Puppet MastersS


Dollars

Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov: Time has come for Russia to finally ditch US dollar


RT
Fri, 24 Aug 2018 11:33 UTC
US Dollar
© Maxim Shemetov / Reuters
Russia will definitely respond to Washington's latest sanctions and, in particular, it is accelerating efforts to abandon the American currency in trade transactions, said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

"The time has come when we need to go from words to actions, and get rid of the dollar as a means of mutual settlements, and look for other alternatives," he said in an interview with International Affairs magazine.

Comment:
Russia working to wean economy off US dollar as Washington ratchets up sanctions

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Toys

Desperate: US threatens sanctions on countries buying Russian S-400s


RT
Fri, 24 Aug 2018 03:07 UTC
s-400
© Sputnik / Sergey Malgavko
Once again warning Turkey against buying Russian S-400 air-defense systems, the US State Department has gone a step further, to virtually threaten all its NATO and other allies with sanctions should they consider similar deals.

Noting that the ahead-of-schedule S-400 deliveries to Turkey would be another "concern" for the US, the State Department's Heather Nauert stressed that Washington rejects other nations' plans to diversify their defense system supplies. Earlier this week Rosoboronexport confirmed that the first batch of launchers will be transferred to Ankara in 2019.

"It goes against our policy to have a NATO ally such as Turkey use an S-400 system. Part of the problem with that, it is - that it is not interoperable with other NATO systems," Nauert said. "And so we are against the - having some of our partners and allies around the world potentially purchase S-400s."

Comment: Threats can only do so much and, if the US were to carry them out, it risks sanctioning itself out of the world markets: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Trump Ditches Europe, Europe Bluffs, Russia and China Carry on With Eurasian Integration

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Bad Guys

"This is what I am paid to do": Italy's Salvini challenges prosecutor after blocking migrant ship carrying 190 mostly male Africans


RT
Thu, 23 Aug 2018 22:38 UTC
matteo salvini
© Global Look Press/ InsidefotoItalian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has dared prosecutors to "go ahead and try" him, as they launch an investigation into a ship of migrants that Salvini's government refuses to allow to disembark in Italy.

The Ubaldo Diciotti -an Italian coast guard ship- has been docked in Catania, Sicily, for several days, after it picked up 190, mostly male, African migrants in the Mediterranean sea almost a week ago. Salvini's government has refused to allow the ship to land, and has said that the migrants should be processed in Malta, whose waters they were found in.

A prosecutor from the Sicilian city of Agrigento visited the boat on Wednesday and said the situation on board is "critical," with many of the migrants requiring medical attention. As a result, the prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into illegal detention against "unknowns," one of whom is certainly Salvini.

Comment: Salvini's party campaigned on stricter immigration controls and they are delivering that promise to the Italian voters: 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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Russian Flag

Deputy FM Sergei Ryabkov says Russia respects Iran's lawful presence in Syria


PressTV
Fri, 24 Aug 2018 09:40 UTC
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov
© Mikhail Pochuyev/TASSRussia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov says Russia respects Iran's presence in Syria which he described as lawful amid reports that the US was pressuring Moscow on Tehran's role in the Arab country.

Ryabkov said Iran has been in Syria at the official request of the Syrian government to help the country fight terrorism, the Tass news agency reported Friday.

"We treat with great respect Iran's steps to provide its own security and actions, including on Syria at the invitation of this country's lawful government," he said, adding there were however "prospects or space for further work in this sphere."

Comment: See also: Lavrov says all uninvited foreign forces must leave Syria

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Info

Russian UN envoy: ISIS receives arms, funding 'under patronage' of foreign special services & NGOs


RT
Fri, 24 Aug 2018 08:10 UTC
Weapons captured from Syrian militants
© Vitaly Belousov / SputnikWeapons captured from Syrian militants put on display in Russia
The remnants of ISIS continue to receive foreign funding and arms supplies, Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the UN Security Council, adding that the terrorists are seeking to diversify their crippled sources of income.

"Evidence continues to amass that weapons are being smuggled [to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorist group in Syria] from outside, including through semi-legal organizations or even under the patronage of security services from other countries," Nebenzia told the United Nations on Thursday. He said Moscow hopes to have a "meaningful discussion" about putting an end to this malicious practice during an international conference on combatting illicit arms trafficking in Moscow on September 3-4.

"Moreover, IS continues to receive funds from outside sponsors, acting under the guise of charity funds, religious organizations and other non-governmental structures," he added.

Comment: See also:

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Pistol

Canadian company to deliver sniper rifles to Ukrainian neofascists


Tass
Fri, 24 Aug 2018 03:43 UTC
Ukraine Fascist Sniper Team
Canada's PGW Defense Technologies company will deliver sniper rifles to Ukraine, the Ottawa Citizen daily wrote.

"In an interview with Ukrainian media outlet, UATV, Ross Spagrud, the owner of Winnipeg-based PGW Defense Technologies, confirmed that the firm is providing Ukraine with the LRT-3, .50 BMG bolt action rifle. He said the deal is worth around $1 million," the newspaper said.

The Global Affairs department of the Canadian government "has declined to provide any details, stating it must protect the commercial interests of the firm involved." However, the office of Canadian parliament member James Bezan said that Global Affairs Canada had approved the sale last week. In May, Bezan on behalf of Canada's Conservative Party called on the ruling Liberal Party to start supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine.

In the autumn of 2017, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said following a meeting with Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko that Ottawa may supply lethal weapons to Kiev. Around 200 Canadian instructors have been deployed to Ukraine as part of the Unifier operation to train Ukrainian military personnel.


Comment: You can watch Ross Spagrud of PGW Defence Technologies in the cited interview with UATV whereby he expounds on his companies sale to the Ukrainian neofascists military while saying "Every Ukrainian in Canada almost certainly would support initiatives like this that are designed to protect the needs of their homeland."

What "homeland" is Mr. Spagrud talking about, the one taken over by neofascists in a western backed coup? He certainly does not speak for all Canadians, just some expats and clappers, such as Chrystia Freeland, the Foreign Affairs Minister for Canada who will undoubtedly have a hand in this sale.

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Pistol

Detective who published book revealing high-level gov't pedophile ring in South Africa, shot in the head only days later

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Thu, 23 Aug 2018 00:00 UTC
Mark Minne
Nine days after a former police detective published a book exposing a high-level government pedophile ring that murdered children, he was shot in the head.

A former police detective, and author of a bombshell book that exposed a massive pedophile ring made up of high-level government officials was found shot in the head last week. While officials are calling it an apparent suicide, his family is claiming that he told them he would never kill himself and that people were after him because he was about to expose even more high-level government pedophilia.

Mark Minne, author of the controversial book 'The Lost Boys of Bird Island' devoted his post-police life to exposing the corruption and horrifying pedophilia he discovered while working as a detective. Minnie and his good friend Chris Steyn, also a former cop turned investigative journalist, worked together on the book to expose a government and business community who took children to Bird Island where they were abused, and some possibly murdered.
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Bad Guys

Credit Suisse freezes over $5 billion in Russian money to comply with US sanctions


RT
Thu, 23 Aug 2018 09:38 UTC
Credits Suisse
© Arnd Wiegmann / Reuters
One of Switzerland's largest banks, Credit Suisse has suspended 5.1 billion francs ($5 billion) in assets linked to Russia as a result of Washington's sanctions against the country.

There is reportedly growing fear among Western banks of reprisals from the US for working with targeted Russian individuals and entities.

The bank froze the funds in the second quarter of 2018, according to Reuters.

In an e-mailed statement to RT, Credit Suisse denied freezing Russian assets, explaining that it has reclassified assets of some Russian clients. The bank said that it works with international regulators wherever it does business to ensure compliance, including sanctions involving Russia.

"Following recent US sanctions and given US regulatory restrictions, Credit Suisse reclassified certain impacted assets from Assets under Management to Assets under Custody," the statement read.
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Eagle

US State Department: 'We are always assessing new targets in Russia for sanctions'


RT
Wed, 22 Aug 2018 03:07 UTC
US Assistant Secretary of State Wess Mitchell
US Assistant Secretary of State Wess Mitchell
US is ready not only to maintain but to increase sanction pressure on Moscow, US Assistant Secretary of State Wess Mitchell has told senators, claiming that restrictions had "a chilling effect" on Russia's economy and arms trade.

"We're always assessing for new targets" for sanctions against Russia, Mitchell assured the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee during a hearing. When asked if the US was eager to continue with the sanction policies and even strengthen them if Moscow doesn't change its behavior, the assistant secretary of state replied with a confident: "Yes."

On Tuesday, the US Treasury Department imposed additional sanctions on two Russian individuals, three companies and six Russian-flagged ships, over alleged business ties with North Korea and Moscow's activity in global cyberspace.

Comment: See also: Washington's silent weapon for not-so-quiet wars

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Bad Guys

Neil Clark: Will the US and UK freeze the German-Russian thaw?


RT
Wed, 22 Aug 2018 16:06 UTC
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel
© Alexei Druzhinin / SputnikRussian President Vladimir Putin and Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel
We're seeing some positive steps in relations between Berlin and Moscow. Could it lead to joint Russian-European opposition to US hegemony? Or will it be sabotaged by the US and its Trojan horse, Britain?

Last Saturday's meeting in Germany between Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel can be seen as another sign of a growing rapprochement between the two great powers that the leaders represent.

If so, it's surely welcome for both countries - and for Europe as a whole, which would benefit enormously from rebuilding economic ties with Russia.

However, the US will not be happy. It wants Europe to buy its own, more expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG), and for Germany to cancel its Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project with Russia, which it is pursuing to secure cheaper energy supplies.

Comment: See also: And check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Trump Ditches Europe, Europe Bluffs, Russia and China Carry on With Eurasian Integration

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