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Russia and Turkey ditch US dollar for S-400 deal, and will do so in for future business


RT
Thu, 29 Nov 2018 12:40 UTC
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin.
© Mikhael Klimentyev / SputnikRecep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin.
Both facing pressure from Washington, Moscow and Ankara ditched the US dollar when finalizing their landmark S-400 air defense missile systems deal and will do so in the future, Russian leader Vladimir Putin said.

"We understand that if we'll make transactions in [US] dollars, they won't come through," Putin told reporters on Wednesday, citing his recent talks with Turkey's leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "So we thought up another option."

Speaking at a business forum in Moscow, the Russian president noted that the 'dollar-less' S-400s deal with Turkey is just one recent example of the approach the nations share. The same will apply to "other types of goods" as well, he stressed.

"We don't have a goal of abandoning from the dollar, but we are forced to do so. And, I assure you, we will do it," Putin said, adding that it will ultimately make global trade more secure and efficient.

Comment: The US thought it could bring the world to heel by using its position with the dollar as reserve currency as its veto, however times have changed and the world realizes tying its fate to a dying regime would be suicidal: Also check out SOTT radio's:

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Heart - Black

Best of the Web: Stormy Daniels says creepy porn lawyer Avenatti sued Trump for defamation against her wishes

Betsy Woodruff, Kate Briquelet
The Daily Beast
Wed, 28 Nov 2018 14:41 UTC
stormy avenatti
© The Daily Beast
Michael Avenatti sued Donald Trump for defaming Stormy Daniels against her wishes, Daniels told The Daily Beast in a statement on Wednesday.

Avenatti also started a new fundraising site to raise money for her legal defense fund without telling her, Daniels said. She said she is not sure whether or not she will keep Avenatti on as her lawyer.

Here is her full statement, provided to The Daily Beast:
"For months I've asked Michael Avenatti to give me accounting information about the fund my supporters so generously donated to for my safety and legal defense. He has repeatedly ignored those requests. Days ago I demanded again, repeatedly, that he tell me how the money was being spent and how much was left. Instead of answering me, without my permission or even my knowledge Michael launched another crowdfunding campaign to raise money on my behalf. I learned about it on Twitter.

"I haven't decided yet what to do about legal representation moving forward. Michael has been a great advocate in many ways. I'm tremendously grateful to him for aggressively representing me in my fight to regain my voice. But in other ways Michael has not treated me with the respect and deference an attorney should show to a client. He has spoken on my behalf without my approval. He filed a defamation case against Donald Trump against my wishes. He repeatedly refused to tell me how my legal defense fund was being spent. Now he has launched a new crowdfunding campaign using my face and name without my permission and attributing words to me that I never wrote or said. I'm deeply grateful to my supporters and they deserve to know their money is being spent responsibly. I don't want to hurt Michael, but it's time to set the record straight. The truth has always been my greatest ally.

"My goal is the same as it has always been - to stand up for myself and take back my voice after being bullied and intimidated by President Trump and his minions. One way or another I'm going to continue in that fight, and I want everyone who has stood by me to know how profoundly grateful I am for their support."
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Bad Guys

After years as The Guardian's 'MI6 tool' Luke Harding may finally have gone too far

Kit Klarenberg
Sputnik
Thu, 29 Nov 2018 21:05 UTC
Luke Harding
Luke Harding, The Guardian's ace conduit for MI6 disinformation
On November 27, The Guardian published a seismic exclusive report authored by star reporter Luke Harding, which claimed Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chair turned convicted felon, met with WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange several times in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on three separate occasions.

WikiLeaks immediately issued a vehement denial, declaring the story to be completely "fabricated" and noting the paper had given them virtually no time to respond prior to publication. Within hours, the organization had set up a legal fund seeking donations in order to sue The Guardian for libel, and were calling for the resignation of Editor Katherine Viner.

Comment: British troll.

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Stock Up

Russia outmaneuvers unreliable US gas, and Brits buy up half of Russia's Eurobonds

Nick Cunningham
Oil Price
Thu, 29 Nov 2018 19:20 UTC
boat
© Reuters / Olga MaltsevaFILE PHOTO: A new Russian Arctic LNG tanker Christophe de Margerie. The country has been ramping up output despite Western sanctions, official statistics show.
For years, boosters of U.S. LNG have trumpeted the fact that gas exports from the Gulf of Mexico could break Russia's grip on the European energy market. That has yet to be the case, and in fact, Russia has managed to respond with various strategies to maintain its market share on the continent.

"The United States is not just exporting energy, we're exporting freedom," U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said in early 2018. "We're exporting to our allies in Europe the opportunity to truly have a choice of where do you buy your energy from. That's freedom. And that kind of freedom is priceless...There's no strings attached when you buy American [liquid natural gas]. So that's world-changing."

That comment from Perry crystalizes conventional wisdom in Washington. Europe relies on Russia for about a third of its gas needs. For years, Russia's Gazprom was able to bind various European countries up into rigid contracts with fixed prices, often linked to higher crude oil prices. Worse, Russia tended to negotiate bilateral deals, and would offer preferential terms to friendly countries and higher prices to others. These practices raised the ire of the European Commission's antitrust regulator, which forced Gazprom to dial back on such strong-arm tactics.

But with few alternatives, there was little prospect of fundamental change - Europe would still need Russian gas for the long haul.

Comment: And it's not just in the gas markets where investors reveal their confidence in Russia, RT reports:
British investors gobble up lion's share of Russian government Eurobonds

Most of the Eurobonds offered by the Russian government on Tuesday were bought by UK investors, according to Andrey Solovyev, global head of debt and capital market at state-run bank VTB Capital that ran the placement.

"Despite high volatility of the market and challenging political environment, the placement has elicited a huge response among the Europeans," the economist said, adding that investors from Europe purchased around 18 percent of the issue.

"Meanwhile, British investors bought up the major part of the issue - 55 percent," Solovyev said, adding that another three percent of the Russia-issued Eurobonds were acquired by US investors. The remaining 24 percent were reportedly bought by Russians.

On Tuesday, Russia raised a billion euros ($1.13 billion) with a yield of 3.0 percent from the sale of its first euro-denominated Eurobond in five years, according to the country's finance ministry.

Even though the market has been posing great risks amid potential anti-Russian sanctions and escalating tensions with Ukraine, foreign investors still own a large portion of Russian bonds. As of October 1, the share of Eurobonds held by foreigners totaled 46.3 percent.

The placement of sovereign Eurobonds in euros was not related to the country's de-dollarization plans, but will only encourage it, according to the Deputy Finance Minister Vladimir Kolychev as quoted by Sputnik.
See also:

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Calendar

Kremlin and Washington confirm a Putin-Trump tete-a-tete at G20


RT
Thu, 29 Nov 2018 10:29 UTC
Trump-Putin
© ReutersTrump-Putin summit in Helsinki
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will have a brief tete-a-tete conversation followed by an hour-long extended meeting at the G20 summit in Argentina, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The meeting is scheduled for December 1, on the second and the last day of the summit which is due to take place in Buenos Aires.

"At first there will be a brief conversation, as we expect, between the two presidents, and then the Russian-US talks, which may last about an hour," Peskov explained to journalists. Washington has already confirmed the talks, he added.

Earlier, the US president told the Washington Post that he might not have the meeting with his Russian counterpart following the recent maritime incident in the Kerch Strait. On Sunday three Ukrainian Navy vessels tried to force passage through the region, between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, before they were intercepted and captured by the Russian coast guard.

Peskov said that the Kremlin received no notice of Trump calling off talks, adding that preparations for the talks "continue."

Comment: Update, 29 Nov 2018, 16:37

From RT: Trump cancels planned meeting with Putin at G20 over Russia-Ukraine flare up
US President Donald Trump has cancelled a scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin which was due to take place at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires on Saturday.

Leaving the White House for Argentina on Thursday, Trump told reporters he "probably" would meet with Putin at the summit, but said he would make a decision after receiving a briefing on the plane.

Shortly after, Trump tweeted that "it would be best for all parties concerned" to cancel the meeting with Putin "based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine."

Trump said he looked forward to a "meaningful summit" when the "situation is resolved."

Responding to Trump's decision, the Kremlin said it had received no confirmation of the cancellation through official channels. A Kremlin spokesperson said if the meeting is off, however, Putin will have a few free hours for other important meetings.

It's not the first time uncertainty has surrounded whether a meeting between the two leaders would take place. In fact, it seems to happen frequently.


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Attention

Cohen expected to plead guilty to lying to Congress in collusion probe after 70 hours of interviews with SC Mueller

George Stephanopoulos, Eliana Larramendia
ABC News
Thu, 29 Nov 2018 09:05 UTC
Michael Cohen
© Craig Ruttle/APMichael Cohen, former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump, leaves federal court in New York, Aug. 21, 2018.
Special counsel Robert Mueller has reached a tentative deal with Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney and long-time fixer for President Donald Trump, sources told ABC News.

Cohen appeared in federal court in Manhattan Thursday where he entered a guilty plea for misstatements to Congress in closed-door testimony last year about his contacts with Russians during the presidential campaign.

Once among the president's most loyal and zealous defenders in business and politics, Cohen has now promised to "put family and country first" by cooperating with prosecutors, becoming perhaps the most pivotal public witness against his former boss.

Cohen's earlier plea deal with federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York implicated President Trump in campaign finance felonies. Since then, Cohen has spent more than 70 hours in interviews with Mueller's team. The questioning has focused on contacts with Russians by Trump associates during the campaign, Trump's business ties to Russia, obstruction of justice and talk of possible pardons, sources familiar with the discussions have told ABC News.

"The potential significance of Cohen's cooperation is immense," said Kendall Coffey, a former United States Attorney in Florida.


Comment: Has Mueller found a foil? Cohen is clearly out to save himself.

Video from CBS News, 11/29/18:



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Star of David

Israel and its jihadi connection

Richard Galustian
The Duran
Wed, 28 Nov 2018 00:00 UTC
ISIS ISRAEL flags
© southfloridareporter.com
Israel's complex game with Jihadi terror groups pays off as more and more African states look to Israel for protection.

Earlier this year, with little publicity, the official position of Israel on terrorism was explained by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon "I would like to see ISIS rule all of Syria (by inference, the whole region - RG); ISIS and its offshoots do not pose a threat to the Israeli State. Iran remains the main enemy!"

Ya'alon was being disingenuous, but the thinking behind his words is actually clear enough from the words themselves. Put simply, Israel's relentless emphasis on the supposed threat from Iran is simply a diversionary tactic intended to conceal the continuing realisation of the 'Greater Israel' Project.

Ya'alon added, "Iran is a rogue regime with designs on a regional hegemony. Hezbollah is Iran's proxy, with the ability to declare war. Iran currently has terror infrastructure in place in five continents: Asia, Africa, Europe and both in South and North America."
Projected growth of ISIS
© eretz israelEretz Israel

Comment: 'Look there, not here.' Israel's deflection by way of accusation.

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X

Mattis declares 'no smoking gun' that shows MbS was involved in Khashoggi murder


Sputnik
Thu, 29 Nov 2018 02:13 UTC
James Mattis
© Jack Hill/AFP/Getty ImagesFormer US Secretary of Defense James Mattis
The United States has not uncovered a smoking gun which proves that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was involved in the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said on Wednesday.

"We have no smoking gun that the Crown Prince was involved. Not the intelligence community or anyone else. We have no smoking gun," Mattis told reporters outside the Pentagon.

Mattis added that he has personally read all the intelligence on Khashoggi and all the translations of the recordings of his murder at the Saudi consulate in Turkey. "We do not have the tapes. Least I am not aware that we do. But I have read the translation twice," he told reporters.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also told reporters earlier on Wednesday that he has read every piece of intelligence, but has not found "direct reporting" connecting bin Salman to Khashoggi's death.

Last week, US media reported that the CIA concluded bin Salman personally ordered the killing of Khashoggi.

Comment: Some folks see what they need to believe. Some folks believe what they need to see. There is a good chance the Khashoggi murder will keep its secrets and decisions must go on.

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Rocket

'A great deception' is the latest accusation against N. Korea

Konstantin Asmolov
New Eastern Outlook
Wed, 28 Nov 2018 00:00 UTC
Kim Jong-un/Rocket
© Unknown
On November 12 the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) concluded, after studying satellite data and other publicly-available data on North Korea's missile program, that there were 13 hidden military bases or facilities in North Korea whose existence was hitherto unknown, and which could be used to build missiles or develop missile technology.

Specifically, the document shows satellite photographs of Sakkanmol in Hwangju County, North Hwanghae Province, which were taken on March 29. That location, 85 km north of the Demilitarized Zone and 135 km from Seoul, is the site of a small-range ballistic missile base, which, it is claimed, houses Hwasong 5 and Hwasong 6 missiles. There are seven long tunnels on the site, which can hold up to 18 mobile launching platforms.

On the basis of satellite photographs published in the media and interviews with defectors from North Korea, the CSIS researchers, headed by Joseph Bermudez (who, apparently, has been studying North Korea's missile capacity since 1985) have identified the locations of more than 65 North Korean military bases, although they have only announced 20 of these, 13 of which they have identified on the map and the rest of which "are still unconfirmed."

Comment: The Trump administration claims it is fully aware of these 'undeclared and secret' NK facilities and that promises demanded of Kim Jong-un - so far - have been met. The NYT appears to be accusatorially inflating a scenario based on situational aspects not yet addressed.

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Star of David

Trump states Israel is 'one reason' for US troops to remain in the Middle East

Amir Tibon
Haaretz
Wed, 28 Nov 2018 09:03 UTC
Trmpntnyhu
© PinterestBut whose reason is it?
U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with the Washington Post on Tuesday that "one reason" for the United States to remain in the Middle East is Israel.

Trump made the comment during a portion of the interview in which he discussed whether or not the United States should continue to have a military presence in the region in light of current realities.

"Now, are we going to stay in that part of the world? One reason to is Israel," Trump said. He then explained that oil production was no longer a reason to do so. "Oil is becoming less and less of a reason because we're producing more oil now than we've ever produced. So, you know, all of a sudden it gets to a point where you don't have to stay there," Trump explained.

Last week, Trump said the U.S. would maintain its partnership with Saudi Arabia to "ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region."

Referring to the killing of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump said: "We may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi. In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran."

Trump added that "it is our paramount goal to fully eliminate the threat of terrorism throughout the world!"

Comment: "...it gets to a point where you don't have to stay there"...this should scare the willies out of Israel. Expect an uptick in Israeli 'reasons' to reverse this logic.

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