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Ukrainian President open to peace talks with Russia but committed to NATO membership


RFE/RL
Tue, 04 Jun 2019 16:34 UTC
Zelensky Stoltenberg
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (right) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky give a press conference after their bilateral meeting in Brussels on June 4.
Ukraine's president said he is ready to negotiate with Russia to end the war in eastern Ukraine, but he also reaffirmed his country's course toward NATO membership -- a move strongly opposed by Moscow.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy made the comments on June 4 during a visit to Brussels, where he met with top European Union and NATO officials as part of his first foreign trip as president.

Fighting between government forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine has killed some 13,000 people since April 2014, shortly after Russia seized control of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.


Comment: For a rundown of the history of Ukraine and Crimea, check out: The Saker interviews Dmitry Orlov


Comment: Of course Stoltenberg wants Ukraine in NATO, considering their 'new' strategy is basically a continuation of US aggression towards Russia - wasn't this why the US led the coup in Ukraine in the first place?

See also:

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Snakes in Suits

US imposes major travel bans on Cuba as punishment for supporting a sovereign Venezuela


RT
Tue, 04 Jun 2019 17:27 UTC
havana airport
© Reuters/Alexandre Meneghini/ FILE PHOTOAn airplane takes off from Havana's main airport.
The US is imposing wide-ranging travel bans on Cuba, aimed at cutting the flow of tourists to the island, in order to punish Havana for their "destabilizing role" in the Western hemisphere which Washington regards as its own.

The Treasury Department announced on Tuesday that so-called "People-to-People" educational and cultural trips to Cuba would no longer be permitted, eliminating the most common way Americans visit the island nation. These trips had been used by thousands of US citizens to visit the country even before diplomatic relations were restored in 2014.

While academic, journalistic and professional travel will still be allowed, the statement also declared a ban on all private aircraft and boat travel to the communist-ruled country.

Comment: This comes on the heels of US sanctions on Cuba. Try as it might to retain its position world stage, US attempts to coerce much of the planet, from the trade war with China to the sanctions on Russia and Iran (to name just a few) are actually hastening its demise:

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Star of David

Report: Mossad 'intel' helped link Iran to UAE tanker sabotage


Times of Israel
Wed, 05 Jun 2019 08:40 UTC
tanker attack UAE Iran
© UAE National Media Council via APThe Emirati-flagged oil tanker A. Michel, May 13, 2019, one of four ships damaged in what Gulf officials called a 'sabotage' attack off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.
Intelligence materials collected by Israel's Mossad agency played a role in linking Iran to the sabotaging of four oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates last month, prompting the United States to accuse Tehran of carrying out the attack, according to a report on Monday.

The US is slated to present the intelligence - including evidence gathered by Israel - in the coming days, likely before the UN Security Council, the Kan public broadcaster said, as tensions between Washington and Tehran continued to simmer.

An Israeli navy official described the purported Iranian attack on the UAE tankers as "a pretty impressive commando operation."
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Arrow Down

Two of the smallest states in Europe are trying to bully Russia

Andrew Korybko
Eurasia Future
Wed, 05 Jun 2019 08:40 UTC
putin
It sounds absurd at first listen, but Malta and Kosovo - two of the smallest actors in Europe - are bullying Russia by preventing its military overflights to Venezuela and attacking one of its UN staff members, respectively, which appear to be part and parcel of an American- backed perception management plan to weaken Moscow's soft power and ultimately undermine its Afro-Eurasian "balancing' act.

The Mainstream Media is full of stories about Russia supposedly "bullying" smaller nations, while Alt-Media never tires of talking about how the US is doing the same, but neither of them have yet to address the curious fact that two of the smallest actors in Europe have recently bullied Russia. Malta prevented Moscow from making military overflights to Venezuela, while Kosovo just attacked one of its UN staff members with impunity. Although both incidents were separately reported on in the Mainstream and Alternative Medias, they haven't been tied together as part of the same American-backed perception management plan to weaken Moscow's soft power. There's a prevailing notion that Great Powers are supposedly too strong to be bullied by small states, let alone an entity that Russia doesn't even recognize as "independent", but that line of thinking has been debunked after what Malta and Kosovo recently did to Russia, which makes Moscow look weak in the eyes of the world.
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Star of David

The incredible disappearance of Israeli UK lobbyist Shai Masot

Craig Murray
craigmurray.org.uk
Sun, 02 Jun 2019 21:31 UTC
Shai Masot israel spy britain
© YoutubeShai Masot
A Google news search reveals that not one single mainstream media outlet has mentioned Shai Masot in 2019. Not even once.

Yet the main political news story the last two days has been the suspension of Labour's Peter Willsman for "anti-semitism" for making the suggestion that the "anti-semitism" witch-hunt is promoted by the Israeli-Embassy. This has been demonstrably a massive story:

The overwhelming majority of the tens of thousands who will read this article know who Shai Masot is and know why his activities are absolutely central to the Willsman story.

Comment:

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Black Cat

Hillary Clinton's Russia collusion IOU: The answers she owes America

John Solomon
The Hill
Wed, 05 Jun 2019 00:34 UTC
hillary clinton
© AP Photo/Charles Krupa
During the combined two decades she served as a U.S. senator and secretary of State, Hillary Clinton's patrons regularly donated to her family charity when they had official business pending before America's most powerful political woman.

The pattern of political IOUs paid to the Clinton Foundation was so pernicious that the State Department even tried to execute a special agreement with the charity to avoid the overt appearance of "pay-to-play" policy.

Still, the money continued to flow by the millions of dollars, from foreigners and Americans alike who were perceived to be indebted to the Clinton machine or in need of its help.

It's time for the American public to call in their own IOU on political transparency.

The reason? Never before - until 2016 - had the apparatus of a U.S. presidential candidate managed to sic the weight of the FBI and U.S. intelligence community on a rival nominee during an election, and by using a foreign-fed, uncorroborated political opposition research document.
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Eye 1

Julian Assange and the unrelenting state


craigmurray.org.uk
Fri, 31 May 2019 12:00 UTC
Julian Assange
© REUTERS
We are seriously worried about the condition of Julian Assange. He was too unwell to appear in court yesterday, and his Swedish lawyer, Per Samuelson, found him in a state where he was unable to conduct a conversation and give instructions. There are very definite physical symptoms, particularly rapid weight loss, and we are not satisfied that genuine and sufficient diagnostic efforts are being made to determine the underlying cause.

Julian had been held for the last year in poor, highly confining and increasingly oppressive conditions in the Ecuadorean Embassy and his health was already deteriorating alarmingly before his expulsion and arrest. A number of conditions, including dental abcesses, can have very serious consequences if long term untreated, and the continual refusal by the British government and latterly the Ecuadoreans to permit him access to adequate healthcare while a political asylee was a callous denial of basic human rights.

Comment: See also:

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Stock Down

US economy in sharp downturn amid trade war and sanctions

Lucia Mutikani
Reuters
Tue, 04 Jun 2019 20:42 UTC
Trucks
© REUTERS/Jessica Resnick-AultFILE PHOTO: Trucks are pictured at a truck stop along I-95 in Darien, Connecticut, U.S. January 16, 2019.
New orders for U.S.-made goods fell in April and shipments dropped by the most in two years, indicating continuing weakness in manufacturing activity that could hurt the broader economy.

The report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday added to moderate consumer spending as well as weak home sales, construction and equipment outlays in April in suggesting that economic growth was slowing sharply after a temporary boost from trade, inventories and defense spending in the first quarter.

Some economists believe the dimming economic outlook, which also reflects an escalating trade war between the United States and China, could force the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this year. The U.S. central bank early this year suspended its three-year rate hiking campaign.

Comment: As Pepe Escobar said in The hardcore is yet to come for US & China, "extra tariffs won't bring back manufacturing jobs to the US":

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Arrow Up

Greece interested in buying Russian LNG - Adviser to Greek PM


Sputnik
Tue, 04 Jun 2019 12:08 UTC
Russia LNG
© Sputnik / Sergey Krasnouhov
Russia and Greece have a promising future in wide-ranging economic cooperation, with the latter interested in importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the former, Dimitrios Velanis, an adviser to the Greek prime minister on Russian and Eastern European issues, told Sputnik.

"This year was more productive in terms of the economic relations between Russia and Greece. Maritime, shipping as well as steel industry and energy agreements were reached... Greece is currently at the economic growth phase after a long crisis, and the use of Russian energy resources, including gas, will be the factor of development. I see great prospects in the development of a gas network, in Russian gas deliveries to Greece," Velanis said ahead of the Greek delegation's arrival at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

Velanis noted that private players in Greece's steel industry and electricity production were interested in signing direct contracts with Russian gas suppliers, including energy giant Gazprom.

Comment: And China has been working with Greece via one its main ports at Piraeus since 2009. So it seems slowly but surely many in Europe are making their move towards partnerships with the rising powers, despite threats from some in the West:

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Attention

Chinese govt issues advisory warning for citizens travelling to US

Sarah Zheng
South China Morning Post
Tue, 04 Jun 2019 20:07 UTC
  • It comes a day after warning over increased visa delays and denials for students seeking to study in America
  • Tourists told to respond 'actively and appropriately' in light of US law enforcement agencies using methods to 'harass' travellers from China
crime blacks chicago
USA
Beijing issued a travel advisory for the United States on Tuesday amid heightened tensions between the countries, one day after warning about visa issues for students seeking to study in America.

China's foreign ministry and its embassy in the US cautioned travellers to raise their safety awareness and respond "actively and appropriately" in light of US law enforcement agencies using methods, such as immigration checks and home interviews, to "harass" Chinese travellers.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism released a separate travel advisory urging Chinese to pay attention to safety when travelling to the US, citing frequent shootings, robberies and theft.

"Chinese tourists in the US should fully assess the risks of travelling to the US, keeping up to date with information about public security, laws and regulations, and conscientiously improve awareness to ensure safety," the advisory said. Both alerts are valid until the end of the year.

Comment: Hurts when the shoe's on the other foot, huh.

This is, as far as we know, the first time the US has been on the receiving end of a 'travel advisory warning'...

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