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Lavrov: US must return diplomatic property it's stolen from Russia


RT
Mon, 09 Oct 2017 20:37 UTC
lavrov
© Muhammad Hamed/Reuters
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that Moscow insists on the return of its diplomatic properties "illegally seized" by the US, warning of legal consequences and possible retaliation.

"Russia reserves the right to undertake legal action and retaliatory measures," reads a statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry after the phone call.

Both Lavrov and Tillerson, however, expressed support for the ongoing consultations on the issues of Russia-US relations, led by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov and US Under Secretary Thomas Shannon.
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No Entry

Merkel agrees to limit number of asylum seekers entering Germany


RT
Mon, 09 Oct 2017 20:37 UTC
Merkel refugee immigrant
© Fabrizio Bensch / ReutersA migrant takes a selfie with German Chancellor Angela Merkel outside a refugee camp near the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees after registration at Berlin's Spandau district, Germany.
After hours of discussion, Angela Merkel's CDU and its Bavarian CSU sister party have made a breakthrough in the fight over the refugee ceiling issue, agreeing to cap Germany's intake of asylum seekers at 200,000 a year.

"We want to achieve a total number of people taken in for humanitarian reasons (refugees and asylum seekers, those entitled to subsidiary protection, family members, relocation and resettlement minus deportations and voluntary departures of future refugees) that does not exceed 200,000 people a year," the agreement stated, according to Reuters.

This would relate to the humanitarian inflow, in other words asylum seekers and refugees; migrant workers would not be affected by the scheme. In exceptional circumstances, that number could be increased or lowered by the Bundestag, Der Spiegel reported, citing a draft paper.
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Don't dump the Iran deal! Germany, France & UK issue joint statement to US

Adam Garrie
The Duran
Mon, 09 Oct 2017 20:37 UTC
Iran deal
Germany's Foreign Minister has echoed the words of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in saying that a US withdrawl from the JCPOA would send the wrong message to North Korea.

Berlin has released a statement jointly signed by the governments of Germany, France and the United Kingdom, urging the United States not to pull out of the 2015 JCPOA, often referred to as the 'Iran deal'.

The news comes as many suspect that Donald Trump is preparing to defy the advice of his own state department, his allies in Germany, France, Britain and the EU as a whole, as well as the stated wishes of Russia and China and withdraw from the deal.

Comment: Further reading: German FM: 'World will change' as Trump 'likely to quit' JCPOA

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Handcuffs

Syrians arrest U.S. spy in Damascus


Fars News Agency
Thu, 05 Oct 2017 20:58 UTC
syria russia
The Syrian intelligence forces detained a US spy in Damascus, media sources reported on Thursday.

According to the Arabic-language al-Hadath news, the Syrian security apparatus arrested a US spy who had taken images and recorded footage of several military points near Damascus in disguise as a journalist and with a fake ID card. They also seized a number of weapons, cameras and computers during the arrest.

The spy who is originally a Syrian Arab confessed that he was hired via social media networks with a monthly salary of $20,000 and provided the US authorities with the demanded images and intelligence.

He also confessed to cooperation with certain terrorist groups in Ghouta of Damascus.
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Fire

What's next for Catalan independence: out of Madrid's frying pan, into NATO fire?

Tony Caralucci
NEO
Mon, 09 Oct 2017 00:00 UTC
NATO Guys
© Daily ExpressNATO troopers
Media on all sides surrounding the recent Catalan referendum for independence from Spain focused on Madrid's security crackdown on voters. However, what is not being mentioned about Catalonia's ongoing bid to achieve independence, who is leading it, and what their plans are for the region should they succeed, is just as important.

Catalonia is one of the most prosperous regions of Spain, possessing a population and GDP on par with or slightly above Singapore or Scotland. It has enjoyed various levels of autonomy for decades and - unlike many US-European "independence" projects around the world - could likely emerge as an independent and prosperous sovereign nation.

For this fact alone, many people support and are enthusiastic about Catalan independence.

Real Independence, or Shifting Dependence from Madrid to Brussels?

However, despite attempts by the Western media and the special interests they represent to appear indifferent or even opposed to Catalan independence, policy papers from Western corporate-financier sponsored think tanks indicate an eagerness - particularly by NATO - to integrate what they expect to be a robust military capability into their global wars of aggression.

Comment: NATO vultures are circling their prey. Are the Catalonians smart enough to dodge a future in servitude to Western ambitions and NATO's dominance should they succeed in the quest for independence?

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Whistle

Council of Europe: Spanish probe into 'police violence' in Catalonia


RT
Mon, 09 Oct 2017 12:31 UTC
Catalonia police
© Pau Barrena / AFPSpanish police officers drag a man as they try to disperse voters arriving to a polling station in Barcelona during a referendum on independence for Catalonia banned by Madrid.
The Catalan referendum on October 1 made headlines around the world as Spanish police physically removed people from polling stations and confiscated ballot boxes. Now, the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe has revealed that it has contacted the Spanish Minister of the Interior seeking "swift, independent and effective" investigations into allegations of disproportionate use of force by the police.

The council, which aims to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe and promote European culture, is not part of the European Union.

On Monday, the commissioner, Nils Muiznieks, published a letter he wrote to the minister, Juan Ignacio Zoido Álvarez, on October 4 in which he raised concerns about what unfolded at polling stations around Catalonia on the day of the vote.
"The Spanish authorities should ensure that swift, independent and effective investigations are carried out into all allegations of police misconduct and disproportionate use of force," Muiznieks said. "This is of fundamental importance, both for deterring any further police misconduct but also to prevent any escalation of tensions and violence. In addition, ensuring accountability for any misconduct is essential to preserve public confidence in the work of law enforcement officials."
The commissioner called for an independent complaints mechanism covering all law enforcement officials to be established.

Comment: Regardless whether the referendum was legal or not, 900 injured is a steep number for a peaceful vote. Was it worth intervention via police brutality since the referendum could be struck down by the legal system, preventing like-minded communities from seeking a different and common future.

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Clipboard

Trump reveals immigration plan: Green card overhaul, no sanctuary cities, 10K increase ICE officers


RT
Mon, 09 Oct 2017 04:32 UTC
immigration reform
© TapWires
The White House has unveiled a set of immigration policies aimed at toughening up the existing laws and closing legal loopholes. The list envisions transforming the Green Card system, beefing up border security and facilitating deportations.

The measures on the list released by the White House late Sunday are necessary to compensate for damages that would be inflicted by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, if it is to stay intact, according to White House legislative affairs director Marc Short. "These priorities are essential to mitigate the legal and economic consequences of any grants or status to DACA recipients," Short said.

The plan calls for funds for the construction of President Trump's Mexico border wall, and would allow the deportation of unaccompanied children arriving illegally in the US, impose more rigorous checks on asylum applicants, make it harder for gang members to sneak into the US and ensure swift removal of all immigration offenders, with a particular focus on visa overstayers. The latter are considered the main source of undocumented immigrants in the US, according to the report by Center for Migration Studies.

The legislation, if passed, would also see a crackdown on sanctuary cities, which would be banned from receiving any grants provided the US Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.

Comment: In order to increase immigration through proper and legal channels, there first has to be a reform on the current situation regarding leaky borders and illegal workers at minimum wage. How will these mandates impact local resistance to reforms, such as California's new identity as a Sanctuary State?

See also:

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Attention

Departing Finance Minister Schaeuble warns: Another financial crisis coming


RT
Mon, 09 Oct 2017 10:11 UTC
German Finance Minister Schaeuble
© Joshua Roberts/ReutersGerman Finance Minister Schaeuble
Bad loans along with growing levels of global debt may push the world into another financial crisis, said Wolfgang Schaeuble in his parting speech as German Finance Minister. "Economists all over the world are concerned about the increased risks arising from the accumulation of more and more liquidity and the growth of public and private debt. I myself am concerned about this, too," he said in an interview with the Financial Times.

There is a risk of "new bubbles" emerging as central banks across the world are pumping trillions of dollars into the markets, according to Schaeuble, who will become speaker of the Bundestag in Germany's new government. The respected economist highlighted concerns over the potential threat to stability in the euro zone amid the lenders' attempts to fight the post-crisis legacy of non-performing loans.

Schaeuble has been holding the post of finance minister since 2009 and is considered to be the most pro-European politician in the German government. The politician has been strongly advocating fiscal rectitude, being a key influence to the continent's policy response to the euro zone debt crisis. Schaeuble has been heavily criticized in Greece for pushing the country to more austerity reforms.

The minister's comments come ahead of his last meeting of the Eurogroup finance ministers in Luxembourg on Monday.

Comment: Global asset grab is in full swing. Warnings be damned. How many will be caught in the sudden and swift aftermath should fantasy stability evaporate?

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Propaganda

The US public doesn't care if the 'news' media lies

Eric Zuesse
Strategic Culture
Sun, 08 Oct 2017 00:00 UTC
fakenewsheadlines
© Unknown
To say that the US public don't care if 'news' media lie, is shocking, but I shall here present evidence that it actually is true - not in some mere theory, but in empirical fact.

A typical example of Americans not caring about the truthfulness, nor even about the honesty, of their sources of alleged 'news', is that, during the period of October 3rd through the 5th, there were two news reports both of which were true, but which, when taken together, display the total disconnect between news media honesty, on the one hand, and the confidence that the American people have in the nation's 'news' media, on the other.

One of these two news-reports was published on October 5th by the anonymous blogger who has come to be, amongst readers who closely follow and investigate the war in Syria, the most-trusted source of reporting on it, and the article was headlined, Russia Issues Third Warning Against US Cooperation With Terrorists, and it provided links to each of the three recent instances in which the US Government was cooperating with ISIS to defeat Syria and its defender Russia, in Syria. It summarily described the ways in which the US had been exposed (but not by US 'news' media) as having been providing vital intelligence and other crucial assistance to ISIS, in ISIS's efforts to overthrow and replace the existing Syrian Government (headed by Bashar al-Assad). That report should be read by anyone who proceeds further here, because it covers events that were certainly of top international importance and that might even precipitate war between the US and Russia, but which were reported little if at all in US 'news' media. Of course, it would be very bad for US 'news' media to allow the US to become involved in a nuclear war against Russia and to have hidden, from the American public, the US Government's provocations which had produced such a war.

Comment: Discernment is in the eye and mind of the beholder. Accepting compromised news for 'truth in reporting' speaks to the level of attention paid by the US public to current events and, likewise, critical thinking.

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Blue Planet

German FM: 'World will change' as Trump 'likely to quit' JCPOA


RT
Sun, 08 Oct 2017 19:17 UTC
GermanyFM Gabriel
© Tobias Schwarz/AFPGerman FM Sigmar Gabriel
Germany's foreign minister has expressed concern that US President Donald Trump is "likely to quit" the Iranian nuclear deal next week. Germany along with other EU states has been a staunch supporter of the agreement brokered by Barack Obama's administration.

Breaking the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is a great concern to Germany as it brings new risks to international security and effectively would change the world, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Sunday. "The United States is likely to quit the Iran agreement next week - that is my great concern," Gabriel said, as cited by the DPA news agency.

The US withdrawal would only complicate relations with Tehran, Gabriel said, adding that nothing good "will come of us treating Iran as though it is developing nuclear weapons." Apart from that, it creates dangers for Germany and the international community as a whole, as sinking the nuclear deal would mean the US "replacing the rule of law with the law of the strongest. And that is a great danger for us, because if the [US] takes that course, then the world will change," Gabriel warned.

The German foreign minister has repeatedly urged the US to stick to the deal, while confirming Berlin's readiness to maintain the agreement. "Now we will all try to convince the Americans in the remaining weeks... that calling the agreement into question will not increase security," Gabriel said in September.

Comment: You can't call a deal bad if you just don't like the party on the other end of it. If Trump wants to examine a 'bad deal' he should look at the one with Israel for billions of US taxpayer dollars! Not a peep about that.

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