Puppet MastersS


Snakes in Suits

US creates 'Iran Action Group' for regime behavior change


RT
Thu, 16 Aug 2018 18:36 UTC
Mike Pompeo
© Aaron Bernstein/Reuters/KJN
The US is creating a so-called Iran Action Group, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced, adding that Brian Hook will lead the group in order to spur "international support for our efforts."

Speaking at the Thursday State Department briefing, Pompeo claimed that the world is demanding change in Iran's behavior, so that it "finally acts like a normal country." He added that Hook will lead an Iran Action Group to "galvanize international support for our efforts."

Hook said the US wants to "promote a brighter future for the Iranian people," adding that the "Iran regime has been a force for instability and violence."

Hook went on to speak about the 12 requirements previously laid out by the US government, which Washington says Tehran must comply with. Those demands include Iranian withdraw from Syria. Pompeo previously has stated that the US would impose the "strongest sanctions in history" if Iran failed to comply with the demands.


Comment: Different 'wind bag', same old tricks, threats ratcheting out of control.

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Umbrella

Rand Paul: If US wants Assange to testify, give him immunity


RT
Thu, 16 Aug 2018 16:17 UTC
Julian Assange
© Getty ImagesJulian Assange
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has spent more than 2,200 days in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, should be granted immunity from prosecution if he agrees to testify in the US, Senator Rand Paul has said.

"I think that he should be given immunity from prosecution in exchange for coming to the United States and testifying," Paul said in an interview to the Gateway Pundit website.

Paul believes that Assange "has information that is probably pertinent to the hacking of the Democratic emails that would be nice to hear." But he doesn't think Assange is likely to come and share it unless given "some type of immunity from prosecution."

Earlier this month the US Senate Intelligence Committee, investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election, requested that the WikiLeaks editor testify. In a letter delivered to Assange, committee chairman Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) requested that Assange make himself available for a closed interview "at a mutually agreeable time and location."

Comment: See also:

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Bomb

Turkey's emerging market timebomb

Jim O'Neil
Project Syndicate
Tue, 14 Aug 2018 00:00 UTC
TurkLira
© UnknownTurkish Lira
As the Turkish lira continues to depreciate against the dollar, fears of a classic emerging-market crisis have come to the fore. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's populist economic policies have finally caught up to him, and sooner or later, he will have to make nice with his country's traditional Western allies.

Turkey's falling currency and deteriorating financial conditions lend credence, at least for some people, to the notion that "a crisis is a terrible thing to waste." I suspect that many Western policymakers, in particular, are not entirely unhappy about Turkey's plight.

To veteran economic observers, Turkey's troubles are almost a textbook case of an emerging-market flop. It is August, after all, and back in the 1990s, one could barely go a single year without some kind of financial crisis striking in the dog days of summer.

But more to the point, Turkey has a large, persistent current-account deficit, and a belligerent leader who does not realize - or refuses to acknowledge - that his populist economic policies are unsustainable. Moreover, Turkey has become increasingly dependent on overseas investors (and probably some wealthy domestic investors, too).

Comment: In the meantime, Turkey has followed Russia's lead and sold off significant US treasuries.

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Arrow Down

Turkey follows Russia's lead, dumps US Treasury securities


RT
Thu, 16 Aug 2018 10:10 UTC
TurkFlagUS Treasuries
© longislandtechnologynews.com/Strategic Culture/KJN
Turkey's holding of US sovereign bonds saw a nearly 12-percent decline from May to June as Ankara seeks to diversify away from the US dollar amid an escalating diplomatic conflict with Washington.

In June, Turkey's share of US Treasury securities dropped to $28.8 billion from $32.6 billion in the previous month, according to financial and political news aggregator Zero Hedge. Since the end of last year, the country has reportedly decreased its holdings of T-bills, bonds and notes by 52 percent.

Earlier this year, a US Treasury report revealed that the Central Bank of Russia had sharply slashed the country's holdings of US sovereign debt. The regulator linked the measure to increased concerns over various risks, including financial, economic and geopolitical. In May, Russia's share hit an 11-year low and totaled just $14.9 billion. However, the latest data shows that Moscow slowed down its massive sell-off of US Treasury bonds with the figure remaining unchanged in June.

Comment: See also:

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Stop

Liberty Radio, Alex Jones' flagship radio station, shut down by the FCC


RT
Thu, 16 Aug 2018 09:50 UTC
Alex Jones
© Lucas Jackson/ReutersAlex Jones
The US communications regulator has shut down Alex Jones' flagship radio station and slapped it with a $15,000 fine. The news comes after the controversial commentator was banned from a range of social media outlets.

A lawsuit filed in the US District Court in Austin this week accuses Liberty Radio of operating without federal consent since at least 2013, the Austin American-Statesman reports. The Austin-based station has been solely streaming online since December, when it was knocked off the air. The newspaper reported that religious programming has replaced Liberty Radio on the 90.1 FM frequency.

Agents from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) traced the station's signal to a 50-foot tower at an apartment complex linked to the to defendants in the lawsuit, Walter Olenick and M. Rae Nadler-Olenick. The court documents indicate that the station was being operated out of some sort of maintenance or utility room at the complex.

Comment: See also:

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Stormtrooper

'To extend and increase the rotational training and exercises': Norway confirms US to double troops on its soil


RT
Thu, 16 Aug 2018 19:10 UTC
US Marines
© AFPUS Marines disembark after landing on January 16, 2017 in Stordal, Norway
The US will double the number of its Marines stationed in Norway, Oslo confirmed. Moscow has repeatedly warned that alliance's build-up near its borders could worsen security situations in states where troops are stationed.

News of the US and Norway agreeing "to extend and increase the rotational training and exercises" by the United States Marine Corps in the country was announced by Norwegian Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen.

"The arrangement" will continue beyond 2018 and the American unit may include up to 700 US Marines. Since January 2017, some 330 US Marines have been deployed in the Scandinavian country. Their arrival marked the first time that foreign troops had been stationed in the NATO member-state since the end of World War II.

Comment: See also:

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Sheeple

Trump derangement syndrome: NY governor Cuomo bashes his own country to insult president


RT
Thu, 16 Aug 2018 15:27 UTC
NY Gov Cuomo
© Brendan McDermid / ReutersNew York Governor Andrew Cuomo
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo drew President Trump's anger, after he told a crowd at a women's rights event that America "was never that great."

"We're not going to make America great again," Cuomo told the audience on Wednesday, referencing President Trump's campaign slogan. "It was never that great."

The Democrat governor went on to say that America would only reach greatness once "discrimination and stereotyping against women, 51 percent of our population, is gone, and every woman's full potential is realized and unleashed and every woman is making her full contribution."

Cuomo's America-bashing drew noise from the crowd, and caught the attention of Trump, who tweeted that Cuomo was "having a total meltdown."

Comment: Cuomo's record is pretty telling, infused with SJW ideology

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Chess

Losing the war in Afghanistan: Like Viet Cong, Taliban knows waiting it out will defeat US invaders

F. Michael Maloof
RT
Tue, 14 Aug 2018 15:32 UTC
us troops afghanistan
© James Mackenzie / Reuters
The latest conflicting reports about whether or not the Taliban has taken the strategic city of Ghazni between the Afghan capital of Kabul and Kandahar reflect the dilemma and difficulties that the American forces face today.

The concerns come despite the firepower and technology that the US has applied against an insurgent force, which has taken over more than 50 percent of the country. This is despite America having almost completely driven out the Taliban when it first invaded Afghanistan in late 2001.

The battle for Ghazni and indeed the effort to defeat the Taliban in remote areas of the country suggest that, notwithstanding the intelligence, technology and communications capabilities at its disposal, the US is losing the battle to secure the country.

If the Taliban occupies Ghazni by defeating Afghan forces, it effectively would cut off southern Afghanistan from the Kabul government, which would represent a significant development.

As one intelligence official recently told this writer, if the US were to pull its troops out of Afghanistan, Kabul and the corrupt US-installed government there wouldn't last beyond a week despite the 16 years that the US has been fighting in the country.

Indeed, the Taliban have shown no intention of joining the government, and refuse to negotiate anything as long as foreign forces, namely the US and its NATO allies, remain in the country.

Comment: It looks like maybe - just maybe - the U.S. is being forced to the negotiating table:

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Star of David

Curve-ball in the works? Trump envoy warns neither Israel nor Palestine will like new US peace plan for region


Sputnik
Thu, 16 Aug 2018 15:26 UTC
palestine israel flags
© AP
US President Donald Trump's Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt has warned that neither Israel nor the Palestinians will be pleased with the US plan for the Middle East settlement but stressed that this was the only way to reach peace.

"No one will be fully pleased with our proposal, but that's the way it must be if real peace is to be achieved. Peace can only succeed if it is based on realities," Greenblatt said in a Twitter publication.

Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and US Ambassador to Tel Aviv David Friedman put their signatures under the publication.

Greenblatt has also published this post in Hebrew and Arabic.

Comment: Given that a plan that would make both Israel and Palestine happy is impossible, this may actually turn out to be a good thing. But with Trump's track record, it's hard to see how that will be the case. Aside from going against Israeli plans for Syria, he has been one of the most pro-Israeli presidents in history...

A speculative take on the Kushner-Greenblatt plan by Thierry Meyssan: The Trump/Kushner 'peace plan' is not what you think

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Wolf

Scam artist called out: Twitter rips disgraced former FBI agent Strzok over GoFundMe 'grift'


Sputnik
Wed, 15 Aug 2018 14:36 UTC
strzok congress hearing
© YouTube / Latest World NewsRecently fired FBI agent Peter Strzok testifies before congress prior to his sacking.
Fired FBI agent Peter Strzok has argued that his bias has never affected his work, but it appears it has now very positively affected his lack of work.

At least that's the case if one is to take the Washington Post at its word, which ran with the headline "FBI agent Peter Strzok fired over anti-Trump texts," although it proffered no evidence to its readers to support that being the reason for his firing.

Strzok was, however, kicked off of the team of special counsel Robert Mueller for precisely that reason, prior to being sacked. The 21-year FBI veteran headed up both the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of state and then the investigation into potential collusion between US President Donald Trump's campaign and the Russian government, which he launched July 31, 2016.

Comment: What kind of people send money to support a serial liar, adulterer and traitor?

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