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Treasure Chest

Saudi Crown Prince calls 2017 Ritz-Carlton billionaire shakedown a lucrative success


RT
Mon, 04 Feb 2019 11:38 UTC
MbSalman
© Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, AFPCrown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
A total of about $107 billion has been recovered as a result of the detention of scores of Saudi royals and businessmen in Riyadh's Ritz-Carlton hotel in 2017, according to the kingdom's anti-corruption commission.

It said the assets collected from the 87 detainees came in a mix of cash, real estate, companies, and securities. The commission, which was headed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), referred more than 60 people to prosecution, saying that 56 of them had "other criminal cases against them." Eight other people "refused to settle despite the existence of evidence against them, and they were referred to the public prosecutor."

MBS, who called the anti-corruption campaign a "shock therapy," has declared it a lucrative success. He told Bloomberg earlier that $35 billion had been collected from the prisoners.

His announcements come as one of the prisoners, Saudi-Ethiopian billionaire Mohammed Al Amoudi, was freed last Sunday after being held in an undisclosed location on bribery and corruption charges. Among those released within the past few weeks were philanthropist and former government minister Amr Al-Dabbagh; former McKinsey & Co. partner Hani Khoja; and Sami Baroum, an ex-managing director of one of the kingdom's biggest food companies.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

Sweden: New conscripts 'prepare to repel Russian invaders'


RT
Mon, 04 Feb 2019 20:39 UTC
Sweden military
© Eddie Mulholland/The TelegraphSweden's military newcomers
Sweden's first batch of new conscripts since the country brought back the military draft in 2017 have begun training exercises to fend off an invasion from Russia, in news that might come as a surprise to, well...Russia.

Sweden's first new conscripts "prepare to repel Russian invaders," claims a sensational headline in the UK's Telegraph newspaper - a headline which would almost make you believe there was some fact-based reason to expect an imminent Russian invasion of Sweden.

The Swedish parliament voted to reintroduce the draft in 2017, with the government citing a "deteriorated" security situation in Europe and admitting that the army "had trouble staffing the military units on a voluntary basis."

The Telegraph article quotes Colonel Bo Stennabb, the commanding officer of a regiment of fresh-faced 19 and 20-year old conscripts. Stennabb says that "more aggressive behaviour" by Russia in the Baltic Sea, including Russian incursions into Swedish airspace (which Russia has denied), has made Europe less safe. Of course, no mention was made in the article of US military and spy planes which frequently fly close to Russia's own borders in exactly the same area.

Comment: Is the MSM 'news' at work stoking paranoia for a particular outcome?

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X

Europe: Not buying Iran oil despite waivers


SHANA
Tue, 05 Feb 2019 12:02 UTC
Iran oil
© blackgolddiggers.com
Iran's Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said Tuesday Italy and Greece had stopped buying oil from Iran despite being granted waivers from US sanctions.

"Among the Europeans, except for Turkey, no other nation has purchased oil from Iran. Greece and Italy refuse to buy Iran's oil despite winning waivers. Nor do they respond to our correspondence," said the minister.

He said the US had embarked on a unilateral war against Iran's petroleum industry. "They intend to zero our export revenues and if any revenue was made they would block any money transfer," he added.

Pressed by journalists to say how much oil Iran was exporting after the US reimposed oil sanctions on Iran last November, Zangeneh said: "I don't announce any figure about oil exports."

The minister also said he would not reveal how the ministry would skirt the US sanctions.
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Snakes in Suits

Why does Ralph Northam deserve no mercy?

Zaid Jilani
Quillette
Sat, 02 Feb 2019 19:59 UTC
Ralph Northam
Over the past week, Virginia's Democratic Governor, Ralph Northam, has been engulfed in a firestorm. It follows the publication of a medical-school yearbook page of his that shows two individuals, one dressed in blackface and one in a Ku Klux Klan outfit. It is not clear from the photo whether Northam is one of these two individuals, or why he chose to include this image on his yearbook page.

Upon the revelation of the photograph, the Governor issued a lengthy apology for the content of the page, which was published 35 years ago. He said he was "deeply sorry," and called the costume "clearly racist and offensive." He promised the people of Virginia that he would make amends: "I accept responsibility for my past actions and I am ready to do the hard work of regaining your trust."

Virginia's state Senate Minority Leader, Richard Saslaw (a Democrat), issued a statement noting that Northam has opposed racism as a public official, and that his behaviour from decades ago simply had no relation to who he is now: "His whole life has been about exactly the opposite, and that's what you need to examine, not something that occurred 30 years ago," he said. "While it's in very poor taste, I would think no one in the General Assembly would like their college conduct examined. I would hate to have to go back and examine my two years in the Army. Trust me. I was 18 years old and I was a handful, okay? His life since then has been anything but. It's been a life of helping people, and many times for free."

Perhaps just a few years ago, Northam's apology and Saslaw's defence would have been enough for the governor to be able to move on. We have all done things we're not proud of in the past, and our most offensive and obnoxious moments do not encapsulate our lives. But given an American elite culture that is regressing to a secular version of old puritanical norms, whereby sinners are branded for life and there are political points to be scored for casting them into hellfire, it is not surprising that Northam was immediately deluged with calls to resign.

Comment: Totalitarian Left eats its own, this time it's young adult fiction authors

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Bad Guys

The world according to CNN: Weapons ending up with terrorists is OK, as long as Obama did it


RT
Tue, 05 Feb 2019 19:38 UTC
Rebel weapons
© AFP / Youssef KarwashanRebel weapons seized by Syrian government forces
A "bombshell" CNN report has revealed that US-made weapons found their way to Al-Qaeda-linked fighters in Yemen. But is anyone surprised? And where was CNN when the Obama administration armed hardcore jihadists in Syria?

The CNN investigation revealed how American-made weapons ended up in the hands of "al Qaeda-linked fighters, hardline Salafi militias, and other factions waging war in Yemen," vis-a-vis the US' coalition partners Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Some of these weapons have also been seized by Iranian-backed militias, CNN claims.

The hardware, referred to as "Beautiful military equipment" by President Trump, was supplied to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who have backed the embattled Yemeni government in its three-year civil war against Houthi rebels. However, CNN claims that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have funnelled the arms to pro-government factions, including the islamist Giants Brigade and the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Abbas brigade.
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Bad Guys

We should make invasion price 'too much' for US - Maduro


RT
Tue, 05 Feb 2019 19:11 UTC
Venezuelan soldiers
© Venezuelan Presidency / Handout via REUTERSVenezuelan soldiers take part in a military exercise in Puerto Cabello
Caracas trains troops to protect the "sacred homeland" and to ensure that the US pays "entirely too much" for invasion, Nicolas Maduro told RT. Yet, he believes, diplomacy should prevail over threats in the 21st century.

The Venezuelan president said his government is preparing for a potential military intervention from the outside, but insists dialogue is the way to solve the crisis. "I don't believe in war, violence or military threats," he told RT in an exclusive interview. "Whatever they want, there will be peace in Venezuela."

The comment came days after Washington floated the idea of using a "military option" against Venezuela. Asked what he could do about it, Maduro replied:
We need to ensure that a military intervention would cost the US entirely too much in terms of military spending and human lives.
Reiterating that "there will be no war or military intervention in Venezuela," Maduro stated that "it doesn't mean we shouldn't defend our sacred homeland."
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Stock Up

Russia's economy grows most in six years despite Western sanctions


RT
Tue, 05 Feb 2019 07:39 UTC
Peterhof Palace
© Sputnik / Roman YandolinPeterhof Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia
The Russian economy has seen the biggest growth since 2012, expanding by 2.3 percent last year, according to preliminary estimates provided by Russian state statistics agency.

Gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.7 percent in 2018 compared to 1.6 percent the year earlier, and amounted to 103.6 trillion rubles ($1.6 trillion), Rosstat revealed on Monday. The growth surpassed earlier projections from Russia's economy ministry, which expected the economic growth to stand at 2 percent, as well as the World Bank forecast.

Hotel and food businesses, as well as financial and insurance sectors, have seen the biggest gains, both marking more than a 6 percent growth, the data shows. Construction and mining operations also demonstrated a significant contribution to the overall economic growth, expanding 4.7 percent and 3.8 percent correspondingly.

Comment: More from RT:
Russian stock market hits historic high as oil prices rally

The Moscow stock exchange (MOEX) index reached a new all-time high on Tuesday as global oil prices continue to climb. Russian stocks have also been surging since the US lifted sanctions against Russian aluminum giant Rusal.

The MOEX index hit two records in a row as trading opened this week. It rose to 2537.47 points on Monday and closed at 2523.52 points, a historic high for the end of the trading day. On Tuesday, the index continued to surge, hitting a record 2548.78 points as of 12:39 Moscow time (09:39am GMT).

MOEX is the main ruble-denominated index of the Russian stock market, comprised of the shares from more than 40 major Russian companies, including Sberbank, Gazprom, Rosneft, UC Rusal, Novatek and other blue chip firms.

The number of investors on the Moscow Exchange recently reached two million, with more than 700,000 people joining trading in 2018. Banks were most active in opening retail investment accounts last year.

Total trading volume across the Moscow Exchange markets increased by 1.5% to 58.9 trillion rubles (nearly $900 billion) in January 2019, compared to the same period last year.

The growth of the MOEX index was supported by rising oil prices. On Monday, global benchmarks West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude reached their highest price level since last November. On Tuesday morning, crude prices rolled back slightly, with Brent trading at $62.23 a barrel and US WTI crude standing at $54.41.

Russian markets were also boosted after Washington lifted its punitive measures against aluminum giant Rusal and two other companies linked to businessman Oleg Deripaska. The companies significantly diminished Deripaska's ownership and severed his control. Now Rusal as well as its parent, En+ Group, may hope for inclusion in the global MSCI index.

"EN+ Group and United Company RUSAL are now eligible for potential inclusion in the MSCI Equity Indexes should they meet the necessary requirements as per the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes methodology," the company said in a statement on Friday.
Few Western economies could have survived the financial attacks Russia has endured:

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Arrow Down

Israeli minister: Arab parliamentarians are 'Trojan horse' seeking to destroy Israel


Middle East Moniter
Mon, 04 Feb 2019 15:15 UTC
Miri Regev
© FacebookIsraeli Culture Minister Miri Regev
Israel's Culture and Sports Minister described Arab-Israeli parliamentarians on Sunday as a "Trojan horse" seeking to destroy Israel. Miri Regev made her comment after the MKs had a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Their place is in Gaza," added Regev, "and not in Jerusalem."

The MKs Ahmed Tibi, Talen Abu Arar and Masud Ghnaim were among a group of Israeli Arabs who met President Erdogan at the Tarabya Presidential Campus in Istanbul recently. They were told by Erdogan that Turkey will not turn its back on the Palestinian cause or the Palestinian people. He stressed that his country would share "all means available" for ending the Israeli occupation and establishing peace.
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Propaganda

'Fake news' is nothing new


RT
Tue, 05 Feb 2019 15:26 UTC
Tim Cole Fake news
Dismissing something as 'fake news' has become a universal way to shut down conversation that doesn't fit a world view or political agenda.

This method has become so prevalent that the words 'fake news' were recently voted term of the year... But what if fake news is nothing new?

What if throughout history every ruling class has manipulated information to maintain control of people's minds? Is that which is omitted, unsaid, and unreported also fake news?

Host Ross Ashcroft is joined by author Dr. Tim Coles and Justin Schlosberg to discuss the current fake news epidemic.


Comment: Check out Tim Coles book on Amazon: Real Fake News: Techniques of Propaganda and Deception-based Mind Control, from Ancient Babylon to Internet Algorithms

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X

Iran rejects EU's 'humiliating' trade mechanisms


RT
Tue, 05 Feb 2019 18:21 UTC
Iran
© AFP / Behrouz Mehri
The new payment system set up by France, Germany, and the UK last week to allow "legitimate trade" with Iran, has limited capacity and humiliating conditions, according to Iran's judiciary chief, Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani.

The country will never accept that, he said while addressing a meeting with high-ranking judicial officials in Tehran.

"After nine months of procrastination and negotiation, Europeans have created a mechanism with limited capacity, not for exchanging money but for food and medicine," Larijani was quoted as saying by Tasnim News Agency.
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