Puppet MastersS


Binoculars

Lavrov: US should probe Manafort's 'Ukrainian trail', not Russia

Manafort
© CNN.comPaul Manafort
Months-long efforts of US investigators to find alleged Russian collusion with President Donald Trump's campaign have led to the discovery of a "Ukrainian trail," Russia's FM Sergey Lavrov said, suggesting Washington should now investigate Kiev's role.

"They have now found a Ukrainian trail in connection with Mr. Manafort and one of his employees. I suppose a Ukrainian trail should be investigated through Ukraine. [Kiev authorities] also have [things] to say about their standpoint during the US presidential campaign," Lavrov told the media Tuesday.

The US investigators "have been working for many months... looking for a Russian trail." Instead, their efforts "resulted" in the indictment of two former Trump campaign members in connection with their alleged dealings with a former president of Ukraine, Russia's foreign minister pointed out.

Earlier this week, a federal grand jury indicted Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager for Donald Trump, and his former business associate Richard Gates on a number of counts regarding Ukrainian lobbying in the US. The two individuals, who inter alia are suspected of having received payments from the party of ex-Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovich, have no apparent direct connection to Russia.

Comment: See also:


Jet3

Syria: Russia's long-range bombers destroy militant outposts and depots

Russian bomber bombs
© Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation
A group of six Russian strategic Tu-22M3 bombers has carried out an airstrike on militant positions in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, destroying munitions stockpiles and outposts, the country's defense ministry said. The airstrikes were carried out on Wednesday in the vicinity of the city of Abu Kamal, which remains the last major Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) stronghold in southeastern Syria.

"Militant outposts, ammunition and weaponry stockpiles were the targets of the strikes. The objective control systems registered hits on all the designated targets," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The strategic Tu-22M3 bombers flew to Syria from Russia through the airspace of Iran and Iraq, the ministry stressed. Su-30SM fighter jets, scrambled from Russia's Khmeimim Airbase in western Syria, provided cover for the long-range aircraft. All the planes returned to base upon completing the mission.

Russian long-range aviation has seen action during the anti-terrorism campaign in Syria on numerous occasions. Strategic bombers have been used against high-priority targets, such as command centers, or major munitions stockpiles, delivering a heavy load of free-fall bombs or launching high-precision cruise missiles.

The major new airstrike came just a day after the Russian submarine Veliky Novgorod fired a barrage of Kalibr cruise missiles, striking targets in the same Abu Kemal area. A large group of militants was killed in the Tuesday strike, and several command points and major weapons stockpiles were destroyed, according to Russia's Defense Ministry.

Comment: See also:
Mediterranean Sea: Russian sub strikes ISIS command in Syria, Kalibr cruise missiles


Star of David

Israel: New 'Soros Bill' to stop funding to leftist orgs from 'anti-semitic' donors

SOROS
© unknown/KJN
Having made no friends this week with his McCarthyite 'blacklist' of potential Russia-sympathizers, and facing bans and probes throughout eastern Europe (for his 'Open Society' actions), billionaire investor George Soros has a new enemy - Israel!

As Haaretz' Jonathan Lis reports, MK Miki Zohar (Likud) announced on Monday that he planned to submit a bill that would make it harder for leftist organizations to receive funding from organizations considered hostile to Israel.

He said the bill, named for mogul George Soros, won the approval of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (but, associates of Netanyahu couldn't say on Monday whether the prime minister would support the proposed law in the Knesset). Its exact wording has yet to be disclosed.

Zohar said the bill would prevent "donors who are anti-Semites, inciters or hostile to Israel" from donating to Israeli organizations.

Zohar said he was aiming at donors like Soros who donate to organizations like Adalah - the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, B'tselem, Breaking the Silence, Ir Amim, Machsom Watch, Yesh Din and the New Israel Fund, which he said were all anti-Zionist. He said such donors should be considered anti-Semitic, inflammatory and hostile, and donations from them to non-profits or Israeli corporations should be forbidden.

Arrow Up

Syria: SDF units coordinate efforts with Russia as well as US cooperation

SDF forces
© Tamil Media HouseSyrian Democratic Forces
The former co-chairman of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party says that Syrian Democratic Forces are coordinating with Russia on the ground near the city of Afrin and its outskirts.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces continue to cooperate with Russian servicemen despite coordination of their efforts with the United States, Salih Muslim, the former co-chairman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), told Sputnik on Tuesday.

"We are cooperating with everyone: the United States, Russia. We are free in our activities. We are coordinating [with Russia] on the ground near [the city of] Afrin and its outskirts and that is good," Muslim said, adding that the forces were also coordinating efforts with the US-led coalition.

The politician expressed hope that Russia would manage to promote peace in Syria.

"We believe that the Russians can bring peace to the Syrian people, the peaceful resolution of conflict for all nationalities: Kurds, Assyrians and Arabs. Russia is a friend for everyone, that is why, it can play a very positive role, especially in persuading the regime [Syrian government], which still hopes to achieve a military solution," Muslim added.

In late October, Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward an idea to create a congress made up of all ethnic groups in Syria. Putin said that establishing such a congress could be an important step toward reaching a political settlement and creating a new national constitution.

Russia is actively involved in solving the Syrian conflict by engaging in a military operation against terrorist organizations, serving as a mediator in the Astana reconciliation talks and guarantor of the Syrian ceasefire, as well as by providing civilians with humanitarian aid.

Dollars

Medvedev: Dollar should not dominate, financial system needs balance

Buckmap
© Thomas White / ReutersThe buck stops here.
The international financial system needs to balance which is why there is no place for a dominant currency, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at a news conference on Wednesday. "The balanced system of financial relations should be based on the use of various reserve currencies, various forms of settlement. There should be no domination of any one currency," said Medvedev, speaking at the regular Russia and China heads of government meeting.

Medvedev said that no matter how strong the American economy, it also faces problems from time to time. "As a result, the entire financial world is shaken. A more balanced international financial system is better for everyone," the prime minister said. "Russia is pleased with the growing role of the Chinese yuan in global settlements, as it represents one of the world's largest economies."

In May, Russia and China established an investment fund worth 68 billion yuan ($10 billion). The countries also plan to extend the bilateral currency swap agreement for another three years. In 2014, Russia and China agreed on a 3-year ruble-yuan currency swap deal of up to $25 billion.

Eye 1

Idiot McCain: We must fight 'propaganda and crackpot conspiracy theories'

Sen. John McCain
© GettySenator John McCain
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) took aim at the current political environment, including apparent veiled swipes at President Trump, during a speech on Monday night.

"We have to fight against propaganda and crackpot conspiracy theories. We have to fight isolationism, protectionism and nativism. We have to defeat those who would worsen our divisions," McCain said at the Brigade of Midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

Mr. Potato

Even Boris Johnson can see there was no 'Russian interference' in UK elections

Boris Johnson
© Alkis Konstantinidis / ReutersBritish Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has conceded there is no evidence Russia has ever sought to interfere with British votes. Asked on Wednesday whether he believed Russia had any involvement in the UK election, he said: "I haven't seen a sausage."

His comments come as Prime Minister Theresa May voiced concern over alleged Russian attempts to meddle in foreign states' democracies. She told parliament: "We take very seriously issues of Russian intervention, or Russian attempts to intervene, in electoral processes or in the democratic processes of any country."

Her statement comes in the wake of a newly-launched probe by Britain's Electoral Commission into how leading anti-EU campaigner Arron Banks was funded for his Brexit campaign, and whether it breached referendum rules.

Nuke

UN Nuclear Inspections Chief: Iran compliant, no problems with checking their facilities

Yukiya Amano
© Jon Gambrell / APYukiya Amano, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks at a news conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on October 30.
United Nations nuclear inspectors have encountered no problems in checking facilities in Iran to determine whether Tehran is complying with the 2015 nuclear deal, the head of the UN's atomic energy agency has said.

"Our inspectors are discharging their responsibilities without problem," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano told reporters in Abu Dhabi on the sidelines of a conference on nuclear power on October 30.

The United States has pushed the UN agency to be aggressive in inspecting Iranian facilities and has questioned whether the agency was given strong enough authority to access Iranian military sites to determine whether Tehran is complying with curbs on its nuclear activities required under the accord in exchange for sanctions relief.

U.S. President Donald Trump called the accord's inspection regime "weak" in deciding earlier this month not to certify that Iran was complying with the agreement.

"We got weak inspections in exchange for no more than a purely short-term and temporary delay in Iran's path to nuclear weapons," Trump said on October 13.

But Amano has disputed the administration's claims, saying his inspectors have encountered no obstacles checking facilities in Iran and maintaining that "Iran is subject to the world's most robust nuclear-verification regime."

Comment: The only people think Iran is in violation of the nuclear deal are the Israelis, who want war and will stop at nothing to get it, and their American peons who either want the same or are otherwise too stupid to see reality objectively. Thankfully the rest of the world is simply ignoring the deluded Iranophobes and getting on with business: e.g., Russia assists in development of gas pipeline from Iran to India.


Bell

Bolivian President Morales slams US as "champion of dirty war" in response to release of JFK files

Evo Morales
© ABI
Following the release of the JFK files, Morales denounced the U.S. record of military interventions.

Bolivian President Evo Morales said the United States is the "champion of dirty wars and interventionism," Saturday in response to the JFK files recently published detailing some CIA and FBI operations.

Following the release of the documents, Morales denounced the U.S. record of military interventions, firing off a round of tweets from his account.

"Before, it fomented dictatorships, today, it uses its dictator lapdogs to carry out coups," he wrote.

The president denounced CIA attempts to overthrow socialist Cuba, saying the intelligence agency's activities incorporated a number of pretexts for U.S. military action against the island nation. "The empire is doing the same now," Morales insisted.

Comment: The CIA is toying with the American and world public by releasing documents that provide nothing new on the assassination. In 1978 the House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that there was a conspiracy involved in his murder and that there was very likely more than one shooter.

Yet even that investigation was denounced by insiders as a whitewash and that the CIA misled the committee (see link above). The whole world and his dog knows that Owald either wasn't the shooter or was not alone. Likewise, it's clear that Kennedy was shot from the front, reference the Zapruder film.

The only tidbits in these documents (so far) are references by eyewitnesses to or commentators on the original investigation that claimed that there was a bullet hole in JFKs car windscreen (i.e. he was shot from the front) and that a bullet entered his neck near the adam's apple (again shot from the front). For those who don't know, Oswald was in the book depository building BEHIND JFKs car.

The main point of the release of these documents appears to be to provide the scurrilous mainstream media the opportunity to promote the official Warren Report findings and poopoo conspiracy theories. In other words, it's another exercise in deep state and mainstream media gaslighting of the American public by feigning 'transparency' around the JFK assassination while simultaneously telling everyone that the official story still holds water. Nothing could be further form the truth, and just about everyone with a few neurons still firing knows it.

The claim that the CIA tried to kill Castro has been around for DECADES!! Is that meant to be news? Or is it just meant to distract from the fact that the CIA killed Kennedy! After all, many Americans probably wouldn't mind them doing that, they might even be proud! That said, Morales is justified in denouncing the United States past behavior and comparing that history to its actions in present times.


Георгиевская ленточка

Freudian slip by The Economist recognises Putin as a formidable force in Russia

Putin Tsar
© The Economist
In just ten years, the Russian Federation has evolved from a country that was laughed at, into a force that must be answered to on the international arena.

Oleg Voloshin, ex-head of the information department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, made the statement on air of Ukrainian TV channel 112.

The Ukrainian diplomat commented the current edition of American magazine The Economist, with a collage of Russian President Vladimir Putin, titled "A Tsar is Born." The intention was evidently to paint a picture of authoritarianism - but in historical perspective, the opposite was achieved.