Puppet MastersS


Card - VISA

Best of the Web: How China's Mobile Ecosystems Are Making Banks Obsolete

Ellen Brown
TruthDig
Wed, 22 Aug 2018 10:28 UTC
alipay advert
© Ged Carroll / FlickrAlibaba's proprietary payment platform, Alipay, has shown up in advertisements overseas, such as this one in London's Tottenham Court subway station
The U.S. credit card system siphons off excessive amounts of money from merchants. In a typical $100 credit card purchase, only $97.25 goes to the seller. The rest goes to banks and processors. But who can compete with Visa and MasterCard?

It seems China's new mobile payment ecosystems can. According to a May 2018 article in Bloomberg titled Why China's Payment Apps Give U.S. Bankers Nightmares:
The future of consumer payments may not be designed in New York or London but in China. There, money flows mainly through a pair of digital ecosystems that blend social media, commerce and banking-all run by two of the world's most valuable companies. That contrasts with the U.S., where numerous firms feast on fees from handling and processing payments. Western bankers and credit-card executives who travel to China keep returning with the same anxiety: Payments can happen cheaply and easily without them.
The nightmare for the U.S. financial industry is that a major technology company - whether one from China or a U.S. giant such as Amazon or Facebook - might replicate the success of the Chinese mobile payment systems, cutting banks out.

Comment: An interesting trend, that's for sure.

It's the One World digitized credits system 'conspiracy theorists' warned about decades ago.

The trade-off seems to be: the popular dream of cutting out banksters as middlemen is realized... in exchange for super-sized conglomerates that are part-monopolies, part-governments-unto-themselves.

The incredible thing about it is that China, which has yet to complete its transition to a modern economy, is 'forcing' this development in the West by the act of forging ahead with it.

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Attention

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey will appear before House committee to testify over 'shadow banning' & bias claims


RT
Fri, 24 Aug 2018 22:35 UTC
Jack Dorsey
© Teresa Kroeger / AFP
Twitter's chief executive Jack Dorsey will appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Sept. 5 to testify about the company's algorithms that have repeatedly raised suspicions of judgment bias and stealth censorship.

The panel plans to grill Dorsey about "the complex processes behind the company's algorithms and content judgment calls," and expects him to be "forthright and transparent" in his testimony, chairman Greg Walden said in a statement.

Citing the social media giant's "incredibly powerful" ability to "change the national conversation," the committee's Republican head stated that Americans have a full right to raise concerns when "decisions about data and content are made using opaque processes."


On the same day, Dorsey, along with Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, are scheduled to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee, to be once again questioned about alleged interference in the US elections, after their previous briefings failed to expose any significant 'Russian meddling' and were thus deemed "inadequate."

Comment: See also:

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Arrow Down

Ready to sink: Reactivated US 2nd fleet returns to North Atlantic 'ready to fight'... guess who?


RT
Sat, 25 Aug 2018 10:35 UTC
US 2nd Fleet
© Aaron B. Hicks/US Navy/Handout via / Reuters
Just seven years after shutting down operations, the US 2nd Fleet has been officially reactivated, with its admiral seeking to turn it into a menacing force "ready to fight" any "bad actor" it may sail into in the North Atlantic.

Fearing that "some bad actors" on the world stage "threaten the very birthright freedoms that we hold sacred" and are looking to "undermine and rewrite" the US-established world order, Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis, promised to "build a fleet that is ready to fight" along a stretch that extends from the East Coast of the US all the way to the Barents Sea, just off the coast of Norway and Russia, near the Arctic Circle.

"We are going to aggressively and quickly rebuild this command into an operational warfighting organization," Lewis announced, as he took charge of the Second Fleet at the establishment ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.
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Megaphone

SOTT Focus: Bolton Calls on Al-Qaeda to Stage More Chemical Attacks in Syria

Eva Bartlett
RT
Sat, 25 Aug 2018 09:25 UTC
National Security Advisor John Bolton
© Global Look PressNational Security Advisor John Bolton
In a move that was entirely predictable, the US administration is once again threatening to bomb Syria if there is a "chemical weapons attack".

This was entirely predictable because that chemical attack script has been read out, with salty crocodile tears, fake concern, and mocked indignation by US talking heads over the years - since 2012, in fact, when former US President Obama himself drew his red line on Syria.

The latest script-reader to toe the chemical hoax line is President Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, who on August 22, stated: "...if the Syrian regime uses chemical weapons we will respond very strongly and they really ought to think about this a long time."

Beyond the tattered veil of moral superiority that is US war propaganda, Bolton's words were clearly a very public command to Al-Qaeda and co-extremists to stage yet another fake chemical attack.

Comment: 'Russiagate', 'Syrian regime using chemical weapons'... schemes that exist only in the Western reality-creators' sick minds.

These cowboys, politicians, businessmen, war hawks - who would prolong the war in Syria when peace is within reach and the country is beginning to rebuild and heal - should all be tried for crimes against humanity.

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Gear

Best of the Web: Russian MoD: Terrorists readying chemical attack to frame Damascus & provide pretext for US airstrikes


RT
Sat, 25 Aug 2018 09:10 UTC
A US Air Force B-1B Lancer
© AFPA US Air Force B-1B Lancer
Terrorists are preparing a chemical weapons attack to frame Damascus and provoke an international reaction, the Russian Defense Ministry said, adding that it would be used as a pretext for the US and its allies to strike Syria.

The attack would be used as a pretext for US, UK and French airstrikes on Syrian targets, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Major General Igor Konashenkov said. USS 'The Sullivans,' an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided missile destroyer, was already deployed to the Persian Gulf a couple of days ago, he added.


Comment: The Russian Defense Ministry has accused the United States, the United Kingdom and France of preparing to carry out new strikes against Syria under the pretext of chemical weapons use by the Syrian government forces.
"The Western countries' actions in spite of their public statements are aimed at another sharp deterioration of the situation in the Middle East region and the disruption of the peace process on the territory of Syria," ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov noted.



The destroyer has 56 cruise missiles on board, according to data from the Russian Defence Ministry. A US Rockwell B-1 Lancer, a supersonic bomber equipped with 24 cruise missiles, has also been deployed at the Qatari Al Udeid Airbase.

Comment: See also: White Helmets coordinating with al-Nusra to stage chemical attack in Idlib, aiming to accuse Syrian army

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Attention

Ex-Dem Wasserman Schultz's IT aide Imran Awan dodges jail time after attorneys complain about Trump

Alex Pappas
Fox News
Fri, 24 Aug 2018 20:46 UTC
Imran Awan Wasserman Schultz
© ReutersImran Awan, the former IT aide to congressional Democrats including Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Imran Awan, the former IT aide to congressional Democrats whose federal bank fraud case has drawn the interest of top Republicans, avoided jail time Tuesday after the defense complained about disparaging comments made against the defendant by President Trump and others.

During a hearing Tuesday in Washington, U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan sentenced Awan to three months of supervised release plus time served. Chutkan, who cited "unfounded allegations" against Awan, also did not impose a fine.

Awan, who pleaded guilty in July to making a false statement on a loan application, delivered an emotional statement vowing: "I promise you this second chance will not go to waste."

The prosecution, in a recent sentencing memorandum, did not advocate jail time for Awan.

Comment:

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Mr. Potato

NBC's Chuck Todd wants Paul Ryan to start Trump impeachment proceedings now

John Nolte
Breitbart
Fri, 24 Aug 2018 19:22 UTC
Paul Ryan
© AP
NBC's Chuck Todd said Wednesday that a "functional" Washington and Congress would start impeachment proceedings against President Trump now.

After falsely claiming Trump has been accused of "federal crime," a noticeably excited Todd said on the Today Show:
The Judiciary Committee in the House of Representatives would begin to look to see if there's enough evidence to start investigating and drawing up articles of impeachment, but this is not a functional Congress. This is a Congress controlled by Republicans. They would have to do this on their own president. But I have to tell you, I think there is going to be increased political heat, and you're going to have a divided Republican party: those who are fearing Trump as a drag and those that know that his base is there till the end.
The far-left Todd then pressured House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) to save his legacy by launching impeachment proceedings against a president accused of nothing more than a possible FEC violation, saying, "I do think Paul Ryan needs to think long and hard about the future of the Republican Party. This is your last chance off this train, and it looks like Manafort and Cohen only have more to say, only may cooperate more. This could get worse."
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Moon

VP Mike Pence vows US will regain manned space flight capability 'very soon', reconquer Moon by 2024


RT
Fri, 24 Aug 2018 08:42 UTC
Space rocket launch
© Shamil Zhumatov / Reuters
The US will soon rid itself of its embarrassing and costly reliance on Russian space rockets, vice president Pence has promised, painting an idyllic future where private enterprises will be taking Americans to the moon and beyond.

Regretting that US astronauts were "forced to hitch a ride to space" ever since NASA's Space Shuttle program retired in 2011, Mike Pence promised to end America's somewhat embarrassing reliance on Soyuz rockets. Noting that each seat onboard a Russian capsule costs about $82 million, the vice president proclaimed "those days are about to be over."

"I'm going to make you a promise: Soon, and very soon, American astronauts will return to space on American rockets launched from American soil," Pence said while he and NASA administrator, Jim Bridenstine, visited the Johnson Space Center on Thursday.

NASA has been working for years with its commercial partners SpaceX and Boeing to develop crew transportation systems, CST-100 Starliner and Crew Dragon 2, both of which the US space agency rather optimistically hopes to certify and render 'operational' next year.
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Lemon

Corbyn opponents dig up old video: Now under fire for saying 'Zionists don't understand English irony'


RT
Fri, 24 Aug 2018 18:38 UTC
corbyn
© Russell Cheyne / ReutersJeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of anti-Semitic hate speech after video emerged of him seemingly telling a group of Palestinian activists that Zionists "don't understand English irony" even if they've lived in the UK for years.

Critics have even called for the Labour Party leader to step down amid allegations he portrayed Jews as alien to British culture while addressing the meeting at the Palestinian Return Center in 2013.

In his speech, Corbyn had been referring to a previous speech made by Manuel Hassassian, a Palestinian Authority representative. In the video published by The Daily Mail, the opposition leader said that Hassassian was "dutifully recorded by the thankfully silent Zionists who were in the audience on that occasion and then came up and berated him afterwards for what he'd said."

"So, clearly two problems. One is that they don't want to study history and secondly, having lived in this country for a very long time, probably all their lives, they don't understand English irony either. Manuel does understand English irony and uses it very, very effectively so I think they need two lessons which we can help them with."
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Info

Trump cancels Pompeo's trip to N. Korea but sends 'warmest regards' to Kim


RT
Fri, 24 Aug 2018 18:26 UTC
Trump cancels Pompeo's trip to N. Korea
© Li Muzi / Global Look Press
President Trump has canceled State Secretary Mike Pompeo's upcoming trip to North Korea, due to take place next week. The President cited a lack of progress towards denuclearization when he announced the cancelation.

In a series of tweets Friday, Trump said that "sufficient progress" towards denuclearization of the Korean peninsula was not being made, and blamed China for hindering the progress, due to the ongoing trade spat between Washington and Beijing.

Trump, however, sent his "warmest regards and respect" to Kim, and said that Pompeo "looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future,"once the current US-China trade dispute is resolved.

The trip would have been Pompeo's fourth visit to Pyongyang since US/North Korean relations began to thaw earlier this year. This time around, Pompeo had no plans of meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

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