Puppet MastersS


X

US-Russia alliance against China is absurd. America has nothing to offer

Andrei Martyanov
Reminiscence of the Future...
Thu, 02 Aug 2018 10:02 UTC
russia and us flags
© Maxim Shemetov / Reuters
Remember this?

equation 1
And this:

equation 2
However debatable such an approach may be, there is no denial that geopolitical potential is quantifiable and here is an interesting piece of analysis by former Indian diplomat M. K. Bhadrakumar, who in his piece US-Russia-China triangle in flux, again comes to some interesting conclusions and provides some valuable insights. He starts with giving a trivial and unimaginative Kissinger "triangulation" of 1970s some treatment, not forgetting to mention earlier Eisenhower's triangulation of 1950s:
Kissinger argued that the United States, which sought to profit from the enmity between Moscow and Beijing in the Cold War era, would therefore need "to play this balance-of-power game totally unemotionally. Right now, we need the Chinese to correct the Russians and to discipline the Russians." But in the future, it would be the other way around....Now, this recapitulation is useful today, because Trump's moves so far are indicative of an agenda to revert to the Eisenhower era - containment of China by forging an alliance with Russia.

Comment: The US wants to contain China but that's not likely to happen. Russia has a lot more to gain than to fear from China and the US has consistently demonstrated itself to be an unreliable partner. See also: There will not be an American-Russian alliance against China

Read More...
Oil Well

China ditches US oil and makes deals with Iran in defiance of sanctions

Paul Antonopoulos
Fort Russ
Tue, 07 Aug 2018 12:00 UTC
Iranian oil refinery
© AP/Vahid Salemi
One of China's largest oil companies, Sinopec, has suspended imports of 300,000 barrels per month by the end of the year, a company source has revealed to major international media.

At the same time, reports have confirmed that a number of other Chinese oil and gas companies have also joined in on refusing to purchase US oil.

This monumental decision seems to come from the very top of China's policy structures as a response to the recent standstill in negotiations on the US-China trade war and the US' sanctions offensive on Iran following Washington's unilateral withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal.

Meanwhile, other reports suggest that China will not cut oil purchases from Iran despite attempts by US negotiators to restrict Chinese imports of Persian oil.

Russian economist Vladislav Ginko, a senior lecturer at the Academy of Economics and Public Service under the Russian presidential administration, has commented on the situation of US sanctions against Iran.

Comment: The US may have won the trade war with the EU but China and non-Western players who aren't bound by the same corrupt 'special relationship' won't be so easy to subdue:

Read More...
Stock Up

International business analyst: 'China and India biggest winners in anti-Iranian sanctions'


Sputnik
Wed, 08 Aug 2018 10:01 UTC
Radio Sputnik has discussed the newly re-imposed US sanctions on Iran with Lawk Ghafuri, a London-based political analyst, who specializes in international business and economy.

Iran Flag
© Associated Press / Ronald Zak
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned that Washington will enforce sanctions on Iran, adding that the restrictions on Tehran are aimed at pushing back against the country's allegedly malign activity. Pompeo also said that the Iranian people are unhappy with the failure of their own leadership to deliver on economic promises.

Sputnik: The European Union has announced that it will be blocking the US's anti-Iranian sanctions. What's your take on this? Did this move come as a surprise to you?

Lawk Ghafuri: Actually, the move by the EU and the US by re-imposing the sanctions on Iran is no surprise because Trump and his administration at the beginning have described that the Iran deal is a bad deal that Barack Obama, the ex-president of the US, implemented. We have to remember that Iran right now is having negotiations with the European Union to pull back the United States into the deal. But I look into as less likely to happen as long as the Iranian regime is refusing to negotiate another deal with the United States.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Rocket

Spanish fighter jet 'accidentally' fires live missile near Russian border


RT
Wed, 08 Aug 2018 09:35 UTC
Spain's Eurofighter Typhoon EF2000 fighter jet
© Jon Nazca / ReutersSpain's Eurofighter Typhoon EF2000 fighter jet
Spanish fighter jets taking part in a NATO Air policing mission over Estonia have been temporarily suspended from completing their duties, after one of the pilots erroneously fired an armed missile during a training flight.

A group of two Spanish Eurofighter Typhoon 2000 jets and two French Mirage 2000 jets were taking part in a training exercise over southwestern Estonia on Tuesday when one of the Spanish planes accidentally launched an air-to-air missile, the Spanish Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that the projectile "did not hit any aircraft."

All the jets then safely returned to their Saiuliai air base in Lithuania, the ministry said, adding that it has opened an investigation into the incident. Meanwhile, the Estonian authorities decided to ban the Spanish aircraft from taking part in the air policing missions over its territory for a while.

Comment: A Spanish Eurofighter Typhoon 2000 jet on Tuesday accidentally fired an air-to-air missile during its training flight over southern Estonia, the Baltic state's Defense Forces said in a statement.
"The AIM-120 AMRAAM missile is equipped with the self-destruction mechanism which ensures that it is destroyed while in the air in case of an accidental launch. However, it cannot be ruled out that the missile hit the ground. The missile, launched by the Spanish crew during a training flight near the Otepaa town, is 3.7 meters [12 feet] long, its diameter is 19 centimeters [7 inches]," the statement read.


Read More...
Radar

Syrian air defense confronts unknown warplane above east Homs airport

Leith Aboufadel
Al Masdar News
Wed, 08 Aug 2018 09:17 UTC
Israeli fighter jet
The Syrian air defense units at the Shay'rat Military Airbase in east Homs have confronted an unknown warplane this evening, a local source told Al-Masdar News.

According to the source, the warplane is believed to be an armed drone that is similar to the ones used to attack the Russian-operated Hmeymim Airbase in southwest Latakia.

The source did not specify if the unknown warplane was destroyed.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Bad Guys

US airstrike kills 15 Afghan police officers in Logar


PressTV
Wed, 08 Aug 2018 08:40 UTC
F-16 Fighting Falcon
© Photo by AFPIn this February 1, 2016 US Air Force handout photo, a pilot performs preflight checks from the cockpit of an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan
NATO has launched a probe into the deaths of some 15 Afghan police officers who were killed in a US air strike in eastern Afghanistan.

Logar provincial council chief Hamidullah Hamid on Tuesday said that "foreign forces" had bombed two police checkpoints and killed "about 15 police."

Interior Ministry Spokesman Nasrat Rahimi, confirmed the incident saying that over nine police officers were killed and 14 more injured during the aerial bombardment of the Azra district of the province.
Read More...
Rocket

Mattis describes space a 'developing war zone,' describes creating combatant command before Space Force


RT
Tue, 07 Aug 2018 20:21 UTC
satellite
© Gene Blevins / ReutersA satellite is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, February 22, 2018
US Defense Secretary James Mattis says the Pentagon agrees with President Donald Trump on viewing space as a possible battlefield and is considering setting up a combatant command until the Space Force can be created.

"We need to address space as a developing war-fighting domain, and a combatant command is certainly one thing that we can establish," Mattis told reporters on Tuesday, adding that the Pentagon is "in complete alignment" with Trump's concerns about protecting US assets in space.

"We're going to have to address it as other countries show a capability to attack those assets," the secretary added.


Comment: This Space Force project has probably (already been) long in planning and development. All this hub-bub now is more about preparing the public for a partially space-based war.

Read More...
Stock Down

US finalizes second round of bogus tariffs on China


RT
Tue, 07 Aug 2018 22:41 UTC
china trade
© Brian Snyder / Reuters
Approximately $16 billion worth of Chinese imports will be subject to a 25 percent tariff come August 23, the US Trade Representative has announced, citing China's ongoing "unfair trade practices."

This is the second tranche of tariffs following the July 6 levy on approximately $34 billion worth of Chinese goods, the USTR said. The final list of products contains 279 lines, down from 284 that were originally proposed.

Explaining the decision, the USTR cited an "exhaustive" investigation that found China using joint venture requirements, investment restrictions and licensing procedures to pressure US companies into technology transfers. Beijing also directs and "unfairly facilitates" the investment into and acquisition of US companies in order to achieve large-scale technology transfers, the USTR claimed.
Read More...
Oil Well

China threatens 25% import tariff on US liquefied natural gas as trade war escalates

Tsvetana Paraskova
Oilprice.com
Mon, 06 Aug 2018 18:00 UTC
LNG tanker
© Roslan Rahman / AFP
In the latest trade war tit-for-tat, China has included for the first time liquefied natural gas (LNG) in its list of goods up for a potential 25-percent import tariff, should the US impose additional tariffs on Chinese imports.

As the US-China trade spat turns into a full-blown war with tariffs and retaliatory tariffs and threats of further tariffs, US energy exports to China may suffer if Beijing follows through with its threat to slap tariffs on US oil and oil product imports.

Up until Friday, China had excluded LNG from the goods that it would hit with an import tariff in retaliation for a possible new US round of tariffs on Chinese goods.

The Friday statement from the Chinese commerce ministry has already had Chinese LNG end-users and suppliers saying that they would likely deter spot procurement of US LNG cargoes in the near term if the tariff comes into effect.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Biohazard

Something to hide? Ex-UN chemical weapons inspector says UK restricting OPCW access to Amesbury and Salisbury cases


RT
Tue, 07 Aug 2018 20:52 UTC
novichok poisoning police screen
© Henry Nicholls / ReutersA police officer stands in front of screening erected behind John Baker House, Britain, July 5, 2018
The UK is restricting the work of OPCW specialists involved in the investigation into the Amesbury poisonings, a former UN chemical inspector has told RT, after Britain invited experts to assist with the case.

Detailing that the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) remit will be limited by the UK's 'technical assistance request,' Anton Utkin, a former UN chemical inspector in Iraq, stated:
"The UK's desire is that OPWC confirm the chemical agent, that the UK has already identified. That means that the OPWC specialists will be limited to take only those samples that UK will allow, they will interview only those people that the UK would allow.

"So it's very important for the UK that OPWC specialists only perform their requested tasks, otherwise the information about the investigation could spill out."

Comment: The UK is seeking the OPCW's stamp of approval on a conclusion they've already scripted. Unfortunately the conclusion the "Russia did it" is patently absurd.

Read More...