Puppet MastersS


Megaphone

Sacked Catalan president calls for peaceful resistance to Spain's takeover of region


RT
Sat, 28 Oct 2017 16:35 UTC
catalonia
© REUTERS/ Ivan Alvarado
Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who was fired by the Spanish government over the region's declaration of independence, has called on the people to non-violently resist Madrid's takeover bid.

In a televised address on Saturday, Puigdemont said Madrid's decision to suspend the autonomy of the province and appoint Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria as Catalonia's provisionary head goes against the will of the people.

"It's very clear that the best form of defending the gains made up until now is democratic opposition to article 155," Puigdemont said in a brief statement aired on public regional TV3 broadcaster. He further pledged to "continue working to build a free country".

Madrid's move came after the Catalan Parliament voted to declare the region independent from the Spanish government on Friday.

Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy announced the dismissal of Puigdemont and his cabinet, as well as the head of the regional police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra. He also dissolved the Catalan parliament and announced a snap election will be held in the region on December 21.


Comment: The sticking point in Spain's plans is that Article 155 does not explicitly allow for the Madrid government to take control of an autonomous region and rule it directly, but instead specifies that 'the [Madrid] government can take the necessary steps to oblige the autonomous region to comply with orders from the government'. By dissolving the Catalan government and, effectively, ruling directly until new elections in December, the Madrid government is breaking its own laws.

What kind of elections does Madrid think it can organize in December whereby there will be a majority of anti-independence members of the Catalan parliament, unlike the current parliament configuration? Are mass arrests of pro-independence MPs in Cataluña coming? Will pro-independence parties be banned? How else can Madrid prevent the MPs it has just 'fired' from running again for election?

See also:

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Newspaper

Russian lawmakers congratulate Ukraine on anniversary of liberation from Nazis while denouncing current Neo-Nazism


RT
Fri, 27 Oct 2017 16:36 UTC
old Kiev
© SputnikKiev after the liberation from the Nazi occupation in November 1943. The destroyed Kreshchatik Street.
The Russian Lower House has passed an address to the Ukrainian people congratulating them on the 73rd anniversary of liberation from the Nazi occupation. The address also denounces all extant manifestations of Neo-Nazism under the current Kiev regime.

The address was prepared by MP Dmitry Belik (United Russia) from the Crimean city of Sevastopol. "State Duma deputies, who represent the multi-ethnic victorious people, congratulate the brotherly people of Ukraine on the 73rd anniversary of their liberation from occupation by Nazi Germany, and express hope that the memory of our ancestors' great heroism will forever remain in the Ukrainian and Russian peoples' hearts," the document reads.

The MPs noted that in Ukraine during WWII the Nazis and their accomplices killed 3.9 million civilians, using 180 concentration camps and over 400 Jewish ghettoes. The lives of 824,000 Soviet soldiers from all ethnic groups of the Soviet Union were lost during the operation to liberate Ukraine.
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Star of David

The Guardian peddles false image of an 'open Jerusalem'

Jonathan Cook
Jonathan Cook Blog
Mon, 23 Oct 2017 15:28 UTC
Israel police violence Palestine Jerusalem
© Ammar Awad / ReutersIsraeli border police clash with Palestinian men outside the Lion's Gate of Jerusalem's Old City July 18, 2017
A Guardian essay on a new Israeli open-rooftops project in Jerusalem, part of a Season of Culture, sadly falls into a standard trap for feelgood articles of this kind. It fails to provide the main context for Jerusalem: that the native Palestinians live under a belligerent Israeli occupation that is ultimately trying to evict them from the city.

Ignoring that context when reporting on life for Jews and Palestinians in Jerusalem is gravely irresponsible journalism.

Does this misrepresentation simply reflect author Hannah Ellis-Petersen's ignorance? Or is it a consequence of who is footing the bill: the Rockefeller Foundation sponsored the article.

Note these infuriatingly misleading introductory paragraphs:
For its Season of Culture, the ancient capital has thrown open its rooftops to encourage residents to see beyond their blinkered boundaries. But the reality is a city where the divides are growing deeper
The standfirst sets the mendacious "balanced" tone, as though Palestinians could ever afford the luxury of choosing to be "blinkered" in a city where the Israeli-run, occupation municipality is openly hostile to them, and where their homes can be demolished for the smallest infraction of opaque, Israeli-imposed planning rules.
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Dollar

Putin's revenge: Petro-yuan may replace petrodollar

Bryan MacDonald
RT
Fri, 27 Oct 2017 14:58 UTC
oil production plant
© Alexei Danichev / Sputnik
The key to the coming petro-yuan lies in Moscow. And, if the Chinese currency eventually succeeds in usurping the long-standing petrodollar, Washington will only have itself to blame.

News that China plans to launch a yuan-denominated oil futures contract by the end of this year has come as a surprise to many analysts. However, Russia experts aren't startled in the slightest because this move has been coming since Moscow abandoned its quarter-century attempt to integrate with the West, following the 2014 Ukraine crisis. A catastrophe which the Kremlin blames on the United States and the European Union, as part of what it considers to be an attempt to reduce Russian influence in its "near abroad."

Beijing's scheme aims to shift trade in "black gold" from petrodollars to a proposed petro-yuan. Which benefits China by making its currency more attractive internationally and providing greater energy security. However, the biggest winners may well be in Moscow. Because any decline in the dollar's status severely dilutes Washington's ability to wage economic war against Russia, via sanctions.
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Bad Guys

Report says a conservative site funded the Fusion GPS anti-Trump project before Steele dossier


RT
Sat, 28 Oct 2017 15:12 UTC
Trump
© Joshua Roberts / Reuters
The Washington Free Beacon paid Fusion GPS for opposition research of then-candidate Donald Trump, before the project reportedly transitioned into a dossier funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the DNC alleging collusion between Trump and Russia.

Washington Free Beacon lawyers told the House Intelligence Committee Friday that the conservative journalism website was the original financial backer of the opposition research that later grew into a salacious dossier, the Washington Examiner reported.

Sources told the Examiner the Free Beacon paid Fusion GPS for opposition research against Trump from the fall of 2015 to the spring of 2016. Russia, however, was reportedly not a part of that research, and the work was not done by the former British spy Christopher Steele. The Brit later took up the Fusion GPS project in the spring, as funding was taken over by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Steele had experience in Russia; and traveled there to compile the now infamous dossier alleging collusion between Trump and the Russians.

Comment: Continetti also denied any knowledge of the subsequent DNC funding of Fusion GPS. The man behind Washington Free Beacon is Paul Singer, a wealthy Republican funder and prominent "Never Trumper". This isn't the first time Singer has been tied to the dossier scandal, but it's the first time it has been confirmed. GotNews' Charles Johnson told RT's Max Keiser on September 26th that Singer spent anywhere from $25 to $50 million countering Trump during the 2016 election. Singer is close to both Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney, and neocon Dan Senor.

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Chess

Budapest stands against Ukraine-NATO summit, says Kiev's anti-minority law is a 'stab in the back'


RT
Sat, 28 Oct 2017 10:30 UTC
U.S.Army photo
© Spc. John OnuohaU.S. Army photo
Budapest has vetoed the upcoming NATO-Ukraine summit, the Hungarian foreign minister said, adding it is impossible to support the country's bid to join the alliance after Kiev adopted a controversial education law "brutally mutilating" minority rights.

"Hungary cannot support Ukraine's integration aspirations, so it vetoed the NATO-Ukraine summit in December," Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Friday.

Szijjarto said there is no way to bypass Hungary's veto, as a unanimous vote of all members is needed to call a meeting of NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC). The commission is the decision-making body responsible for developing the NATO-Ukraine relationship.

Ukraine enjoyed a non-aligned status up until 2014, meaning the country abstained from joining military blocs and nurtured ties with both Russia and the West. Things changed dramatically after the Euromaidan coup, with the new government taking a decidedly pro-Western course.

Comment: One of NATO's many strategies has been to destroy the religious and cultural institutions that have a kept a targeted nation cohesive and integrated. In that respect among others, Kiev is descending to this NATO "ideal" - and European leaders of conscience - like Hungary's - are beginning to get the picture.

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Dollar

Will petrocurrencies soon be extinct?

Irina Slav
Oilprice.com
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 14:58 UTC
stash of us dollars
© Laszlo Balogh / Reuters
Petrocurrencies are breaking away from their traditional tight link to oil prices, but all it would take for this link to return is for prices to fall bellow their current range. This seems to be the general consensus among bankers interviewed by Bloomberg's Natasha Doff and Anna Andrianova.

The change is especially obvious with the Russian ruble, the Norwegian crown, and the Canadian dollar. The ruble's response to the recent string of gains in oil prices was muted; the Norwegian crown barely batted an eyelash at latest price changes; and the Canadian dollar has weakened despite the oil price movements.

It seems there are two factors determining this break between the most-traded commodity in the world and its largest producers: one, interest rates; and two, the price range of oil. Russia, for example, offers high real yields for investors, which has made the ruble more attractive despite weaker oil prices over the last two years. Even a recent interest rate cut of 25 basis points to 8.25 percent didn't discourage forex traders from buying the Russian currency, Doff and Andrianova note.

The situation isn't much different in Canada: Ever since June, when the central bank raised interest rates for the first time in seven years, the correlation between the Canadian dollar and crude oil has weakened. This, analysts note, highlights the growing importance of central bank policy compared with the significance of the oil industry for the state budget in each of these countries.
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Propaganda

Democrats' Russia narrative spiraling out of control

Peter Hasson
The Daily Caller
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 00:00 UTC
Democrat politicians and pundits are quickly losing control of the story surrounding Russian influence efforts within the United States.
Clinton Uranium deal
© The Left Edge
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Clinton campaign lawyer Marc Elias hired Fusion GPS on behalf of Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee. New York Times reporter Ken Vogel said Tuesday that Elias had "vigorously" denied being involved with the dossier, which is said to have relied upon Russian sources. Another NYT reporter, Maggie Haberman, similarly indicated that Democrats had repeatedly lied to reporters about their involvement with the dossier.

Prominent Democrats are now scrambling to distance themselves from the revelations. The DNC released a carefully-worded statement meant to distance current party leader from the dossier. The "new leadership" of the DNC, the statement said, was not involved with the dossier. Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who resigned as DNC chair last year amidst allegations that the DNC favored Clinton over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, has denied that she knew about the DNC's involvement with the dossier.

Comment: See also:

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Info

German-Russian rapprochement is timely and crucial

Finian Cunningham
RT
Fri, 27 Oct 2017 14:02 UTC
Putin
© Yuri Kochetkov / Reuters
The visit to Moscow this week by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier heralds a growing rapprochement between the two countries. That's not just good news for bilateral business ties. It is key to unlocking the dangerous East-West crisis.

"I'm convinced we need to resist the alienation that has grown up between our countries in recent years," said Steinmeier at the talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders held wide-ranging discussions beyond narrow bilateral interests. Both reportedly exchanged views on "pressing global issues" including Syria, Ukraine, North Korea and Iran.

Putin said of his meeting with Steinmeier: "I want to voice hope that your visit will help us to make a contribution to developing our bilateral relations and strengthening our interstate ties." The German president's role as head of state is largely ceremonial. Formally, he doesn't have political power, which rests with the country's chancellor, Angela Merkel. Nevertheless, the symbolism of Steinmeier's visit to Moscow carries enormous significance.

This week was the first visit to Russia by a German president since 2010. Steinmeier's predecessor, Joachim Gauck who was in office from 2012 until this year, was renowned for having a "frosty" view of Russia. Under Steinmeier the relationship is not just thawing, it is warming rapidly.
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USA

US judiciary has no say over Presidents' wars, DoJ argues in court


RT
Sat, 28 Oct 2017 13:23 UTC
US soldier with missiles
© Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
The US Justice Department believes that courts should not have a say over how the administration stretches post-9/11 war authorization legislation to justify new wars. The argument was reportedly made to a federal court.

In 2016, the then-Army intelligence captain, Nathan Michael Smith, filed a lawsuit against the administration of then-President Barack Obama. He argued that the White House failed to seek congressional authorization as required by the 1973 War Powers Resolution when it went to war against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). Instead, it justified military action by two Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) acts passed by Congress in 2001 and 2002 in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2011, and to authorize a war against Saddam Hussein (who was partly blamed for 9/11 at the time) respectively.
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