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British spy behind Trump-Russia dossier may be forced to talk after US court ruling

Matthew Mosk Brian Ross Rhonda Schwartz
ABC News
Sat, 19 Aug 2017 12:12 UTC
Christopher Steele
© Associated PressChristopher Steele, former British intelligence officer, seen in London in March, when he spoke to the media for the first time
A U.S. District court judge has put a former British spy one step closer to facing questions under oath about the controversial dossier he authored alleging President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign team plotted with Russian agents.

A ruling by Judge Ursula Ungaro allows lawyers for a Russian technology executive named in the dossier to seek British approval to question onetime MI6 agent Christopher Steele about the funding and sourcing of the dossier under oath. The request was made as part of a libel suit brought by Webzilla CEO Aleksej Gubarev against the website Buzzfeed, which was first to publish the dossier Steele prepared.

"I suspect that I'll be the first to speak to him," Gubarev's attorney, Valentin Gurvits, told ABC News this week. "I know that he is trying very hard to prevent that from happening."
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Info

Bashar al-Assad: No reconciliation deal between Turkey and Syria

Adam Garrie
The Duran
Sun, 20 Aug 2017 11:42 UTC
Bashar al-Assad
© PressTV
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has opened up the Foreign and Expatriates Minister Conference with a speech clarifying Syria's position in respect of internal and international developments at a time when the fight against terrorism in Syria continues to be won by Syria and its partners.

During the speech, President al-Assad put to rest persistent rumors that Turkey is engaged in a process of reconciliation with Syria after Ankara quietly withdrew support for opponents of the Syrian government after years of funding, arming and fighting beside such groups in an illegal military operation against Syria.

While Turkey continues to grow closer to both Russia and Iran, two countries which have always supported the territorial integrity of Syria and the anti-terrorist campaign of the Syrian government, many suggested that Turkey might be reconciling relations with Damascus.
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Info

Highway Wars - Game of one-upsmanship taking place between China and India

James Corbett
Steemit
Sat, 19 Aug 2017 19:48 UTC
Highway Wars
© Steemit
If we can only envision guns and bombs when we think about war, then it indicates merely a failure of our own imagination. Make no mistake: There are wars for geopolitical dominance taking place between various players around the globe right now, and it's all happening without a shot being fired or a soldier on the battlefield.

For an example of this we need look no further than Asia, where there is a strange game of one-upsmanship taking place between bitter frenemies China and India, clear rivals for regional economic dominance who happen to also be buddy-buddy in the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and other multi-lateral bodies.

No, I'm not talking about the dramatic border skirmishes currently taking place between Indian and Chinese troops. That's the old, guns-and-bombs type of conflict that gets all the press. I'm talking about something much more subtle, much less headline-grabbing and, potentially, much more important for the future of the region, and, ultimately, the world.

Exhibit A: "Chinese-built mega railway begins construction in Malaysia"

Exhibit B: "India Builds Highway to Thailand to Counter China's Silk Road"

Taken at face value, these are hardly the "stop the presses" headlines that set the public's imagination on fire. But let's look a little closer.
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Yoda

Mueller may not be the savior the anti-Trump internet is counting on

Carrie Johnson
NPR
Thu, 17 Aug 2017 00:00 UTC

A lot of people are counting on special counsel Robert Mueller.

Ana Navarro, a Republican and frequent critic of Trump on cable news outlets, beseeched him on Twitter to "hurry the hell up!" and get to the bottom of any connections between the Trump campaign and Russians. The satirical website the Onion said he's gorging on chicken nuggets to "get into the mind" of President Trump. And T-shirts bearing the logo "It's Mueller Time" are on sale at Amazon and Etsy.


But the online community that's fervently depending on the 73-year-old former FBI director to shake up the Trump presidency may be in for its share of disappointment.

Comment: 'Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.' How much time, expense, mental and emotional energy is being spent on this magic trick to create something that never was...as if wishing it was, believing it was, would make it so. And the irony is...even if it turns out to be true or even falsified to be true...the public will never know. Pshaw!

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Footprints

Missouri Dem writes: 'I hope Trump is assassinated', quickly regrets

Jason Hancock
The Kansas City Star
Thu, 17 Aug 2017 01:06 UTC
Chappelle-Nadal
© APSenator Maria Chapelle-Nadal: Blame the president
A Democratic Missouri state senator from University City posted, then quickly deleted, a comment on Facebook saying she hoped President Donald Trump would be assassinated.

As a result of Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal's comment, the U.S. Secret Service's St. Louis field office is investigating and both Sen. Claire McCaskill and the chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party have called on her to resign.

Chappelle-Nadal told The Star that she posted the comment out of frustration with the "trauma and despair" the president is causing with his statements about the events in Charlottesville, Va. "The way I responded this morning was wrong," she told The Star. "I'm frustrated. Did I mean the statement? No. Am I frustrated? Absolutely. The president is causing damage. He's causing hate."

Chappelle-Nadal posted the comment on her personal Facebook page, which is not open to the public. "On my personal Facebook, I put up a statement saying that I really hate Trump. He's causing trauma and nightmares. That was my original post," she said. "A whole bunch of people responded to that."

Later in the thread, in response to another commenter, she wrote: "I hope Trump is assassinated!" She later deleted the comment.


"It was wrong for me to post that," Chappelle-Nadal said. "But I am not going to shy away from the damage this president is causing."

Comment: Controversy, of her own making, has consistently marred this senator's career. It is time someone called her out. Resignation would be appropriate.

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Cheese

'Just brill': UKIP leadership candidate would pay British Indians to leave UK


RT
Fri, 18 Aug 2017 12:45 UTC
John Reese Evans
© Tom Nicholson / Global Look PressJohn Reese-Evans: How to fix Britain.
British Indians and Tanzanians should be paid to leave the UK to "reduce unnecessary population," according to a UKIP leadership candidate.

John Rees-Evans, a former soldier, would divert £12 billion (US$15.5 billion) from the foreign aid budget in order to pay for his scheme to remove a million people from Britain every year. He says the move would "create jobs in this country" and "reduce the strain on infrastructure."

Rees-Evans, who famously accused a gay donkey of raping his horse, is the fourth favorite out of 11 candidates to succeed Paul Nuttall as leader. London Assembly member Peter Whittle is the current frontrunner.

Using the examples of British citizens with Indian or Tanzanian heritage, Rees-Evans told a UKIP meeting in Greater Manchester: "We've got a lot of talented people, originally from Commonwealth countries, in our country who know how to run businesses who'd be perfectly capable of establishing trade relationships in their country of origin.

"We would reduce the cost of living in this country and we'd incentivize people who are not doing particularly well in this country to leave and return to their country where they can create a thriving business and improve our lives here in Britain." His proposed "fast-track" scheme would give dual nationals £9,000 plus healthcare to "return to their country of origin."

He sought to reassure party members by insisting: "It's not going to be fascist. I'm not interested in using eugenics or any evil things like that."

Comment: The measure of a man may be indicated by the quality and impact of his ideas.

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Bulb

New book eviscerates "Russian corruption" propaganda: Alex Krainer's 'The Killing of William Browder: Deconstructing Bill Browder's Dangerous Deception'

The Saker
The Saker
Fri, 18 Aug 2017 00:00 UTC
Dangerous Deception
Today I want to introduce you to a book whose importance simply cannot be overstated: The Killing of William Browder: Deconstructing Bill Browder's Dangerous Deception by Alex Krainer. I consider that book as a *must read* for any person trying to understand modern Russia and where the new Cold War with Russia came from.

Most of you must have heard of the Magnitsky Act or even maybe of William Browder himself. You probably know that Browder was a British businessman who founded Hermitage Capital Management investment fund which Sergei Magnitsky represented as a lawyer and auditor. Finally, you must have heard that Magnitsky died (was killed) in a Russian jail while Browder was placed by the Russian government on a black list and denied entry. For the vast majority of you, that is probably as much thought as you ever gave this topic and I have to confess that this is also true for me. I never bothered really researching this issue because I knew the context so well that this, by itself, gave me a quasi-certitude that I knew what had happened. Still, when I read this book I was amazed at the fantastically detailed account Krainer provides to what is really an amazing story.

In his book Alex Krainer offers us the truth and truly shows us how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Comment: Don't miss SOTT's interview with Mr. Krainer, available here: Also on Bill Browder:

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Info

US launches first investigation into China trade policies related to intellectual property theft


RT
Sat, 19 Aug 2017 18:56 UTC
China and US flags
© Guenter Fischer / imagebroker / Global Look Press
The US has launched its first direct measure against Chinese trade policies, initiating an investigation to determine if its largest trading partner has been engaging in unfair practices, a move that could potentially trigger an economic war.

On Friday, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced the initiation of a "Section 301" investigation to determine whether China's intellectual property (IP) policies and practices are "unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict US commerce."

"After consulting with stakeholders and other government agencies, I have determined that these critical issues merit a thorough investigation. I notified the President that today I am beginning an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974," Lighthizer said in a statement.

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 has not been extensively used since the 1980s. The law allows the president to impose trade sanctions, tariffs, or other trade restrictions in order to protect American industry without approval from the World Trade Organization (WTO).
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Dollars

Flashback Podesta email suggests key Republicans were taking payments from Clinton Campaign to damage Trump


Conservative Daily Post
Tue, 13 Dec 2016 17:05 UTC
Hillary Clinton
Every day, the job of President-Elect seems to become more danger-filled for Donald Trump. It can honestly be said that it looks like the entire establishment is out to destroy his presidency before it even gets off the ground. As we have said for months, all signs are pointing to Hillary Clinton working behind the scenes to further this coup.

Today's revelation is nothing less than a bombshell in the swamp that is our U.S. Government in Washington; with the curtains pulled back, it's now clear precisely what has happened. Tragically, new evidence has emerged that shows that despite their public differences, both parties are largely different shades of the same corrupt mud.

New information from Wikileaks is about to shake up the political world. Those in question are "Republicans in name only" or "RINOs." An email from John Podesta to Huma Abedin that was released as document number 1078645 is about to turn the speculation that certain prominent Republicans who opposed Donald Trump into the truth that they were, in fact, not just disloyal to Trump and the party but were on Hillary Clinton's payroll.
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Attention

Daesh militants surrendering at Syrian-Lebanese border after Lebanon, Hezbollah unleash attacks


Sputnik
Sat, 19 Aug 2017 15:27 UTC
Artillery fired toward militant jihadists' position in Jurud Arsal, a mountainous region bordering Syria
© AFPArtillery fired toward militant jihadists' position in Jurud Arsal, a mountainous region bordering Syria, last month.
Small groups of Daesh militants are surrendering to Lebanese militia Hezbollah near a checkpoint at the Syrian-Lebanese border, a source in Hezbollah told Sputnik on Friday.

The source specified that some of the militants had already surrendered, while others were ready to lay down the arms.

"IS [Daesh] militants began to surrender in Qalamoun [mountains in Aarsal region bordering Syria] near the Zamrani checkpoint after the territory of the checkpoint came under full control of Hezbollah," the source said.

Earlier on Saturday, the Lebanese army launched an operation to defeat Daesh on its side of the border with Syria. At the same time, Hezbollah along with Syrian army is conducting operations against Daesh on the Syrian side of the border.

This stretch of the Lebanese-Syrian border has been used by Islamists to smuggle weapons and fresh recruits into Syria. The Lebanese government approved recommendations last week to attack Daesh positions after Prime Minister Saad Hariri accused them of mounting attacks on security forces.
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