Puppet MastersS


Quenelle - Golden

Pepe Escobar: Putin aligns with Xi in crafting the new world (trade) order


RT
Tue, 16 May 2017 19:39 UTC
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping
© Kenzaburo Fukuhara / ReutersRussian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping
History will record the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing marked the juncture where the 21st century New Silk Roads assumed their full character of Globalization 2.0, or "inclusive globalization," as defined by President Xi Jinping in Davos earlier this year.

I have dealt with the monumental stakes here and here. Terminology, of course, remains a minor problem. What was once defined as One Belt, One Road (OBOR) is now promoted as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Much is still somewhat lost in translation in English, what matters is that Xi has managed to imprint the myriad possibilities inbuilt in the concept especially across the Global South.

An amiable host, Xi in Beijing went 'no holds barred' extolling the inclusive integration merits of OBOR/BRI. It also helps that along the way, this being China, his spin doctors came up with a lovely metaphor to illustrate how OBOR/BRI should find its force as a common, pan-Eurasian effort; "Wild Swan geese [found across Asia but not in Europe] are able to fly far and safely through winds and storms because they move in flocks and help each other as a team."

And arguably the key member of this flock of wild swan geese happens to be Russia.

Follow the geese

President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov were guests of honor at the forum - alongside leaders such as Kazakhstan's Nazarbayev and Turkey's Erdogan. At a business breakfast discussion, Xi seated Putin to his right and Lavrov to his left.

Comment: Further reading:

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Mr. Potato

Insane in the membrane! Graham: We can't go forward as a nation 'until we punish Russia'

Rebecca Savransky
The Hill
Sun, 14 May 2017 17:42 UTC
Greg Nash
He's insane, ain't got no brain.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday said the Russians need to be punished for their meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

"I do not believe we can go forward as a nation until we punish Russia," he said during an interview on NBC's "Meet The Press."

Graham said he does not need additional proof to confirm that Moscow attempted to hack the election.

"I'm 1,000 percent certain that the Russians interfered in our election," he said.

"They did try to undercut Clinton. I don't think they changed the outcome," he said of the presidential vote that put President Trump in office. "Russia didn't change the outcome of the election but they sure as hell tried and I want to punish the Russians and I hope the president will see their interference as a threat to our democracy."

Comment: Despite NO evidence being provided that Russia attempted to hack the election or all else that it is accused of from the swamp in Washington, people like Graham insist on continuing to try to punish an innocent Russia. How are they going to do it? More sanctions! Yet Graham and other 'insane in the membrane' members of Congress and associated members of the Neoconservative and Neoliberal cabal haven't noticed that each swipe and measure they take against Russia only seems to make it stronger. These people have all kinds of screws loose and it is only going to hurt the American people if they are allowed to continue with such actions and accusations. One way we can more forward is by not listening to or believing people like Graham and if at all possible eliminate their influence from the public sphere.

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Jet2

UK Royal Air Force drone strike in Syria saves 2 prisoners from public execution by ISIS


RT
Tue, 16 May 2017 19:15 UTC
A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone
© Josh Smith / ReutersA U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone
A Royal Air Force (RAF) drone strike prevented the public killing of two shackled prisoners by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Syria last week, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The RAF was monitoring events on the ground at Abu Kamal in eastern Syria on Tuesday May 9, and spotted a large crowd of civilians gathering in one of the town's main streets, the MoD says. When it realized an execution was about to occur, it struck an IS sentry with a hellfire missile fired from a Reaper drone.

"When a van then unloaded two shackled prisoners in front of the crowd, it became clear that Daesh [IS] were organizing a public execution," an MoD spokesperson told the Guardian.

"Given the large number of civilians present, the Reaper's crew could not target directly the Daesh fighters about to carry out the murders. However, two armed extremists were stationed as sentries on the roof of a building overlooking the scene.

"A Hellfire missile was fired immediately, and scored a direct hit which not only killed one of the sentries, but also brought the execution to an immediate halt, as the Daesh fighters fled the scene, and the crowds of civilians dispersed."

Comment: See also:

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Magnify

What is Bitcoin? Victims paid WannaCry ransom hackers less than $70k, no data recovered - White House


RT
Tue, 16 May 2017 16:37 UTC
Wannacry
© Kacper Pempel / Reuters
WannaCry, the global cyber ransomware attack that infected more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries, yielded the hackers less than $70,000, and no federal computer systems were infected, according to the White House.

During Monday's press briefing, Tom Bossert, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, told reporters that the number of computers infected with the ransomware has reached more than 300,000.
"The ransomware has disrupted telecommunications companies, hospitals, and other organizations," Bossert said. "The UK National Health Care Service announced 48 of its organizations were affected, and that resulted in inaccessible computers and telephone service, but an extremely minimal effect on disruption to patient care."
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Network

Duterte to sponsor Turkey and Mongolia for entry into ASEAN


RT
Tue, 16 May 2017 16:59 UTC
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte
© Samrang Pring / ReutersPhilippine President Rodrigo Duterte
The Philippines' outspoken President Rodrigo Duterte says he would push for the entry of Turkey and Mongolia into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). That's despite neither of the countries actually being in Southeast Asia.

Duterte said that he met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Mongolian Prime Minister Jargaltulga Erdenebat on the sidelines of the 'One Belt, One Road' summit in the Chinese capital, Beijing, that took place May 14-15.

Erdogan and Erdenebat told the Philippines leader about their desire to join ASEAN, Duterte said. The Philippines is will be chairman of ASEAN 2017.

"They want to join ASEAN and since I am now the chair, the Philippines is, they wanted me to sponsor their entry and I said, 'Yes, why not,'" he told reporters in the Philippines, as cited by AFP.
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Pirates

UN panel accuses Ukraine of selling weapons to South Sudan, perpetuating conflict


Sudan Tribune
Tue, 16 May 2017 16:46 UTC
Sudan weapons
A United Nations panel of experts has accused Ukraine of supplying the young nation with weapons. The U.N report, for instance, mentioned the case of an Ilyunshinil-76 aircraft that was transported from Ukraine to Uganda on January 27, 2017.

Allegations in the report, if confirmed, would largely put blame on Ukraine for perpetuating the conflict in the East African country, now in its fourth year. Border areas between South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda were key entry points for arms to Juba, the U.N panel of experts report stated.

Media reports say the plane's manifest indicated that it contained two L-39 jets and engines provided by Musket OU, a company based in Tallinn, and that the flight was operated by the Ukranian defense ministry.
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X

Russian businessman sues Associated Press fake news for libel


RT
Tue, 16 May 2017 16:39 UTC
Oleg Deripaska
© Sergei Karpukhin / ReutersOleg Deripaska
Lawyers for Oleg Deripaska have sued the Associated Press, claiming that an AP story published in March defamed the Russian aluminum tycoon by falsely tying him to US President Donald Trump and alleged efforts to undermine democracy in Ukraine.

The complaint was filed in the US District Court in Washington, DC on Monday. According to Deripaska's lawyers, the AP story falsely implied that the Russian businessman had been paying lobbyist Paul Manafort - who went on to serve as Trump's campaign manager - between March and August of 2016 for work meant to advance the goals of the Russian government and President Vladimir Putin, personally.

The AP article is structured to "imply falsely" that Deripaska's commercial dealings with Manafort from 2005 to 2009 were somehow related to the Trump campaign in 2016, the lawsuit says. Nor were there any grounds for the AP to report that Deripaska had paid Manafort for "the undermining of democratic movements" in Ukraine.
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Document

Erdogan has laundry list of grievances going into first meeting with Trump


RT
Tue, 16 May 2017 16:27 UTC
Trump Erdogan
© ReutersU.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan
US President Donald Trump's abilities as a dealmaker are being put to the test this week as he hosts Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who brings along a list of grievances over American policies.

Erdogan's visit on Tuesday is his first meeting with Trump since the latter assumed office. The situation in Syria and America's plan to supply arms to Kurdish fighters there are expected to be high on Erdogan's list of talking points, although experts don't believe he would be able to change Trump's mind on the issue.

The Trump administration promised to supply small arms, machine guns, armored vehicles and other military hardware to the Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG). Washington sees the militia as best suited for an eventual siege of Raqqa, the Syrian stronghold of Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL).

Comment: Erdogan's formost contention is the deep state's involvement in Turkish affairs. In this, both Trump and Erdogan have much in common.

See also:

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Pirates

US Navy chief seeks larger fleet to maintain hegemonic dominance


RT
Tue, 16 May 2017 16:19 UTC
US navy ships fleet
© U.S. Navy / Reuters
The US Navy needs to increase its fleet in order to match near-peer opponents such as Russia and China, its commander said, adding that the world is entering an era of maritime competition between global powers.

"We are getting back into, after decades really, an era of maritime competition," Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson told reporters at a Singapore naval base used by the US.

"Some of these global powers, China, Russia, they've been growing, China in particular. They're maturing in every dimension of power [and] at some point you turn to the sea to expand and continue to prosper."

Richardson argued the US Navy must catch up other countries that are massively investing in maritime prowess.
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Bad Guys

McMaster on his way out? Conflict grows between Trump and the parrot of the Washington elite

Eli Lake
Bloomberg
Tue, 16 May 2017 15:54 UTC
Trump McMaster
© Nicholas Kamm/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
For the Washington establishment, President Donald Trump's decision to make General H.R. McMaster his national security adviser in February was a masterstroke. Here is a well-respected defense intellectual, praised by both parties, lending a steady hand to a chaotic White House. The grown-ups are back.

But inside the White House, the McMaster pick has not gone over well with the one man who matters most. White House officials tell me Trump himself has clashed with McMaster in front of his staff.

On policy, the faction of the White House loyal to senior strategist Steve Bannon is convinced McMaster is trying to trick the president into the kind of nation building that Trump campaigned against. Meanwhile the White House chief of staff, Reince Priebus, is blocking McMaster on a key appointment.

McMaster's allies and adversaries inside the White House tell me that Trump is disillusioned with him. This professional military officer has failed to read the president -- by not giving him a chance to ask questions during briefings, at times even lecturing Trump.
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