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Fire

FBI investigator sent "jaw dropping" text message that there was nothing to Trump-Russia collusion


RT
Tue, 23 Jan 2018 19:21 UTC
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson
© Justin Sullivan / Getty Images / AFPU.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)
The FBI agent who investigated the Trump-Russia collusion claim sent a "jaw-dropping" text message suggesting that there was nothing to it, according to a Wisconsin senator who chairs the Homeland Security Committee.

Peter Strzok, formerly the deputy assistant director of the FBI's counterintelligence division, sent a text to his mistress, FBI attorney Lisa Page, on May 19, 2017 - just two days after the special counsel was appointed to investigate claims of President Donald Trump's collusion with Russia during the 2016 campaign. Strzok had led the investigation into Trump since July 2016, and had previously been involved in the probe of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.

"You and I both know the odds are nothing. If I thought it was likely, I'd be there no question. I hesitate in part because of my gut sense and concern that there's no big there there," Strzok texted Page, according to Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), who read out the message on Tuesday during an interview with WISN-Milwaukee radio host Jay Weber.

Comment: More from the Daily Caller:

In 'Jaw-Dropping' Text, Peter Strzok Expressed 'Concern' About Joining Mueller Team
Chuck Ross 11:05 AM 01/23/2018

...

Johnson released two pages of Strzok-Page messages from May 19, 2017. They show the pair seemingly discussing the new Mueller investigation and whether they wanted to join.

The messages show that Strzok and Page discussed the historical significance of the investigation and its potential impact on their career trajectory.

"A case which will be in the history books," Strzok wrote to Page in one text, adding that it was "maybe the most important case of our lives."

Peter Strzock text
© Released by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs CommitteeMay 19, 2017 text message from Peter Strzok to Lisa Page.
Strzok then appeared to try to coax Page into joining the Mueller investigation.

"You would obviously excel on the team," he said.

She responded by saying that she didn't "understand what they need me for!"

In another text, Strzok referred to his work on the Clinton investigation.

"For me, and this case, I personally have a sense of unfinished business," he said. "I unleashed it with MYE. Now I need to fix it and finish it."

"MYE" refers to "Mid-Year Exam," the FBI's code name for the Clinton investigation.

Peter Strzok text
© Released by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs CommitteeMay 19, 2017 text message from Peter Strzok to Lisa Page.
"You shouldn't take this on," Page then wrote. "I promise you, I would tell you if you should."

After several exchanges discussing their positions at FBI, Strzok suggested to Page that he did not want to take on the Mueller job because of his "gut sense and concern there's no big there there."

Strzok text
© Released by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs CommitteeMay 19, 2017 text message from Peter Strzok to Lisa Page.

Strzok Page Text Messages 5-19-17 by Chuck Ross on Scribd



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Top Secret

The mainstream media isn't talking about #ReleaseTheMemo, but this could be the biggest scandal in D.C. since Watergate

Michael Snyder
The Economic Collapse
Sun, 21 Jan 2018 00:01 UTC
Top Secret key on keyboard
© Data Protection Online
Republican members of Congress are pushing for the release of a memo that reportedly shows that government surveillance powers were illegally used against Donald Trump during the presidential campaign, and that the Obama administration, the FBI and Hillary Clinton illegally colluded in a concerted effort to try to destroy Trump's chances of winning the presidency. If these allegations turn out to be true, this will be the biggest scandal in American political history, but so far the mainstream media doesn't want to talk about it. Other than Fox News, it is hard to find any coverage of this memo on any of the mainstream news networks. But as you will see below, Republican members of Congress are making a tremendous amount of noise about it.

Only certain members of Congress have been able to read this memo so far. In order to take a look at it, these members of Congress have had to go to a secure room in the depths of the Capitol, and they are not permitted to reveal the details of what they have read.

But some Republican members of Congress that have seen it are speaking out, and what they have revealed so far is extremely alarming...

Comment: The hype is certainly building around the infamous FISA memo. If it's truly as earth-shattering as members of Congress are saying, we should be seeing a much needed shakeup in the swamp (provided the memo actually gets released to the public). Get your popcorn, folks!

See also:

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Chess

In advance of upcoming Sochi peace talks, US sez 'Russia responsible for all chemical attacks in Syria'


RT
Wed, 24 Jan 2018 09:23 UTC
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
© Philippe Wojazer / ReutersFrench Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
By boldly blaming Russia for all the chemical weaponry-related incidents in Syria, the US may be seeking to ramp up tensions and jeopardize the peace process in the country, while diverting attention from its own destructive role.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has named Russia ultimately responsible for each and every chemical attack in Syria, regardless of whom actually conducted it. The bewildering statement came on the heels of unconfirmed reports of a new incident allegedly involving chlorine in East Ghouta, and perfectly fits Washington's narrative of the Syrian conflict, geopolitical experts and analysts told RT.

Trick to justify US military presence in Syria

The accusations are clearly designed to ramp up tensions in the country to help the US to "justify its continued illegal military occupation of part of Syria," former Assistant Treasury Secretary Paul Craig Roberts believes.

Comment: See also: Tillerson blames Russia for alleged Syrian chemical attack no matter who actually carried it out

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Arrow Down

World Economic Forum Davos - It's inequality, stupid

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
Wed, 24 Jan 2018 03:43 UTC
World Economic Forum 2018
© Reuters/Denis BalibouseThe curtain has gone up on the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos.
For billions of people, the Groucho Marx rule applies when talking about Davos. This is the exclusive club, which meets in the luxury Swiss resort each year to discuss the global business environment.

Groucho, of course, has been immortalized along with the rest of the Marx Brothers in the zany Hollywood movies of the 1930s, such as A Night a the Opera, A Day at the Races and Animal Crackers.

In one quick-fire response, he joked: "I sent the club a wire stating, 'Please accept my resignation. I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member'."

Well, to start off with those billions of people would not get past the bouncers, because the self-defined World Economic Forum is about exclusion. Yet even if, by divine design, they were handed free passes, what would be the point?

The austerity mantra holds sway over large swathes of Europe. The US remains mired in the fiscal cliff maelstrom and the Japanese are about to unleash an economic tsunami - devaluation of the yen at all costs.

On the other hand, growth does apply to parts of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) group of emerging nations and selected members of Next 11.

Certainly, Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines, Turkey, South Korea and Vietnam fall into this category in N-11, a BRICS-like organization.

So, what is the point of spending the GDP of a sub-Saharan country trekking to the Alps to Davos for a mere blabber fest, when basic membership plus access to private sessions at the summit cost a whopping US$245,000?
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Pirates

CIA director makes surprising admissions in rare public appearance


RT
Tue, 23 Jan 2018 23:12 UTC
CIA Director Mike Pompeo
© Leah Millis / ReutersCIA Director Mike Pompeo delivers remarks at "Intelligence Beyond 2018," a forum hosted by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, in Washington, U.S., January 23, 2018
The CIA will 'push back against the Russians' wherever it finds them, the agency's director said in a rare public appearance. He also revealed tantalizing tidbits about its priorities in North Korea, Latin America and elsewhere.

Speaking at the conservative American Enterprise Institute (AEI) think-tank in Washington on Tuesday, CIA Director Mike Pompeo looked back at his year-long tenure at the agency. In the process, he offered some revelations about the CIA's operations and aspirations, as well as some burning geopolitical questions.

Upon taking over the agency a year ago, Pompeo said the CIA's mission would be "to steal secrets" in the name of the US, and "do so aggressively and without any apology." Yet the CIA also needs to operate in such a way that it earns and keeps the trust of the American people.
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Eagle

Deceitful Europe is attempting to undercut Iran's nuclear agreement

b
Moon of Alabama
Tue, 23 Jan 2018 14:09 UTC
European poodles
The Trump administration wants to abolish the nuclear agreement with Iran. The big European countries want to keep the formal agreement but are actively looking for other reasons, specifically Iran's ballistic missiles, to put new sanctions on Iran. A detailed look into the issue reveals that those European countries are willfully misreading the relevant UN resolutions and mislead the public about their real motivations.

Elijah Magnier just published an excellent piece on the history of U.S. attempts to restrict Iran in the Middle East and to again put it again under its tutelage. He touches on the nuclear deal with Iran and the Trump administration attempts to abolish it. The deal was cosigned by three European countries, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, as well as by Russia and China. Magnier writes:
Iran will not re-negotiate the nuclear deal and relies on Europe to stand firm, confirming its signature and commitment. Europe is in need of Iran because the Islamic Republic is part of the continent's national security and an advanced guard against terrorism. Europe has had enough of wars [... .]

[The] Iranians and their allies are the partners Europe is looking for, ready to stand back from the US, that faraway continent that is less vulnerable than nearby Europe to terrorism and terrorists.
That assessment of the European position is wrong.

Comment: See also:

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Snakes in Suits

SOTT Focus: Is 'Russia Collusion' Narrative About to Come Crashing Down?

Elan Martin
Sott.net
Tue, 23 Jan 2018 23:25 UTC
Russian Collusion
These are very tenuous times in Washington. As we've been noting for more than a year, the accusations made against Trump for "colluding with Russia" to win the Presidency against Hillary Clinton has been nothing short of a political witch-hunt to delegitimize him in the eyes of Americans, the world, and to prevent the US government from working with Russia in any kind of reasonable way. Globally, the attempt to connect Trump to an "evil plan" hatched by Russia "to subvert US democracy" by tinkering with the Presidential elections has also served the purpose of vilifying the Russian government - and painting Russian President Vladimir Putin as some kind of imperial Machiavelli who must be contended with in the most prejudicial of ways.

The entrenched political and intelligence interests connected to perpetuating this ridiculous shitshow must have thought they were killing two birds with one stone; the first, to destroy Trump politically so that he had no chances of showing that the US and Russia could work together constructively, and the second, to further the Big Lie that Russia seeks to harm the US (and the world) in pursuit of its interests. But, alas, the real lies, connivances and crimes connected to perpetuating the false 'Russiagate' narrative are now, finally, being exposed and reaching greater public recognition. And the laws that were broken in order to hunt Trump down may be the cause of all hell breaking loose in Washington. Or so it should.
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Russian Flag

Chinese military attache to Moscow: Russia, China should stand together to protect world against American aggression

Alexander Pokrovsky (translated by Tom Winter)
Fort Russ / Tsargrad
Tue, 23 Jan 2018 21:52 UTC
china russia troops
Translator note: Chairman Xi Jinping himself proposed as much in 2016! See China offers alliance against NATO

America has finished playing: the Russian-Chinese military alliance is on the agenda. Chinese diplomat invites Russia and the PRC to unite against the US.

The military attache of the Chinese Embassy in Moscow, Major-General Kui Yanwei has called on Russia to jointly resist the pressure of Washington. Only in this way, he asserts, can we ensure peace in our regions and on the whole planet.

Tsargrad was one of the first to report about this truly sensational statement, noting that it was made during a meeting with the chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, Viktor Bondarev.
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Cell Phone

FBI official: Top FBI agents may have been saying far worse than 'first we f*** Flynn and then we f*** Trump,' investigations to continue

Investigative Bureau
True Pundit
Tue, 23 Jan 2018 00:00 UTC
Comey Mueller
"This is much larger than just texts between two FBI agents."

A high-ranking FBI official confirms a number of the missing 50,000 FBI text messages - as well as other text and email messages among FBI brass - reportedly discussed initiating physical harm to President Donald Trump.

The FBI official urged the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - which oversees the U.S. Secret Service - to launch an investigation of the Justice Department, the FBI and all text messages missing and otherwise that threatened the President.

"This is dangerous territory and all FBI text messages and personal phones should be examined," the official said. "It would reveal some frightening conversations."

Comment: With these releases, political warfare (and perhaps much worse) has just been escalated in Washington; and we can expect a great amount of upheaval in the form of more revelations, indictments, accusations and counter-accusations - as well as more tragedies that resemble that which befell Seth Rich. If 2016 and 2017 was ugly in this respect, 2018 will likely look like something else altogether. Do stay tuned.

See also:

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Info

Day 4 roundup of Turkey's Operation Olive Branch in northern Syria


Sputnik
Tue, 23 Jan 2018 21:41 UTC
turkish forces afrin
© REUTERS/ KHALIL ASHAWITurkish forces are seen near Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, Syria January 22,2018
The Turkish military intervention into the Syrian Democratic Forces-controlled region of Afrin in northwest Syria has entered its fourth day. Sputnik has collected a summary of the day's most important events.

Military Action

Al-Mayadin television reported Tuesday that Turkish artillery had shelled the Kurdish village of al-Hilalia, near the city of Qamishli along the Syrian-Turkish border. Other reports suggested that Qamishli itself, as well as other towns in the area were also targeted. No immediate reports on casualties or damage were reported.

The Kurdish YPG militia also said Tuesday that three people had been killed in shelling in the town of Ras al-Ayn, some 300 km east of Afrin region. The militia, one of the militia groups making up the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), could not confirm whether the casualties were civilian or military.

A YPG spokesman in Afrin told Sputnik that during the early hours of January 23, Kurdish forces freed the village of Corna, "having completely driven enemy forces out of the settlement." The spokesman added that Turkish forces were continuing their shelling of Afrin's villages, including during the night.

Comment: Erdoan also talked with Putin on the phone today. From the official readout of the call:
"The heads of state exchanged views on the situation in Syria, including in the north-western part of the country in the Afrin area in light of the ongoing Turkish military operation there," the Kremlin's press service stated.

"The sides stressed the importance of continuing active joint work to resolve the crisis, which should be based on the principles of preserving territorial integrity and respect for the sovereignty of Syria," the statement said.

Turkish President also reassured the Russian leader that Ankara's operation in Syria's Afrin would help preserve Syria's territorial integrity, according to a source in Erdogan's administration.

"Erdogan discussed the Afrin operation with Putin in phone call and stressed that it aimed at ensuring Turkey's national security and liberation of Afrin from terrorist groups... and it was important in the context of a contribution to Syria's political unity and territorial integrity," the source told reporters.

The source said that Erdogan was putting special emphasis on the coordination of Russian efforts on Syria, adding that the two leaders reaffirmed their determination to continue joint efforts aimed at holding the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in order to pave the way for the political settlement in the crisis-torn state.

Also, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the preparations for the upcoming Syrian National Dialogue Congress. The event will be held in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi on January 29-30.
While the SDF claims to have killed 53 invading Turks (compared to the 2 acknowledged by Ankara), Turkey claims to have killed 260 Kurdish fighters.

For more analysis of the Afrin operation, see:

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