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Wishful thinking? Russian diplomat says EU foreign policy chief's Moscow visit offers chance to normalize relations


RT
Thu, 11 May 2017 15:52 UTC
EU flags
© Global Look Press
Russia's envoy to the European Union has expressed hope that the recent visit to Russia of the bloc's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, will serve as a step towards the restoration of dialogue and an improvement in relations.

Vladimir Chizhov said that the next step after Mogherini's working visit to Russia in April could be a session of the permanent Russia-EU council, with the further return of other types of cooperation.


Comment: EU foreign policy chief Mogherini meets with Lavrov: "We count on Russia and Astana in Syria", call for full OPCW probe of alleged chem attack


"This doesn't mean that everything will be restored in its original form. In general, neither we nor they need this 'business as usual' approach. We want a more pragmatic interaction oriented toward feasible results," RIA Novosti quoted the Russian diplomat as saying.

"With time, EU officials are gaining a greater understanding that a serious dialogue with Russia is not only inevitable but also very desirable," he added.


Comment: An EU-Russia strategic partnership may be desired, but amid sanctions is unlikely

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Bullseye

Trump calls out the Democrats for their U-turn on Comey


RT
Wed, 10 May 2017 12:21 UTC
Donald Trump
© Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
James Comey's replacement will be "someone who will do a far better job," according to Donald Trump, in his first comments since firing the former FBI director. The US president claimed he would be thanked for his actions when "things calm down."

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday Trump began defending his actions by attacking the Democrats, claiming they said "the worst things about James Comey, including the fact that he should be fired, but now they play so sad!"

Comment: In another twitter rant Trump called out the Democrats for the hypocrites they are:



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Propaganda

They must be joking! Western fake news portrays fringe opposition leader Aleksey Navalny as a serious presidential contender in Russia

Bryan Macdonald
RBTH
Wed, 10 May 2017 17:46 UTC
Aleksey Navalny
© Maxim ShemetovAnti-corruption campaigner and opposition figure Aleksey Navalny waves as he sits inside a police van after after being detained during a rally in Moscow, Russia, March 26, 2017.
Despite what western journalists write, the famous Russian opposition leader is actually not so popular with his fellow countrymen, primarily because they don't see him as a leader with a coherent platform to run their vast and complex country.

He now seems to be everywhere, and rivals Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian for column inches. There are magazine covers, lengthy biographical profiles and endless news reports covering his latest travails.

Newsweek asks, "Is Russia's anti-corruption crusader Vladimir Putin's kryptonite?" And Great Britain's state-run BBC calls him "Russia's vociferous opposition leader."

Meanwhile, The Guardian, devoting its Saturday interview to the subject, said he is "determined to stop" Putin, and Bloomberg published an activist who embedded himself with the presidential hopeful.

The man concerned is Alexei Navalny, and he's quickly becoming a household name. In the West, that is. Meanwhile, in Russia where people who actually vote in Russian elections reside, the data suggests he's not as popular as western correspondents in Moscow are telling their readers, listeners and viewers back home. This seems to be yet another example of irresponsible, or just inept, reporting that distorts perceptions of Russia abroad.

Comment: Navalny is a joke. The positive attention Western media gives to this clown is not unlike looking to Bill Nye for expertise on science, Angelina Jolie for explaining the refugee crisis, or Saudia Arabia for helping woman's rights. The only thing Navalny has to offer is infantile hysterics. Western media tries to present Navalny as a serious opponent. He isn't. He's a fringe bigot with close to zero support in Russia.

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Snakes in Suits

Scaremongering Dan Coats: Russia 'full-scope cyber actor' which will remain 'major threat' to US


RT
Thu, 11 May 2017 15:43 UTC
Dan Coats
© Mandel NganDirector of National Intelligence Dan Coats.
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats has accused Russia of being a "full-scope cyber actor" which will remain a "major threat" to the US government. The comments were made during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on global threats.

During his testimony, Coats stated that Russia is a threat to the US government, military, diplomatic, business, and critical infrastructure.

He also stated that other countries including China, North Korea, and Iran are using cyberspace to target the US and its allies, and will continue to do so in the future.


Comment: Once again American hegemony is being challenged and they don't like it one bit!

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Pirates

Tahrir al-Sham threatens war on Syrian 'moderate rebels' who abide by de-escalation zone agreements


Sputnik
Thu, 11 May 2017 15:28 UTC
Al-Nusra Front
© AFP 2017/ RAMI AL-SAYED
A coalition of groups spearheaded by al-Qaeda's former affiliate in Syria has issued a stern warning against the implementation of safe zones, saying those groups who adhere to the Astana accord would be deemed traitors of the Syrian revolution.

The fatwa essentially aims to warn moderate rebel groups against abiding by the Russian, Iranian and Turkish-sponsored ceasefire agreement.

The statement released by Tahrir al-Sham, led by al-Qaeda's former arm in Syria, Jabhat Fateh al-sham, also known as the the Nusra Front, threatened to wage an unrelenting war on other Syrian rebel groups, such as the so-called Free Syrian Army, if those groups follow the terms of the agreements signed by Russia, Iran and Turkey recently.

The deal propounds the idea of dividing Syria into "de-escalation zones," areas in which fighting and bombing would be prohibited. Tahrir al-Sham dismissed the deal, arguing that it is a conspiracy theory by the powers against the Syrian revolution. Subsequently, the jihadi coalition argued it would begin launching attacks against any and all Syrian rebel groups that support the zones.
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Network

The importance of finding a replacement for Google and Facebook

Tony Cartalucci
New Eastern Outlook
Thu, 11 May 2017 15:11 UTC
facebook logo
Nations are beginning to take more seriously the control of their respective information space after years of allowing US-based tech giants Google and Facebook to monopolize and exploit them.

Vietnam, according to a recent GeekTime article, is the latest nation to begin encouraging local alternatives to the search engine and social media network in order to rebalance the monopoly over information both tech giants enjoy in the Southeast Asian country today.

Google and Facebook: More than Search Engines and Social Media

The two tech giants and others like them may have appeared at their inceptions to political, business, and military leaders around the world as merely opportunistic corporations seeking profits and expansion.

However, Google and Facebook, among others, have become clearly much more than that.

Comment: For more info: How Washington, Israel, and associated trolls control information, leading us to our destruction

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Brick Wall

The Ruskies are coming! Lithuania awards $1.45mn contract to erect Russia border wall


RT
Thu, 11 May 2017 15:14 UTC
Russia Lithuania border
© Lithuanian Border Agency
Lithuania has announced that it will award some €1.34 million ($1.45mn) to a private contractor to build a 2-meter high metal fence alongside the 45 km stretch of land bordering Russia's Kaliningrad region.

Lithuania's State Border Guard Service (VSAT) chose the proposal presented by the Gintreja company after receiving 27 construction submissions.

"The funds required for the construction will be allocated from the state budget", VSAT said, adding that the fence will go up before the end of the year.

The two-meter wire fence with additional electronic controls will "appear at the site of a convergence of borders of Lithuania, Poland, and Russia near Vistytis Lake and will go through the territory of Shakaisky and Vilkavishki regions up to the Neman," the Border Protection Service said.

Comment: What a waste of time, energy, and resources.

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Info

Pentagon blocking US Navy mission requests to disputed South China Sea


Sputnik
Thu, 11 May 2017 15:04 UTC
US navy ships
© AP Photo/ US Navy
The US Navy has reportedly sent multiple requests to conduct freedom-of-navigation missions in the controversial South China Sea, but the Pentagon has denied them all.

The Navy wants to send its warships within 12 nautical miles of the Spratly Islands claimed by Taiwan, China and Vietnam, according to multiple published reports. US Pacific Command would not disclose further information to the American military publication Stars and Stripes.

The new policy could signal a major softening in posture toward China by the Trump administration. After vowing to label China a currency manipulator, a March Treasury Department report found that China in fact has not been unfairly devaluing the renminbi. Trump later echoed this line. Further, despite claiming that he would renegotiate trade deals between the US and China, no such activity has emerged in the early days of the Trump presidency.

"[N]ow is not exactly the right time to call China a currency manipulator," the president told supporters at a rally April 29, as he is hoping to get China on board to "solve" the North Korean "problem."

Comment: Interesting news in light of this report from Newsbud's Peter Lee:



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Star of David

Israel's Jewish nation-state bill a 'declaration of war' on Palestinians

Jonathan Cook
Jonathan Cook Blog
Thu, 11 May 2017 14:54 UTC
Israeli tora
© Arne Dedert / Global Look Press
Israel's Knesset has passed its first vote on a new bill defining Israel as 'a national home of the Jewish people'

New legislation to cement the definition of Israel as a state belonging exclusively to Jews around the world is a "declaration of war" on Palestinian citizens of Israel, the minority's leaders warned this week.

The bill, which defines Israel as the "national home of the Jewish people", passed its first vote in the Israeli parliament on Wednesday, after it received unanimous backing from a government committee on Sunday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to get the measure on to the statute books within 60 days.

Among its provisions, the legislation - popularly known as the Jewish Nation-State Bill - revokes the status of Arabic as an official language, even though it is the mother tongue of one in five citizens. Israel's population includes a large minority of 1.7 million Palestinians.

Comment: Also see:

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HAL9000

Microsoft CEO Nadella: Tech sector needs to prevent '1984' future

Glenn Chapman
Yahoo! News / AFP
Thu, 11 May 2017 14:41 UTC
Satya Nadella
© AFP Photo/Glenn CHAPMANMicrosoft chief executive Satya Nadella, opening the tech giant's Build conference on May 10, 2017, tells developers artificial intelligence does not need to lead to a dystopian future.
Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said Wednesday tech developers have a responsibility to prevent a dystopian "1984" future as the US technology titan unveiled a fresh initiative to bring artificial intelligence into the mainstream.

At the start of its annual Build Conference, Microsoft sought to showcase applications with artificial intelligence that could tap into services in the internet "cloud" and even take advantage of computing power in nearby machines.

Nadella spent time on stage at the Seattle conference stressing a need to build trust in technology, saying new applications must avoid dystopian futures feared by some.

Comment: Also see: Microsoft thinks the smartphone is 'already dead'

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