Puppet MastersS


Stock Up

BRICS bank to provide $2.5 billion in loans to emerging economies next year


RT
Wed, 23 Nov 2016 17:30 UTC
turbine Dabancheng Wind Power Plant
© Andrew Wong / ReutersA new turbine waits to be assembled at the Dabancheng Wind Power Plant in the central part of China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region
The BRICS' New Development Bank (NDB) is to allocate $2.5 billion in loans to member states next year. In 2016 the bank provided over $1.5 billion in financial assistance.

Headquartered in Shanghai, the BRICS bank was founded in 2014 by China, Russia, Brazil, India and South Africa and officially opened for business a year later. The goal of the bank, with an initial authorized capital of $100 billion, is to fund sustainable development infrastructure projects in emerging economies.

"The bank is currently working to increase the financing volume for projects in member countries of the NDB," said the president of the bank Kundapur Kamath. According to NDB, two loans together worth $650 million will be provided for projects in China and India.
Read More...
Bulb

UK taxpayers: Royal Monarchy should be abolished


The Mind Unleashed
Sun, 20 Nov 2016 17:14 UTC
Queen Elizabeth in her carriage
© Reuters
The first few questions we should ask ourselves is "what point is there to even having a monarchy?" Additionally, "what good do they provide for the people of the UK and world? What is their purpose?"

United Kingdom taxpayers are asking themselves these questions and more amid fresh calls for the monarchy to be dissolved.

The Independent reports that Buckingham Palace is in need of repair, which is projected to be a 10 year project and will cost around £400 million-all from taxpayer money. The British government agreed to the increase in taxpayer funding, which is set to increase by 66%.

Those fighting for the abolishment of the monarchy are upset that the Royal Crown wants the public to pay for the renovation, all the while the Crown has an estimated worth of over £300 million, and owning land around the world estimated at a worth of over £7 billion.
Read More...
Chess

Philippines and US agree to reduce joint military exercises


RT
Wed, 23 Nov 2016 17:07 UTC
Philippines US military drills
© Erik De Castro / Reuters
Manila and Washington have agreed to reduce the size and frequency of joint military exercises as well the number of US troops taking part, Reuters reported, citing a Philippines general involved in the talks. The general, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Defense Ministry had instructed the military to curtail joint exercises - which should be "refocused on disaster" relief - and halt naval and amphibious landing drills.

"The two allies will focus more on humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations and other non-traditional military training and exercises," the general told Reuters on Tuesday, adding that the number of US troops would be "small."

In the past two years, some 5,000 US soldiers have taken part in joint drills in the Philippines. The general said planned US deployments under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) would continue, however.
Read More...
Display

FBI hacked into 8k computers in 120 countries investigating child pornography


RT
Wed, 23 Nov 2016 08:30 UTC
Hacking
© Kacper Pempel / Reuters
The FBI hacked into more than 8,000 computers in 120 countries during an investigation into a child pornography website with just one warrant, a court hearing transcript has shown. It represents the largest known law enforcement hacking campaign to date.

The hacking centers around an FBI investigation in February 2015, in which the bureau seized the Playpen child pornography website and ran it from a government server for 13 days. It used a piece of malware known as a network investigative technique (NIT) to break into the computer of anyone who visited certain child pornography threads on the website. It then sent the suspects' IP addresses back to the FBI.

Over the past year, Motherboard has found that the FBI hacked computers in Australia, Austria, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Greece, and likely the UK, Turkey, and Norway during the investigation.

Comment: See also: Britain's 1984: New surveillance law, 'most extreme ever passed in a democracy'

Read More...
Light Sabers

Trump could face revolt from Democratic Electoral College voters

Kyle Cheney
Politico
Tue, 22 Nov 2016 17:17 UTC
trump
© AP Photo
At least a half-dozen Democratic electors have signed onto an attempt to block Donald Trump from winning an Electoral College majority, an effort designed not only to deny Trump the presidency but also to undermine the legitimacy of the institution.

The presidential electors, mostly former Bernie Sanders supporters who hail from Washington state and Colorado, are now lobbying their Republican counterparts in other states to reject their oaths — and in some cases, state law — to vote against Trump when the Electoral College meets on Dec. 19.

Even the most optimistic among the Democratic electors acknowledges they're unlikely to persuade the necessary 37 Republican electors to reject Trump — the number they'd likely need to deny him the presidency and send the final decision to the House of Representatives. And even if they do, the Republican-run House might simply elect Trump anyway.

But the Democratic electors are convinced that even in defeat, their efforts would erode confidence in the Electoral College and fuel efforts to eliminate it, ending the body's 228-year run as the only official constitutional process for electing the president. With that goal in mind, the group is also contemplating encouraging Democratic electors to oppose Hillary Clinton and partner with Republicans in support of a consensus pick like Mitt Romney or John Kasich.
Read More...
Bad Guys

Ukrainian Security Operatives Kidnapped Two Russian Servicemen in Crimea


Sputnik
Mon, 21 Nov 2016 17:02 UTC
Crimea
© Sputnik/ Vitaliy Belousov
Ukranian security operatives have abducted two Russian servicemen in Crimea, and are attempting to press criminal charges against them, the Russian military is reporting.

Moscow says they are considering the kidnapping a "flagrant provocation," and is demanding the immediate release and return of Maksim Odintsov and Aleksander Baranov to Russia.

"We consider such actions by the Ukrainian security bodies against Russian citizens as another flagrant provocation and demand their immediate return to Russia," a statement by the ministry's press service said.

The ministry said on Monday that the two soldiers were kidnapped on November 20, and taken across the border to the Nikolayev region of Ukraine with an apparent goal of pressing charges against them. They also expressed concern that authorities may use psychological and physical torture to coerce the two men into falsely confessing to crimes against Ukraine.

Russia's historical southern region of Crimea rejoined the country after a 2014 referendum. Nearly 97 percent of the region's population voted for reunification in a referendum.

Comment: Kiev is claiming that the two men were deserters who defected to Russia from the Ukrainian military in 2014.

Read More...
Clock

China ready to play leading role in forming Asia-Pacific pact as Trump threatens to dump TPP


RT
Wed, 23 Nov 2016 14:34 UTC
China flag
© Thomas Peter/Reuters
As President-elect Donald Trump promises to pull the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), calling it a "disaster", China is ready to form its own Asia-Pacific trade pact.

For five years, Beijing has reportedly been pushing for a trade deal in the region that excludes Washington. China, Japan, and Korea are discussing a trilateral free trade agreement, according to media reports.

"I think that in this process, China will make its own contribution and play its own role," said the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Wednesday.

When asked, if Beijing wins from Washington's withdrawal from TPP, the spokesman said China has an open attitude toward any free trade pacts if they are good for all participants and one country doesn't set the agenda for everyone. Beijing has regarded the deal as Washington's attempt to oust China from global trade.
Read More...
Info

Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei warns of retaliation if US breaches nuclear deal

Bozorgmehr Sharafedin
Reuters
Wed, 23 Nov 2016 16:54 UTC
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
© Leader.ir/Handout via REUTERS/FilesIran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Extending U.S. sanctions on Iran for 10 years would breach the Iranian nuclear agreement, Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said on Wednesday, warning that Tehran would retaliate if the sanctions are approved.

The U.S. House of Representatives re-authorized last week the Iran Sanctions Act, or ISA, for 10 years. The law was first adopted in 1996 to punish investments in Iran's energy industry and deter Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons.

The Iran measure will expire at the end of 2016 if it is not renewed. The House bill must still be passed by the Senate and signed by President Barack Obama to become law.
Read More...
Bad Guys

Killary campaign being encouraged to challenge election results by SJW computer scientists

Alex Christoforou
The Duran
Wed, 23 Nov 2016 16:52 UTC
Hillary Clinton
In what may be Hillary Clinton's final attempt to ascend to her "rightful" place atop the throne of the United States of America, so as to rule her neo-liberal cult of believers, influential computer scientists from liberal left universities are pushing the Clinton campaign to challenge the election results in three US states.

The Gateway Pundit reports...
The Clinton campaign participated in a conference call with the investigators in interest of challenging the election 2016 results.

Donald Trump won the election with 306 electoral votes.

The far left computer scientists have no proof the election results were tampered with but are speculating the results in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania may have been manipulated.
Read More...
Candle

US-controlled Saudi-led airstrikes kill more civilians: 12 market-goers die in northwest Yemen


RT
Wed, 23 Nov 2016 16:48 UTC
Market bombed by Yemen airstrike
© Neil Hall/Reuters
Twelve civilians were killed after they were hit by a Saudi-led airstrike while riding in a pick-up truck in northwest Yemen, according to residents cited by Reuters.

The passengers were reportedly heading to a local market in the Hiran area of northwest Hajja province on Wednesday when they were struck. The area is controlled by the Houthi movement.

A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition declined to respond to Reuters' request for comment. In the past, the coalition has maintained that it does not target civilians, despite numerous accusations and reports to the contrary.

The new deaths come less than two months after 135 civilians were killed by an alleged Saudi-led airstrike at a wedding in the southwestern village of Al-Wahijah, in an attack that the Saudi-led coalition denied.

In March, an apparent airstrike by the coalition hit a market in Yemen's Hajja province, killing 41 civilians and injuring 75 others.

Comment: War criminals.

Read More...