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TV

SOTT Focus: Desperate Deep State Resorts to Russia-Bashing Infomercial in Wake of FISA Memo - Act Now!!

Elan Martin
Sott.net
Tue, 20 Feb 2018 14:43 UTC
'Evil Russia' narrative
'Russia is Evil' narrative now available in over 9 different colors!
Desperate times call for desperate measures. In the afterburn of the House Intelligence Committee's and White House's release of the damning FISA Memo, the forces behind the Russia-gate and Russia-is-evil narrative are, predictably, doubling-down in response. And how could they not, after all, the FISA Memo unambiguously showed how the Clinton political machine, the FBI and the DOJ all conspired to illegally push through the bought-and-paid-for lies of the now-infamous Steele Dossier - in order to help justify spying on Trump and his campaign team, and gain any advantage they could over their political nemesis.

The Dossier was supposed to tie Trump to Russia and help paint Russia as some malign entity trying to undermine US politics and subvert American Democracy. A one-two punch that is now showing itself to be full of toxic hot air.

It looks very much like master conman Barack Obama was also neck deep in the action. Complicit in attempts to undermine Trump, the Obama administration applied for a FISA court wire tapping permission as well - and was actually turned down the first time by the judicial body. Turned down, that is, until the Hillary camp came up with the manufactured Dossier.

For anyone actually paying attention (and who isn't still hopelessly 'pro-Hillary'), the FISA Memo releases should not only sound the death-knell for the Russia Gate investigation, but also largely demolish the egregious and dangerous 'Cold War 2' impetus it rests upon.
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Bad Guys

Saudi Foreign Minister claims European firms are 'helping Iran finance terrorism'


RT
Tue, 20 Feb 2018 12:34 UTC
Saudi Arabia
© Andrey Stenin / Sputnik
Riyadh has accused European firms doing business in Iran of enriching the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and therefore supporting its military activities in the Middle East.

"We believe that a large percentage of the Iranian economy is controlled by the Revolutionary Guards and companies associated with the guards. And we believe that any dealings with those companies only serve to enrich the Revolutionary Guards and cause them to cause more mischief within the region and the world," Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir told CNBC.


Comment: And by 'mischief' they mean defeating Western and Saudi-backed terrorists.


The claims come as Iran has inked deals worth of billions dollars with European companies since international sanctions were lifted in exchange for limitations on its nuclear program. A whole range of European giants, including Airbus, Siemens, Peugeot and Total have signed major contracts with Iranian state and private companies.

Comment: Further reading:

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Pistol

Sarah Sanders: Trump supports efforts to improve background checks on guns


RT
Tue, 20 Feb 2018 12:34 UTC
gun control protest
© Jonathan Drake / Reuters
President Donald Trump "is supportive of efforts to improve the federal background check system" for gun purchases. He was criticized for a pro-guns stance following the Florida high school shooting that left 17 people dead.

Trump spoke with Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, on Friday about a bill he introduced with Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, that aims to strengthen how state and federal governments report offenses that could prohibit people from buying a gun, according to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

"While discussions are ongoing and revisions are being considered, the president is supportive of efforts to improve the federal background check system," Sanders said in a statement on Monday.
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USA

SOTT Focus: American Energy Dominance And The Rise of The Petro-Yuan

Corey Schink
Sott.net
Tue, 20 Feb 2018 13:50 UTC
US flag oil crude rig refinery
Russiagate, gun control, terrorism - a new deception for every day. But while Western populations are increasingly at each other's throats over political and social ideologies, a radically different moral and political system is developing in the world.

For centuries the West has enjoyed the fruits of global hegemony, and for the past 60 plus years America has enjoyed a dominant place within that system. Thus, the idea of a foreign culture gaining hegemonic power anywhere else is nearly unthinkable; for the elites it is a sacrilege, and for the average person it is simply unnerving.

But for China, the civilization with the longest continuous written history, regional hegemony is natural, and yet China struggles in an international system which leaves no room for national sovereignty - let alone regional hegemony.
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TV

The comprehensive guide to and history of the 'Russiagate' hoax

Ian Shilling
Investment Blog
Mon, 19 Feb 2018 11:36 UTC
Colin Powell Russian hackers
The first thing to say is that Russiagate has nothing whatsoever to do with any Russia meddling in the US or any other election, or "subverting American democracy".

It's about money and power - isn't it always?

Background

Russia and China refuse to become vassal states of the US Empire. They conduct their own independent Foreign and Financial policy as Sovereign countries.

This is not acceptable in the eyes of the Neocon Globalists.

Attacking China directly would cause a massive financial collapse and a worldwide depression.
The US does hundreds of billions a year of trade with China, but hardly any with Russia. So the Neocons targeted Russia for Regime Change. It is also much easier to stir up public hate against boogeyman Russia, than it is against China. Its an historical legacy from the 40 year Cold War against the USSR. As we have seen amply demonstrated in America & Europe over the last 18 plus months.

Obama and the Neocons openly declared war on Russia in 2013.
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Russian Flag

Thirteen Russian trolls and a ham sandwich

James Howard Kunstler
Clusterfuck Nation
Mon, 19 Feb 2018 11:26 UTC
Time Mag Yeltsin
© Time Magazine
Remember that one from 1996? Funny, that was the American mainstream media bragging, after the fact, about our own meddling in another nation's election.
WASHINGTON - A team of American political strategists who helped [California] Gov. Pete Wilson with his abortive presidential bid earlier this year said this week that they served as Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin's secret campaign weapon in his comeback win over a Communist challenge.

-The Los Angeles Times, July 9, 1996
The beauty in Robert Mueller's indictment of thirteen Russian Facebook trolls is that they'll never face trial, so Mr. Mueller will never have to prove his case. In the new misrule of law made popular by the #Me Too movement, accusations suffice to convict the target of an investigation. Kind of sounds like going medieval to me, but that's how we roll now in the Land of the Free.

Comment: More on the 'Russian trolls' nonsense:

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Bullseye

Kim Dotcom to Trump: "The DNC hack wasn't even a hack - I know who did it and why"

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Tue, 20 Feb 2018 11:08 UTC
Kim Dotcom
© AFP Photo / Marty MelvilleMegaupload founder Kim Dotcom
Kim Dotcom has once again chimed in on the DNC hack, following a Sunday morning tweet from President Trump clarifying his previous comments on Russian meddling in the 2016 election.


Comment: Of course the DNC was not 'hacked'. Robert Mueller knows it. Notice how the 'Russiagate' narrative has shifted from the DNC 'hacks', to 'collusion' between the Trump team and Russia, and now it is about Russian 'trolls'.

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Telephone

In talks with Erdogan, Rouhani warns of plots to disintegrate regional states, and attempts to establish puppet governments


PressTV
Tue, 20 Feb 2018 09:37 UTC
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan
© Photo by president.irIranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan attend a press conference in Tehran on October 4, 2017
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned against plots to disintegrate regional states in talks with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, calling for enhanced cooperation to eliminate such security concerns.

The region is today witnessing "plots to partition [regional states] and attempts to establish puppet governments, and we must make efforts to resolve these security concerns through all-out cooperation," Rouhani told Erdogan in a phone conversation on Monday.

During the talks, the two presidents exchanged views on the latest developments in the region, including the Syria situation.

Comment: See also: Kurdish official claims deal reached for Syrian army to enter Afrin - Putin, Erdogan discussing situation - UPDATE

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Gear

Lebanese army ready to confront any 'Israeli aggression at all costs'


RT
Tue, 20 Feb 2018 09:17 UTC
Lebanese army soldiers
© Mohamed Azakir / ReutersLebanese army soldiers
The Lebanese army has reaffirmed its readiness to confront the "Israeli aggression" by any means at its disposal if the ongoing disputes and already tense relations between the neighbors escalate into an armed confrontation.

"I reaffirm again our categorical rejection of the Israeli enemy infringing on Lebanon's sovereignty and its sacred right to exploit all its economic resources," General Joseph Aoun said, as quoted by the Lebanese army. "The army will not spare any method available to confront any Israeli aggression, whatever that costs."

Earlier this month, Lebanon signed its first contracts to explore two offshore zones for oil and gas. One of the parcels included exploration rights to the so-called Block 9, a triangle off the coast that is around 860 square kilometers - which Israel claims the rights to. Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman described the move as "very provocative," noting that Block 9 falls under Tel Aviv's sovereignty. As Israel continues to assert its rights over the continental shelf, a consortium of international energy companies, including Italy's Eni, France's Total and Russia's Novatek, have already received approval from Beirut to explore the two blocks off the coast.

Comment: See also:

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Light Saber

Russian document on Syria, basis for Valdai Forum talks, warns against Kurdish state, permanent US presence

Ibrahim Hamidi
Asharq Al-Awsat
Sun, 18 Feb 2018 02:20 UTC
Syria destruction
© ReutersDestruction in Syria
A document that will form the basis of a Russian conference on Syria warned against any permanent American presence in the war-torn country and against the formation of a Kurdish state.

The document, a copy of which was obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, presented the "rules of the game" in the Middle East, saying that 2017 was a changing point in the developments in the region.

It noted that none of the bloody conflicts there have ended, some of which have escalated, amid fears of the collapse of local governments. It did however speak of positive change in the region as local players seek political solutions.

The document will be presented at the Valdai forum that will be hosted by Moscow on Monday. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is set to attend. It will also be attended by Syrian regime figures, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif and former Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmi.

The document underlined the importance of the state as a crucial institution for the Middle East, meaning that strengthening the state and resolving conflicts are core priorities for regional players.
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