Puppet MastersS


Chess

Iranian presidential election: Ahmadinejad in the running for return to power

Lisa Daftari
The Foreign Desk
Fri, 16 Sep 2016 05:37 UTC
Qassem Soleimani and former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Despite presidential elections still eight months away in Iran, potential candidates have been making their moves early as they take on the challenge to deseat the country's incumbent Hassan Rouhani.

Top military commander and head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Quds forces Qassem Soleimani and former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were among the more familiar names.

The national security candidate

Denying the rumors, Soleimani has ruled out a run for the presidency. In a statement to Iranian media this week, he accused Iran's enemies of spreading propaganda and attempting to sow seeds of discord among the nation of Iran.

Comment: See also: Ahmadinejad to Obama: You still have time to fix 'bitter past' and return $2 billion to Iran

Read More...
Propaganda

'China phobia' in UK threatens relations, as business deals face official and media scrutiny


RT
Fri, 16 Sep 2016 17:47 UTC
Chinese and British flags
© Suzanne Plunkett / ReutersChinese and British flags
Beijing's official news agency has again warned of the risk London's perceived "China-phobia" poses for UK-China relations, despite British Prime Minister Theresa May's approval of the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant deal.

On Thursday, construction of the controversial £18 billion power station was given the go-ahead after "new safeguards" for national security were established amid speculation Britain is bowing to Chinese pressure.

May put the project on hold just days after entering Downing Street, citing concerns over national security.
Read More...
Snakes in Suits

Western cheats: Author of WADA report on Russia admits 'therapeutic use exemptions' prone to abuse


RT
Sat, 17 Sep 2016 17:44 UTC
WADA poster
© Reuters
The author of the critical report on Russia's alleged state-run doping program Richard McLaren has admitted that the system of "therapeutic use exemptions," brought to public attention by WADA hackers, can indeed be abused by athletes to legally take banned substances.

"One would have to conduct investigations on specific sports as to whether or not too many TUEs are being used with respect to particular substances," Canadian law professor and sports lawyer Dr Richard McLaren told the BBC.

"One of the common TUEs is for ADHD medication - there may be abuse there," he added. "That's one area that probably needs to be looked at - how frequently are [certain medicines] being used in particular sports?"

Comment: What a dirty, dirty game being played by the West.

Read More...
Target

MI6 denies claims Lee Rigby killer Michael Adebolajo was radicalized by Kenyan torturers


RT
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 17:43 UTC
Michael Adebolajo
© METROPOLITAN POLICE / AFPMichael Adebolajo
Claims by one of soldier Lee Rigby's killers that he was tortured and mistreated by Kenyan authorities before being deported to Britain were probably untrue, an inquiry has found.

Michael Adebolajo had alleged mistreatment by Kenyan authorities when he was arrested in November 2010 as part of a group suspected of planning to travel to Somalia to join the Islamist militant group al-Shabab.

His allegations of mistreatment in Kenya raised questions about whether MI6, which works closely with Kenyan counterterrorism units, had been complicit in his detention or treatment.

Adebolajo is presently serving a whole-life term for murdering Fusilier Rigby. He and an accomplice, Michael Adebowale, drove into the soldier with a car before hacking him to death in Woolwich in 2013.
Read More...
Wall Street

Central bank digital currencies and the blockchain: A revolution in banking?

Ellen Brown
The Web Of Debt Blog
Fri, 16 Sep 2016 17:13 UTC
Blockchain infographic
Several central banks, including the Bank of England, the People's Bank of China, the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve, are exploring the concept of issuing their own digital currencies, using the blockchain technology developed for Bitcoin. Skeptical commentators suspect that their primary goal is to eliminate cash, setting us up for negative interest rates (we pay the bank to hold our deposits rather than the reverse).

But Ben Broadbent, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, puts a more positive spin on it. He says Central Bank Digital Currencies could supplant the money now created by private banks through "fractional reserve" lending - and that means 97% of the circulating money supply. Rather than outlawing bank-created money, as money reformers have long urged, fractional reserve banking could be made obsolete simply by attrition, preempted by a better mousetrap. The need for negative interest rates could also be eliminated, by giving the central bank more direct tools for stimulating the economy.
Read More...
Info

Syria ceasefire updates: U.S. and their moderates haven't fulfilled a single commitment of their Geneva promises


RT
Sat, 17 Sep 2016 17:04 UTC
aleppo
© Sputnik/ Mikhail Voskresenskiy
The US is still reluctant to take measures to force rebels under its control to implement the Syrian ceasefire, Russia's Defense Ministry said, adding that if things do not change, Washington will be the sole side responsible for the failure of the truce.

"After five days of the ceasefire, it has to be noted that only the Russian and Syrian sides have been fully implementing their commitments. On its own initiative, Russia prolonged the cessation of hostilities for 48 hours, and yesterday it was extended for another 72 hours," senior Russian General Staff official, Viktor Poznikhir, said at a briefing in Moscow.

But, according to Poznikhir, it is very different on the American side as "the US and the so-called moderate groups under their control didn't fulfill a single commitment undertaken in the framework of the Geneva arrangements."

Comment: The total number of violations has reached 199. Why isn't the U.S. abiding? They can't control their jihadis. Why does the U.S. still want the terms of the agreement to stay secret? As Putin said today in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: "They don't want to make it public because the world community... will understand who is really not abiding to what." See also:

Read More...
Die

Pay to play: Donald J. Trump Foundation has 'questionable' and 'surprising' practices


RT
Sat, 17 Sep 2016 03:56 UTC
Trump
© Mike Segar / ReutersRepublican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
A new analysis of the Donald J. Trump Foundation finds a pattern of inconsistency and some unusually sized donations, including donations to an NFL charity and Citizens United, a conservative non-profit organization.

Unlike the Clinton Foundation, which often receives a regular drubbing in the media, the Trump Foundation has been less scrutinized, except recently for an illegal contribution made to a Florida politician and for questionable expenditures.

Based on an analysis of the Trump Foundation's 2014 filing of the IRS's mandatory 990 Form, however, there is more to be explored.

Former Rolling Stone editor Rob Tannenbaum tweeted at length on Thursday, detailing what stood out to him about the 990 Form, such as a $100,000 donation to the Citizens United Foundation.
Read More...
Display

The end of net neutrality brought to you by Facebook

Tony Cartalucci
New Eastern Outlook
Fri, 16 Sep 2016 17:44 UTC
spacex explosion
© ScreenshotSpaceX explosion
American-based aerospace company SpaceX is one of the few Western enterprises pursuing a greater purpose in a nation otherwise obsessed with power and profit. When its rocket was recently lost on the launch pad amidst an anomaly it took with it a satellite to be used by Facebook, an example of the latter.

The Guardian in an article titled, "SpaceX rocket explosion: Mark Zuckerberg laments loss of Internet.org satellite," would report:
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg struck a bitter tone in his response to the explosion of the SpaceX rocket carrying a satellite intended for use on his Internet.org project in Africa.

Writing on his Facebook page, Zuckerberg said: "As I'm here in Africa, I'm deeply disappointed to hear that SpaceX's launch failure destroyed our satellite that would have provided connectivity to so many entrepreneurs and everyone else across the continent."
However, while technically Facebook's Internet.org would provide "connectivity" to people across the continent, it would not be providing them with access to the actual Internet.
Read More...
Bad Guys

Study shows a third of Saudi strikes hit Yemeni hospitals, schools and other civilian targets


RT
Sat, 17 Sep 2016 14:01 UTC
Yemen rubble of a school destroyed by a Saudi-led air strike
© Naif Rahma / Reuters
In five of the last 18 months of the Saudi-led war in Yemen, the coalition hit more non-military than military targets, a Guardian study has revealed. Overall more than one-third of all strikes ended up hitting civilian sites including hospitals, schools and mosques.

After analyzing public source data for some 8,600 air raids conducted by the Saudi-led coalition between March 2015 and August this year, the Yemen Data Project concluded that only 3,577 sites were of a military nature. Some 3,158 were listed as non-military, while 1,882 strikes were classified as unknown, the Guardian said in its analysis of the data.

Furthermore, the data which has been collected from open sources and cross-referenced by the NGO using a wide range of information showed that Saudis flew 942 air raids on residential areas. The planes managed to strike 114 markets, 34 mosques, and 147 school buildings, in addition to 26 universities. The information also revealed that Riyadh targeted transportation network, striking some 37 transport sites.

Comment: Will this Yemen war be the downfall of Saudi Arabia? Saudi Finance Ministry ex-advisor claims Saudi Arabia on verge of collapse

Read More...
Stock Down

Best of the Web: Journalism disgraced: The mainstream media bet the farm on Killary - and lost

Charles Hugh Smith
Of Two Minds
Wed, 14 Sep 2016 00:00 UTC
Killary
The MSM has forsaken its duty in a democracy and is a disgrace to investigative, unbiased journalism.

The mainstream media bet the farm on Hillary Clinton, confident that their dismissal of every skeptical inquiry as a "conspiracy" would guarantee her victory. It now appears they have lost their bet. Let's do something radical and be honest for a moment: the mainstream media has smoothed the path to Hillary's coronation in countless often subtle ways.

MSM "opinion" hacks have unleashed unrelenting attacks on legitimate inquiries with accusations of "conspiracy" and obsequious kow-towing headlines such as "Can we please stop talking about Hillary's health?"

Suggestions that the Clinton Foundation engaged in "pay to play" during Hillary's term as secretary of state are glossed over; yes, it looks bad, the MSM reluctantly admits, they then hurry to add that no impropriety can be proven in court.

Given the foundation is run by attorneys who obfuscate the meaning of the word "is," do you really think they're going to leave tracks that can make it to court?

Comment: The Western media has been little more than a lapdog of the elite rulers for some time: See also:
  • WikiLeaks confirmed mainstream media works directly with Hillary, DNC

Read More...