Puppet MastersS


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Saudis set to cut June crude oil exports to Asian markets amid price reductions

Tsvetana Paraskova
Oilprice.com
Tue, 09 May 2017 15:54 UTC
Saudi Arabia oil well
© Marwan Naamani / AFP
Saudi Arabia will reduce its crude oil exports to the Asian market by around 7 million barrels in June, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing a source with first-hand knowledge of the matter.

Saudi Aramco is set to cut its crude supplies to China, South Korea, and South East Asia by 1 million barrels each. In addition, Saudi exports to Indian buyers next month are set to decline by just over 3 million barrels, and supplies to Japan will drop by just below 1 million barrels, according to Reuters' source.

Saudi Arabia has begun cutting oil exports in addition to cutting oil production, according to new April shipping figures released by ClipperData. The numbers show that the Saudis cut exports by 670,000 bpd in April, which represents the sharpest drop in 2017 and a U-turn in the Kingdom's export trend so far.
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Star of David

'Has someone there lost his mind?' Israeli police teach 5th-graders how to shoot a terrorist


RT
Wed, 10 May 2017 15:45 UTC
Israeli police have been caught on film in a mock shooting operation against an “assailant” in front of a crowd of fifth-graders
© Oria Amrani / Facebook
Israeli police have been caught on film in a mock shooting operation against an "assailant" in front of a crowd of fifth-graders. Parents expressed shock at the demonstration, while police justified it as strengthening "the children's sense of security."

Four police officers with guns are seen on film riding on two motorcycles with sirens blaring, firing shots as they approach the "terrorist." The video posted on social media shows groups of children sitting on the grass as they watch the demonstration.

The officers get off the motorcycles and continue shooting for 13 seconds - even after the target is lying on the ground - in order to "make sure he [the terrorist] was dead," Haaretz daily reports.

The young audience was reportedly warned about the gunshots beforehand, according to Israeli media.
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Map

Syrian army and its Tiger Forces crushing ISIS in Hama and Aleppo countrysides

Samer Hussein
Fort Russ News
Wed, 10 May 2017 15:35 UTC
East Aleppo battle map
Syrian forces continue their offensive against terrorists amid provocations by US, UK and Jordan at the southern side of the Syrian-Iraqi border.

Earlier on Wednesday, Army units foiled an ISIS infiltration against the Syrian Army checkpoints in the area of Al Azib valley, located east of the town of Salamiyeh in the eastern countryside of Hama province. Dozens of terrorists were killed during clashes that took place between Salamiyeh and Ethraya, in addition to two ISIS vehicles, one of them carrying heavy machine-gun, being destroyed.

Syrian forces also made new advancements against Tahrir Al Sham terrorists and their allies in the embattled Damascene district of Al Qaboun. Latest estimates claim more than 80% of the district is already in the hands of the army.
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Che Guevara

Duterte: Philippines seeks further cooperation with China through One Belt, One Road initiative


Xinhua
Wed, 10 May 2017 15:36 UTC
duterte
© Xinhua/Wang Yu
The Philippines is expecting to deepen its knowledge of China's Belt and Road Initiative to further identify possible areas of cooperation between the two countries, President Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday.

Duterte, who will attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation scheduled for May 14-15 in Beijing, made the remarks to Chinese media in a joint interview.

Duterte said the Philippines is a developing country that relies on its connectivity with other countries in the region to develop a healthy economy and inclusive growth.

"I understand the Belt and Road Initiative is primarily an economic undertaking that will build these connections among the countries, and result in mutual benefit that includes increased trade and market access," he said.

Duterte further pointed out that the overarching objective of the Philippine government is to safeguard the prosperity and the well-being of the Philippine people.
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War Whore

Navy commander: US to continue military operations in South China Sea


RT
Wed, 10 May 2017 15:26 UTC
navy destroyer
© US Navy / AFP
The US is looking to continue its 'Freedom of Navigation' ops in the disputed South China Sea region, according to top military officials. No such missions have been carried out since the Trump administration took office.

"US forces operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea," US Navy Commander Gary Ross told the South China Morning Post newspaper in an email.

The newspaper asked Ross whether the so-called 'Freedom of Navigation Operations' (FONOPs) had been halted, as the US hasn't carried out patrols since President Donald Trump assumed office.

"We are continuing with regular FONOPs, as we have routinely done in the past and will continue to do in the future," Ross replied, adding that the patrols were "not about any one country." He did not mention China in his statement, the newspaper said.
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Info

Royal Dutch Shell proposes using Russian crude benchmark for calculating Brent price


RT
Wed, 10 May 2017 15:22 UTC
A worker looks at a pump jack at an oil field in Bashkortostan, Russia
© Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters A worker looks at a pump jack at an oil field in Bashkortostan, Russia.
The world's largest oil trader Royal Dutch Shell said it's time to consider using Russian Urals blend to help determine the price of the global Brent benchmark. It would be a radical shift in how European prices have been calculated since the 1970s.

According to Bloomberg, the head of crude trading at Shell, Mike Muller said he wants a debate about calculating the price in Europe using not just oil pumped from the North Sea but potentially including Russian crude and even grades pumped in West Africa and the Caspian Sea basin.

"A good benchmark need not only be representative of what the region produces... If you had to pick one grade of crude, Urals is the one which northwest European refineries should be designed to run optimally," Muller told the Platts Crude Summit in London.
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Cookies

US offers $10mn reward for intel on leader of al-Nusra


RT
Wed, 10 May 2017 15:16 UTC
Muhammad Al-Jawlani
© counterextremism.com / Wikipedia
The United States is offering a $10 million reward for information about Muhammad Al-Jawlani, the leader of Al-Nusra terrorist group in Syria, the State Department has announced. Al-Nusra is an affiliate of Al-Qaeda.

"The US Department of State's Rewards for Justice program is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of Muhammad al-Jawlani, leader of the al-Nusrah Front (ANF) terrorist group," the State Department said in a statement.

It is the first such reward for an Al-Nusra leader.

Comment: The State Department should just ask terrorist sympathizer John McCain where he is.

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Cut

James Comey's legacy: Blame Russia not Saudi Arabia and Israel

Adam Garrie
The Duran
Wed, 10 May 2017 00:00 UTC
TrumpComey
© Salon
Russia has never influenced US policy making but Saudi Arabia and Israel have and continue to do so. The last time Donald Trump fired an important official prior to an important foreign visit was when Steve Bannon was fired from his position on the National Security Council the day before a Chinese delegation led by President Xi was to meet with Trump. It was also incidentally a day prior to Trump's infamous 6 April 2017 attack on Syria.

Steve Bannon was known to favour Russian reconciliation, particularly over Syria cooperation. He was also a leader of the anti-Chinese camp, especially in the aftermath of Mike Flynn's resignation. The dots were not difficult to connect.

Now, within hours of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov holding talks with US Secretary of State Tillerson and apparently Donald Trump in Washington, FBI Director James Comey has been fired.

Comment: See also:

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USA

US criminal justice system 'assembly line' to fill prisons - Russian businessman Viktor Bout


Sputnik
Wed, 10 May 2017 15:01 UTC
Viktor Bout
The US criminal justice system is similar to an "assembly line" that keep prisons crowded, with judges habitually passing verdicts expected by the government, Russian businessman Viktor Bout, who is serving 25 years in a US prison on charges he claims to be innocent of, told the RT broadcaster.

Bout was arrested in Bangkok in 2008 in a joint operation between Thai and US authorities, who accused him of conspiring to kill US citizens by allegedly agreeing to supply Colombian militants with weapons. Moscow has said that the case has been politicized and has repeatedly called on Washington to release the Russian citizen.
"In fact, this is not a criminal justice system, but a prison factory. This is an assembly line — prisons are filled with people who are brought there on some charges... What can a judge do? They will, by default, make the decision that the government is expecting from her," Bout said, when asked about his opinion on his judge's admission of having passed an exceedingly harsh verdict.

Comment: Regardless of the true nature of the activities that led to Bout's arrest and conviction and possible cooperation with US entities in the past, he isn't far from the truth that the US justice system is rigged toward the wants of the government and the powerful, as in any true Banana Republic, which the US is continuing to transform into.

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Sherlock

Sources says the real reason Trump fired Comey is over Russia investigation

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Wed, 10 May 2017 15:12 UTC
Trump James Comey
© Reuters
When Trump fired FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday evening, the stated reason in the letter submitted by the deputy Attorney General was Comey's much-criticized handling of an investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of state.

However, according to various other sources, notably Politico, Trump had grown "enraged" over the last few weeks by the ongoing investigation into alleged Russian collaboration and repeatedly asked aids when the inquiry would end. Contrary to the narrative released from the White House Tuesday night, the firing was Trump's decision and the DOJ letters recommending dismissal were written to give the White House cover. More from the source:
President Donald Trump weighed firing his FBI director for more than a week. When he finally pulled the trigger Tuesday afternoon, he didn't call James Comey. He sent his longtime private security guard to deliver the termination letter in a manila folder to FBI headquarters.

He had grown enraged by the Russia investigation, two advisers said, frustrated by his inability to control the mushrooming narrative around Russia. He repeatedly asked aides why the Russia investigation wouldn't disappear and demanded they speak out for him. He would sometimes scream at television clips about the probe, one adviser said.

Trump had grown angry with the Russia investigation — particularly Comey admitting in front of the Senate that the FBI was investigating his campaign — and that the FBI director wouldn't support his claims that President Barack Obama had tapped his phones in Trump Tower.
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