Puppet MastersS


Megaphone

Former US ambassador: Russia, Turkey and Iran in best position to solve Syrian conflict


RT
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 17:20 UTC
erdogan iran
The assassination of ambassador Karlov will unlikely damage relations between Russia and Turkey, who, alongside Iran, have a good chance of succeeding in the resolution of the Syrian conflict where the UN failed, former US ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith told RT.

RT: Both Russia and Turkey said that the ambassador killing was aimed at destabilizing ties between the two countries. Who would benefit from that destabilization?

Peter Galbraith: It's not clear what all the motives, at least from the public material, of the murderer were. Whether it was thought out as intending to destabilize relations or simply taking revenge ... for what he considered to be Russia's role. It's not clear at least again from the public material whether he was a part of a terrorist organization, or just an individual acting on his own.

If his goal was to destabilize relations, I don't think he was going to succeed, because this was a blow struck both at Russia and Turkey. Every country has an obligation to protect the diplomats that are on its territory. So, the killing is something that is also very very damaging to Turkey. And so they have a common goal in wishing to condemn it and wishing to deal with it if it turns out to be an act of terrorism.
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Propaganda

Amid the bombardment of Aleppo, all you can hear are lies

Peter Hitchens
Daily Mail
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 16:51 UTC
Aleppo
© AFP/Getty Images
I am the opposite of a war junkie. I loathe the sound of fireworks because they remind me of a bloody night in Lithuania in January 1991, where I lay down in dirty snow to save my skin from Soviet bullets.

I was also frozen with fright in lawless, gang-ruled Mogadishu in December 1992, waiting for US marines to arrive.

In Bucharest at Christmas 1989, I crawled under the bed as tracer fire whizzed past my hotel-room window, and - because my long-delayed call home came through just then - I dictated my account of events to my wife. No heroics for me, thanks.

I was in all these dreadful places by accident. I never meant to be there. I take great care not to get caught in such things again.

But I learned a bit from it, mostly that the old cliche 'the first casualty of war is truth' is absolutely right, and should be displayed in letters of fire over every TV and newspaper report of conflict, for ever.
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Black Magic

Attention drawn to divisive 'British Shiism'

Harun Yahya
Katahon
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 17:12 UTC
British shiism al-Habib and Shirazi
© KatahonYasser Al-Habib and Ayatollah Sadiq Shirazi
In his interview with the Al-Akhbar newspaper on September 30th, the Secretary General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, drew attention to British Shiism. Nasrallah stated that the structure he defined as "British Shiism" is fuelling the denominational wars in the Middle East and accused those who insult the Muslim Sunni community over various UK-based television channels of seeking to incite sectarian conflict. Following is one of the most remarkable assessments Nasrallah made in his interview:
"These individuals, who resort to religious and sectarian discourse, are the spies of [the British] espionage agencies and they aim to destroy religious sects. And those who support them are accomplices to this conspiracy."
Similarly, in 2013 and recently, the religious leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued an official statement saying, "Provoking the feelings of other Islamic sects in name of Shia is in fact British Shiism... It is the work of the British Shiism to insult the sanctity of the Muslim Sunni community."

The movement called British Shiism is led by so-called Shiite religious leaders, Mujtaba Shirazi and Yasser al-Habbib, who reside in England.
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Info

Pope Francis grants Christmas clemency to Vatican whistleblower


RT
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 17:14 UTC
Monsignor Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda
© Osservatore Romano / AFPMonsignor Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda
Pope Francis has granted clemency to a Spanish priest who was convicted of leaking confidential Vatican documents that were used by two Italian journalists to expose Holy See secrets.

Monsignor Angel Lucio Vallejo Balda was offered the "benefit of conditional release" having already served part of his sentence. Msgr. Vallejo was found guilty of leaking the classified Church documents and was sentenced to 18 months in prison in July.


Comment: From AP: Vallejo, the No. 2 of the commission, admitted in court that he gave Nuzzi 85 passwords to password-protected documents. He denied that the journalists threatened him, and put the blame of feeling pressured on Francesca Chaouqui, the communications expert who was also a member of the commission and was convicted alongside him of conspiracy.


The 55-year-old priest will now be released. He is expected to return and serve in his home diocese of Astorga, Spain. No further details were offered by the Vatican.
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Info

Judge approves Trump University settlement, deadline set two days before he's sworn in as president


RT
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 17:04 UTC
Donald Trump
© Scott Morgan / Reuters
On Tuesday evening, US District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel issued an order for Trump University to pay $25 million to settle fraud lawsuits over the president-elect's educational real estate program.

US President-elect Donald Trump agreed in November to settle with more than 6,000 students who say they were cheated by his Trump University with false promises of teaching them his real estate tricks. Trump University ceased giving classes in 2010.

The decision to settle solves two class-action lawsuits and a fraud case filed in 2013 by the New York attorney general.
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Stock Up

BRICS Bank issues first loan for solar power project in China


RT
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 16:39 UTC
Shanghai's financial district
© Carlos Barria / ReutersA general view of Shanghai's financial district of Pudong is seen from the top of the Shanghai Tower
A rooftop solar power project in China will become the first venture to get financial assistance from the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB). The lender has agreed an $81 million loan.

The financing comes from NDB's first package of loans, worth a combined $811 million, which was approved by the bank's board in April to fund projects in China, Brazil, India and South Africa.

The project will equip the roofs of office buildings in Shanghai's industrial parks with solar panels to generate up to 100 MW of electricity for the companies operating there.

"China which is already a world leader in the use of clean energy sources is now to embark on the path of promoting green technologies. In 2015, Beijing invested in renewable energy more than Europe and the United States together. This project is a demonstration of China's green technology commitment," said NDB's President Kundapur Kamath on Wednesday after the signing ceremony.
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Jet3

Iran, Russia sharing military base in Syria


Radio Free Europe
Tue, 20 Dec 2016 16:19 UTC
Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.
Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.
A top Iranian security official has revealed that Iran and Russia are sharing a military base in Syria where they are coordinating their support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, was quoted by Iranian news agencies on December 20 as saying there is "a shared base in Syria where Iran, with Russia's help, does advisory work to help the Syrian army and the [pro-Assad] resistance forces."
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Wall Street

European Court of Justice may force Spanish banks to pay billions to swindled mortgage holders


RT
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 15:57 UTC
Person walking in front of Spanish bank
© Susana Vera / Reuters
A ruling by the European Court of Justice may force Spain's biggest banks to pay back over €4 billion to clients who signed mortgage contracts that prevented them benefiting from falling interest rates.

According to the ruling, the banks will be obliged to reimburse customers for what they lost on mortgages before May 2013, when Spain's Supreme Court declared them invalid if not presented clearly. The ruling exposes banks such as BBVA, Banco Sabadell, Caixabank, Banco Popular and Liberbank.

Spanish banks introduced the so-called "floor clauses" as a safety net during the financial crisis, and most of them have since removed them. The lenders have prepared €5 billion for compensations.
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Snakes in Suits

How dare you question our authority: Canada defends record $11bn arms sale to Saudi Arabia in court


RT
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 15:45 UTC
Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group, during an operation in Kandahar Province
© ReutersA convoy of vehicles, including a Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV III) and a Leopard 2A6M Main Battle Tank from the 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group, during an operation in Kandahar Province.
The Canadian government is fighting a court battle against an anti-war activist seeking to derail a record arms deal with Saudi Arabia. The activist argues the weapons could be used to violate human rights, including in the Saudi intervention in Yemen.

The deal for light armored vehicles (LAVs) is the largest advanced manufacturing export contract in Canadian history, the Globe and Mail reported. Estimated at almost 15 billion Canadian dollars (US$11 billion), it dwarfs any other sale of arms ever made by the country. It was negotiated by the conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and endorsed by his liberal successor, Justin Trudeau, whose government sealed the contract in April.
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Ambulance

Netanyahu offers to treat more wounded Aleppo 'noncombatants' in Israel


RT
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 14:00 UTC
Syrians in hospital
© Osman Orsal / Reuters
Tel Aviv is seeking to increase humanitarian assistance to Syria, expressing a desire to help injured children, women and "noncombatant" men in Aleppo by transporting them to Israel for medical treatment.

The country's Foreign Ministry has been tasked by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with exploring the possibility, so as to devise a plan to help the wounded Syrians.

"We see the tragedy of terrible suffering of civilians and I've asked the Foreign Ministry to seek ways to expand our medical assistance to the civilian causalities of the Syrian tragedy, specifically in Aleppo where we're prepared to take in wounded women and children, and also men if they're not combatants," Netanyahu announced Tuesday during a reception for foreign correspondents.
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