Puppet MastersS


Oscar

Trump: 'Blame Congress for our bad relationship with Russia'


RT
Thu, 03 Aug 2017 13:13 UTC
Donald Trump
© Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Relations between the US and Russia are at an all-time and very dangerous low, US President Donald Trump tweeted, adding that the Americans should blame the Congress for this turn of events.

On Wednesday, the US president put his signature to legislation imposing additional sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea, and limiting his own ability to ease those restrictions without approval from Congress.

Trump said he had greenlit the unwanted act "for the sake of national unity," despite the legislation being "seriously flawed" and having "clearly unconstitutional provisions."


Comment: Trump continues redirecting disappointment with his legislation - both foreign and domestic - towards Congress. One reading is that he's as disappointed as anyone else, and wishes to signal to his base that he's still 'on their side'. But another possibility is that he's just playing nice while looking out for Empire's best interests:

Interesting theory: 'Trump has shown his true face - He's only pretending to be at war with US Senate' - Russian MP

Read More...
Info

Sanctions gap may allow Western firms access to Russian crude


RT
Thu, 03 Aug 2017 13:08 UTC
oil pipelinw
© Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
When Washington imposed sanctions against Moscow in 2014 over the conflict in Ukraine, the US targeted Russia's ability to develop unconventional oil resources.

They include tapping hard-to recover reserves which require newer extraction techniques like fracking, an area where Russia relies on Western technology.

Norway's Statoil continues to develop unconventional resources in Russia without breaching sanctions, and energy major BP is reportedly considering a similar project.

According to Reuters, shale deposits in south east Russia are regarded as 'limestone formations,' which are not the subject to sanctions.
Read More...
Nuke

Playing with fire: Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

Dr Alexander Yakovenko
RT
Wed, 02 Aug 2017 12:56 UTC
nuclear explosion
© FILE PHOTO AFP
On July 7, the work on the draft Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (PNW) was completed in New York. Russia considers this treaty as counterproductive and potentially dangerous.

It brings humanity no closer to a world free of nuclear weapons and threatens to damage the existing nonproliferation regimes.

The international community has already created universal mechanisms, based on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which allows a gradual cut in nuclear arsenals. At the same time, it provides for the strengthening of international stability and ensuring equal security for all states, including non-nuclear. We are convinced the NPT contains all the necessary provisions in this sphere that must be applied consistently.
Read More...
Gingerbread

Interesting theory: 'Trump has shown his true face - He's only pretending to be at war with US Senate' - Russian MP


RT
Thu, 03 Aug 2017 12:56 UTC
The State Duma of the Russian Federation on Okhotny Ryad Street in Moscow
© Natalia Seliverstova / ReutersThe State Duma of the Russian Federation on Okhotny Ryad Street in Moscow.
A senior Russian lawmaker told reporters that US President Donald Trump had "shown his real face" in signing a fresh sanctions bill against Russia, adding that PM Dmitry Medvedev was right when he called the current state of relations a trade war.

"Defining all this as a trade war is very right and correct. The masks are off - Trump has shown his true face. For him US interests are the only thing that matters. America needs markets to sell its products, they don't need Ukraine and have no interest in the Crimean issue - these are all invented excuses that allow them to slap sanctions on Russia and clear the markets for the US companies producing energy resources and weapons," the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee for Defense and Security, Aleksandr Shein, said in comments with Life.ru news site.

"Trump is no puppet. That is just a convenient position - he pretends to be a very kind person with a good attitude to Russia who experiences pressure from 'hawks' in the Senate and is forced to take harsh measures. Trump is simply shifting the blame." he added.

"From the very beginning Trump could not meet with the Russian president - he had set out different priorities for himself. When they eventually met they talked for two hours and after that Trump signs another bill, thus ending the discussion if he intended to improve the relations with Russia or to continue the economic war against our country," Shein stated.
Read More...
Attention

Russian defense ministry slams Reuters fake news reports on military casualties


RT
Wed, 02 Aug 2017 12:45 UTC
Soldiers in the village of Al-Majdal
© Mikhail Voskresenskiy / SputnikSoldiers in the village of Al-Majdal to the north of Hama
A Reuters report which claims the Russian death toll in Syria this year was four times higher than officially released data has drawn strong criticism from Moscow, with the defense ministry saying it causes nothing but contempt.

"It's not the first time that British news agency Reuters is trying by any means to discredit Russia's operation to destroy IS (Islamic State, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorists and restore peace in Syria," defense ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov said in statement Wednesday.

Moscow also recalled "Reuters' hysteria" over unverified reports of civilian casualties from an alleged Russian bombardment of Aleppo, Syria in early 2017 "when no Russian aircraft even approached the city."
Read More...
Light Sabers

Cleaning house: General McMaster fires 2 more Flynn appointees from National Security Council


RT
Thu, 03 Aug 2017 12:47 UTC
White House and Washington monument
© Gary Hershorn / Reuters
A senior director in the National Security Council has been fired in the latest move by National Security Advisor Lt. General HR McMaster. Recently, other like-minded staffers have also been let go from the NSC.

Ezra Cohen-Watnick, 31, was hired during the brief stint of former national security advisor retired Lt. General Michael Flynn. On Wednesday, Cohen-Watnick was asked to leave, two unnamed senior administration officials told the Conservative Review.

His main duties were to coordinate the work of the CIA and other intelligence agencies for the NSC, according to reports.

Cohen-Watnick's ousting from the NSC was reportedly pushed by McMaster, who also axed another Flynn-era NSC staffer, Derek Harvey, on July 27.
Read More...
Arrow Up

Russia-China trade is on course to hit $80 billion worth by year's end


Fort Russ News
Wed, 02 Aug 2017 12:19 UTC
china, russia
Trade between Russia and China increased by 37% for the first five months of 2017 and by the end of the year could reach 80 billion dollars worth. Maxim Oreshkin reported these positive statistics at a meeting of the Russian-Chinese subcommittee on trade and economic cooperation. Oreshkin is Russia's Minister of Economic Development.

According to Oreshkin, further growth in trade volume is not an easy task. It is necessary to work to identify and remove barriers to trade and investment.
Read More...
Arrow Down

Chinese leverage will be instrumental in killing the petro-dollar

Jim Willie CB
The Golden Jackass
Thu, 03 Aug 2017 01:48 UTC
yuan dollar oil price U.S. China
© Merco Press
The Chinese Govt is greatly irritated by the requirement to use US Dollars in payment for crude oil in the global market. The Beijing officials finally have some leverage in arranging for a major deal to pay for crude oil in RMB currency, their Yuan. The negotiations have been in progress for a couple months. The development is not covered well in the financial press, not even in the alternative media. It will happen, just a matter of time. Its effect will be far reaching and likely devastating.

The global currency reserve status for the US Dollar is at severe heightened risk. It will not be deposed via financial markets, like with a bond market failure or a COMEX gold market default with bust. Such is folly to imagine as likely to occur. The Western bankers are expert at rigging the financial markets, one and all. Their central bank bond support has extended to stock market support, soon to corporate bond wide support also. The USGovt is hanging onto its power base in increased isolation. The assaults are on many flanks and platforms.
Read More...
Target

Flashback Is George Soros working with the Deep State in a plot to topple Trump?

Nick Giambruno
International Man
Wed, 29 Mar 2017 00:51 UTC
Trump Deep State



Comment: Though this article came out last March, it is interesting to see how much of this analysis has already been confirmed and come to pass. The author also, however, takes some educated guesses as to what may occur next.


The Establishment is setting up Donald Trump.The mainstream media hates him. Hollywood hates him. The "Intellectual Yet Idiot" academia class hates him.

Most critically, the CIA hates him. So does the rest of the Deep State, or the permanently entrenched "national security" bureaucracy. They did everything possible to stop Trump from taking office. None of it worked.

I think the CIA hates Trump for a very simple reason: he's threatening to take away their livelihood. Trump wants to make nice with Putin and the Russians. But countering the so-called "Russian threat" is how many thousands of Deep State bureaucrats make a living. These people feed off the trough of the $1 trillion-plus military/security budget. Playing nice with the Russians would kill their jobs-and end their way of life.

Trump has said:
We will pursue a new foreign policy that finally learns from the mistakes of the past. We will stop looking to topple regimes and overthrow governments.
Toppling regimes is the CIA's bread and butter. No wonder they hate him.
Read More...
Passport

US bans American travel to N. Korea after Sep 1 and orders passport holders to leave


RT
Wed, 02 Aug 2017 22:52 UTC
Korea travelers
© Kamil Krzaczynski / Reuters
The US State Department has ordered a travel ban to North Korea for US passport holders. The restriction will be enforced beginning September 1, by which time all passport holders have been ordered to leave the country.

Journalists and humanitarian workers can apply for exemption, the State Department announced Wednesday, according to Reuters.

Tensions between the US and North Korea have risen for months, with dueling missile tests amid other events, such as the death of Otto Warmbier, a student tourist to North Korea held captive there for about 18 months before being returned to the US with a severe neurological injury.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) claims that President Donald Trump is considering war on North Korea if it continues its missile tests and nuclear weapons program.
Read More...