Puppet MastersS

Fire

Trump's critics & backers trade blows as Washington hunkers down for impeachment fight - 'This is war'

pelosi impeach Trump
With impeachment the talk of the town in Washington, President Donald Trump's most fierce critics and defenders are squaring off, reacting to a Democratic initiative to remove him from office over an alleged abuse of power.

On Tuesday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said the House was "moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry," unifying ongoing investigations in six congressional committees under the umbrella of an impeachment probe. Citing a July phone call between President Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, Pelosi argued that the president abused his authority and broke the law by directing Zelensky to reopen an investigation into the overseas business dealings of former vice president Joe Biden's son, Hunter. The transcript of the call, however, failed to show any nefarious quid-pro-quo as alleged by Trump's opponents.

Comment: Giuliani laid out the Ukraine situation vis a vis Trump almost four months ago:




Attention

Yemen's Houthis claim 'senior Saudi officers' among captured or killed in major operation near Najran

Houthi fighters
© Reuters / Khaled AbdullahHouthi fighters.
Houthis have launched a major operation against Saudi forces near the kingdom's southern region of Najran, capturing or killing a significant number of troops, their spokesman said. Riyadh has yet to confirm or deny the claim.

In a televised address on Saturday, the group's spokesman said they'd inflicted heavy losses on the Saudi forces, capturing several high-ranking officers and a large cache of weaponry, including armored vehicles. He also claimed several hundreds of Saudi troops, including some high-ranking officers, have been killed or taken prisoner by the Houthis.


Comment: This is a pretty major victory for the Houthis if true. The Saudis can't say they weren't warned...


USA

GOP Rep. Aderholt: Biden 'out of the picture' โ€” 'consensus' among House members is Elizabeth Warren will be Dem nominee

Elizabeth Warren
© Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
Allegations of President Donald Trump improperly exerting pressure on the Ukraine government for an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden and the heightened specter of Trump's impeachment have dominated political headlines in recent days.

During an appearance on Huntsville, AL radio's WVNN during an appearance in Washington, D.C. at the Federation for American Immigration Reform's (FAIR) Hold Their Feet to the Fire annual radio event, Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) discussed the possible motivations of the renewed push against Trump as it pertained to Ukraine.

"I think they're trying to make the president look bad," Aderholt said. "That's one aspect of it - but also trying to appease their Democrat base on the other side. Now what is going to be interesting, I think, is see what in the next few days and next couple of weeks what we see this does to Biden because Biden is all wrapped up in this whole thing and his son Hunter. So, I don't know how that's going to have an impact."

TV

Germany's state funded broadcaster broke law with coverage inciting Moscow protesters to "come out" - Russian commission

deutsche welle
A Russian parliamentary commission says German state-funded broadcaster Deutsche Welle violated the law with its coverage of protests this summer, and that lawmakers will continue to investigate other media outlets, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, on similar possible legal breaches.

Vasily Piskarev, chairman of the Commission on Foreign Interference in Russia's Internal Affairs, said on September 27 that parliament will now ask the Foreign Ministry to consider revoking Deutsche Welle's accreditation to operate in the country.

The case specifically noted that Deutsche Welle's Russian service wrote in a tweet on July 27 "Moscow Come Out!" which the commission said was an attempt to influence the internal affairs of Russia.


Comment: Appearing to incite people to "come out" and protest - bearing in mind they aren't quoting anyone - is fairly underhand. Had Russia done similar there would be an uproar.


"While acting on the territory of Russia, Deutsche Welle has violated laws, many laws," Piskarev said.

"We decided that the designated bodies must provide a response to these violations," he added.

Comment: See also:


Bad Guys

'The masks are off': 'Occupier' US openly sided with terrorists with new sanctions - Moscow

Aleppo
© REUTERS/Khalil AshawiMembers of Jaish al-Islam in the town of Soussian in Aleppo countryside, Syria September 23, 2018.
By blacklisting a shipping company and five vessels for supplying the Russian military battling terrorists in Syria with fuel, the US has come out as a sponsor of militants there, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.

Three Russian individuals, five vessels and a shipping company were sanctioned by Washington for their alleged role in "a sanctions evasion scheme to facilitate the delivery of jet fuel to Russian forces operating in Syria," the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) reported Thursday.

Maritime Assistance LLC was designated for serving as "a front" for another shipping firm, Sovfracht, blacklisted by the US back in September 2016 over its operations in Crimea, after the peninsula reunited with Russia. The three Russians are senior Sovracht executives, who were allegedly in charge of Maritime Assistance LLC's operations.

Comment: As detailed in the article Leaked Docs Reveal US And Saudi Arabia Supplying Terrorists in Yemen - Serbia files (Part 3) it has been proven beyond a doubt that the US in league with its allies have been directly supplying terrorists. This most recent event further proves that they're also doing all they can to shield their proxy army from inevitable justice being meted out by Russia and its allies.

See also:


People

Don't rock the boat: The selective use of identity politics to maintain the status quo

Warren, Gabbard, Omar
© REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson; Gretchen Ertl; Mary F. CalvertElizabeth Warren, Tulsi Gabbard and Ilhan Omar
Identity politics is shamelessly exploited by pro-war western Establishments to promote certain candidates, but only those who promote the 'right' elite-friendly policy stances.

She's the first from her ethnic background to make it to Congress, and the first of her religion too. And of course, she's a woman as well. Now you might have thought that those PC hipsters and Inside the Tent self-proclaimed 'feminists' who championed 'Hillary for President' not so long ago, and were telling us what a huge advance it would be for women around the globe for the US to have its first female president, would be falling over themselves to endorse Tulsi Gabbard, who not only has the right sex, but ticks other diversity boxes too.

But guess what? They're not. Far from it. A lot of these people have been at the forefront of those attacking Tulsi. They not only don't want her as President, they don't want her in debates either. All of a sudden ticking gender, race and religious boxes isn't so important. Gabbard once met Assad, and that puts her out of it.

Smoking

Russia's Emergency Ministry bans smoking on apartment balconies

Russian woman smoking on balcony
© Getty Images (file photo)
Russian smokers have been left gasping after the emergencies ministry announced that smoking on the balconies of apartment blocks would be banned under new fire regulations.

Under the new rules, "open fire" is prohibited on apartment balconies, as well as in the living areas of dormitories and hotels.

Lighting matches and smoking are both classed as open fire, officials say. Barbecuing kebabs and lighting candles will also be banned, reports say.

There was initial confusion as to whether smoking was included in the ban, with one tobacco industry official insisting that the new rules were all about "alcoholics who grill shish kebabs on the balcony".

Attention

Erdogan vows to continue purchasing oil and natural gas from Iran despite US sanctions

Turkish leader says 'impossible' to sever all energy ties with Tehran over reimposed American sanctions
erdogan
© Don Emmert / AFPTurkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York, September 24, 2019.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Ankara would continue to purchase oil and natural gas from Iran despite US sanctions, in comments published on Friday.

The United States reimposed sanctions on Iran after pulling out of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, and says it aims to reduce Tehran's energy sales to zero.

"It is impossible for us to cancel relations with Iran with regards to oil and natural gas. We will continue to buy our natural gas from there," Erdogan told Turkish reporters before leaving New York where he was attending the UN General Assembly.

Despite this vow, Erdogan admitted Turkey faced difficulty in purchasing oil since the private sector "pulled back because of US threats," NTV broadcaster reported.

Comment: See also: The Russia-Turkey-Iran triangle is gaining traction


Boat

British-flagged tanker reaches Dubai port following release from Iran

The British-flagged tanker Stena Impero Bandar Abbas
The British-flagged tanker Stena Impero pictured in the port of Bandar Abbas on July 21.
The British-flagged oil tanker that was seized by Iran in July has arrived at Dubai's Port Rashid in the United Arab Emirates, according to ship-tracking websites.

The Stena Impero, which had been held off Bandar Abbas for more than two months, started moving out of the Iranian port on September 27 and reached the coast off Dubai in the early morning hours of September 28.

The arrival was reported on several ship-tracking websites.

Erik Hanell, CEO of the company that owns the vessel, Stena Bulk, told the media earlier that the tanker's crew are "safe and in high spirits" following their release from Iran.

He added that arrangements have been made for them to return to their families.

"The crew will have a period of time to be with their families following 10 weeks of detainment on the vessel. Full support will be offered to the crew and families in the coming weeks to assist with their recovery," he said.

Comment: Previously:


Cowboy Hat

'Obvious paranoia': Lavrov responds to Pelosi's claim Russia 'had a hand' in Trump-Zelensky impeachment scandal

Sergei Lavrov and Nancy Pelosi
© Reuters / Brendan McDermid / Alexander Drago
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's claims that Russia was involved in the Trump-Zelensky phone conversation scandal as "obvious paranoia" and yet another "deadly sin" to pin on Moscow.

"Russia's been accused of all the deadly sins, and then some," Lavrov said at a press conference at the UN General Assembly on Friday, addressing a question about Pelosi's claims that his country was somehow involved in the alleged quid pro quo between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"It's paranoia, and I think it's obvious to everyone."

Comment: For more on Ukrainegate: