Puppet MastersS


Info

Assad adviser states Syria ready to open communication channels with US


RT
Thu, 17 Nov 2016 22:24 UTC
A general view of the historical Umayyad mosque in old Damascus
© Khaled al-Hariri / ReutersA general view of the historical Umayyad mosque in old Damascus.
Syria is prepared to open lines of communication with the US, according to President Bashar Assad's political and media adviser, Bouthaina Shaaban. She added that the "signs are good" for the step.

Speaking at the First Media Forum at Damascus University on Wednesday, Shabaan said there had been no secret talks with the US, but expressed "Syria's readiness to open channels of communication" with Washington, the SANA news agency reported.

The adviser also expressed hope that the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump would be "balanced and sensible."

"We are currently observing and studying... and we are not making any judgments now, but the signs so far are good," Shaaban said.

Comment: See also: The art of the deal and the deal of Assad: How Syria's president will make Trump's life easier

Read More...
Attention

'New form of segregation?' Moscow reacts to idiot John Kirby's treatment of RT reporter


RT
Thu, 17 Nov 2016 22:11 UTC
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova
© Alexander Vilf / Sputnik
The US State Department's recent comments toward an RT reporter during a briefing were "outrageous" and demonstrated that Washington divides the media "on an ideological basis," the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

At a US State Department briefing on Wednesday, when asked by RT reporter Gayane Chichakyan for facts to prove allegations that Russia is targeting hospitals in Syria, spokesman John Kirby said that he wasn't "going to put Russia Today [RT] on the same level with the rest of [the journalists] who are representing independent media outlets."

Moscow has now responded to the incident, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova calling it "outrageous" and "revolting."

Comment: Can't wait to see who Trump picks as the new US State Department spokesperson.

Read More...
Info

Oops: Pentagon bars RT's video agency from media event in letter likely revealing too much


RT
Thu, 17 Nov 2016 22:03 UTC
pentagon
An extraordinary email was received by a producer for RT's video agency Ruptly following a request to attend one of the Pentagon's media events. Their "No way" was phrased in such a way that, one suspects, the US military official just hit the wrong "reply" button.

Having learned that a US Army and Air Force shipment with hundreds of containers had reached Germany, to be reportedly distributed elsewhere in Europe, a Ruptly producer sent a request to the US army representative to film any related media events that might shed light on the operation.

The producer also asked to be included on the mailing list to be informed of the Pentagon's future "press opportunities."
Read More...
Info

Surprise! Obama doesn't expect Trump to follow his approach to Russia


RT
Thu, 17 Nov 2016 21:49 UTC
U.S. President Barack Obama with German Chancellor Angela Merkel
© Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Outgoing US President Barack Obama said that he did not expect President-elect Donald Trump to follow his administration's blueprints in dealing with Russia, yet hoped that Trump would "stand up" to Moscow.

"My hope is that the president-elect coming in takes a similarly constructive approach, finding areas where we can cooperate with Russia where our values and interests align, but that the president-elect also is willing to stand up to Russia when they are deviating from our values and international norms," Obama said. "But I don't expect that the president-elect will follow exactly our approach."


Comment: Must be political speak for Russia's "deviating" from US hegemony. Hopefully Trump doesn't follow that approach.


Obama's tone toward Moscow was more reserved as he answered questions during the press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, compared to his rhetoric before the election in the United States. However, he repeated allegations that Russia had engaged in cyberattacks against the US.

Comment: Judging from Trump's interview that he will limit vacations, unlike Obama's frequent golf outings, means he will be serious.

Read More...
Attention

Kiev Nazi commander admits 10,000 Ukrainians reservists could be war criminals

J. Arnoldski
Fort Russ
Thu, 17 Nov 2016 21:43 UTC
Petro Poroshenko
Petro Poroshenko's regime has initiated criminal proceedings in which figure around 10,000 participants of the so-called Anti-Terrorist Operation in Donbass. This was stated on the sidelines of the Verkhovna Rada by the former head of the Donbass Nationalist Battalion and PM, Semen Semenchenko.

According to Semenchenko, "volunteers" have come under criminal proceedings insofar as they do not have the right to bear arms and use them in Donbass, since martial law has not been instituted in the country. Now all such "volunteers" could theoretically be declared war criminals.
Read More...
Dollars

War on cash goes into full effect — Citibank stops accepting cash at multiple branches

Jack Burns
The Free Thought Project
Thu, 17 Nov 2016 21:17 UTC
war on cash
© The Free Thought Project
In 2015, as a guest on Ron Paul's Liberty Report, Economics Professor Joseph Salerno warned of a coming war on cash. Apparently, now, that time has come. Governments loathe cash transactions because they're private and hard to tax. As a result, some countries are taking drastic measures to reclaim their bank notes.

Salerno said, "The French premier last year (2014) drew a parallel between the war on terror and the war on cash," and warned the world's economic elite are now "using the war on terror as a cover to get at cash." The Mises Institute professor and VP predicted to Paul, "I think this could come in the next couple of years. If they have to bail out the financial system again...they'll block the cash in the banks to prevent it from escaping and destabilizing these fractional reserve banks," Salerno said.

At the time of the interview, 2015, Salerno said the war on cash has already begun in the U.S. and pointed to Citibank's new policy which disallows patrons to use cash to pay their mortgages and credit cards with cash. He also pointed to Louisiana's new law forcing "second hand dealers defined as Goodwill Stores, Flea Markets, Garage Sales, to report any cash transactions in which they were receiving or paying cash, and they had to report them on a daily basis to the local police authorities." He said, "they (secondhand stores) had to get the sellers' names and license plate number and a number of other of private details."

"This is only a first step," even though it was only on a state level. "It would be awful if it was on a federal level," Salerno declared.
Read More...
Info

China's leader Xi Jinping tours Latin America


Katehon
Thu, 17 Nov 2016 20:44 UTC
Xi Jinping
During an official visit to Latin America, China's leader Xi Jinping is going to visit Ecuador, Peru and Chile at the invitation of the heads of these states.

His objectives

The first visit will be to Ecuador, where for the first time in 36 years, the Chinese president will pay a visit, when diplomatic relations were established between two countries. Ecuador is highlighted to attract the largest volume of Chinese investment in Latin America, due to which many joint projects were implemented.

In Peru, Xi Jinping is going to take part in the presidential part of the APEC meeting, during which he is scheduled to meet not only with Peruvian president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, but also with a number of other leaders, including Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Chile also has a trade agreement with China, being thus the second largest trade partner of China.

All these facts show that Beijing is still trying to use the opportunity to create their own analog to the TPP. Despite the official denials of Moscow, this issue along with some others could be raised at the APEC summit, at least behind the scenes.
Read More...
Snakes in Suits

Britain's post-Brexit foreign policy is becoming clearer and it's not pretty

Mark Curtis
Global Research
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 20:18 UTC
British and EU flags
The likely shape of British foreign policy post-Brexit is slowly emerging five months on from the 23 June referendum, and the picture is extremely concerning from any ethical viewpoint. Britain is on course to ignore human rights in its foreign policy even more than in the recent past. And, if recent speeches by military leaders are anything to go by, it is even threatening to increasingly use its global military power to secure its financial and economic interests.

The past few months have seen a striking rise in the tempo with which British ministers are seeking to sell arms and do trade deals with the unelected, authoritarian regimes of the Arabian Gulf. In September, Theresa May hosted the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Al Thani, saying that his country was a 'natural partner' of the UK which was seeking to promote investment and 'defence' (i.e., arms exports). The meeting followed Defence Secretary Michael Fallon hosting Qatar's Defence Minister to discuss joint military training in which Fallon also announced the creation of a new Deputy Defence Attaché role in Qatar 'which will ensure strong and continued defence engagement'.

Last month, Theresa May also hosted the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa, notorious for his country's brutal crackdown on dissidents and the Shia community. The Prime Minister reiterated the UK's 'firm commitment to the security of the Gulf' - government code for continuing support for the regime. Royal visits have also been made to Oman and the United Arab Emirates and the government has reaffirmed its commitment to building two new military bases in Bahrain and Oman.
Read More...
Cards

The art of the deal and the deal of Assad: How Syria's president will make Trump's life easier

Adam Garrie
The Duran
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 20:03 UTC
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
One of the tragic ironies of history is that when George W. Bush declared a 'war on terror', such a thing was not necessary. In the early 2000s, the threat of Islamic terrorism to the world was relatively limited and logistically constrained in terms of size and scope. A quick phone call from Washington to Riyadh saying 'STOP IT', could have solved quite a lot.

However, given Saudi Arabia's direct hand in helping to perpetrate the attacks of September 11th and the Bush family's pathologically intimate relationship with the House of Saud, this was clearly not an option.

So instead, Bush and Blair invented enemies where there were none and in doing so, they created a real problem of widespread global Islamic terrorism that does require a thorough response. Today, there is a real war on terror, one brought tragically to fruition due to the original, phony war on terror.
Read More...
Clock

Eurogroup head: Brexit talks will take "a lot longer" than two years

John Geddie
Reuters
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 20:06 UTC
EU UK flags Brexit
© Neil Hall/ Reuters
Negotiations over Britain's departure from the European Union are very complex and are going to take longer than the scheduled two years, Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Wednesday.

Britain has said it will trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by the end of March next year, starting a 24-month countdown to its departure from the bloc.

But with the British government's stance toward Brexit starting to show signs of splintering, and Europe eager to pull together and prevent a populist backlash that could fracture the EU further, talks are likely to be strained and drawn out.

"Negotiations are hugely complex... They are going to take a lot longer than two years," Dijsselbloem, the Dutch head of the group of euro zone finance ministers, said at an event in London.

Comment: See also: Leaked memo suggests Tories have no Brexit plan nor enough staff to make it happen

Read More...