical Senators will rely on. If the process would go through to the Senate, it is Chief Justice Roberts that would preside on the trial part, and being bound by his conservative record, it is nigh impossible that Roberts would be friendly to efforts to remove Trump on the extremely squishy grounds they would be presented on. After all, creating such future precedents would ultimately have a destabilizing effect on the executive branch, thereby threatening the constitutional framework of checks and balances between the two branches in question.

Comment: See also:

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Sheriff

Best of the Web: Arab media's full interview with Putin: Russia 'does not build alliances against anyone'


RT
Sun, 13 Oct 2019 10:14 UTC

Comment: Among other gems in this interview, Putin said:
"The worst peace is better than the best of wars..."

putin
Russia's President Vladimir Putin sat down with three Arab-language media, including RT Arabic, to discuss Russia's policies and ties in the Middle East and beyond, as well as a looming arms race with the US and NATO's expansion.

In advance of his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Vladimir Putin answered questions from Al Arabiya senior presenter Mohammed Tomaihi, Sky News Arabia senior presenter Mohannad Khatib and RT Arabic Public and Political Programmes Department Head Salam Musafir.


This is the full video and transcript of the interview. Key excerpts are available here, here and here.

Mohammed Tomaihi, Al Arabiya: (retranslated): Dear viewers, welcome to this unique interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which we are recording in Sochi.

With me here today are Mr. Mohannad Khatib, a reporter at Sky News Arabia and Salam Musafir, a reporter at RT Arabic.

Comment: Speaking to the media of the countries a leader is about to visit is a great and diplomatic idea. Once again, Putin sets excellent standards of governance for everyone else to meet.

Putin's strategy, if it can be called that, is by now very clear: Russia strives to be both 'friends' and 'enemies' of no one. In terms of 'grand alliances' against instruments of Western hegemony, like the petro-dollar system, and 'taking sides' in conflicts like that in Syria, Russia should, theoretically, be 'enemies' with the Saudi and Gulf kingdoms.

But that's not what we see. Instead, Putin seeks to show everyone else the benefit of not falling to temptation to take sides in alliances, military and otherwise. It's the only way forward, and pretty much everyone sees that now.

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