Puppet MastersS


Stock Up

India suggests setting up special economic zone for Russian companies

Mumbai, India
© Danish Siddiqui / ReutersMumbai, India
New Delhi wants to encourage Russian investments and has invited the country's companies to explore business opportunities and strengthen bilateral economic ties, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu has said.

"We can set up a special economic zone for Russian companies," he told reporters.

Prabhu invited the governors of the Russian Far East to explore partnerships with local businesses. He has recently met with his Russian counterpart to discuss enhancing bilateral trade and investment. They also talked about the possibilities of mutual cooperation in sectors such as mining, agriculture and tourism.

According to Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, "two-way investments have already crossed the $30 billion target" which the countries have set for 2025.

Stock Down

China slashes US Treasury securities to six-month low as trade tensions mount

martial artist China
© Getty Images
The biggest holder of US Treasury bills, notes and bonds - China - has dropped $7.8 billion worth of US sovereign debt as a large-scale trade conflict, launched by Washington earlier this year, breaks new ground.

The latest statistics released by the US Treasury Department showed that China's share of US sovereign bonds hit a six month low of $1.171 trillion in July, from $1.178 trillion in the previous month. Brazil, the UK, Switzerland, Germany and Hong Kong followed suit. China's July outflow of treasuries was the third in the past four months.

War Whore

Historian: 'Ukrainian authorities deliberately sent MH17 airliner into warzone'

donetsk soldier
© REUTERS / Maxim Zmeyev
Russia's Ministry of Defense has presented audio proof of Ukraine's links to the downing of Flight MH17 in 2014. During the press briefing in Moscow, the ministry said that Kiev could destroy documentation for the missile that shot down the MH17 flight in order to conceal the truth. It also said that the missile came from Ukraine's arsenal.

Sputnik talked about the new evidence emerging in the MH17 case with Bjorn Ditlef Nistad, who holds a doctorate in Russian history and founded the independent Russian Information Center in Norway.

Bullseye

Analyst to RT - Idlib buffer zone will help Russia & Turkey clear area of radicals

idlib militant
© Omar Haj Kadour / AFP
The demilitarized zone in Syria's embattled Idlib Province will help Russia and Turkey to clear out radical militants, as both sides will be patrolling the area, a professor of international relations told RT.

The deal to create a demilitarized zone in Idlib is "best military and diplomatic solution today" for Russia and Turkey, since they can remove the radicals from the province and avert mass civilian casualties, Huseyin Bagci says.

The agreement was reached on Monday between presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the leaders held hour-long talks in Sochi, south Russia. According to the plan, the radical militants, including an Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly known as Al-Nusra Front), and their heavy weaponry must be withdrawn from the DMZ before October 10.

Bagci, who teaches in the Ankara-based Middle East Technical University, emphasizes that the agreed DMZ is not an "everlasting" solution, but a temporary measure.

Red Flag

Stalling tactic: Kavanaugh accuser won't appear at Senate hearing, wants FBI to probe sex assault claims first

ford kavanaugh
Christine Blasey Ford, who accused US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, will not appear at the hearing scheduled by the Senate Judiciary Committee, her lawyer said.

An FBI investigation into the allegations "should be the first step" before her client makes any public statement, Ford's attorney Debra Katz told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Tuesday evening. "Nothing of substance and nothing legitimate can happen by Monday," the lawyer stressed.

Ford and Kavanaugh were both invited to publicly present their sides of the story over the allegation that surfaced after the nomination hearings. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California), who said she had Ford's letter since Kavanaugh was nominated in July, has not explained why she held it back until now.

The university professor is accusing Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct back in 1982, which put Kavanaugh's nomination in jeopardy. The committee officially canceled the confirmation vote scheduled for Thursday, until it hears the testimonies from both the judge and his accuser - and the delay of the public hearing could further prolong the process.

Comment: Previously:


Arrow Down

Best of the Web: The West hates peace in Syria: From de-escalation to almost World War III in just two hours

Syria Protest


On the 17th of September, an important meeting was held in Sochi between Erdogan and Putin to discuss Syria, in particular Idlib. A few hours after the agreement between the two leaders was reached, there was a French-Israeli strike on Syria's coastal area of Latakia, causing the loss of a Russian Air Force Il-20 aircraft and bringing the world to the brink of a thermonuclear war.


The agreement between Erdogan and Putin over the province of Idlib was reached after five hours of discussions and proposals. Ultimately, as explained by RT, the agreement concerns a 15-20 kilometer demilitarized zone, the identification of terrorist groups to fight, and combined patrols by Turkish and Russian soldiers on the borders of Idlib to monitor the situation and the opening of main roads between Hama, Damascus and Aleppo over the next few months.

RT specifies: "[Erdogan and Putin] We've agreed to create a demilitarized zone between the government troops and militants before October 15. The zone will be 15 to 20 kms wide, with full withdrawal of hardline militants from there, including the Jabhat Al-Nusra. As part of solving the deadlock, all heavy weaponry, including tanks and artillery, will be withdrawn from the zone before October 10. The area will be patrolled by Turkish and Russian military units. Before the end of the year, roads between Aleppo and Hama, and Aleppo and Latakia must be reopened for transit traffic. The agreement has received general support from the Syrian government."

There were manifold goals for the talks between Erdogan and Putin. For the Kremlin there were innumerable points to be clarified and points of tension to be softened. One of the reasons why Russia and Turkey decided to sit around a table and discuss the imminent Syrian offensive in Idlib was the shared concern surrounding possible Western reactions. Moscow wants to avoid offering France, the UK and the US a pretext to strike Syrian forces in response to the umpteenth false-flag chemical attack. This would once again raise tensions, risking a direct confrontation between Russian and Western armed forces. In the unfortunate event of Russia exchanging fire with such aggressor countries, relations between Moscow and the European capitals would be further damaged, perhaps this time irremediably.

Comment: Great summation. As par the course for US/Israel and its vassals, a peaceful resolution in Syria is off-limits and will do almost anything to prevent that. However thanks to Russia's restraint and diplomacy, a global scale conflict has been averted...for now. See also:


Chess

Devin Nunes: Trump's declassification order will expose FBI's 'insurance policy'

FBI Swamp Strzok Page Rosenstein Comey
President Trump's order to declassify a broad swath of DOJ/FBI documents related to the Russia investigation will expose the infamous "insurance policy" referred to in an August 15, 2016 text between former FBI employees Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, according to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA).

"I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy's office - that there's no way he gets elected - but I'm afraid we can't take the risk. It's like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you're 40," reads the text message in question - used by many in Trump's camp to bolster claims that the Russia investigation is "rigged witch hunt."

Speaking with Fox News's Laura Ingraham, Nunes said that declassification will provide exculpatory evidence, including a dozen or so 302 witness interview forms from DOJ official Bruce Ohr which may shed light on his significant relationship with former MI6 spy Christopher Steele and "many other rotten apples."

Chess

NBC host: Allegations against Kavanaugh are 'dynamite wrapped in radioactive material'

Brett Kavanaugh
Allegations of sexual misconduct against US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh are like "four sticks of dynamite wrapped in radioactive material" due to their timing, NBC host Chuck Todd has said.

College professor Christine Blasey Ford has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her 35 years ago at a high school party. Kavanaugh, who was nominated for the Supreme Court position by President Donald Trump in July, has adamantly denied the accusation, saying it is "completely false" and that he has "never done anything" like what the accuser has described.

Both Ford and Kavanaugh will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee next Monday, during which the public will get to hear both sides.

Comment: Also see: Here's Christine Blasey's letter that alleges Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her


Snakes in Suits

Judge rules links between British spy agencies & dead Russian businessman 'must remain secret'

Aleksandr Perepilichny
The Surrey estate where Russian tycoon Aleksandr Perepilichny collapsed in November 2012.
Material about possible links between British spy agencies and a Russian businessman who died in mysterious circumstances in Britain nearly six years ago will remain secret, a judge has ruled.

Nicholas Hilliard, who is leading the inquest into Aleksandr Perepilichny's death, said in a ruling on September 18 that the material is "marginal" to resolving the question of how the businessman died.

The judge said he was "mindful" of heightened concern about the case following the poisoning of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury in March.

Chess

Here's Christine Blasey's letter that alleges Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her

SC nominee Brett Kavanaugh/Trump
© MPR NewsSupreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh
Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are working overtime to delay Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court.

On Thursday, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) referred a mysterious letter about Kavanaugh to the FBI.

Feinstein had been holding on to the letter since earlier this year.

Comment: Also see: