Americans could save $1 trillion over 10 years by financing infrastructure through publicly-owned banks like the one that has long been operating in North Dakota.

President Donald Trump has promised to rebuild America's airports, bridges, tunnels, roads and other infrastructure, something both Democrats and Republicans agree should be done. The country needs a full $3 trillion in infrastructure over the next decade. The $1 trillion plan revealed by Trump's economic advisers relies heavily on public-private partnerships, and private equity firms are lining up for these plumbing investments. In the typical private equity water deal, for example, higher user rates help the firms earn annual returns of anywhere from 8 to 18 percent - more even than a regular for-profit water company might expect. But the price tag can come as a rude surprise for local ratepayers.

Although multi-billionaire hedge fund tycoon and international political pot-stirrer George Soros lost big with the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States and the victory of the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom, he stands to lose further ground, politically and financially, as the winds of political change sweep across the globe.

Soros, who fancies himself as the master of placing short put options on stocks, often cleaning up to the tune of billions of dollars in the process when the stock values collapse, has been dealt a few financial body blows. Recently, the Dutch securities market regulator AFM "accidentally" revealed on line all of Soros's short trades since 2012. Soros's trades were revealed on AFM's website and were removed after the regulator realized the "error". However, the Soros data had already been captured by automatic data capturing software programs operated by intelligence agencies and brokerage firms that routinely scour the Internet looking for such "mistakes".

Among the bank shares targeted by Soros was the Ing Groep NV, a major institution and important element of the Dutch economy. After campaigning against Brexit, Soros bet against the stock of Deutsche Bank AG, which he believed would fall in value after Britain voted to leave the EU. Deutsche Bank stock fell 14 percent and Soros cleaned up. But Soros's celebration was temporary. With Trump's election, Soros lost a whopping $1 billion in stock speculation. Surrounded by his fellow financial manipulators, Soros explained his recent losses while attending the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Soros's mega-wealthy cronies placed their own bets against smaller Dutch firms. Those firms included Ordina, an information technology firm; Advanced Metallurgical Group; and the real estate group Wereldhave N.V.

Russia has proposed a draft to serve as a "guide" for the Syrian constitution, Russian military said adding that the final document must be worked out solely by the Syrian people. "We hope that the draft constitution proposed by us, can and should be a certain guide [for the final version]," announced Stanislav Gadzhimagomedov, deputy head of the Russian Armed Forces' main operational department.

He also stressed that it will be the Syrians who draft the final version, saying "of course, the Syrian constitution must be worked out by the Syrian people and it should take into account proposals of the government and opposition."

Russia distributed the document among the delegates participating in the Syrian peace negotiations, which wrapped up this week in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana. RT obtained a copy from a source in the Syrian opposition. According to Gadzhimagomedov, the draft was worked out by Russian Middle East specialists and law experts. It also involved members of the Syrian expat community in Russia.

"It [the draft] is built on the basis of compromise and, therefore, guarantees the rights and considers interests of the current government, and those who consider themselves its opposition," he noted, adding that Moscow hopes its proposals will become "a unifying factor for all the negotiating parties and will speed up the political settlement" of the years-long Syrian civil war.

The surprise passing of one of Russia's most distinguished and influential diplomats, His Excellency Mr. Alexander Kadakin, has come as a tragic shock for Moscow and New Delhi. No single individual has been more important in promoting and strengthening the Russian-Indian Strategic Partnership than Ambassador Kadakin, and his irreplaceable contribution to the emerging Multipolar World Order will be dearly missed.

He served during a time of paradigmatic geopolitical changes, whereby Russia reemerged from its post-Soviet slumber as one of the leading multipolar Great Powers in the world concurrent with traditionally "Non-Aligned" India (which is nevertheless a misleading Cold War-era myth) rapidly moving in the direction of clinching an unprecedented military-strategic partnership with the US.

Despite the obvious divergences in Moscow and New Delhi's geopolitical priorities, the two sides have hitherto managed to retain their historical bonds of friendship and their relationship has seemingly managed to avoid being negatively impacted by these developments, and that's all thanks to the diplomatic expertise and professionalism of Ambassador Kadakin. Nevertheless, cracks had already begun to surface before his passing, and these are evidenced most clearly through the increasingly aggressive tone of the Indian media when discussing Russia's rapprochement with Pakistan.

The author explored the uncomfortable nuances of Russian-Indian relations in a series of articles listed as part of his 2017 forecast for South Asia for the Moscow-based Katehon think tank, and the reader is strongly encouraged to review these materials in-depth to learn more about how the joint US-Indian Hybrid War on CPEC is dangerously threatening India's traditional ties with Russia and fulfilling a grand American plan to turn New Delhi into Washington's premier mainland proxy in Eurasia.

Tehran has described the recent order by US President Donald Trump which temporarily bars citizens of six Muslim-majority countries, including Iran - an "open affront" and has promised to retaliate in a reciprocal manner.

"While respecting the American people and distinguishing between them and the hostile policies of the U.S. government, Iran will implement the principle of reciprocity until the offensive US limitations against Iranian nationals are lifted," the Ministry said in a statement quoted by Reuters.

Hopes of a looming thaw in Russia-US relations seemed to be a prevailing mood among Russian officials following the phone conversation between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, with many seeing it as a significant shift from the Obama administration's rhetoric and intransigence.


What appears to be Trump's readiness to treat Russia as an equal partner and also meet face to face with the Russian President sets the stage for a breakthrough in bilateral relations, believes Vyacheslav Nikonov, MP of the ruling United Russia party.

"It would be hard to imagine a better start. The mere range of issues and that constructive and positive tone...signals a possibility for thaw in the US-Russian relations and even for major changes," Nikonov said, as cited by the RIA Novosti.

In the most far-reaching move toward a cashless society to date, the European Commission proposed enforcing "restrictions on payments in cash" under an all-too-familiar premise — because terrorism.

"Payments in cash are widely used in the financing of terrorist activities," the Commission's proposal states. "In this context, the relevance of potential upper limits to cash payments could also be explored. Several Member States have in place prohibitions for cash payments above a specific threshold."

On the heels of the European Central Bank's discontinuation of the €500 note, the Commission's plan would drastically scale back civilians' ability to conduct transactions using currency — and, by default, will allow banks and the State further means to track individuals via bank cards.


According to the Commission's Inception Impact Assessment, "Cash has the important feature of offering anonymity to transactions. Such anonymity may be desired for legitimate reason (e.g. protection of privacy). But, such anonymity can also be misused for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes. The possibility to conduct large cash payments facilitates money laundering and terrorist financing activities because of the difficulty to control cash payment transactions."

In other words, because criminals and terrorists use paper currency, the ability for law-abiding citizens to conduct anonymous transactions with cash must be curtailed. For any number of reasons — not the least of which is the laughable presumption terrorists would just walk into a store and purchase big ticket tools of the trade — this assessment fails the sniff test.

The government troops have completely liberated the Wadi Barada area near Damascus thus securing the main water source for the capital.

The Syrian army has fully liberated the Wadi Barada area near the Syrian capital of Damascus, where the main water source is located, from militants, the Army Command said in a statement Sunday.

"Syrian government army units... have completed the mission on restoring security and stability in the villages and towns in Wadi Barada in the western suburbs of Damascus after series of successful military operations," the statement said, as quoted by the SANA news agency.

Two House members this week introduced a resolution condemning Palestinian incitement to terror, saying that Palestinian leaders are "calling on Palestinian youth to murder Jews."

One co-sponsor, Florida Democrat Alcee Hastings, is quoted approvingly by the Israel lobby group AIPAC:

Unless the Palestinian government and leaders around the world unequivocally condemn these acts of terror, there is little chance it will stop

The resolution goes on for 28 pages about Palestinian attacks over the last year and a half. As the head of Peace Now observed. "Cuz you can never go wrong with this stuff: Hastings & [Republican Rob] Woodall intro 28-PAGE resolution condemning Palestinians."

The resolution fails to provide the actual numbers of the so-called intifada of knives: 250 Palestinians killed in that time; and 40 Israelis.

First opinion poll shows surge of support for US President after blizzard of activity in first week of office.

US President Trump's Inaugural Address, and his blizzard of activity in his first week as President, may be deeply unpopular with some commentators, but the first opinion polls suggest that they are going down well with US voters.

That at least seems to be the conclusion of the Rasmussen polling agency.

Here is how Rasmussen reports its findings

President Trump moved at warp speed through his first full week in office, and voters like what they're seeing. The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll has found the new president's job approval hitting the mid- to upper 50s.

Rasmussen shows US voters strongly approving President Trump's moves on trade, spending and immigration. Strikingly 38% of women voters think the country is moving in the right direction, the highest level of confidence in four years.

Of course it is early days and any US President can expect a grace period from US voters after taking office. However no US President in recent years - not even George W. Bush - has faced such a relentless barrage of criticism from the establishment media as Donald Trump has done. It seems however that most US voters - for the moment at least - are paying no attention to what the media is saying, and like what their new President is doing.