Puppet MastersS


Popcorn

Best of the Web: George Galloway: My encounter with a Quiet American (and a not so quiet American)

George Galloway
RT
Wed, 29 May 2019 19:45 UTC
woolsey bannon
James Woolsey, swamp creature, and Steve Bannon, 'economic nationalist'
In the wee small hours of the morning, last week in Kazakhstan, my wife and I encountered every hotel guest's worst nightmare.

Asleep in our night clothes we both woke to the sound of someone trying to enter our room. First, a gentle then ever-more forceful turning of the handle. Then, the unmistakable noise of a shoulder repeatedly thumping against our door - the strength of which we had no way of knowing.

With estimable alacrity Mrs. Galloway was out of bed like a shot and hurling anything and everything with wheels in front of the door. The barricade built, she was then on the phone to the front desk calling for help, not the easiest thing to communicate in the middle of the night in Almaty, as you can imagine.

Being 'the man of the house' I could really only offer brute force, with my two hands applying countervailing pressure on the door (which was beginning to literally bend) and my brute Scottish accent demanding the interloper cease and desist (or Scottish street words to that effect). Of course I looked through the spyhole in the door and could see enough to be sure that this was no nightmare, this was a clear and present human danger.

Comment: That's some tale!

Besides the specifically bizarre encounter, it's also generally bizarre that Americans even attend these events.

And not just 'dissidents' like Bannon, but establishment cronies like Woolsey. Yes, he was a guest speaker at one of the panels on 'Media in the Digital Age'!

james woolsey
Truly a sign of the times.

Here's the Eurasian Media Forum website. The line-up of speakers included a lot of Russian journalists working for Russian news agencies and media outlets, as well as journalists from former Soviet states. As in, The Enemy that 'meddled in our democracy'.

So, while bashing Russian media to American audiences, American experts are participating with them at international forums, discussing world affairs with their peers in a civilized manner. Who knew?!

Read More...
Bad Guys

Merkel says every Jewish institution in German must be guarded by police


i24News
Wed, 29 May 2019 19:11 UTC
merkel
© Tobias Schwarz/Agence France-Presse/FileUnder the banner "Stand Up: Jew Hatred - Never Again!" German Chancellor Angela Merkel will join political and religious leaders at a rally against anti-Semitism at the iconic Brandenburg Gate in Berlin
"We have to deal with the ghosts out the past," Merkel said.

Days after a warning to Jews who wear skullcaps that they may not be safe when donning them publicly, Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested stationing police officers at every Jewish building or institution in Germany.

"Unfortunately there is to this day not a single synagogue, not a single day care center for Jewish children, not a single school for Jewish children that does not need to be guarded by German policemen," Merkel said in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

Comment: Merkel's grip on power has been slipping for a while now over her stance on immigration. Is this an attempt to shore up part of her base?

Read More...
Crusader

Iran shattered US 'psyops' and dried up its 'capacity for war,' says head of Iran's Rev Guards


RT
Wed, 29 May 2019 19:51 UTC
US Navy ships
© Reuters / US Navy Handout / Jake Greenberg
Washington has unsuccessfully exhausted all of its avenues in trying to provoke conflict with Iran and its capacity to wage a successful war has dried up, the leader of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards has said.

"Today, we are a great and invincible power because we have experienced and defeated all of the enemy's scenarios," Major General Hossein Salami said, according to Iranian broadcaster Press TV. He added that Tehran had resisted US efforts to destabilize Iran with political and economic measures and this had effectively eliminated Washington's pretext for military conflict.
We have been able to shatter enemy psyops and dry up the enemy's capacity for war.
The commander's comments came as National Security Advisor John Bolton arrived in the UAE late on Tuesday, ahead of meetings with Emirati allies on security in the region. Speaking on Wednesday, Bolton accused Iran of "almost certainly" being behind recent attacks on oil tankers off the coast of the UAE, however, he has given no evidence to support the accusation.
Read More...
Stock Up

Best of the Web: 'Nuclear' option? Xi sends Trump a message - Rare-earth export ban is coming - UPDATE

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Tue, 21 May 2019 09:10 UTC
Trump and Xi Jinping
Back in April of 2018, when the trade war with China was still in its early stages, we explained that among the five "nuclear" options Beijing has to retaliate against the US, one was the block of rare-earth exports to the US, potentially crippling countless US supply chains that rely on these rare commodities, and forcing painful and costly delays in US production as alternative supply pathways had to be implemented.

As a result, for many months China watchers expected Beijing to respond to Trump's tariff hikes by blocking the exports of one or more rare-earths, although fast forwarding one year later this still hasn't happened. But that doesn't mean it won't happen, and overnight President Xi Jinping's visit to a rare earths facility fueled speculation that the strategic materials will soon be weaponized in China's tit-for-tat war the US.

As Bloomberg reported overnight, shares in JL MAG Rare-Earth surged by the daily limit on Monday after Xinhua said the Chinese president had stopped by the company in Jiangxi, a scripted move designed to telegraph what China could do next.
JL MAG Rare-Earth stock prices May 2019

Comment: Just one of the ways China has the US by the proverbial sack. UPDATE May 29: RT reports that stocks of rare-earth miners have surged upon speculation that China may ban exports:
Hong Kong-listed shares of China Rare Earth Holdings Ltd skyrocketed around 40 percent after the opening bell before slightly falling back later in the day. At the same time JL Mag Rare-Earth Co, the plant Chinese President Xi Jinping visited last week, jumped more than 10 percent. The miner's stock has been rising for several consecutive trading sessions and hit a record high on Wednesday.

Other rare earth-related companies also enjoyed gains, with China Northern Rare Earth Group High-Tech Co. soaring around 9 percent Xiamen Tungsten Co. climbing nearly 5 percent.

Not only Chinese miners enjoyed gains on Wednesday, as shares of Australian rare earths producer Lynas reached a historic peak after they gained more than 15 percent in one day. Australia is one of the top global rare-earths producing countries, with annual output of 20,000 tons, but it is far behind Chinese yearly production of 120,000 tons.
Signalling the mood in China, People's Daily, China tweeted a response from a National Development and Reform Commission spokesman:


Read More...
Star of David

Seriously? Top IDF lawyer tells The Hague to back off, says Israel can probe own alleged war crimes


RT
Wed, 29 May 2019 17:02 UTC
protestors great march return Gaza fence
© Reuters / Ibraheem Abu MustafaPalestinian demonstrators in front of Israeli forces during protests marking the 71st anniversary of the Nakba
The Israeli military wants the International Criminal Court to butt out of its affairs, its top military prosecutor has declared in response to efforts to hold it to account for its use of live fire against Palestinian protesters.

"Israel is a law-abiding country, with an independent and strong judicial system, and there is no reason for its actions to be scrutinized by the ICC," Brig. Gen. Sharon Afek, Israel's military advocate, declared at an international conference on warfare laws in Herzliya. "The position of Israel is that the International Criminal Court does not have jurisdiction to discuss the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

Comment:

Read More...
Attention

Craven western media outlets ignoring reports that Assange is gravely ill - supporters have no contact

Caitlin Johnstone
caitlinjohnstone.com
Wed, 29 May 2019 16:37 UTC
assange ill prison
© Matt Dunham/Associated Press/FileWikiLeaks founder Julian Assange being taken from a UK court
Julian Assange's Swedish lawyer Per Samuelson has told the press that "Assange's health situation on Friday was such that it was not possible to conduct a normal conversation with him."

This jarring revelation has been reported by a small handful of outlets, but only as an aside in relation to Sweden refusing Samuelson's request for a postponement of a scheduled hearing regarding Assange's detention en absentia for a preliminary investigation of rape allegations. The fact that the imprisoned WikiLeaks founder is so ill that he can't converse lucidly is itself far more significant than the postponement refusal, yet headlines mentioning Samuelson's statement focus on the Swedish case, de-emphasizing the startling news from his lawyer.

As of this writing I've been able to find very few news outlets reporting on this at all, the most mainstream being a Reuters article with the very tame headline "Swedish court rejects delay of Assange hearing over ill-health: lawyer". The Sydney Morning Herald also covered the story without even mentioning illness in headline, instead going with "Swedish court rejects effort to delay Assange hearing". The much smaller alternative media outlet World Socialist Website has been the only outlet I've found so far which reports on Samuelson's statement in anything resembling its proper scale, publishing a good article titled "Despite Assange's ill-health, Swedish court rejects delay to hearing" a few hours ago.

Comment: Is anyone surprised that Julian Assange is being treated in such a callous way. It would be very convenient for the PTB to have him die in prison before being put on trial. Too many messy details might be exposed. More on the postponement:
A Swedish court has rejected a request to postpone a hearing on the detention of the WikiLeaks founder. Julian Assange's lawyers requested the court session be postponed due to their client's ill health.

Swedish prosecutors reopened a rape case against Assange earlier this month after Assange was hauled from London's Ecuadorian embassy and jailed for skipping a bail hearing in 2012. The rape investigation was originally dropped in 2017, and Assange has maintained his innocence since the case was first opened.

The prosecutors filed a request to have Assange detained in absence last week "on probable cause suspected of for rape." Detention in absence would allow the Swedish government to issue an arrest warrant for Assange.

Swedish defense lawyer Per Samuelson told Reuters on Tuesday that he sought to have the hearing postponed following a visit to Assange in custody on Friday.

"One of the reasons is that Assange's health situation on Friday was such that it was not possible to conduct a normal conversation with him," Samuelson said. The lawyer said that any hearing should be stalled until Assange could talk the case through with his legal team "in peace and quiet."

WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson has said that the rape case against Assange was reopened as a result of "considerable political pressure on Sweden." Assange is also the subject of a US extradition request, relating to his publication of a trove of classified US military and diplomatic documents in 2010.

American authorities unveiled 17 new charges, including espionage, against Assange last week, and the WikiLeaks founder could face up to 175 years in prison if convicted. British authorities will ultimately have the final say over which extradition request to honor.


Read More...
Chess

Venezuela talks will begin in Oslo, but US says focus must be on ousting Maduro


AFP
Wed, 29 May 2019 00:00 UTC
Guaido Maduro
© AFP/STFRepresentatives of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, left, and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro are meeting in Oslo
Talks between Venezuela's government and opposition on ending months of crisis were under way in Norway, sources said Tuesday, but Washington insisted that the only item for discussion should be President Nicolas Maduro's removal.

US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido, who more than 50 countries recognize as interim president, had been leading a push to oust leftist firebrand Maduro, who presides over a crumbling economy.

But the opposition agreed to come to the table under Norwegian auspices after an army uprising coupled with street protests, which Guaido hoped would deal decisive blow, instead fizzled out a month ago.

Norwegian diplomats had said that the two sides would meet this week in Norway in their first face-to-face meeting since Guaido claimed power in January, without specifying a date or venue.

Sources close to the process told AFP that the talks were taking place in Oslo. The Norwegian foreign ministry declined to comment.
Read More...
No Entry

Ambassador: Palestine won't sell its 'land and rights' for Trump's skewed 'deal of the century'


RT
Tue, 28 May 2019 15:12 UTC
Palestine flag
© Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Palestine will not accept the "deal of the century" with Israel which is in the works in Washington and rejects all of the recent 'peacemaking' proposals, the Palestinian ambassador to Russia has said.

Abdelhafiz Nofal, speaking at a press conference in Moscow, has referred to the upcoming peace "deal of the century" advertised by US President Donald Trump, as a "strange agenda."
They are suggesting turning Palestinian refugee camps into some new cities, they are offering us money for our land, for our rights, but we will never accept that.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Gold Coins

Russia's central bank takes steps towards establishing gold-backed cryptocurrency

Alex Kimani
Safe Haven
Sun, 26 May 2019 18:00 UTC
Russia central bank
First there was Tether; a controversial dollar-backed cryptocurrency by crypto exchange firm, Bitfinex. Then came Petro, the industry's first oil-backed crypto issued by the Venezuelan government last year. And now we might be about to see the first gold-backed cryptocurrency - by a central bank, no less. According to Russian news agency, TASS, Russia's central bank, the Bank of Russia will consider issuing gold-backed cryptocurrencies - a rather strange move considering how cryptocurrencies are generally anathema to central banks.

Shot in the arm

But before crypto bugs can start doing a round of high fives, the head of the Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, has revealed that the cryptocurrencies are not meant for retail use but rather for conducting big mutual settlements for entities with global jurisdictions.

In other words, only the heavyweights will get to lay their hands on them. Further, she says that she still believes that it's better for countries to develop international settlement systems such as the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) framework that use their own national currencies noting the said framework has demonstrated good dynamics.

Finally, she admonishes that the latest twist should not be interpreted to mean that the bank supports a scenario where cryptocurrencies eventually replace fiat in the monetary system.

Comment: Out of necessity, Russia has been ahead of the curve in shoring up its financial system for several years now:

Read More...
Bad Guys

'New' NATO strategy parrots hawkish US posture


RT
Tue, 28 May 2019 23:58 UTC
nato us
© Reuters/Laura Hasani
While details of NATO's new military strategy are still unknown, odds are the alliance is simply falling in line with recent updates to US doctrine and seeking to outgun all potential adversaries, a military expert tells RT.

Citing a "new security situation" as well as "challenges in the east and the south" and a "nuclear threat" from Moscow, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced last week that the alliance has adopted a new military strategy. Details of the document are not yet public.

"What's surprising is not that NATO has updated its military strategy, but that it took so long to do so," Mikhail Khodarenok, retired colonel in the Russian Aerospace Forces, told RT.

Comment: See also:

Read More...