Puppet MastersS


Flashlight

SOTT Focus: World moral authority? Exposing the US role in Saudi Arabia's war on Yemen

Tony Cartalucci
New Eastern Outlook
Tue, 14 Aug 2018 14:47 UTC
mattis
As atrocities and scandal begin to mount regarding the US-backed Saudi-led war on the impoverished nation of Yemen, the involvement and hypocrisy of the United States and other Western backers is coming to full light.

Global condemnation of Saudi airstrikes on civilian targets has brought public attention to Washington's role in the conflict - a role the Western media has attempted to downplay for years. It is ironic, or perhaps telling, that alternative media outlets targeted as "Russian influence" are leading coverage of Yemen's growing humanitarian catastrophe.

US Denies Role in Proxy War That Couldn't be Fought Without It

In a recent press conference, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis - when asked about the US role in the Yemeni conflict in regards to Saudi atrocities - would claim:
We are not engaged in the civil war. We will help to prevent, you know, the killing of innocent people.
Yet nothing could be further from the truth.

Mattis himself would lobby US Congress earlier this year to continue US support for Saudi-led operations in Yemen.

Comment: See also:

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Bulb

Latvian politician says bad relations with Russia is creating economic catastrophe for country

Paul Antonopoulos
Fort Russ News
Tue, 14 Aug 2018 00:00 UTC
Aleksei Medvedev
Aleksei Medvedev

Latvia has created a catastrophic situation for itself because of its antagonization of relations with Russia, a candidate of the Latvian political party Soglasie ("Agreement" or "Harmony", in English), Aleksei Medvedev, has claimed in a new video message on Facebook.

"I, as a person who was born and lived all his life in Ventspils, a city where the main source of income is the port, I cannot remain silent about the catastrophic situation that has arisen in the country", Medvedev explained, specifically mentioning the impact of failing cargo trade resultant of deteriorated relations with Russia.

According to the politician, maritime and rail transport brought 700 million euros to the country in 2016, but by the end of 2018 revenue will have declined significantly. In the future, Medvedev warned, the situation will only worsen, bringing economic woes to not only to the city, but the whole country.

Medvedev expressed certainty that this economic disaster is the result of Riga's Russophobic foreign policy.

Comment: In related developments, it looks like Latvia's neighbor Lithuania has also drunken the Russophobic poison:
In the Lithuanian city of Kazlu Ruda, the construction of the first NATO-standardized air force training polygon in the Baltic region is nearing completion, the press service of the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense has announced.

The polygon will be located about 60 kilometers from the border with Russia and has the explicit mission of "contributing to the NATO policy of deterring Russia." In it, military aircraft will be able to practice attacks against land targets. In addition, the structure will be used for the training of military pilots.

The construction of the polygon began in 2017 and its end is scheduled for the last quarter of this year. The project is being developed with the help of the US Air Force engineering unit, RED HORSE. Construction funding comes from the European Security Guarantees Initiative (ERI).

In addition, the Lithuanian Ministry of Transport and Communications has established a no-fly zone over the polygon for civil air traffic.

This comes just as NATO has posted on its Twitter page a new propaganda video which put Russia in first place among "threats to transatlantic security."

In recent years, Moscow has repeatedly drawn attention to and warned against NATO's unprecedented military activity near Russia's western borders, such as in the Baltic states. NATO continues to expand its eastward initiatives under the official pretext of "deterring Russian aggression."

Moscow has more than once expressed its concern over the increase of US-NATO forces in Europe. Russian President Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, recently stated that Russia poses no threat to anyone, but will not ignore actions potentially dangerous to its vital interests, as seen in 2008, when Russia militarily intervened to stop the NATO-backed Georgian invasion of Russian-protected South Ossetia.


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Arrow Down

Lavrov: US's gross misuse of the dollar will lead to its weakening and force a switch to other national currencies


RT
Tue, 14 Aug 2018 10:16 UTC
money
© Jose Luis Gonzalez / Reuters
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the role of the US dollar as a global reserve currency may be diminished as more countries switch to national currencies in trade.

"Abuse, gross abuse of the role of the US dollar as a world reserve currency will cause its role to be weakened," Lavrov said, speaking at a press conference in Ankara with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

It will make more and more countries that are not even affected by US sanctions go away from the dollar and rely on more reliable, contractual partners in terms of currency use," the Russian foreign minister said.

Lavrov noted that US sanctions, including those against Turkey, undermine all principles of global trade.

Comment: Another in a long list of reasons why the US dollar is likely to drop precipitously in value in the not-too-distant future:

10 numbers that demonstrate America's current financial condition is a disaster waiting to happen

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Book 2

Comey must testify about his handling of Steele dossier in connection to BuzzFeed lawsuit

Alberto Luperon
Law&Crime
Tue, 14 Aug 2018 17:39 UTC
comey interview
© Alex Wong/Getty ImagesJames Comey
The U.S. government must answer questions about its handling of the so-called Russia Dossier in court, thanks to a court ruling Friday. U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta granted BuzzFeed's motion to compel testimony.

The outlet demanded this information for their defense in a defamation lawsuit by Russian executive Aleksej Gubarev. He complained that the outlet didn't redact his name from the dossier when they published it, on January 10, 2017, and that the next-to-last paragraph of the document falsely identified him and two companies as participating in a plot to use "botnet and porn traffic" to infect computers run by Democratic Party leadership.
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Bad Guys

Russian Deputy FM: US and allies violating INF Treaty


RT
Tue, 14 Aug 2018 19:10 UTC
A Tomahawk cruise missile
© John Schults / ReutersA Tomahawk cruise missile rises in a plume of smoke as it is fired from the MK-41 vertical launching system
Russia's deputy foreign minister has said that the United States and some of its allies were knowingly violating the 1988 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty by deploying launching systems capable of firing cruise missiles.

"As far as the INF Treaty is concerned, the situation is evident in which the United States and some of its allies are knowingly violating it, in particular by deploying on their territories the Mk-41 launching systems capable of firing the ground-based cruise missiles," Sergey Ryabkov was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

The comment came soon after US President Donald Trump signed the US National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2019, the document that contains, among other things, allegations that Moscow violated several important international agreements on weapons control, including the INF treaty.

Comment: See also: Russian Defense Minister Shoigu: US violates INF treaty by deploying MK-41 launchers for tomahawks in Europe

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Airplane

'An enormously dangerous situation': New US military budget halts Open Skies pact, almost axes nuclear arms reduction deal with Russia


RT
Tue, 14 Aug 2018 18:30 UTC
Russian Yars RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile
© Maxim Shemetov / ReutersRussian Yars RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile on parade in Moscow, May 9, 2017
The US has suspended its Open Skies Treaty with Russia after President Donald Trump signed a giant 2019 defense budget bill. Lawmakers also tried to derail a milestone nuclear arms deal that has been in place since 2011.

Trump signed the $716 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Monday, and it will come into effect ahead of the new fiscal year in October. But some key deals with Russia were targeted by lawmakers.

The 1992 Open Skies Treaty, which allowed for mutual observation flights, was suspended. Congress wants President Trump to penalize Russia for what it says are violations of the treaty. However, Moscow says the charges are unfounded and maintains that it has always acted strictly in accordance with the agreement.

Comment: A Russian military expert has provided his take on what to expect from the US given this recent move. Evgeny Buzhinsky, retired Lt Gen and Board Director at international security NGO PIR-Center, suggested the US suspended Open Skies cooperation due to their ageing Air Force jets capable of flying observation missions.
"We've built two new Open Skies-capable jets fitted with digital equipment, the Tupolev Tu-214ON, but they still use old ones," he said, adding, "the Americans don't like finding themselves in a flawed situation."

He explained Washington is not actually walking away from the Open Skies Treaty. What the US military will do is cease requesting observation flights over Russia, while at the same time rejecting similar requests from Russian counterparts.

"They could do anything on the back of this anti-Russian hysteria, they could shoot themselves in the foot or head," he suggested.


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Rocket

Playing catch-up: US orders $480-mn hypersonic missile prototype to counter Russia


RT
Tue, 14 Aug 2018 15:17 UTC
X-51 Waverider
© Bobbi Zapka / ReutersA B-52 carries the X-51 Waverider hypersonic vehicle
The US Air Force paid $480 million for a second top-spec hypersonic missile prototype to gain ground "in the era of great power competition," following reports of Russia's successes in developing unrivaled high-speed weapons.

The Air Force awarded a $480-million contract to Lockheed Martin, tasking the company with designing a second hypersonic missile prototype, referred to as the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW). Lockheed Martin will design, test and support the production of the weapon, according to a US Air Force statement.


Comment: The US Air Force should have added: "Lockheed Martin will design, test and support the production of the weapon, will charge way too much for it, and in all likelihood it will be a piece of junk like the F-35."


The Pentagon, Missile Defense Agency, Air Force and Navy have all agreed to work on the development of top hypersonic technologies that would enable the US to go toe-to-toe with potential adversaries, it said.

"The Joint Team requires the right mix of agile capabilities to compete, deter and win across the spectrum of competition and conflict," said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein. "We must push the boundaries of technology and own the high ground in this era of great power competition and beyond."

The Lockheed-led ARRW effort is one of two hypersonic projects being pursued by the Air Force. Earlier this year, the same company won another $928-million deal with the US Air Force for the development of the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon (HCSW, or "Hacksaw").
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Heart - Black

Italy interferes (again) in Libyan politics, calls to postpone election, wants land for military base

Joanne Moriarty
Libyan War The Truth
Sun, 12 Aug 2018 14:59 UTC
Giuseppe Perrone
Giuseppe Perrone
This past week Italy, a country that committed innumerable crimes against humanity in Libya in the past with their fascist colonialism, has begun again to try and control the sovereign country of Libya. The reason Italy feels it can attempt this criminal move again is because the President of the US, Donald Trump, has put his imprimatur on Italy's desire to once again own the country of Libya and her assets. To that end, the Italian Ambassador to Libya made some statements that are not only out of his range of influence but also against the sovereign people of Libya. Giuseppe Perrone, Italy's Ambassador to Libya, called insistently for the Libyan elections, due to take place in December of this year, to be postponed. This man has no jurisdiction and no authority over the country of Libya. Yet, he has the hubris to dictate to the Libyan people because Trump has agreed for Italy to lead some so called "steering committee" in the Mediterranean regarding Libya. Also, adding to this slap in face of the Libyan people, Italy has requested to acquire land to build an Italian military base in Libya and is stating that some of the land in Tripoli belongs to Italy as it had been theirs during their occupation of Libya before 1969. Neither Trump nor Italy have the right to dictate to the Libyan people. Foreign intervention has caused all the trouble in Libya since 2011. These arrogant acts by Trump and the Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, prove that the USA and Italy are Zionists New World Order puppets

The people of Libya suffered heinous crimes against humanity from 1923 through 1932 during which time Italy had taken over their country. The Italians could not conquer the tribes of the desert who were led by the great Omar Mukhtar so they resorted to horrible crimes against the people, using gas, starvation, razor wires across the desert, concentration camps etc., almost finishing a complete genocide of the Libyan people. Even after WWII, the Italians remained on Libyan soil, having stolen all of Libya's farm-able land and using Libyans as their slaves. Not until the 1969 bloodless coup/revolution of the great tribes of Libya did the Libyan people experience their freedom for the first time in most of their long 8000 year history. Moammar Ghadafi was appointed leader by the tribes and he immediately gave the people the land they had been working as slaves. He also raised Libya to the most developed country in Africa and brought his people out of darkness to learn and understand what it meant to be free, to live, to learn to achieve. All of this was of course destroyed by NATO and their phony false flag revolution in 2011.
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Rocket

'Non-negotiable': Iran's next generation homegrown ballistic missile


RT
Mon, 13 Aug 2018 19:34 UTC
Iran new missile
© HO/Iranian Defence ministry/AFPIranian Defense Minister, Brigadier General Amir Hatami and new missile.
Amid renewed tensions with the US, Iran has unveiled the next generation of its homegrown 'Fateh' short-range ballistic missile on Monday, claiming that it's capable of evading radars and hitting targets with pinpoint accuracy.

The new missile, whose name means 'Conqueror,' boasts a range of between 300 and 500 kilometers. Brigadier General Amir Hatami, Iran's defense minister, described it as agile, able to evade enemy radars, and strike with "pinpoint accuracy," Tasnim news agency reported.

"As I had promised the Iranian nation, I will spare no effort to boost the country's missile capabilities and we will certainly increase our missile power every day," Hatami said at a ceremony in Tehran on Monday.

US officials told Reuters on Friday that Iran had tested a short-range anti-ship missile during naval drills in the Strait of Hormuz.

Comment: Iran has essentially circumvented the nuclear issue by developing missiles that are able to target Saudi Arabia, Israel and US bases within their impact radius. According to Trump, this is the more immediate threat that needs to be neutralized - the issue on which Iran is not willing to negotiate.

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Bullseye

Turkey claims Trump targeted the lira, has counter-measures ready


RT
Mon, 13 Aug 2018 00:36 UTC
TurkLiraFlag
© Altan Gocher/Global Look Press
Turkey has accused Donald Trump of leading an attack on its national currency. The lira lost about 40 percent of its value against the US dollar this year and, to reduce its volatility, Ankara has prepared an urgent action plan.
"The currency of our country is targeted directly by the US president," Finance Minister Berat Albayrak told Hurriyet. "This attack, initiated by the biggest player in the global financial system, reveals a similar situation in all developing countries."
The Turkish lira took a massive hit against the dollar on Friday following Trump's decision to double tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Turkey to 20 percent and 50 percent. Overall, the national currency lost roughly about 40 percent of its value this year.


Comment: Was Turkey made an example and meant as a warning? Or, were there some underlying and compounding faults in Erdogan's monetary policy?

More from RT:
...there are other factors weighing down the lira. On Monday, the currency dropped to a historic low of 7.2 lira against the dollar before recovering slightly to 6.8 against the greenback. Turkey's Istanbul 100 stock market hit its lowest level in dollar terms since March 2009.

Investors in lira are also concerned about Turkey's internal monetary policy. President Erdogan has been criticized for interfering in the central bank's monetary policy by reportedly not allowing the regulator to hike the interest rate to prevent the lira's collapse.

Additionally, Turkey has a vast amount of debt denominated in US dollars. So, when the lira falls, the debt becomes more expensive. The country has a debt in dollars and other foreign currencies accounting for a half of its gross domestic product.
"The decline in the lira is multifaceted, caused not only by a weak external position in terms of current account deficit and inadequate currency reserves, but also the challenging political environment which exacerbates the vulnerabilities in the lira," Kerry Craig, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, wrote, as quoted by CNBC.

"A mid-meeting rate hike and tightening of monetary policy may help to avert the lira's decline, to some extent," he added.


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