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Future aid to Ukraine in jeopardy over Naftogaz gas monopoly government takeover


RT
Mon, 19 Sep 2016 14:30 UTC
headquarters of the Ukrainian national joint stock company NaftoGaz
© Valentyn Ogirenko / Reuters
Ukraine may lose hundreds of millions of dollars in aid after a surprise decision by the government to take direct control over the country's gas production and transportation company.

The takeover may be in violation of the $17.5 billion bailout deal with international creditors and comes just days after Kiev received a $1 billion tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"If all the facts we have learned from third parties are confirmed, we are very disturbed and this development is very serious," said Anton Usov, a spokesperson for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, quoted by the Financial Times.

According to the newspaper, another lender to Ukraine, the World Bank, is also concerned about the situation with Naftogaz.
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War Whore

Erdogan wants to expand 'safe zone' deeper into Syria


RT
Mon, 19 Sep 2016 14:24 UTC
Turkish soldiers
© Umit Bektas / ReutersTurkish soldiers on an armoured personnel carrier escort a military convoy on a main road in Karkamis on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern Gaziantep province, Turkey, August 26, 2016.
Ankara may continue its operation against Islamic State deeper into Syria - to within just 50km of Aleppo, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the Turkish military plans to create a 5,000-sq-km safe zone within the country.

Erdogan says Turkey's operation in Syria, Euphrates Shield, which started on August 24, has cleared border regions from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).

"As part of the Euphrates Shield operation, an area of 900 sq km has been cleared of terror so far. This area is pushing south," Erdogan said, as cited by Reuters.

Comment: Safe zone, or trafficking corridor for ISIS?

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Bullseye

US Drug War benefits US capitalism says Bolivian president Evo Morales


teleSUR
Sat, 17 Sep 2016 14:17 UTC
Evo Morales
© elciudadano.gob.ecBolivian President Evo Morales
Morales pulled no punches during his speech at the NAM summit in Venezuela

Bolivian President Evo Morales described drug trafficking as "a war that only benefits U.S." capitalism at the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Venezuela.

"The fight against drug trafficking is a tool of control for the United States," said Morales, who strongly opposes the U.S. drug war in Latin America. The president added that wherever drug trafficking grows is wherever the U.S. is, and only benefits the world capitalist system.

Morales also hit out at U.S. foreign policy across the world saying that the NAM movement condemned the continued economic blockade on Cuba by the U.S. Morales also gave his support to the people of Palestine who he said have been suffering a "political genocide" at the hands of Israel and the U.S.
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Arrow Up

Slovakian PM calls for end to Russian sanctions, says Ukraine is main obstacle to peace in Donbass, not Russia

Mark Nicholas
Russia Insider
Mon, 19 Sep 2016 00:00 UTC
Robert Fico
Robert Fico
Props to Slovakia's PM Robert Fico for getting it half right.

At the EU summit this weekend hosted by Slovakia (which holds the EU presidency for the second half of 2016) he once again called for an end to EU sanctions against Russia (actually against citizens of EU countries who want to do business with Russians).

Like PM Orban in Hunary and president Zeman in Chechia Fico has been firmly in the anti-sanctions camp (along with Austria, Greece, Italy and the powerful German Social Democrats) albeit unwilling to veto the automatic renewal of the same sanctions.
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Jet2

Inept or on purpose? US double-tap airstrikes kill up to 8 policemen in Afghanistan


RT
Mon, 19 Sep 2016 12:14 UTC
Afghan policemen
© Mohammad Ismail / Reuters
Up to eight policemen have been killed in Afghanistan as a result of US airstrikes, officials told media. The US has confirmed one airstrike, but insists the assault was in response to a threat.

An initial airstrike killed one policeman late Sunday, while a follow-up strike targeting first responders killed at least seven others, said Rahimullah Khan, commander of the reserve police unit in Uruzgan, according to Reuters.

Afghanistan's ToloNews also reported that the eight Afghan National Police (ANP) officers were killed at their checkpoint in central Uruzgan province.

"The enemies were far, about 800 meters from our check posts and their flags were up and they were coming and bombing the police. It seems that it was ordered or they made a mistake. Anyone who was involved in this should be punished," an anonymous official told the news outlet.

Comment: Russia-brokered ceasefire shattered as US airstrikes against Syrian Army in Deir ez-Zor leaves 80 soldiers dead, over 100 injured (UPDATES)

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Target

Syria truce violated by US military


PressTV
Mon, 19 Sep 2016 09:56 UTC
Ashton Carter
© AFP / John Thys
Press TV has spoken to Brian Becker, with the ANSWER Coalition from Washington, and Frederick Peterson, a US congressional defense policy advisor from New York, to review the recent US airstrike that targeted Syrian army troops in the city of Dayr al-Zawr.

Brian Becker said, the reason behind a US-led airstrike against a Syrian army base in Dayr al-Zawr is that the Pentagon, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and some American generals are "openly critical of the agreement" that was signed between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to put in place a ceasefire in Syria.

US military officials have warned that "they may not implement the second stage of the ceasefire even if the first stage is successful," the commentator noted, arguing that the airstrike against the Syrian military base was "a deliberate act to sabotage the truce agreement and that is a real game plan by those in the Obama administration who do not support" the deal.

On Saturday, a US-led coalition attack in the eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr killed more than 60 Syrian soldiers and injured over a hundred others.

Questioned about Washington's real intention in dealing with the Daesh terrorist group, he said, "I don't think the United States' military or the Obama administration is serious about the defeat of ISIS (Daesh) in Syria. I don't even think they're trying to degrade them in a serious way."

Comment: See also:

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Brick Wall

Dissent at Bratislava summit as EU calls for military-police build-up

Johannes Stern and Alex Lantier
World Socialist Web Site
Sat, 17 Sep 2016 00:00 UTC
Bratislava meeting
Amid escalating tensions inside the European Union (EU) and between the EU and the United States, the heads of the 27 EU member states, minus Britain, met for their first post-Brexit summit in the Slovak capital, Bratislava.

The summit reaffirmed proposals by top EU, German, and French officials to react to Britain's exit from the EU by reorganizing the union as a military alliance with broad police powers at home. Beyond the broad lines of this reactionary program outlined in the so-called "Bratislava declaration" issued by the European Council, however, the remaining EU countries failed to agree on any concrete proposals. Explosive conflicts erupted over the economic crisis in Europe and the millions of refugees fleeing wars in the Middle East and Africa.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, the leader of the euro zone's third-largest economy, refused to join the final press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande. Only weeks ago, Renzi stood together with Merkel and Hollande on an aircraft carrier off the Italian island of Ventotene to call for EU unity after Brexit and revive longstanding plans, blocked until now by Britain with the support of the United States, to turn the EU into a military alliance. Yesterday, however, he attacked the summit and openly stated his disagreement with German and French policies.
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SOTT Logo S

SOTT Focus: SOTT News Snapshot: Weekend edition - U.S. provides Daesh air cover, massacres Syrian troops


Sott.net
Sun, 18 Sep 2016 22:51 UTC
black hole
© NASAFor the first time, NASA observes the black hole dubbed "Samantha Power" 'belching' intense radiation after consuming the souls of surrounding stars.
The big news this weekend has obviously been the U.S.'s massacre of 62 Syrian soldiers in Deir ez-Zor, in which they provided air cover for a Daesh offensive on the besieged city. The Americans reportedly dropped phosphorus bombs on the Syrians, killing many of them instantly. You can read all about it in our full coverage of the incident here:
  • Russia-brokered ceasefire shattered as US airstrikes against Syrian Army in Deir ez-Zor leaves 80 soldiers dead, over 100 injured (UPDATES)
To give a brief recap of events leading up to it: the ceasefire went into effect on Monday. On Friday, it was extended for the final 72 hours, after which Russia and the U.S. planned to set up their joint implementation group, collaborating on targeting Nusra and Daesh. Despite hundreds of violations on the part of the U.S.-backed rebels, this was still the plan. But the U.S. was threatening to pull out because Assad wasn't letting UN aid into Syria - no mention of the fact that this was because the U.S.-backed rebels north of Aleppo refused to abide by the agreement to demilitarize the road on which the aid convoys were planned to travel. But the details were all worked out, with convoys planned for this morning. In other words, the U.S. would have no reason to call the ceasefire a failure. Now this.

The U.S. says it was targeting Daesh in the area, which is ridiculous for several reasons: 1) they've never provided air cover for Syrian troops in the past, 2) the Syrians were known to have held the area targeted, 3) if they had really been observing the 'targets' for days, they would have known exactly who they were targeting, 4) if they really wanted to attack Daesh, they could have waited 2 days in order to do so with Russian coordination. Unless they're just total idiots, this attack was deliberate, and it came just 2 days before the planned U.S.-Russian coordination. Someone is trying to sabotage the ceasefire, and it looks like the Pentagon is the guilty party.
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Snakes in Suits

'Personal insult' for Obama if black Americans don't vote for Clinton


RT
Sun, 18 Sep 2016 20:25 UTC
U.S. President Barack Obama
© Yuri Gripas / Reuters
President Barack Obama told a predominantly black audience it would be a "personal insult" if they don't back Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in the November presidential elections.

Speaking at the Congressional Black Caucus dinner on Saturday night, Obama said he would take it as an "insult to [his] legacy" if there isn't a strong black turnout for Clinton.

"My name may not be on the ballot, but our progress is on the ballot," he said. "Tolerance is on the ballot. Democracy is on the ballot. Justice is on the ballot. Good schools are on the ballot, ending mass incarceration, that's on the ballot right now."


Comment: Not working out too well so far: Trump Takes Huge Seven Point Lead in LA Times Poll as Black Voters Ditch Clinton
The latest survey conducted by the LA Times of 2,507 respondents nationwide shows 47.7% of voters support Republican nominee versus only 41% who support the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with Trump's poll performance improving by an unprecedented 7.1% over the past 6 days.

Perhaps the most surprising finding in the polling, and perhaps a reason to be suspicious about the result, is where Donald Trump made up most of the ground during his huge polling surge. On September 10, Trump was polling at only 3.1% among African-American voters, but as of this weekend he has the support of 20% of the black electorate suggesting a major sea change in how the community views him.
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Cheese

The American people are waking up to the fact that there's something VERY wrong with Hillary Clinton

Chuck Baldwin
Chuck Baldwin LIVE
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 00:00 UTC
hillary clinton with that crazy look she makes
© AFP 2016/ MANDEL NGANWhat brain problems? She looks totally normal
What in the world is wrong with Hillary Clinton? Besides her criminal activities and her warmongering, socialist, gun-grabbing politics, I mean. She collapses; has fainting spells; refuses to do press conferences; bobbles her head back and forth like a plastic, well, bobblehead; goes into weird, wide-eyed, out-of-control facial contortions; has constant coughing fits; and is escorted by physicians everywhere she goes. What gives?

After her blackout last Sunday, her campaign office said Hillary is suffering from pneumonia. The problem is that pneumonia does not come close to explaining all of the disturbing symptoms that the American people have been watching Hillary exhibit. And this is not to mention the fact that it is hard to imagine anyone in politics more unlikely to tell the truth than Hillary Clinton--except for maybe Bill Clinton, G.W. Bush, Barack Obama, John McCain, Al Gore, Lindsey Graham, Dick Cheney, Nancy Pelosi, Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, Newt Gingrich, Ted Cruz--oh well, skip that point.

According to confirmed reports, here is what we know about Hillary's health so far (this column being written before Hillary's campaign released more of her health information on Wednesday, September 14):

Comment: For more information:

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