Puppet MastersS


Briefcase

DOJ sued for documents on FBI-CIA informant Felix Sater, 'The Quarterback' of the Trump Tower Moscow scheme

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Mon, 16 Sep 2019 17:25 UTC
Felix Sater
© UnknownFelix Sater
A Freedom of Information (FOIA) lawsuit filed on Monday by Judicial Watch against the Department of Justice seeks all records of communications regarding Felix Sater - a former Trump organization official known to US intelligence as "The Quarterback," who was recently confirmed to be an informant for both the FBI and CIA.

Sater went from a "Wall Street wunderkind" working at Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, to getting barred from the securities industry over a barroom brawl which led to a year in prison, to facilitating a $40 million pump-and-dump stock scheme for the New York mafia, to working telecom deals in Russia - where the FBI and CIA tapped him in the late 1990s as an undercover intelligence asset who was told by his handler "I want you to understand: If you're caught, the USA is going to disavow you and, at best, you get a bullet in the head," according to BuzzFeed.

Judicial Watch reported:
"Sater began working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1998, after he was caught in a stock-fraud scheme." It was Andrew Weissmann who, as supervising assistant U.S. attorney, signed the agreement that brought Sater on as a government informant. Federal prosecutors wrote a letter to Sater's sentencing judge on August 27, 2009, in an effort to get him a lighter sentence: "Sater's cooperation was of a depth and breadth rarely seen."
Sater also spearheaded the failed Trump Tower Moscow scheme with former Trump attorney Michael Cohen according to the same report (which BuzzFeed walked back months later, saying instead that the project was Cohen's idea).
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Dig

Bolton 'privately' dumps on Trump's foreign policy

Daniel Lippman
Politico
Wed, 18 Sep 2019 04:25 UTC
TrumpBolton
© Alex Wong/Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump • Former National Security Advisor, John Bolton
John Bolton, President Donald Trump's fired national security adviser, harshly criticized Trump's foreign policy on Wednesday at a private lunch, saying inviting the Taliban to Camp David sent a "terrible signal" and that it was "disrespectful" to the victims of 9/11 because the Taliban had harbored al Qaeda.

Bolton also said that any negotiations with North Korea and Iran were "doomed to failure," according to two attendees. All the North Koreans and Iranians want to do is negotiate for relief from sanctions to support their economies, said Bolton, who was speaking before guests invited by the Gatestone Institute, a conservative think tank.

"He ripped Trump, without using his name, several times," said one attendee. Bolton didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bolton also said more than once that Trump's failure to respond to the Iranian attack on an American drone earlier this summer set the stage for the Islamic Republic's aggression in recent months.

Comment: See also:
Who is Bolton replacement Robert C. O'Brien and what is his stance on matters of war and peace?

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Boat

UAE next onboard to join US-led maritime coalition 'to protect Gulf shipping'

Scott Neuman
NPR.org
Thu, 19 Sep 2019 07:32 UTC
Pompeo/MbS
© Mandel Ngan/APUS Sec. of State Pompeo • Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
The United Arab Emirates said Thursday it would join a U.S.-led maritime coalition aimed at protecting international shipping in and near the Strait of Hormuz following alleged Iranian attacks on oil tankers there.

The UAE joins neighbors Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, along with the United Kingdom and Australia in the effort to protect vessels in the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf and the narrow Strait of Hormuz waterway that separates them and which acts as a transit point for a fifth of the world's oil exports.

The announcement came as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in the Emirates on Thursday for a brief stopover after visiting Saudi Arabia.

Emirates Foreign Ministry official Salem al Zaabi was quoted by state-run WAM news agency as saying that the UAE joined the coalition to "ensure global energy security and the continued flow of energy supplies to the global economy." It was not immediately clear what the UAE would contribute to the effort, but the country's small navy possesses several patrol and missile boats.

Comment: From RT, 19/9/2019: Iraq will not join anti-Iran maritime mission
In a statement via the state-run Iraqi News Agency on Thursday, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Iraq will not join any force patrolling the Gulf's waterways, particularly any involving the Jewish state.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammad Ali al-Hakim also spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif, with the pair discussing bilateral issues, according to the Iraqi ministry's website.

Britain, Australia, and Bahrain have already enlisted, while Japan has said it may send a force of its own to the region.


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Bad Guys

If you start it, how do you end it? Devastating war in the Gulf something neither Saudis nor Iranians want


RT
Wed, 18 Sep 2019 23:46 UTC
Remnants of Houthi drone attack
© AP/Amr NabilRemains of 'cruise missiles and drones used in recent targeting of SA oil facilities.
For all the sound and fury coming from Saudi Arabia, a shooting war in the Gulf is not something Tehran or Riyadh want. Both US and its allies know that Iran is a much tougher nut to crack than Yemen, but can't admit so publicly.

Saudi Arabia and the US have called Saturday's attack on oil fields and refineries an "act of war" and accused Tehran of being behind it, even though the Houthi rebels in Yemen have taken responsibility and said it was retaliation for the Saudi-led invasion of their country.

The missiles and drones used in the strike allegedly came from Iran and flew over Iraq and Kuwait to avoid Saudi air defenses, anonymous US officials told reporters, who published their claims uncritically. Riyadh showcased the fragments of Iranian-made weapons on Wednesday, but admitted it did not know the exact point of origin. Iran has denied having anything to do with the attack.


Comment: Cui Bono? Yemen and Israel

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Binoculars

Kevin Shipp interviews: Part 1 - Obama ordered CIA/FBI to spy on Trump; Part 2 - 9/11 truth to never be revealed

Greg Hunter
USAWatchdog
Sun, 15 Sep 2019 00:00 UTC
McCabe
© static.politicoFormer Assistant FBI Director Andrew McCabe

Part 1: Obama ordered CIA and FBI to spy on Trump

Former Assistant FBI Director Andrew McCabe looks like he is going to be charged for his role in the Trump Russia hoax to try to remove a duly elected President from office. Former CIA Officer Kevin Shipp, who is an expert on counter-intelligence, says McCabe is going roll over on his co-conspirators and talk if the DOJ cuts him a deal. Shipp explains:
"Yes, I do think he will talk, absolutely. It's either that or be imprisoned with Billy Bob for the next 15 or 20 years. The motivation is great for him to talk. . . . This is one of their most outrageous things the Shadow Government and the Deep State has done. They ran a counter-intelligence espionage operation, and that was their excuse to open an investigation. . . . It is clear to me that spying on Trump was ordered by Obama. It had to be, no doubt about it. He gets a Presidential brief on what the FBI, CIA, NSA are doing every single day. The FBI spied on the Trump campaign with an unprecedented domestic spy operation, and that is rocking this country."

Comment: Excellent interviews. Shipp also comments on the Epstein case and globalist plans for the future of the USA.

See also: Monumental university study: 'Fire did not bring down Tower 7 on 9/11'

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Cut

Trump: US fed interest rates cut a 'failure' with 'no guts, no sense, no vision!'


RT
Thu, 19 Sep 2019 08:59 UTC
Federal Resserve
© ETHNews.comUS Federal Reserve
The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates for the second time since 2008, to a range of 1.75 to 2 percent. The move was met with disdain from US President Donald Trump, who was hoping for a larger cut. The Federal Reserve announced the measure on Wednesday, decreasing its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points.

At a news conference following the announcement, Fed Chair Jerome Powell described the rate as designed "to provide insurance against ongoing risks," including weak global growth and trade tensions. He also pointed to weak exports and trade uncertainty as factors behind the decision.

"Business investment and exports have weakened amid falling manufacturing output. The main reasons appear to be slower growth abroad and trade policy developments," Powell told the press, adding that trade policy tensions and the ongoing US-China tariff war comprise "an elevated uncertainty [which] is weighing on US investment and exports." He noted, however, that the Fed plays no role in trade policy, which is conducted by Congress and the Trump administration, and therefore cannot influence the course it is taking.

The Fed's move drew the ire of the president, who has campaigned for the rate to be cut to zero or lower, blasting Wednesday's cut as a "failure."

Comment: There's a lot more going on here than squabbling over percentage points...

Desperate central bankers grab for more power (and hint at ousting Trump)

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Eagle

Truth bomb: Russian army says Saudi air defenses like Patriot & Aegis don't match their advertised properties, unfit for real combat


RT
Thu, 19 Sep 2019 17:59 UTC
patriot launch pad
© Reuters/Inquam Photos/Ovidiu MicsikUS Army soldiers man a PATRIOT launch pad
Multiple Patriot launchers, Aegis destroyers and radars are guarding Saudi skies, but they failed to stop a massive strike on an oilfield because their actual properties aren't what the US advertises, a Russian Army source says.

Benefiting from the US arms deliveries, Saudi Arabia managed to build up "the most powerful air defense system in the region that provides full radar coverage," a high-ranking Russian military source stated on Thursday.

Nowadays, there are 88 Patriot launchers - 52 of which are the newest PAC-3 version - shielding Saudi Arabia's northern border, he said. In addition to that, three guided missile destroyers, armed with 100 SM-2 missiles, are traversing Persian Gulf waters off Saudi shores.

But their efficiency is questionable when it comes to real-life action, he said.
Patriot and Aegis air defense systems don't match their advertised properties - they are inefficient against small-size aerial targets and cruise missiles.
"They're simply unable to repel an enemy assault involving a massive use of airworthy weapons in real combat," he explained.

He spoke just as international media struggle to find out why the Kingdom's military could do nothing to stop an aerial attack on the Abqaiq petroleum facilities and Khurais oil field.

Comment: This source is right. The Houthis exposed the racket that is U.S. 'defense' technology. As Pepe Escobar writes:
Even more relevant is the fact that massive American hardware deployed in Saudi Arabia inside out and outside in - satellites, AWACS, Patriot missiles, drones, battleships, jet fighters - didn't see a thing, or certainly not in time. The sighting of three "loitering" drones by a Kuwaiti bird hunter arguably heading towards Saudi Arabia is being invoked as "evidence". Cue to the embarrassing picture of a drone swarm - wherever it came from - flying undisturbed for hours over Saudi territory.
...
Professor Mohammad Marandi from the University of Tehran, who has very close relations with the Foreign Ministry, is adamant: "It didn't come from Iran. If it did, it would be very embarrassing for the Americans, showing they are unable to detect a large number of Iranian drones and missiles. That doesn't make sense."

Marandi additionally stresses, "Saudi air defenses are not equipped to defend the country from Yemen but from Iran. The Yemenis have been striking against the Saudis, they are getting better and better, developing drone and missile technology for four and a half years, and this was a very soft target."
...
The strike at Abqaiq shows that the entire Middle East production of over 18 million barrels of oil a day - including Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia - can be easily knocked out. There is zero adequate defense against these drones and missiles.


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Dollars

US withdrawing $160mln from Afghan govt because of corruption


Task & Purpose
Thu, 19 Sep 2019 17:54 UTC
pompeo
© Sarah Silbiger/Getty ImagesU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks to the press at the State Department on June 21, 2019 in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday the United States would withdraw about $100 million earmarked for an energy infrastructure project in Afghanistan and withhold a further $60 million in planned assistance, blaming corruption and a lack of transparency in the country.

Pompeo said in a statement the United States would complete the infrastructure project, but would do so using an "'off-budget' mechanism", faulting Afghanistan for an "inability to transparently manage U.S. government resources".

"Due to identified Afghan government corruption and financial mismanagement, the U.S. Government is returning approximately $100 million to the U.S. Treasury that was intended for a large energy infrastructure project," he added.

Comment: Endless war, corrupt government, countless dead - mission accomplished?

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Bad Guys

Does Bolton's firing open potential for Russia-China-USA alliance?

Matthew Ehret
Strategic culture
Tue, 17 Sep 2019 17:26 UTC
TrumpBolton
© Alex Wong/Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump • Former National Security Advisor, John Bolton
With President Trump's long overdue firing of John Bolton on September 10th, a window into the battle between neocon zombies infesting the White House and Donald Trump was made visible once more. As much as people enjoy oversimplifying American politics- clumping all "right wing politicians" together as ideological war mongers, the reality as showcased again this week, is that things are more nuanced and that President Trump is not just another neocon.

To begin to appreciate this fight, it is useful to conduct a short survey of the 3 weeks of fanatical neocon maneuvers led by Bolton, Defense Secretary Esper, Sen. Marco Rubio, and VP Pence. These maneuvers were instigated by two "unforgivable sins" conducted by Trump when the latter: 1) stated his wish that Russia be re-introduced to the G7 on August 21 stating "I think it would be better to have Russia inside the tent than outside the tent", and 2) his defense of President Xi Jinping as "a great leader" who must resolve the Hong Kong chaos without American interference. These initiatives had to come undone at all costs.
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Star of David

Let this sink in: Democrats pull backing for bill to curb Israeli torture of children

Wisam Hashlamoun
The Electronic Intifada
Thu, 19 Sep 2019 17:09 UTC
israel children prison
© Getty ImagesIsrael prosecutes an estimated 500 to 700 Palestinian children each year in military courts lacking fundamental fair trial rights.

Comment: Is there any clearer illustration of how deep the Israeli Lobby has its claws into Congress?


Betty McCollum, a member of the US Congress, is hitting back at a fellow Democrat who pulled her backing from a bill to protect Palestinian children from Israeli military detention and torture.

Earlier this month, Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell withdrew her name from McCollum's bill, HR 2407.

Dingell "removed her name from HR 2407, calling it 'counterproductive to a peaceful, two-state solution,'" McCollum, of Minnesota, tweeted Tuesday.

"Does ongoing US funding for Israeli military detention and abuse of Palestinian children promote peace or human rights violations?"
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