Puppet MastersS


Dollars

'Stealth politics': Most US billionaires silently push policies bad for most Americans - study


RT
Fri, 02 Nov 2018 15:00 UTC
green piggy bank
© Reuters / Jo Yong-Hak
A study of the 100 wealthiest Americans has found that most billionaires resemble the conservative Koch brothers more than the Bill Gates-style philanthropic tycoons, but choose to stay silent and let their wallets do the talking.

A piece published by the Guardian, Northwestern University professors Benjamin I. Page, Jason Seawright, and Matthew J. Lacombe deliver the findings of an exhaustive study of "everything that the 100 wealthiest US billionaires have said or done, over a 10-year period, concerning several major issues of public policy."
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Card - MC

Russia's alternative to SWIFT payment system poised to eclipse the original - MP


RT
Fri, 02 Nov 2018 14:51 UTC
Yuri Gagarin monument
© Reuters / Maxim ShemetovSteam rises from chimneys of a heating power plant near a monument of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in Moscow
Russia's money transfer system, developed as an alternative to SWIFT is now more popular than the global network, said Anatoly Aksakov, head of the Russian parliamentary committee on financial markets.

He explained that Moscow is already engaged in talks with Chinese, Turkish and Iranian financial regulators on integrating its System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS) with financial messaging systems of those countries.
"The number of users of our internal financial messages' transfer system is now greater than that of those using SWIFT. We're already holding talks with China, Iran and Turkey, along with several other countries, on linking our system with their systems," Aksakov said.

"They need to be properly integrated with each other in order to avoid any problems with using the countries' internal financial messaging systems."
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Passport

Rock-throwing migrants may be shot as violent invaders: 'We'll consider that a firearm' - Trump


RT
Thu, 01 Nov 2018 14:31 UTC
migrants border gate mexico
© Reuters / Ueslei MarcelinoMigrants push a fence to make their way into Mexico
The US will adopt harsh, Israeli-style tactics and will treat migrants at the Mexican border as armed and dangerous invaders if they throw rocks at US law enforcement, Donald Trump has stressed amid a mass military deployment.

While the US commander in chief "hopes" the US military will not have to engage the so-called 'migrant caravans' with firearms once they reach the US border, Trump stated that pelting the American forces with rocks will not be tolerated.

"It's the military. I hope there won't be that. But I will tell you this: Anybody throwing stones, rocks, like they did to Mexico and the Mexican military, Mexican police - where they badly hurt police and soldiers of Mexico - we will consider that a firearm, because there is not much difference if you get hit in the face with a rock," Trump said to reporters.

Comment: The migrant groups are attempting to force their way into a country that doesn't belong to them, whereas the Palestinians seek to return to land that originally belonged to them before being expelled by the invading Zionists.

Big difference.

That being said, disproportionate response is never the answer. The military will be there as an aid to the Border Patrol. They will not be in charge.

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Gold Bar

Moscow's de-dollarization drive continues - Russian gold reserves smash Soviet-era record


RT
Fri, 02 Nov 2018 14:10 UTC
gold bars
The Central Bank of Russia bought over 92 tons of gold in the three months to the end of September breaking the Soviet peak of 2000 tons in gold reserves seen in 1941, according to a new report by the World Gold Council (WGC).

Russia reportedly purchased more gold than any other country in the world, followed by Turkey, Kazakhstan, and India, which bought 18.5 tons, 13.4 tons and 13.7 tons respectively.

That marks the highest quarterly net purchase since 1993, when the WGC started tracking the country's data. Russia's gold stockpile now accounts for 17 percent of the country's overall foreign exchange reserves.

Comment: Wise countries are following the Russian lead in its move away from the dollar. Wiser ones are shoring up their currency with hard assets.

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Chess

Arron Banks faces criminal investigation for 'mysterious' Brexit funds

Peter Walker & Jim Waterson
The Guardian
Fri, 02 Nov 2018 11:33 UTC
Arron Banks
© Jonathan Brady/PA
The National Crime Agency is to investigate allegations of multiple criminal offences by Arron Banks and his unofficial leave campaign in the Brexit referendum, prompting calls from some MPs for the process of departing the European Union to be suspended.

The NCA would look into suspicions that a "number of criminal offences may have been committed", the Electoral Commission said in a statement, saying there were reasonable grounds to suspect Banks was "not the true source" of £8m in funding to the Leave.EU campaign.

The commission said the cases involve Banks, the insurance millionaire who heavily backed leave; Elizabeth Bilney, one of his key associates; Leave.EU itself; the company used to finance it; and "other associated companies and individuals".

Comment: Also see: Brexit: An £8.4m donation of unclear origin to the Leave campaign may have changed UK history
Don't all political campaigns spend millions in advertising and other modern social media techniques? Does that somehow invalidate the result of the referendum? Does it put democracy at risk? Or is it only questionable when people vote the 'wrong' way?

Whether you think Brexit is a good idea or not, you can see where the revelation above is going. Together with the recent food-supply hysteria, it appears that the objective is to discredit Brexit and promote a second referendum - one which, they hope, will result in the 'right' choice this time.

In the meantime, don't be surprised if the blame of Brexit is once again placed squarely on Russia. That's where the 'unknown origin' of Arron Banks' donation and the allegations about social media 'dark ads' might be headed. Blaming Russia worked to fuel a spurious narrative in the US, so why not in the UK also?


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Info

Turkish court rules US pastor Andrew Brunson had links with Gulen terrorist movement


Sputnik
Fri, 02 Nov 2018 11:33 UTC
Andrew Brunson
© REUTERS / Umit BektasAndrew Brunson
A Turkish court ruled that US pastor Andrew Brunson's statements of not having links to Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen's movement, referred to by Ankara as the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), are groundless, the Anadolu news agency reported Thursday citing the ruling.

"The defendant claimed that he didn't contact with representatives of Gulen's movement and other criminal organizations as it contradicts his religious views... But in reality, as confirmed by witnesses, Brunson was in contact not only with FETO's 'Imam' in the Aegean region Bekir Baz, but also with his assistant Murat Safa, who had a direct access to the leader of the terrorist movement," the ruling reads as quoted by the local media.

According to the court, Brunson also provided support to FETO, while Gulen's supporters, including Baz, helped the pastor solve his problems.
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Quenelle

Iranian FM presents a chronology of Mossad attempts to kill nuclear deal


Sputnik
Fri, 02 Nov 2018 11:33 UTC
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif
© AP Photo / Petr David Josek
Earlier, the foreign minister said that the Israeli intelligence agency's "false flags" had failed to isolate Tehran or prevent it from constructive engagement with the international community.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has tweeted a timeline showing four times Mossad allegedly attempted to foil Iranian diplomatic efforts and interfere in international political processes in 2018.
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Bad Guys

White House 'anti-doping summit' shows who's in charge of campaign against Russia


RT
Fri, 02 Nov 2018 11:33 UTC
White House
© AFP / Mandel Ngan
It was an anti-doping summit hailed as "monumental" by the people who organized it, even though it was accused of failing to provide representation to the very people it targeted.

At the White House on Wednesday, athletes and sports officials from numerous countries met at an event organized by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

The topic: calls to reform the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in light of the decision to reinstate Russia in September.
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Eye 1

Flashback Confused Israel cosies up to Hungary over mass migration, agrees Soros is a threat

Luke Baker
Reuters
Mon, 10 Jul 2017 12:00 UTC
netanyahu soros
Israel's foreign ministry has issued a statement denouncing U.S. billionaire George Soros, a move that appeared designed to align Israel more closely with Hungary ahead of a visit to Budapest next week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Soros, a Hungarian-born Jew who has spent a large part of his fortune funding pro-democracy and human rights groups, has repeatedly been targeted by Hungary's right-wing government, in particular over his support for more open immigration.

In the latest case, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has backed a campaign in which Soros is singled out as an enemy of the state. "Let's not allow Soros to have the last laugh" say billboards next to a picture of the 86-year-old investor, a campaign that Jewish groups and others say foments anti-Semitism.

Soros, who rarely addresses personal attacks against him, has not commented on the billboards. But Hungarian Jewish groups and Human Rights Watch, an organization partly funded by Soros, have condemned the campaign, saying it "evokes memories of the Nazi posters during the Second World War".

Many posters have been defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti, including the words "stinking Jew" written in magic marker.

Comment: See also: Also check out SOTT radio's: The Truth Perspective: Weapons of Mass Migration: Interview with Michael Springmann on Europe's Migrant Crisis

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Mr. Potato

Who needs experience? Russophobic ex-Fox News host Nauert tapped as next UN Ambassador


RT
Fri, 02 Nov 2018 10:51 UTC
Heather Nauert
© Global Look / Liu Jie
The Trump administration has found the perfect blank slate to push its uniquely belligerent foreign policy at the UN: Heather Nauert, a former Fox News host who had zero political experience until joining the Trump team last year.

Trump has confirmed that State Department Spokesperson Nauert "is under very serious consideration" to become the next US Ambassador to the UN, taking over from Nikki Haley, who announced last month that she would leave at the end of the year amid fierce speculation that she was planning a presidential run in 2020.


While lacking foreign policy experience, she's good at dodging questions, finding justifications for schizophrenic US policy, and making bizarre statements that would make her Obama-era predecessor Jen Psaki blush. Here are just a few examples from her briefings over the past year:

Comment: One could say that she actually has the required experience: ignorance, lying with impunity and Russiaphobia. What more could you ask for? See also:

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