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White House accusing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of leaking sensitive intelligence to NY Times


True Pundit
Thu, 24 Aug 2017 17:50 UTC
Mitch McConnell
Mitch McConnell
The White House is accusing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of waging a clandestine smear campaign against President Donald Trump, leaking sensitive internal communications shared with the President to the New York Times and possibly other media, according to administration officials.

"The President knows exactly what the senator (McConnell) has done," a White House official said. "And the President will address this in his own way. Privately."

The honeymoon - if you can call it that - appears to be officially over for the GOP leaders. And that might be a very bad thing for McConnell whose popularity is sliding in his home state of Kentucky.

According to White House insiders, President Trump was furious when the New York Times published a long hit piece on the president's growing feud with McConnell. The piece included detailed communications between Trump and McConnell that, according to White House sources, were almost verbatim. Moreover, it is believe the article was timed to try to steal some of Trump's thunder from his Monday night address to the nation on military plans in Afghanistan, officials said.
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Philippines President Duterte boosts troop morale by visiting battlefield after Grand Mosque liberated from ISIS

Adam Garrie
The Duran
Fri, 25 Aug 2017 15:42 UTC
Duterte Marawi visit
Philippines armed forces have liberated the Grand Mosque of Marawi from ISIS control. Marawi is the city on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao that has been besieged by ISIS troops since 23 May of 2017. Recapturing the Grand Mosque is widely considered to be an important symbolic move which demonstrates that Philippine armed forces are taking back control of important landmarks in the city from the hands of the terrorists.

Shortly after the Mosque's liberation, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte visited troops on the front line, wearing full combat gear.

Duterte, who retains an approval rating of 82% according to recent polls, spoke privately with the troops for over an hour and personally handing them gifts of special food packs and wristwatches.
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Info

Canadian PM Trudeau says govt has handle on asylum-seekers after "welcome to Canada" tweet sparks migrant spike

Kathleen Harris
CBC News
Wed, 23 Aug 2017 17:35 UTC
trudeau
© Paul Chiasson/The Canadian PressPrime Minister Justin Trudeau received a briefing on the refugee installations at the Lacolle border crossing by Transport Minister Marc Garneau before meeting with the Intergovernmental Task Force on Irregular Migration today.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government has a firm grip on the spike in migrants crossing into Canada outside official border points, insisting that additional staff and expedited processing are "yielding positive results."

Trudeau said the government is also considering accelerating the temporary work permit process so asylum seekers are less dependent on government supports.

After meeting with an intergovernmental task force on irregular migration in Montreal, the prime minister said Canada continues to be an open, welcoming country to refugees and immigrants because of the confidence Canadians have in the integrity of the system. He said arrivals are going through a rigorous screening process and that there is no "shortcutting."

"We will continue to defend the integrity of our immigration system, and remain careful stewards of an extraordinarily precious asset in the 21st century world, which is to have a population positively inclined towards immigrants, towards refugees, understanding that being welcoming and open is a source of strength," he said.

Comment: The number of migrants entering Canada illegally more than tripled over the last couple months. There are fears that number will only increase, with the Canadian government hamstrung to do anything about it for fear of ruining Canada's image for "openness and tolerance". In weapons-of-mass-migration terms, those concerns are called "hypocrisy costs". See our interview with J. Michael Springmann on the topic: The Truth Perspective: Weapons of Mass Migration: Interview with Michael Springmann on Europe's Migrant Crisis

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Info

Wall Street Primitivism: Nicaragua, China, The Middle East and Charlottesville

Caleb Maupin
New Eastern Outlook
Thu, 24 Aug 2017 16:34 UTC
US soldiers
If you have natural resources chances are Washington is going to try to push “democracy” down your throat.
Wall Street, London, and the Bretton Woods institutions like the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund claim to support development and the eradication of poverty around the world. They also claim to support scientific progress and raising the global standard of living. However, often they seem to make friends and allies with very different goals. As Nicaragua proceeds with a huge construction project that has dynamic global implications, one can see a certain international pattern repeating itself, with quite dangerous implications.

"Native Activists" Fighting To Preserve US Maritime Dominance

Control of the Panama Canal by the United States has been vital in asserting control over the world economy. The US military has intervened militarily in Panama on many occasions to secure its control of this vital global shipping and transportation hub.

While the USA currently allows vessels to pass through, this could easily change in the case of a military confrontation. With so much of the world's industrial shipping passing through this vital point, control of the canal gives the USA a level of unchecked power in the global economy. At any point they could "veto" a country's economy by stopping ships.

However, a construction project currently in the works in Nicaragua could change that. The Chinese government and corporations based in China are cooperating with the socialist government of Nicaragua to construct a new canal, parallel to the Panama Canal. This canal will not be under US dominion, but under the dominion of the Sandinista government and the People's Republic of China.
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People

Trump speech to American Legion: 'We are one people not defined by the color of our skin' (VIDEO)


RT
Fri, 25 Aug 2017 15:38 UTC
Trump American Legion
© Joshua Roberts / ReutersUS President Donald Trump gestures next to American Legion National Commander Charles Schmidt after signing the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act in Reno, Nevada, US. August 23, 2017
President Donald Trump outlined his principles of patriotism in a speech to the American Legion, saying Americans are not defined by their skin color. This after Trump was accused of failing to unequivocally condemn white nationalists in Charlottesville.

"We are one people, with one home and one great flag," Trump addressed the American Legion, which describes itself as a "patriotic veterans organization" committed to mentoring youth, advocating patriotism and honor, supporting the military, and serving the veterans. Founded in 1919, it operates education programs such as Boys Nation and Girls Nation.
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War Whore

Trump and Tillerson: Bomb the Taliban to the negotiating table

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Thu, 24 Aug 2017 15:32 UTC
American troops Afghanistan
Following the lengthy discussions in Camp David which I discussed in my previous article, US President Trump and Secretary of State Tillerson published on Monday separate statements about the war in Afghanistan.

The focus of attention, understandably enough, has been on President Trump's statement, though it is Secretary of State Tillerson's statement and his subsequent answers to the media which is actually more interesting.

Firstly, there is a clear difference between Trump and Tillerson. Though after lengthy discussions a consensus has clearly been reached, there is no disguising the difference in their views both about the course of the war and about the role of the Taliban in a future Afghanistan.
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Laptop

Kremlin eyes crypto-ruble and blockchain for use in public service


RT
Thu, 24 Aug 2017 16:29 UTC
Blockchain Ethereum-Logo
Russia has plans to introduce its own digital currency running on blockchain technology, according to First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov.

The FSB "is actively working at the international level and wants to ensure that security issues are solved from the very beginning," Shuvalov told RBC channel.

He stressed cryptocurrencies can no longer be "locked in a chest and hidden," and should make the national economy stronger, not put it at risk.

Shuvalov said blockchain technology has a far greater use than just cryptocurrencies.

"Blockchain for us is not only about the ability to generate the equivalent of bank notes. It also provides a mechanism for a professional, transparent and fast public service," the minister said.
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Stock Up

Trump's deal making results: Russian lumber industry gains from US-Canada trade row


RT
Fri, 25 Aug 2017 16:27 UTC
Lumber
© Alexandr Kryazhev / Sputnik
American imports of softwood from Russia have surged 42 percent this year, according to US government data.

Earlier this year, Washington imposed a 20 percent tariff on Canadian softwood lumber. With specific duties on five Canadian lumber firms ranging from three to 24 percent.

The measure is part of Donald Trump's policy against what his administration sees as unfair trade practices.

The US increased tariffs on Canadian softwood after the countries failed to reach an agreement on cutting Canadian duties on US dairy products, which are 270 percent.

As Canadian producers were forced to reduce exports, the US turned to overseas markets for softwood lumber. Canada's share of US softwood imports has reportedly dropped to 92 percent from 96 percent.
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Better Earth

The Russia-Turkey-Iran triangle is gaining traction

M K Bhadrakumar
Indian Punchline
Fri, 25 Aug 2017 15:04 UTC
Russia Turkey Iran flags
The geopolitics of the Middle East is witnessing a tectonic shift with the emergence of a Turkish-Iranian axis that would have seemed unbelievable until recently. The 3-day visit by Iran's chief of general staff General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri to Turkey last week was the first such event in Iran-Turkey relations since the Iranian Revolution in 1979. During Bagheri's visit, the two countries signed a military agreement on August 17.Turkish President Recep Erdogan disclosed on Monday that he held discussions with Bagheri on possible joint Turkish-Iranian military actions against Kurdish militants.

"Joint action against terrorist groups that have become a threat is always on the agenda. This issue has been discussed between the two military chiefs, and I discussed (with Bagheri) more broadly how this should be carried out," Erdogan said. Turkey and Iran have strong convergence in preventing the emergence of an independent Kurdish entity in the region in Iraq or Syria. Both countries are battling Kurdish separatist groups within their own borders.

What lends urgency for the two countries to cooperate is their shared suspicion that the US and Israel are possibly stepping up their longstanding project to establish an independent Kurdistan in the region, with an ulterior agenda to create for the long-term an exclusive preserve for pushing their interests on the regional map. The US has refused to pay heed to Turkey's concerns and has armed and equipped the Kurdish militants in northern Syria. The US Special Forces and Kurdish militia are jointly conducting the on-going offensive on Raqqa, which used to be the capital of the ISIS. Washington spurned a Turkish offer to undertake the operations on Raqqa, an Arab Sunni region, and instead preferred the non-Arab Kurdish militia as its ally.

The US objective seems to be to seize control of the oil fields in the region adjacent to Raqqa, which would ensure the economic viability of a Kurdistan entity in northern Syria. Turkey fears that the next step by the US would be to launch operations in northern Syria along Turkey's borders with a view to carve out a contiguous Kurdistan, which would have access to the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey rightly apprehends that a Kurdistan as next-door neighbour would put intolerable strain on its integrity and stability.
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Vader

U.S. military generals: Truth and Lives vs. Career and Fame

Ray McGovern
Consortium News
Sun, 20 Aug 2017 15:44 UTC
John Kelly and Donald Trump
© Joshua Roberts / ReutersPresident Trump with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, a retired Marine general.
As President Trump considers sending more troops to Afghanistan, it's worth recalling the modern U.S. dynamic of politicians and generals making misguided judgments about war.

Fifty years ago, I could have tried to stop the Vietnam War, but lacked the courage. On Aug. 20, 1967, we at CIA received a cable from Saigon containing documentary proof that the U.S. commander, Gen. William Westmoreland, and his deputy, Gen. Creighton Abrams, were lying about their "success" in fighting the Vietnamese Communists. I live with regret that I did not blow the whistle on that when I could have.

(I wrote about this two years ago: "The Lasting Pain from Vietnam Silence," republished below.)

Why raise this now? Because President Donald Trump has surrounded himself with starry-eyed generals (or generals with their eyes focused on their careers). And he seems to have little inkling that they got their multiple stars under a system where the Army motto "Duty, Honor, Country" can now be considered as "quaint" and "obsolete" as the Bush-Cheney administration deemed the Geneva Conventions.

All too often, the number of ribbons and merit badges festooned on the breasts of U.S. generals these days (think of the be-medaled Gen. David Petraeus, for example) is in direct proportion to the lies they have told in saluting smartly and abetting the unrealistic expectations of their political masters (and thus winning yet another star).

In my apologia that follows, the concentration is on the crimes of Westmoreland and the generations of careerist generals who aped him. There is not enough space to describe (or even list) those sycophantic officers here.
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