Puppet MastersS


X

False allegations: Trump lashes out at 'obstruction of justice' claims

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Thu, 15 Jun 2017 00:00 UTC
Trump
© en.mogaznews.com
US President Donald Trump has lashed out in against allegations circulating today that he is now under investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for obstruction of justice.


Not for the first time President Trump is absolutely right. As I have repeatedly pointed out, 10 months of investigation have discovered no evidence of collusion between anyone in Donald Trump's campaign team and Russia, and following former FBI Director Comey's testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee it is now known that the US intelligence services accept that Russian meddling in the US election - if it even took place - had no effect on the outcome of the election and that President Trump himself is not under investigation for colluding during the election with the Russians.

In light of all this, in any rational world everyone should see that there is no substance to this scandal, leading to this pointless investigation being closed down.

Comment: No rest for the wicked innocent. See also:

Read More...
Yoda

Putin's annual public Q&A session touches on succession questions, foreign policy, and his views on being deceived


RT
Thu, 15 Jun 2017 18:44 UTC
Putin annual Q&A
© Michael Klimentyev / Sputnik
The pressing question of who will be Russia's next president was among those Vladimir Putin addressed during his latest annual Q&A session. The Russian leader refrained from saying whether he would seek reelection, saying it's up to the people to decide.
"Certainly, one day I will make up my mind. I don't see anything bad in sharing my preferences [about the future president of Russia]. But ultimately let's not forget that only the voters, Russian citizens, can determine who will lead," Putin said.
The remark at Thursday's Q&A session comes amid uncertainty over Putin's plans for next year, when Russia will hold its next presidential election.
Read More...
Magnify

Meet the child victims used by the West for anti-Syrian propaganda

Eva Bartlett
RT
Thu, 15 Jun 2017 17:55 UTC
aylan omran
© AFP / Global Look Press
In September 2015, a young boy was found washed up on a beach in Turkey. Photos of Aylan Kurdi's lifeless body were quickly splashed across mass media, much the same way that Omran Daqneesh's photo inside an ambulance would also be disseminated.

Accusations of responsibility were hurled at the Syrian government, and leaders from Western nations upped their rhetoric about the need for intervention. Meanwhile, the corporate media and Western leaders continued their silence on the murders, decapitations, kidnappings, and actual starvation of children and adults alike in Syria by the armed mercenaries and zealots the West calls "moderates".
In February 2017, Tima Kurdi, Aylan's aunt, got in touch with US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and then spoke publicly, saying she supports Gabbards "message to stop arming terrorists, to stop supporting regime change. If the West keeps funding the rebels, we will see more people flee, more bloodshed, and more suffering. My people have suffered for at least six years. This is not about supporting Bashar. This is about ending the war in Syria."
Read More...
Gear

US Senate's anti Russian sanctions are unconstitutional

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Thu, 15 Jun 2017 20:32 UTC
US Senate
US Senate
The Senate bill passed 97-2 codifying sanctions on Russia is an unconstitutional infringement of the President's right to conduct foreign policy.

The US Senate - as universally predicted - has approved by a 97-2 margin further sanctions against Russia, codifying sanctions previously imposed by US President Obama into law.

The supposed purpose of these sanctions is to "punish" Russia for its alleged interference in last year's US elections.

That alleged interference by Russia in last year's US elections is supposed to be the subject of an investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The Senate is pre-empting the result of that investigation and is assuming its outcome before it reports.

Putting all that aside, the true reason for this law - as everyone knows - is to prevent President Trump from implementing the policy he was elected on, which is to achieve a rapprochement between the US and Russia. As such it is a straightforward attempt by the Senate to interfere in the President's conduct of foreign policy.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Star of David

The UN is Israel's last obstacle in ridding itself of the Palestinians

Jonathan Cook
CounterPunch
Thu, 15 Jun 2017 18:18 UTC
Israel flags
© zeevveez
Nazareth.

Israeli and US officials are in the process of jointly pre-empting Donald Trump's supposed "ultimate deal" to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They hope to demote the Palestinian issue to a footnote in international diplomacy.

The conspiracy - a real one - was much in evidence last week during a visit to the region by Nikki Haley, Washington's envoy to the United Nations. Her escort was Danny Danon, her Israeli counterpart and a fervent opponent of Palestinian statehood.

Danon makes Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu look moderate. He has backed Israel annexing the West Bank and ruling over Palestinians apartheid-style. Haley appears unperturbed. During a meeting with Netanyahu, she told him that the UN was "a bully to Israel". She has warned the powerful Security Council to focus on Iran, Syria, Hamas and Hizbollah, instead of Israel.

To protect its tiny ally, Washington is threatening to cut billions in US funding to the world body, plunging it into crisis and jeopardising peacekeeping and humanitarian operations.
Read More...
Info

Syria and Iraq are now allies against both ISIS and the US

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Thu, 15 Jun 2017 18:04 UTC
Syrian army
Coordinated moves by Syrian and Iraqi militaries towards the Syrian-Iraqi border show that the two countries have become de facto military allies against ISIS and the regional intrigues of the US.

One of the most striking turnarounds in the Middle East is the sudden close rapprochement between Syria and Iraq, who in their moves along the Syria-Iraqi border are increasingly coordinating together against both ISIS and the US.

To be clear, this is a major turnaround. Since the Second World War Syria and Iraq have more often been in bitter conflict with each other than allied with each other.
Read More...
Arrow Down

Take note Mr. President: Higher interest rates will kill the recovery

Ellen Brown
Web of Debt
Sun, 11 Jun 2017 17:56 UTC
hole money
© Inconnu
Higher interest rates will triple the interest on the federal debt to $830 billion annually by 2026, will hurt workers and young voters, and could bankrupt over 20% of US corporations, according to the IMF. The move is not necessary to counteract inflation and shows that the Fed is operating from the wrong model.

Responding to earlier presidential pressure, the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates this week for the third time since November, from a fed funds target of 1% to 1.25%. But as noted in The Guardian in a March 2017 article titled "Trump Is Set to Win the Battle on Interest Rates, but US Economy Will Pay the Price":
An increase in the base rate, however small, will tighten the screw on younger voters and some of the poorest communities who voted for him and rely on credit to get by.

More importantly for his economic programme, higher interest rates in the US will act like a honeypot for foreign investors . . . . [S]ucking in foreign cash has a price and that is an expensive dollar and worsening trade balance. . . . It might undermine his call for the repatriation of factories to the rust-belt states if goods cost 10% or 20% more to export.
In its Global Financial Stability report in April, the International Monetary Fund issued another dire warning: projected interest rises could throw 22% of US corporations into default. As noted on Zero Hedge the same month, "perhaps it was this that Gary Cohn explained to Donald Trump ahead of the president's recent interview with the WSJ in which he admitted that he suddenly prefers lower interest costs."
Read More...
Archaeology

Polish PM in hot water after using Auschwitz ceremony to push anti-migrant stance


RT
Thu, 15 Jun 2017 17:56 UTC
Poland's Prime Minister Beata Szydlo
© Francois Lenoir / ReutersPoland's Prime Minister Beata Szydlo
Poland's prime minister, Beata Szydlo, has provoked a wave of indignation with her controversial statement made at the Auschwitz memorial being seen as defending the Polish government's tough anti-migrant stance.
"In today's restless times, Auschwitz is a great lesson showing that everything must be done to protect the safety and life of one's citizens,"
Szydlo said during a ceremony marking the 77th anniversary of the first deportation of the Polish prisoners to the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp on Wednesday, AP reports. June 14 is now marked in Poland as the National Day of Remembrance of Victims of German Nazi Concentration Camps and Extermination Camps.

Her statement then briefly appeared in a post on the Polish ruling Law and Justice (PiS) Party official Twitter page but was quickly removed, as it was widely understood as a remark defending the Polish government's decision to reject the EU refugee resettlement plan and not to accept any asylum seekers from the Middle East and North Africa.

Comment: Using an Auschwitz ceremony to make political policy statements is obviously a thoughtless move, doubly so when such policies go against the dictates of the EU ruling elite.

Read More...
Snakes in Suits

Germany and Austria slam US sanctions against Russia

Frank Jordans, Associated Press
US News & World Report
Thu, 15 Jun 2017 17:58 UTC
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel
© Kay Nietfeld/dpa via APGerman Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel
Germany and Austria voiced sharp criticism Thursday of the latest U.S. sanctions against Moscow, saying they could affect European businesses involved in piping in Russian natural gas.

The United States Senate voted Wednesday to slap new sanctions on key sectors of Russia's economy and individuals over its interference in the 2016 U.S. election campaign and its aggression in Syria and Ukraine. The measures were attached to a bill targeting Iran.

In a joint statement, Austria's Chancellor Christian Kern and Germany's Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said it was important for Europe and the United States to form a united front on the issue of Ukraine, where Russian-based separatists have been fighting government forces since 2014.
"However, we can't accept the threat of illegal and extraterritorial sanctions against European companies," the two officials said, citing a section of the bill that calls for the United States to continue to oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would pump Russian gas to Germany beneath the Baltic Sea.
Read More...
Stock Up

The Flippening? Cyptocurrency 'ethereum' rapidly ascending to rival bitcoin


RT
Thu, 15 Jun 2017 16:37 UTC
Bitcoin
© Stephen Lam / Reuters
Despite a seven-fold difference in price, the market capitalization of a virtual currency called 'ethereum' is rapidly approaching that of bitcoin.

According to a chart presented by CoinMarketCap, bitcoin currently accounts for nearly 39 percent of the combined market capitalization for all cryptocurrencies, though that figure is down sharply from late February's 87 percent.

bitcoin ethereum
© coinmarketcap.com
At the same time, ethereum, which accounted for over 31 percent of the combined market cap of virtual currencies, saw just a five percent drop over the past four months.

Bitcoin has enjoyed the largest share of the cryptocurrency market since it was first introduced in 2009, with no serious rivals in sight - up till now.
Read More...