Puppet MastersS

Vader

Theresa May considering ban on selling Russian debt in London

bond Aston Martin
© Benoit Tessier / ReutersThe 1964 Aston Martin DB5 driven by actor Sean Connery as James Bond in both Goldfinger and Thunderball films
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has agreed to consider a possible ban on selling Russian sovereign debt in London, the Guardian reports. British law allows Russian state banks to broker such deals despite sanctions.

Last month, City of London clearing houses, working with Russian state-run VTB bank, issued $4 billion of Russian sovereign debt, according to data quoted by the media.

The idea is being pushed by Tom Tugendhat, the foreign affairs select committee chairman. "At present, Russia can borrow in EU and US capital markets despite western sanctions and then can support the sanctioned Kremlin-linked banks and energy companies that can no longer do so," he said.

Arrow Down

Trump Effect: Amazon shares plummet after reports Trump plans to 'go after' them over paying little taxes and killing smaller retailers

shopping cart
© Shannon Stapleton / Reuters
Shares in the US e-commerce behemoth Amazon continued to drop on Thursday, wiping over $30 billion from its market value, after reports that President Donald Trump wants to curb the firm's growing power.

According to a report by the US news and information website Axios, Trump is planning to "go after" the world's largest online retailer amid growing concerns that Amazon's business is killing physical shopping malls and mom-and-pop retailers. "He's obsessed with Amazon," the media reported, citing one of five sources familiar with the issue.

The US president is reportedly planning to change the tax treatment of the firm. The question was previously raised by Trump when he urged the government to impose an internet tax on online retailers.

Bullseye

Skripal saga: Another chapter in the West's ongoing black propaganda war to force Russia into becoming one more imperial vassal state

skripal salisbury
© Ben Stangall / AFP
There are many reasons for doubting the official British position blaming Russia for the Sergei Skripal poisoning. This week's 'diplomacy dramatics' of mass Russian expulsions are just too contrived to be taken seriously.

Two factors raising doubt stand out in particular: the unseemly, impossible rush to judgment and carnival of reaction; and, secondly, the immediate, concerted follow-up demand being made on Russia to "change its behavior."

The cause-and-effect sequence here is just too neat to be left to random events. Within days of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia having apparently been poisoned in a public space in the English city of Salisbury on March 4, senior British government officials were accusing Russia of attempted assassination.

The whirlwind British media campaign to find Russia guilty and the rapid international response to expel over 100 Russian diplomats from more than 25 countries this week - all mounted in a matter of three weeks - inevitably betray a premeditated public relations operation.

Binoculars

Moscow claims US deploying hardware, boosting military presence in al-Tanf, Syria

us al tanf
© AFP 2018/ AHMAD AL-RUBAYE
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has commented on the situation in Eastern Ghouta and the US military presence in Syria.

Moscow is concerned by Washington's plans to fortify its military presence in Syria at the US military base in al-Tanf, as heavy military equipment is arriving, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.

"We are still concerned about reports that the United States and its allies are consolidating their illegal military presence in the territory of sovereign Syria. In particular, heavy military equipment is arriving to the zone established by the United States around the settlements of al-Tanf in the southeast of the country," Zakharova told a briefing.

The US military base is located in the border town of al-Tanf, where troops of the armed Syrian opposition are trained and equipped. The Al-Rukban refugee camp is located in the "security zone" next to the US military base al-Tanf; it was illegally deployed in April 2017 under the pretext of fighting terrorists.

At the end of November last year, the head of the Russian Center for the reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria, Lieutenant-General Sergei Kuralenko, reported that the US, having closed the 55-kilometer zone around the US base in the Syrian city of al-Tanf, had isolated more than 50,000 people in need of humanitarian assistance. Russia then proposed to the command of a group of US troops in al-Tanf to jointly ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the refugees. The coalition, led by the United States, agreed to help, but said that it had not received confirmation that Syrian authorities were ready to allow convoys to pass.

Comment: The U.S. is increasingly becoming that unsocialized child none of the other kids want to play with - the kid who grows up to be "that guy" at the party everyone wishes would just leave already, but who never gets the hint and only further damages his own reputation. Except "that guy" has nuclear weapons, a massive military budget, a history of destroying nations, assassinating leaders, and torturing people. Even that can't buy love though. Seriously, go home, America.


Coffee

Russians can play this game too: Foreign Ministry demands UK prove it didn't poison Skripals, or face consequences

lavrov
It better be something good!
What is good for the goose is good for the gander. At least Russia seems to think so. There may not be conclusive evidence Britain poisoned Sergei Skripal and his visiting daughter Yulia. But then neither is there evidence Moscow did it and that did not prevent London from demanding Russia proves its innocent (in 24 hours). Moreover the British are keeping Russians away from evidence, not the other way around.

So why wouldn't Russia now demand Britain instead proves its own innocence? Well, Lavrov's Ministry of External Affairs can't think of a reason why not.
Russia has demanded that London provide proof that British spies did not carry out the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that their analysis of the assassination attempt has them to believe in 'a possible involvement in it of the British intelligence services'.

The Ministry says that in the absence of proof of British innocence, Moscow will regard the incident as an attempt on the lives of Russian citizens on foreign soil.

'An analysis of all the circumstances ... leads us to think of the possible involvement in it (the poisoning) of the British intelligence services,' the foreign ministry said in a statement.

'If convincing evidence to the contrary is not presented to the Russian side we will consider that we are dealing with an attempt on the lives of our citizens as a result of a massive political provocation.'
Excellent! 'Do what you demand of us and prove your innocence to us, or we will regard it was a state-sponsored attempt at murder of our citizens.'

Lavrov has truly outdone himself here. And yet all he has done is responded in kind. So simple and yet so brilliant.

Comment: Priceless. And they're probably right, to boot! See Joe Quinn's We Can Actively Assume That Skripal Was Poisoned by The British Government.


Handcuffs

Lock him up: Sarkozy to face trial for monitoring investigation into illicit campaign funding

sarkozy
© Reuters
Ex-French president Nicolas Sarkozy will stand trial for allegedly misusing his influence to spy on an investigation into his 2007 presidential bid. It was claimed the campaign was funded by former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

France's financial prosecutor has confirmed that the former president will stand trial for influence peddling, according to Reuters. He's accused of securing leaked details of a probe into the alleged illicit funding of the presidential campaign.

Investigators examining allegations that Sarkozy's campaign was funded by Libya began to suspect that he was monitoring the probe using a network of informants. The case will come before France's highest court.

Lawyers for Sarkozy said in a statement that they will appeal the decision to take him to court.

The decision comes just days after Sarkozy was indicted for illicit campaign financing, misappropriation of Libyan public funds and passive corruption.

Sarkozy, who was president of France from 2007 to 2012, denies all the allegations against him. The accusations first emerged in 2012 and a judicial inquiry was launched a year later.

Light Saber

Foreign minister say Austria doesn't fear reprisal for not expelling Russian diplomats - calls for dialogue

Kneissl Austria foreign minister
© Heinz-Peter Bader / ReutersAustrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl attends a news conference in Vienna, March 8, 2018
Vienna refused to expel Russian diplomats not because it feared reprisal, but because it stands for open dialogue, Austria's foreign minister said, decrying the UK's attempts to lure the country into taking "certain measures."

Austria refrained from expelling Russian diplomats earlier this week, in contrast to its EU neighbors, who chose to rely on the UK's assertion that Russia was behind the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury. Karin Kneissl, Austria's top diplomat, said the surprise decision had nothing to do with a fear of countermeasures from Moscow.

"It never had any impact on considerations of the Foreign Ministry and communications with the chancellor," Kneissl said on Wednesday, as quoted by Kurier newspaper. Expelling foreign diplomats is not something Vienna stands for, she added. "You have to keep channels [of communication] open, especially when things get tough."

War Whore

Russian media publishes 'silly presentation' UK used to prompt diplomat expulsions

Sergei Skripal
© Henry Nicholls / ReutersPolice officers near a tent-covered spot close to where Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found poisoned in Salisbury, Britain
A document UK officials presented in a bid to persuade allies to expel Russian diplomats this week suggests London no longer questions whether Moscow poisoned Sergei Skripal, but offers no new specific evidence.

Titled 'Salisbury Incident,' the six slide PowerPoint document was sent out to 80 top level foreign embassy officials in Moscow, according to Kommersant business daily, the news agency to which the document was leaked. The diplomatic effort was a bid to sway opinion and prepare the ground for the expulsions of over 100 Russian diplomats by more than 20 countries, which have been announced over the past three days.

Previously, the UK publicly suggested that it was "highly likely" Moscow had a hand in the poisoning of double agent Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, on March 4 in Salisbury, however, the leaked document takes a harsher line.

Comment: A 6-slide PowerPoint? Well there you have it folks, 'undeniable proof'. For something so ridiculous we turn to Maria Zakharova for some common sense. Sputnik reports:
The presentation on the Skripal case given to foreign diplomats at a briefing in the UK Embassy in Moscow looks like a presentation made by primary school children, Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"Of course, it is shocking. It looks like pictures for children... This is the presentation, which resembles one made by primary school students, who have just learned how to use a computer. It retells not even the information reported by the media but rather the key points made by UK Prime Minister Theresa May during a hearing at the parliament. But again, it is chaotic, incoherent," Zakharova told Russia's Zvezda TV channel.

The spokeswoman pointed out that the presentation mentioned neither the formula of the substance used to poison Skripal, nor the number of people involved in the attack.



Chess

US judge dismisses Saudi Arabia's motion to end 9/11 complicity lawsuits

Trump Saudi Mohammed bin Salman
© Jonathan Ernst / ReutersU.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington
US District Judge George B. Daniels in Manhattan has dismissed the motion filed by Saudi Arabia to end long-running litigation over what those affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks claim is Riyadh's complicity in the tragedy.

The allegations put forward by the victims' relatives and those who were injured in the attack "narrowly articulate a reasonable basis for this Court to assume jurisdiction under JASTA (The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act) over Plaintiffs' claims against Saudi Arabia," Daniels stated in the court opinion. Taking this into account, "this Court will exercise its discretion to allow Plaintiffs limited jurisdictional discovery," it added before announcing the Saudi Arabian motion dismissed.

JASTA, passed by Congress in 2016, overriding then-US President Barack Obama's veto, paved the way for legal proceedings against foreign states and their officials suspected of supporting terrorism to continue even if they were previously rejected in a court.

Comment: Further reading: Saudis complicit in 9/11 attacks (unless they kowtow to USA and get Russia)


Black Magic

The "systemically murderous and evil' scheming of the empire: Is a new war against Russia in Ukraine unfolding before our eyes?

syria donbass war
We are now entering yet another US-UK led war build-up against the cornerstone of Western ideology, the designated Enemy Russia.

As usual there is amnesia of the ever-recurring big-lie pretext, the need for another crisis to keep the two-billion-dollar a day NATO war machine going, the baleful puppet moves of Canada in the process, the crisis of legitimacy of the lead attacker's government, and the silent diversion from the whole nightmare scenario unfolding by all NATO-member governments, mass media and even 'peace activist' organisations.

This time the big-lie pretext is about the alleged poisoning by the Kremlin/Putin of a double-agent, usually a stock move in espionage entertainments, but here with no evidence of the claimed origin of the lethal nerve-agent, but rather expert denial within British defence and weapons research itself, with devious political word games to get around the absence of evidence in familiar denunciations of Russia that are full of aggression and hate. Not even a death is recorded while US-led and UK-armed ally forces are still mass-murdering poor civilian Yeminis, drone-murdering endless targets and civilians abroad, continuing on unblamed for the ongoing NATO-executed eco-genocides of Iraq and Libya societies, and on the 19-years anniversary of the mass bombing of, once again a society, Yugoslavia, with the most evolved social infrastructures of health, education, housing and life security in the region.